Protector (The Brannock Siblings Book 4) (18 page)

Lucien may not be the most law abiding man, but he knew how
important family was.

"Thank you, Lucien. I don't condone murder, but that son
of a bitch didn't deserve to live. I'm just glad he can't hurt anyone else now."
Liam looked around at his children, including the two not so stealthy women on
the stairs. "My family means the world to me."

Lucien chuckled. "Then we have something in common,
sir."

He didn't stay much longer after that. He said a few words
to Emily, who had descended the stairs when she saw he was leaving. He embraced
Emily in a short hug and kissed her cheek, then turned to Aiden and did the
same.

Gus tensed, but let it happen. Lucien was no threat to their
family and he would have continued to believe that if Aiden hadn't fanned
herself once Lucien walked out the door.

"I think I need a cold shower," she teased,
laughing when Gus grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs.

Liam stood in the driveway with Conall and watched Lucien's
SUV disappear down the road.

"I don't know whether to be happy or upset,"
Conall sighed.

"What do you mean?"

Conall's brow furrowed and he looked down at the ground.
"I'm happy that bastard is gone. You're right. Men like that don't deserve
this life. But a part of me is upset I didn't get the chance to do it
myself."

Liam nodded, understanding completely.

"We don't have to feel either anymore, son. It's not
worth thinking about."

They turned and walked back to the house side by side.

Conall shrugged his shoulders. "It's like Mom always
said. Time is too short to dwell on the bad things that happen. Spend it loving
the good things and you'll never feel regret."

Liam smiled.

Izzy was always right.

Izzy

One week.

It was like a countdown in Izzy's mind that refused to stop.
The closer it got to the day she was supposed to leave Ireland - leave Liam -
the more she felt like her world was ending.

She had no choice but to return to her parents. Otherwise,
Christopher would come looking for her. Wouldn't he? And God only knows what he
would end up doing then.

She'd forgotten to call him and every day brought a new fear
that she would have to face the consequences. Consequences that should have
never been an issue.

Would that fear of him ever go away? Would she constantly be
wondering if today would be the day he came for her? The day his threats became
a reality?

She needed more time. She needed to convince her parents
that they didn't need Christopher to save the company and she needed to find a
way to get rid of him so she never had to deal with his darkness again.

Izzy wouldn't marry him. She knew that it would come down to
her life if they tried to force her, but that wasn't the only issue. There was
no way she could leave her parents to suffer
when
she didn't marry
Christopher, and they
would
suffer.

They may be ignorant and greedy and they may be undeserving
of their own daughter, but they were still her parents. Every child just wants
to please her parents and even when the expectation of their acknowledgement is
damaged, they always find a way to build it back up. That hope for a viable
return of love never goes away completely.

It's a vicious and painful cycle.

"Are ye alright, love?"

Warmth spread through her entire body at the sound of that
voice. Liam pulled her closer and pressed his front to her back as they laid
naked in her bed.

"I will be," she replied, her lips leisurely
curling into a smile when he moved his arm between her breasts. His warm
fingers spread out and pressed against her breast bone. The sensation of being
locked into safety was irresistible; she would never get enough of it.

The two of them were inseparable over the last week and Liam
spent his nights with her at the house. Sleep came during the day, more often
than not, since the nights were filled with their hands and mouths all over
each other. Izzy never knew it could be like this, and even though she was
exhausted, she wasn't about to argue for sleep. It would come when she needed
it, and right now, she needed Liam.

He kissed the back of her neck and sighed. "Have I told
ye how much I love waking up right here next to you?"

"Mmmm, you have, but maybe tell me one more time."

She felt him smile against her skin and he pressed soft
kisses down to her shoulder.

"I love it. I love seeing your hair glow in the morning
light. I love feeling your skin pressed against mine. You're so damn soft and
it's nearly impossible to keep my hands off you." His hand slid down over
her stomach and between her legs, summoning a moan out of her that she just
couldn't hold back. His voice was husky as he spoke to her, the sound vibrating
down her spine. "But it's this right here. Knowing you're mine and I'm
yours. That I can touch ye and feel ye writhe against me and that ye trust me
with your body and mind."

Izzy closed her eyes and breathed deeply. He knew exactly
how to touch her and make her lose herself.

