Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance (5 page)

They both knew Liam didn’t have a modest bone in his whole body.

Before she could get too worked up, there was a knock at the front door. Audrey went and opened it, accepting a delivery of a whole rack of expensive garments.

“I’m Lorrie. You’re Liam’s date?” the perky personal stylist asked.

“That’s me, I guess,” Audrey said.

“Lucky girl,” Lorrie said with a wink. “Let me just show you what I’ve brought…”

Lorrie went through each garment with her, recommending a very classic Tom Ford tux for Liam. Then the stylist eyed Audrey for a minute.

“You know… you have such a good figure…” she said, biting her lip. “I think I have to at least try to nudge you toward this Badgley Mischka number…”

Lorrie unzipped a garment bag and pulled out the most stunning dress Audrey had ever seen. It was floor length black velvet and silk, with sheer black film covering the bust, shoulders, and arms.

“Do you want me to wait for you to get ready so I can help you get into it?” Lorrie asked.

“Um… no, I’m sure I can manage,” Audrey said.

Lorrie didn’t look so certain, but she just nodded and said she’d be back to collect the other garments later.

“Oh… and you’re probably going to need these,” Lorrie said, handing her a bag. “Nothing personal, everyone wears them.”

Audrey peeped into the bag and found a variety of girdles, support hose, and several waist-cinching undergarments.

“Ah… uh, thanks,” Audrey said.

Brushing her fingers over the fitted velvet skirt, Audrey realized she was going to have to do some serious primping, and fast. But first, she should deliver Liam’s tux.

Grabbing his bag, she headed to his room. She stopped at his doorway and peeped inside, wondering where to leave it.

No Liam to be seen, though the light was on in his bathroom and she could hear the faint hiss of the shower running. A reminder that she needed to drop the suit and get going with her own beauty routine.

She held out the suit, wondering where to put it. There wasn’t a good, safe spot to hang it…

Laid out across the bed, then. She walked over and laid the bag down with the utmost care, not wanting to wrinkle anything. Then she realized he’d need a shirt to go with it, and wondered if she was supposed to lay that out, too.

From the look of interest on Lorrie’s face when she talked about Liam, no doubt the personal stylist would have laid out more than a shirt for him.

Audrey made a face and sighed. She wasn’t Lorrie, she was Audrey. Audrey wasn’t chasing anybody around, and Liam least of all.

She turned on her heel, ready to leave, then made a strangled sound.

Liam was standing in the bathroom doorway, dripping wet… and completely naked.

Not just naked, but… aroused. And shockingly well-endowed, to boot.

“I—” Audrey gasped, then spun around. “I was just leaving your tux! Why are you naked?”

“Do you shower with clothes on?”

She could hear Liam take a step toward her, and she felt her fingers begin to tremble.

“I’m leaving!” she blurted out.

“You don’t have to,” Liam said. She could hear the laughter in his voice, and it made her face burn.

Not only was he a total man slut, but he was
shameless
.

She fled his bedroom, breath hitching in her throat. By the time she’d grabbed her dress and slammed her own bedroom door shut, locking it behind her, her heart was nearly hammering out of her chest.

She couldn’t get the image of Liam in the buff out of her head. He was nothing but a big column of sleek muscle, covered in a wild tangle of tattoos.

And then there was his cock, which was… Well, Audrey hadn’t seen
that
many in her lifetime, but Liam’s certainly took the cake. Long, thick, and hard as a rock.

She bit her lip, embarrassed at the way that heat pooled low in her body when she thought of Liam’s body like that. She was almost as bad as him!

Trying to put it out of her mind, she hurried to get ready.

Forty minutes later, she’d managed to get her hair styled into long, smooth 1940s movie star waves. She’d put on subtle smoky eye makeup and bright red lipstick to complete the effect.

She managed to get the dress on, and it looked fantastic, clinging to every curve just so. She could only admire herself in the bathroom mirror, since her new bedroom wasn’t really set up yet, but…

For the first time in the longest, she felt… elegant.

“Audrey!” Liam yelled from the living room. “Can we get a move on, please?”

She frowned. Picking up her white clutch and slipping on a pair of black heels that came from her stash of Bloomingdale’s items, she swept up the dress’s hem and swished out into the living room.

The look on Liam’s face when he saw her was worth all the hassle and rush of getting ready. He stood in the living room, bow tie still untied, bottle of whisky raised halfway to his lips.

When Audrey made her entrance he froze, his eyes going wide as they roamed up and down her body. He lowered the whiskey bottle, his brows hunching together.

“Jaysus,” he said with a low whistle.

