“You have to forget about him, move on. He isn’t good for you.” Livie thought she was so good at dispensing advice.
Toni hung her head dejectedly. “I know.”
“I’m so sorry,” Livie commiserated, but she didn’t ask why Toni hadn’t come to her last night. Oh no, Livie wouldn’t want to open that can of worms because then she’d have to explain exactly what she’d been doing. “I don’t know how to make you feel better.”
Toni suddenly wanted to scream at her: Stop stealing my lovers and that will make me feel better. But it was too soon. The timing for this had to be perfect. The situation had to be just right. Livie needed to learn the truth in the worst way possible. So that she’d doubt him, no matter how he tried to explain. She’d keep hearing the things Toni had told her, and anything he said would sound like the lie.
“You’re not going home tonight,” Livie was saying while Toni plotted and planned. “I’ll run you a bath, and you can have a good soak. You’ll feel better.”
Oh, she’d feel better all right, after she’d ruined whatever was going on between them. They would never have each other, never.
Chapter Thirteen
Just before noon the following day, Livie marched into Julia’s office, closing the door behind her. “I bought you lunch.” She plopped a deli bag on the desk and set two bottles of spring water next to it.
Julia’s office was smaller than hers, but the desk and credenza were neat, no papers overflowing her inbox. Julia did absolutely everything online. Paper was anathema to her.
Julia removed her speckled purple reading glasses. The computer screen was hell on the eyes. “What on earth happened to your nylons?” She stared aghast at Livie’s bare legs. To Julia, a woman without pantyhose was practically naked.
“You wouldn’t believe my morning, and my nylons are the least of it.” She’d had not one but two nightmares, and she was still pissed that Toni hadn’t woken her up when it was obvious she’d slept through the alarm. In rush mode ever since, she’d snagged her nylons on a sliver on the side of her credenza, actually drawing blood. The hose were irreparably damaged, and she’d thrown them away. She didn’t have time for a lunch break because she still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with the sales numbers, but she simply couldn’t concentrate until she got this off her chest.
“Aren’t you going for your walk?” Julia asked, eyeing the deli bag.
“Not today. I need to talk to you instead,” Livie said adamantly. “And I brought a piece offering.” She pointed at the bag.
Julia tipped her head. “Hmm, that sounds like you’ve done something bad.”
“Take out the sandwich first.” She tapped the bag toward Julia, then took the seat opposite. “We’ll need fortification.”
“Oh God, this must really bad.” But Julia’s lips twitched as she emptied the bag and unwrapped the monstrosity. Then she groaned. “You’re evil.”
“I know.” The massive pastrami on rye from the corner deli was to die for. She’d waited in line for fifteen minutes she couldn’t afford. But she hadn’t finished her wonton soup last night and she’d skipped breakfast. She couldn’t concentrate when she was starving, and she didn’t indulge this way often. “But at least we’ll be sharing.”
“My hips are still going to hate you.”
“Not to mention your arteries.”
“That, too.” But indulge they did. Livie felt better after the first two bites had gone down. “So here’s the thing. I have to apologize to you because I lied.”
Julia licked a smudge of mustard from the corner of her mouth. She didn’t say anything, just raised a brow.
“That man I told you about, I saw him on Friday night.”
“You didn’t tell me this while we were shopping? You let me think he hadn’t called?”
Livie nodded her head. That’s what she had to apologize for. She hadn’t shared. She’d even lied. “And I invited him over to my place on Sunday evening.” She set down her sandwich half. “He spent the night.”
“Why you little slut,” Julia said in a soft, amazed voice.
“I know it’s fast”—Livie counted on her fingers for emphasis, one, two, three, four, five—“five days, but I don’t care.”
Julia didn’t say a word. She simply chewed.
“Say something. Are you mad I didn’t tell you?”
Julia pursed her lips thoughtfully, as if she really had to think about it. “No.”
Livie waited. “That’s all?”
Then Julia smiled. “I’ve known you long enough to understand exactly what you’re like. Me”—she put a hand to her ample bosom—“I have to talk it over ad nauseam in order to make a decision, at least where men and relationships are concerned. You”—she pointed a finger at Livie—“have to think it through before you can even start talking about it.”
That was true. Livie kept things close, while Julia put it all out there. “It felt like a lie. Because, um, I did a few things with him on Friday, too.”
Something glittered in Julia’s eyes. “Sexual things?”
Livie nodded.
“My, my, you really are a slut. I love it.” Julia clapped her hands. She didn’t have any hang-ups about sex. “And you’re telling me now because you’re finally ready to talk.”
“Exactly.” Livie smiled. Julia was the best. No censure, just acceptance. “I’ve been telling myself not to get involved, that it’s happening too fast. This isn’t like me.”
Julia nodded her agreement as another mouthful of pastrami disappeared.
“And there’s Toni, of course.”
Julia rolled her eyes. Enough said.
“But I’ve been wondering if he might actually be someone special. I can’t stop thinking about him.” Livie picked up her sandwich. “I don’t want to stop thinking about him.” She took a bite of pastrami, as if to say, There, that’s it. She didn’t want to fight her emotions anymore.
