One thought in particular kept entering his mind: Liam doesn't deserve her.
He thought it would be easier to see her as nothing but a gold-digger, yet she seemed so bright and warm that William had a hard time picturing her as completely superficial.
He needed to know what she saw in his father, why she would've bound herself to a man like that. It was beginning to occur to him that possibly, she didn't know the truth about Liam Angelus. Had he somehow charmed her, maybe even made her think he loved her?
"How did you meet my father?" William asked as they sat waiting for their food to arrive.
Buffy blushed almost imperceptibly. How exactly could she answer his seemingly-innocent question? The truth? Well, he slipped a hundred dollar bill into my g-string, and it caught my attention. She didn't like that, didn't like admitting it, especially to William. It made what she had with Liam seem dirty and unsavory, and it wasn't. Maybe they hadn't met under the best of circumstances, but it didn't make their love any less real.
"Through work," Buffy replied as she quickly came up with a version of the story that wouldn't be completely off from the truth. It wasn't that she was really ashamed of her past—she'd done what she'd had to, given her situation—but would Liam really want his son to know he'd even been in a strip club?
"I was a waitress, and Liam used to come in a lot." There, not completely a lie. She…brought drinks to tables. That was waitressing. She coughed into her hand, then continued. "After a couple of weeks, he admitted the reason he kept showing up was because he saw me and wanted to get to know me better. I agreed to go out with him, and we hit it off. Six months later, we were married."
"Did you know who he was, when you started dating him?" William asked.
"You mean did I know he was incredibly wealthy," Buffy replied.
William blushed and looked away. "I wasn't… I didn't mean to imply that… I didn't think…"
"Yeah, you did, but it's okay," Buffy told him with a smile. "I get it a lot. But no, I didn't know. I knew he was in some kind of business, but I didn't find out he had the sort of money he does until after I fell in love with him. And it wouldn't have made a difference, just for the record. Rich or poor, I'd still love him." She reached out and twirled her straw around in her drink, her tone softening as she continued. "I know there's a big age gap between us, but I don't think things like that matter when two people are really in love."
William found himself staring at her, unsure of what to say. She could be lying, but somehow, he didn't think so. Which meant she was actually in love with his father.
His heart went out to the poor girl.
"So he treats you well, then?" William asked.
"Yes, of course he does," Buffy replied, frowning slightly at William's uncertain tone. "I mean, I don't see him a lot because of his job, but he can't help that."
William supposed it could be possible Liam had changed. Perhaps his father wasn't the cold, unfeeling man he'd once been. If anyone could've caused Liam's heart to melt, William supposed it would be Buffy. Maybe any worries he had of his father breaking Buffy's heart were completely unfounded.
"I just know his marriages in the past have been…difficult," William said, wondering if there was really a diplomatic way to warn her in case this was all another game to Liam, and he later grew tired of it. Would he discard Buffy as if she were no more than garbage?
It wouldn't be the first time he'd done that to a woman.
"My marriage is fine," Buffy said, bristling. "We love each other, Liam would never hurt me, and honestly, it's not any of your business."
The look of hurt that passed over William's face immediately made Buffy regret her harsh tone, and then when he spoke, she regretted it even more. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry where I don't belong, I just…" He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I like you, Buffy. You seem very nice. I've seen first hand how ugly things can get between my father and his wives, and I hate to think of you going through anything like that."
"I won't. Liam loves me."
Her voice sounded so small when she spoke, and William wondered if cracks were already beginning to show, even if Buffy wasn't willing to look at them yet. As much as he wanted to think she was going to get a happily ever after, he knew it wouldn't be long before she was out of the picture.
And she wouldn't have her own ties and money to fall back on, the way Lilah and Eve had, not if she'd been a waitress when Liam had met her.
William wondered if that was why his father had picked her to be wife number four. A woman like Buffy would be easier for him to control.
However, before he could give the theory much thought, the waiter arrived at the table with their food.
"Hey, I was thinking about going for a swim. Do you want to join me?"
Buffy's question almost made William run smack into the side of the door, and he veered at the last moment to walk inside of the house without injury. He'd barely been able to handle seeing her in a dry bikini—now she was expecting him to be able to take seeing her in a wet one?
"I don't have a suit," William said quickly, hoping that would work as a way to get him out of this easily.
He wasn't so lucky, apparently. "Oh, that's no big. We have extras. Come on. It'll be more fun if I don't have to swim alone."
William racked his brain for another excuse, but she was looking up at him with those big green eyes. "Yeah, okay."
Buffy smiled brightly, and it made him happy he'd agreed, even if he thought he might regret his decision later.
