Chapter 30
SHANE
I wake up to the soft snoring in my ear and the warm body beneath me… Beneath me! Startled, I carefully lift my head to avoid waking Liam. I don’t remember literally climbing onto his body to sleep. Then I realize, looking down, that my breasts are exposed, that we’re both naked, and I can feel Liam’s morning hardness trapped between us. Something inside me softens at the sight of such intimacy between us. I observe his beautiful face, relaxed with his lips slightly parted; he looks so calm and peaceful, and I can’t help but smile as I contemplate him, recalling rather the best moments of the night before. Just the thought of that night makes me blush.
What an amazing night!
Night?!
I turn my head to the side so quickly that I get a little dizzy; the morning sunlight filters through the open windows. Shit, I fell asleep! What time is it? My stomach chooses that very moment to remind me that it’s been upset every morning for the past couple of days. Not wanting to wake Liam, I slip off his body from the side of the bed and rush to the bathroom, kneeling on the cold floor in front of the toilet, just in time to vomit everything from the night before. The retching hits my stomach as I empty it out.
“Shane?” Liam’s deep, hoarse voice, due to sleep, echoes in the huge bathroom. I shake my head in desperation while trying to hold back the waves of nausea that engulf me.
When I finally manage to speak, I say:
“No, please don’t come in here. Go away, I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“Are you sick?”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. This has been happening to me for a couple of days. I need to make a doctor’s appointment.”
“Of course.” Now his voice is much closer. I don’t hear him move; his hands gather my hair into a high bun, holding it up with one hand while the other rests on my forehead, which is practically buried in the toilet. I finish emptying everything from my stomach and, when I can’t take it anymore, I drop onto the cold marble floor.
Before I have time to say anything, he picks me up in his arms, carrying me to the double sink, placing me in between them on the black marble countertop. His beautiful face is frowning as he examines me.
“Don’t look at me, please. I know I must look terrible.”
“Do you really think I care about that? To me, you’re still beautiful, no matter how you look.”
Any phrase I’m about to utter dies on my lips when he leans in and kisses my forehead. Then he goes to grab a small towel from the shelf, where other towels are located; he turns on the faucet and wets one, passing it over my face to refresh me. He grabs a cup from the sink, fills it with water, and brings it to my lips for me to rinse. It’s strange to think that I was the one who decorated every corner of this penthouse, and I know everything in it. Without saying a word, I do everything he asks me in silence, and I’m even more surprised when I see him take his toothbrush. He puts toothpaste on it and, without further ado, brings the brush to my lips. I look at him with a poker face.
“I can do that.”
“And? Open your mouth, little wolf. Let me take care of you.”
My heart does a somersault. No one has ever done something like this for me. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in a relationship. I open my mouth and let him brush my teeth as if I were a little girl; the last time this happened, I’m sure I was about two years old and it was my mother doing it. I let him brush my teeth, and once we’re done, he proceeds to do the same with his. He washes his face, and when he finishes, he looks at me again, his blue eyes shining.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Apart from the fact that you’re divinely naked and you’re teasing me, nothing.” The tone of devotion in his voice awakens strange things in my body, but the embarrassment of being naked in front of him overwhelms me, so I try to grab a towel to cover myself. But he positions himself between my legs, preventing me from doing anything-. “I didn’t say that for you to try to hide from me. That no longer exists. You’re mine as much as I am yours. I don’t want there to be any kind of shame between us.”
“Liam.” I barely manage to whisper his name when he leans in and kisses me, not caring that I threw up seconds before, which reminds me that I didn’t flush the toilet. But, like the softy I am, I let myself get carried away by his ardor and surrender in his arms.
“I’m sorry for hurting you.” He whispers over my lips, his eyes fixed on me. Meanwhile, my gaze is blurry and dazed. This causes me to take a moment to understand what he says.
“What? No, you didn’t. In fact, I feel incredibly good, aside from the vomiting.”
“Here.” He touches my shoulder, where I vaguely remember he bit me; his light touch there makes me shiver. I turn slightly to see myself in the mirror, and sure enough, there’s a red spot in that area with the marks of his teeth, deeper in the corners. But I can’t see anything else. Then, when I lift my eyes, I find a very pale and sweaty face with brown eyes flecked with green that sparkle with excitement. How horrible do I look! I quickly look away from the mirror, turning back to Liam.
“I’ll be fine. The skin isn’t perforated or anything. It’s just the marks of your teeth and a little redness; nothing that won’t fade in a couple of days.”
“Are you okay with that? Are we okay? You’re not upset?” I smile tenderly at his concern. I take his face in my hands and pull him close to give him a light kiss on the lips.
“We’re okay.”