by J. L. Beck
Feeling Daniel let her wrist go, she moved automatically into Owen’s space, and shivered, briefly letting her eyes close as his arm came around her waist and pulled her close into the warmth of his body.
“She isn’t that good a fuck, Owen. I’d look around for something better, if I was you. She does have a thing for fucking her brother’s friends, though. Maybe she likes to have the power to kill friendships.”
The chuckle from Owen sounded hollow, and downright dangerous. Liv glanced up to his face to see it completely blank. Then the man at her side was stepping up to Daniel, close enough she had to lean in to hear his words.
“I’m going to give you some slack because you’re drunk and it’s your wedding. But if I ever see you around Liv again, I will break you apart.” The rabbit punch to Daniels’s face was so quick, Liv almost missed it. What she didn’t miss was her ex-boyfriend crumpling to the shiny, tiled floor. Elation spread through her.
A moment later Owen’s hand landed on the middle of her back, right against her skin, and she shuddered with desire and so much more.
“Time to leave this party, I think.” His words were soft, but she felt the tightness in his body as he maneuvered her through the crowd, giving her a brief moment to put down her half-filled champagne glass, and eventually moving out through the exit and into the parking lot.
“Owen, I—”
“No words, Liv. Not yet.” He strode across the gravel, heading straight for his truck.
10
Owen gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles ached, as he navigated the city streets toward Liv’s house. He was grateful she was as silent as him. His thoughts were in too many places to have anything that resembled a conversation.
Rage still spilled inside, urging him to turn the car around, go back to the wedding, and make sure Daniel got the message. No one talked about Liv like that.
The possessive anger swirled around the things she’d said to Daniel. Teasing, taunting, and tempting him. Calling to the part of him that wanted to forget she’d lied, and move forward from here.
Too bad it wasn’t that easy.
“I’m not sorry I said those things.” Her quiet voice shattered his thoughts. “But if I’d known you were listening… I would have liked to lead into that conversation with more grace and privacy.”
“None of that changes the lie. I can’t have this conversation right now. I need some time.” He spoke through clenched teeth, struggling to keep the chaos inside from spilling out.
“I understand.”
He didn’t blame her for sounding hurt. She’d stopped short of a confession of love, back there at the wedding. Fuck, they didn’t even have a relationship.
Then why did it gnaw at him to ignore her?
They reached her house, and he walked her to the door. Out of habit and politeness, not because he wasn’t ready to say goodnight. She unlocked the door, and hesitated, gaze flitting between her feet and almost meeting his eyes.
He knew what he wanted to say. Wanted to do. Tangle his fingers in her hair, press her to the wall and kiss her until they couldn’t breathe. Then promise her they’d figure everything out, but didn’t she want to invite him in?
Bad idea. Maybe if he’d stowed his libido earlier on, he would have seen the lie. Now, it was out there and he couldn’t ignore it. Her scent almost destroyed his resolve, but he managed to step back, and keep his voice cold. “I’ll talk to you at work on Monday.”
“Sure.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “‘Night.”
Going home, stripping out of his dress uniform, and flopping onto the bed, didn’t help calm his mind.
Her words to Daniel played on a loop in his head, colliding with the lie. True, she apologized, but keeping who she was from him—that registered as an epic deception.
Then again, the longer he thought about it, the more he understood why. He wasn’t upset about their time together. Every minute, even the awkward and angry ones, were worthwhile memories. Would they have had that if she told him the truth that night in the club?
No. He would have pushed her away without hesitation.
Did the fact that the outcome was incredible cancel out the dishonesty? He didn’t know.
The argument bounced in his skull all day Saturday, while he tried to get on with everyday life. By Sunday afternoon, he couldn’t pretend anymore. He wanted to talk to Liv. He needed to talk to Gabe. To repair that friendship. Even though he wasn’t sure what he’d say.
When he reached Gabe’s house, cars packed the driveway and were parked along the curb. Fuck. He forgot. Gabe invited him weeks ago, which might as well be a lifetime now. He was throwing a farewell party for Liv’s—Sissy’s—twin sister, Rissa, who was heading to The University of Chicago for law school.
Owen had always been welcome at Gabe’s house when they were growing up, but he suspected things would change. He wasn’t interested in finding out what kind of reception waited for him if he stopped in now.
He was about to drive away when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Gabe stood on the lawn waving.
Spotted. Owen found a parking spot, and made his way back to Gabe’s.
Gabe stood a few feet back, eying him warily. “You’ve got balls, showing up here.”
On another day, under other circumstances, Owen would joke with him. Say something like, An entire gathering of your sisters’ college friends? I’m not missing that. That seemed like exactly the wrong response now. “I’ll be honest, I forgot about the party. I’m looking for you.”
Gabe sighed, and it was a moment before he moved. He steered Owen toward the house. “We can talk in my office. This isn’t a conversation the rest of the party needs to hear.”
