Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance (11 page)

She’s killing me, and she has no idea
, Liam thought, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

When he opened them again, Aubrey was very, very close to him. Her lips were parted sightly, her gaze fixated on his mouth. The very tip of her pink tongue came out to wet her lower lip, a subconscious sign of her rising desire.

Liam reached out and brushed her hair over her shoulder, running a fingertip over the exposed skin of her collarbone. Audrey shivered, her gaze rising to connect with his.

Something passed between them in that instant, an erotic pulse of bright heat. Audrey sucked in a breath, her chin lifting. Liam’s lips were drawn toward hers.

Down, down…

“Audrey!” Jack shouted from the living room, making them both jump apart. “Audrey, I need more whiskey.”

Audrey pressed a hand to her heart, then chuckled and gave Liam an awkward shrug.

“I should go,” she said. “You need sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”

“Right. Of course,” Liam said.

All he wanted in his whole cursed life was to ask her to stay, but he knew better. No reason to go through the whole litany of reasons why he shouldn’t do that. Couldn’t do that.

Audrey gave him a soft smile, flipping off his bedroom light as she left. The door closed behind her and Liam sank back, feeling like a complete idiot.

“You’ve gone completely mad,” he told himself. “You fancy her, and now you’ve gone totally soft in the head. You fucking fool.”

There was no denying it, really. He hadn’t so much as looked at another girl since the day he met Audrey. Whether it was because she was always around, flaunting her charms, or because she was forbidden fruit, he didn’t know.

But he really, really needed to get her out of his system, and soon. It was starting to change him, make him someone he didn’t recognize.

And Liam fucking Packham didn’t change for anyone. Ever.

He closed his eyes, exhausted, but knew that sleep would be elusive. He needed a plan, he needed… something.

Something other than hot, mind-blowing sex with a certain prim ginger.

Stop thinking about her
, he chastised himself.

But of course, it was easier said than done.

“
S
o
… confession time,” Audrey said, holding up her phone for Liam to see. He was relaxing on the couch, reading To Kill A Mockingbird. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Ah,” Liam said, setting his book aside. “A few people have told me how great this book is, so I am giving it a try.”

“Oh yeah?” Audrey said, taking the overstuffed red velour chair across from the couch. “Any conclusions so far?”

“I didn’t realize that the Southern part of the States was so complicated,” he said with a shrug. “That’s all I’ve really got, so far. Only about fifty pages in.”

“Well, you surprised me,” Audrey said, unable to hold back a smile.

“What, you think the dumb footballer can’t read?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure the rest of the world thinks that about me, but I’d hoped you knew better.”

“I do,” Audrey said, cocking her head and studying him. He really did look insanely sexy with a book in his hand. The way his tight MANCHESTER UNITED t-shirt clung to his chest didn’t hurt, either.

“So, what’s this about a confession?” he asked, sitting up and running a hand through his hair.

Audrey bit her lip for a second, distracted by his disheveled sexiness. Men really had all the luck in that department, Liam especially.

Liam caught her gaze, then grinned. The knowing look in his eyes meant he realized that she was just plain checking him out, which was a little embarrassing.

Busted
.

“Hmm?” she asked.

“You were confessing your sins to me,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. She tried not to stare at his bulging biceps, at the vibrant colors of his tattoos.

“Right. Uh, the night that Jack slept here, I got into his iPhone,” she said, forcing herself to focus. Was it just that she’d been so long without sex, or was her infatuation with Liam’s attractiveness a sign of the growing tension between them?

More importantly, was the supposed tension mutual, or just in her head?

“What do you mean, got into?” he asked, narrowing his gaze.

“I mean… he was hammered. I asked him for his password so I could set an alarm on his phone. While I was in there, I turned on the Find My Friends app… but I didn’t tell him that.”

Liam shrugged. “I don’t really know anything about phones.”

“I’m trying to tell you that I can track my brother anywhere he goes,” she said, holding up her phone again. “Like I can see him anytime his phone is turned on.”

“Okay…” Liam said. “A gross invasion of privacy, but alright. I assume you’re telling me this for a reason.”

“Well, right now he’s in College Park. Like wayyyy south of the city, almost to the airport.”

“Uh huh…” Liam said, giving her a baffled look. “Can you just cut to the chase, love?”

Audrey flushed a little at the word love, though he called lots of women that. It was a very casual phrase for Liam.

“He’s probably about to get himself in trouble,” she said. “There’s lots of abandoned warehouses and stuff down in that part of town, and I’d be willing to bet that he’s heading to a fight.”

Liam perked up. “Well, shit. Good work, Sherlock.”

“Thanks,” Audrey said with a chuckle.

