They didn't let anyone accompany me into the hall where the hearing was. It might've been for the best.

I decided not to seek legal aid and prepared my statement on my own. I only had to answer the questions — tell them what happened. Tell them what he did. Tell the truth in French, knowing that he was there, listening to my every word.

I threw up three times in the morning, and once right before I had to testify. However, the quote I read somewhere was accurate — you don't know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.

Saying goodbye to the misery Paul brought into my life took me half an hour. I saw the footage of the attack near my university and confirmed it was me. Paul didn't deny anything.

After the hearing, as I was gathering my belongings with shaky hands and a queasy stomach, I overheard them say he requested to be transferred to his home country and go to jail there. The laws were stricter than in France. If Paul thought he would have it easy, he was in for a surprise.

The person who made my life hell looked scared. He used to think he was invincible. His father's money gave him protection. Now, as the judge announced the verdict, I saw Paul cradle his head in his hands. Our eyes met for a fleeting moment before I turned around and walked out of the courtroom.

"Sweetheart!" Liam rushed toward me, with his shirt slightly creased and dark circles under his eyes. Just like me, he hadn't been sleeping well for the last few days.

I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my nose in the crook of it. My body shook, releasing the unshed tears I'd managed to hold back during my testimony.

"Are you okay?" Liam cupped my face and pressed his forehead to mine. His thumbs caressed my wet cheeks, and I smiled through the moisture in my eyes, nodding.

"The verdict?"

"Fifteen years because of my case and the other one."

Liam squeezed me tighter. "Thank God. It's over, baby. It's finally over."

I sobbed harder, again, while Liam's gentle arms held me and
comforted me.

We stood outside the courtroom for a while. Then, Liam and I walked out of the courthouse holding hands, squinting at the unusually bright February sun. It seemed symbolic— the darkness was gone, giving way to the light. And light was how I felt.

***

It was Valentine's Day a couple of days after the trial. I woke up to Liam's kisses and a big bouquet of red roses on the nightstand.

Liam was already dressed for work. The exhaustion of the last weeks made me sleep way more than I usually did.

"You're gonna be late if you don't get up now," Liam murmured, giving me one last kiss. "And just to make sure, we're going to meet Aiden and Ellie at the movie theater after your lectures, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah. And thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful."

Liam slid his hand under the comforter and squeezed my bum. "The main surprise will be waiting for you at night. The roses are just a little something to make waiting more bearable. Now, I gotta run. Love you."

He walked out of the room fast, and I stayed in bed for a little while longer, which resulted in me being almost late to my classes.

"You're the prof's favorite now." Diane nudged my bicep when the last lecture of the day, the dreaded Econ, was over.

"Am not." I rolled my eyes. "My boyfriend has been helping me study, and things started to make sense, that's all it is."

"Yeah, study." Natalie giggled behind us. "Because studying absolutely gives you that kind of glow. And blush," she added, looking at my rosy cheeks.

My healthy complexion had more to do with getting regular sex every day, sometimes several times a day, but I kept that information to myself. Liam was stressed at work, which made him want to relax. I wasn't complaining.

I said bye to my classmates and hurried to Liam's car parked to the side of my university building.

He wrapped his arms around me as soon as I sat in the passenger seat. Liam's wet lips landed on mine, and he gave me a heated, open-mouthed kiss.

"Wow." I gasped, my breathing already ragged.

"You would get many more of those if you allowed me to tell everyone that we're together. Especially our best friends," Liam said, emphasizing the word best.

"Baby, we've talked about it."

Liam sighed. "Yeah, and I told you there was no way in hell you would jinx our relationship by not making a secret out of it. And now you're wearing fucking shorts and the blouse that makes your...chest...fuck. Do you wanna kill me?"

I did dress up, and my boots were knee-high and had high heels. And I might have been wearing shorts, but just because they were beautiful, warm, and matched the blouse, which was probably a bit tight around my chest.

I smiled at Liam's pout and kissed his jaw. "I'm all yours after the movie. Don't complain so much."

Liam rolled his eyes and started the car.

As soon as we parked at the mall, I spotted Ellie and Aiden, who had just arrived. Ellie's hair was slightly messy, and I winked at her, making the crimson blush tint her cheeks. I was positive they had been making out in the car minutes ago.

