Even though his face was so serious, so set with determination, his voice cracked. When he looked at her like that, she couldn’t say no to him. He was her great vice, her only temptation. People like her dad and Donny might gamble their lives away, but Kate was powerless before Liam’s persuasions. He whittled away all her good sense.

“Liam,” she said. “I can’t hide here with you forever.”

He began to breathe heavily, his gaze hovered near her lips, but unfocused. “Yes, you can. I want you to stay, and you know you want it too.”

Before she could stop him, he dropped to his knees. He pushed up her shirt and kissed her bare waist. His fingers slid up her legs, under her skirt, pushing it up toward her waist. His face, contorted by desire, made the hairs on her arms stand on end, but she didn’t stop him. Dammit, she wanted him even more because of it.

He reached for her panties and dragged them down her legs. Unthinking, she stepped out of them. As she took in the sight of the silky cloth on the floor, Liam pulled her to him and buried his face in her pussy. She cried out as his tongue made hot contact with her skin.

He wasn’t gentle. He sucked and bit and demanded her orgasm with every move. As much as she wanted to fall to the floor, to kick and thrash, he held her upright as he continued his ferocious adoration. There was nothing polite about this lovemaking, nothing sweet. Just Liam, showing her how much he needed her, how badly he needed her to come. She banged on his shoulders, eager for him to stop, only to pull at his hair, desperate for him to continue.

He released her pussy lips for one moment and stared at her from the floor. His lips, swollen and wet, seemed to mirror his bright gaze. “You’ll stay with me. Now come.”

His mouth met with her again, and she reeled under his touch. Heat streaked across her skin, setting her on fire from the inside out. He plunged his tongue into her pussy, staking his claim, and she capitulated. Writhing in his grip, her knees buckled. Horrible, wonderful pressure sliced through her belly, making her ache and squirm. And just when she thought she could take no more, he nibbled on her clit and she exploded into a million pieces. She was sure her head had ended up somewhere in the corner of the room.

Only then did he let her fall to the floor. She lay, dazed, and waited for him to rip at his clothes and fuck her like an animal. But he didn’t.

Liam just sat next to her and ran a gentle hand through her hair, a sad smile on his lips. “I won’t let you go,” he said, pulling her to him.

When she’d first agreed to stay at Vice, Kate had worried he might be a bad influence on her. Now she wondered if she was a bad influence on him. He’d already lost so much. The idea of losing anyone else had turned him into a possessive beast. And she didn’t know how to help him other than give him the raw physicality he craved.

Maybe they were each other’s vice, after all.

And maybe this feral need in him proved he’d be better off without her.

Chapter Fourteen

That evening, Kate decided she needed to get out of Vice altogether. Liam hadn’t been thrilled, still worried about her seizures and Vaughan. However, she accepted his offer of a car and a drive from Wade.

The best medicine for her right now would be to attend a New Horizons meeting. She hadn’t been back since the attack, and she missed her pals, especially in light of Lisa’s comments. As much as she’d shied away recently, she was now eager to attend and just be there.

Of course, she had every expectation Lisa had given them a run-down on her activities at Vice, and her liaison with Liam. She hoped, however, that they’d listen to her and hear the voice of reason, unlike Lisa. After all, she’d spent years listening to them, supporting them through their trials.

Wade parked outside the building and Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the group room. She understood these people, understood their challenges, and they needed her as much as she needed them.

Eager to see some smiles from some friendly faces, she looked for a free chair and sat down, feeling like the new kid entering class for the first time.

Heads turned in her direction, but not with warm welcome. Rather, her old friends regarded her with apparent distrust.

“Hey, guys,” she said quietly, smiling and waving a hand. “I know it’s been a while, but…”

They all looked to Rod now. He clenched his jaw, stood and came over. “Kate, can we speak outside, please?”

She stood and followed him out. “Okay.” She had a bad feeling about this.

Once out of earshot of the other group members, he laid it all out for her. “Look. There’s been some discussion in the group, and most of us don’t feel comfortable with you here right now.”

“What?” They couldn’t have passed judgment on her already, could they? Not without hearing her side first.

Rod turned a bit red. “Kate, are you going to make me go into detail? I was kind of hoping to spare you the embarrassment.”

“Um, too late.”

“All right, I’ll spell it out for you. Lisa told the group how you’ve been socializing with Liam Doyle. At Vice.”

“Socializing? Well, she was more diplomatic with you than she was with me.” As her heart began its sink, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Lisa has the wrong end of the stick, and so do you.”

“Well, you left me in charge of the group, and I still have to think of them and how things appear. We have some very fragile egos here.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m the leader, remember? The one who brought you all together.” Okay, now this was just pissing her off.

“I’m sorry, Kate, but I’m doing what I think is best. Maybe once you sort things out, you can come back.”

“Sort things out?” She squawked in disbelief. “Rod, the only reason I’m staying at Vice is because I was attacked. Liam saved me. He offered to help.”

“You were attacked?”

“Yes.” She put up a hand. “You know what? Never mind. I’ve devoted myself to this group and the minute my life goes to pot, I get booted? Well, then I really don’t want to be here.”

“Kate, wait…”

“No. You go back to your precious group. I’m sure they’ll be lost without their new head honcho.” Fleeing before she burst into tears, she raced outside and toward Wade’s waiting car. He opened the back door to the Escalade and she dove inside.

The security guard eyed her warily as he climbed in the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

Where to? She had nowhere else to go, no one to turn to other than the man in whose arms she’d come alive, but with whom she’d also lost part of herself. And as much as she wanted to run away from Liam and from everyone else, she was always drawn back to him, like a boomerang.

“Vice. Where else?”

She sighed, noticing how Wade tried to be stealthy in sending a text, no doubt to Liam.

Liam. As much as she craved him, craved his taste and his touch, this no longer felt right. Maybe it never did. She’d gained a lover, perhaps even someone she could fall in love with, but his acute attentions rattled her. His violent loving made her doubt her sanity. With him, although she’d experienced physical euphoria, it had left her numb and hollow.

He’d lost so much in life, and had made strides, especially by letting go of Michelle. But then he’d transferred those intense needs onto Kate. As much as she was glad she’d helped him with his abandonment issues, she was under no delusion that his demons had been vanquished. Not by a long shot.

He was two men in one. She might have fallen for the owner of those seductive grins, but she was scared of the man behind those dark appetites.

Oh God, I have fallen for him.

No. Impossible. She could never fall for anyone so grasping, so needy. In some ways, he reminded her of her father, someone who always needed more. More money, more friends, more attention. That’s what he really got out of his habit, but only for a time. She’d lived with lies and deceit all her life. If this was her new rock bottom, losing her friends, and she had to start over, she owed it to herself to start over in a healthier frame of mind.