A Life Earthbound (29 page)

Trying to smile again, he sat down beside her, meeting her eyes. “He is a good choice for you, Rhiannon. It would please me for you to marry him.”

When Rhiannon said nothing, lost for words, he continued. “Now I know Liam has had some kind of crush on you for a long time, but since you’ve never returned his affections I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t feel the same way.”

Guilt and shame crept into her at his words. If only she knew how to tell him, if only she knew it wouldn’t just make things worse…

“This arrangement has made your mother very happy and in turn has made me happy. I’ve been…out of sorts lately and I apologize for that. But this has given me new hope for the future.”

He reached out and, in a rare sign of affection, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I’m proud of you, Rhiannon.”

At his words, she felt the last and final nail slam into the coffin, sealing her fate. How could she ever have the heart to tell him she didn’t want this marriage now? When he’d been awakened, enlightened in a way that she thought she would never see again. And it was all a result of this arranged marriage…

She knew she didn’t have it in her to back down from it, not now, not ever. She couldn’t risk his life, not for her own selfish gains. No…she would give in and marry Michael and her father would survive.

When he left her alone minutes later, she stayed where she was on the side of her bed, slowly but surely accepting her fate. She wasn’t certain if she should be thrilled that her father had awoken from his deep, drugging depression, or if she should be devastated that she would have to tie her life to some arrogant imbecile who thought she was a freak.

But, perhaps it wouldn’t be all bad…her life would most likely continue as it had for years, and surely she could convince Michael to stay down in Washington, D.C., and they would come together one time and one time only, to produce an heir, and then that would be it.

But God, even her practical and cynical nature revolted at the thought of a completely loveless marriage. Especially when she’d come so close to knowing love…to experiencing how breathtaking it was to look into another’s eyes and see the desire in them. To see the love, something she had never before known, staring right back at her, pleading for her to accept without fear.

And how sad was it that she had always been terrified of love. Receiving it, and giving it.

Upon hearing a knock on her door, she stared blankly at it for a moment, pulling herself back to reality. Rising to her feet, she opened the door, only to have an electric jolt pierce through her. She should have expected this…

“I need to speak to you,” Liam said evenly, looking disheveled and broody. She bit her lip and stepped aside, letting him in. Shutting the door, she turned to face him, hoping she could retain whatever strength of purpose she had just gained from the conversation with her father.

Without hesitation, he rounded on her and cupped her face in his hands, crushing her mouth with his, shocking the very breath from her. She stood, her knees buckling weakly, her hands grasping at his shirt as her mind spun wildly. The urgency, the desperation, the need pulsing from him and into her sent shockwaves coursing madly through her system.

He poured all of his emotion into the kiss, needing to know if she felt anything for him. And from the way she gave, from the way her body curved to his and her skin shivered under his hands, he knew he had her.

Breaking the kiss, he pushed her away from him, looking angry and feral as he glared at her. So shocked was she to see it that she crumbled to the bed, her knees too weak to support her. She fought to keep a look of quiet indifference on her face, knowing she needed her wall firmly in place now more than ever.

“I know you want me, Rhia,” he said, his chest heaving, hurt mixing with the fury in his eyes. “So why are you going along with this ridiculous marriage?”

Remembering her father, Rhiannon stared back at him coldly. “Sex is not love, Liam. Wanting you is purely physical and yes I’m guilty of that. But that is all I wanted from you.”

“Bullshit,” he growled, pacing. She held her breath as she watched him, her chest too tight to breathe. “I know you don’t want to marry him. I know how much you despise him. So why go along with this?”

“It is a smart match,” she began, only to be cut off when he groaned and grabbed his hair exasperatedly.

“Damnit, no it’s not!” He stared at her again in disbelief. “You know as well as I do that he’s an asshole. Look, I want to fight for you, but I need to know that you’re on my side.”

Knowing in her heart that the only way to push him away was to hurt him, and hurt him as badly as she could, she fixed a disdainful look on her face and stared at him indifferently.

“I don’t love you, Liam. I never have and I never will,” she said evenly, her voice colder than ice. “I only used you last night to scratch an itch, nothing more. I don’t want you and I certainly don’t want to marry you. I want to marry Michael. My mother has assured me that he is of proper pedigree and that he will soon be a lead Enforcer like his father. You, however, are a disgrace to the Dryad name, too lazy to do the most trivial of work, and your father has raised both you and Blythe to be careless and arrogant. Why would I want the father of my children to be someone like you, when I could have my children raised by a prominent Enforcer? How many times do I have to reject you before you understand that I don’t want you?”

For a moment he said nothing, he only looked at her with disgust in his eyes.

“That’s a pretty speech, Rhia,” he said softly, shaking his head at her. “Did your mother tell you to say all that to me?”

The derision in his voice snuck under her shield of indifference and stabbed her viciously, but on the surface she merely lifted an eyebrow. “It’s the truth.”