“Which is why you didn’t tell me on Sunday. Because you knew I’d say you should go for it, and you had to think it all through first.”
Right. She’d needed to make her own decision without any influence. “I know Toni’s going to be a problem.”
Julia snorted. “She always is. But you can’t let her stop you.”
“She’s got some problems of her own right now. So I’m not going to tell her about him.” Maybe it was the coward’s way out, but Toni was in misery over her own failed relationship. It would only make things worse if she knew Livie had met someone.
“She’ll find out. That girl has a nose for it.”
“I’ll deal with it then. But I want this now and I’m going to have it.” This was really why she’d come to Julia. Beyond the apology, she’d needed to declare her intentions aloud.
Julia raised a hand over the desk. “You go, girl.”
Livie high-fived her. “You are the absolute best, Julia.”
With the vow made, she felt oddly free. She could actually tackle the issues on her desk and find a solution. The lunch break with Julia took less time than her walk, and when she was back in her office, she picked up the phone to call Bern.
He answered with a simple greeting, and his voice did something to her deep inside.
“It’s Livie.”
“I know.”
She laughed. “How could you know. I’m calling from my desk phone and it won’t show on caller ID.”
Humor laced his tone. “I just know. Like a sixth sense.”
He made what was happening between them sound mystical. “I called to say I’m sorry I had to cut our evening short, and I wondered if you’d give me another chance.”
“It’s more like you giving me another chance.” There was something in his tone, an added seriousness that hadn’t been there before. “And the answer is yes.”
That was the difficult thing about new relationships, you wondered what every subtle nuance really meant. “It’s our quarter-end and I have to work late, but I can come to your place aft
erward.” This morning Toni had said she’d see Livie on Wednesday for their usual dinner, no mention of coming over tonight, but Livie wasn’t going to run the risk of her sister showing up without notice. For now, Bern was her secret.
“I’ll wait for you. I’ve got plenty of work.”
“But I’ve got my car.”
“I’ll follow you to my place. Unless that makes you nervous.”
For some reason, it was a delight to know that he’d be waiting for her, that he’d walk her down to her car, follow her. As if he were the proverbial knight in shining armor watching out for her. “That sounds perfect.”
“Livie,” he said before she hung up. “I’ll make this right for you. You’re not making a mistake.”
She wasn’t sure if he was talking about sex, or referring to something more, Toni, perhaps. She’d made it plain she had problems with her sister. “It’ll be fine, Bern. I’m fine.”
She could say that now because Toni didn’t know anything yet, but Livie knew she’d pay the price for it later.
* * * * *
Livie had called him at seven and said she had about another hour to go. He’d gotten a lot done on the prep work for his trip north to the Gillespie plant. He’d also had plenty of time to decide what to say about her sister. He had to tell her in plain and simple language. He already had a good idea that Antonia had trashed him. He should have seen the possibility, but he hadn’t wanted to. That was the long and short of it. He hadn’t wanted anything to interfere with Livie, so he’d written it off as coincidence.
Instead of waiting, at eight o’clock he took the elevator down to her floor. The empty car closed in on him slightly. Then the door opened, and the sight of her made his breath stop in his lungs. Her suit was black, her hair curling over her shoulders, her lips luscious and kissable, her legs bare, and the high heels sexy as all get-out. He forgot about her sister and any thought of telling Livie the truth.
“Fancy meeting you here,” she quipped, her voice a note huskier than normal as if she saw the sexual thoughts stamped on his face. His suit jacket was buttoned, but his body had already reacted to her.
The doors slid shut behind her, and Bern drew her close. He didn’t hit the garage button. The car wouldn’t move unless someone pushed a button on another floor. Holding her gaze, he wrapped his hand around her nape. Her briefcase dropped to the floor with a thud.
“I’ve been thinking about this for twenty-four hours,” he said softly.
Her breath hitched. Then she pulled his head down. Her lips parted, taking the kiss deep, drawing him in over his head. He felt his heart beating again, as if everything had ceased to function until the moment he saw her. Leaning back against the wall, he held her tight, but the kiss was all hers. As if she’d been dreaming of it all day, she devoured him.
He turned, pinning her. Spreading the lapels of her blazer, he put his hands to her waist, sliding up, coasting over the sides of her breasts, then flicking a nipple.
She moaned, but held the lip-lock. The skirt was flared, and her bare legs beckoned. Bern bent slightly at the knees, running his fingers beneath the hem, up her smooth skin. He cupped her butt, held her tight, letting her feel what she did to him.
She finally broke away, gulping air, as if she hadn’t taken a breath as she kissed him. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” he whispered as his lips coasted across her cheek to find her earlobe. He bit lightly, and she groaned.
“Make me crazy, like I’ll do anything.”
“Because you want it, too.” In the next moment, he slipped beneath the elastic of her panties and found her center. She was wet.
“Bern, oh God.” Clutching his shoulders, she squirmed against him, breathing hard. “Isn’t there a camera in here or something?” Despite the question, she didn’t push him away.
