Liam Read online

  Fear shivers up my spine. “Vanessa?” I ask. I slide past her and follow her gaze.

  My heart stops right then and there. He is leaning against the wall, across from the locker rooms. He is huge, tattooed, and beautiful.

  He is my Liam.

  “Oh my god!” I drop my stuff and he grins at me.

  I haven’t seen him since he was deployed two years ago. I knew he was getting close to being done, but I hadn’t heard from him. I run to him, jump up, and wrap my arms and legs around him. His arms wrap around me tightly, his face pressed against mine.

  “I have missed you so much,” I whisper, hugging him tighter. You don’t know how much you miss someone until the very moment he is back in your life. He has been my best friend since I was sixteen years old; I am now twenty-six.

  “I missed you too.”

  I close my eyes and breathe in his scent. It wraps around me like a blanket, bringing warmth, protection. He sets me down on the ground, and I grin at Vanessa, who is looking from me to Liam with her mouth agape.

  “This is Liam?” she asks.

  I nod my head frantically, smiling up at him. “You’re home now, right?” I ask him.

  “I am.”

  Vanessa grins at me, because he is all I have talked about since she and I met. I can’t help it. I look at him from the corner of my eye, and he is just beautiful.

  Liam

  I am home. After many years of being deployed and based here or there, I am finally home.

  I was planning on stopping at the Grim Sinners’ on the way back to the Devil Souls’, because it was on the way, only to find out that the shit has hit the fan.

  A cartel has moved in on the Grim Sinners, and they have already set up shop in Raleigh, my town. The Grim Sinners caught one of the fuckers, so I took over doing what I fucking do best, getting information any and every way possible.

  I learned that they had a plan to attack the women and kids of the club, threatening right where it hurts.

  My first thought was Paisley. She is the princess of the Devil Souls; she was the only girl for many years. She lives alone. She would be the perfect person for them to go after first. Good fucking thing I am home, because touching her is the last thing they will ever do.

  “Bye guys!” her friend says and walks down the hallway, leaving me and Paisley alone. She looks at me, excited.

  “I can’t believe you’re home,” she whispers.

  “I am.” I touch her jaw, smiling down at her. I have not fucking smiled like this in years; the only time I do is when I am around her.

  Fuck me, isn’t she beautiful?

  I have waited eight years to be home, and I am going to do this shit right—the way it’s supposed to be—like this is the first time I have met her.

  Paisley

  He is Liam, but I can also tell he is different. Every single time I have seen him over the years, he has seemed different. He is aware of everything around him—his eyes looking at everything around us—ready for an attack.

  “I drove my bike, I will follow you to wherever you want to eat.”

  We walk out of the hospital to the dark parking lot. Liam puts his hand on the small of my back, pressing me into his side without a second thought.

  Just like he used to.

  I know it’s going to take a while to get used to him being home; it’s been eight years. He used to be my best friend—we were inseparable—but things are not the same. It’s not like we can go back eight years. Things are different; I am different and he is different.

  I click the clicker to my car, and the lights turn on inside. He opens my door and I step inside and start the car.

  “I will be behind you.” He shuts the door, leaving me to stare at his receding back.

  Okay, what happens next? I throw my purse on the passenger seat and, as I’m pulling out, I hear the roar of his bike. My taillights give his face an eerie red glow that makes him look like a mean motherfucker.

  Oh boy.

  I arrive at the burger place a few minutes later, and he pulls up beside me. Before I’ve turned off the ignition, he is opening my door.

  My phone rings, and I answer it. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hey baby girl, I guess you know who’s home?” Dad grumbles unhappily.

  I roll my eyes because he has always pretended to dislike Liam, but we all know he secretly likes him. Liam saved me when I was sixteen, and Dad has never forgotten that.

  Neither have I; that day is one I will never forget.

  “Yeah, he’s here.”

  Liam leans against my open door, his arms across his chest.

  “Baby, shit is going down with the clubs. Tell Liam to let you in on everything. Love you, sweetheart.” He hangs up the phone.

  I look at Liam. “Dad told me to tell you to let me in on everything that is going on.”

  He rubs his face and looks up at the sky, frustrated. “I will tell you once we get back to your house.”

  Wait.

  Did he say my house?

  “My house?”

  A slow grin comes over his face, that same sexy grin that I loved seeing when we were teenagers. “Did I not mention I am staying with you?”

  I raise a hand. “Hold the fuck up…” I start and he laughs, takes my raised hand, and pulls me from the car. “Shit is going down, like your dad said.” He brings his face closer to mine, a smile tugging at his lips. “That means you’re to be protected.” He stops, looking highly amused at my horrified expression. “By me.”

  Oh my goodness. I cover my face, groaning out loud because this is the Liam I know, the Liam who loved to drive me crazy.

  “Come on, let’s go get you fed.” He pries my hands from my face, laughing at me. I glare at him for daring to laugh at me, and he tugs on my hand and leads me to the entrance of the burger joint.

  “What do you want to eat?” he asks, pushing me into a booth. I smack his hands off of me, and he just chuckles.

