“Oh, man, that was good.” Kim lay against his shoulder trying to get her breath. Laughter didn’t help.
Liam ran his fingers through her hair. “Not what I had in mind, but not bad.”
“What do you mean, not bad?”
Liam regarded her with half-closed predator’s eyes. “I told you, I wanted to take it slow. Love you like you deserve. Not screwing you quick-time on a kitchen counter.”
Kim kissed the tip of his nose. “I didn’t mind. Not at all. Maybe you noticed?”
“I want to give you so much.” Liam’s hold tightened into a hard embrace. “So much, Kim. Everything I once had, everything I lost. I want it back—for you.”
She heard Liam’s heart beating rapidly beneath her ear, and her own heart squeezed. His declarations scared her. She could dismiss his words as those of a man happy he’d just gotten into a woman’s pants, words that would evaporate as soon as he was sated. Except the throbbing of his heart was from more than physical exertion. His voice held uncertainty, a longing he feared he couldn’t fulfill.
Kim ran her fingers along the hard plane of his chest. “You don’t need to do anything for me.”
“Don’t be daft, woman. I take care of you now. I want to do everything for you.”
She shook her head. “I take care of myself. I have a decent job and a nice house. That’s more than a lot of people have.”
“Before we took the Collar, a man took his mate home to his family and sequestered her. He did everything for her, hunted for her, kept her warm and fed and comfortable, pampered her in every way.”
“Really? I guess you hadn’t ever heard of women’s rights.”
“Not in the nineteenth century, love.” Liam smiled. “Not sequestered as in kept in prison. Sequestered as in protected from all others. Female Shifters have always been in short supply, and we had to keep them from being stolen by other Shifters. The mate bond is sacrosanct, but when times were bad, other males stopped caring about sacrosanct.” He cradled Kim closer. “So I have to fight my instincts not to lock you somewhere safe and beat off everyone from even looking at you.”
Kim had never considered herself a precious object before. Certainly Abel had never treated her as more than a convenience, and men she’d dated earlier in life hadn’t been much better. Her relationships had been the “friends with benefits” kind. No true, undying love, no I want to take care of you and protect you for the rest of our lives.
Kim had spent enough time taking care of herself that having someone want to relieve her of the burden felt strange, though nice. She wasn’t going to let Liam do it, but the feeling was still nice.
Liam swung her into his arms and rolled to his feet at the same time. Kim found herself against his chest with her head on his shoulder, Liam striding toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Taking you upstairs where we belong. I’m tired of fighting my instincts.”
A pleasant shiver went through her. “What does that mean?”
His eyes were white-blue when he looked down at her, his pupils changing. “I’m going to love you all night, my mate. On a bed. I’m going to love you until we can’t stand up.”
If Abel had said that, Kim would have rolled her eyes or thought about what unsatisfying work that would be. When Liam said it, her whole body came alive.
To tease him, she said, “I really should look at my case files.”
The look Liam gave her was savage. “Screw your case files.”
Kim laughed. Liam growled and sprinted up the last of the stairs, slammed into the bedroom and tossed her on the bed. As her clothes came off, then his, Kim gave in. For one night of her life, she was going to enjoy making wild, crazy love with a man who promised to make it unforgettable, no matter what might come in the morning.
It was Sean’s turn to cook breakfast, and Liam grabbed a plateful of pancakes from him as the sun poured through the eastern windows. “Kim will be down in a minute.”
Sean sent him an annoyed look with bloodshot eyes. “I’m thinking of soundproofing your room.”
“The sounds of loving bother you that much, do they?” Liam asked him.
“It does when you’re shouting all night.”
Connor grinned from his place at the table. “I had to wear headphones with the music cranked up. It barely drowned you out.”
“You gobshites are just jealous. Where’s Dad?”
Sean slammed the spatula to the counter. “Where do you think?”
Next door. With Glory. Good. “Do you begrudge your old dad getting some?” Liam asked Sean in a light voice. “A grateful son you are.”
“Sean’s pissed because he’s not getting any,” Connor said. “I don’t mind because I’m still too young and innocent to know what it all means.”
“Bullshit,” Sean growled.
Connor laughed at him. Liam clapped Sean on the shoulder and turned away with his breakfast. “You’ll find a mate someday, Sean. Then we’ll make fun of the noise from your room.”
Sean gave him a dark look and went back to his batter. His bad mood was about more than Liam keeping him awake. Sean had been ready to lay down his life for them yesterday, and that hadn’t been an easy thing for him to do.
Liam started to sit down, then felt the unmistakable presence of Kim coming down the stairs. Smelled her as well, all fresh from her shower. She wore a casual skirt and sleeveless shirt, her legs bare, feet in strappy, high-heeled sandals.
“Are those pancakes?” she asked. “I’m starving.”
Liam drew her into his arms. He’d woken with her in his arms not an hour ago, and hadn’t that been the best feeling in the world? Liam nuzzled her cheek, then kissed her lips.
Kim smiled up at him. “Pancakes are that good, are they?”
“Sean’s almost as good a cook as me. Come and sit.”
Connor got out of his chair as Kim approached, and Liam gave him a nod. Kim looked startled as Connor wrapped his lanky arms around her, ending his sloppy hug with a kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning, Kim,” he said as he released her.
“Good morning to you too. I—” Her speech cut off as Sean stepped up and gave her a more practiced hug, tight squeeze, a rub on the back, a kiss to her hair.
“You like blueberry, Kim?” Sean asked, as he released her and turned back to the stove.