His Assignment: Chapter 38

Liam’s body grows entirely still. Mine does something similar.

Why the fuck did I just say that?

It couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s not at all what I intended to say. I was going to pry into his conversation with Emily, not make up some absurd lie about Drew asking me on a date.

Liam clears his throat and turns on the car. The radio begins to blare the music I had on earlier, and Liam doesn’t hesitate to reach over and turn it off. It’s an awkward gesture, one that brings to light the tense atmosphere that’s suddenly taken over the space.

The silence is deafening, and sweat pebbles up along my temple as Liam backs out of his spot and turns onto the main road.

Why isn’t he saying anything? What’s he thinking?

Does he know I lied? Tuck mentioned having a wife and children, so I knew I couldn’t use him, but Drew didn’t say anything about being in a relationship. Fuck. Why did I say that?

I stare straight ahead, fumbling for answers to questions Liam hasn’t even asked. I’m sure he will, though. It’s only a matter of time. Liam’s too aggressive to bottle up his emotions inside. If he’s angry or annoyed by something, he’s undoubtedly going to let everybody know.

“What exactly did he say?” Liam eventually asks.

I gulp, my heart pounding. Should I tell him I lied? I can play it off as a joke. It’ll definitely be weird, and I don’t think Liam will find it funny, but it would save me the embarrassment of anybody finding out I was lying for reasons even I don’t know.

“Drew? He asked if we were dating…” I say instead.

I have no idea how I’m ever going to dig myself out of this lie. Maybe I can steal Liam’s phone and use it to ask Drew out. He seemed nice, and if he says yes, Liam would never have to know I lied.

If he says no, I’ll just say I canceled the date. I doubt Liam would bring it up with Drew.

“I told him you and I are just friends,” I continue, spewing answers that couldn’t be further from the truth. “And I joked that I do have a soft spot for small-town boys. He thought it was funny, and he asked if I’d want to go on a date with one.”

Liam makes a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. I repeatedly itch the back of my hand.

“I said I’d love that, and he asked me to the movies on Saturday night,” I continue.

My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest, and I stare out the car window as Liam turns away from the busier city center and onto a residential street. We’re almost to Beth’s house, and I’m counting down the seconds until we arrive.

The air in the car is stifling, and I need to get out of here before I implode. Or before Liam figures out I’m lying about Drew. I’d like for neither to happen.

Liam doesn’t immediately respond to my lie, and I can’t tell if it’s because he sees through it. He’s perceptive, and he knows Drew significantly better than I’d do.

“Well,” Liam starts. “You’re not going.”

It takes a moment for his words to register. What? Even though this date isn’t real, I still find myself offended that Liam thinks he can tell me what to do. I’m not some fucking pet he can order around. It’s my family he works for, and if anything, he should be following my orders.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

Considering my made-up conversation happened when he was off having a very real, super secret conversation with his ex-girlfriend, I don’t know where he gets the idea that he can say these things to me. Especially after his repeated insistence that our relationship isn’t leading anywhere.

Liam has no right to tell me who I can and can’t date.

“If I want to go out with Drew, I very well will,” I say.

Liam’s knuckles turn white with how hard he’s gripping the steering wheel.

“No, you won’t,” he argues. “I brought you here to keep you safe, not to flirt with and fuck my friends. You’re not going.”

Who is this man? My father? Screw him.

Liam pulls up to Beth’s, and I shove open the car door and storm to the house the second he’s parked. Beth isn’t home, thank fucking god, and I angrily cross my arms over my chest as Liam unlocks the front door.

“I’m going on that date,” I say for good measure before shoving past him into the house.

Liam laughs, a loud, mocking noise, before following me inside. I can’t believe him.

“Katie!”

I ignore Liam and head down the hallway toward my bedroom.

“Katie!” Liam repeats.

He’s an ugly fucking cretin, and I visualize all the different ways I can kill him as I step into my bedroom and attempt to slam the door. Attempt being the keyword.

Liam shoves his oversized body into the doorway before I can shut him out. He doesn’t seem to understand that I want to be left alone, and I know I’m not being discreet. I believe I’ve made it very fucking clear that I want nothing to do with him right now.

“Tell me you’re not going to go out with Drew,” Liam orders.

I shake my head, refusing.

“You don’t own me, Liam,” I say. “And you’ve made it very fucking clear where I stand in your life.”

I spin around the room, searching for something to distract myself with, but the damn place is spotless. Instead, I push myself against the wall furthest from Liam, wanting distance from the angry titan.

Liam stalks forward, refusing me the space I so desperately want. I’m so fucking angry, and it’s only a matter of time before it leads to tears. I’ve always been an angry crier, and while I’ve been able to keep it hidden from Liam relatively well, I can tell I’m going to struggle today.

I’m too wound up.

“And where do you think you stand in my life?” Liam asks.

He’s seething, and if we were in an animated movie, I’d expect to see steam pouring out of his ears. There’d be plenty pouring from mine, too.

“I don’t,” I say. “I’m not a part of your life, and you have no intention to let me be a part of it.”

Liam continues to stalk forward, and I debate grabbing the lamp off the bedside table and yielding it as a weapon. I’d sure love to smash it over his head right about now. Maybe if I’m lucky, he’ll be knocked out cold. Then I can beat him up while he’s defenseless.

