*Liam*I settled into the plush leather seat of my sleek, black Audi A8 limousine, feeling the soft cushioning envelop me. The sleek line and polished interior of the car felt luxurious, yet familiar. I brushed a hand over the leather seat and patted it softly, feeling a smile tug at my lips. “How are you doing, Nova,” I cooed at it. “Longest time, bet you missed me.”Ryder flashed me a look as he also slipped into the back seat beside me. “Please, don't tell me you were just talking to your car, Liam.” he groaned.“What?” I laughed and adjusted my jacket so it wouldn't crease. “I was saying hello to Nova since it has been a while.”Ryder sighed and shook his head in pity. “Your fans are not going to believe that you actually talk to your cars,” he tsked. “Who even names a car in this age and time?”“I do,” I retorted with a smirk. I ran a quick look over him, looking for the flask. “Where is it? Don't tell me you forgot it.”He just casually produced the flask from beside him and pa
*Vivienne*I exhaled and glanced down at my arm which was currently in a sling—it was changed yesterday. The pain and swelling has gone down a bit but I'm still unable to make any movement that will strain it. I pressed a finger to my sides, trying to access the amount of damage done to my ribs and only let out a tiny wince. Somehow, staying at this hospital for a week has aided in my speedy recovery. The sound of the door opening made me raise my head in that direction just as Liam and Dr. Wilton walked in with Nurse Salinger trailing behind them. “Hey there, Angel eyes,” Liam uttered with a chipper tone, his trademark smile on his lips. My immediate response was to roll my eyes. “What are you still doing here?” I muttered dryly even as I felt myself relaxing under his playful stare. Something about him puts me at ease just by being in his presence but hell is gonna freeze over before I tell him that. “Why? Did you miss me?” he said and pressed a hand to his chest. He walked ove
*Vivienne*It has been over three hours since I spotted the bracelet in the picture and my mind has been racing with thoughts ever since. Liam, on the other hand, seemed like he had not noticed the bracelet and I could understand why.The bracelet was tightly clenched in the driver's hand and it could go unnoticed if you just took a swift glance at the picture. But I had spotted it first and I couldn't even wrap my head around what was going on. What was the bracelet doing there in the driver's apartment in the first place?Why would…“No, no,” I muttered slowly to myself ,and shook my head to get rid of the speculations brewing in my mind. For what reason would she do that in the first place? And to me?I stole a quick peek at Liam where he sat lounging in his normal position on the sofa, and I sighed. Should I tell him or not?I opened my mouth to call him but at the last moment, my gaze fell on my sprained right hand and I promptly closed my mouth. No, I have to approach this
*Vivienne*The car finally came to a stop in front of my apartment building and I quickly took a scan of the environment. Nothing much had changed. The building still looked the same. My neighborhood wasn't Beverly hills nor Malibu but it was mostly crime free… Well, not until I was ran into a week ago.“This is where you live?” Liam asked, there was no hint of disgust in his voice, just genuine curiosity.“Yup,” I replied, popping the ‘P’ at the end. “This is me.”“I have never been to this side of the county. It looks… different,” he commented, his eyes dancing from one structure to the other.I scoffed out a laugh. “From Beverly hills and the rest? Yes I know. Not everyone can afford Beverly Hills or Malibu.”He turned to look at me, his eyes gleaming. “I didn't mean that in a condescending way,” he clarified, his voice steady. “I have been to places worse than this. I run a foundation, remember?”I broke eye contact with him and focused it instead on the building outside. Being
*Vivienne*The silence in the car was killing me but I still pressed my lips shut and continued to look out the window as we sped past gigantic buildings.“Are you okay?” Liam asked, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.“Hmm,” I murmured, and finished it off with a tiny nod.“Should we drop by at the hospital?” he continued.I scoffed. “Why would I need to drop by at the hospital?” I countered. “It's not like I was attacked or even worst, ran over by another car.”“Your arm,” he responded. “You threw it around my neck like it wasn't injured. We should go and check it up at the hospital.”I looked down at the said arm. I'd almost forgotten about the sling. “I'm fine. My arm is fine too. The pain has reduced considerably so I'm even thinking about taking it off tomorrow.”For some minutes, no response came from Liam. I was tempted to at least glance at him but I gritted my teeth and fixated my gaze out the window.“Are you not going to look at me?” he muttered. “It's kind of weir
*Liam*“You drove by yourself!” Ryder exclaimed the moment I stepped out of my car and slammed the door shut.I arched a brow at him. “Yes, I drove.”Ryder pressed his lips into a firm hard line, his displeasure evident with the way he aggressively pushed his glasses up his nose. “I thought we agreed on laying off driving for the meantime?”I shook my head adamantly. “I did not agree to such a thing,” I said and slapped the roof of my Aston Martin. “I love driving and it's like I'm going to collapse behind the wheel. Man! Give me some credits, I'm already taking my medications without fail.”Ryder gave me a long resigned look. “Why does it always seem like I'm the only one worried about you?” he sighed.I chuckled and patted his shoulder. “You are my manager, of course you should worry about me,” I intoned. Ryder shook my hands off his shoulder and glared at me. “Com'on, Julian is already waiting for us,” he murmured and began to walk into the massive building in front of us.I exhal
