Chapter 2 Make Me Forget

Liam was the lucky random stranger.

Eden didn't care that another woman, a Barbie look-alike, dressed in the tightest, shortest, blackest latex dress she had ever seen, was trying to call dibs on him.

"He's with me," she slurred as she propped herself between the two.

Barbie looked ready to murder her with her glacial stare, as she sized her up, her collagen-pumped lips curling with distaste.

"Yeah," Liam chuckled, his cheeks and ears matched his flame hair. "I'm with her!"

"Your loss," Barbie flicked her long blond extensions over her shoulder and pranced off, vanishing in the herd of vacant-eyed zombies swaying to the music.

"Thanks," Liam said with a smile. "You saved my life."

"I guess we're even now," Eden said softly. "Thanks for getting us in."

She wasn't planning to thank him. But, he did save her from the cold earlier.

"I guess being indecent helps sometimes?" He chuckled, and she liked him a little then.

A slow jam came on and out of the corner of her eye she saw Simon and Olive slink their way to the dance floor. She panicked and threw herself in Liam's arms.

"Just pretend you're my boyfriend, okay?" She smiled up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears she was struggling to contain. "Pretend you're madly in love with me."

"Whatever you want, Princess!" Liam pulled her close, his arms wrapped around her waist possessively. Eden, acutely aware of his every movement as they moved to the music, tried to ignore the tingling awareness rushing through her body at his touch. 'Tried' being the operative word.

She read somewhere you can tell a lot about a person from the way they dance. It was true. What she may have assumed to be arrogance earlier, was simply confidence on Liam's part.

"Am I a good boyfriend?" He lowered his head, their foreheads touching lightly. Her brain screamed at her not to get excited as his five o'clock shadow grazed her cheek, sending her quivering despite the warmth in the room.

"If your day job doesn't work out, you can always sign up with Rent-A-Boyfriend," Eden assured him as she hung her arms around his neck, taking him in.

With his thick wavy red hair, Liam reminded her of Will Halstead from Chicago Med, one of her favourite TV shows. He was too damn fine for his own good. And if she carried on clinging to him, it was only a matter of time before she jumped straight from the pan and into the fire.

"Is there such a thing?" His eyebrows shot up, and his face lit up with curiosity.

"I don't know," she laughed, throwing her head back. "I've never needed their services before."

Until now, she thought sadly. Until today.

They swayed in silence for a minute, maybe three. Eden was happy to be in his arms, even when the song ended, and another tune came on, she carried on moving, and Liam didn't seem to be in any hurry to let her go.

"Other than dancing with random strangers, why are you here tonight?" She asked, suddenly curious about him.

Crush was an okay nightclub for mere mortals like her. But she imagined filthy-rich gods like him have private clubs, where only black cards and eight-figure bank balances allowed you access.

Liam looked like an eight-figure bank balance type of guy. From his woodsy cologne tinged with the faint whiff of expensive bourbon, to the dark slim-fit jeans he paired with a denim button-down shirt and custom made sneakers. They had to be because she's never seen them on anyone before.

"Celebrating my last night of freedom," he murmured.

Of course, Eden thought. It explained his entourage of Calvin Klein models. It was his bachelor party. She instantly felt terrible for being rude to him earlier. If she was celebrating her last night as a single woman, she wouldn't want to waste half of it waiting in the queue.

"Are you happy?" She asked on his chest. "Should I congratulate you?"

Liam laughed in her hair. "Not really. But it is what it is. How about you?"

"I'm here to forget," she looked up, her heart jumping to her throat when she caught the intense look in his eyes. If he carried on staring at her like that, like she's the only woman in the room, she might forget her heartbreak and sadness.

"Forget what?" He asked, searching her face as if the meaning behind her words was written there.

"Everything," Eden smiled tearfully. "Make me forget, please?"

She didn't know what she was asking for until Liam gently lifted her chin and his mouth descended on hers in a fiery kiss. For a breathless few minutes, all she was aware of was this moment, his arms around her waist, pressing her close to him as he drove her to the brink of insanity with his tongue and lips.

She leaned in, craving more of him, wanting all the warmth from his body. He had a swimmer's body. Firm and taut in all the right places. And she liked it.

She could see herself with him.

He'd make a good rebound guy.

"Did you forget?" Liam asked, his voice hoarse, his ocean eyes stormy with yearning when they came up for air.

"Almost," Eden replied breathlessly. He excited and scared her all at once because she knew she was about to make what was undoubtedly her biggest mistake yet. But having spent the first twenty-four years of her life colouring within the lines with nothing to show for it except a broken engagement, for once she wanted to be a little reckless.

Liam grabbed her hand and led her out of Crush. She quickly texted her friend's while they waited for the valet to bring his Lamborghini around.

He held the passenger door for her and helped her with the seatbelt. Scared and oddly exhilarated, her body buzzed with anticipation for what lay ahead. She vaguely made out the familiar streets as they zoomed through Rock Castle and headed to a private estate, safely tucked away from commoners like her, behind boom gates and an army of guards stationed at the security booth.

They drove through a long winding road, stopping in front of a massive, steel black gate which yawned open when Liam hit a button on a small remote attached to a set of keys.

Eden gawked at the contemporary house perched on the hill, illuminated by the ground lights lining the driveway. The all-white structure, with its smooth classic lines and minimalist accents, looked like it was straight out of an architectural magazine.

A butler and a line of servants dressed in their crisp black and white uniforms, came out to greet them.

"Mr Anderson, should we prepare dinner, Sir?"

Liam waved him off. "You can take the rest of the night off, Dave. Thank you."

The front door had barely shut when Liam reached for her.

His kisses were unrestrained, unreserved and more urgent this time. He picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her up the glass staircase, through a long hallway and finally placing her on the gigantic platform bed with sheets as white as snow, and as smooth as silk to the touch.

"Do you still want to forget?" Liam asked as he dropped light kisses on her neck and slowly undressed her.

"Yes," Eden whimpered feverishly as she clumsily removed his clothes. She wanted to forget the last six weeks and thaw the ice around her heart so bad.

For hours, Liam did just that. He made her forget with his hands, cry out with his tongue, and tremble and shudder in his embrace with his body.

If he wasn't a stranger, she met at a club, if he wasn't her rebound and she wasn't his last night of freedom, their fiery encounter would have been so perfect for her first time.

"Did you forget?" Liam asked much later as they lay panting in each other's arms, their bodies sleek with sweat.

"Yes," she murmured, her tears falling on his chest. She wished there was such a thing as Rent-A-Boyfriend. She would ask for Liam all the time.

He leaned over her and kissed her so gently as he took her, more languidly this time. His bold thrusts and searing caresses sent her world crashing all around her.

"God, you are beautiful, Princess," Liam growled, and shuddered into her.

Eden desperately clung to him as another tremendous wave of pleasure hit her like a hurricane, leaving nothing but total devastation behind.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he kissed her forehead and tucked her in his arms again.

It took her a while to stop shaking. Liam held her close and let her cry, and when she was sure she had no more tears left in her, she looked at him at last.

"I am now," she lied.

She'd never be okay after this.

Not when Liam was getting married soon. Not when he'd wielded so much power over her body.

And now on her fragile heart.