"Don't be. Am I upset my naked body has now been seen by half the world? Yes. Do I give two shits about what people are saying about my body? No. Am I going to let this, or anything else short of death come between us? Absolutely fucking not."
I cup his face, and he looks deep into my eyes as I try to make him understand. "Don't you get it? Let the paps and the reporters and the rabid, maniacal fans throw whatever they like at me. It won't matter. I'd walk through fire to be with you, and I'd be grateful for the burns. Because you're it for me, forever, and if that means I have to endure a thousand naked pictures, or even a poorly shot sex tape titled ... oh, I don't know ... Giant Geyser of Stickiness, for example ... then that's what I'll do."
It takes a moment for my words to sink in, but when they do, he bursts out laughing and pulls me into his arms. "God, you're incredible. What the hell did I do to deserve you?"
"Well, for a start, you're really good looking. Then there's your body. And don't even get me started on your pretty cock."
He hugs me tighter. "Watch it, or I'll grab the video camera and make that porno a reality. We can get Giant Geyser of Stickiness filmed and edited before Alba and Luis get back in the morning. I dare you to get your porn face on."
"Oh, it's on," I say, rising on my toes so I can nuzzle his neck. "And when we're done we can upload it to the cloud, so hackers can find it."
He breathes heavily as I lay kisses from his clavicle down to his chest. "Brilliant. After all, any publicity is good publicity."
"Well, that's not exactly true," I say, teasing him with my tongue. "Sure, your enormous man member broke the internet, but the fallout could have been so much worse."
He pulls back so he can see my face. "How?"
"Well, you could have had a really small cock."
He gives me one of those smiles that takes my breath away. The kind I know he doesn't give to anyone else in the world. "God, I love you." He pulls me close and kisses me, slow and deep, and when he pulls back, I look into his eyes and see any lingering doubt has disappeared.
"We'll get through this," he says, determination hardening his features.
"Exactly. By next week, people will have forgotten all about it."
"I hope so. Still, I'm going to make the most of our time here. The longer I can pretend most people I meet haven't seen my dick, the better."
I stroke his chest. "I know how you feel. Not about the dick part, of course, but you know ... boobs. And sandy vag."
He smiles then kisses me again, a little harder than before. When he draws back, he grazes his hand up my ribcage to cup my breasts through my shirt. "I'm conflicted about people seeing you naked. On the one hand, I want to murder every single man who's seen those photos and reduced you to a sexual object. And on the other, I want to boast to the world I get to make love to that perfect body every day, so everyone else can go suck it."
"Huh," I say as I move away from him, so I can take off my shirt. "You mean you don't already brag about banging me? That's hurtful. I tell random chicks in lingerie shops all the time about banging you."
He watches as I finish unbuttoning my blouse and slip it off my shoulders. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He moves toward me slowly. "Have I told you that you're the greatest woman on the planet, and I'd be a shell of a man without you?"
"Well, no, but—"
He holds up his hand as he advances on me. "No need to answer. These are rhetorical questions." Another step. "Have I told you that you're the wittiest, sweetest, sexiest woman who's ever existed? That you drive me insane simply by drawing breath? That I can't look at you without wanting to kiss you, and touch you, and make sweet, filthy love to you?"
He takes my hands and walks me backward toward the bench near the windows. "Because all of that is true. You're remarkable, Elissa Holt, and even though I don't deserve you, I fucking love you with all my heart."
When my back is against the window, he takes my face in his hands and lowers his head until our lips are almost touching. "And I'm sorry I ever suggested you should leave me. That was fucking stupid. I tried living without you once, and it was the worst six years of my life. If I ever suggest something like that again, feel free to hit me. Hard." He grazes his lips against mine, and the sudden rush of hormones makes me lightheaded. "You're my everything, Liss. You're my entire world. Nothing means anything without you."
When he kisses me, it's with a desperation I haven't felt before. It's part apology and part gratitude, and a whole lot of knowing we could be locked in a Turkish prison together and still count ourselves lucky.
As the kiss continues, our clothes become a casualty of our battle to be joined as quickly as possible, and when Liam sits on the bench next to the windows, I let out a long moan of relief as I sink down onto him.