Summary: Liam and MC and their shared love of reading.
Sometimes, when he’s having a particularly stressful day, Liam claims a debilitating headache, shuts himself in his room, and loses himself in a good book. He feels slightly guilty for avoiding his duties and responsibilities, but royal life leaves very little room for taking a break, and sometimes he just needs a few hours to himself.
He and Allie have been working around the clock lately on their education reform initiative, and he’s exhausted from all the debating and constant negotiating. He’s just settled into the oversized chaise lounge in his room, about to start reading Moby Dick for the hundredth time, when someone knocks. Sighing, Liam pulls off his reading glasses as he goes to open the door.
He raises an eyebrow. “Allie? You do know this is your bedroom too now, right? We’re married. No knocking required,” he smiles.
Allie leans in to kiss him, grinning when he wraps an arm around her waist and tugs her in closer. “I know, but I didn’t want to disturb your reading time.”
Liam can see she has a book tucked under her arm. “Care to join me?” he asks.
“I’d love to.”
Of the many things Liam loves about Allie, one of his favorite is that she shares his love for reading. He mostly prefers the classics, while she enjoys a good murder mystery or young adult novel that he teasingly calls her “guilty pleasure books”, but he loves curling up next to her while they read together.
He remembers rather fondly the night they’d gotten into a heated debate about which Harry Potter book was the best, and how she’d won that argument by pinning him down on the bed and kissing him relentlessly until he’d finally admitted defeat.
“That’s cheating,” he’d attempted to complain.
She’d just smirked as she said, “I could stop…”
“No,” he’d answered quickly, then grinned as the smirk disappeared from her face as he kissed his way down her stomach and tugged her pants off.
They settle into the chaise lounge comfortably, her legs thrown over his and her head against his shoulder as they open their books.
Liam presses a kiss to the side of her head as she snuggles into him. “What are you reading?” he asks.
The slightest pink tinge spreads across her cheeks. “Oh, just something I found in town the other day.”
Liam narrows his eyes playfully as he moves to grab the book from her. Allie shrieks and tucks it against her, turning away from him. “It’s just one of my guilty pleasure books!” she insists.
“What is it?” Liam asks with a grin, tickling her sides.
Allie squirms and attempts to stand, but Liam grabs her around the waist and pulls her into him, snagging the book from her. He flips it over to read the description, then looks at her in amusement as she throws an arm over her eyes and groans.
“The Selection? Allie, you do know this is essentially what your social season was, right?”
She scowls, but he can see her fighting not to smile. “It’s not the same. You didn’t pick me to compete from a bunch of applicants. This is set in a futuristic, really messed up United States. It’s…” she runs out of reasons, and jabs him lightly with her elbow. “Hana said it was good.”
Liam shakes his head with a laugh. “I’m sure it is.”
“Hey, just because I’d rather read this than Moby Dick-”
“Which is a classic, and a great book,” Liam interrupts.
“It’s booooring,” Allie replies in a sing-song voice, getting that familiar glint in her eye she always gets when she’s about to start a debate with him.
Liam shakes his head, a ghost of a smirk crossing his lips, and sets their books on the floor, rolling her onto her back on the lounge and hovering over her. “Not boring.”
She sighs as he presses kisses down her neck and jumps when he bites her shoulder. “You do remember who won our last debate, right?” she gasps, as he slides his hands under the hem of her shirt.
“I do. It was a very persuasive argument,” Liam answers, voice low as she sits up slightly so he can pull her shirt off.
“I thought you said it was cheating.”
“It was still persuasive.”
Allie tugs at his shirt and he yanks it over his head. He presses his lips to hers as she slides her hands up the back of his neck and buries her fingers in his hair.
“So it’s not cheating when you do it,” she groans, shivering as he slides a hand down her bare skin to the zipper on her pants.
She looks at him quizzically as Liam smiles and pulls her up. “If I remember correctly, this chaise lounge is a little hard on the back,” he explains, lifting her easily and carrying her to the bed.
Allie tugs him down, kissing him lightly at first, then more fervently as he presses her into the bed. “Don’t think you can win this argument with your excellent kissing abilities and muscles,” she pants.
“I thought I also had a nice butt,” Liam retorts, tugging her pants over her hips. “That’s gotta give me some points here.”
She giggles despite her best efforts not to. “You can’t use your butt to persuade me. That’s definitely cheating.”
“Allie?”
“Hmmm?” she responds, arching her back as he brings his mouth to her bare chest.
“I love you, and your excellent debating skills, but can we continue this discussion later?”
She slides her hands over his belt buckle, undoing it deftly and pushing his pants down. “Maybe just this once.”