Snowbound

Cara woke up in a large cocoon of blankets, the sun shining brightly through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountain. The snow made everything brighter and all she wanted to do was snuggle back into the blankets, into the warmth away from everything concerning reality – including the dull ache that she could feel in her lower body.

She groaned to herself as memories of the night before flooded her mind. It was something she didn’t want to deal with – the awkwardness with her best friend. She knew it would be inevitable after what they did with each other, and she didn’t want it to be. But as far as she could tell, he wasn’t lying next to her anymore. She was alone in the blankets where they rolled around naked together the night before. She was still wearing the tank top she never took off, and her panties were put back on, which she was certain she did before they fell asleep – because sleeping without underwear was just weird to her.

She sat up, looking around the humongous cottage. Liam just wasn’t there. She sighed, looking down at the blankets that still covered her lap, feeling a sense of stupidity over what she did with him. How could she have let that happen? Even though she was sure it was the best sex she ever experienced in her life.

“Good morning,” she heard Liam’s voice and turned her head quickly to see him standing behind her holding a cup of coffee in his hand. He was fully dressed in track pants, a North Face zip-up, tennis shoes on his feet and a black beanie on his head. He looked good.

“Morning,” she mumbled, running her fingers through her unruly hair.

“I made coffee,” he said with a smile.

“What? No breakfast in bed?” She snipped, sounding bitchier than she planned it to sound. Liam rolled his eyes at her, realizing she was in a mood.

“Sorry,” she said softly, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye. He really did look good.

“The lads are gonna be here soon. I just got a text from Niall. They missed the turn too, but they’re on track now,” Liam told her with a small snicker.

“It’s daylight. How did they miss it?” Cara snickered under her breath.

“I don’t know. I thought I was bad last night,” he chuckled.

“You were bad last night,” she laughed, but quickly cut herself off, hoping he knew she meant his driving, not other things.

The front door of the cottage flew open and the sound of their friend’s voices and laughter broke the awkwardness between them. Great. She was still underneath the blankets only wearing a miniscule tank top and a pair of panties.

“What’s up? What’s up?” She heard Zayn call out, causing her to roll her eyes.

Zayn was a friend of Liam’s but he was also an old fuck-buddy of Cara’s. They used to get together for booty-calls every once in a while until the relationship went sour. They still tolerated each other, but not much.

“What’s going on in here?” Zayn smirked, looking between Cara and Liam.

“Nothing,” Cara grumbled under her breath as she gave him the stank-eye.

“Are you naked under there, Care-bear?” He asked, smirking mischievously at her.

“Oh, yeah. I was just waiting here patiently for you to show up so we could fuck the second we were in each other’s sights. Please,” she scoffed sarcastically at him, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“She’s always a bit moody in the morning,” Niall snickered as he brought in his luggage.

“Don’t I know it,” Zayn scoffed as he plopped down on the couch.

Rather than being stuck under the blankets all day, Cara stood up, letting the covers fall off of her scantily clad body as she leaned down and picked up her sweatpants, replacing them on her lower half. She really had no shame. Not around these guys anyway. They’d all seen her in a bikini – some of them saw her in less…

“Good God, woman,” Zayn cat-called at her and she sent him a glare in return.

“You are literally half naked. Payno?” Zayn called out to Liam in an insinuating tone, and Liam just rolled his eyes back at him as he walked into the kitchen to grab more coffee.

“Dude, your clothes are on the ground over here and his clothes are on the ground over there…” Zayn pointed out to Cara, putting two-and-two together as he stood up from the couch.

All the other lads were chatting with each other in the kitchen, it was just Zayn and Cara left in the living room together and Cara didn’t like it.

“You’re an idiot,” Cara grumbled at him as she replaced her sweatshirt on her body. Zayn chuckled as he came up to her and threw his arm around her shoulders.

“What? Am I giving off fucking pheromones or something? Get the fuck off,” Cara snapped, pushing his arm off of her.

“Did you and Liam—” He asked lowly. She rolled her eyes again, picking up the rest of her scattered clothing, not dignifying his words with a response.

“You did, didn’t you?” He pressed on.

“You’re an idiot,” she said again, trying her best to keep on her poker face.

“Oh my god. He finally—wow!” Zayn laughed.

“He finally what?” She snapped at him, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“I knew two people couldn’t only be friends. I knew this would happen eventually,” he laughed.

“Zayn, you’re a fucking idiot. Just shut it,” she scoffed at him.

“With your lack of witty retort, I know it’s gotta be true. You and Liam boned last night,” he said with a taunting snicker.

“Fuck off,” she said as she took off toward the bedrooms where she fully planned on showering off the mistakes of the previous night.

“PAYNO! I know your secret,” Cara heard Zayn say in a sing-song voice as she headed down to the room she picked for herself.

