REDEMPTION | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

His casualness confounded me. "Aren't you supposed to be at the club?"

"Later." He fell onto his back, bringing me with him. "I wanted to spend the day with you."

"You want to spend the day—with me," I repeated, eyeing him sceptically. "Why?" Demeaning understanding dawned on me. "No, don't pretend you care or feel sorry for me, Liam. I am not a liability; I am not suicidal." I tried to climb off him, but his hold on me tightened. "I don't need twenty-four-hour surveillance because you think I might try and top myself again. It was a moment of weakness."

"Shut up." His hand curled around my throat, drawing me close. "You like putting words in my goddamn mouth. I am here for you," he emphasised, his rough, resolute voice scattering horripilation across my warm skin. "Yes, I am concerned. I want to know why you lashed out last night." He abruptly rolled me beneath him, his hips nudging my thighs apart so that he could settle between them. "I know you," he whispered against my lips. "Something happened. You only lose yourself when triggered."

Again, he rendered me speechless.

"Your friend left early for work." His hand applied pressure to my throat. "Do not panic. Chloe did not see me." Our lips brushed. "I have you all to myself."

I outlined his features with curious eyes. "What's happening? Why are you here, Liam? In fact, why did you come over yesterday?" I prattled question after question. "How did you know...?"

"I knew nothing," he said angrily. "I swung by to see you. What does it matter? Do you wish I hadn't? Do you wish I had walked away and let you achieve?"

My blood boiled. "I told you, I am not suicidal—"

"No, you simply tried to drown yourself for sport," he spat, collapsing onto the mattress beside me. "Fucking hell."

My heart wedged in my chest. "I am embarrassed," I admitted, chewing my thumbnail. "I didn't want you to see me like that."

Liam propped onto one elbow and splayed a hand across my stomach. His eyes avoided mine. "I am an envied and despised man by many," he said, his fingertips tracing my navel. "Whoever amalgamates with me immediately has a target on their back. Since establishing the syndicate, I have lost many men over the years."

He was opening up. "Liam..."

"I swore to myself a long time ago that women were nothing but a means to an end." His eyes sought mine. "I don't need a weakness, Alexa." My breath held. "It's life-threatening. We discussed this already, haven't we?"

I was unable to control full-blown hypertension. I didn't need vocalised confirmation. He bore his adoration in those deep-set eyes, no matter how much he tried to deny it. "Do you admit that you might care about me?"

He gave me a pointed look. "You know, I do."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Well, you have a funny way of showing it, Liam. Do you expect me to believe I'm special? You ditched Christmas arrangements to be with Cherry."

"I never touched her." He seemed repulsed by the accusation. "I do, however, want to touch you."

"Liam," I warned, shoving his chest as he climbed over me. "I am not sleeping with you."

His confident smirk irked me. "Are you sure?" He cupped me between the thighs, pressing the heel of his hand against my sex. "I can make it good for you."

"You still haven't answered my question." I breathed through my nose. "You skirt around it to avoid giving me straight answers."

His lips taunted the shell of my ear. "What was the question?"