Liam: An Eidolon Black Ops Novel, page 7
“Would you take me to see it?”
Liam dipped his chin. “Yes, if I can.”
Taamira smiled and then looked out of the window as they drew up outside an old brick house down a long lane. She looked up and saw it was actually a converted barn with some, if not all, of the original features. The door beside her opened, and she startled as Liam poked his head in, she’d been so lost in her admiration of this property.
“This is a truly magnificent home. Are you sure the owners won’t mind us using it?”
Liam smirked and shook his head. “No, Princess, they won’t mind at all.”
Liam turned to Alex. “If you take the car back to work, I can use the one in the garage.”
“Sure thing. Give us a call later, and we can make a plan.” Liam nodded and then turned back to her. “Ready to go in?”
Taamira waved at Alex as he drove away and nodded at Liam. Just then she heard the strangest noise. Her head whipped in the direction of the braying sound and she saw a grey donkey pop his head over a fenced-off field that bordered the drive.
“Hello, gorgeous. What is your name?” Taamira moved closer, her hand stretched out to rub his big floppy ears.
“This is Digby,” Liam answered, scratching the animal under the chin.
Taamira couldn’t fight the smile, her heart light with joy at the interaction with this adorable beast. “Well, aren’t you just perfect.”
Liam laughed. “Digby is a rescue of sorts. Aren’t you, boy?”
Taamira looked sideways at Liam and saw the affection for the animal on his face. It was a side of him she hadn’t expected, and she wondered how many layers this man had that nobody or at least very few got to see.
“How do you know so much about him?”
“Because Digby is mine. He’d been abandoned by the previous owners when I bought this place. It used to be a livery yard, and when the company went into administration, they walked away and left Digby to fend for himself.”
Taamira looked at the vast fields surrounding the property with wonder anew, knowing they belonged to the man in front of her. “So, this is your home?”
He nodded and reached out to take her hand in his. “Come on, let’s go in and I can give you the tour.”
Taamira loved how small her hand was in his much larger, rougher one and the ease with which he had taken it. It was a natural reaction as if they held hands all the time, and she couldn’t help the pang in her chest that this was not her reality.
Instead, she allowed him to lead her inside. The inside was as beautiful as the outside with wooden beams, open spaces, and real oak floors. At the back of the large entryway, a floor to ceiling window gave a view over the meadows at the rear of the property. Her favourite by far though was the sunroom that led out onto a large patio area surrounded by grass. It lacked flowers, but it did allow Digby to lean his head over and join them.
“He gets lonely. I should really get him a girlfriend,” Liam said by way of an explanation for why the donkey lived so close to the house.
“It’s beautiful, Liam. Truly, this is a beautiful home. How long have you lived here?”
“About four years.” He led her back inside and filled the kettle with water as she took a seat at the large kitchen table. “I did most of the restoration work myself.”
Taamira could see the pride in his face as he picked up a book and pushed it across the table to her.
Opening it, she saw a picture of what the house had looked like before the renovation. As she turned the pages, she could see the transformation take place before her eyes. She stopped at a photo close to the beginning of the project from the look of the site and looked closer.
A man had his arm around a grinning Liam who held a pickaxe in his hand. Both men were grinning widely at Digby to the side of them who seemed to be photobombing the picture. The man she assumed was Ambrose was good looking with black skin, broad shoulders, and eyes that seemed to smile as much as his lips did. The affection between the two men was evident, and she could see just from the image how a loss like that would leave a deep wound.
“He thought I was crazy buying this place at first but when he realised that the field out back was a direct walk to his house, and Natai would be able to use all this land, he was all for it.”
“Did he work with you on any of it?” Her voice was soft as he came to sit beside her, placing a cup with tea in it in front of her.
He turned the book to him before he answered and eyed the photo. “Not really, he was killed a week after this photo was taken.”
“I am so sorry, Liam.”
“Me too. Ambrose would’ve loved this place. He saw the plans though, and I didn’t make a single change. I wanted it to be what he saw, you know. Ambrose was my brother more than my friend, as much as I love the guys at Eidolon, it’s different. Ambrose knew me back when I was nothing but a trappy asshole with holes in my shoes. We helped each other out of so many scrapes, I can’t even remember half of them.”
“That history is hard to replace,” she said sadly.
“You had that?” he asked carefully.
Taamira nodded. “I did with Abdul before life changed and he moved on to become the heir apparent to my father.”
She saw the regret cross his features and didn’t want that mood to take hold of either of them.
“Do you cook?” she asked, standing from the table, and moving to the cupboards.
Liam leaned back in his chair and watched her intently as she walked around his space. “I have four dishes I cook to perfection, and everything else is a bust.”
“What are they?”
“Beef curry, spaghetti Bolognese, full English, and beans on toast.” He counted the meals off on his fingers as he spoke.
Taamira moved closer and looked down at him as his gaze travelled slowly up her body. A shiver ran through her, and her nipples pebbled with the desperate need for his touch, at the sudden heat in his gaze.
“Beans on toast,” she said instead trying to distract herself and fighting the sudden urge to move closer and slide her ass onto his lap.
