Unplugged (26 page)

Dressing
in a pale blue sarong style dress, I then return to the balcony where Liam rests against the black rail looking over the ocean. Nothing is said as he winds an arm around my waist, as if this is a years old ritual. He nuzzles my neck and sighs. I snuggle in closer.

“
Beautiful, amazing, sexy as fuck Cerys loves me,” he whispers.

I hug his waist and rest my head on his damp T-shirt, the thud of his heart against my cheek,
as the warm breeze sends the smell of the ocean. Snatched moments of pure happiness in life should be locked away, so we can access them when times are bad. Life couldn’t be more beautiful than this.

CHAPTER 24

CERYS

Princess Ella and Liam the Rock Star
are asleep on the sofa. Disneyland exhausted them both, but at least Liam didn’t get the full princess makeover that Ella did, although he is currently wearing Ella’s tiara. My stomach flips and I fight down the niggling that threatened to ruin my holiday in the early days as I study my daughter so relaxed with this man that she happily leans on, mouth open, dribbling down his T-shirt. Unable to help myself, I take a picture with my phone.

Two days straight at Disneyland and I
’m exhausted, too. Following a morning trailing around Fantasyland, I snuck off to Carnation Cafe for the afternoon while Liam took Ella back to her favourite part, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Times like that, I know Liam must really care about us. Why else would he let a five-year-old drag him to somewhere he arrives back from muttering about tiaras and shrieking girls? I told him he should be used to shrieking girls in his job and got a whispered, inappropriate-for-children’s-ears response about what would happen if I didn’t stop teasing him, and what I owed him for subjecting him to the experience.

Emily appears so I show her
the picture, and we giggle.

“
Do you think he’ll recover enough for tonight?” asks Emily.

“
Tonight?”

“
You guys have visitors, don’t you?”

Sky and Dylan are in town and Liam wants to catch them before they go.
I met Sky once at Christmas, the frozen moment in time where she thought me and Liam were a couple, when at that point we weren’t. I know a little about her from things Liam has told me; and I know one thing I have in common with Sky is our lack of interest in the money and fame side of this life. I’m unsure I’d want to date, or be engaged to, Rock God, Dylan Morgan. Sky must be something special to cope with the side effects of that decision.

I
need to find out how Sky copes with the attention she gets. Our first trip to Disneyland yesterday resulted in the first pictures of Liam with his new girlfriend and her child. Liam agreed to stop for pictures in return for the press leaving us alone to enjoy the rest of the day undisturbed, and to my surprise, they complied. I’ve asked Liam to try to stop them posting pictures of us that include Ella, but she’s the story. They blur her face in the photos, but anyone who knows us knows this is Ella. The constant need to reinforce Ella isn’t his daughter irritates me, although Liam’s blasé about it.

I had a text from Craig this morning
; he’d seen the pictures, which surprises me because I didn’t think he watched the entertainment sites. Somebody must be watching them for him, Marcella probably.

’t know you were in the States>

I stared at the phone, irritated by his intrusion into my happy world.

I replied and switch my phone off.

He
’s not rewinding me to ‘panic-mode Cerys’; Wales doesn’t exist at this point.

****

A short snooze and a couple of beers later, and Liam has perked up. A little too much because when I step out of the shower and into the bedroom he’s sitting on the bed, waiting. Dressed in a greying Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt and jeans, I despair at whether he has the ability to dress up at all. I move from a guy obsessed by his appearance to one who chucks on whatever’s at the top of his drawers.

“
I thought you might need help getting dressed,” he says with a smirk.

“
That’s funny; normally, you’re too busy trying to get me out of clothes rather than help me put them on.”

“
Okay, I’ll just watch then.” Liam rubs his lips together and I remain still. “What are you wearing tonight?”

“
What do I wear to meet The Dylan Morgan?”

He makes a humph sound
and pulls an unimpressed face at the carpet. “I don’t know, whatever you think would be suitable for The Liam Oliver, too.”

Is he jealous of Dylan? I cross to him and kiss his head.
“You don’t seriously think…” My towel lands on the floor, tugged off by Liam, and he nips my stomach as he laughs at me. “You asshole!”

Liam
covers his head as I smack him; but having achieved his aim, he finishes by hooking his leg under mine and tripping me onto him. “No, I don’t seriously think.”

I attempt to push myself up, hand on his hard chest but Liam grabs my arms and spins me over onto the bed. My wet hair sp
lays across the thick duvet still crumpled from this morning.

Pinning my hands above my head, Liam
’s gaze caresses my breasts, my nipples harden in anticipation of what’s coming next. “I want to know something,” he says.

I wriggle against his grip but he tightens his fingers around my arms.
“What?”

“
When you had pictures of me on your wall…” he begins.

I groan.
“Will you ever let that go?”

Liam smirks.
“Nope.” He nudges my legs apart with his knee, the rough denim against my thigh sending a shiver through. “As I was saying, when you had pictures of me on your wall, did you fantasise about me?”

“
I told you I did, what’s with the ego stroking tonight, Liam?”

“
What did you fantasise about?”

The more he talks of fantasies, the more aware I am of the strength and weight of
the Liam Oliver I imagined in my head all those years ago; the one whose arousal becomes clearer by the minute as he presses against me. “I’ve told you that before too, and shown you…”

Releasing my hands, Liam winds
one into my hair and brushes his mouth against mine. He slides his other hand between my legs, skimming a finger over my sex. “Did you touch yourself when you thought about me?”

