Begin Again novel Chapter 183

"Stop right there!" Liam barked at her, his footsteps rapidly treading behind her as Eden quickened her pace, trying to outrun him.

She thanked her lucky stars when the elevator dinged open, and she squeezed inside and jabbed the button to close it quickly. But she wasn't fast enough. He shot his arm through the small gap just as the doors were about to slide in place.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She yelled at him. "You could have gotten hurt."

"Good, I'm glad to see you care!" He growled as he pushed her to the corner and kissed her fiercely, almost as if he was punishing her for everything she had put him through over the past few days.

She tried to resist and push him away. But her heart screamed at her to not even dare. Mad as she was at him, it couldn't go one more day without him, and her body agreed as she pressed closer, begging for more of his wicked tongue.

For a little while, they were spellbound, swept up in their passion as they cried and clawed at each other's clothes.

Liam pulled away from her long enough to take off his jacket and throw it over the camera in the corner before he reached for her again. He pulled her dress up and pushed her panties aside while she worked his zipper, and within seconds he was inside her, fucking her lights out.

"Princess!" He grunted, the angle of his thrusts threatening to send her into a premature orgasm.

"Don't call me that," she moaned, winding her legs around his waist. "What does it even mean?"

"It means you're mine," He groaned as he sought her mouth once more, his strokes as unrelenting as his lips as he drove her wild with his devil cock.

"What the hell is wrong with your phone? I called you for two fucking days. Why didn't you return any of my calls?" He demanded as he increased his pace, sending tiny stars shooting behind her eyes.

She clung to him, whimpering as hunger she hadn't known for days rocked her body, "I didn't want to talk to you. I'm still upset."

"You drive me fucking insane with your stubbornness!" He grabbed her jaw with one hand while the other glued her hips to his, leaving her breathless with another searing kiss.

"You bastard!" Eden wailed on his shoulder, clutching a fistful of his hair as her orgasm hit her hard.

"I'm your bastard, Princess!" He fired right back as he, too, slammed into her a couple of times before he went rigidly still, groaning on her neck. "And you'll be the death of me."

It's called a quickie for a reason, Eden thought as she held on to Liam, trying to catch her breath.

Their whole encounter couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, seven at most, but she was oddly fulfilled and a little less frustrated.

As thoroughly ravished and blissfully numb as she was, though, her anger couldn't stay gone forever. But she wasn't sure who she was mad at the most. Herself, for acting like a horny toad, or Liam for pushing her beyond her limits and then subduing her with his dick.

"Are you okay?" He asked when he set her down and gently brushed her messy hair from her face before he kissed her forehead.

Eden laughed bitterly as she hurriedly fixed her dress while he threw on his jacket. "You backed me into a corner, set your dogs loose on me and now you dare and ask me if I'm okay?"

"We'll talk tonight," Liam leaned in, kissed her hard and grabbed her hand, and pressed one of the buttons on the panel. And only when the doors slid open, Eden noticed they were still in The Ballroom.

She averted her gaze and focused all her attention on her shoes when they sprung out and found James and two of his guys standing guard outside the elevator, convinced they'd heard her scream like a banshee in heat.

"I need a drink," she tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but Liam held firm.

"You're not drinking tonight," he growled at her. "I want you sober for our talk. This little standoff between us ends tonight, Princess."

With that, Liam spun on his heel and vanished in the crowd, leaving her bewildered and emotionally raw from their encounter.

After a quick bathroom stop to clean herself up, Eden grabbed a plate of fancy hors d'oeuvre from a waitress passing by.

She nibbled her food slowly while she wandered through the room, occasionally pausing to admire the jewellery and art pieces on auction tonight, oblivious to the admiring stares following her progress,

She stopped in front of an iridescent emerald ring supposedly worn by Cleopatra many centuries ago. She didn't believe a word of the ring's backstory and only took an interest in it because it was encrusted with her birthstone.

"Whoa!" She whistled as she gawked at its perceived value. It would take her many lifetimes to afford it.

She saw Liam's reflection on the glass case before she heard his voice. "Here."

He handed her a mojito, and she took it, insanely aware of the electricity between them when their fingers brushed.

"Thanks," she murmured as she brought the drink to her lips and sighed with disappointment when she couldn't taste any alcohol. "I'm not seventeen, you know. I'm old enough to drink."

"You will," he smiled roguishly. "After our talk. Then we'll have the best alcohol-fuelled sex of our lives."

"Is that all you think about?" She snapped and turned her attention back to the ring.

She didn't realise she's crying until Liam silently handed her a crisp white handkerchief monogrammed with his initials.

"I'm sorry," she said as she dabbed at her eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying."

"It's Stendhal's syndrome," he said. "Some people experience insanely overwhelming emotions when they look at a piece of art or something of great beauty. I believe that's what you've just had."

"What?" Eden frowned at him, amazed he even knew about Stendhal's syndrome.

"I read somewhere the feeling is very similar to an orgasm, but much more intense," he laughed, and Eden glared at him, annoyed that even when she was feeling vulnerable, he still took pleasure in messing with her.

"I know what Stendhal's syndrome is," She scoffed. "There's no need for your Psych 101 lesson."

Liam chuckled, his booming laugh resonating through the room, attracting a few stares from the crowd. "Okay then, Dr McBride."

"Here you go." She handed him his handkerchief back. "Thank you."

"No way," Liam shook his head and scrunched up his nose. "I'm not touching your snot. You have to wash it first."

"You—" She rolled her eyes in frustration, only to realise he's teasing her when his lips curled into a lazy smile. "You are insufferable!"

Liam shrugged; all the amusement was gone from his face now, the ocean in his eyes darkening to a stormy blue. "I miss you, and I'm tired of all this fighting, Princess. Come home, please?"

Eden's heart soared out of control at his words, and she stood dead still, afraid to move because she didn't trust herself not to fly straight into his arms and tell him she was ready to come home and submit to his demands. She, too, was tired of all the fighting, and she desperately missed him.

Sensing her moment of weakness, Liam pounced on her, not giving her room to rebuff his attack. "It's my last night with you, and I won't see you for three weeks. You have to come home with me tonight. Okay?"

Before he could break down her walls completely with his sweet words and gruff voice, his phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.

She carried on with her tour of the room, happy to be alone again. Liam made her feel all sorts of crazy things, and the longer she stayed in his presence, the more she ran the risk of doing something stupid like—

"—Well, well." A low, familiar voice drawled from behind her. "I had a feeling you'll be here."