Liam pulled his hand away and kissed her shoulder before he
whispered, "Knowing that I'll never love anyone as much as I love you."

Her eyes flickered open and her heart thudded against her
chest. There was no question that they each felt strongly about the other, and
over the last week, those feelings had only been fortified. But love? Her words
came out on a whisper, the lump in her throat too massive to get around.
"What did you say?"

Liam kissed her neck and pressed his nose against her skin,
inhaling deeply. His ragged voice paired with that sexy accent and the
beautiful words he spoke, sent a tremor through her body. He spoke slowly and
clearly, making sure she heard each word.

"I love you, Isabelle. I loved you the first time I saw
you cry and everything inside of me wanted to choke the life out of whoever
hurt you. I loved you when you didn't even know who I was. Standing there, looking
up at the sky, and not realizing that you changed my life completely just by
breathing."

Izzy turned in his arms, the sheets falling away from her,
making her skin tingle and her nipples harden from the cool air in the room.
Liam kept her pressed against him. Every inch of her touching every inch of
him. He held on tightly, as if he was afraid she would run away or just
disappear.

She looked into his soft blue eyes, seeing the questions
there and finally knowing the answers.

Love wasn't a completely foreign concept to her. She knew
what love and lust were and she knew their differences. She also knew what it
was like to
not
be loved. Never did she imagine that something so
momentous could happen so swiftly.

In that moment, while feasting her eyes on the man who now
knew what every inch of her felt like, she realized that love doesn't wait for
you to catch up. It climbs inside of you and makes a home while your mind never
regards its presence as more than a passing craving; a longing for more than
what you have. Until it's too late.

It becomes burrowed so deep inside you until there really is
no turning back. It's a part of you; a part of what you do every single day.
It's your purpose and you
have
to protect it.

"I know it's fast," Liam said, his eyes hungrily
gazing down at her only to be dulled by doubt. "I know it seems
impossible, but I can't help-"

Izzy pressed her fingers to his lips. "Stop. Just
stop," she breathed.

He kissed the tips of her fingers and bowed his head to her
chest. She couldn't see his expression, but she could imagine how hard he was
working to hide his distress.

"I love you, Liam." Saying the words felt so right
and so terrifying, but there was no stopping them now.

His head lifted, those hypnotizing eyes lighting up. "Ye
do?"

She nodded and fought tears once more. Only, this time there
was no pain or helplessness. Just a resolve that felt... peaceful.

Liam kissed her and he didn't stop kissing her until they were
both breathless and he was once again buried deep inside of her.

"I'll love you forever," he promised.

He made love to her until they were both spent once more.
Then they drifted off to sleep, clinging to each other as if forever just
wasn't enough time.

***

Izzy watched Liam walk to his truck and climb in. He waved
to her before disappearing down the road and she stood there a few minutes
longer, missing him already. His promise to return later that afternoon stayed
in the back of her mind.

A few hours apart would be good for them. Or at least that
is what she kept telling herself.

She wandered the house for a few minutes before the silence
made her head spin. She moved toward the back door, deciding to spend a while
in the gardens so she could attempt to clear her mind.

She pushed the door open just as the phone started ringing.
It wasn't the fact that there were only a few people that could possibly be
calling her that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was that
there was only one person that
would
be calling her and during the past
six nights of blissful ignorance, she hadn't prepared for it.

After a deep breath and a few seconds of talking herself
into it, her fingers still trembled when she reached for the receiver.

A greeting wasn't necessary since the angry voice on the
other end of the line was already speaking.

"You are fucking lucky I've been out of town for
meetings. If it wasn't for your mother causing problems, I would have my hands
wrapped around your neck right now."

There was no explaining the surge of determination that suddenly
filled her. Maybe it was that she had finally changed or that she had made a
decision. Or maybe it was just because she was done.

"Go to hell."

Silence.

She pressed her tingling fingers to her lips. Saying that
was not the plan, but it was too late now.

And it felt damn good.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

She cringed at the darkness in his voice. It was a reminder
that the handsome man she'd been tricked by was never going to have a chance at
redemption. He just didn't want it.

"I said, go to hell. I'm done with you Christopher. I
won't let you destroy me or my family."