"You look hot, Skylar," said Ellie, giving me a once-over. "And it's not even a double date. Imagine if it was."

Liam heard her and smirked before redirecting his attention to Aiden and their conversation.

"What are you gonna do after the movie?" I asked Ellie.

"Aiden planned something, said it was a surprise, so I'm going with the flow. What about you?"

The words almost tumbled out of my mouth, but I stopped in time. "We'll go home and watch a movie, I guess."

"Another one? Every time I ask you, you and Liam are watching something. You will have to recommend one to me."

"Yeah, sure." Liam chimed in. "Speaking of, would you mind if we sat in the last row? Last time Sky and I went to movies, she was complaining about her eyes getting tired if she sat closer to the screen."

Ellie beamed. "No problem. We'll take the two other seats."

Liam smiled. "Thanks. You're a true friend."

Aiden draped his arm across Ellie's shoulders, and they led the way to the theatre after a short ride in the elevator.

"The last row?" I whispered, making huge eyes at my secret boyfriend.

He shrugged. "I can't fucking hold your hand, I can't kiss the hell out of you, did you think I will endure the two hours of the movie without touching you? Not gonna happen, roomie."

We showed our tickets at the entrance and made our way into the hall. Just like Liam wanted, we took the two seats in the last row. I saw Ellie snuggle into Aiden as soon as the movie started.

Liam didn't try to hug me and sat with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Liam," I whispered.

He looked over at me. "What?"

"Are you mad?"

Liam sighed. "Watch the movie, baby."

I focused my gaze on the screen but wasn't able to give the plot my attention. I placed my hand on Liam's leg, tracing a line with my fingertips.

He bit his lip and rested his head against the back of the seat. "Sky...you're not playing fair. Make up your mind and decide what you want."

"Fine." I removed my hand and crossed my legs.

The sudden movement made me swivel my head around. Liam grabbed my face and smashed his lips to mine. It was anything but subtle. I wanted to ask what he was doing, but as I opened my mouth, he took advantage of it to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue inside and moving one of his hands to the back of my neck to bring my face closer to his.

"Oh, God," I panted between each heated, wet assault of Liam's lips. Luckily, the couple sitting farther down the row didn't pay attention to us, too busy making out.

Liam moved his fingers down my neck to my chest and palmed my breast, making me whimper into his open mouth.

"Is it what you wanted, sweetheart?" he asked me, barely stopping the kiss.
"Or was it this?"

Liam's hand left my chest, and he slid it to the front of my shorts, touching me through the material.

"Liam, you can't," I whispered, gripping his bicep with both hands.

He kissed me once more and then put his mouth on my neck, sucking lightly. "Said who?"

"There are...people..." I whimpered, raising my hips to Liam's hand.

He kissed his way up to my mouth and pressed his lips to mine.

Then, he wasn't touching me anymore. Liam stared at the screen with a smirk on his lips.

"Liam?" I whispered.

"Doing those things to my roommate is inappropriate, sweetheart. Now, if she was my girlfriend..."

"Fine." I pouted. "Be mean."

Liam chuckled, kissing my cheek. "I stopped cause Aiden turned around and looked at me, baby. I'm sure as hell finishing what we started once we're at home."

I pecked his lips. "You'd better."

***

The fact that none of us talked about the movie when it was over only meant one thing — our friends were distracted by each other just like us.
We said our goodbyes. Ellie and Aiden went on a date somewhere downtown, and we headed home.

"Stay here and wait," Liam said when we reached our front door. "I'll be quick."

I saw him disappear through the doorway and leaned against the wall. The door to our place reopened in a couple of minutes. Liam stepped out of the apartment and extended his hand to me. I took it, and he led me inside.

"If it's too cheesy, just forget it happened, okay?" he whispered, gently nudging me in the direction of the hallway.

I covered my mouth with my palm when I saw what Liam meant— he'd placed tens of lit candles on the floor and scattered rose petals all over it. The path led to my bedroom. More candles were glowing, bathing the room in their warm light, and more petals covered the bed.

Liam stood behind me and circled my waist with his arms.

"I know it's not our first time, but if I had been the first guy you gave yourself to, this is what I would've done."