They cut through the house, and Owen couldn’t help but compare the décor to what he’d seen in Liv’s place. The pictures on the walls were of Gabe with his family and friends. That was all absent from Liv’s place, but that didn’t seem right given the closeness of their family. Did she go out of her way to hide her identity from him? Was it more than a simple now’s not the right time to talk about it?
They stepped into the bedroom Gabe had converted to an office space, and Gabe closed the door. “I’m a little torn here. Bro-code dictates I beat the shit out of you, but you didn’t know. How did you not know?”
“I should have.” Owen jammed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “But the name, the hair color… I haven’t seen her for six years and—”she’s grown up and dresses so it shows. “I didn’t see it.”
“I’d ask if the two of you are in love, but given you didn’t even know who she was, I’d rather assume no than hear you say yes.”
Owen felt the same. “I’m not here to talk about Liv. Not directly. I wanted to apologize to you.”
“But, here’s the problem.” Gabe raked his fingers through his hair. “She’s in the back yard and hasn’t smiled at all since she got here. I think she truly cares about you. That leaves me torn. I’d rather you walk away now, than me have to choose between the two of you when you break up. But I also trust you’re not an asshole who’s going to cheat on her, and I’d like to see her happy again.”
“She lied to me about who she was.” Owen couldn’t believe the conversation was going this way.
“And you didn’t recognize someone who spent most of our teenage years tagging along behind us like a lost puppy, because she adores you.”
Owen raised his brows. Now he felt like a first-class heel. That first night, she knew who he was, because she’d crushed on him when they were younger, and to him, she was just a piece of ass.
“You never noticed?” Gabe’s laugh was dry.
“The tagging along? Yes. I was a bit lost in my own problems to see anything else.” He might still have a little of that in him.
“It’s up to you.” Gabe opened the door. “Let her apologize, and decide if you want to forgive her, or walk away now. But don’t hurt my baby sister.”
“Dad’s got the grill going. Come have a burger while you think about it. Say hi to everyone else.”
Which would put Owen in Liv’s proximity before he made up his mind, and that seemed dangerous. But Gabe’s offer didn’t sound like a suggestion.
Gabe and Owen stepped onto the deck. There were about twenty people in the back yard, including Gabe and Liv’s father manning the grill, and chatting with Mr. Hanover. Of course the big boss would be here.
“You know almost everyone,” Gabe said.
“Yup.” Everyone knew everyone else in this town. Though Owen wasn’t interested in small talk right now. “I’m going to grab a beer.” Translation—see if he could stay on the sidelines while he worked through his thoughts.
Rissa stepped in his path. “Hey, handsome. Thanks for coming.” She threw her arms around his neck.
He returned the hug then let her go. “Wouldn’t miss it. Congratulations.”
She stepped back with a shrug. “Wasn’t my first choice, but everyone does Yale, right?” She jammed her hands in her shorts pockets, but it wasn’t a shy gesture. It tugged her waistband down, showing off a hint of skin.
“Oh yeah. Yale is passé, for sure,” he teased. If he’d seen her side-by-side with Liv before now, he never would have made the mistake of not recognizing Liv. The all-but identical faces were obvious, but Rissa’s was framed by blonde hair. Despite the similar appearances, he didn’t feel the same rush of need when he looked at Rissa. She was still only Gabe’s baby sister. “But there’s a lot to do in Chicago. If you find time to pull your head out of your books.”
“I might have to make time.” Rissa looked past him. “It was good seeing you.” She was already walking around him. “Jodie,” she shouted.
Owen didn’t mind her walking away. He scanned the crowd. As much as he tried not to, his gaze kept drifting back to Liv. Gabe was right, she wasn’t smiling. Her flat expression and dull eyes were a sharp contrast to the cheerful contradiction of shy and strong that Owen had started to fall for.
Could he forgive her? What if she did something like this again? And how could he have been such a douche, to treat her differently than he would have a friend’s sister, because he didn’t know who she was? No one deserved that.
His quiet contemplation was interrupted when Mr. Hanover approached, with a young woman by his side. She was about Liv and Rissa’s age. Hanover’s daughter?
“You look familiar,” the redhead said.
Recognition sank in, and he cursed his brain for picking now to be good with faces. She was the bride-to-be from the bachelorette party the other night. The one who urged him to take it all off.
“I don’t think I do.” Owen wished he could convey in some way, without cluing in Hanover, that this was a bad time for this conversation.
She studied him for a moment. “Oh, my God. I know… Loved your performance the other night.”
Fuck.
“What performance?” Mr. Hanover asked.
“Uh…” The redhead hesitated. “Night out with the girls. Open mic night at the comedy club.”
Owen mentally breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t the only one who’d rather keep the details secret.
“You do stand-up?” Mr. Hanover looked surprised.
“He really doesn’t.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the coolers.
Owen couldn’t hide his smile at the rapid retreat. When he looked up and saw Liv staring at him from across the yard, his amusement chilled. He turned away before he could see more, and headed inside.
He was halfway through the kitchen, when he heard the glass door slide open behind him.
“Owen, wait.” Liv’s voice was soft and pleading. “Please? Let me apologize?”
