Chapter Seven #2
I leaned into the doorframe, lifting one arm to rest above me, the other hanging loose at my side. She was so close I could smell the sweet warmth of her perfume — something woodsy and dark, with a hint of citrus that made my mouth water.
“Damn, baby,” I murmured, letting the words roll out low and gruff.
I paused, eyes dragging over every inch of her again before I met her gaze, dead-on.
“You walk up lookin’ like that and the only thought in my head is how the hell I’m supposed to survive you.”
It took every ounce of willpower I had not to smirk in victory when I heard her breath hitch, when I saw her lips part just a centimeter as her eyes flicked between mine. When her gaze fell to my mouth, I knew I’d won.
“Better,” she breathed, and then tilted her head higher in defiance. “But try again. Less poetic. More… man.”
I leaned in just a breath closer, jaw tight, voice rough.
“Fuck, Liv,” I muttered, voice as raw as I felt inside. I shook my head, reaching out and hooking my finger through the belt loop of her shorts. “Look at you.”
She wet her lips. “Good.”
“Get in here. I need my hands on you.”
I punctuated that request with a slight tug on her belt loop, enough to have her leaning forward and into my space, to have my lips just barely brushing hers.
“Much better,” she breathed.
And then she shoved me away, making me stumble backward as she marched back inside and shut the door behind us.
I was still reeling from the electricity of the moment, blinking repeatedly as a laugh barreled out of me. But Livia was all the way inside now, making herself right at home as she poured us two glasses of wine and nodded toward Zamboni in his crate.
“Let him out,” she said.
“You sure?” I asked, hesitant as I made my way to the crate. “He’s just a pup still, pretty energetic. I’ve got him in a training school, but to be honest, he doesn’t listen worth a crap.”
Livia was completely unfazed, swirling her wine as she leaned a hand on the counter. “Open it.”
“Alright,” I said, grimacing internally at how I was fairly certain the next five minutes would go. I was picturing the chaos as I unlatched the door — the screaming, the jumping and scratching, the demand for me to put the damn dog in a bedroom somewhere as she half-crawled onto the countertop.
Zamboni bolted for her as soon as the latch was back.
“Zambo! No! Zambo, paws on the ground. Paws on the ground!”
I yelled after him as he darted for the kitchen.
But Livia didn’t budge.
She stood there with her wine in hand, hip cocked, expression schooled. And when Zamboni was a few feet away from her, bracing to pounce, she held up her palm.
“Stop.”
She said the word sharply, her voice low and firm.
And I’ll be fucking damned if that dog didn’t do exactly as she said.
He skidded to a stop, looking up at her with his tongue lolling out.
“Stay,” she said next, her fingers curling into a fist.
And he did.
“What in the witchcraft...” I muttered.
“Sit,” Livia commanded, and if I hadn’t seen Zamboni’s butt hit the ground with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Livia nodded her approval, then slowly walked toward the dog with her hand still rolled into that fist that meant stay.
She held her hand out to his nose next, letting him sniff her, and then she smoothed her hand over his glossy coat in two long, gentle, rewarding strokes, scratching under his neck after the last one.
“Good boy,” she said. “Free.”
That seemed to release him, and instead of jumping up on her the way he had every other guest I’d had over since I adopted him, he turned and bounded into the living room, snatching one of his toys before plopping down in his dog bed and chewing away.
I blinked at her. “What the fuck was that?”
“You said he was in training,” she said with a shrug. “Do you not work with him here at home? Those are all the basic commands.”
“And you know this because you’ve had so many dogs in your life?”
“Just one,” she clipped. “My mother’s dog. And trust me, that asshole was all I needed to learn to assert dominance from the get-go with any animal.”
“Me included,” I said with a wink.
That earned me a chuckle that felt hard-won, and I slid up at the island next to her, grabbing the glass she’d poured for me before tilting it toward hers.
“To you, cowgirl.”
“Stop calling me that,” she said, even as she clinked her glass to mine and drank.
“If the hat fits,” I said, gesturing to her outfit.
“I was at a festival at Curtis Hixon Park with Maven,” she said in way of explanation.
“Ah, so it’s me who should be jealous of all the other poor saps who got to ogle you before I did.”
The corners of her lips lifted again, but fell quickly as she sipped from her glass, eyes scanning my place.
I’d meant every line I’d tried to reel her in with when she stood on the other side of my door — she looked absolutely stunning tonight. But she also looked… different. Tired. Worn. Stressed.
Like something was on her mind.
“You alright?”
I asked before I could think better of it, and Livia blinked, looking at me like I was crazy. “Of course. I’m fine. Why?”
“You just look… I don’t know. Not yourself.”
“Because of the outfit?”
“Because of your eyes.”
Her head snapped back a little with the comment, mouth shutting as those warm brown eyes searched mine. I internally grimaced as she repeated, “My… eyes?”
Well, might as well own it now.
I nodded. “They’re usually playful and sultry, like a jungle cat’s.”
She scoffed a laugh at that.
“I’m serious,” I said, but I laughed a little, too.
“I know it sounds dumb, but it’s true. Don’t act like you don’t know it when you do that little black line thing at the edge of your eyes, too.
” I waved my finger at her. “But right now, they seem… distant. Cold.” I swallowed, debating if I should leave it there, but I couldn’t help but add, “It’s like you put that makeup on to cover something up. ”
Livia didn’t show even a hint of emotion, but she paused for a long moment before answering. “You seem very confident about that assessment.”
I shrugged. “We’ve been friends for years. I pay attention.”
Livia hummed, sipping her wine. “Well, I don’t know what you mean.”
“So, everything is fine?”
She opened her mouth, shut it again, sighed, and sat her glass down. “No. But it kind of freaks me out that you can tell.”
“What’s going on?”
“If I give you the abbreviated version, do you promise not to ask questions so we can get down to business?”
For once, I wasn’t keen to what she was offering, but I nodded my agreement.
Livia sighed. “My parents cut me off when I was eighteen, right after high school graduation. I haven’t seen them since.
The only tie I still have to them is my baby sister.
” She paused, a sad smile as she looked down at her nails.
“Their pride and joy.” Her eyes met mine then.
“And I just found out that she’s getting married and wants me at the wedding. ”
I was so pissed at myself for agreeing not to ask questions, because about a hundred of them were beating at the back of my throat and begging to get out.
Why did they cut her off?
What did that mean?
Why did she say her sister was their pride and joy as if she wasn’t?
What happened between them?
Was she still close to her sister?
Why was the wedding upsetting news?
Was it because she didn’t want to see her sister, or because she didn’t want to see her parents?
Or was it because she didn’t feel welcome, even though her sister invited her?
I longed to know the full story and all the dynamics, yearned to peel back the layer Livia had so graciously lifted the corner of so I could see more of her.
I wanted to know everything about this woman.
But just as quickly as she’d let me in, her guard snapped back in place.
She drank her wine on a shrug. “Now, let’s start.”
Livia wrapped her hand around my wrist then, dragging me toward the living room. I barely got another sip of my wine and set the glass down before I was stumbling after her.
She pressed her hands into my chest when we made it to the couch, sending me back into the cushions with a whoosh.
“Pretend I’m a girl you invited over and now you want to fuck me.”
“Trust me,” I breathed, eyes skating over her. “No pretending required.”