“Do you think I’m too stupid to understand what you’re doing? You’re trying to push me away so you don’t have to deal with all this messiness I’m dumping into your perfectly structured life. You think it’s just easier all around to marry Michael to please your parents, damned what happens to anyone else. Well, I’m not falling for it and I’m not giving up on you. Taking the easier road is not always the best choice. We have to fight for what we want in this world, and I want you more than I have ever wanted anything.”

Frustrated and emotional, he grabbed her by the elbows and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her, needing to breathe in her scent, to feel her body against his own.

“I can’t turn off my love for you like a switch, Rhia. It doesn’t work that way.”

Her eyes burned hot and heavy as she clenched them tight, burrowing her face against his neck, feeling ashamed and worthless and miserable all at once.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, the pain in her chest excruciating as her heart broke for him. Because, in the end, she knew nothing had changed. She was still going to have to marry Michael. “I can’t be with you, Liam.”

“Why not?” he asked, pulling her away so he could look into her eyes. “Tell me why I’m not good enough for you.”

Shaking her head, she took a deep, shuddering breath and stared at him, her cool, reserved mask gone, showcasing her true pain. Perhaps it was seeing it that made him relax, made him lead her to the bed and hold her in his arms.

“Tell me what’s really going on, Rhia,” he murmured, kissing her forehead and rocking her.

Leaning against him, basking in the comfort he gave her, she sighed and tried to figure out how to explain it all.

“My father was just here. Liam, he’s so happy…you wouldn’t believe the contrast to what he was just yesterday. This whole marriage thing has brought him out of his misery; he says it’s given him hope for the future. It’s made him himself again.”

Tilting her head up, she met his eyes. “If I say no, if I choose to go against them, there’s no telling what will happen to him. I could lose him for good, and…” her voice cracked, the very thought of it tearing her apart. Liam rubbed his hand up her arm, more than a little shocked to see her nearly in tears. Not his serious, composed Rhia…she never cried. Forcing back the pain, she continued. “I have to go through with it, for him. I’m sorry, but I hope you understand.”

He inhaled deeply, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. “You always were the least selfish person I’ve ever known,” he chuckled, despite the empty feeling in his heart. But when he spoke again, his voice was softer, and there was misery behind it. “Was this why you decided you couldn’t be with me when we were younger, too?”

She nodded slowly, feeling perhaps now it was time to tell him the truth. “I was naïve, Liam, and weak. My mother convinced me that I was disappointing both her and my father because I was so distracted and that you were to blame. I believed that for a very long time and I’m sorry for it.”

“So am I.” He pulled her against him and held her, knowing there was little to be done about any of it now.

They sat in silence for a long moment, the only sound the soft beating of their hearts. It amazed her that a broken heart could still beat…even after the wreckage.

“This is going to sound ridiculously foolish,” she began, nuzzling into his chest, feeling embarrassed but somehow strangely relieved. “But I wish we could run away, Liam. I wish we could run away and be together, without all of this.”

“What happened to little Miss Practicality?” he laughed, even though he would have given anything to make that wish come true. It was the first time he had ever heard her wish for anything. “I’ve got enough wild and crazy dreams for the both of us, Rhia. I need you to stay focused so I don’t lose my head.”

“Right,” she sighed, closing her eyes. “You know, my mother could hardly judge me if I kept you as my lover. I’d just tell her I’m following her example.”

“Okay, now you’re scaring me,” he chuckled, pushing her away to inspect her. He pursed his lips as he tilted her face side-to-side, causing a light laugh to escape from her throat. The sound of it delighted the hell out of him. With a grin, he kissed the tip of her nose. “That’s it, the Rhia I know and love has gone mad. Now, darling, I know that Michael is terribly boring in bed, but you mustn’t fear. I am more than willing to steal you away from him, anytime, day or night.”

Laughing again, she fell back against the bed and felt a kind of delirious, exhilarating release. God, it felt good to laugh. How had she gone so long without it?

And what was it about this moment, this horrific, troubling moment where her fate was assuredly bleak and miserable that gave her a reason to laugh?

But she knew the answer when Liam lay beside her, turning toward her with his head resting in his hand as he stared down at her, his grin fading to a kind of sad smile.

Hadn’t he always helped her through the worst of times? That was just who he was…

“What do we do now?” she asked, watching him and wondering how she would ever do without his touch now that she had felt it.

“I don’t know,” he murmured, reaching out to caress her cheek. She stared into his eyes, and felt her pulse jump and her heart begin to race. How was it he could do this to her, make her feel real and beautiful and alive all at once?

Riding on the moment, she curved toward him, rising up on her elbow to press her lips to his, her free hand running through his dark hair.

“One last time,” she whispered, pushing him back against the bed and climbing over him, her mouth cruising over his face. “Before it’s too late.”