Page 23 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

She did as I asked, but she bit her lower lip as she did it. I guessed that was also caused by nerves, but it only served to draw my attention to her very soft, very full lips. I crouched down in front of her, strangely unwilling to just hand over the ice pack for her to hold herself.

I knew I was going a little overboard with the whole ice pack thing. Her injury wasn’t that bad, but it gave me a reason to be close to her.

She leaned to the side a little, giving me better access to place the pack on her. Knowing I had no right to, but completely unable stop myself, I slid my index finger under the waistband of her bikini bottoms and pulled them a tiny bit lower to expose the red mark fully.

Her breath stopped the second my fingers touched her skin, and if I hadn’t been concentrating to keep my breathing level, mine would’ve too. “It doesn’t look too bad. You’ll probably end up with a nice bruise, though.” I placed the ice pack on the mark and grinned when her body jerked in reaction to it. “Sorry.”

I looked up at her face, ready to break the tension by teasing her a little, but when I saw her eyes closed and her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath, all thoughts of teasing left my head. I swallowed hard. “How about you hold this, and I’ll go get us something to drink.”

Liv’s eyes flashed open and she nodded slowly, her hand sliding over mine as she took hold of the pack. “Thanks,” she murmured.

Escaping back to the kitchen, I placed my hands on the counter and hung my head. What was wrong with me? I had thousands of girls throw themselves at me every time I set foot out in public. Why was this one girl playing havoc with my senses? Was it just the old case of wanting what you couldn’t have?

Forcing myself to get my emotions under control, I straightened and reached for a couple of glasses out of the cupboard. I could do this. She was just a girl, one I could be myself around.

Ah, who was I kidding? I wanted her more than I’d wanted any other girl for a very long time. Hell, ever. Why was that? Was it just because she liked me for the person I really was and not just the celebrity status all the others seemed to be after? No, I didn’t think so. The attraction was there before she’d even breathed out that little ‘hi’ to me the first day I saw her.

I smiled, thinking about that little ‘hi.’ She didn’t realize it, but that one little word, coupled with that shy little smile, hooked me like a childhood crush. I sighed. Okay, I wanted her, but what was I going to do about it? I thought that might’ve been a six-million-dollar question.

Filling the glasses with some fresh juice Corey had made that morning, I walked back out to the living room.

Liv looked up at me as I walked in, and I instantly knew the answer to my question was not going to be ‘nothing.’ Placing both glasses of juice on the coffee table, I turned and crouched in front of her again.

Trying not to meet her eyes, I took the ice compress off her and inspected her hip. Forcing a smirk onto my lips, I looked up at her. “I think you’ll live.”

Her eyes took on a slight glint. “Oh, thank goodness! I was beginning to wonder . . .”

All the tension in the room seemed to evaporate with her smile. I laughed. Yeah, ‘nothing’ wasn’t anywhere near the confines of my vocabulary at that moment.

Standing up, I tossed the ice pack on the coffee table, then passed her a juice. Taking up my own glass, I sank down on the couch, making sure I left a generous gap between us.

“You haven’t told me how long you’ll be enjoying your aunt’s hospitality.” Of course, Daniel had already told me, but I needed to keep her talking as much as I could.

I watched her take a sip of her juice, her eyes closing as the cool liquid slid down her throat. She licked her lips, making my insides tighten. “My parents are flying back mid-August. They’ll probably take a day or so to catch up with Aunt Jenny before we head into LA to meet my new roomy.”

“So, a couple of months or so, huh?”

She nodded, a slow, easy smile on her lips. “Uh-huh.”

“Nice.”

I watched her sigh as she settled farther back into the couch. “What about you? How long are you here for?”

I inhaled slowly. How long was I going to stay for? My initial plan was to leave the guys to do their own thing for a few days while I headed up to spend the day with my family for Mom’s birthday. We didn’t get that much time, usually. I knew Mom was looking forward to it.

Looking over Olivia’s face of innocence, I was now wondering if a few weeks were long enough for me to have with her? Strangely, I wanted to take as long as I could to enjoy the simplicity she had about her. “I haven’t really decided yet. I have commitments I have to get to by the second week of August, but that’s about it. Have you been enjoying spending the time with your aunt?”

She smiled. “Yeah. This is the first time I’ve spent this kind of vacation with her in seven years. I’ve learned to not go near any shops with her, though. She keeps saying s

he’s got years of occasions to make up for.”

The condemnation in her eyes was amusing. But then she was smiling serenely and shifting on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her and resting her head back in complete relaxation.

That one small action confirmed everything I’d been thinking about her, and why I was considering sacrificing some of the time I’d promised to spend with my family. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen someone just let go like that in my company—especially a girl. Usually they were all wide-eyed and wound so tight—either with nerves or lust—they just couldn’t sit still.

“Well, if we’re going to share the beach over the next few weeks, maybe we should get to know each other a little better. It’d be a nice change to have some company,” I said.

Liv didn’t lift her head when she looked at me. She just rolled it to the side, a contented smile sitting on her full lips. “I think I’d like that.”

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