"You are the first," I told him when I turned around and faced him. "I've never felt this way before. I've never wanted anyone the way I want you."

Liam inched his face toward mine. "I've never been this crazy about anyone. I've never felt so many things at once, Sky," he whispered against my lips, bringing my body flush to his.

I finally kissed him without restraint, tugging at his hair while my tongue played with Liam's.

"Need you naked," he whispered against my mouth, kissing me harder a second later. Liam's impatient hands undid the button on my shorts and slid them down my legs. I stepped out of the garment and helped Liam undo the buttons of my shirt. His darkened eyes swept over me, and he put his hands on my almost bare behind, caressing me there. I had other plans.

I kissed him again, but this time, it was my mouth on his neck and my hands unbuttoning his shirt.

I pushed the shirt off Liam's shoulders and got rid of it, making it land on the floor. Licking a path down his neck, I cupped him through the material of his tight jeans. Then, my lips were on his sculpted chest, placing wet, open-mouthed kisses on his hot skin.

"Fuck...what are you doing, baby?" Liam whispered when I kneeled in front of him and kissed his stomach, tracing his defined muscles with my tongue.

"Making you feel good," I whispered, unzipping Liam's jeans.

"Baby...you...don't have to," he said, but the way he paused after every word tell me a different story.

I yanked the jeans down Liam's legs and gripped the band of his boxers
"Then tell me you don't want it. Tell me that you don't want my mouth on you."

Liam's teeth sank into his bottom lip, but no words left his mouth. I freed him from his boxers, too. Now, his hard length was in front of me.

Liam hissed when I took him in my hand. He felt impossibly hard to the touch. Without breaking our eye contact, I guided him to my lips and closed them around the tip, sucking just barely.

"Fuck...Sky..." Liam moaned when I ran my tongue over the most sensitive part of him.

"Do you like it?" I asked him, stopping for a moment only to restart the kisses. This time, I circled my fingers around him as well and moved my hand in compass with the rhythm I set with my lips around him.

"Like it? You're my...my hot, dirty girl," Liam managed to utter. He weaved his fingers into my hair and tugged just barely, but enough for me to suck and kiss him harder. Liam's head fell back, and he let out a moan when I took him deeper into my mouth, placing my hands on his toned backside and pulling him to me.

"Sky, please," he begged, moving his hips.

"Please, what?"

"I'm gonna come, baby."

Liam tried to take a step back, but I didn't release him. What I did was to help me with my hand, gripping Liam's erection and touching him the way he showed me once.

"Sky..." he moaned again, gripping my hair much tighter but not to the point of being painful.

"Come in my mouth, baby," I managed to say.

"Oh, God."

Liam's taste was on my tongue now. I felt him shake as he let go, moaning my name. Then, he lifted me off the floor and wrapped his arms around me, kissing ny mouth so hard I gasped for air.

"How—"

"Don't ask me how it was, baby," Liam said against my parted lips. "Don't you see I'm fucking dying here? Don't you see what only you can do to me?"

He went on kissing me, sucking at my tongue and making me light-headed. Then, Liam got rid of my bra and panties and ran his hands over every inch of me before carrying me to my petal-covered bed and sitting me on the edge of it.

"Lie back," he said, kneeling beside me.

As soon as I did, he made me wrap my legs around his neck. His mouth was on my sex, and the thrusts of his tongue as Liam made love to me in the most sinful of ways made me squirm on the bed and moan, moving my hips to match the rhythm of his kisses. I was close in no time, and all it took was his tongue teasing my clit for my body to start trembling.

"That's it, come for me, sweetheart," I heard Liam say. Then, I let go.

We lay down on my bed, exchanging bold caresses and greedy kisses that wouldn't stop any time soon.

Liam moved his lips to my chest, and the fire ignited within me once again, burning everything except him, his love and the overwhelming need I felt for him and everything he could give me.

It wasn't only lust. It wasn't only my unbidden, unrestrained desire I discovered with Liam for the first time.

"Liam, I..." I whispered, running my fingers through his messy strands. But the courage left me, and the words never came out.

Liam lifted his head off my chest and moved up until he was level with me and could gather me in his strong arms.

"I love you," he said, kissing my lips much slower than before. "And I'm planning to dedicate the rest of the night to showing you how much."