Page 35 of The Science of Attraction

Liam’s lips parted immediately, our tongues colliding in a fierce battle to taste and explore. And before I knew it, he was flush against me, his leg hooked high around the back of mine, our bodies locked, my hard cock pressed against his stomach—no hiding how much I wanted him even through the thick waders, and he rode my thigh with equal urgency.

He let loose a filthy groan and determined hands gripped my arse and yanked me even harder against him. “Fucking hell,” he breathed the words into my open mouth, then nipped my lower lip. “You’re killing me here.”

“Tell me about it.” My dick was burning up, frantic for connection. And while Liam slammed his mouth back onto mine and his tongue aggressively mined somewhere south of my tonsils, I mounted a desperate search for friction, frustrated by the thick waders.

Liam was having problems of his own, the rubbery material not giving his dick the smooth ride he needed as he rutted against my leg. “Goddammit, have I mentioned how much I hate these fucking things?” he grumbled, then shoved his tongue back down my throat.

He tasted of need and want and everything wicked and forbidden that had haunted my fantasies right back to my teenage years. From the moment I’d told myself to go with the sensible option, the easier option, the option that didn’t see my future evaporate in front of my eyes.

And it hadn’t been hard.

Not until Liam Skelton walked onto Lane Station with his unaffected charm and refreshing candour and turned everything on its fucking head. The bad-boy looks and superior arse hadn’t hurt either.

Liam’s breaths came in pants matching my own, and he groaned loudly into my open mouth.

But for all that I wanted this, wantedhim, all of those very sensible reasons for staying under the radar were still front and centre in my life. Zach had never seen his future working the station, and I’d never seen my future without it.

The reminder snapped me back to reality and I broke the kiss and stepped out of Liam’s hold.

He blinked, swaying slightly on his feet, confused, face flushed, eyes black as night, hair tousled, looking thoroughly debauched.

I did that.I quashed the thought and sucked in a deep breath.

“Jules?” Liam studied me warily, like he knew, like he was already kicking himself.

“I—” I took another step back and swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was stupid of me and unfair to you. I’m sorry.”

I watched the sting of my words hit home. Watched as Liam’s expression immediately blanked and he started brushing the dust off his jeans—myjeans, jeans that I might never wash again.

“Yeah, of course.” He didn’t or wouldn’t meet my eyes and I wanted nothing more than to eat my words. “It was just a kiss, yeah? Already forgotten.”

Not by me. Maybe never by me.“I just... it’s... God, I’m sorry.”

He raised both palms. “Hey, no explanations needed. Your dad. The station. You’re not as into guys as you are women—” He cocked a disbelieving eyebrow and I’m pretty sure I blushed. “—I totally get it.”

But hedidn’tget it. He especially didn’t get the part where all my rules were hanging by a thread because of just how very much Iwasinto him. “Liam. I—” My phone rang, and I retrieved it from the waterproof pocket tucked inside the bib of my waders. “Sorry. I need to check it’s not Ten.”

It wasn’t.

It was Laura. Talk about the universe fucking with me. I looked up in time to catch Liam’s gaze fixed on the screen of my phone.Shit.I sent the call to voicemail and decided Liam deserved the truth about what I was feeling.

But I didn’t get the chance.

His expression shuttered, locking me out, and he looked away. “It never happened, okay? You’re my client’s son. A fling between us was never going to be a good idea.”

My phone sounded again and I almost growled.

Liam glanced down where Laura’s name flashed on my screen once again and his expression cooled. “You should get that. I’ll check if Brent is done, and we can start packing up.”

The conversation was clearly over.

Even if I didn’t want it to be.

But Liam was right. I’d made a stupid mistake and even though it clearly pissed him off, he was offering a chance for us both to make a dignified retreat. It was way more than I deserved. But as I watched him head up the bank, something deep inside railed against my stupidity, folded in on itself, and crawled back into its hole, leaving an aching empty pit in my chest.

I almost ran after him, desperate to get his lips back on mine, his arms around my waist, his clever tongue down my throat. He was walking away because I was an idiot and a total fucking coward. I had no one to blame but myself.

Jules, thy name be arsehole.

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