Page 8 of Liam

Taamira looked up as she took a sip before she lowered the glass. “Thank you.”

Liam didn’t make her say what for, he knew. The vulnerability had been evident in her big brown eyes, and he’d given her what she needed to be strong. He dipped his chin before he moved to grab a bottle of water from the fridge beside her.

“Tell me what happened.”

Taamira moved to the couch and sat and he sat opposite her as was protocol, but he wanted to take her in his arms.

“I was using the gym yesterday and didn’t notice anything amiss. I’ve done it for the last four weeks, but then this morning, I saw this image online.” Taamira handed him her mobile phone, and he heard her sharp intake of breath as their fingers brushed. His eyes shot to her; she was looking down at the picture as if it might come to life.

With an effort, he dragged his eyes to the image and his breath drew in but for a different reason. It showed the Princess working out, her clothes moulded to her body, her face flushed and make-up free. She looked like a goddess come to life, but it wasn’t that emotion that caused him to growl. No, it was fury that someone had done this to her, knowing how she loved her people and how they would react to this. He wanted to get his hands on the person who’d taken it and rip their bloody throat out.

Liam fought back his anger, needing to keep things professional and work out what had happened. That could only happen if he kept a clear head. “How do you know when this photograph was taken?”

Taamira stood and came to sit beside him on his couch, her leg brushing his as she did so.

“The time on the clock behind me.”

Liam dragged his eyes from her full lips to where she was pointing. The time read 15:15 on the clock behind her head. “And this is significant because?”

“Because I usually use the gym in the morning, but yesterday, I had a conference call early in the morning, so I didn’t get to the gym until the afternoon.”

“Do you know who was on your protection duty?”

Taamira nodded. “Yes. It was Derek, Chris, and Scott.”

“Leave it with me. I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll stay and be your personal guard until I arrange some backup.”

“Will you attend the conference with me?”

He heard the hesitation in her voice but just the fact she’d asked showed how important it was to her. He hesitated. The situation with Gunner was unfolding rapidly and things were changing from moment to moment. “I’ll need to check with Jack and make sure he can spare me and whoever else I need for an extended period of time.”

“I understand, but I’m happy to pay whatever your going rate is.”

Liam gritted his teeth at her mentioning money. For some reason, the thought she had to pay someone to keep her safe didn’t sit well with him. In fact, he’d refused payment thus far, and he knew Jack had too. She paid the security team he’d selected for her, but anything Eidolon did was gratis at Jack’s decree.

“I don’t want your bloody money. It’s whether I’m free to stay.” He softened his voice at the hurt look she gave him. “Let me just check. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Okay.”

“We need to stay close to the hotel for now, though. All right?”

He reiterated his words of earlier, needing her to understand the situation. She may have had a security member selling images, more than likely for money which was bad enough, but he couldn’t erase the threats made to her back in St Kitts.

The memory of Taamira as a hostage, frightened and vulnerable, was seared into his brain. Threats that no woman, or man for that matter, should’ve had levelled at them. Yes, he would keep her close until he could get back up there.

Liam frowned as he realised he could be cooped up for a while.

“That’s okay. I have a speech to write anyway, so I will not be gallivanting around anywhere.”

He grinned as she used words that weren’t part of her native tongue. Princess Taamira spoke flawless English, but it wasn’t her first language. He loved listening to the lyrical way she spoke and found he did it more than he should.

“What is the speech for?”

“There is a conference on shaping the future of young women in our societies. I am to give a speech about how they deserve the same rights as men.”

Liam liked that she was doing this, not that he had any say in it, but he hated the idea of her going back to wasting her intelligent and sharp mind. Sitting beside a pool or lunching with other rich people wasn’t what she had been born for. In his heart he knew Princess Taamira had been born for great things.

He found himself growing more and more invested in her future, and that was a dangerous thing because Liam didn’t belong in her world and she sure as hell didn’t belong in his. He looked up to see her gaze on him and in it, he saw the same desire that thrummed through his blood, mixed with an innocence that had him gripping the side of the couch to resist reaching for her.