I’ll kick him right in the fucking kidneys.

“You don’t know anything,” Liam says.

I scoff. “Being jealous doesn’t give you an excuse to be a dick.” I’m really fighting the urge not to kill him. “I’m not yours to order around.”

If looks could kill, I’d be long dead. Liam looks like he’s plotting my death just as I’m planning his. He stalks even closer, and I pant as his body heat sears me through our clothing.

What’s he thinking?

“You are mine,” Liam says.

He says it like a threat, and I resist the urge to laugh.

“I’m yours just as much as you’re mine,” I spit.

It hurts to say, to so plainly acknowledge that Liam isn’t mine, but I force myself to do it. I need to hear it just as much as he does. I’m not his, and he’s not mine. He’s ensured that.

Liam’s chest presses against mine, and I clench and unclench my hands into tight fists by my sides as I glare up at him. He’s trying to intimidate me, but I refuse to let that happen. I refuse to be intimidated by this oversized meathead of a man.

Not anymore.

My pulse races as Liam’s lips curl into a cruel smile. I want to know what it means. He clearly thinks he’s got the upper hand here, something he knows that I don’t, and I don’t like it.

“I’m glad we have that settled, then,” he says.

What?

“You’re going to cancel that fucking date, Katie,” Liam says. He leans in, his breath tickling my cheek. “And then you’re going to apologize for ever fucking entertaining the idea of going out with another man. Of sharing what’s already been given to me. Of sharing what’s mine.”

I’m sick and tired of these mind games, and in a fit of desperation and anger, I reach up and grab a handful of Liam’s hair. It’s grown just long enough to get a good fistful, and I don’t hesitate to tighten my grip.

Liam doesn’t react to the pain, but I know it hurts.

If he wants to make demands, I’m going to make some, too.

“Then you don’t get to have secret conversations with women you’ve fucked,” I say. Liam’s eyes go wide, like it never occurred to him that I’d be angry with what he did. He’s an idiot. “And you don’t get to unilaterally decide what our relationship is. You don’t get to make all the decisions.”

Liam licks his lips, his gray eyes boring into mine, before he gives a jerky nod. Well, he nods as much as he can when I’m gripping the hair at the back of his head.

“If you’re going to be mine while we’re here, you’re going to be mine when we return to New York, too,” I continue.

Blood rushes through my ears, my nerves at an all-time high. We’ve had this conversation what feels like dozens of times, and it’s never worked out in my favor. At some point, I need to accept it’s never going to.

I tighten my grip on his hair, ripping the strands at the base.

“Fuck,” Liam gasps. “Okay…” He leans in until his lips brush mine. “Okay.”

I clench my jaw shut as he travels lower, to my neck, and pulls the skin into his mouth. He’s trying to leave a mark, and it takes everything in me to move out of his reach. It seems to be the wrong move as Liam abruptly grabs my hips and pushes me against the wall, pinning me into place.

“I said okay, princess,” Liam says, his voice low. “If you want me so bad, you can have me.”

God. He’s got such an ego.

Liam smiles, his lips curling against the sensitive skin of my neck. “But I want you to cancel that fucking date, and I want you to promise that this—” He reaches down and cups my sex, his warm palm pressing firmly between my thighs. “—will remain mine. Exclusively.”

I struggle to swallow past the lump in my throat, and Liam seems to take great pleasure in my momentary inability to speak as he drags his lips over my sensitive skin. It’s too much, and I can’t think straight.

“Drew never asked me out,” I blurt out.

Liam stills, his lips freezing against my skin, before I feel the corners of his lips twitch. He’s trying not to laugh at me, and I stiffen as he casually continues to drag his lips over my throat. He’s taking too much enjoyment in this.

“What?” he asks.

I gulp, unable to tell if the heat radiating off me is due to need or embarrassment. It’s probably a bit of both.

“Drew never asked me out,” I repeat. “I made it up because I was angry about your conversation with Emily.”

Liam squeezes my waist, his grip so tight I suspect I’m going to have tiny finger-shaped bruises tomorrow, before he lifts me into the air. I instinctively grab his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist, and he slides both his hands to my ass before pushing me back against the wall.

I gasp, shut my eyes, and rest my head against the wall. I can’t bring myself to look at Liam right now. I don’t want to see his reaction to my admission.

“I was apologizing to her,” Liam says. He slides his hand up the center of my chest, and I shiver as he cups the column of my throat, his thumb brushing the bottom of my jaw. “I left for New York when we were dating, and I never properly ended things with her. I dropped everything without warning, including her, and I was apologizing.”

Liam tightens his grip on my neck, squeezing just hard enough to make me aware of my breathing.

“Your lie about Drew changes nothing,” he continues. “You’re mine.”

I nod, and Liam takes that as permission to drag his lips back to mine. His kiss is bruising, not that I’m complaining, and I roughly cup his cheeks as he tilts his head to the side and takes charge.

He grunts. “My bedroom.”

Liam tightens his grip on me before stepping away from the wall, but I don’t pay attention to a damn thing he’s doing as I kiss and bite all along his jawline. I’m faintly aware of him carrying me out of my room and into his, and I let out a quiet moan as he slams his door shut and brings me to his bed.

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Finally getting some spicy spice next chapter