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SOFT FINGERS BRUSHED against Ciara’s bare skin, and her eyes fluttered open. It was already bright outside, meaning she had slept in.
It was no surprise after the previous night. The mere memory of it set Ciara’s heart ablaze.
“Morning.” Husky, deep, morning voice. Ciara smiled, hearing it.
She rolled onto her back, eager to see Liam and unable to control her smile. “Morning.”
His smile matched hers, and it was the best view she had woken up to in a very long time.
“Have you been up for long?” She eyed his long, brown hair, remembering how soft it had felt between her fingers.
“A little while,” Liam admitted.
Ciara turned to lie on her right side, properly facing Liam. They were both smiling like lovesick puppies, replaying the night’s events in their heads.
Ciara’s gaze travelled from Liam’s eyes to his lips. She was about to suggest another kiss, but then her eyes settled on something on the bedside table behind him. “Where did that come from?”
Liam’s eyes widened when he realised what she was talking about. He reached to grab the sketchbook, but Ciara was faster. She snapped her fingers, and the sketchbook appeared in her hands.
“That’s cheating,” Liam complained.
She opened the sketchbook where there was a pencil as a bookmark, revealing a drawing. A drawing of her sleeping form with the duvet covering just the right places.
“You still draw?” Ciara asked, mesmerised by the work of art.
“Sometimes,” Liam said sheepishly, biting his lip.
Ciara flipped to the previous page as fast as she could, knowing Liam wouldn’t let her see more drawings if it was up to him.
“Do—” He was too late; she had already seen the drawing.
Another drawing of her. An enchanted one. It was moving like a non-magical video. In it, she was talking and smiling. She assumed it was from her housewarming party from the end of October.
“How long have you been drawing these for?” Ciara asked, entranced.
Liam snatched the sketchbook from her hands. “For a while.”
Ciara grinned, turning to face Liam. “So are there more drawings of me?”
His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “Yes.”
“Let me see.”
“Not now.”
Ciara sighed theatrically. “Fine.” She sat up, not caring the duvet was no longer covering her.
“Where are you going?” Liam asked, struggling to keep his gaze from travelling down. Without looking away, he placed the sketchbook back on the bedside table.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Ciara said and stood up. “Wanna join?”
“Yes!”
***
CIARA DRIED HER HAIR with a hairdryer. Liam had already gone to make breakfast.
Once Ciara finished drying her hair, she sneaked into her room to get dressed and then tiptoed to the kitchen doorway. She leaned against the doorframe, admiring the view of Liam making pancakes.
“What’s the occasion?” she asked, grinning.
Liam turned to look at her, not hiding his wandering eyes, and chuckled. “I got to wake up next to you.”
“Why didn’t I get pancakes the last time that happened?” Ciara teased, walking over to where Liam was and jumping to sit on the kitchen counter.
“That was different.”
“You left quietly in the morning.”
“I didn’t know how you would have felt waking up next to me after that night,” Liam said, his eyes flickering between the pancakes and Ciara.
She wouldn’t have minded. In fact, quite the opposite. “I wouldn’t have been disappointed, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Liam’s crooked grin gave away his amusement. He continued to cook the pancakes, stealing glances at Ciara.
Ciara was biting her lip to contain her smile. She hadn’t felt so happy in a long time.
Liam poured uncooked batter onto the pan and moved to stand between Ciara’s legs that were hanging off the edge of the kitchen counter. He pushed her hair from her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck. She shivered from the feeling of his breath on her skin.
Liam noticed, and he smiled against her skin. He placed one more lingering kiss on the same spot before he pulled away, facing Ciara. “I’m glad you let me stay overnight.”
Ciara bit her lip. “Me too.”
Turning to check on the pancake on the pan, he noticed Ciara still had the broken bracelet on her left wrist. He moved his fingers over it at first, tracing it. Then he gripped at it and snapped it.
“Liam!” Ciara gasped, wide-eyed.
He placed a kiss on her lips to silence her. Pulling away, he said, “I’m buying you a new one.”
“So you can be jealous again when I happen to be in the same place with you and some other guy, huh?” Ciara teased.
Liam rolled his eyes and threw the bracelet into the rubbish bin. “My plan didn’t exactly work out.”
“But weren’t the results eventually what you had hoped for?”
Liam smiled widely. “After a few setbacks, yes.”
Ciara hummed in agreement.
Liam flipped the pancake and turned to look at Ciara again. “I’m glad you’re not into Kellan after all.”
Ciara scrunched up her nose. “He’s too old for my taste.”
“And way too good-looking, too?” Liam asked, not buying it. “Have you seen the guy?”
“I have, one too many times,” Ciara assured him. “And I’m not one bit attracted to him.”
Liam’s face turned more serious. “Did you argue with him or something?”
“In a way, I guess.” Ciara shrugged. “I’m sure there will be a meeting handling it on Monday.”
“And are you still angry with me?” Liam asked and moved to stand between her legs again.
Ciara sighed, looking straight into his eyes. She could only hope he saw her point—saw how worried she was. “I hate that you reformed the group. It’s dangerous.”
