Page 21 of Fighting With Light
She gives me a dirty look and her jaw ticks. “I don’t want to go back. Like I said, this is my opportunity andI’m taking it.”
10
Aelia
“Can I leave now?”
Liam stares at me for a minute.
“I don’t know, Aelia, can you?”
The tension in the room is tight as I slide off the bed. Hesitating, I glance at his knives again and he catches me staring. I lift my chin and saunter past the knives into the bathroom.
I grimace at myself in the mirror. My mascara is smeared and my hair is all over the place, but the way Liam was looking at me, he didn’t even notice.
When I get home, I’m going to have to play this carefully. I’m sure questions will be asked about Bali, so I’m going to have to plant the seed that I met someone and it’s more than casual.
But I can’t let myself fall like I was for Liam. He’s charming, funny, and gorgeous with his tan skin, athletic body, and dirty blond hair bleached from the sun, and the way his body felt pressed against mine was…nothing short of overwhelming. It’s a good thing he has great timing because I think, for the first time, I was allowing myself to let go with someone I felt oddly safe with. That’s a first for me, and it’s part of the reason I wasn’t terrified out of my mind when I woke up tied to a bed.
Tears burn in my eyes as memories flood back. I take a deep breath and push them under the surface where they belong. It doesn’t help that I’ve been kidnapped, drugged, and tied up when I was a kid. I learned quickly that if you give them any emotion, they will use it against you.
With Liam, I wasn’t scared. I should have been, but I wasn’t. I’m also aware of how screwed up it is that I’m not that mad that he drugged me, even thoughit was just sleeping pills. I should’ve killed him or ran out of here and left Bali immediately. But I didn’t.
I’ve never pretended to be anything but screwed up because when you’re raised in a family like mine, there are certain things that don’t bother you anymore and leave scars no one can see. They can’t hear you screaming behind the pretty face and party girl attitude. Maybe that’s why I feel safe with Liam. I see him screaming behind his and I can’t help but wonder if I may have met my match.
What I didn’t tell Liam was that seeing someone for any longer than forty-eight hours means that it’s more than a hookup. I’m concerned that it will tip Dad off and then he’ll force the arranged marriage, and I can’t let that happen. I won’t marry a stranger. I get to decide that, not my father.
My brothers don’t seem to have a problem with it, but they also aren’t betrothed to a woman they know nothing about. I’m sure they will change their tune if Dad gets that far with them. Regardless, it’s not happening to me and Liam might just be able to help me with that. My father isn’t stupid. It might take him a couple of weeks to figure out that I’m serious with someone, and that will get him going, which makes me smile.
A knock on the door makes me jump. “Aelia, are you okay in there?”
I sigh, glancing at myself one more time, fixing the strands of dark hair. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”
I finish my business and open the door. Glancing to my left, I notice the knives are gone. Liam is sitting at his desk, typing away on his computer. “I thought I was going to have to dive in after you.”
“Like Baywatch Bali edition.”
The corner of his mouth tips up and remains facing his computer screen.
“What time is it?” I ask.
He looks at the diver’s watch on his wrist.
“Seven,” he says.
I puff out a breath, reach for my phone, and send Ben a quick text so he won’t come running. “Do you want to get somebreakfast?”
His fingers falter on the keyboard and I stand there feeling like an idiot. My chest feels tight and my eyes burn a little. Forcing my chin up, I blink the tears away because I’m beginning to think he really did play me. I’m well versed in spotting people like that, but it never felt that way with Liam. I don’t know how to feel about him, and I refuse to sayheartbroken.
I break hearts, not the other way around.
The typing stops and he spins around in his chair. “Yeah, do you want to order room service?” Liam asks, looking at the spot I was in. I’m already across the room and he takes a second to realize I was walking out. “Oh, did you want to go instead?”
“Yeah,” I cough. “Room service is fine.”
He nods as an odd expression crosses his face. “Grab the menu, tell me what you want, and I’ll call it in.”
“Okay,” I rasp. I grab the menu from the mini bar and tell him what I want. When he orders, it sounds like he’s ordering food for six people instead of two.