He laughed. Not the laugh of amusement. No, this was the
kind of laugh you only hear in the movies. The kind of laugh that signals a
complete loss of the mind. "I see you've forgotten who I am, Isabelle.
You'll regret that."

"The only thing I regret is not standing up for myself
in the first place. You're finished, Christopher. There will be no wedding and
there will be no business deal."

"Then God help you and your parents," he growled.

She slammed the phone down and jerked away from it. Her
hands shook and spots danced around her eyes.
Calm down, Izzy.
She set
her palms flat on the table, feeling the grains of wood beneath her fingers and
focusing on the breathing. Taking long, steady pulls of oxygen finally forced
the dizziness to fade.

"Stay."

She spun around to find Liam standing in the back doorway.
She thought he was going to be gone a little longer and prayed he didn't see
the terror she was sure had overtaken her face.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough," he said, his brows knitted as he stepped
toward her. "Stay with me. Don't go back there."

"Liam..."

She was suddenly in his arms with her face pressed against
his chest. Those arms engulfed her in safety and held her up when her legs no
longer could. It felt like everything was crashing down around them in one
small space of time.

He whispered words of love while she held back the tears.

Love.

It was powerful, but it couldn't fix this. It couldn't save
her and it couldn't save her parents.

"Isabelle, stay. I swear to ye, I'll make ye
happy." He tilted her chin up with gentle fingers and hovered his lips
over hers. "I'll take care of ye and if ye can settle things with yer
parents, we'll go to them whenever ye want. But ye can do all that from here,
love. Please don't go back to him."

He kissed her fiercely, bruising her lips and crushing his
body against hers. He squeezed the breath out of her, but she wasn't worried
about breathing at the moment. She just wanted to feel him everywhere and he
seemed eager to make sure he was.

His lips released hers and moved down over her chin, kissing
the sensitive spot where her shoulder meets her neck. Color swirled in front of
her eyes and she willed herself to keep her mouth shut. To just let this happen
and stay with him as long as possible.

But she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't leave any
loose ends that would find her in the future. She wanted a life with him, free
of anything that could tear them apart and this... this would tear them apart
eventually; if she stayed.

Yes, she loved him and she would only love
him.
But
love came with sacrifice. She would gladly sacrifice her happiness to save him
from the horrible things that Christopher could do.

This wasn't a man that would forget the wrongs done to him.
He had the means and the lack of sanity to correct those wrongs however he saw
fit.

It was only a matter of time.

"I'm not going back to him, Liam. I never want to see
the man again, but I can't spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.
I won't."

"Ye won't have to, Izzy. I'll protect ye and I won't
let him near ye."

She was breathing hard, struggling to stick to her resolve.
"I can't leave my parents, either. Not in a situation where they suffer because
of a decision I made. It will only get worse if I stay. My parents will lose
everything and I can't do that to them no matter how neglectful they've been."

"What if it doesna work out? What if he does something
to ye and I'm not there to help?"

Well, she didn't have an answer for that and they were the
same fears she had for herself.

"Would you do it if it meant keeping your mother and
father from a lifetime of suffering? Would you risk it if it meant making sure
Finny never again had to deal with someone who hurt her family?"

Liam's arms tightened around her. He knew she was right and
so did she. It hurt, but it was the truth.

"I hate this," he said. "Not being able to
fix it. Feeling so powerless."

"I do, too. But there's no other way."

His fingers threaded through her hair, tucking a stray lock
behind her ear. "And if I can nah come to ye, if ye can nah come back to
me
?"

Izzy pulled back and looked up into his handsome face. The
more he spoke, the more she realized how worried he actually was. His accent
grew thicker as his distress grew stronger.

She raised her hand and caressed his scruffy cheek, over his
eyes and down his nose. Memorizing him. "You are the rest of my life,
Liam."

He lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.
"I've a mind to tie ye to the bed, love."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've
a mind to let you."

She lifted up on her toes and kissed him soundly. It wasn't
long until he took over, making her breathless in a matter of seconds.

The shrill ringing of the phone made them pause and Izzy's
shoulders slumped. "I don't need to speak with him again. He has no power
over me and I won't let him taint the rest of the time we have together."

Nothing could be done when she was halfway around the world
and whatever business her father had with Christopher was just that. Business.
Sometimes deals fell through and she refused to worry over it right now.