“No camera. No one will see. And the car will start moving if someone pushes a button.” He stroked her lightly, and she moved with his rhythm, panting now. “I’ve wanted this, Livie. Every time I rode in the elevator with you.”
She raised a foot, curling her leg around the back of his knee. “I want it.” She gasped as he delved deeper.” Right here.” She closed her eyes, put her head back, let out a long, delicious sigh. “Every time I get on the elevator, even with a crowd of people around us, I want to remember what you did to me.”
“You wild, dirty girl.”
“I want it all,” she insisted, shoving her hand between them and palming his erection.
“Christ, yes.” Bending his head, he bit her throat like a lion ready to mate. His body moved, pumping against her hand.
“Do you have a condom?” She panted as he played her. He hadn’t stopped.
“Busted.” He had one in his pocket. One would have thought he’d been planning this. But he hadn’t. He’d simply carried one since Friday in her office. He couldn’t help himself. He needed the physical with her as well as the spiritual.
“Then put it on.”
He donned it in what seemed like two seconds flat, then hoisted Livie against the elevator wall. Holding her aloft, her legs around his waist, he stopped. “Are you sure?”
She laughed. Then she took his mouth with a hard, deep kiss. “It’s way too late to back out.” Pulling her pink silk panties aside, she tightened her legs around him, drawing him closer, pulling him in.
In a way, he was taken rather than the other way around. Livie urged him on with her mouth, her words, her arms, her legs. She panted, purred his name, gasped as he plunged high and deep, pumping into her relentlessly, mindlessly, until she cried out his name. Her body milked him as he fell over the edge, tumbling down into bliss right along with her.
Chapter Fourteen
Livie couldn’t get enough of him. She’d gone home with him after that hot, kinky, exciting episode in the elevator last night. They’d made love two more times, then she’d slept in his bed and woken in his arms.
She’d have been with him now except for her Wednesday dinner with Toni. As usual, Toni was late. Livie hadn’t even thought of her sister while she was with Bern, but now, as she sat alone in the restaurant, checking her watch and sipping her wine, her guilt started to rise again. Toni was having a bad time. Livie should have at least checked in with her.
The waiter kept glancing her way, raising an eyebrow, as he moved swiftly between the tables carrying trays, taking orders, sending the busboys with water. Livie tried not to drink her wine too fast.
She hadn’t sent a text in case Toni was driving. Toni had been known to type with one hand, the other on the wheel. One of these days, she’d get caught and have a hefty fine to pay, which would be a hell of a lot better than causing an accident. After twenty minutes, Livie finally called. Toni didn’t answer. Another fifteen minutes passed, her wineglass was empty, she’d devoured a dinner salad because she was starving, and Toni was still a no-show and a no-answer. Livie was starting to feel like a spectacle in the crowded restaurant.
Dammit, she should have paid more attention. What if Toni had come by her apartment last night and figured out Livie had been gone all night long? God, she was stupid.
She signaled her waiter. “Could you get me the check, please?”
“Your friend isn’t coming?” He seemed sympathetic enough.
“I’m afraid not.”
She paid the bill and left a generous tip. Back in her car, she headed to Toni’s apartment. No one there. Livie shuddered. She knew where Toni was. Livie had no choice but to return to her condo. She could see it now, Toni on her couch, crying, asking where she’d been, claiming she’d forgotten about dinner. You’re never here when I need you, Livie. But Livie had always been there to pick up the pieces.
But Toni wasn’t at her place either. Toni wasn’t anywhere. She’d disappeared.
* * * * *
Livie had said she wasn’t coming over tonight, dinner with her sister.
Her sister. Antonia. Last night had been so hot, so sweet, and Bern hadn’t to
ld Livie the truth. She’d slept, her body flush against his, without having a single nightmare. He wanted to think he made her feel safe. He needed more nights like that, enough so that she’d choose him over her sister. He had no doubt that Antonia would demand a choice between them. He wasn’t sure he’d win.
His doorbell chimed through the house, and Bern’s heart raced. Livie was here. She had to see him. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow. His head told him it was way too early, but his heart pushed him to the door, almost at a jog.
When he opened it, his blood ran cold.
Antonia Scott wore a dress so low cut he swore he could see a hint of nipple. The skirt was tight, short, her legs miles long in high heels. She was sexy as hell, hell being the operative word. That’s where Antonia Scott dragged her men, straight to hell. He was sure many went gladly just for a taste between her thighs.
He wasn’t one of those men. And she wasn’t her sister.
A primal growl rose up in his throat. He stuffed it back down. “What do you want?”
She was over the threshold and into his house before he realized her intention. She strolled into his family room, leaving him to trail her. He didn’t close the front door. He’d have rather died than be stuck in a closed room with her. He could ignore his uneasiness in small places, but Antonia made the walls of his own home close in on him.
“You wouldn’t take my calls. So I had to come apologize in person.”
His only thought: where was Livie? Antonia was supposed to be with her. He steeled himself. “An apology isn’t necessary.”
She was suddenly close. He didn’t back up. You never showed weakness around this woman.
“But I want to start over, do things differently. I made mistakes.” She put out a hand to touch him, stopped short of making contact when he eyed her.
Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 Page 11