“British staple, canned beans in tomato sauce on toast.” His voice was gravelly, and she liked the fact he didn’t try to hide his desire.
“Doesn’t that make the toast wet?”
“So moist,” he said with a smirk, and she had the feeling he was not talking about toast anymore.
Taamira wanted to squeeze her thighs together to ease the sudden bolt of desire there. He moved to stand quickly, and she took a step back, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his front. Her breasts pressed up against the hardness of his chest and her eyes rose to his in surprise, her hands landing on his pecs, confirming the muscle beneath her fingers.
Liam stared at her lips, his blue eyes darkening to midnight as he did. “You can’t say words like wet to me, especially in that honey-dipped voice, treacle.”
“I cannot? Why?”
“Because it makes me think about things I shouldn’t be. Like how wet you might be if I dipped my fingers under the waistband of these trousers.”
Her heart began to beat a rapid tattoo in her chest as excitement thrummed through her body, having the exact effect he was suggesting. “Oh,” she murmured.
Liam smirked as if he could somehow tell what he was doing to her. “So, unless you want me to do that, I suggest we table talk of wet or moist things, and you stop walking around looking like fucking temptation.”
Taamira paused, considering his words. The fact was, she did want him to do those things but to say she wasn’t scared of the effect he had on her, and the ability he had to arouse her body, would be an understatement. Taamira bit her lip not knowing what to say.
Liam groaned. “Treacle, are you trying to kill me?
“No, of course not, and I wasn’t trying to be a temptation.”
“I know that, treacle. But with you looking like you do, and being the person you are and having you in my space, it’s enough to make me want to break every rule in the book and say fuck it and let the chips land where they do.”
Taamira liked his words and how they gave her confidence, as if she were beautiful and worthy.
“Shall we order in?”
Liam grinned and released her with a squeeze to her hip that was more of a caress. “Menus are in the third draw down on the left, Princess.”
Taamira watched him walk towards his office before he turned his head back to her. “I have to make some calls. Just order whatever you want and get me the same.”
She watched him disappear and turned to the drawer, and for the first time in her life, she was going to order food for another person. She found she liked the idea of taking care of someone; especially when that person was Liam.
Chapter Eleven
Liam pushed himself through one more set of goblet squats before he lowered the weight and wiped his face with a towel. He’d swapped out with Blake and Decker early this morning. He knew the Princess slept late after taking a sleeping pill, just one more thing he knew about her that perhaps he shouldn’t. His attraction to her was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, but more than that, so was the reason for it.
Watching her in his home last night as she puttered around his kitchen, she had seemed a world away from the Princess that was demanding and haughty. She had been sweet, listening to him, taking an interest in his home, his past. Ordering him food. Although thinking of that had him smiling inwardly.
He’d forgotten Taamira was who she was and in doing so had let down his guard, which was why he’d ended up with a fridge full of leftover Chinese food when she’d ordered enough for a banquet. It was also why he’d needed to escape, clear his mind, and use exercise to maintain his focus.
Last night he’d been so close to kissing her, to taking her hand and leading her to his bedroom and making her his in every way possible. Only her innocence had stopped him, and even that almost wasn’t enough when she looked at him as if she wanted to eat him.
She’d laughed, her eyes widening when the food was delivered, and she had realised how much food she’d bought. Liam had found it endearing, especially when she had tried to brazen it out by saying she was hungry and then tried to eat all of it. He’d sat back in his chair and grinned as she ate slower and slower, each mouthful becoming torturous before he’d taken pity on her, laughing, and taking the plate away.
Taamira had flopped her head on the table and groaned. “I am so full. I may never eat ever again.”
Liam had cleared away their plates and packed away the food into containers in the fridge. “I forgot you’re pampered, Princess. I should’ve ordered the food.” He’d not meant anything by it, but when she went silent, he’d looked over and seen the hurt on her face.
“I cannot help how I was raised any more than anyone else can, but I am willing to learn new things, experience change, which is more than some can say.”
Liam crossed to stand by her chair, lifting her chin with two fingers, so her gaze met his. “I’m sorry, treacle, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know you did not, but it is dawning on me how much of the real world I have never seen. How different I am from everyone else, and I do not like it. I sometimes wish with all my heart that I was born into a normal family. That I could have gone to college to become whatever I wanted to be.”
He’d looked at her and his chest tightened painfully at the melancholy look in her dark eyes. “I think everyone goes through that at some point. Sometimes more than once. I know I was lost for a long time when Ambrose died. I didn’t know if I was in the right job, the right country, the right life.”
“How did you find your way?”
Liam took a seat beside her. “My friends stood by me. Not just Eidolon, but Zack, Zin, Nate, Skye, Celeste, Pax, and now Callie. In fact, the girls were the best. They offered me a different perspective than the guys. Showed me it was okay to grieve and to take time to find my path.”
“They seem very wise.”
“They are pains in my ass, but I love them dearly. It’s like having lots of little sisters. I’ll see if we can arrange for you to meet them while we’re here.”
It was seeing the joy on her face that he realised how deep he was getting, because he could see himself falling for this woman.
