Thud. Thud. Thud.
Levi’s metal door vibrated with each beat from within, as though his studio apartment was alive, its heart beating. Zoe raised a fist to knock out of automatic politeness, but then realized it was pointless since anyone inside wouldn’t hear her over all the racket—or maybe because of their acquired hearing loss.
Balancing her box of supplies under one arm, she slid the metal door open. It rolled aside, releasing the chaotic noise within like she was stepping into a nightclub from a quiet street on a Saturday night.
Freddy strolled inside like he had VIP access. He was getting used to being at Levi’s. Heck, they’d practically spent more time there that week than in her own apartment.
It may have seemed like a club, but there were no bouncers here, no drunk girls taking selfies at the bar, no perverts rubbing their junk all over chicks and calling it dancing. There was, however, a band. A pretty good band by the sounds of it.
She put her supplies down on the table and headed for the music room. As it came into view, Levi noticed her, but carried on with the song. When he hit the chorus, his voice, which had been so sweet and melodic during the verse, growled with an extra grittiness. It rolled over her and through her like cool, hard marbles.
Zoe had heard him sing a few songs off the playlist for Piper’s wedding, but this was different. At that moment, she couldn’t see the cheesy serenading boy next door and definitely not Martha Stewart. He wasn’t singing silly lyrics that he’d made up on the spot rhyming like a Dr. Seuss book.
He was rocking. Hard.
Everything about him in that moment fit the bill. The rocker look, the sexy voice, the way his body moved in time to the music, flowing through him naturally like he was born backstage at a Led Zeppelin concert and swaddled in leather.
She tried to combine this new Levi she was seeing with the guy who’d made her dinner the other night, the guy who’d wanted to get to know her as a person rather than using her for sex, who followed her around the expo like an innocent teenage boy with a crush.
He was practically every girl’s dream. A hard exterior with a gooey interior. Not that she really noticed much. It’s not like his performance was melting her insides like hot caramel or making her clench with yearning or anything.
Her breathing wasn’t coming faster from desire. It was because she’d just carried her supplies all the way from her newly repaired van. And that wasn’t her heart throbbing in her chest with lust. It was the kick drum pulsating through her.
Nope. Levi had no effect on her at all. She was so over it.
Freddy came to sit next to her heel, slapping his tail in time to the beat on the cement floor. He glanced up at her, as though he could see right through her. Liar.
She glared back like “Who’s side are you on, anyway. Remember who feeds you.”
Levi’s eyes held Zoe’s while he sang. She felt that powerful voice resonate deep inside her like the floor vibrating beneath her shoes. His gaze darkened, and as he held his last note, that feeling lingered, sinking lower until it settled somewhere between her thighs.
Watching him sing with his band, a rock star for real, it definitely gave him that bad boy lead singer factor. And while Zoe wasn’t going to take of her bra and scream like a crazed fan, something about the way he looked behind that mic made her want him to take off her bra and make her scream.
As the music ended, Zoe had to take a deep breath and remind herself of what he wanted in exchange for sex. More.
They were just business associates, Zoe told herself. He was giving her a place to store the supplies she had to replace after the explosion. A quiet space to work with more room than her disorganized apartment. She just had to resist ripping the clothes off his tall, tight body. She could manage that for a few days until she found a new office space. Probably.
“Good set, guys,” Levi said, placing his guitar in its stand. “Let’s wrap it up for the day.”
Zoe felt a little giddy as he approached, like he’d picked her out from the crowd. That is, until she reminded herself she wasn’t at a concert, and Levi was just Levi.
“Hey. Sorry I just let myself in,” she said.
“No worries. Mi casa, su casa, remember? That’s why I gave you a key.”
“What’s in the box?” one of Levi’s bandmates asked, the bass player, she thought. He was already leaning over the box on the table, peeking inside.
“Dildos mostly,” Zoe said.
He leapt back like she’d just said it was a box of scorpions. “You’ve got a whole box of dildos?”
Once he recovered, he pushed the cardboard flap aside with a single finger as though it were contaminated. His eyebrows rose an inch at what he saw inside.
“That’s nothing,” Zoe told him, hiding a smirk. “I’ve got a whole van full of sex toys.”
His mouth dropped, like he wasn’t sure if she was joking. Maybe he thought they were all for her personal use.
Levi laughed. “Zoe, this is Brody.”
The drummer of the band didn’t seem as shy as the bass player and started digging through the box, pulling out toys. His eyes lit up as though it were Christmas morning at the Playboy mansion.
Levi shook his head. “That pervert is Aaron.”
“My favorite kind of customer,” Zoe said. “They tend to spend more money,” she stage-whispered, not bothering to lower her voice.
Aaron’s hands were full of toys, so he waved the purple dildo clenched in his fist. “Nice to meet you. What else do you got?” He gasped and dug for the bottom. “What’s this?”
