Page 41 of Perfectly Naïve
“Liv,” he rasps, thumb brushing over my lips. “Please stop sayingfuck.”
“Okay,” I murmur, confused as ever. Science is usually easy. Attraction? That’s a mystery.
“As for your question,” he murmurs, eyes holding mine. “Fucking will come later, but for now...” He trails off and slowly brings his mouth to meet mine, giving me a moment to escape.
I fist his shirt in my hands as his soft lips smooth over mine. His tongue traces the seam of my lips, and I gasp at the warmth and wetness. Liam slips his tongue into my mouth, tasting me, and I follow his lead, gently teasing him with mine. The forums online mentioned sucking on a lip, so I pull his bottom lip into my mouth, lightly sucking. He groans, the sound deep and low.
My core warms and my walls clench. That sensation is new, but it’s been happening a lot around these men. I sigh, surrendering to the kiss. After a moment, Liam pulls back, resting his forehead against mine.
“Wow,” he says with a laugh. “That was amazing, and when you sucked on my lip”—he pulls back to look at me—“god, Liv. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to kiss you.”
“Even after all these years?”
He averts his gaze. “Is that weird? Me being obsessed with you for that long?”
“No.” I shake my head. “There’s a lot of behavior science surrounding attraction that turns into obsession.” A lot of it is about psychopaths, but Liam doesn’t strike me as one. I should be safe. “You’re not a murderer, right?”
“What? No,” he says with a hard laugh. “Do I look like a murderer?”
“Not really.” A grin pulls at my lips. “Just checking, because science.”
“Science, huh?”
I nod. “There’s a scientific explanation for almost anything.”
He hums, appearing thoughtful. “Whatever science brought you to my pack, I approve.”
The pack. Oh my God. The presentation. I haven’t even finished. “About that. I was in the middle of asking your pack to help Sawyer teach me how to be a good omega.”
“Who said you’re a bad omega?” he demands. The sudden sharpness in his tone has me searching his face. Why do I get the feeling he’d go and have a word with whoever it was? Picturing Liam scolding my mother is a funny thought.
“No one,” I say, waving my hand. “But I should finish my presentation. It won’t take long, and this is actually perfect. Our families are in the same social circles, and?—”
“I’m not really in the same social circles anymore,” Liam says quickly.
I shrug. “That’s fine, too, but I should really finish what I started.” Before I lose all my confidence.
He holds out his hand, as if sensing my urgency. “Should we get back out there?”
Nodding, I slip my palm into his. My stomach flutters as his fingers close around mine. I study his profile as he leads me out of the room. He’s so beautiful.More handsome than I remember.How am I going to get through fake dating these men if I can’t stop crushing on them?
The rest of the pack is clustered together, speaking in hushed tones, but as we emerge from the hallway, they all perk up. Sawyer clocks Liam’s hand holding mine. I brace for some type of annoyance, but a big smile breaks across his face. Hayes and Wilder are grinning too.
“Look who’s back,” Sawyer says, gaze flitting between us. “Everything okay?”
“Why would you ask that? Of course everything is okay. Why? Does it not seem okay?” I say too quickly.Crap. Quick. Distract them. “Liam kissed me.”
Liam glances at me, features contorted into a comical expression. “Are you tattling?”
Shoot. I am. I wince. “Sorry.”
The pack shares a laugh. Sawyer stands, making his way over to us. He stops in front of me, gaze roaming over my cheeks. They’re probably tomato red. “Can we talk to Liam for a moment?”
“Of course, then I can start the presentation over.”
Amusement flashes across his features. “Right, the presentation.” He reaches up and brushes his thumb over my cheek, scent marking me. “Give us a minute.”
Liam follows him back to the pack, and I go to my laptop, trying to act uninterested in their sidebar. I set the computer back in presentation mode. My gaze zips to the pack. Their voices are too low for me to make out much of anything, but Wilder looks at me, eyes sparkling with mischief. He winks, then focuses on whatever Sawyer is saying.