  How rude.

  He sits down beside me, and a waitress plops down two menus in front of us. “You know there is a whole booth directly in front of me?” I point at the seat.

  “So.”

  So? “So why didn’t you sit there?”

  He gives me a sideways glance, looking at his menu.

  “Liam?” I poke his side.

  He grunts, twisting away from me but otherwise ignoring me.

  “Liaaaaam.”

  He finally looks at me, completely amused. “Maybe I just wanted to sit next to you.”

  Well, that shuts me up. I suck my lips into my mouth trying to stop my smile. I look down at the menu, but I already know what I am getting because I get the same thing every time I am here.

  “What can I get you guys?” the waitress asks us. I order a huge burger, and Liam orders two of them.

  I take out my phone, pointedly trying to ignore him.

  He laughs and settles down in the seat, moving closer to me, of course. “Are you trying to ignore me?” He pokes my side.

  When we were teenagers we made it our mission to aggravate each other. He did everything to ruffle my feathers, and I retaliated. I hum to myself, gnawing on my bottom lip, trying to stop myself from laughing or smiling. He chuckles and his hand settles on the back of my neck, his finger twining around my hair. He smirks and tugs on my hair, and I knock his hand away. I lean farther away from him, pressing my back against the wall. My stomach growls for the tenth time. I rub my stomach, and his eyes follow my movements.

  “Hungry?” he asks. I nod, leaning my head against the booth. I am utterly exhausted, and I know a huge part of the problem is that I haven’t eaten in over twelve hours. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

  He huffs loudly then gives me an angry look. “You need to take care of yourself.”

  “I was too busy taking care of others,” I point out.

  He shakes his head. “You can take care of others, but don’t forget about yourself. You have low blood sugar, remember?”
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br />   He remembered. When I was seventeen I felt tired and weak all the time. He demanded that I go to the doctor, and I found out that I have low blood sugar. It’s totally under control as long as I eat.

  I take my hair tie off my wrist and throw my hair up in a bun at the top of my head. “Well, I have not had issues with it in a long time.”

  He grunts and looks around the room; I can tell that he has not let his guard down. His body is taut, ready for anything. It really makes me wonder what has gone down with the MC. I was warned that something was happening.

  I wish that none of this was going down, especially since he just got home. He needs a break and to relax because I cannot even fathom what went on over there.

  Every time I’ve seen him over the years, he’s seemed harder, darker—the things he’s seen have changed him. He’s definitely a man now. But, right now, he is still my Liam.

  A few minutes later the waitress brings our food, setting it down in front of us. I immediately dig in, almost inhaling the whole thing.

  I lean back holding my stomach, my eyes closed.

  “You sleepy, Paisley?” He nudges my shoulder.

  I nod and settle my head on his shoulder.

  “You okay to drive home?” he asks, his hand running down my arm, trying to keep me awake.

  “Oh yeah, I will be fine.” I yawn, sitting up.

  “Let me go pay.” He slides out of the booth and approaches the front counter. The door to Pat’s Burgers opens, and I see three guys. The very same three guys who constantly tried to pick fights with Liam and me. I usually ended up getting the short end of the stick, because I was the easiest one to mess with. Liam was one guy you didn’t want to fuck with.

  These very guys wanted to be prospects, like Liam, but they are mean and have no loyalty, so the club turned them down flat. Since then, they’ve made it their life’s mission to make my life hell. I was a princess of the Devil Souls, so I had a target on my back. They usually leave Liam alone, but he does not like me being messed with.

  I have avoided these guys like a plague. When I see one of them, I run in the other direction or duck behind something to hide.

  I duck my head, sliding down in my seat. Hopefully, I can walk to Liam and we can both sneak out without being seen. I don’t like trouble; I don’t see the point in pettiness that can be avoided altogether. I am by myself a lot. I’ve been to parties but it’s not my scene. In college, I usually stayed in and studied, then went to work.

  I’ve never even been on a date; I just had a lot of girls’ nights. I stuck to my promise to wait for Liam.

  Now he is home.

  “Well, if it isn’t Paisley,” Tony says.

  I slide out of the booth and stand up, facing them. Tony is the one standing in the middle. He has let himself go downhill badly. He has gained a lot of weight, his hair and beard are patchy, and his teeth are yellow and just plain nasty. He has this awful odor; I can barely stand to get within breathing distance of him. I smell the same odor on the other two guys, Billy and James. Very original names.

  I plant my hands on my hips. “Tony,” I say simply. I am already done with these losers, and only one of them has spoken to me.

  “You’re looking very nice. The years have done you very good.” In unison all three of them look me up and down. Vomit crawls up my throat, and I take a step back. I feel very uncomfortable. Then all three of their heads snap up to look at something behind me. I peek over my shoulder, and I see Liam—and he is pissed off. He splits the distance between us and stands in front of me, his left arm in front of my body.

  Protecting me.

  The three aggressors look at him like they cannot believe what they are seeing. Tony opens his mouth and closes it while he takes a step back. “Liam, I didn’t know you was back, you home for good, man?”