He drew out a long, flesh colored tube.
“That’s a Beater Cheater,” she said.
As Aaron turned it around, his grin widened when he realized what you’d beat with it.
“It’s for my male customers,” she said. “It comes equipped with a hole on either end.”
The keyboard player stood back, watching on with a dubious look. He frowned, clearly trying to do the math. “Why two holes?”
Levi shrugged. “Variety?”
“Probably because they couldn’t fit all three holes?” Zoe offered.
His ears turned red as he finally figured out the equation.
“And this is Jett,” Levi said. “He’s clearly not as quick as the other two.”
Zoe could tell he was trying to act cool around his friends, but she noticed a telltale flush crawling its way up his neck. It gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. In fact, she wanted to make him blush harder.
“I’ve heard of those things,” Jett said, still not willing to get any closer to the box. “Do they actually feel like the real thing?”
“It’s very realistic,” she assured him. “But nothing can replace the real thing.” Her voice automatically took on the sultry tone she used for parties. People trusted the opinion of someone who felt sexy, who acted sexy, who believed they were sex on a stick. So of course, Zoe did very well in the sales department.
Shaking his head, Jett slapped Levi on the back and headed for the door. “You’re a lucky man.”
Zoe wasn’t sure what he meant exactly. Maybe that he got to spend time with a girl well versed in sex. Or was it more specifically related to her? Had he talked with his band mates about her?
Brody followed Jett toward the door, pausing by Zoe as he left. “You know, I’ve got a big apartment. I’d be happy to let you play with your toys there.” He flashed her a playful grin.
“Good-bye, Brody.” Levi shoved his friend toward the door.
Brody threw his hands up in the air, like “What did I do?”
Aaron seemed more reluctant to leave the toy box behind. At the last second, he grabbed the Beater Cheater and waved it. “Can I have this?”
The guy was hilariously unabashed compared to his band mates, but Zoe would never laugh at someone’s sexuality. Hell, she encouraged people to express it for a living. Instead, she pulled a business card out of her purse.
“Only if you tell your friends where to get one when you try it and love it.”
“Woo-hoo! Thanks!” He headed after the rest of his band. “I’m going to go home to love it right now.”
Groaning, Levi slid the front door shut and locked it like he was afraid they’d come back. “Sorry about them.”
Zoe laughed. “They seem nice.”
The blush was slowly fading from Levi’s neck, but she noticed him reach for his jeans a few times to rearrange them. “Well, I’ll let you get to work. I’ve got some errands to run for a bit.” Picking up his phone, he tapped the screen a few times until music started playing through the speakers placed around his apartment. “There. Just in case Freddy gets any ideas.” He looked at him pointedly.
Freddy’s tail slapped against the cement floor, but he didn’t seem to understand what was going on.
“Sorry about all the merchandise.” She gestured to the wedding and sex toy supplies piled in the corner. “Don’t worry. It won’t be for long.”
Aiden had offered to help Zoe look for an office for rent. With all the properties he owned in San Francisco, she hoped something would pop up soon.
“Trust me,” Levi said. “There’s no rush.”
He grabbed his keys off the counter nearby and gave her a wave, rearranging himself one more time before slipping out the door. Zoe grinned but tried to focus on the work ahead. The longer she went without an orgasm, the harder it was going to be to work around him. But she had to. There was still too much to do before Piper’s wedding.
She spent the rest of the morning organizing her merchandise, taking stock of what hadn’t been blown into a million pieces. She’d lost a lot of her event decorations both in the explosion and the vandalism at the Hilton. She brought up a copy of her records from her laptop, making a list of what she needed to replace for insurance purposes and prioritized it based on what event was booked next.
Once she’d placed a few calls and ordered replacement decor and supplies, she set it all aside to sort through her mother’s bills. She’d been working on them all week. Even after tallying up the numbers, she realized her mother was right. There was more money going out than coming in. San Francisco was an expensive city, and her father’s death left her with very little to survive on.
If only she’d talked to Zoe sooner. She wouldn’t have been able to hold off the sale of the house forever, but she could have ensured her mother came out of it all in the black. There were years of equity built up in the home. To lose it all was an insult to her father’s years of hard work and savings.
Zoe crumpled a bill and tossed it in the garbage. She felt neglectful for not intervening sooner. Finances were not her mother’s forte. But she never would have guessed things would get that bad. Then again, when things got tough, her mother became a turtle and tucked into her shell, just like when it came to her health.
When numbers began to blur together, Zoe popped a couple of aspirin and called the mortgage company. After an hour of waiting on hold, and a talk with some higher powers that be, Zoe managed to get the bills up to date and work out a payment plan—in exchange for some hefty penalties, of course.
