Fighting With Light (The Coldwell Brothers #2)

11. Liam

11

Liam

We climb up the steps of the small temple that sits out on a cliff exposed from the mainland. The very edge overlooks the ocean as it crashes against the wall of stone below. The bright green of the plants and pops of color from flowers fill the surrounding space. I’ve always thought the construction of these was interesting. When I go to new places, I explore them top to bottom and the view from here is what captivated me the most. But a new view captivates me now, and her name is Aelia Costa.

I don’t know what to make of all of this. Sure, I like her as a person, but I’m still not positive I can trust her. She probably feels the same way. I imagine there is a lot going through her head right now. Her feelings are understandable, and I’m sure a part of her feels like she is betraying her family, but from the sound of it, she might be saving them. I know that’s what I’m doing.

Aelia leans against the railing as she stares out to the ocean and cliff side. Her hair blows in the wind, whipping it across her face, and I reach forward, tucking a lock behind her ear. She turns towards me and I take a step closer to her. She leans in, and I feel like she’s tugging on me, but she’s not even touching me.

“Aelia,” I whisper.

She tilts her chin and gazes up into my eyes. “Just kiss me, you idiot.”

I grab the back of her neck hauling her to me. Her body leans into mine and she grabs my shirt, pulling me down as my arms wrap around her lower back. Our kiss goes from slow and gentle to provoking and heated as she thrusts her tongue into my mouth. She groans and I hold her still, savoring the way she feels against me, kissing me. This is a horrible idea because it can only end one way, but I toss logic out the window and lean into the way Aelia makes me feel. Against all odds, the enemy of my enemy may be more than my friend.

Aelia pulls back on a sharp inhale. I grin down at her, still holding her to me as my heart beats roughly in my chest like I’m underwater. I can hear the way it thuds as blood rushes through my body. She leans into me so my back is against the stone rail and slides her hands over my chest.

“I know this is a means to an end, but…”

“But the means could be a little more meaningful if we let them?” I suggest.

We’re talking in circles. I can’t say it directly and I don’t think she can bring herself to, either. Everyone knows friends, enemies, and coworkers with benefits never work out, someone always ends up getting hurt. But Aelia and I are not normal people. We did not have normal upbringings and this woman uses her teeth to tear apart any man she comes into contact with.

But I am not a typical man. I’ve met her blow for blow. Her teeth might be sharp, but mine are bigger.

“Bad decisions have good outcomes all the time,” she whispers.

I huff a laugh. “Are you saying I’m a bad decision, princess?”

She shrugs. “I’m certainly not saying you’re a good one,” she says, almost like she’s telling herself not to go down this road that we are both already speeding down.

“Well then…think about it because I don’t think I could say no to you again, even if I wanted to.”

She bites her lower lip as the corners of her mouth tip up. “So the great Tarzan is into me.”

“Never said I wasn’t,” I mutter, pulling her lip from her teeth.

“There’s a reason people call me a man-eater, Liam,” she warns.

“And there’s a reason my brothers call me a dumb playboy. I guess that just means we’ve given each other a reason to be different than how they see us.” Not sure what else to say, I grab her chin and dip my head down to hers, kissing her briefly. She looks me in the eye, and something changed. I can feel it. This can’t ever go anywhere, but we can enjoy the chemistry between us because it’s undeniable, and she knows it too. I kiss her again, and our tongues battle for dominance and I wish we were at my villa right now.

She pulls back and lays her head on my chest. The motion catches me by surprise because it’s so…soft. The exact opposite of everything I’ve seen from her. “I don’t want to go back to Boston,” she says into the wind.

“We have a plan, princess, we need to stick to it. He will get what’s coming to him. They both will.” Her hands tighten on my shirt, fisting the material. What I don’t say is that the law may not be on our side for this. It may not go as planned, but we have no other options. They cannot continue like this, putting lives in danger for money and power. It’s a hollow, addicting pursuit and I’ve lived long enough to see what it does to a person. It takes a father who was supposed to love and care for his children and changes him into a sorry excuse of a human being who beats his wife and kids, and manipulates people to get ahead. I’m sure Aelia’s upbringing wasn’t much better.

It’s time for their reign of terror to end.