chapter 4
716 Words
**Chapter 4: Intimacy Unfolds**
The rain started as they reached Liam’s cottage—a sudden, heavy downpour that sent them laughing and stumbling up the porch steps, their clothes damp, their hands still entwined. Elena barely had time to take in the cozy exterior—the climbing ivy, the weathered blue shutters—before Liam was unlocking the door and pulling her inside.
The air smelled like old books and cedar. A single lamp glowed in the living room, casting long shadows across the hardwood floors.
Then the door clicked shut behind them, and suddenly, the space between them felt charged, electric.
Liam turned to her, rainwater glistening in his dark hair. “You’re sure about this?”
Elena didn’t answer with words. Instead, she stepped into him, sliding her hands up his chest and pressing her lips to his.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
---
His mouth was hot against hers, his hands firm as they slid down her back, pulling her flush against him. Elena gasped as she felt the hard line of his body, the evidence of his desire pressing into her hip.
Liam broke the kiss just long enough to murmur against her lips, “Bedroom. Now.”
She nodded, and then his hands were everywhere—lifting her, guiding her down the hallway, his lips never leaving her skin. He kissed her jaw, her throat, the sensitive spot just below her ear that made her shiver.
The bedroom was dim, lit only by the faint glow of streetlights filtering through the rain-streaked window. Liam set her down gently at the edge of the bed, his fingers trailing up her thighs, pushing the damp fabric of her dress higher.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, voice rough. “Every damn time I look at you.”
Elena’s breath hitched as his fingers found the hem of her panties, teasing along the edge. “Liam—”
“Tell me what you want.”
She swallowed. “You. All of you.”
---
Clothes disappeared in a tangle of fabric and impatient hands. Liam’s shirt hit the floor first, revealing the lean muscles of his chest, the smattering of dark hair that trailed down his stomach. Elena reached for him, tracing the lines of his body, committing every inch to memory.
Then his hands were on her, unhooking her bra, pressing hot kisses to her collarbone, her breasts, her stomach. She arched into his touch, her fingers tangling in his hair as he worked his way lower.
When his mouth finally found her core, she cried out, her hips lifting off the bed. He groaned against her, his tongue circling in slow, torturous strokes until she was trembling, her thighs shaking around his shoulders.
“Liam, I—oh God—”
He didn’t let up, driving her higher, until pleasure crashed over her in waves, leaving her gasping and boneless.
---
Before she could catch her breath, Liam was kissing his way back up her body, his weight settling between her thighs. He reached for the nightstand, fumbling with a condom, his hands uncharacteristically unsteady.
Elena took it from him, rolling it on herself, her fingers brushing against him in a way that made him curse under his breath.
Then he was pressing into her, slow and deliberate, his eyes locked on hers.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
She did.
And as their bodies moved together, the rain pounding against the windows, the world outside ceased to exist. There was only this—the heat of his skin, the way he filled her, the way his breath stuttered when she clenched around him.
It wasn’t just s*x. It was something deeper, something that felt like coming home.
---
Afterward, they lay tangled in the sheets, limbs heavy, hearts still racing. Liam traced idle patterns on her bare shoulder, his lips brushing her temple.
Elena closed her eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of the rain.
She should leave. She should put distance between them before this—whatever *this* was—got even more complicated.
But when Liam pulled her closer, murmuring, “Stay,” into her hair, she found herself nodding.
And for the first time in years, Elena let herself simply *be*.
**End of Chapter 4.**
- Writer