Audrey blushed, but she wasn’t about to let Liam make her feel awkward. She felt sexy and powerful right now, and nobody was going to ruin that for her.

Tossing her clutch on the couch, she walked straight over to him.

“Need help with your bowtie?” she asked.

Liam just nodded, watching her with something like hunger.

“You know how?” he asked, sounding a little surprised.

“Of course. My granddaddy was a good old boy from Savannah, a lawyer,” Audrey said. As she began twisting his black silk tie, she sucked in a deep lungful of his spicy, clean scent. “Granddaddy wore a bowtie almost every day of his life. All the sons of old money families dressed like that.”

“Quaint,” Liam said.

“And… there you go,” Audrey said, giving him a soft smile as she straightened his tie. “Looks good.”

She patted his chest, ready to turn away. Liam trapped her fingers with his, holding her hand just over his heart. Audrey stilled, looking up at him.

They were suspended like that for a long moment, watching one another, Liam’s heartbeat thudding faintly under Audrey’s palm.

“What do you want?” Audrey asked in a soft whisper.

“Just… you look fit, that’s all,” Liam said, his Cockney accent slipping out for a moment. “Beautiful, I mean.”

Audrey bit her lip, then pulled from his grasp. “We should go.”

“Right, right,” he mumbled as she walked away, heart beating wildly.

Just get through the night without embarrassing yourself
, she thought.

Straightening her back, she got ready to leave.

A
udrey grabbed
her purse and a white shawl, then followed Liam outside. He passed his Range Rover up and strode down to the end of his driveway, looking left and right down the street.

“We’re supposed to have a car,” he said, pulling out his phone.

As he made a call, Audrey took a moment to admire Liam in his tux. She wouldn’t ogle him openly the way he’d done to her, but… the man did look ridiculously handsome tonight.

“Ah, there we are,” Liam said as a gleaming white limo pulled up. “Ladies first, eh?”

He opened the limo door and handed Audrey into the car, then slid in beside her.

“This is nice,” Audrey said.

“Yeah… we gotta stop and get your brother,” Liam said.

“Ah,” Audrey said, deflating a little. For some reason, the idea of Jack tagging along put her off.

Not that she and Liam were on a date or anything, but Jack would undoubtedly bring some kind of drama to the party. Well-intentioned as he was, Jack just attracted that kind of mess in spades.

She turned to say so to Liam, but she was sidetracked by the fact that Liam was staring at her. That same hungry look was on his face again, and here in the cramped confines of the limo it felt much more intense.

“What?” she asked, her voice wobbling.

“Nothing,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Should we have some champagne? Really do the proper cheesy limousine thing?”

He moved to pop a bottle and pour them both a glass of sparkling wine, and the moment passed.

Audrey was starting to feel like she had whiplash. One minute, Liam was snapping at her and bossing her around at work. The next, he was intentionally standing right behind her, naked.

He went from snarling and difficult to… well, whatever that look was. Desire? Appreciation?

Maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe Liam just hadn’t gotten laid in a while, or maybe he just appreciated all women that way. He certainly hadn’t put up a fight when she hopped onto his lap at the club that first night…

Stop it!
she scolded herself.
You don’t want Liam’s attention. You’re his employee, not his flavor of the week. Or night, more like. You like nice, normal guys who have stable jobs and like to stay in every night.

She accepted a glass of champagne from Liam with a sigh, and turned to look out the window at the darkening city streets. Surely that was it. Liam was an opportunist, looking at whatever girls happened to be at hand, and there was nothing more there than that.

Thinking anything else was straying into dangerous territory…

They pulled up in front of Jack’s condo building. The door beside Audrey opened immediately, and a blonde woman stuck her head inside, giving Audrey and Liam a big, toothy grin.

“Hey, y’all! Nice limo! This is pretty PIMP!” she shouted, almost in Audrey’s face.

“Macy,” Audrey said, trying to keep her expression friendly. “Nice to see you.”

“Scooch over!” Macy said, flapping her hand at Audrey.

“Can you not go in the middle door?” Liam tried, but Macy was already barreling into the limo, trampling on Audrey’s feet.

Jack came in through the middle door, as Liam advised. He crawled in, brushing off his dark suit, then looked up at Audrey with a wincing smile.

Audrey and Liam both gaped at him. Jack had a serious black eye, plus his mouth was a little red on one side.

“Jack, what the hell?” Audrey hissed. “What happened to your eye?”

“Oh…” Jack said with a shrug. “Got in a little argument at the bar, no big deal.”

“No big deal? Are you kidding me right now?” Audrey opened her clutch and pulled out a tube of concealer. “Let me at least try to cover it up, Jack.”

