Page 47 of Montana Silence

I drank a cup of tea while Liam made us some pasta. Simple, but I didn’t care. We were eating together, and it was delicious. Hungry as I was, I wanted the company far more than I wanted the food.

When I stood to take my plate to the sink, he stole it from me and brought it over instead. I looked at him. “You have to let me help sometime.”

His eyes sparkled. “Do I?”

“Yes,” I insisted. “You can’t do everything all the time. That’s not fair.”

“I get to hear you speak, sweetheart. It’s more than enough motivation.”

I flushed scarlet, and he pretended not to notice.

“Let me get our suitcases upstairs.”

Following him, I felt nerves jittering in my stomach. This was all new territory for me. He set his suitcase down by one door and carried mine to another. My feet were frozen at the top of the stairs, watching the distance between the two and questioning everything.

Liam looked over his shoulder at me and saw me waiting. I shook my head, words evaporating. How did I ask for this? Or voice the fear that was coursing through my veins with my beating heart.

The man in front of me would never know how grateful I was that he could read me, because he came back, my suitcase still with him, and stood in front of me.

“Are you all right?”

I blinked, unsure where my words went, but very sure they were gone.

Setting down the suitcase, he pulled me closer. “Tap twice for yes, sweetheart, because I hate that look in your eyes. You’re scared?”

Two taps.

His words were slow and hesitant. “Are you scared of me?”

One tap. No. I couldn’t even imagine being afraid of him.

A relieved smile appeared on his face. “Are you scared of being alone?”

I didn’t tap. I held my hand flat and moved it back and forth. A little. I was. But it wasn’t the thing at the top of my mind right now. He wasn’t going to guess this.

Placing my hand on his chest, I took a long breath and closed my eyes. Words were hard to find like this. Words made things happen, and they weren’t always good.

But Liam was safe.

“I’m afraid you…don’t want me.”

“Mara.” My name was a gasp and a plea. “No.”

So fast I barely caught it, I was gently pressed against the wall, his lips on mine. “I think how much I want you might scare you more,” he said. “I didn’t want to assume anything or make you feel pressured. But never doubt how much I want you.”

Nodding, I slid my hands up his chest. This wasn’t an area I had experience in, and Liam was the first person who made me want to try.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “But I want to be with you.”

Liam kissed me again, softer this time, before he picked up my suitcase and carried it into his bedroom.

I followed him.

Chapter15

Mara

Liam’s bedroom,like the rest of the house, was lovely. More rich, dark woods, and a bed that went on for miles. Covered in a soft comforter and plenty of pillows, it put my own bed to shame.