*Vivienne*The house is deathly quiet and all that could be heard was the sound of Mr. Gibbons' feet shuffling across the house. Was this where Liam has been living? He must have been lonely. Wait… catching myself right on time, I reared back. “Whoa, whoa, why am I worried about him right now?” I muttered under my breath. Shaking my head, I stood up from where I had remained seated ever since I came into this room and wandered towards the bed.The bed was huge and inviting. It was drowned in silk sheets in the richest hues of cream and burgundy. Clenching and unclenching my fists, I finally gave in to my urges and dove on the bed. For a moment, I just laid there, luxuriating in the heavenly texture of silk against my skin. But then, the sudden knock that landed on the door had me bolting to my feet. I cleared my throat and waited for the person to enter but no one came in. I blinked in confusion but then remembered that I actually had to allow the person in. I cleared my throat
*Vivienne*I was literally drowning in a material that felt luxurious and comfortable.But what jerked me awake from my peaceful sleep was the feeling of a strange, damp sensation on my cheek. Reflexively, I reached out a hand, expecting to encounter a pillow or perhaps a stray lock of my own hair. Instead, my fingertips met a wet, cold nose that was far too close for comfort.My eyes flew open, and I jolted upright, my heart pounding as a high pitched scream escaped my lips. Looming over me, mere inches from my face, was the large, furry head of a golden retriever. The dog's warm, amber eyes were fixed intently on me, its tongue lolling out in an almost playful expression. "Gah!" I exclaimed, recoiling in shock. "What on earth—?" The sudden movement startled the dog, causing it to let out a surprised bark. I scrambled backwards, tangling myself in the bedsheets as I tried to put some distance between us. Where did this canine intruder come from? And how had it ended up so brazenl
*Vivienne*“No,” he said, cutting me off. “You are actually the first woman I'm doing this for.”I felt a squeeze in my heart at his words and I slowly threw my head to the side, unable to look him in the eye. The cleaning movement at my lower body subsided and then stopped altogether. I felt him reaching for my face even before his cold hands grasped my chin and turned my head back to him. “Why? You don't believe me?” he asked softly as stared into my eyes. Fuck! Those eyes look like they are piercing into my soul. I quickly ran my tongue over my dry lips. “No, I—” I paused and counted to five in my head. “No, I do believe you,” I added. Liam's gaze remained rooted on my face and then he chuckled. “You are really a bad liar, Angel eyes,” he said, his voice light with humor. He brushed his thumb across my left eyebrow. “Your left eye twitches like crazy whenever you're lying. I've told you before, right?”How did he even manage to pick up on that?Embarrassed at being caught at m
*Vivienne*Remember when I said we were far from being done tonight? Yup… turns out I couldn't have been more right. Cause tell me why almost an hour later, we are still going at it like some dog in heat. And hey, it's not that I'm complaining or anything but if this man doesn't stop pounding my pussy any minute from now, I might actually pass out from excessive stimulation and pleasure. It was as if he was determined to make sure that I indeed pass out. “F—fuck, Liam,” I moaned as I felt his cock leaving my pussy. The bedsheets were clenched tightly in my hands, my teeth digging into my lower lip and almost drawing blood. I could feel him everywhere— my breasts, stomach, between my thighs and deep in my pussy. His taste was in my mouth. His scent was in my nostrils. His breathing, as rough and ragged as mine, resonated in my ears. I was so intimately aware of him. He thrusts back into my pussy at his languid pace and I could feel myself combusting at his fingertips. The smell
*Vivienne*Everything had happened at the speed of light that it almost gave me whiplash. From trying to push Liam away, to bickering away like some lovers and then it somehow wants to end with me naked and writhing underneath him. Everything had been going so well, Liam sure does know his way around a woman's body. He knows exactly what to do or touch to make you come undone. At least that was until he brushed his fingers across my scar and I had tensed. It's actually kind of crazy how I had almost forgotten that it was there in the first place. “Just pretend it's not there,” I blurted out, feeling desperate to take his attention away from there. I knew that Liam had seen me undressed before and he had also seen the ugly looking scar but it still doesn't erase the fact that I was afraid that he might find it upsetting or off-putting.The scar wasn't exactly what you would call a neat work. Back then, I was too busy trying to cut down on money that the hospital meant nothing to m