“You put yourself in danger every day at work,” Liam said, the look in his eyes mirroring Ciara’s.
“But it’s my job. It’s different.”
“How so?” Liam asked, raising his hand to brush the side of her face. “Because I worry about you every single day when you go to work.”
“I have more experience.”
“It doesn’t make it any safer,” Liam said with his worried gaze glued to her eyes.
But I would rather be the one in danger. “Fair enough.”
***
“SO ARE YOU EVER GOING to furnish this flat like you were planning to?” Liam asked Ciara.
They were lying on her bed—this time clothed—with Liam’s arm wrapped around Ciara.
Ciara placed her hand on his chest. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
Ciara shrugged slightly. “I’m never home.”
“Is this the moment you reveal you have a boyfriend after all?”
Ciara rolled her eyes. “I’m working, training, or getting drinks with the team all the time.”
“And nothing else?” Liam asked.
“This flat is way too big for one person.”
“I thought you liked this flat, because it was neither too small nor too big.”
“I changed my mind.”
“When?”
“After you moved out,” Ciara admitted.
Liam recollected the other night when Ciara had told him about the threat. “So you didn’t want me to move out?”
“I had to make you move out, because I thought that way you wouldn’t be involved with the witch hunters through me, and therefore you’d be safe. Clearly, I was wrong. You’re involved with the witch hunters anyway,” Ciara said, huffing.
“Well, your plan was...” Liam paused, swallowing, “effective.”
Ciara cringed, rolling onto her back. “Oh, my God,” she groaned. “It wasn’t my plan. Bill came up with the whole dating thing, and Kellan...ugh...” Ciara hid her face in her hands.
Liam chuckled at her expression and gently peeled her hands off her face. “I’m glad it wasn’t real.”
“Me too!”
Liam grinned and placed a kiss on Ciara’s forehead.
“Anyway, how do I not even have your new address yet?” Ciara asked, eager to move on from the topic.
Liam chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Right.”
Ciara turned to look at Liam, tilting her head. “Have you been keeping it from me on purpose?”
“Let me explain,” Liam said. Ciara nodded, urging him to continue. So he did. “When I moved out, I thought you and Kellan were together. Dating.” He scrunched his nose up from the mere thought. “I hated seeing you with him and even more so hearing—”
“Let’s not talk about that!” Ciara pleaded.
“Anyway, I just wanted to move out as fast as I could. And I didn’t actually find a flat. I, uh, lied about that.” He scratched the back of his neck again. “Shawn’s flat is too small. Same goes for Hugo’s flat. Henry and Jenna, same thing. I also didn’t want to move back to my parents’ place, because Mum would have made a hassle out of it. Sure, she means well, but I wouldn’t stand it for days, not to mention weeks.”
“So are you living under a bridge or what?” She had no idea who else Liam could live with.
Liam chuckled, but it sounded nervous. “Iris and I sold our flat, and she already has a new one. I’ve been staying there.”
Ciara frowned to hide how disheartened she was. “Okay, so...” She hesitated a moment. “You live with your ex-fiancée.” Her frown deepened at her own words. “Who, might I add, cheated on you. But you’re saying there’s nothing going on between you and her?”
Liam looked into Ciara’s eyes. “There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Iris.”
Liam’s words didn’t convince Ciara, and he could see that.
“Honestly,” he said, more serious. “I haven’t forgotten that she cheated on me. I could never be with her after that, and I could never trust her in a relationship again.”
“But you still have feelings for her.”
“No, I don’t,” Liam said instantly.
“You were dating for over three years.” Ciara sat up, because she no longer felt comfortable in Liam’s arms. “You broke up less than three months ago. Not that long ago you were still crying over her.”
“If you mean what happened after the housewarming party, that was like two months ago,” Liam said in his defence.
“I doubt you’re over the break-up yet.”
Liam sat up, too. “Why would I be here if I wasn’t? And how long did it take you to get over our break-up?”
Ciara sighed. “Are we having this conversation again?”
“A-again?”
“We had this conversation two months ago. Remember?”
“No, I don’t remember.” Liam shook his head. “After the housewarming party?”
Ciara nodded.
“I was drunk.”
Ciara sighed, refusing to raise her gaze to Liam.
“Besides, I started dating Iris a month after you broke up with me.”
“That’s different. You already liked her before we broke up.”
“I’ve had feelings for you since August.”
This time Ciara turned to look at Liam in disbelief. “Great! So now I’m a home-wrecker.” She stood up and walked out of the room.
“Ciara!” Liam exclaimed, running after her.
She went to grab her cigarettes. They were no longer on the table, and she couldn’t see them on the floor either.
She spun around to look at Liam. “What did you do to my cigarettes?”
“Ciara—”
“Just answer me!”
“I threw them away when you were in the shower,” Liam said.
“I’m gonna go get new ones then.”
Ciara headed for the flat door, but Liam stopped her midway by wrapping his arms around her.
“Let go of me!”
