Worth the Chance

Chapter 20

Liv

I split the paper in two offering Vinny the sports section as I delve into the business section. Sitting with my back against the arm of the couch, my legs lying over Vinny’s lap, he begins to rub my feet.

“Oh my god, that feels so good.” My voice drops, doing little to disguise the pleasure of his touch. My body instantly remembers the feel of his hands on other parts of my body. I close my eyes, releasing the paper I was intent on reading, completely forgetting the topic of the piece within seconds.

“I’m here to service.”

Vinny presses his thumb into the arch of my foot with one hand as the other kneads the ball of my foot, the part that carries my weight most days as I wear high heels to the office. “Mmmmmm.” The sound escapes me as my eyes roll into the back of my head. My shoulders slump, tension easing, even though his touch is at the other end of my body.

“Jesus, Liv. I can’t be responsible when you make that sound and you look like that.”

“Sorry, can’t help it. You have really good hands.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Like being plucked from a blissful dream as you sit on fluffy white clouds, my body tenses and I rip my feet from his grip. My voice hardens as I respond, “It really doesn’t interest me to hear about the opinions of your Krissys and Missys.”

Eyebrows drawn, Vinny has the audacity to look annoyed at my response, when it was his words that were a slap in the face. “I’m a fighter, Liv. Remember? I’ve been told I have good hands by trainers and opponents.” He drags a hand through his hair. “Nice to know you think so little of me that I’d brag to you about other women.”

“I, I...I’m sorry…I thought you meant…”

“Yeah, I know what you thought I meant.” Abruptly, he stands and it looks like he’s going to walk away, but then he stops and turns back to speak again. “How did it make you feel to think I was talking about being with other women?”

“I…I don’t understand, the question.”

Vinny leans down, his hands pressing into the couch on either side of my face, caging me in. “Simple question. Simple answer. You’re the smart one.”

Not wanting to admit the truth, I go for vague and deflection. “I thought it was rude. How would you feel if you thought I was talking about another man while I was touching you?”

I watch as the dark pupils in the middle of the pale blue grows wider and wider in his eyes, leaving only a thin shadow of color as the darkness takes over. Jaw clenching, the anger resonates from his body. “Like I want to rip someone’s head off. Answer the damn question, Liv.” His eyes narrow with anger.

“Jealous. Okay? Are you happy?” I yell my response.

“Good.”

“Good?” You’ve got to be kidding me. “You want me to be jealous?”

“I want you to stop finding reasons to run away from me every few hours. Jealous at least means you give a shit.”

I open my mouth twice to respond. But each time I realize I have nothing to throw back at him. Vinny’s eyes watch me and wait. They say so much. Dear Lord, they say everything as they blaze into me with so much intensity it takes my breath away. “You scare me, Vinny.” I pause. “We scare me,” I whisper, feeling embarrassed at what I feel. But I’m honest. Finally.

Vinny’s eyes close for a minute and I watch as his throat works as he swallows. When he opens his eyes, they’re different, less angry, yet still full of emotion. Lifting one of his hands from the side of my head as he still looms over me, he gently cups my jaw. “You scare me too, Liv.”

I turn, leaning into his touch and kiss the inside of his hand. Returning my sight to his face, a thought dawns on me that makes me grin. “I scare Vince ‘The Invincible’ Stone?”

Vinny returns my smile. “You’re really asking for it today, aren’t you?”

One eyebrow arched, I can’t help myself…he’s left himself so perfectly open. “And what if I am, does that mean you’re going to give it to me?”

He groans, and before I can even protest, I’m lifted out of my seat and flung over his shoulder as he stalks into the bedroom. The next few hours we alternate between reading my new book and Vinny giving me what I asked for.

It’s almost midnight when Vinny drops me back at my place. There’s no parking near my building, so I tell him to drop me off, but he insists on walking me to the door. We don’t even notice Ally sitting in the living room while we spend ten minutes making out like teenagers in the doorway before I actually have to push him out of my apartment. Shoving him through the door was for his own good, as much as mine. We both have to work tomorrow. At least mine is mostly sitting. His is physically demanding.

I close the door and lean my head against it. “Looks like you had a good time.” Ally’s voice startles me.

“Do you sit there in the dark waiting for me to come home just to scare the shit out of me?”

“Maybe.”

“You need help.”

“I need one of those.” She motions to the door that I’ve just closed behind Vinny.

Laughing, I walk into the kitchen. “I was going to go to bed. You want to have a glass of wine first?”

“Does Vince Stone make women drool?”

Shaking my head, I pull two crystal glasses out of the cabinet. There are plenty of nights that we do takeout, sometimes eating our delivery straight from the carton. Yet our wine is always in crystal. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Damn straight.”

I can’t help but smile at Ally’s excitement as we sit on the couch facing each other. “That man is so into you.”

“He certainly was a few hours ago.”

Eyes widening, Ally smiles and claps her hands together. “Now that’s the stuff I want to hear!”

I sip my wine and lean back into the couch with a dramatic sigh. “Jeez, Ally, he’s just so...so…intense. It’s like he can see right through me. There’s nowhere to hide.”

“Well why do you want to hide anyway?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like I need to go slow. Keep some of what I’m feeling to myself. But he’s hard to refuse. I can’t explain it.”

“He hurt you once, Liv. You’re being cautious,” Ally winks and smirks. “Just enjoy the sex and see where it takes you.”

Finishing my wine, I feel the effects go straight to my head. I’m a lightweight normally, but even more so when I’m sleep deprived. “Oh, I’m definitely enjoying the sex.”

“Hate you.” My best friend smiles.

“Hate you too.” I smile back and lean in to kiss her cheek before standing to turn in for the night. “Sweet dreams, Al.”

“Just tell me one thing,” Ally yells as I reach my doorway. “Is he a take control kind of partner in bed?”

Smiling, I don’t turn around when I respond. “You have no idea.”