*Liam*Wanting to take my time and savor her this time, I molded my mouth to hers, exploring the soft, sensual curves of her lips. She trembled beneath me in response. Scooping an arm around her waist, I drew her even more closer and relished the melting warmth that rushed between us. I groaned deeply in my throat, my hand sliding up the side of her face before it latched onto her throat while my other other hand found its way to her lush butt. I grabbed a cheek, my fingertips digging into the lush softness. God, this ass was going to be my weakness. It was shapely and was just enough for me to dig my fingers into… just the way I like 'em.She let out a low moan of pleasure as I parted her lips with my tongue and delved inside, ravishing her mouth and staking my claim. Passion and need fused as one and created a sharp, splintering ache in his loins, making my cock harden. I traced my tongue over her lips and licked the inner seam, she shivered, mindlessly rocking her hips against
*Liam*“Do you want me to? Do you really want me to leave you alone, Angel eyes?” I asked her, my eyes darting across her face in search of the answer. Vivienne stared at me, a certain look of sadness creeping into her eyes before it disappeared. She averted her eyes and quickly stood up making me take a step back. “Yes,” she muttered. My fists clenched by my sides. “Look at me in the eyes and say it, Angel eyes,” I demanded as I breached the gap between us, getting into her personal space. I was done having her push me away for no reason. As I stared down at her, I could see her pulse beating wildly in the small hollow of her neck but yet she refused looking at me. In desperation, I grabbed her arm and drew her even closer to my body. “Answer me, Angel eyes.”She twisted her arm in my hold. “Get your hands off me, Liam,” she muttered. I tightened them instead. “Answer me, Angel eyes,” I said. Huffing out one deep breath, she finally yanked out her arm and fell a step back. She
*Liam*“Yoo, Pryce! Where the fuck are you?” Ryder's voice thundered, the car speakers resounding with his voice. “I told you where I was going, didn't I?” I answered with my eyes fixed on the road before me. I then pressed a button on the steering wheel to reduce the volume of the speakers. “No! I don't actually mean where,” he said, backtracking a little bit. “Why the fuck did you take the car without the driver?”With a small turn of my wrists on the steering wheel, I navigated a curve and turned onto the highway. “He was wasting my time, man,” I muttered. There was a brief moment of silence where Ryder breathed in deeply and that was when I knew that his tolerance range for me today was perhaps not that high. “But. That. Doesn't. Mean. You. Had. Drive. By. Yourself,” he gritted out, punctuating each word. I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug even though he couldn't see me. “I think I can manage driving to the hotel without fainting.”“And that's the fucking point!” he expl
*Liam*I am standing in front of the windows in my office, overlooking the city below. It has been three days since I returned to Los Angeles and a week since I had seen her. My heart began to ache again as it has always done for the past few days whenever I think of her. Sighing deeply, I rubbed a hand over the spot but it continued to throb even more persistently.It almost felt like we have been separated for a lifetime and not just some few days. Each breath I took was laced with the memory of her laughter— the ones I'd shared with her. More than once in a day, I would recall the way her eyes genuinely sparked when she was happy, or the way the tip of her nose wrinkled when she was honestly annoyed with me or even how her left eye twitches whenever she was lying. It even reached a point where every corner of the house held fragments of her presence so much that I had to relocate to another room.And just when I thought it wouldn't get any worse, she proceeded to hunt me in my
*Vivienne*My heart plummeted. The world around me faded into a blur; the lazy conversation of both my employees and the customers , the distant hum of traffic down the street—all drowned out by the pounding of my pulse in my ears.“No… no, do…don't tell me,” I stammered, my voice trembling. “Oh yes, I did,” he replied, the glee in his tone sending chills down my spine. “It wasn't an easy feat by the way, I had to spend tons of hours drafting my plan. But then, after that, everything else was just easy peasy.”A wave of nausea washed over me, making me feel light headed. I felt myself going weak at the knees which then prompted me to lean against the table, my hands found its way up my neck as it closed up making it hard for me to breath. “Should I tell you what happened?” he continued, his voice thick and low with amusement. “Of course I should, it's your mother we are talking about here.”He was enjoying this. That sick bastard was enjoying this.“Like I said earlier, it wasn't a
*Vivienne*My brows met together in a deep frown. “What?”Mrs. Pryce glanced at me. “He didn't tell you, did he?” he whispered in a small voice. “Typical.”What the hell was this woman saying?Clause?Relationship?I shook my head. “No, I mean, why are you so sure that Liam and I are in a relationship?”Sure, we have indulged in a hardcore foreplay and make out session but that doesn't mean we were in a relationship… right?Mrs. Pryce glanced at me, amusement glinting in her eyes. “You are so naive, Ms. Reynolds, and it's not even a cute look on you,” she said. “Relationships don't usually entail that you have to put a label on whatever you guys are doing. The tabloids and newspapers are living proof that you guys are living together and possibly fucking each other's brains out. That's the only conviction that the board of directors and shareholders would see and hold.”I frowned, my mind snagging on one thing she's said. “Tabloids and newspapers? I don't remember any articles—”“That