Chapter 31
Chapter 31
The stakes at this design contest were sky–high–not just a golden certificate, but also a whopping big cash prize. It was like a magnet for design lovers everywhere.
Cynthia was all in. She wolfed down her dinner, cleaned up, and hit the sheets, planning to hammer out some design drafts. Maybe it was her cozy bed, but she ended up snoozing fast.
Her balcony door stayed cracked open, letting a soft breeze slip in and glide over her bare back.
All of a sudden, the bedroom door flung open and in walked Liam, a cold draft following him inside. The sight of Cynthia’s bare back made him pause. ‘Doesn’t she ever look after herself?‘ he thought, his eyes flicking between annoyance and tenderness. He tiptoed over and carefully pulled the blanket up over her, keeping the cold at bay.
His cold fingers must’ve tickled her, because Cynthia squirmed a bit, still deep in dreamland.
Liam froze and didn’t dare budge. He watched her for a quiet moment, then slipped off to the shower.
The past several days had been a total blur for him. With Sullivan Group heading back to Clusia, his plate was full. A call at noon from David caught him off guard–an SOS about Cynthia’s bad mood. Dropping his work, he hightailed it home, not stopping for a breather. But by Cynthia’s looks now, curled up without a care, she seemed pretty okay despite the drama.
Liam, fresh from his hot shower, hopped into bed and, with a quick move, pulled Cynthia close. Scattered on the bed was a design sketch on a sheet of white paper. He grabbed it and checked it out. It was a ring design, simple yet fancy, with sharp lines–to pull that off, the designer had to know
his stuff. Didn’t they say Cynthia from the boonies didn’t have any fancy education? But clearly, she had some serious skills. Looks like she wasn’t as green as everyone thought..
He bent down and planted a soft kiss on the edge of her lips, curious about her secret.
Cynthia, half in a dream, felt all warm and cozy and snuggled up even closer. Her long leg found its way over Liam’s.
A quiet gasp hit her ear, and then a warm, gentle press on her lips. Cynthia, feeling annoyed, tried to bite down, but the dude dodged every time, leaving her panting and her cheeks red.
She
gave a little huff, feeling all tousled.
There it was, another gasp. “You’re trouble,” Liam muttered, teeth clenched, and dove back in for another kiss.
Cynthia, having gotten used to sleeping solo these days, only had on a thin slip dress. Now, squirming around, it had ridden up to her belly.
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Liam’s hand found only smooth skin and his surprise nearly blew his top. “Playing risky games when I’m not around, huh?” he mused.
His mouth wandered, trailing down the curve of her neck.
She was getting a real good sleep, but Liam was starting to bug her. She tried shoving him off, but he wouldn’t budge. Left with no choice, she flipped over, and then there he was, all over her back
again. Part of her was annoyed, but part of her soaked it all in.
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Through the night, Cynthia floated between sleep and wakefulness, like she was lost in the waves, over and over. Just as she thought she’d hit the shore, she’d get pulled back out, until she had no fight left.
When Cynthia woke up the next day, it was already close to lunchtime. Her eyes opened slowly, and at first, her mind was a complete blank. Then the memories of her dream hit her, making her wish she could just disappear. She was shocked at herself–turned out, men weren’t the only ones who could get carried away by desire. She could still feel the dream where she’d been all over Liam, smothering him with kisses. That felt so real!
Tossing and turning, Cynthia felt everything way too real to be just a dream.
Sitting up in a daze, she looked around, half expecting to find someone there, but seeing nobody. Was it all in her head? The dream had been so intense now she could almost feel it. Confused, she checked the room and realized her slinky dress was on the floor, definitely not where it should be. Then her eyes landed on a note on the nightstand, fight by her sketch from last night. “No more slips when I’m gone,” it read, clearly in Liam’s handwriting.
Annoyance creased Cynthia’s brow. So, he waltzed back into town, didn’t say hi, sneaked in for a nightly cuddle, and split by morning? She had been so wrapped up in that dream all night! The more she thought about it, the more ticked off she got. On impulse, she grabbed her phone to give him an earful, but his line was dead.
Figuring he was probably still flying, she chucked her phone aside, miffed, and stumbled downstairs. After the intense… “workout” from her dream, she was starving.
Cynthia headed down to breakfast, and Winnie had the table all ready.
Taking a bite, Cynthia noticed it was just right–not too hot, not too cold. “Winnie, you nailed it, food’s the perfect temp,” she said.
“Yeah, Mr. Sullivan stopped by last night and took off this morning. Told me to make sure to have food ready around now. He figured you’d sleep in after last night and wake up hungry,” Winnie informed her.
Cynthia almost choked on her soup, quickly covering her mouth with a napkin. The nerve of Liam– talking about ‘last night‘ like it was some kind of marathon!
“When did he leave?” Cynthia asked.
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“Around seven this morning.” Winnie replied.
Cynthia did the math and sighed. He never seemed to run out of energy.
She had gotten out of bed so late; breakfast and lunch became one meal. After eating, she went back to her room to work on her design drafts. Ideas were fluttering in her mind, but they were hard to pin down. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Just as Cynthia hit a streak of creativity, her phone rang, scaring away her fleeting inspiration. A little pissed off, she picked up the phone and snapped, “Hello? Who’s this?”
“It’s me, your dad,” a surprisingly gentle voice replied.
Cynthia paused and frowned, looking at the caller ID. It was indeed Mason. She put the phone back to her ear and continued, icy this time, “What do you want?”
“Cynthia, I’ve made mistakes. I’m sorry. You’re my kid, and that means a lot. I let your mom down, and I can’t fail
you no more.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. Was this the same dad who always seemed to not give a darn?
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