“If you give me the address—” he started, then stopped at Audrey’s glare. “Right. Of course you aren’t just going to make this easy. You’re going to insist on going, and argue with me until I give in. Have I got that about right?”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” Audrey said.

Liam huffed a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he said, “All right, but don’t make me regret this.”

“I’ve already picked out an outfit,” Audrey said, breaking into a grin. “You know, to blend in.”

Liam stood, looking her up and down. “I hope it’s spandex. Or that sheer lace stuff, that was good.”

Audrey laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re awful. If we get moving now, I can be ready in fifteen minutes.”

“Deal,” Liam said. He held out his hand to help her up, then pulled her to her feet. For a moment, they were mere inches apart, her hand pressed against his. “Fifteen minutes, then.”

Audrey hurried to her room. She quickly added a little extra makeup and hairspray to her daytime look, playing up her blue eyes and letting her red hair cascade around her shoulders in fiery waves.

Then she opened a garment bag and pulled out something very special indeed. A skintight two-piece look, with a white tube top and a white mini-skirt, both adorned with delicate gold studs. She’d seen a pop star wearing this in photos, an after-Grammys look, and asked Liam’s stylist to find something similar.

To her shock, the stylist got Audrey the
exact
same outfit… and it actually fit, to boot. Glancing in the mirror, she slipped on a pair of gold Louboutins and grinned at herself.

Maybe it was the new job, maybe it was flirting with Liam. Whatever it was about her life these days, she felt good. Really, really good. Euphoric, except when she was fighting with Liam.

And even then… well, she kind of liked arguing with him.

Shrugging at her reflection, she walked out to find Liam pacing in the foyer. He wore dark jeans and a short-sleeved navy plaid button up, and he looked hot as hell.

“Are you wearing glasses?” she asked with a giggle.

“They’re fake. It’s part of my disguise,” he said, cocking a brow. “I’m trying to look like a sexy professor or something.”

“Mission accomplished,” she said, before she could stop herself.

Liam threw his head back and howled with laughter for a long moment while Audrey just stood there blushing. After a moment, he sobered a little.

“And you, dressed up like a Beverly Hills girl,” he said. “I guess we’re playing opposites tonight.”

“Hey, I can pull this off,” Audrey said, her lips pulling into a pout. She wasn’t about to let Liam’s teasing ruin her newfound sense of fun and freedom.

“Audrey,” Liam said, taking her wrist and pulling her close. He ran a fingertip up her arm; the touch was innocent, but it still made her shiver. “You more than pull this off, okay? You look fucking incredible.”

She relaxed and smiled at him. “Thanks.”

Liam turned her around and gave her a little push toward the door. “To be honest, I think you look good in that god-awful bathrobe of yours, so…”

Audrey bit her lip to keep from grinning. “Hey, that bathrobe is amazing. Don’t knock it till you’ve lounged in it, truly. So comfy.”

The ride to the south side of the city went fast, with Liam and Audrey chatting and laughing. Truly, Audrey couldn’t remember them ever having a comfortable conversation, much less a pleasant car ride together.

It made her happier than it should. Yeah, Liam was a complete player and he’d probably charmed a thousand girls just this way. But maybe they could at least be friends… if Audrey could keep her feelings simple and carefree, she thought there was a strong foundation for something good to come.

And yeah, maybe a tiny part of her knew that she was already past that point, but at the moment she just wanted to feel free and happy.

Liam didn’t give a shit what anyone thought, he just effortlessly succeeded in all facets of his life… he made it look so easy, Audrey couldn’t help but want to try it on for size.

Tonight she was just going to be
cool
for once. Assuming her brother wasn’t getting murdered, of course.

Her mouth turned down at that thought. There were lots of reasons why Audrey had never been wild and carefree, but Jack was among the biggest of them.

“Ah, I think we’ve found it,” Liam said, pulling her from her thoughts.

He cruised down a darkened street, pointing out a warehouse a block down. The building was the only thing on the block with lights on, plus there were dozens of cars parked on each street near it.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” she said.

“Leave everything but your ID card in the car,” Liam said. “Under the seat is even better.”

“Where would I put anything else in this outfit?” Audrey joked, and Liam snorted.

They both got out of the car, and Liam held out a hand to her. She took it with a grin.

“Are we playing pretend again tonight?” she asked. “A girl and her guardian?”

Liam slid her a sly look. “We’re playing whatever you want, sweetheart.”

Audrey scoffed and rolled her eyes, but inside it gave her a little thrill.

All right, maybe she had a
little
crush on him. Who wouldn’t working this closely together with someone who looked like Liam?

It was all good, clean fun as long as she didn’t let it go too far, right?

Right?

As they approached the single banged-up metal entry door, Audrey turned her attention to the other people who were walking up. Lots of scantily-clad girls and well-dressed, hip men. Everyone seemed to be wearing really bright colors, and some of the girls even wore fun dress-up wigs.