The door to the gym opened, and Alex walked in.
The Cuban saw him and headed over. “Spot me?” he asked, pointing to the bench.
“Sure.” Liam waited as Alex warmed up and had settled himself before he stood behind him. “Any word from Bás or Gunner?” Liam asked, wondering if they were any closer to having an answer on who the real threat to them was.
Alex’s jaw tightened at the question. Bás was an unknown entity, and nobody was clear on who he was or where his loyalties really lay. Liam suspected they were with himself, but at this point, they had little choice but to work with him. Alex had a particular grudge against Bás, who’d been going by another name at the time, had tortured Evelyn, his fiancée and lost love.
“Nothing so far but Lopez is tracking Gunner, who is doing everything he said he was going to.”
“Well, we do have his sister, so he has an incentive to cooperate,” Liam pointed out.
“True and we don’t know what Bás’ weak spot is, or even if that’s a name he goes by. Will hasn’t found him, and that means this fucker is so deep he probably can’t remember his own name.”
“It’s gonna be a long game.”
Alex grunted as he lifted the bar, sweat rolling down his arms. “Talking of which, what’s going on with you and the Princess?”
Liam tensed at the question, his back snapping straight. “Nothing’s going on.”
“You sure about that? Certainly looked like something to me.”
“She trusts me is all.”
“And you?”
“Fuck, Alex, what is this?” Liam bit out as Alex swung his legs around and sat up.
“Are you fucking her?”
“No, I’m not fucking her, and I object to the accusation.” Liam paced angrily, guilty that he’d wanted to fuck her and indignation that Alex thought so little of him combining.
“Just an observation.”
“As a boss or a friend?”
Alex shrugged. “Both.”
“Well as a friend, fuck you and mind your own goddamn business, and as a boss, then no, sir, I’m being a good little boy.”
Alex stood then, and glared at Liam. He was a couple of inches taller than him, but Liam was fucking furious.
“You’ve never wanted me as a boss,” Alex snapped.
Liam stayed silent for a second because it was the truth, but not because he had anything against Alex. He was a great operator, fantastic guy, and good leader. The calm to Jack’s storm. The fact was, Liam resented that he had taken Ambrose’s place and that would have been the same for anyone. It made no sense, it was unfair, but it was what it was.
Liam was angry now though and let rip when he should have bit his tongue. “You’re right, I don’t want you as a boss. You’re not half the man Ambrose was or half the leader,” Liam bellowed.
“Glad we understand each other, brother,” Alex snapped and walked towards the door before he turned back. “Just remember this, you’re not the only person who lost a friend when Ambrose died. We all miss him, but some of us don’t go around blaming the fucking world and burying ourselves in pity. Some of us have been through similar pain you have and come out the other side, learned to embrace what we do have, not what we lost.”
With that, Alex walked out leaving Liam with a bucket load of guilt and regret. But, also with a realisation that perhaps he had wronged Alex and maybe his other friends.
His phone buzzed, and Blake’s name lit up the screen. Liam sighed, wanting a few minutes to get his shit together before the next drama hit, he rubbed his eyes, tired to his bones the last few days. Instead, he answered. “Yeah.”
“We have a situation.”
“What now?”
“Taamira got a call, freaked out, locked herself in her room, and won’t talk to us.”
Liam was walking to the door as Blake spoke, urgency in his step. “What number did it come in on?”
“Her personal mobile.”
“Do we know who from?” Liam slid into his truck, still in his gym gear as he questioned Blake.
“No, she won’t give us the phone to check. All I know is she was trying to make tea in the kitchen when the call came. She took it before we could stop her and went very pale before she ran to her room and locked the door.”
“Don’t fucking leave her alone. Lock my doors and secure the grounds. If anyone traced the call, they may locate where she is.”
Liam hung up and pressed his foot to the accelerator, taking the corners faster than he should. He slammed his hand on the horn when a tractor tried to pull out and overtook him to the sound of horns blaring.
He should’ve checked to see if she’d had a mobile. He hadn’t, and that was on him, but by God, he wouldn’t make any more mistakes.
He swerved into his drive five minutes later and was out of the vehicle before he’d completely stopped. He marched to his door, ignoring Digby, and was met by Blake and Decker.
“She in her room?” Decker nodded, and the two men went to follow, so he took a moment to stop and turn back to them. “I want a bug put on Prince Abdul’s phone. I don’t care how we do it, but I want it done.”
“On it,” Blake said, lifting his phone, no doubt to call Will. Lopez was good, very good, but Will, Jack’s brother, was a fucking genius with technology.
“Deck, can you run me a profile? I want to know what type of person would go after the Princess in this way. Who the threats may be. My mark is the brother, but in case I’m missing something, can you put one together for me?”
“Yes, I can do that, but it’ll be basic until we know more. Finding out who that was, or at least what they said, would give us more information.”
“Will do.”
Liam stopped at her door and took a deep breath to calm himself. He was desperate to see she was okay, but he needed to remain the calm one and not let her see he was freaking out. “Treacle, it’s me. Open up the door.” He knocked loudly and waited what seemed endless minutes for her to answer.
