“Damn it, Liam,” Neve whispered, her voice breaking. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?” Liam asked her gently.
“Like you want me more than you want your next breath!” Neve shouted. She had never been so angry in her life. How fucking dare he play her like this? “Not when we both know it’s not fucking true!” She moved to storm past him, her anger helping her to keep her head high and the tears at bay. But on the inside, she was breaking.
Liam made a desperate sounding noise that Neve had trouble putting a name to. Then he was grabbing her by the arm and spinning her into him. “But I do,” he breathed, before slamming his mouth to hers. Neve gasped, and Liam slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she felt her whole world tilt on its axis. She stood stock still for a moment, before reaching up and pushing against his chest.
Liam growled low in his chest, and she felt her body temperature rise and liquid heat pool between her legs. Goddamn it! She fought the fog of passion and desire that had started to consume her. She was stronger than this. She was worth more than this. With all the strength she could muster she pushed him from her.
She was under no illusions that he had the strength to resist the push, but he didn’t and allowed her to separate them. His eyes swam with heat, and a longing that matched her own. But she’d be lost if she allowed him to play her like he was.
Stepping back, she pushed her desire for him down as hard as she could. She forced it into a tiny ball and surrounded it with her anger. She quickly weaved the pattern she needed and Liam’s eyes narrowed for a brief moment before they widened comically and he shouted as a sheet of water from the cold stream behind him dumped over his head.
“Jesus Christ that’s cold!” Liam shouted and jumped around, trying to shake off as much water as he could. Neve couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she had lean forward and breathe through the stitch in her side. “Damn it, Neve, it’s not that funny.” Liam grinned back at her as he tucked his hands up under his armpits in a futile attempt to warm them.
“Firstly—” Neve giggled then calmed herself enough to continue. “Yeah it was. For a big guy, you can move! The Irish girl in me loved that little jig you just danced. And secondly, you deserved that.” Her smile faded. “You don’t get to touch me like that. You lost the privilege of earning that right. You’ve treated me abominably since we’ve met. Running hot and cold, pulling me close one minute then pushing me away the next. And it’s just not fair, Liam!
“My God, Liam! Do you know how destroyed I was the night of the December solstice? Not only did you tell me that I wasn’t your mate, and that you had no interest in me other than a potential friendship, but then you turned around and admitted that you had feelings for me! Acting possessive, threatening to hurt Aeron after he hurt me, telling me that if you could you would hold me and never let me go, fucking made me start falling for you, you asshole! Why would you do that? Why! Why would you make me fall for you if you had no intention of catching me?
“And yeah, it hurts because I can see what we could have been together, but I’ll survive. I’ve walked away from it, and I am trying to just let myself get over you, which is a joke, because I never really had you! And I am going to find someone who can love me, and wants me just as much as I want them. But you have to give me the opportunity to do that. You don’t get to touch me without my permission, and you sure as hell don’t get to kiss me when you feel like it.”
Despite the emotions raging within her, Neve felt an odd sense of calm descend upon her. Up until right now, Liam had been the one doing the rejecting. She had never had the opportunity to say her piece and now that she had, she felt like she could move on. To what, she had no clue, but it was a step in the right direction. Being able to douse him with ice-cold water helped too.