“I said it’s fine!” Jack snapped, bringing everything in the back of the car to a standstill.

“Don’t yell at her, mate,” Liam said.

Jack glanced at Liam, then dropped his gaze and mumbled an apology. The car started moving, forcing Jack and Macy back into their seats. When Jack leaned back, he flinched.

“Your ribs too, eh?” Liam said.

Audrey watched Liam size Jack up and wondered what conclusions Liam was drawing. Liam might be an arrogant prick, but behind that thick Cockney accent he was sharper than a fresh razor blade.

“Aww, yeah, the other guy got a few good ones in,” Jack said. “Watch it, Macy, your elbows are sharp as hell.”

Macy was leaning over Jack’s lap, reaching for the champagne. Her sparkly silver mini-dress rode up to show her ass, including her neon pink thong. Liam gave her ass a speculative look, and Audrey gave him his own elbow in the ribs.

Liam glanced down at Audrey, cocking a brow. “Jealous?” he asked, quiet enough that only Audrey could hear it.

Audrey sniffed, but as she turned away she caught Jack giving them both an odd look.

“Haven’t seen you in a couple days, Aud,” Jack said, a little too loud. “Where’ve you been?”

“Well…” Audrey started, unsure how she wanted to phrase it.
I’ve moved in with your high school friend, and we can’t stop eye-fucking each other
didn’t seem like quite the right thing.

“She’s been working,” Liam said, crossing his arms. “Unlike some people.”

Audrey looked between Liam and Jack.

“Jack, you haven’t been at practice?” she asked.

“Not in this condition, no,” Jack said mildly. “Macy, honey, you’re spilling that stuff on your dress.”

Macy was pouring champagne into her glass, letting it overflow. Macy looked a little dazed, and Audrey wondered if Macy hadn’t already been drinking quite a bit before getting into the limo.

Everyone was quiet for the last few minutes of the ride. The gala was hosted at The Fox Theatre downtown, and when the limo pulled up Audrey stepped out onto an actual red carpet.

Fancy, she thought. Liam climbed out and offered Audrey his arm, then escorted her down the carpet through a wall of photo flashes and chattering reporters.

“Wow, I had no idea that there was going to be press,” Audrey said.

“Football’s finally gaining traction here,” Liam said, giving her a hawkish smile that she couldn’t help but return. “Real football, I mean, not that American nonsense.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone hear you say that,” Audrey said as they swept in through the Theatre’s front doors.

The whole place was done in a 1920s jazz theme for the event, with champagne in coupe glasses and a jazz band playing at one end of the ballroom.

“Put your best smile on, because it’s all press interviews from now till supper,” Liam said, once they had drinks. “Only four big names on the whole team, so I’m bound to be popular tonight.”

He sipped from his tumbler of whiskey and winked at her. Audrey rolled her eyes, but Liam wasn’t the least bit wrong about it. The next hour and a half were nothing but Atlanta Unified’s PR team bringing up reporters for introductions, stepping back for a few minutes, then bringing up a fresh face with the same questions.

How are you enjoying Atlanta after playing in London so long?

Is it true you were bounced from the England Nationals team?

Will you stay in Atlanta for longer than this season?

Liam played along, giving the same answers over and over. He’d clearly been coached at some point prior, and he stuck to the script perfectly.

At last, food was served. An attendant showed them to their table, right in the center of the room. Jack and Macy were stuck at a table all the way in the corner, which irked Audrey a little, but she wasn’t about to make a scene.

She’d watched Liam and Jack both at practice earlier in the week, and it was readily apparent that there was a reason why Liam was so highly regarded by Atlanta Unified.

He was crazy good at the game, and he worked his ass off. He deserved to be the center of attention, in this context.

During dinner Liam had another player sitting to his left, with whom he promptly struck up a conversation, something about penalty kicks. Audrey understood roughly a quarter of what they said, and soon lost interest.

To Audrey’s left was the wife of one of the team owners, a beautiful young socialite named Emily. To Audrey’s surprise, the other woman turned out to be extremely smart and funny, and her banter about local politics carried Audrey through the whole meal.

A couple drinks later, the tables were cleared away and people started to migrate to the dance floor. Audrey saw that Jack and Macy were some of the first to cut loose, and boy did they ever. They were both drunk as skunks, but they seemed to be behaving and having a good time.

Audrey headed for the bar, then smiled at herself. It was hardly fair to pick on Jack and his new girlfriend for having a few drinks when Audrey herself was making a beeline for the booze.

Could she really blame anybody for knocking back a couple too many? So far, this gala event had proven to be fairly boring.