Despite the indecision that had warred in his head since the wedding, the simple request was enough to keep him here. He spun to face her. “I’m listening. But I can’t promise anything beyond that.”
11
Once Liv had the opportunity to talk to Owen, she realized she had no idea what to say. She walked further into the kitchen, careful not to come too close to Owen. Standing with arms by his sides and a wary expression on his face, she knew this was going to be an uphill struggle.
“You look good.” Liv wanted to bite her tongue for not getting straight to the point.
Owen didn’t say a word. She almost wished he’d yell at her—at least she’d know what he was thinking. Instead, he stood watching her, not a flicker of emotion on his handsome face.
“What do you want to say, Liv?”
“That I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you it’s only that—”
“What? That maybe you thought you’d get your revenge for me not noticing you when we were kids? Tie me up in knots with that sexy body of yours, simply because you could? What’s your reason?”
Hurt ran through his words and she couldn’t blame him. Was she tying him up in knots? The words excited her, spurring her on. She thought about it for a second or two before responding. “I wanted you.” When she’d played through the whole situation in her head, time and time again it was that simple truth she kept coming back to.
Owen looked down at his feet, his fists coming up to sit on his hips. It accentuated the muscles in his chest and she was momentarily distracted. What she wouldn’t give to feel him press his chest to hers. More. Liv’s mind was still in the gutter, obviously, despite the seriousness of the situation.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean this to go as far as it did. It started as a silly thing. And, if I’m honest, it excited me to stay anonymous for that night. I never thought it would be more than that. I thought you’d remember me. I never thought through the consequences. Only that I liked the way you looked at me—like I was everything—and I wanted to feel how that felt.”
He looked up at her then and she noticed a glimmer of heat in his blue eyes. She pressed on, stepping forward a couple of steps. “I want to make this up to you—”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Yes I do. I owe you the truth about the way I feel about you.” Liv walked forward again, stopping only a foot away from Owen. She looked up into his face. “I want a chance to someday fall in love with you. I think I could make you happy—I hope I can. I want to get to know you in ways I’ve never wanted to do with anyone before.” She reached out, touching his hand, and making her fingers intertwine with his.
“At the end of the day, I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, and asking him to share his pizza with her.”
She could see Owen fighting the smile, but it eventually won over. He squeezed her hand, pulling her forward and into his chest. “I like pizza.”
“You do?” A smile played along Liv’s mouth as she gazed up into Owen’s face.
“And I like you, too. Right or wrong.”
Liv’s lips quivered as she attempted not to make a scene and blubber all over him. “Please say you forgive me.”
Owen bent his head to hers, hovering a fraction above her lips. “What’s done is done. We can move past it. It won’t be easy, but we’ll try.” Their lips gently touched in a kiss.
“Let’s get out of here,” Liv said as the fingers on her left hand fisted into the front of Owen’s t-shirt.
“All your family are here.”
“It’s not my family I need to be around right now. And,” Liv leaned in closer to his ear, so she knew no one would catch her words except him. “I’m not sure if my family would appreciate me throwing you down in front of the barbeque and ravaging you until you begged for mercy.”
“In that case.” Owen looked around to make sure no one was lurking, then walked further into the house, pulling her along behind him. He opened the small door to the downstairs bathroom and pushed her inside, following her in. Closing the door, he locked it, testing the handl
e to make sure it couldn’t be opened.
When he turned, Liv stepped forward, curling her arms around his neck.
“I can’t get enough of you. You’re my addiction.” Owen bent his head and took Liv’s mouth, hard.
Legs buckling, mind turning to jelly, she held onto him like her life depended on it. He was everything she wanted and so much more. Addiction. Yes, that about summed up what she felt about him, too.
Liv reached in between them and began unfastening Owen’s jeans. Making short work of it, she slipped her hand inside and felt him pulsate in her fist. She began pumping, starting slow and getting faster.
Owen groaned into her mouth as he quickly unfastened the many buttons on the front of her dress until it slipped effortlessly over her hips and onto the floor. She wore white lacy underwear and his calloused, working hands drifted over her curves and up to her breasts. Liv murmured her pleasure as at last his mouth dropped to her neck and nuzzled her heated skin.
“I want you so much.” Would Liv ever have her fill of this man? She prayed she wouldn’t. It was too good, too right, to ever throw away again on a stupid whim.
The rip of a condom wrapper distracted her, and she had to pull away from his cock as he sheathed himself. His hands back on her hips, he lifted her with ease and she automatically wound her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to her. Pushing her panties to the side, she felt his hardness nudging against her pussy and sighed. Owen immediately slid inside her, pushing her against the wall, and plunging in and out.
No words were spoken, but the grunts and moans of pleasure from them both filled the room. It didn’t take long for her orgasm to build. The ripple of Owen’s muscles under his shirt, the feel of his tight arms embracing her, all sent her quicker to paradise. Her body fit with his perfectly, Liv never wanted this to end.
“I’m so sorry,” the words were pulled from her as she fell off the edge into pleasure-ville. Moments later he was tightening and she felt him throb inside her, prolonging her bliss.