“Fucking hell,” she mumbled under her breath, knowing that Zayn lacked the tact to keep his revelation to himself. Everyone would know in a matter of minutes.

Cara showered and dressed, wondering just how bad the blow back was going to be. She was sure they’d never hear the end of it from their friends, thus in-turn only making it even more awkward between her and Liam.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door and immediately flung it open to find Liam standing in front of her.

“Hey,” she said as casually as possible.

“Hey. Can we talk?” He asked. Cara nodded and stepped out of the way for him to come in, shutting the door behind him.

“Did you… did you tell Zayn?” Liam asked uncomfortably, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.

“Yeah, Liam. I just had to get it off my chest – first thing in the morning. I forgot my diary at home,” she said sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Yeah, okay. I figured you didn’t,” he said, slumping his shoulders.

“He saw my clothes, he saw your clothes – and he’s an idiot who only thinks about sex, so of course he came to that conclusion. It’s not his fault that every once in a while he’s right,” she said, still thick with the sarcasm in her tone.

“Yeah,” he said softly.

“What does it matter? We’re adults,” Cara asked, shrugging her shoulders, hoping Liam wasn’t about to turn into a dick like every other bloke she knew. He just shrugged his shoulders, looking down at the floor like it was the most interesting thing he ever saw.

“Look, I’m not just some bird that you shag and leave, Payno. I am your best fucking friend if you haven’t noticed. Let’s not make it weird,” Cara shot at him, and his eyes narrowed slightly at her before he let out a sigh.

“Yeah, so then… okay. We can just leave it be,” he said quietly.

“Leave it be? Sex isn’t just sex, you git,” she shot back as she walked away from him into the bathroom. Of course that’s what he wanted. How perfect.

“I know. Jesus,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at the back of her head as he followed behind her.

“We weren’t drunk. We weren’t impaired, Liam. We had sex with full consciousness – fully knowing what we were doing,” she said, stopping to look at him.

“I know,” he said quietly.

“And that isn’t weird to you?” She asked.

“It’s completely weird. It’s fucking weird, alright, Cara? What do you want me to say? You’re the one who just said it didn’t have to be weird!” He said, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Why did you do it?” She asked.

“What? Why did you do it?” He turned around on her.

“I asked you first,” she shot back and he growled under his breath.

“God, Cara,” Liam said, rolling his eyes, feeling uncomfortable that they were having this conversation.

“What!?” She yelped at him.

“You—God, you…” Liam scoffed, not knowing where to start.

“Me, what?” She asked impatiently.

“Just shut up,” he growled at her and her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Just… just let me talk,” he said more calmly.

“Alright. Talk,” she said, giving him free reign on the conversation.

“You’ve just always been… you’ve been a girl that’s—that’s on another level then every other girl,” Liam started, shutting Cara up completely as she absorbed his words.

“I mean, you—you’re different. You’re Cara. You’re my best friend. Care-bear,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, doing his best to avoid her eyes.

Cara’s spirits deflated as Liam instantly ‘friend-zoned’ her. She never really thought of Liam in a romantic light before – he was seriously ‘just Liam’ to her all these years, but after having a taste – after having one night, she was seeing things differently and the last thing she wanted to hear was the dreaded ‘I only see you as a friend’ speech.

“Yeah,” she said softly.

“You’re like queen bee in my eyes. Like, I don’t know – that sounds stupid, but I’ve always put you up on a pedestal, you know?” He admitted.

“You have?” She asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” he said as his eyes slowly looked up into hers.

“Oh,” she said softly.

“It’s not that I never thought I had a chance, it’s just, I never even thought to try because of—of us, our friendship. You’re you and I’m me and we’re best mates, you know,” he said.

“And last night?” She questioned.

“Last night was definitely more than just ‘mates’,” he smirked at her.

“I’d say,” she said quietly.

“So, what—what were you thinking?” He asked, turning the question back on her again.

She looked up into his questioning gaze with big round saucers for eyes. How the bleeding hell was she supposed to answer that?

“Liam…” She breathed lowly.

“Cara,” he said hopeful, looking at her straight in the eye.

“I—I don’t know,” she giggled, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“You don’t know?” He smirked at her.

“It’s hard to… to explain,” she said, feeling bashful. And if there was one thing Cara never felt, it was bashful. That had to mean something.

“Try,” he said quietly.

“You’re my best friend,” she said, looking up into his eyes.

“Mm-hmm,” he said, nodding his head slightly.

“I-I never… last night, I just… god, last night—” She stammered over her words.

“Have I made you speechless, Cara Jane?” Liam smirked proudly at her.

“Shut up,” she laughed and took a swipe at his arm with her hand.

“Cara,” Liam said again, grabbing ahold of her wrist. Her eyes immediately snapped up to look into his, the moment going serious almost instantly.

