Protector (The Brannock Siblings Book 4) (15 page)

She
should
have done a lot of things differently, but
it was too late for her now.

It was a challenge to push through the crowd, but then the
front door came into view... and her relief was trivial . It opened and a young
couple walked in, pressed together intimately, laughing like they didn't have a
care in the world.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of a lone taxi, sitting out front
just waiting for her. She could get away from all of this and get her bearings
before she did something stupid. Then maybe once she took a night to sleep on
it, she could make an educated decision...

Then it hit her. She really
hadn't
changed. This trip
didn't do a damn thing to change what she wanted to change in herself. She was
still running scared, still passing up an opportunity and weighing options that
didn't matter.

Isabelle shook her head, cursing herself for her faults. It
was too late now, so she darted for the door. Liam's deep voice called her name
over and over. He cursed loudly and she imagined that he'd been blocked quite
thoroughly in his pursuit of her. She would have a lengthy head start and maybe
by some miracle, he would give her the night to catch her breath.

She didn't look back. It was time she accepted her fate.
Time she realized that change just wasn't possible.

She climbed into that taxi and quickly gave the driver the
address to her temporary home. A home in which she felt more comfortable than
the one she grew up in back in Ohio. A home in which she had already made
memories... with Liam.

"Shut up, Izzy."

"I'm sorry, Miss?"

She looked up at the rearview mirror and met the driver's
eyes. He looked concerned, but no more concerned than he would be picking up
any other woman talking to herself right after she ran away from the man of her
dreams.

"Nothing. I'm short on time so..."

"I understand," he nodded and quickly turned onto
the road, heading south. Away from the man who was now shouting her name from
the front door of the pub.

She refused to look out the window. If she did that, she
would turn into a blubbering mess. That or a melted puddle.

If mother could see me now,
she huffed to herself.

The hour or so ride felt like three. She was sure Liam would
have made it to the house before her and the driver grumbled a good night once
the silent ride was over. She hadn't needed to spend much money up until now
and the little she'd brought with her was all given to the, now irritable,
driver. She could have been more patient with his back road driving, but she
was so desperate to lock herself in the house and away from everyone else.

Once inside, it didn't take long for her to discover that
she wouldn't be getting any sleep. She got herself ready for bed anyway,
tossing her dress aside and dawning her nightgown. It was depressing to find
herself alone once more.

"Start a fire and relax, Izzy. That's all you can do
right now."

She had no idea how she was going to start a fire, but she
would try. Liam was always the one to get it going the few times the fireplace
was even used in the last two weeks. It was embarrassing, but he never made a
comment about it. He seemed content to do those things for her and it was
something she was going to miss when she left.

God, she was still leaving?

I
am
crazy!

It was no surprise to hear the squeaking slam of a car door
a few minutes later, although her heart rate picked up to blazing speeds. She
knew he would come even though she had hoped he wouldn't. He was always there,
always making her question everything and changing her expectations.

And why was that the problem?

"You're a damned fool, Iz," she grumbled to
herself.

The pounding on the door still startled her even if she
was
expecting it and she dropped the small pile of wood she'd been carrying to
the fireplace. The sound of the pieces crashing to the floor was like a bomb
going off.

Well, now he knows you are really here, dummy.

"Open the bloody door, Izzy. Let me know yer alright."

She moved to the door, checking and double checking the
locks. He kept knocking, harder each time and the vibration of the wood made
her hands tingle. She could almost feel his warmth through the worn wood.

"Isabelle..."

"Please go away, Liam. I can't do this anymore,"
she said and dropped her head against the rough door. She let out a harsh
breath when he stopped pounding on the door and she could almost hear his own
heavy breaths on the other side. He wasn't going to leave until she convinced
him to. He was stubborn like that.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm not going to
be here much longer and you need to leave me alone. I've come here for a break
and once this trip is over, I'll move on with my life."

"What life?" he shouted. "The life where ye
become a slave to a dangerous man that doesna appreciate a bloody thing ye do?
Or the life where ye become a lonely and bitter woman because ye didna take a
chance on a man that cares for ye more than he has ever cared for
another."

She sucked in a sharp breath, hearing his words but wishing
he hadn't said them. "Please..."

A long moment passed before he spoke again. She felt a thud
on the other side of the door and knew he was leaning against it the same way
she was, wanting the closeness but needing that barrier between them.

"I am sorry, Izzy. I didna mean for this night to end
like this. I've wanted ye so badly that I took me some bad advice and played a
game I swore I would never play. I tried to make ye jealous, but it only drove
ye away. I don't play games, Izzy. I hate games, I hate being dishonest and
more than anything, I hate not telling ye how I feel about ye because yer too
scared of it. I am a level headed man, but around you..." He huffed and
there was another thud against the door. "Ye make me crazy and I wasna thinking
straight. "

Her mind raced, trying to hear what he was saying and
understand it all at the same time. Liam's accent grew thicker with every word,
his distress obvious the longer he spoke. Her heart soared knowing he wanted
her as much as she wanted him.

So, what now?

It was time to make a decision and deal with whatever
consequences she would encounter. Lord only knew how many times she made
mistakes in her life, but this didn't feel like one. This felt like the only
right thing she had ever done in her life.

She slowly released each lock on the door and pulled it open
until she could just see his face. He looked hopeful and scared, but he still
dominated the porch with his presence.

"How crazy?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry?"

"How crazy do I make you?"

He smiled, that crooked smile that forced one of his dimples
to appear.

There it is,
she sighed.

His hands raised to the door and he pushed gently until it
was opened enough to see her entire face. "Insane. To the point I can't decide
if I want to run from ye or kiss ye until neither of us can breathe."

