Page 43 of Twisted Beauty

Liv rolled her eyes and shoved her phone in her pocket, smiling. She should have known.

A few moments later, Matt came up the stairs carrying a black nylon tote in one hand and Liv’s camera in the other. “This should keep it dry.” He placed her camera in the bag. “Put your purse in here too and let’s go.”

Okay, that was sweet. Kind of out of character for him, wasn’t it? She almost said as much, but didn’t want to get herself uninvited.

When she took the bag from him, his hand brushed her arm and left a swath of tingles behind. She drew it away like she’d been burned. She needed to keep him at a distance. And it would really help if he would stop being so chivalrous.

Liv zipped her purse into the bag, padding her camera with it. Matt took the tote from her and slung it over his arm, and she walked back over to the couch to sit down next to Tito again.

“Thank you again for inviting me in, Tito. Lunch was wonderful. Are you sure you’re okay here by yourself?”

He waved her off. “I live here many years. I don’t need babysitter.” His smile made it clear he was thrilled to see her leaving with his grandson. There was nothing she could do about that right now.

Liv leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

After Matt said his goodbyes, she followed him down the stairs and he handed her the raincoat he’d slung over the countertop.

“No, I can’t take that. What will you wear?”

“I’ll survive. Put it on. And hurry.”

She sighed. The tone of his voice didn’t leave room for discussion, and she didn’t feel like there was time to argue. Wading through the rising floodwaters didn’t sound like a whole lot of fun.

Liv slipped his jacket on, and it smelled faintly of him. Fresh air, ocean breeze, and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Delicious.

He pulled open the door and they stepped out into the storm.

10

Matt

Piece of shit umbrella. He’d grabbed it from Tito’s storage room at the last minute, but it wasn’t doing a damned bit of good. They were both drenched in seconds.

At least the rain felt warm, probably close to eighty degrees. What Matt really needed was a cold shower though. Or a bucket of ice. Preferably one he could fit his whole body into. Because even with Liv’s slender figure swamped in his oversized raincoat, he caught glimpses of her curves underneath as they walked. And it reminded him of the way she looked walking up the stairs into that party. The creamy skin of her thighs, the shape of her hips, and that slim waist beneath the silky fabric of her dress.

He could still feel her pressed up against him and hear the purr in the back of her throat when they’d kissed.

If he found out that asshole Nate had gotten a taste of those lips after he’d left them dancing together at the party, he’d want to beat the guy senseless.

But taking Liv home with him? That was something else entirely.

How the hell was he supposed to handle her sleeping in his house? He’d give her the guest room, of course, but he’d know she was there. All fucking night.

Matt shifted the umbrella farther over her head. “You dry enough?”

Liv laughed, and the sound drew his attention to the curve of her mouth. A stream of water poured down through a rip in the canopy, dripped off her hood and rolled onto her lips. She licked them, and his cock twitched. Shit.

“I’m not sure dry is the word for it. This is crazy. Does it always pour like this here?” She glanced over at him, her eyes a pop of green against the gray of the storm.

The intensity of her gaze sent a jolt through his body, and he had to look away before he could answer. He cleared his throat. “Occasionally, but only in the middle of summer. Not normal at all this late in September.”

A long rumble of thunder rolled across the clouds in agreement.

Matt closed the umbrella. It wasn’t making a damn bit of difference anyway. “We need to lose this. I haven’t seen any lightning yet, but that thunder was too close for comfort.”

Liv nodded. “Better wet than electrocuted.”

Instinctively, he placed a hand around her waist and led her around a dip in the sidewalk. It was filled with water and didn’t look nearly as deep as it was. He knew this sidewalk and all its jagged spots like the back of his hand. Walked it every day.