“Just tell me the truth,” he told her.

“I… I did it because I wanted to,” she said finally.

“Because you wanted to?” He repeated back.

“Yes. I did it because I wanted you,” she revised and watched as his mouth fell open slightly as he took in her words.

“We’re best friends, Liam. And I… I’ve never felt this way before. But, I don’t know… something changed last night,” she tried to explain.

“Last night everything changed,” he said finally.

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly.

“To be completely honest, Cara, I-I’ve never felt this way before either. Well, I mean, you know… like I said, you were always there. I just… I don’t know. Maybe I have felt this way… maybe all along. I don’t… know. I just know that growing up with you, all you ever had to do was look at me or smile in my direction and I’d light up inside. No one else ever did that for me,” Liam admitted as he grabbed one of her hands in his. Cara was left speechless. No one had ever spoken to her with such perfect words. No one had ever cared to.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” He asked, giving her hand a light squeeze.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she said quietly, her mind still reeling from his confession.

“Cara…” Liam breathed, and her eyes met up with his again.

But only for a split second before his lips were crashing into hers, hard enough to leave a stinging pain in them, but she had no time to worry about that. It was all tongue and teeth and fingers in hair and hands on hips, and Liam, Liam, Liam.

She could taste the hunger in their kiss. It was the same as before – the same as last night. Like a carnal desire being fulfilled within them both. And God, how could she deny herself something like that?

Liam’s hands gripped tightly against Cara’s hips, his mouth still working over hers like a god damn pro as he lifted her gracefully up against him and set her back down on the bathroom countertop. His body fit perfectly between her legs as he edged closer. If he could swallow her whole, it still wouldn’t satisfy his need for her. It was as if something awoken him out of a fifteen year slumber when they were together the night before. Fifteen years of Cara and he only now felt like his eyes were truly open.

Cara’s head leaned back against the bathroom mirror as Liam’s lips moved slowly down her throat. She wanted to rip off every single stitch of her clothing and have him worship her like he did the night before, but she wasn’t sure how much time they had before one of the other blokes came looking for them. And how would they explain this? What would they say when they hadn’t even wrapped their heads around what was going on?

“Liam… Liam…” Cara breathed through her heavy breaths.

“Shh, Cara. No,” Liam hushed her as his hot breath and stubble stung the sensitive skin of her neck.

His hands slid smoothly up her bare torso, pulling up her shirt with it. Her breathing shuddered in her throat with the feeling of his hands on her again. She no longer wanted to stop them – she didn’t have it in her. Not with both his mouth and his hands on her.

“Just… just quick this time,” she managed to get out through her rapid breathing. She felt the vibration of his laugh against her chest before she heard it and it made her laugh too.

“What?” She asked, smiling at him.

“I was thinking the same thing, but I didn’t want to be the one to say it,” he said, smiling back at her.

“Well, blunt’s my middle name,” she joked, bobbing her eyebrows once at him.

“You have a way of getting straight to the point, don’t you?” He chuckled as his hands came out of her shirt and he stood up fully in front of her.

A part of her was worried she broke the mood completely, but as she watched Liam’s fingertips quickly unzip his North Face zip-up and swipe off his t-shirt in record speeds, she knew things were still progressing exactly how they wanted them to.

His mouth was back on hers just as fast, his arms enveloping around her, pulling her body back to the edge of the countertop. She liked the feeling of his strong arms around her, man-handling her. She would have never tolerated it from him before, but in their current setting, she couldn’t get enough.

Liam’s hands slipped down the front of her body, casually sliding across both her breasts before settling at the fastening of her trousers. He had them open and slid down her hips in a matter of seconds. All Cara had to do was lift her body slightly off of the counter and Liam had them slipped down to her ankles and piled onto the floor in a heap. His palms slid smoothly up the plains of her thighs as his eyes danced over the purple panties she put on after her shower. She watched him lick his lips as his fingers gripped the hem of her grey thermal top, throwing it over her head in one fell swoop.

“Your bra matches your panties,” he pointed out, smiling down at her with a satisfied smirk.

“That wasn’t for you, pretty boy,” she shot back at him playfully.

“Sure it wasn’t,” he snickered, taking her mouth with his once again, pressing their half-naked bodies together.

Cara’s take-charge attitude came into effect as her fingers swiftly pushed Liam’s track pants down his hips and over the swell of his bum.

“Black Calvin Klein boxer briefs,” she whispered against his lips before even getting a look.

“That’s all I wear,” he commented, smirking at her.

“Well honestly, I could get used to you wearing absolutely nothing,” she said as she tugged them down as well, just enough to expose him before her attention went back to his very arousing mouth against hers.