“Should we have worn neon?” Audrey asked Liam.

“Got me,” Liam shrugged. “It’s certainly not normal for a fight. In fact, everyone here is pretty out of character for this sort of thing.”

“Right…” Audrey said.

They lined up behind half a dozen other people at the door. Everyone stood for a few moments, waiting. Then the door swung open, persistent dance music throbbing out into the night. Audrey could see the faint flash of lights inside.

“This doesn’t seem like an illegal pit fight,” she whispered to Liam.

Liam shook his head, but she could see him trying to figure it out, too. He was starting to get a little tense, his playfulness from moments before now vanished.

The line moved slowly but steadily, and in a few minutes it swung open to admit them into a small, dark space, separated from whatever was going inside.

A naked lightbulb hung from the ceiling. The music pounded hard enough to shake the thin walls of the booth they were standing in. Two guys greeted them, a big bouncer and a skinny hipster kid.

“IDs,” the bouncer demanded.

Audrey and Liam handed them over. The bouncer checked them over, taking his time.

“Fifty bucks each, all you can drink,” the kid said. “Plus party favors.”

Liam arched a brow, then shrugged and pulled out his wallet. As soon as he handed over the cash, the kid looked Audrey up and down with a little smirk.

“You’re gonna have a great time, honey,” he said. “Now stick out your tongue.”

He held up a couple of small pills between his thumb and forefinger. Audrey scowled.

“I’m not taking that!” she protested, glancing at Liam.

“You already paid,” the kid said, rolling his eyes. “No pills, no entrance. No refunds either.”

She looked at Liam, who shrugged. Was she really going to do this?

Fun and wild, right?
she reminded herself.

She stuck out her tongue, closing her eyes, and let the kid drop the pills onto her tongue. After she swallowed, it was everything she could do to keep from asking what the hell she’d just taken.

She watched Liam take his pills, then the kid pulled back a curtain to let them into what appeared to be a massive party. They stood at the top of a staircase, giving them a view down into the writhing mass of bodies below.

“Holy shit,” Audrey said as they stepped inside. “Liam, we’re at a damn
rave
.”

The whole place was dark, with smoke machines going and colorful lights flashing. It was like something out of a movie, with tons of bright colors and bare skin on display.

At one end of the warehouse, a sexy lady DJ stood on a platform, bobbing her head as she spun records. All the other walls had makeshift bars set up, with people waiting in line for drinks. Every other inch of space was filled with people dancing, kissing, and drinking.

“This just got interesting,” Liam said. “At least we’re probably not saving your brother tonight, hm?”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Audrey said.

She started down the stairs. Liam surprised her by catching her and taking her hand once more. He laced their fingers together tightly as he took the lead, pushing into the crowd.

Liam headed all the way across the room to the least crowded bar, getting them each a drink and a bottle of water.

“Water?” she asked. Audrey had to rise up on her tiptoes and shout close to Liam’s ear just to make herself heard over the music.

“Yeah. I assume we just took X,” Liam said, his lips close to her ear. “Drink to loosen us up before it kicks in, water to keep us hydrated. We need to drink water all night from here out.”

“I don’t love the fact that you know all of this,” Audrey said, but she accepted her vodka with cranberry juice and the water.

“There,” Liam said, pointing to the warehouse entrance.

Audrey turned and squinted through the flashing lights to see Jack walking up the stairs to the exit, leading a girl in a pink wig by the hand.

“Well… he’s not dying, is he?” she said.

“What’s that?” Liam asked.

“Should we go get him?” she asked, louder this time.

Liam shrugged. “Don’t see why we would. He’s not making any decisions that we haven’t also made tonight.”

Audrey glanced at him with a frown, then sighed.

“You’re right.”

“I am!” Liam said. “Now polish that drink off and let’s go have some fucking fun for once. You’re not on babysitting duty anymore.”

Audrey laughed and drained her drink, leaving the cup on the bar. Liam did the same, then took her hand and pulled her into the thick of the dance floor. The music was fast and energetic, and Audrey and Liam both just grinned and bounced around for a few songs.

Audrey couldn’t stop smiling. Dancing felt good. Like really, really good.

Everything was a little fuzzy, like a soft-focus photo. Hazy but pretty.

“Oh god,” she cried, wrapping her arms around Liam’s neck to shout into his ear. “I think I’m high!”

She could feel the rumble of Liam’s laugh in his chest.

“Good,” he growled into her ear. “You look happy.”

“I think I am!” she said.

The music slowed, turned low and seductive. Audrey faltered for a moment, her body pressing against Liam’s. She gazed up at him, watching his eyes blaze emerald with hunger.