13|Broke Him

Liam's night wasn't about to get any better. He found Laura waiting in his living room.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded as he dumped his messenger bag on the couch and threw off his jacket. He was planning to go over the dozens of reports waiting for him and prepare for an out-of-town meeting.

"I missed you, Li." She pouted as she pranced at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back.

They were ‘on’ again it seemed, Liam thought. After being ‘over’ for four months. He couldn't remember what ticked her off the last time. But he was pretty sure it was his fault. It was always his fault.

"I have to work tonight," Liam pushed her hands away and turned to the stairs. He had to be upfront with her; there could be no misunderstandings and unnecessary expectations. "I have to work every night from now. If you thought I didn't have time for you before, I sure as hell won't have any now."

"I know," she cried as she ran after him, her blond curls bouncing all over the place.

He paused and stared at her. She pushed him against the railing and kissed him. He kissed her back, frowning when he felt nothing. No warmth. No excitement.

"Mr CEO," she purred as she unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off. She jumped in his arms, and he held her, remembering another body he'd held so closely just a few weeks before, the feel of her legs when they wrapped around his waist, and the way her glasses had fogged up when they kissed as he’d laid her down on his bed.

"Fuck!" He grunted and closed his eyes, trying to banish all thoughts of Eden.

Laura read his frustration as excitement and kissed him harder as they made their way to his bedroom.

Liam stripped off the remainder of his clothes and slipped into the shower. Laura was in there in a flash and on her knees, sucking and touching him. But she gave up when he remained as flaccid as a dead fish even after she brought out every trick from her naughty playbook.

"What's wrong?" She asked, searching his face, sadness and confusion swimming in her eyes.

Liam held her close, wishing he could tell her something, anything. But he was just as stunned. It's never happened before.

"Don't you want me anymore?" Laura asked in a small voice.

That wasn't true. He wanted her. He would gladly take her. If only his body would come to the party. The mind was willing. He just wasn't sure why the body wasn't.

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," Liam said. Not entirely untrue. He did have a lot on his mind. The past several weeks were hard on him. He needed some time. Yes, time would help, once he got used to his new role, and his father was out of the woods, things would get back to normal. He assured her, she believed him. But things got progressively worse with each encounter.

Laura wailed and yelled and demanded an explanation after several attempts and still no action. Was he seeing someone else? Was he cheating on her? Was it her fault?

His assurances were firm. There was no one else, and it wasn't anyone's fault.

"Something's wrong, Li." She said sadly. "You need to figure out what you want!"

Liam agreed and called off the relationship.

For as long as he was broken, he couldn't make her happy. Lord knew he wanted to. Laura was perfect in every way, gorgeous, educated and driven. But for some unfathomable reason, his body could no longer react to her.

His body could no longer react to other women as well, as he soon learned. Every time he brought a woman home, they'd go through the excitement of foreplay, but the minute he had to go through with the deed, he couldn't get an erection.

After his fifth or sixth attempt with the same result, he flew into an alcohol-fuelled rage dug up the offending dress and underwear buried deep in his closet and took it downstairs. He rifled through his drawers in the kitchen, looking for scissors, but all he found were spoons and forks and knives. There were too many of them for one person.

"Where are the fucking scissors?" He roared as he ripped the drawer from the cabinet and threw it on the floor just as Dave and the housekeepers ran in.

"Mr Anderson, Sir, what do you need?" His butler asked as the two ladies cleaned up his mess.

"I want the fucking scissors!" Liam raged, "Where are they?”

Within seconds a pair of scissors appeared seemingly out of thin air, and Liam took them to the living room where he'd dumped the clothes. He picked them up, ready to rip them to shreds, but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to destroy them.

He threw them across the room, along with the scissors and howled a terrifying sound. All his frustration and anger from the past several weeks came to a head at that moment, like gigantic waves crashing into each other.

He didn't understand how or why. But he knew all his issues had everything to do with the owner of the clothes. The last woman he'd made love to was Eden. And since their encounter, he could not touch another woman. She'd done something he never thought was possible.

She broke him.