Liam’s blunt fingertips dug into the flesh of her hips as he wobbled in front of her with his trousers constricting the movement of his legs. She giggled against his mouth as her hands found his bare hips and steadied him. Cara knew her friend was clumsy by nature and lacked the grace to catch himself if he were to fall, and she really didn’t want to end up having sex on the bathroom floor.

“Get these off,” she demanded, trying to tug his trousers down even more.

“Care…” Liam said, looking into her eyes, stopping all advances.

“What?” She asked seriously, looking straight back at him.

“All my condoms are in my room,” he told her.

“Oh,” she said as she bit onto her bottom lip.

“I didn’t really plan this, you know,” he continued.

“Well, um… shit,” she breathed, looking around the room like she’d find a magic solution.

“Well, you’re not stupid are you?” She asked him.

“What?” He asked, giving her a confused look.

“I mean, you’re safe right… with other women? You don’t just shag bare-back, do you? I mean, you use condoms, right?” She babbled.

“No. I mean, yeah. Yes, I use condoms all the time,” he told her.

“So do I. So, um… we could either just stop right here, and walk around like horny teenagers all day… or we could um… just do it,” she said, weighing their options. Liam stared at her for a moment before a sneaky smile grew on his face.

“I’m gonna go with Nike on this one and just do it,” he chuckled as he pushed down his trousers and boxers before kicking out of them, his cheesy joke causing her to laugh out loud.

“Good choice, Payno,” she told him as he gripped onto the sides of her panties and tore them down her legs.

His mouth was back on her immediately as his hands once again guided her body toward the edge of the countertop. Her legs rest against his hip as he slipped one hand between them, sliding a finger slowly inside of her to see just how ready she was.

“You’re already there, aren’t you?” He smirked against her lips.

“Maybe I have a thing for bathroom sex,” she said with a shrug as he slipped his finger out of her.

“Or maybe you have a thing for me,” he challenged as he slid himself inside of her quickly.

“Oh. Definitely, maybe,” she moaned, letting her head tip back slightly. Liam took advantage of her exposed throat and connected his lips to it as he began moving inside of her.

“Remember – fast, Payno,” she reminded him.

“Don’t worry,” he said through a shuddered breath.

His hips moved faster and his arms held her tighter as her body molded and relaxed completely around him.

“Oh, God,” she groaned as the pleasure raced through her almost immediately.

“Shh, Cara,” Liam breathed in her ear, quietly shushing her.

She couldn’t help it. He made her forget where she was and all about the nosey ears that could easily overhear their activities.

Liam’s rhythm never faltered, even when he pulled up slightly so he could pop each one of her breast out of her bra to toy with them using both his hands and his mouth in ways that were easily helping her get off. Cara was moaning and she was aware of it, but she just couldn’t contain herself. Liam’s mouth moved up her chest and then up her throat before he nipped at her jaw line, humming against her skin.

“Cara, you’ve got to be quiet,” he breathed out another warning, continuing his pleasure induced torture in the form of sex.

“Sorry,” she replied, biting her lips together as her fingers wrapped tightly around the edge of the countertop, holding herself in place as her body leaned against the mirror.

With his quickness and her hypersensitivity to all things Liam as of late, it wasn’t long before she felt her body begin to quicken with the rise of her orgasm.

“Liam…” She breathed, his name rolling off her tongue almost incoherently between a string of moans.

“Cara,” he said with a sting of warning in his tone.

“I just… I can’t,” she moaned, knowing he was scolding her, but she was so lost in him, she didn’t know how to hold back.

Liam stopped for a split second, finding his footing before he began again, even faster and deeper than before.

“Ohmygod, Liam,” Cara groaned, falling forward against him, moaning into his bare shoulder.

Liam had one hand pressed firmly against the mirror and the other one holding on to her, his lower body doing all the work. His hot breath panting in her ear was only adding to her unraveling.

“Oh, God, Liam. Oh, God,” she groaned, leaning back against the mirror again.

Liam’s hands slipped up her naked torso, across her chest and up the side of her face, taking in every single detail that he could. He loved watching her fall apart at the seams and knowing it was him that was doing it to her. He knew after this, he would never allow another man to be in this place. He couldn’t. Not when it felt like his whole life was somehow falling into place.

“Please. Oh, God. Oh, Goddd,” Cara groaned out loudly as her orgasm rocketed through her. Liam’s hand automatically slipped over her mouth, muffling her cries.

All he needed was a few more thrusts and he too was spilling himself into her with a low grunt as he dug his face in the nape of her neck, his hand slowly sliding away from her mouth, down her body. Cara’s fingers slid up on the back of his head, gripping his hair in them as she cradled him with her body.

Liam’s own body collapsed against hers, the side of his face pressed against her chest as he tried to get his heavy breathing under control.

“I don’t think we’re going to be doing much skiing this weekend, to be honest,” Cara offered with a light giggle and Liam could do nothing but laugh in her arms, because he knew she was probably right.

Notes