She opened the door a little more and he inched forward,
taking over the small space and getting close enough that she could smell him
and a faint hint of the pub they left behind tonight. His eyes roamed down her
body, taking in her nightgown and flickering back up to her face. Those blue
eyes darkened with hunger and her knees started to shake.

"I've never felt that way about anyone. It scares me,
but that's how I know it is worth the fear. Ye make me so crazy that I can't
stop thinking about ye day and night. When I see you, my chest aches, my lungs
stop taking in air. Everything stops, Izzy."

He loomed closer until he was past the threshold of the door
and Izzy took a small step back to let him in. Her hand immediately went to her
hair, fingering the strands before dropping her fingers to her earlobe and
tugging, hard. She wasn't dreaming, that was for sure.

 Her eyes closed on their own once that familiar scent
surrounded her. She wanted to bury her nose in his chest and take deep breaths
until all she could feel was him. Her bottom lip immediately tucked under her
teeth.

"So fantastically crazy that every time ye tug on that
ear or bite down on that beautiful lip, I want to push ye against a wall and do
it all for you. I don't see a future without
you
in it."

Liam's hands cupped her face, gently tugging her closer
until she was pressed completely against him, from her toes to her shoulders.
His sweet breath fanned her face and she felt his nose lightly nudge hers.

Her eyes were still closed. She was too afraid to open them
and see that this wasn't really happening or that her imagination had run wild
and Liam was just a dream.

"Open those eyes, love. I want ye to see who is about
to kiss the daylights out of you."

The second her eyes fluttered open, his lips pressed against
hers. This wasn't the slow and tender kiss that he would have given her at the river.
No, this was something completely different. His mouth moved firmly against
hers, forcing from her a soft moan when she felt his tongue trace the seam of
her lips. His hands dropped to her waist, holding her body against his and
gently lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he
deepened the kiss, tongues tangling until both of them needed a breath.

"I'm desperate for you, Izzy," he murmured against
her lips.

She nodded and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling
him into another deep and passionate kiss. She knew she was just as desperate
and nothing was going to stop her from having him.

Two weeks and already she was out of control for him.

Gone
for him.

It didn't make sense, but she didn't give a damn.

Liam started to move with her in his arms. He kissed down
her chin to her neck and those lips never left her skin as he climbed the
stairs to her bedroom. She held on tightly, throwing her head back and moaning
again when Liam's hands dropped to her bottom to support her and he moved her
hips against his.

"Bloody hell, Izzy," he groaned against her neck.
"I can hardly keep from shaking with want for ye. Say that ye'll have me,
love." They both fell to the bed and he lifted off of her for a moment,
waiting for her to look at him. "Say it, Isabelle. Tell me I can have ye
forever."

Isabelle's heart clamored as she looked up at him and saw
his dark eyes pleading with her, begging for her to say the words he wanted to
hear. The words she
wanted
to say. "And if I give you me, what
happens then?" she asked raggedly.

"I'll protect you. I'll cherish you. I always
will."

She cupped his face and gazed back at him, her eyes burning
with unshed tears that no longer needed to fall. Never in her life had she felt
so right, exactly where she needed to be. "I'm yours, Liam. God, I've
always been yours."

He kissed her again, tangling his tongue with hers as he
shifted her up the bed and settled between her legs. She could feel every long
inch of him as he moved against her, sending her heart into another frenzy.

His hands were everywhere. In her hair, on her neck, beneath
her, running down her legs. When his fingers found the sensitive skin on the
inside of her thighs, she gasped and pulled him closer. "Liam..."

"Shhh, I've got you, love. I'm going to take care of
you. I swear it."

His lips moved down her neck again and she couldn't hold
back the moan. "That feels so amazing."

He pressed his lips to the sensitive swell of her breast,
nudging her hair and collar aside with his nose and tasting her there. Her skin
was on fire and she was practically clawing at him now, wanting more,
needing
more.

A hand slid under her nightgown and up her leg. She gasped as
he brushed his fingers over her underwear and stopped at her hip. She felt him
pause and tighten his grip on her flesh, pulling her against him. Her back
arched off the bed as he scorched a path back up her neck.

"I've a mind to stop everything right now, Izzy,"
he mumbled against her skin. "I know ye've not been with anyone before and
I..." He pressed a hard kiss to her neck and raised up on his elbow.
"I've only been-"

Izzy covered his mouth with her hand. "I don't care,
Liam. That's the past. This is now. I don't think it will matter because
regardless of what you've done, I still want you."

His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, watching her
cautiously, but he didn't argue. They both knew nothing else mattered in that
moment but the two of them.

They kissed with renewed vigor and this time there was no
pace to keep up with. Liam shoved her nightgown up over her head and tossed it
aside. His eyes traced every inch of exposed skin and his body shook.

"I don't know where to start. I want to be everywhere
all at once." He lowered his head to her breast and muttered,
"Beautiful."

Isabelle shuddered at the first touch of his lips on her
sensitive skin.

"So soft," he whispered and wrapped his lips
around her hardened nipple.

The feel of his touch was too much and not enough. She
buried her hands in his hair and pulled him against her. He lavished her breast
with wet kisses, sucking and biting until she writhed beneath him. Then he
moved on to the other.

She clawed at his shirt, needing to feel his hot flesh
against hers. In seconds, he removed his shirt and dropped his pants to the
floor. When he slid back over her, they both groaned as their skin finally
touched. The pleasure took her breath away.

"Liam..."

He glided his fingers down over her ribs and back to her
hip, holding her against him. Two pieces of clothing was all that separated
them.

"Isabelle, you feel so..."