Free Never Letting Go (Delphian Book 1) by Christina Channelle Page B

all the windows until a warm breeze filled the air, then walked over toward me and dragged me over to my bathroom, throwing me in. He then sneered at me as he sniffed the air.
    “ Damn . You seriously need to take a shower—you stink.” He stalked over to my closet and grabbed a t-shirt, a pair of shorts—hell, even my bra and underwear—then tossed them at me. I had no other option but to grab them as he leaned in to my face and murmured, “Go wash up and I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re ready, okay?”
    I glared at his expectant face, annoyed by his presence, wanting him to go away. But I saw the sincerity in his eyes and I knew that he was only doing what he thought was best.
    “Fine,” I barked, slamming the door in his face, much to his surprise. Alone again, I stripped naked and turned on the pipe, running the shower as I slipped underneath the warm water. I hated to admit it but it felt good to have the water beat against my skin. It was almost like my body was fighting to awaken from the depression I had allowed to take over.
    I stayed underneath the shower until the water began to cool. Reluctantly, I turned off the pipe and quickly changed into the blue t-shirt and shorts that Liam had thrown at me. I looked back into the steamy mirror to see that I looked a bit better than before, the warmth of the water reddening my face, my hair darker due to the wetness. I scowled at my reflection, then opened the door and walked across my room, making my way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
    Liam was leaning against the counter as he drank a cup of coffee, staring off into space. Since he didn’t notice my presence, I took a moment to look him over. His face was set in concentration, his dark hair falling into his deep brown eyes. I always said he had the eyes of a puppy dog. When he landed those big brown eyes on you, you couldn’t help but say yes to anything he asked for. He had lashes any girl would kill for and a dimple in his left cheek that always made me want to press a finger into the space. He was tall and lanky, his strength not as obvious as Ethan’s, who had exuded raw masculinity with even a single look, but it was there nonetheless.
    Liam’s eyes immediately landed on me as my mind wandered to Ethan, as if he knew my thoughts had quickly changed to that of my love.
    “See, that wasn’t very hard now was it? You clean up pretty nicely. Muy bonita .”
    I rolled my eyes at him. “Alrighty, señor .” I walked over to him and swiped the coffee from his grasp.
    “Hey!” he exclaimed. I ignored his protest and took a huge gulp from the mug before sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs.
    Liam softly growled at me but I just smiled to myself and he sat down opposite me. His face instantly lightened at my expression and I looked over at him in distrust.
    “What are you staring at?”
    He grinned widely. “You! You’re smiling for the first time since I’ve seen you. I haven’t been back in two years and I have to say the thing I missed most was your smile.”
    “Shut up,” I immediately said, nose twitching.
    I hated compliments from anyone. Ethan had been the exception.
    “Well, it’s not the same video chatting, my dear.”
    “Aren’t you a sweetheart?” I replied dryly, trying to hide the blush that was forming on my face.
    “I try to be,” responded Liam, who grabbed the mug and took a drink before placing it down between us while we sat in comfortable silence.
    “How long have you been back?” I finally asked.
    “I came straight from the airport. My stuff’s still in the rental car.”
    I looked up in surprise. “You didn’t see your parents first? You know how much they’ve missed you.”
    “And they’re going to keep on missing me,” replied Liam. I didn’t understand what he was saying. He explained further, noting my confusion. “They left for their twentieth anniversary. They’re in Spain for two weeks. They brought me to the airport. Mom and Dad send