attitude had brought him out of nothing to what he had now.
One last call and Claire was all his. There’d be no more intrusions. Spending time with her was giving him a glimpse into what it might be like to have an adult relationship. Maybe relationships weren’t such a bad thing. Claire had a way of readjusting his perception. She might even be good for Lexi.
He threw back the scotch and took his suit from his case, sliding it from the plastic cover. One time with Claire hadn’t been enough. He’d just had had a taste, now he wanted to gorge.
He undressed then pulled his shirt on and did the first button. What was it about her? Not just beauty. It wasn’t even the she’d ruined him in bed. He remembered the way her face changed from one moment to the next as if there was so much running rampant underneath. There was more to Claire than she let on. He tugged his pants over his legs. He’d enjoy finding out.
The phone rang yet again and Liam picked it up. His lawyer. Time to end this and get to the fun part of the evening.
Streaming jets of water poured over Claire’s face, running into her eyes, over her lips and spurting onto her chest. She let it beat down and wished it could wash away so much more. Perhaps if her parents had lived she’d know if self-defeating personality disorder ran in the family. One touch and she’d been ready to melt all over him. Again .
Poor impulse control was what had landed her in bed with him the first time, and that one time had shaken her to pieces. She couldn’t take any more of Liam.
All the reasons drummed into her head about why they had to do this, why Liam deserved this paled in comparison to the way Liam made her feel.
Claire poured shampoo onto her hand and lathered her hair. She’d seen him with his niece, knew how he was with her. He wasn’t heartless—even if she’d seen his callousness with her own eyes. There had to be more to it. Claire tipped her head back and rinsed her hair under the steady stream. She hadn’t spoken to him about what happened at the diner. They’d certainly never spoken about what happened with her family. Surely, he had empathy. Surely, he didn’t do these things without compassion.
She stepped back and squeezed out her hair, then smothered it in conditioner. Could she really go through with this without even giving him a chance to explain? She ran a thick tooth comb through her wet hair.
Sure, talking about it could blow everything. She could be subtle. Regardless of what was at stake she had to be able to live with the decision. Claire finished her shower and blow dried her hair until it was glossy and gold. She took her time with her make-up, and slipped on a bright red dress she knew would get Liam’s full attention. In her experience, it was easier to get men to talk about things when they were distracted. Claire entered the bedroom, dressed ready for the challenge.
Liam’s back faced the room, his hand rested on the long window that stretched the length of the hotel suite. He held his cell phone to his ear.
“No, no more extensions. My decision is final.” His clipped tone was one Claire had not heard before.
She stepped further into the room.
“It’s done, we’re foreclosing.”
The contents of her stomach turned sour. No, he wasn’t doing this again. Thick bile churned in her belly.
“Well perhaps he should have thought of that before he failed to fulfill his obligations.”
Silence fell across the room as Liam listened to the response. The bile rose higher in her throat. She’d almost convinced herself he was not this man.
Wishful thinking. Stupid, wishful thinking.
Her shoes felt like twice their height as she walked to the kitchenette and extracted two scotch glasses.
“Goodbye, Peter.” Liam snapped his phone closed and pushed it roughly into his pocket.
Claire’s eyelids drifted shut for a moment. Her fingers tightened on the glasses in her hand. She opened her eyes and set them down,
One last call and Claire was all his. There’d be no more intrusions. Spending time with her was giving him a glimpse into what it might be like to have an adult relationship. Maybe relationships weren’t such a bad thing. Claire had a way of readjusting his perception. She might even be good for Lexi.
He threw back the scotch and took his suit from his case, sliding it from the plastic cover. One time with Claire hadn’t been enough. He’d just had had a taste, now he wanted to gorge.
He undressed then pulled his shirt on and did the first button. What was it about her? Not just beauty. It wasn’t even the she’d ruined him in bed. He remembered the way her face changed from one moment to the next as if there was so much running rampant underneath. There was more to Claire than she let on. He tugged his pants over his legs. He’d enjoy finding out.
The phone rang yet again and Liam picked it up. His lawyer. Time to end this and get to the fun part of the evening.
Streaming jets of water poured over Claire’s face, running into her eyes, over her lips and spurting onto her chest. She let it beat down and wished it could wash away so much more. Perhaps if her parents had lived she’d know if self-defeating personality disorder ran in the family. One touch and she’d been ready to melt all over him. Again .
Poor impulse control was what had landed her in bed with him the first time, and that one time had shaken her to pieces. She couldn’t take any more of Liam.
All the reasons drummed into her head about why they had to do this, why Liam deserved this paled in comparison to the way Liam made her feel.
Claire poured shampoo onto her hand and lathered her hair. She’d seen him with his niece, knew how he was with her. He wasn’t heartless—even if she’d seen his callousness with her own eyes. There had to be more to it. Claire tipped her head back and rinsed her hair under the steady stream. She hadn’t spoken to him about what happened at the diner. They’d certainly never spoken about what happened with her family. Surely, he had empathy. Surely, he didn’t do these things without compassion.
She stepped back and squeezed out her hair, then smothered it in conditioner. Could she really go through with this without even giving him a chance to explain? She ran a thick tooth comb through her wet hair.
Sure, talking about it could blow everything. She could be subtle. Regardless of what was at stake she had to be able to live with the decision. Claire finished her shower and blow dried her hair until it was glossy and gold. She took her time with her make-up, and slipped on a bright red dress she knew would get Liam’s full attention. In her experience, it was easier to get men to talk about things when they were distracted. Claire entered the bedroom, dressed ready for the challenge.
Liam’s back faced the room, his hand rested on the long window that stretched the length of the hotel suite. He held his cell phone to his ear.
“No, no more extensions. My decision is final.” His clipped tone was one Claire had not heard before.
She stepped further into the room.
“It’s done, we’re foreclosing.”
The contents of her stomach turned sour. No, he wasn’t doing this again. Thick bile churned in her belly.
“Well perhaps he should have thought of that before he failed to fulfill his obligations.”
Silence fell across the room as Liam listened to the response. The bile rose higher in her throat. She’d almost convinced herself he was not this man.
Wishful thinking. Stupid, wishful thinking.
Her shoes felt like twice their height as she walked to the kitchenette and extracted two scotch glasses.
“Goodbye, Peter.” Liam snapped his phone closed and pushed it roughly into his pocket.
Claire’s eyelids drifted shut for a moment. Her fingers tightened on the glasses in her hand. She opened her eyes and set them down,
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