“You don’t have to babysit him, you know,” Liam whispered, suddenly just behind her.

Audrey stiffened and turned her head an inch, giving him a smirk.

“I know,” she said, turning back to accept her cocktail from the bartender.

“I hear you saying the words, but I don’t think you mean them,” Liam said.

“I do! I just… I worry about him, you know?”

“Yeah, but he’s the older of you. He should be caring for you, not the other way around.”

“Well, that’s not how it goes in our family. We didn’t come from some…
posh
London blood, okay?” she said, feeling a little prickly.

Liam gave her an amused look, like he was enjoying some inside joke.

“Maybe you just don’t give him enough to worry about,” he suggested, as if her snide remark had never happened. “I’m willing to bet that if you did, Jack would be there for you in an eye’s blink.”

“Maybe,” Audrey said with a shrug. “I don’t want to find out.”

“You’re such a prude,” he sighed.

“I— I am not!” she growled. “I just don’t want to be someone’s one night stand. That’s not a crime, surely.”

Liam signaled the bartender for another drink and picked up Audrey’s cocktail, taking a sip.

“Hey! That’s mine!” she protested.

“Yeah, but I’m the reason this event is happening,” he said with a grin.

“Full of yourself, much?” she snorted.

“Only because I have the goods to back it up,” he said.

Audrey’s cheeks flushed. “Don’t be crass.”

“I was talking about my skills on the pitch. What were you talking about, Ginger?”

“Don’t start with that again,” she said, taking her drink back from him.

“Mmm,” he said noncommittally, swigging back his whole dram of whiskey.

“Slam that back, let’s have a dance,” he said. “Or are you just going to stand here all night and fret about your brother?”

“No…” Audrey said.

“Up and back, then,” he said, mimicking chugging a drink. “Don’t be a little girl about it, Ginger.”

Audrey glanced at her glass, then shrugged and knocked the whole drink back in a couple big gulps. She winced and gasped at the end, and Liam swept the glass from her hand with a grin.

“Atta girl,” he said, putting the glass aside. “Now let’s hit the dance floor.”

“I don’t really dance,” Audrey said as he led her toward the band.

“Oh, you forget. I know for a fact that’s not the case, because I’ve seen you dance. Up close and very, very personal, I might add.”

Audrey went beet red. “Is there ever going to be a point when you stop teasing me about that? It was one silly mistake.”

“Never,” Liam said, and he looked entirely serious. He twirled her with ease, then pulled her into his arms just as the band started playing a sultry jazz number.

“Well, I wish you would,” she said.

To her surprise, Liam was a very good dance partner, leading her with ease.

She supposed it shouldn’t be a surprise at all. He spent half his days doing agility drills on the soccer field, and he was naturally dominant in personality.

Liam pulled her closer by degrees, until they were pressed hip to hip, until he seemed to take up all the space in Audrey’s world.

“I’m convinced that I saw the real you that night, or a part of you at least,” Liam said.

“Sorry?” Audrey said, blinking.

“I think you spend all this time buttoning yourself up, trying to control everything in your life.”

“Thanks,” Audrey said sarcastically.

“I wasn’t finished. I think you do that because there’s a wildness inside you, and the harder it fights to get out, the more you shove it back down.”

Audrey laughed. “Oh, how very deep and insightful. I think
you’d
like me to have a wild side.”

Liam leaned down a couple of inches, bringing his lips to Audrey’s ear.

“Why would I want that, Ginger?”

When his lips grazed her throat Audrey shivered, letting her head fall back so that she could watch him. He straightened, his big hand splayed low on her back, pressing her into his body.

“Ummm…” she said, trying to answer his question. “Because you’re a man whore?”

She could feel him growing hard against her belly, and the way he stared down at her, his eyes going dark as pine needles…

Something wild did stir within her, just then. A wicked grin spread over Liam’s face, and he slowed, then pulled her off the dance floor.

“What are you doing?” Audrey asked as he towed her toward the ballroom’s exit.

Liam paused to grab two glasses of champagne, then gave her a devilish grin. “I don’t feel like dancing anymore.”

Audrey couldn’t find it within herself to protest, so she let him lead her out of the crowded exit.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Damned if I know, I’ve never been here before. This looks promising, though…” he said, leading her through a set of double doors.

They stepped out onto a small stone balcony, only a story up from the street but quiet enough.

“Perfect,” Liam said, pulling her over to the railing. He released her hand and gave her one of the wine glasses, then raised his own. “A toast?”

“To what?” Audrey said, glancing nervously away to the street below.

“To discovering just what you’re meant to, when you open yourself to the possibility.”