To my relief – or disappointment, I am not sure which – Ari interrupts the moment by starting the engine of Liam’s car and telling us to get in.
The club I chose was a recommendation from Dave and Finn. They are much more into partying than Ella or I am, and they know the best places in town. The place is crowded. Obviously, it’s Friday night. However, we don’t need to wait in line. The moment the doorman sees Liam, he allows us in.
The place is crowded with people. The music is loud and the light pulsates in different colors. The atmosphere and noise are making my eardrums vibrate slightly. It smells like sweat, perfume and cocktails. A weird intoxicating mixture.
Once inside, I start to notice something unusual. It’s hard to explain, but it reminds me of something my brother Steve told me. How having a hot partner next to you suddenly makes you more interesting to others. Like, if you can get that super-hot dude, there has to be something special about you, something alluring. It’s Steve’s strategy to help his befriended she-wolves hook up with the guys they want. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I slowly realize he might have been right. Liam is tall, strong, and attractive. He radiates power and strength – even the humans instantly notice. I am just the normal girl next to him. But he has his arm wrapped around my hips. His presence and his interest in me seemingly make me more appealing to the other men.
I am suddenly scared my jeans might be a bit too tight and my top too revealing.
“This has to be a fucking joke,” Liam growls lowly. Apparently, he noticed too. He pulls me tighter to his body. He radiates so much heat. His scent is delicious, so delicious. His possessive attitude turns me on so much. I grab his arm, holding on tight to it before looking up at him.
“I told you not to tease us too much.” One of his hands remains at the small of my back. The other starts brushing over my neck, down my collarbone. “You look breath-taking, and your scent… Better not challenge me, mate.”
I look up at him, keeping my gaze locked with his. “What if I want to challenge you?” I ask innocently. “Or are you just all talk?”
For a moment, I feel like the tension around us gets unbearable, like a humid summer night before a thunderstorm approaches. Before I can even blink though Liam flashes me a smirk, his eyes glinting. Then he pulls me up into a kiss, smashing his lips against mine.
I have to stretch to reach him, but his arm gladly supports me, lifting me up a bit. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back. I am not the most experienced, but everything is so natural to me right now. I only needed to stop second-guessing everything.
I bite down on his lip to tease him further.
“Damn it, Annalise,” his voice is only a rumble, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Liam,” I murmur, kissing his neck in response.
“Say it again,” he demands. “Say my name.”
I look him in his eyes. “Liam.”
He pulls me into another kiss, even fiercer than the first. It makes my head spin, and my heart almost bursts with overflowing emotions. He lets me catch my breath before I can pass out, though, and instead sucks at my neck. I am not sure if he is biting me or not. It feels like it. Goddess, I want him to mark me. I want more, more…
Before I can ask for it, though, I hear a careful cough. It makes me turn to the side and eye Ari. She is keeping her distance, warier than before. “I am very sorry to interrupt,” she says carefully.
Liam growls, and I can finally understand why she carefully approaches us. She knew he wouldn’t like to be interrupted. She bends her head slightly to show Liam her neck in submission, shifting her gaze not to look at him directly.
I take a few careful breaths. She is right. We are in a club, in public. “Liam, Ari is right. I don’t want to be marked in public.” I turn my head to look at my mate, reaching out my hands to pull him into a soft kiss. It calms him down a bit.
“Next time I won’t let you off so easily,” he mutters against my lips.
I hope he won’t, I think, but don’t say it out loud, knowing it would spur him on again.
Ari smiles thankfully at me, turning back to her normal cheerful and confident self. When Liam squeezes her shoulder for a moment, everything is back to normal. “I am getting us drinks,” she grins. “Hopefully, I can leave you two lovebirds alone for a minute. If we have to make a run from the police because of indecent exposure in public, link me in time.”
I grin. “We will try to behave.”
Liam grabs me by my hips and spins me around teasingly. “Speak for yourself,” he smirks.
As Ari calls it, we indeed behave for the rest of the night. Liam doesn’t let go of me, and I find myself holding on to him too. Something about the club's atmosphere has made us both let our guards down. After a while though, I notice that the noise in the club is slowly straining my ears.
“So,” Liam looks around. “This is what you like doing in your free time?” he asks curiously.
I have to focus on hearing what he is saying, even with my enhanced hearing. I hate that it’s so loud. “Well,” I stutter. “I wouldn’t call it a hobby.”
Liam eyes me curiously. “You wouldn’t? I thought clubbing was your thing, so you brought me here.”
“I thought clubbing was your thing,” I blush.
He looks surprised. “Why would you think that?”