I smiled before turning back toward the party.
I took another sip of my drink and surveyed the scene before me. The crowd had grown a little bit since we'd arrived, but his house was big enough that there were little cliques of people rather than a sea of bodies. I was eyeing each of the groups, trying to spot someone from the club soccer world, when I laid eyes on Liam speaking with a pretty woman near the back windows. The sunset illuminated him from behind and he was breathtakingly handsome. He had on black swim trunks and a black LA Stars shirt. His hair was a bit longer on top, tousled more than usual, and I knew he needed a haircut soon. He was wearing a confident smile and sporting a cleanly shaved look that made it impossible not to notice his strong jaw. I could practically feel him dazzling the entire room. Women would regard him with interest as they walked by, but he was focused solely on the woman in front of him.
It was clear they knew each other well. They were laughing and talking with their hands. Before I knew it, I was bee lining straight toward them instead of heading in the opposite direction. I couldn't help it. I was moth to a flame when it came to Liam.
As I stepped closer, his grey eyes landed on me for the first time in three days. There was a flash of something behind his gaze: surprise, lust, hatred— I couldn’t tell, but I took a deep breath and willed my legs to carry me closer. His cool expression gave nothing away and I felt my heart rate pick up, hammering inside my chest, as he watched me approach.
I stepped up behind the woman he was chatting with, who was still oblivious to my presence, and gently tapped her shoulder. She spun around with a residual smile on her face from whatever she’d been discussing with him. It was friendly, even as she aimed it on me, and I wasn’t sure if I appreciated that or not. If she was his date, I didn’t want her friendly smile.
“Can I help you?” she asked after I stood there like a simpleton. I hadn’t planned out a single word so I let my mouth take over. It seemed like the best option.
"Hi… um, do you mind if I cut in for a moment?" I asked, purposely keeping my gaze on her instead of Liam. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be and I was floundering enough as it was.
She tilted her head in surprise and offered me an amused grin. "Sure, thing.” She turned back toward him. “We'll talk later, Liam."
"Thanks," I murmured, but as she walked away, I called to her. "Actually, you might get him back in like five minutes… depending on how much he hates me."
She grinned and I heard Liam chuckle behind me. It was dark and smooth like I’d imagine a glass of bourbon to be. When I spun to face him, he was regarding me with enough heat to start a fire. And not a wimpy fire… a giant, smoldering bon fire. His right brow was dropped just a tad, his grey eyes were narrowed, and he was wearing a secret smirk that said he had me exactly where he wanted – hook, line, and sinker.
"I'm all ears," he murmured, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
I took a moment to gather my wits that he’d stolen in a flash. "Were you going to hook up with her if I hadn't interrupted?" My voice held more curiosity than jealousy.
"No," he grinned with a twinkle in his eyes. "That's my agent. She would bill me extra for services like that."
"Ha-ha. She's pretty," I stated, matter-of-factly.
"Not my type."
"What's your type?" I asked, crossing my arms protectively over my stomach, careful not to spill my drink.
"Long legs, brown hair… the kind of girl that pretends I don’t exist for three days and then has the confidence to cut in at a party when I'm talking to another girl."
I bit back my smile. "Not another girl, your agent."
He smiled and his features relaxed into pleasant repose as if he were chiseled from stone. I studied the way his cheek bones sloped into his sharp jaw. It was hard to focus on anything else when I hadn’t been this close to him in days. It was like my body’s resistance to his sheer magnetism had faded and now I was starting again from zero.
Yes, brain. He’s still the most beautiful thing in the world.
"You didn't know she was my agent."
I looked down at the floor and shrugged.
"I spoke with Coach Davis earlier."
"How'd that go?" he asked.
"Tara got kicked off the team."
He raised his brows. "She needed to be, but I didn't think they would actually do it."
"She made it pretty easy for Coach Davis to give her up from what it sounded like," I murmured and glanced down his body. His tattoos were peeking out from beneath his left shirt sleeve and I blushed remembering the image of him changing in his closet.
"It'll be better for the whole team with her gone," Liam said, taking a small step toward me. I swallowed past the lump in my throat.