  “You have five fucking seconds to leave before I wipe the floor with your faces.” Liam’s voice is full of rage, his body radiating anger. They turn around and run out of the restaurant like their asses are on fire.

  Liam looks at me. “Have they bothered you over the years?” he asks calmly, but I can tell he is anything but that.

  I shake my head. “No, I have avoided them.”

  He relaxes slightly and puts his hand on the small of my back. “You ready to go home?”

  I grab my phone off the table. “Yes.”

  He leads me out of the burger joint, and the three guys are standing outside their trucks. When they spot Liam, they jump inside.

  I laugh at their reactions. “I think you made them almost piss their pants.”

  Liam chuckles and opens my car door. “Pussies, all of them fucking pussies.”

  I put my phone down in the passenger seat, and Liam pulls out my seatbelt. “Put this on.” I click the belt into place. Liam steps away and climbs on his bike; then I am heading home.

  Oh boy.

  When I arrive home a few minutes later, I step inside the house with Liam right behind me. He’s carrying a sack that he took out of his saddle bags. I just bought this house about a month or so ago. It’s a large house and it’s gated in. All of the women in the club get a salary. It’s not as large as the guys’ salaries, because they run everything and we don’t have to work if we don’t want to. I generally love being a nurse.

  “Want to rent a movie?” I ask Liam, trying to be calm and chill, though that’s not how I feel. I am alone with him, completely and utterly alone with him for the first time since before he left. He studies me, like he can see my nervousness.

  “Anything you want,” he says.

  I let out a deep breath and throw my keys on the shelf by the door. “I am going to go change, pick any guest room you want.”

  Liam

  She is nervous, I can see it written all over her. She hurries into her bedroom, and I spot a bedroom right beside it so I throw my bag on the bed. She left her door cracked slightly, and I see her walking through her room in a pair of black lacy fucking panties.

  Fuck me.

  Turn the fuck around, Liam, don’t lose control right now and throw her across her bed. Her fully clothed is a pain but seeing her in her panties?

  Fucking cruel.

  I clench my hands, grit my teeth, and walk to the living room, and I sit down on the couch. A few minutes later, she walks out in a pair of sweats and a baggy shirt.

  I grin at the shirt because it’s the very shirt that she stole from me eight years ago. She stole a lot of my clothes.

  “Nice shirt,” I tease her and her eyes widen in surprise. She looks down and blushes deeply.

  She sits down beside me. I take the blanket off the back of the couch and cover her.

  “You remember such small details.” She smiles at me sweetly.

  I remember everything about her, everything. I have been fucking obsessed since I was seventeen years old, and looking at her now? That’s not going to change.

  Over the years I would come home and almost fall on my ass every single time I saw her. She has changed over the years, and just when I think she couldn’t get more beautiful, I am shocked all over again.

  She turns on the TV and lies on my shoulder, her arm wrapping around mine. “Tell me what is happening.”

  I don’t even want her to know this shit, but it affects her so she has to know. I don’t want this shit to touch her.

  “A cartel has moved in on the Grim Sinners’ town, but we got information that they are here too.” I am not letting her know that I tortured this information out of them. “They want our towns, to take them over and use us to pump their drugs through the entire US. They planned to get rid of us in any way necessary, and that means attacking us where it fucking hurts.”

  She freezes; I can tell she is thinking about my words. She sits up and looks at me. “They are gunning for the women and kids.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. I can see the fear in her eyes, the tremble of her lips.

  I wrap my hand around the side of her neck and face. “They will not fucki
ng touch you,” I tell her, looking her straight in the eye. They will not fucking touch her; I will fight everyone on this planet to make sure that doesn’t happen. The cartel just made the worst fucking mistake of their lives.

  One that is deadly.

  Paisley

  I pretend to be asleep. Liam is stroking the sides of my face, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. He slides to the end of the couch, his movements gentle. He wraps one arm around my back and slides the other under my knees, lifting me off the couch.

  Butterflies swarm my stomach. I can feel the strength and power radiating off of him as he carries me.

  He settles me down on the bed, pulling the blanket up under my neck. Fingers push my hair out of my face, and warm lips touch my forehead. I almost jump out of my skin, but I hold strong.

  “Good night, my love,” he whispers softly.

  A few minutes later the door is shut with a soft click. I open my eyes, press my hand over my heart and stomach, and bury my head into the pillow, giggling.

  Liam

  I can hear her giggling through the door, and I grin. Check-fucking-mate.

  3

  Paisley

  I wake up to the smell of coffee and bacon. Who is in my house? I look at the ceiling, thinking back to yesterday.

  Liam.

  He is home and in my house. He is home for good. I slide out of bed and walk into the kitchen.

  I stop instantly once I see him. Dear God, give me strength. He is shirtless, tattoos running up and down his body, the muscles in his back flexing while he plates the food.

  He turns around and looks at me, and my breath catches in my throat at the sight of his eight pack. Are those even legal? He clears his throat, and I tear my eyes away from his abs. His eyebrow arches and he smirks. Busted. I look at everything in the room but him. My face burns with embarrassment.