Savannah shot up from the couch like she'd touched a live wire. "I was joking, for God's sake!" she snapped, trying to wedge herself between me and Liam. But Rafael caught her wrist with a lazy smirk, pulling her back.
"Try that again and I'll snap your fingers like twigs," she hissed.
Rafael just chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Feisty. No wonder you're my favorite Carter."
Lily sat frozen, eyes wide like she was watching a train crash in real time. Gio leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets, pretending he wasn't involved in any of this.
Liam's hand settled on the small of my back—light, but firm. A warning. A claim.
"Where's your room?" he asked, voice low and too calm.
I swallowed hard and pointed to the door on the left.
"You can't just take her like that!" Savannah barked. "I'll call our father! This isn't right!"
Liam didn't react. He simply led me into the bedroom and shut the door behind us with a heavy, deliberate click. The sound echoed like a lock being thrown.
I spun to face him. "Savannah was messing around. She was trying to get a rise out of you. I haven't even kissed anyone, I swear."
My voice cracked with the heat of embarrassment, my cheeks blazing. Why did I feel the need to explain myself to him?
Liam's gray eyes didn't blink. "I know."
I paused. "You do?"
He tilted his head slightly, unreadable. "Why do you think I'm angry?"
"I mean, aren't you?"
"Do I look angry to you, Emily?"
I didn't answer. He looked like someone who could commit murder without raising his heart rate.
He gave a small smirk. "You don't know me at all."
"That's not exactly my fault," I muttered.
His hand lifted, fingers brushing under my chin to tilt my face toward his. My breath caught.
"You're like a frightened doe trapped in a cage with a wolf," he said, voice soft, almost mocking. "I'm not going to devour you."
My eyes betrayed my disbelief, because his mouth twitched into a dry laugh as he leaned closer.
I took a step back. "W-What are you doing?"
"I'm not going to take you right now," he murmured, his tone rich with dark amusement. "I've waited three years. I can wait a few more days."
My spine locked. Three years. He'd been waiting, counting down like a hunter with a marked date.
"You called me a child the last time we spoke."
"And now you're not." His smirk deepened. "You're making this very hard for me, Emily. I can't kiss you when you look so scared."
I glared. "Then maybe I'll give you a better look on our wedding night."
He stepped in closer, his voice dropping to a near-growl. "Then maybe I'll take you from behind so I don't have to see it."
All the blood drained from my face. I recoiled, slamming into the wall behind me, my breath stuck in my chest.
His expression shifted. "Relax," he said more gently. "I was joking. I'm not a monster."
"Aren't you?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.
The humor drained from his face. He straightened, his eyes turning flat. "We need to talk about your security," he said, his tone clipped and cold. "After the wedding, you'll move into my penthouse. Jace and Gio will be assigned to you full-time. Until then, Gio doesn't leave your side."
I crossed my arms. "I already have Salvatore. He's protected me my whole life."
"He's aging, and he takes too many breaks," Liam said. "Gio will be your shadow now. Everywhere."
"What, even when I'm in the shower?"
"If I tell him to."
My nostrils flared. "So it's fine if he sees me naked?"
"Gio's loyal."
"Oh, that's comforting. So you trust him to look, but not touch?"
Liam closed the gap between us again, his breath brushing my cheek. "Don't worry. I'll be the only man who ever sees you like that. I can't wait."
His eyes traveled over me—slow, possessive, deliberate. I tightened my arms around myself, wishing I could disappear.
"What about Lily?" I said suddenly, voice sharp with worry. "She and Savannah share this suite. She's fourteen and flirts with Gio just to mess around. She doesn't know better. I need to know she's safe."
"Gio won't lay a finger on her," Liam replied, tone smooth as glass. "Lily's a kid playing dress-up. Gio likes women who are... of age. And willing."
Unlike you, I almost said. But I swallowed it down.
The air felt tight in my lungs. My gaze flicked toward the bed. I needed this moment to end.
Then Liam spoke again.
"Are you taking the pill?"
I stared at him, frozen. "What?"
"You heard me," he said with unnerving calm. "Your mother may have already started you on it. In preparation."