Chapter 8.

Edwina.

He kisses me deeply, pressing himself into me. Pressing me against the cold wall. I flinch from the cold, the water gushing down on me. Wetting my hair, but I don’t mind. Wetting my clothes, but I don’t mind. I rake my nails in his skin, moaning, hissing as he explores me. He raises me and presses me against the wall, bracing me with his arms.

“Tell me what you want, My Queen…” Liam mutters quietly.

I look at him earnestly, wondering the reason he calls me ‘his Queen.’ I mean nothing to him right now but his object of desire. Yet he calls me this. His eyes give nothing away but desire and I like that. There’s no lie, only the truth he can give.

“I want you to make me forget your younger brother for just tonight.” I shakily whisper. He gives me a knowing look and a shadow crosses his face. Something unreadable in his gaze.

A dark smile accompanies his look. “My pleasure, your majesty.”

His muscles flex beneath me, and I’m intoxicated by the feel of those biceps. Tonight I give myself to someone else other than Trey. Tonight I transit from my years of being Mrs Trey Copeland to being Edwina. Tonight I begin to have my own identity.

Doubt creeps in and threatens to restrain me from enjoying all Liam has to give me tonight. But I banish all those thoughts of Trey. I think of only Liam. I think of only tonight.

I give myself completely to Liam without any reservation. Tonight I have a one night stand. I’m reborn.

Later when we reach his bedroom, Liam lies down and pulls me against him, until my head is on top of his chest. He covers us with a blanket and wraps his hands protectively over me.

“Why did you call me Queen?” I ask him, lifting myself on my elbows.

He shifts his gaze to me and kisses my lips, before pulling me closer.

“Sleep. We’ve got a lot to talk about in the morning.”

Sighing heavily, I allow the exhaustion from the last few hours take over my body. I fall into a deep sleep, dreaming of Liam pleasuring me forever.

***

Next day. Thursday, May 22nd …

Sunlight filters in, blinding my eyes. I shift on the soft, comfy bed and groan. It’s morning. I sit up quickly and I’m suddenly hit with a throbbing headache.

“Ah…” I cry out softly, holding my head.

The main door opens and Liam walks inside, bearing a tray of steaming coffee. The smell inviting.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. I come bearing gifts.”

I frown, displeased at his moniker for me.

“I’m not taking the coffee, if you don’t tell me the reason you keep calling me Queen.” I fold my arms across my chest.

He chuckles amusedly and sets the tray on the nightstand beside me. Afterwards, he props himself on the bed beside me. I feel underdressed in his presence, even though he has this drawstring cotton pants that make him look hot. Hanging low below his waist, making me think of last night. I can see the sexy tapered V of his hips, and tufts of dark and blonde hairs dusting his chiseled abdomen.

As his eyes fall on mine, I see a reflection of his desire for me last night etched in his eyes. That horny look. The same look he gave when he asked me to say what I wanted. When he acted like I was his queen and he was my slave to command. It was both weird and erotic at the same time. It made me completely lost in him. I was granted a rare opportunity to feel wanted again.

“You’re a Queen, Edwina Findlay. A woman, who’s supposed to give commands. Authoritative and sophisticated.” He slowly describes.

I hold my breath, listening to his descriptive, because I wonder how that identifies me. I’m not any of those things he’s called. I’m a simple girl.

“You hold the power of seduction in your hands, yet you’re oblivious of this fact. An innocuous talent which you possess. But it’s there and very effective.” He releases a dry chuckle and I find myself pondering on his words. Me? A seductress.

“It was that same power that made you trap a racer like Trey in the first place. That made you enter the winners’ circle and stopped everyone with that one kiss. Stopped my brother’s head with that one kiss. I hear he searched everywhere for you, until he found you…”

“Some people wouldn’t see it like that…That I was a seductress. They will just see it that I was a daring and stupid girl.” I shrug, lightly. I find myself intrigued by Liam’s perspective of that day.”

“I’ve dealt with desire almost all my life. I live desire as a profession. So you should know that my judgment on women and sex are way more advanced than most people.” He calmly reminds me. I nod nervously. His throaty voice doing something to me. It’s fanning me with this peculiar flame.

“It was your power of seduction that Trey fell in love with from the beginning.” He continues, his tone is quiet. I watch him pensively. “A man who had his harem of women, didn’t you wonder the reason he fell for you in the first place?” He gives me this lopsided grin. I did indeed wonder back then the reason he fell for me.

“We Copeland men love our women strong. Feisty and brave. We fall for vixens. Queens. Women who take control. We don’t go for weak women. And the moment you become weak, you become useless to us.”

My eyes grow wide at this revelation, because his words mirror the exact words his younger brother had thrown at me yesterday in court.

‘You stopped being my girl. You became boring and I couldn’t live with that. All that fire in your eyes was gone…Where was that girl, who braved the security guards at the winner’s circle, six years ago to kiss me?’