Ohmygod
. I don’t talk about things like that
. Will he think the pink spreading across my cheeks is arousal at his skilful fingers? I close my eyes, not wanting to look back into his, knowing I’ll be lost to him if I see the other Liam there.

“
I bet you did,” he says.

“
Can we not do this now? I want to get ready for this evening.” I want the subject changed. “Liam.”

“
Look at me and tell me the truth, then I’ll let you go. Did you?”

I open my eyes expecting teasing amusement but the arousal in his eyes matches the erection against my body. He
’s not going to let me go whatever I say to him. “Yes. Will you let me go now?”

Liam
’s eyes darken further and he sits back on his heels. “Show me.”

Taking advantage of the lack of Liam
’s weight on me, I shuffle backwards. “Liam! No, you said…” I make to climb off the bed and Liam grabs me around the waist from behind, pulling me back toward him.

“
Cerys, I didn’t say you could get dressed yet.” Liam closes his large palm around my breast, tightening his grip on my waist with the other arm. “You need to do what you’re told sometimes.”

“
I’m not doing what you just asked,” I say, leaning away from him.

“
Boring.” He runs his tongue along my back, scraping me with his rough chin. “Can I do it instead then?”

I
huff; aware I won’t escape the strong arm around my waist anytime soon, especially when he’s in this mood. “You’re very bad at taking no for an answer, Liam.”

“
So a definite no?” He releases his grip and I turn to him, running my fingernails across his chest.

“
Later.”

Liam pouts.
“Okay.” As I climb off the bed to get dressed, Liam smacks my backside hard. “But you’re in trouble later.”

With one last lingering gaze on my naked body, Liam disappears out of the room, leaving me amazed at my own self-control.

CHAPTER 25

CERYS

Following Liam’s impromptu visit, I'm running late. Aware of my hidden anxiety of an evening with Sky and Dylan, Liam decided on an informal poolside barbecue so at least getting ready won't take long. I pull a sarong style green dress over a black bikini and don’t bother with make-up.

My nerves about meeting Sky and Dylan are unfounded. Dylan, I already know from years ago, and he greets me without the pretension I expected. I haven’t seen him for many years and the shirtless Dylan in front of me has filled out a lot since then. He’s not bulky, but not as wiry as Liam. Dylan looks exactly as he does in the pictures, his striking blue eyes captivating, the height and presence of the man enough to turn any girl’s insides out. But not me, I was always Liam’s girl. Whatever Liam says, I swear there was an underlying element of insecurity in his behaviour an hour ago.

“
Hi, again,” says Sky. “Excuse me if I don’t do the whole air kissing thing.”

“
I wouldn’t know what to do if you did.”

Dressed in a short, blue summer dress with spaghetti straps, Sky
sits at the edge of the pool; feet dipped in the warm water. Her blonde waves are pulled back into a ponytail, sunglasses on her head. Dylan sits on a lounger behind, absentmindedly stroking her neck. The Dylan I knew years ago had long hair; he looks strange with short curls barely touching his ears. There’s always been something remarkable about Dylan, even when he was younger. Apart from the face and body that consistently breaks girls’ hearts, he has a presence. Even if you don’t like him, there’s no way you could remain unaware of the aura surrounding Dylan. He exudes something inexplicable that has people doing what he wants without his needing to ask. I’m sure this isn’t all due to Dylan’s fame, I was aware of this years ago and was nervous of him.

“
Have you been over here long?” asks Sky.

“
A week, we go back to Wales next week.” I perch onto the edge of the pool next to Sky.

“
I think Liam would like to keep you here,” says Dylan, and Sky elbows him. “What?”

“
That sounded creepy.”

Dylan flicks Sky
’s ear. “Whatever. I’m getting a beer.”

As he gets up, Sky leans backwards and looks up at him, proffering her glass.
“White wine, please.”

“
Huh. I’m a waiter, now?”

“
Yep. What do you want, Cerys?”

“
I’m okay for now, thanks.”

Dylan wanders off and returns with two beers and a wine. As he passes the glass to Sky, he kisses her softly on the mouth before walking over to Liam. I remember Dylan as a tense person, with a guarded look similar to Jem
’s. The look in his eyes with Sky is far removed from the stressed guy I once knew; a softness I wouldn’t associate with the Dylan Morgan I’ve read about over the last few years. Liam briefly told me about the mess he got himself into, and I can see exactly how he got himself out of it. Sky.

“
Is your little girl around?” asks Sky.

“
Ella? She’s sleeping. Her body clock is still all over the place so I imagine she’ll be up and about soon.”

“
I’d like to meet her, this girl who’s stolen Liam’s heart.” Sky sips her wine. “Well, the other girl, apart from you.”

I can
’t help my face heating, and I glance over at Liam who’s joking around with Dylan by the barbecue. They’re both shirtless with tattoo covered, toned chests. I remember some of the pictures of the men constantly on my Facebook feed. Malibu mansion and two semi-naked rock stars. The school mums would kill to be where I am now. I laugh.

“
What’s funny?” asks Sky.

“
This. Here.” I tip my head. “Being with Liam.”

“
You look worried.”

“
Weren’t you?” I ask her.

“
Of course, but you have the benefit of knowing Liam. I didn’t know who the hell Dylan was and it was a shock when I found out. Not as big a shock as the cameras in my face, but yeah...” She sloshes water with her feet. “I won’t get used to the attention; but if I want to be with Dylan, I’ll have to put up with it until the next big thing comes along and they’re bored of us.”