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his
wicked way with her.
    He wished he wasn’t giving the photographers
such a nice shot. He could already see tomorrow’s front page. The Cougars’ star quarterback cradling something besides a
football in his hands—Hayden Middleton’s booty.
    That didn’t stop him from deepening the kiss
as the flashes went off.

Chapter 7

    O h. Dear. God. Liam knew
how to kiss.
    Kiss? What an inadequate word to describe
the tender assault.
    Every nerve ending of Hayden’s skin pricked
alive, every fragment of her being hummed with awakening. All.
From. A. Kiss.
    She felt his hard-on press against her
belly. The size promised fulfillment in every way. So did his
tongue. Liam kissed her like he owned her. Controlled her. Mastered
her. With her mind numb, her body rendered weak, a heavy weight of
desire pressed down on her chest. She thought her heart had ceased
to beat. She slid a hand up to thread through his reddish-brown
waves. Melting into him, she sighed the last bit of air from her
lungs. For a moment she depended on him to keep her upright and for
the very air she breathed.
    Then he broke away. She gasped, her lifeline
ripped from her.
    Opening the passenger door, he said, “Get
in.”
    Startled, she breathed on her own again, but
remained unable to move. He tapped her ass, nodded to the Hummer,
and then hoisted her inside. More flashes from the cameras caught
the action frame by frame. For once she didn’t care about
publicity. She didn’t dare look into the lens—afraid what the
photos might reveal. A blush? Dreamy eyes?
    She looked anxiously to the driver’s seat,
waiting for Liam to slide in. Then what? She’d been on the
receiving end of sloppy smooches, halfhearted pecks, and rushed
kisses that only meant to lead to the main event. But Liam’s? She
could live off his kisses. Or die from them. If one kiss from him
could create this much havoc in her, then what would more do?
    She’d warned her father she’d be a bad
influence on his star player. The PDA was so out of character for
Liam’s revamped Christian image. Apparently, her making out with a
spoonful of cheesecake had pushed the choirboy over the edge.
    But instead of reveling in her success, a
twinge of unease fought with her normal devil-may-care attitude.
Liam started the car. “I think they bought it.”
    What? Had he only kissed her
senseless to prove to the paparazzi that the engagement was real?
Anger rose in her blood, but in truth she was more hurt than
mad.
    He looked to her, seemingly unconcerned
about the paparazzi mobbing the vehicle. “I hope that wasn’t too
much of a chore for you?”
    How clever of him to throw her earlier dig
back at her. But that’s not what annoyed her. That he didn’t appear
the least bit affected by the kiss did. “So what if you’re a great
kisser. It means nothing.” Damn, she meant to say good , not great .
    “It means everything, Hayden.” His gaze
dropped to her lap. “Everything.”
    Dear God, she was ready to drop her panties.
Well, if she were wearing any, that is.
    “Speechless?” Liam laughed. “Score one for
me.”
    It wasn’t fair. Not only was her plan to
drive him away not working, but Liam gave back as good as he got.
And he seemed to be enjoying that way more than he did kissing
her.
    She fumed as he inched the tank like vehicle
through the horde of frenzied paparazzi.
    “And Hayden. Don’t ever pull a stunt like
that again.”
    “What stunt?” It was too dark to waste an
innocent flash of her baby blues. She’d play that trick later when
it counted for something bigger.
    He threw her a sideways glance.
“Really?”
    She thought about denying that she had
alerted her media contacts, but why lie about it? If he realized
his life would be a media circus, then maybe he would break the
engagement before something more vulnerable was broken—like her
heart. She could see herself easily falling in love with him. But
she wasn’t about to change who she was for him or any man. “I’ll