“No, Ciara. Wait,” he said desperately. “Just let me explain everything to you. There are things you don’t know!”
“So you’ve been sleeping with Iris post-break-up and now you needed some change?”
“I would never use you like that!”
“Yeah, well, I feel used!” Ciara snapped at him, pushing him away.
“Because you don’t know everything yet!” Liam said, raising his voice.
“I feel like I don’t want to know any more than I already do,” Ciara huffed out, annoyed.
“Just listen. Please,” Liam begged.
Ciara said nothing. She didn’t even look at him.
“Before our break-up, I had to open a vault in Peru. There was an enchantment protecting it. The only way to get to the vault was to give up a memory. I had promised my boss I’d get that vault open, and I didn’t think one memory could be worth so much. I could have chosen a memory, but because I couldn’t pick one, I decided to give up any memory I had.” Liam’s words were hurried, scared Ciara would stop listening. “The vault cost me both you and our relationship.”
Ciara turned to look up at Liam.
“It took the memory of the moment I first realised I loved you,” Liam said. “I didn’t even look twice at Iris before I lost that memory.”
“Why didn’t you just break up with me when you fell for Iris?”
“Because I felt like I owed you for making you wait for me for so long already. It wasn’t like I didn’t care about you at all, because I did. I just didn’t love you.”
Ciara didn’t know what to say.
“My feelings for you had nothing to do with what happened between me and Iris,” Liam swore. “I broke up with her because of the cheating.”
“Which you’ve already forgiven.”
“No, I haven’t. I just don’t want to fight with her, it’s easier that way,” Liam said. “And yes, I am staying with her right now, but that doesn’t mean I would want to get back together with her. She was my absolute last option.”
“Before me.”
“Because I couldn’t stand seeing you with Kellan, thinking you’re in love with him!”
Ciara stared at the floor, refusing to meet Liam’s eyes. She trusted Liam. He was telling her the truth. She just couldn’t bear the overpowering jealousy gnawing at her heart. It was the kind of jealousy she had only felt once, and it had been over three and a half years since that time.
“Is it so hard to believe that I love you?” His words were a mix of desperation, pain, and longing.
And love.
But Ciara wasn’t ready to fall back into his arms yet.
“So why was Iris at the pub last night?”
Liam looked Ciara in the eyes. “She was there to give me a pep talk.” He grew nervous when she turned her gaze away again. “I was planning to spend a nice evening with you, a-and at the end of it, tell you how I feel until the next guy snatches you out of my reach again. I swear that’s all—”
With two swift strides, Ciara was standing in front of Liam with her arms snaking around his neck. She had to tiptoe to lean in. It was a sweet kiss. She only let her lips linger on his long enough for him to register what was happening and wrap his arms around her waist.
“I’m sorry.” She felt ridiculous for overreacting—for not listening in the first place. “I didn’t know about the whole memory thing.” She shook her head, still trying to process everything Liam had just told her. He had loved her for as long as he had had a memory of that love. “And I didn’t know about your plan for yesterday. And I’m sorry for overreacting when you mentioned Iris. I mean, she drove me into moving to another continent and I—”
“You moved to America because of Iris?” Liam’s eyes widened at the revelation, but he still didn’t move his arms from around Ciara.
Ciara bit her lip and nodded. “Because of your relationship with her. But I already told you that when...you were drunk.”
Liam blinked, staring at Ciara with his mouth open. It took him a moment to form any words. “You moved to America because of that?”
Ciara’s hands slid down to his chest. “I didn’t think I could face her. I didn’t want to see you two together. She was the reason you didn’t love me anymore, and why I broke up with you. Or so I thought anyway.”
Liam blinked, looking at Ciara. “So it’s my fault you’re working as a hit witch?”
“That’s a little far-fetched, but technically yes,” Ciara said. “I didn’t want to become a curse breaker, because that could have meant crossing paths with you. Then I was offered the job in Canada, and it wasn’t a hard decision to make at the time.”
Liam stared at Ciara for a moment before he pulled her tightly against his chest, hugging her. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her caramel shampoo. “I’m sorry about everything. Both from years ago and today. In fact, I’m even sorry about throwing your cigarettes away.”
Ciara slid her arms around Liam to hug him back. “I’m sorry, too.” She bit her lip, having a hard time containing her smile. “And I don’t think I’ll need those cigarettes for much longer if you stick around.”
Liam chuckled and pulled away enough to see Ciara’s face. He smiled at her, and they stayed like that—in silence—gazing into each other’s eyes.
It didn’t last forever, and eventually Liam became serious again. “Can you believe I’m over Iris? Because I am. You would never be a rebound relationship.”
“I believe that.”
“Good.”
Ciara smiled at Liam. “You know, I usually use cigarettes as stress relievers.” Ciara nearly burst out laughing from Liam’s confused expression. “But since I don’t have them anymore...” she continued suggestively.
He caught onto what she was implying, smiling both with amusement and excitement. “I think I know exactly how to relieve stress,” he said and pulled Ciara back to the bedroom.