Page 72 of Vexatious Queen

“Okay…I’m leaving you two alone,” I said, pulling Ivy to a halt.

Her eyes begged me to stay, but I shook my head.

“You two need to sort yourselves out, and I really don’t want to be in the middle.”

Ivy’s eyes softened, and she reluctantly let go of me.

“You’ve got this,” I said, patting Sabastian’s arm as I left.

Liam walked in, and I moved to intercept him. He smirked and stared at my strange combination of food choices.

“I couldn’t decide what I wanted, and Myles always eats half of my lunch anyway,” I said as he plucked the tray from my hands.

“I’ll take this before you make a mess,” Liam teased.

“I thought you liked it when I made a mess,” I said, and then laughed at the shocked look on Liam’s face.

It was hard to knock him off his game, so it was a major win for me.

“I do, but not usually with soup,” he said, his eyes roaming down my body.

“Okay, take the tray, but we aren’t sitting at our usual table. That is one threesome I want to avoid.”

With a chuckle, Liam placed his hand on the small of my back and guided us out of the cafeteria to one of the new lounges in the main entrance hall. It was coffee-shop inspired with a few couches. But there were some bistro tables that no one was using.

Liam pulled out a chair for me, then set the tray down on the table.

“Such a gentleman,” I said teasingly.

My body shivered as he used a finger to brush the hair away from the side of my neck. I bit my lip as his warm breath fanned my ear.

“Gentlemen don’t scheme about how fast they can make you tremble. I do. And when I get you upstairs, you’ll understand exactly what that means, Little Rabbit.”

His voice was so controlled, and yet there was a rough edge that had me crossing my legs under the table.

“Now…what do you say?”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered.

“That’s my good girl,” he growled, kissing my neck before pulling away and sitting down.

My heart rate had gone from zero to a million. Holy hell…I needed a fan.

I picked up my package of crackers and crushed them, but my hands were noticeably shaking as I tried to pull the plastic open.

Liam reached out to still the trembling. He stared into my eyes and held me in place with that single look as he plucked the crackers from my fingers.

“Have you decided if you’re going to reach out to your grandfather,” he asked, opening the pack and dumping the crackers into my soup for me.

I shook my head and stared into the bowl of vegetable soup.

Liam touched my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“I know, but if I preach that people can change, how can I so easily dismiss a gesture like the painting he sent…or the note. It felt genuine, but he singlehandedly destroyed my mother and father’s relationship. That act set in motion everything else that has happened. I’m just not sure opening that door is wise.”

Liam rubbed my cheek with his thumb and then seamlessly stole my French fries as he pulled them to his side of the table.