Chapter Ten
Catriona didn’t knowif it was the contact or the taste of Liam’s lips that stormed through her like a wildfire. As the man had said, she had to follow her gut, but it wasn’t that part of her anatomy that pushed her to act, to take a risk and do something that had never really crossed her mind in her entire existence. Her body may have been wound tight, but it didn’t mean she knew how to react to this new information.
When she’d met Liam Harker, back there in that diner, something shivered at the back of her brain, before insinuating itself deep in her belly.
Unfortunately, the kiss coalesced into that nagging thought. Or was it doubt? The ball of fire pulsed between her legs, her logic immediately recognizing desire. Catriona knew human nature, had read about it countless times, but it was the first time she’d ever experienced it. The absence of desire throughout her life had been her sign that remaining within the convent and becoming one of them was the obvious choice. Until now.
Peaceful contentment wasn’t enough anymore, and that’s why she decided to kiss him, to take control this time and see for herself.
Everything was so sudden, Catriona’s mind went blank, but every cell of her body sparked to life, the explicit recognition between a man and a woman.
Fear and anticipation mingled as she fisted his shirt in her hands. Liam groaned and opened his mouth to hers. Disappointed that the kiss was to end, she gasped in surprise when she felt his tongue tracing her lips. Her mind whirled, flipping to what it meant and remembered a movie she’d seen where the couple kissed with their tongue; a French kiss.
Not willing to risk breaking the moment, she shook off her shyness and mimicked his caress, and was rewarded by one of his hands cupping her face and the other circling her waist, bringing her flush against him. The fire intensified, and Catriona wasn’t ready to protect herself from the burn.
“Oopsie.”
The female voice behind them didn’t sound sorry at all, more like highly amused. As if seized in an electric shock, Liam jerked away from her, his eyes wide, as if he’d just realized what he’d done. Catriona sat on the ground by the sofa, trying to steady her errant thoughts and come to terms at want she intended to do.
With a barely contained smirk, Deva was at the door, eying them both as if they were buck naked. Catriona felt herself blush and licked her lips, immediately reminded of Liam’s taste as the man himself had only one thought: getting away from her as quickly as possible. He stepped away, pulling his pants up as the bag of frozen vegetables fell to the floor.
Deva didn’t utter a word, and it was Liam who snarled at her. “You did come here for a reason, right?”
Undeterred by his snapping question, Deva stepped inside. “Don’t bite my head off, Harker. I just came to invite you to dinner at our place. I’m making spaghetti, which is my best dish according to my picky boyfriend, but also to say that we just got back from the hospital.”
At the reference, Liam’s snarl turned into worry. “Lazarus?”
Deva nodded. “Out of danger. Sasha said that his lungs are clearing, and the fever is down. Not conscious yet, but out of trouble.”
Catriona sent a quick thanksgiving prayer on behalf of Liam’s brother. Liam exhaled as if the weight of the world had finally slipped off his shoulders. Her entire being wanted to take him in her arms and tell him everything would be all right, but from the way he pushed her aside as if she was cursed stopped her impulse.
“Fucking good news, at last. We needed that.” With that, Liam checked his phone and grabbed his coat after checking his gun. “Thanks for the offer but I need to go out.”
If she were hesitant on what to do next, his statement made her jump to her feet. “What? Out? You can’t, it’s unsafe, you said so yourself.”
When he ignored her, she grabbed his arm. “Why do you have to go?”
The silver iris warm only a moment ago were now cold as ice when they finally looked at her. “You have work to do, little nun. Do it quick so we can all go home.”
Shrugging from her grasp, the man patted Chewy’s head and limped out, only telling Deva to take care of his dog as he passed her.
Catriona gasped and finally looked at Deva who shook her head. “That’s the first time I’ve seen a man so angry after making out with a woman.”
It would have been comical if Catriona hadn’t been so baffled by his reaction and hurt. “I guess it isn’t making out that’s the problem but who he was making out with.”
Why was she so affected by Liam’s sudden shift? Why did she care about a man she barely knew? Or care about what he thought?
Deva approached with a compassionate expression and put a hand on her shoulder. “Finch’s sons aren’t ordinary men. If you expect them to react the way normal human beings do, you’ll get one hell of a headache.”
“What do you mean?”
With a sign, Deva shook her head. “The man didn’t raise them, but from what I can gather, none of them had easy childhoods, including Liam. All that violence, all that pain transformed them somehow, built high walls around them. They understand sacrifice, treason, and power, but when confronted with other emotions, they’re ill-prepared. Don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong. It’s deeper than a single kiss, Catriona.”
“That wasn’t what made him leave?”
Deva hesitated. “You being a nun must have seemed like a bad joke to Liam. I can see that he’s attracted to you, but his past is messing with his head.”
“First, I’m not a nun yet, I haven’t taken my final vows. I found it amusing at first that people got it wrong and teased me about it, but I’m only a novitiate. Second, how is my walking that path such a negative to Liam?”