"Great! Now come on upstairs, and I'll get you a suit."
Dutifully, William followed.
He hadn't even left his bedroom yet, and already, William had an erection. It was times like this that he really hated being eighteen. Just the thought of being alone with a scantily clad woman had him hard as nails.
William couldn't go downstairs like this. For one thing, his swim trunks made it a little difficult to hide what was going on in them. Not that he'd ever found anything to really cover one of his erections, but the thin material wasn't helping in the least.
There wasn't much of a choice. He had to wank off again before he went down there and faced Buffy. Maybe if he got himself off now, he would be able to handle that bikini.
With a sigh of resignation, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his cock, stroking it as visions of Buffy flickered behind his closed eyelids.
Buffy was sitting at the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water, when she heard William come outside. She turned, ready to greet him, when she saw him and remembered just how gorgeous his chest was.
She wished she'd remembered that before she'd asked him to swim. And now he was going to get into the pool and have water running down those oh-so-lickable abs?
He's your step-son, Buffy. As in Liam's son…the son of the husband you love.
Ah, there it was. The Voice of Reason. So the voice she needed to listen to. Not that other little voice in the back of her mind. That one didn't have anything worthwhile to say at all.
Yum…
"Sorry to keep you waiting, pet," William said as he moved closer, though he offered no explanation for the delay.
Pet… The simple word made Buffy tremble.
Tell him not to call you that. It's inappropriate.
Oooh…I hope he makes a habit of that one.
Already, Buffy was giving herself a headache.
"That's all right," Buffy replied, deciding she would just ignore it all together.
Buffy slipped off the edge of the pool and into the water. She really needed to cool down. That California sun sure could heat her up in a hurry…
William watched as Buffy went into the water only to come up a moment later. Her scarlet bikini clung to her curves, her blonde hair slick back from her face.
His cock twitched, and he cursed silently. Didn't it remember he'd come all of five minutes earlier?
"Gonna join me?" Buffy asked, her lip quirking up.
His cock jumped more, and William decided he better hurry up and get in the water. Perhaps the cold would help his dilemma.
Buffy watched as William dropped into the pool, then glided smoothly towards her. The water flowed over his back, and Buffy licked her lips at the gorgeous sight.
He stopped right in front of her, close enough so she could feel his breath. Droplets of water ran down the length of him, and Buffy met his eyes and gasped.
A sudden thought entered her head, shocking her to her core with its accuracy.
If this were any other man, any other place, she'd be kissing him now.
But she couldn't kiss William. Ever. So she did the only thing she could do in such a situation.
She splashed him and swam off with a giggle.
Buffy had known William would come after her. It was in keeping with the time-honored traditions of swimming pool flirting—even if she was currently telling herself that was not what she was doing.
Then, William caught her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her up as she squealed.
Okay, so what if it was a little bit of flirting? It was harmless flirting because it wasn't going to go anywhere. She loved her husband and would never cross the line with anyone, never mind his son.
"That was right naughty of you," William teased as he looked down at her in his arms. He knew he shouldn't be touching her at all, but hell, if she wasn't going to yell at him to stop, then he was going to see how far he could go.
He wasn't naïve enough to think he could seduce her away from his father. William was well aware he had none of the things to offer that Liam did. However, if maybe he could get in a couple of disguised gropes, it would be something.
Buffy was responding before she could stop herself. "I can be pretty naughty sometimes."
William's cock leapt to attention. So much for the cold water… "I see. And do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Buffy pouted, her eyes wide as she shook her head.
William fought back a whimper. Looking at him like that was just playing dirty.
Buffy could feel his erection poking into her, and she fought with every bit of strength in her not to rub against it. He felt…big. When was the last time she'd had one like that?
Stop it. There was the damn Voice of Reason again. Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to hear from the bitch at the moment, though she thought she'd probably be grateful for it later. Liam has enough to satisfy you.
Sometimes…
William's eyes flickered down her chest, unable to stop from watching as her breasts moved up and down, the wet material of her bikini plastered to her skin, making them even more tantalizing.
He was hard, holding her in his arms, and staring at her chest. Buffy knew she should be balking, should be yelling at him for daring to act this way with her. But she didn't want to.
His touch, the way he was looking at her—all of it. It was giving her a thrill.
Knowing it was forbidden only seemed to make her blood warm even more.
Still, she couldn't push it, not past this. Even if she had a dark desire to know more of his touch, she had enough sense about her not to go there. All she could do here was play.
But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the game…
She wriggled out of William's arms, splashed him again, and swam off.
With a shout, William went after her.
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