But her mother couldn’t pull money from thin air to get back on track. She needed help. She needed Zoe. But sinking money into her childhood home meant Zoe was going to have to give up on her dream of buying her own place. It meant she was going to have to buy part of her mother’s house.
In the end, she called her mother and proposed putting her name on the mortgage. Being a practical woman, she agreed that it was the best course of action. That, and because it was only temporary. After all, once Zoe married Taichi, they wouldn’t need to worry about it anymore.
Zoe didn’t really want to get into that one, so she let it slide and ended the call. However, this new agreement opened up a whole new list of phone calls to make in order to get the ball rolling.
The first call she made was to her landlord to give notice for the end of the month. One thing was certain. Her mother was struggling to live on her own. Who knew if she was taking her medication right or eating as often as she should? Zoe’s frequent visits just weren’t enough anymore. She’d have to move in as soon as possible.
Her phone vibrated on Levi’s desk in front of her. It was a call from an unknown number. She was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but with all the calls she’d made to mortgage lenders and bill collectors that morning, she hit the accept button.
“Zoe Plum here.”
“Hey, girlfriend!” Holly’s voice screeched through the phone. “Just wanted to catch up. How are things since the big blow up? Were there any irreplaceable items for Piper and Aiden’s impending wedding that were destroyed?” she asked casually.
Zoe’s head began to throb at the sound of the reporter’s voice. It reminded her of her news report about the bombing that appeared on the five o’clock news Monday evening. Of course, Holly just had to slip Zoe’s name into the segment.
Even though another San Fran Slayer tragedy was headlining the news—this time, a Pizza delivery boy had been attacked—it obviously didn’t overshadow her small-business misfortunes. She’d already received calls from three weddings, two parties, and five Pure Passion Party bookings, wondering if they should cancel her services. Whoever said there was no such thing as bad publicity was wrong.
Now the entire city knew that her business was falling apart. Who was going to book an event with her when they saw what chaos her life was in? Not to mention they’d assume she had no resources left to work with.
Unwilling to give Holly any more to use against her, Zoe said, “Everything is on track and their wedding will be beautiful. You can quote me. Otherwise, no comment.” She hung up before Holly could argue and immediately blocked the number.
She slammed the phone down on the desk. Feeling the throbbing behind her eyes intensify, she laid her head next to it. Just as she closed her eyes, the front door slid open and Levi strolled in.
He took in both Zoe at the desk and Freddy curled up on the area rug, chilling to the music in the background. “Nap time already?” He flopped down on the couch. “How are things? Making any headway?”
“It’s official,” she said. “I’m going to be a thirty-year-old living with her mother. I’ll be taking on half of the mortgage payments in order to prevent the repossession.”
“Really?” He seemed to think about that for a moment. Finally, he huffed and shook his head. “I’m not sure I could do the same thing. My parents would drive me insane. I think it’s sweet you want to help her out.”
Feeling anxious, Zoe stood up and started digging through her boxes of toys, pulling out the ones she needed for the pleasure party she was hosting that weekend.
Each party paid a couple hundred or more, depending on the information requested and the number of guests. And of course, she received a commission on all sales. While it was just a side gig, the two grand a month helped supplement her income—she was very good at selling sex.
She set them down on the desk, organizing them from thickest to thinnest. To keep her hands busy, she began to clean them with a gentle cleanser spray.
Zoe tried to think about it from Levi’s perspective, but it didn’t seem strange to her. “I guess I never thought of it any other way. She and my father took care of me for the first twenty-some years. Now it’s my turn to pay back the favor. It’s just happening sooner than I thought it would.”
She sighed and reached for the next dildo, gripping it firm around the shaft as she rubbed with a microfiber cloth.
“I had no idea things were so bad for her,” she told Levi. “She’s a very private person, even with me, it seems.”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to worry,” he said.
“Well, it backfired because now there’s even more to worry about.”
Really getting into the cleaning mode, she grabbed the monstrosity on the far left. Big Boy. It rotated, it vibrated, it shook, thrust, and spun. It was the Cadillac of all the Pure Pleasure line. But it clearly didn’t get its name because of its superior functions. Big Boy was renowned for its girth, measuring in at a whopping six-inch circumference—the largest in the mainstream category.
Zoe began working it from tip to base, scrubbing harder and harder as she considered everything that hadn’t gone to plan recently. It was kind of stress-relieving, like a spring cleaning would feel for someone with less sexual hunger than Zoe.
She felt Levi’s eyes on her as she worked. When she turned to him, his eyebrows quirked up, and his expression was filled with amusement. And maybe something else.
“You look like you’re working that thing pretty hard. Shall I leave you to, ummm, sort yourself out?”
Zoe suddenly realized that she might have been overly eager with her cleaning. “Pun intended?” she asked.
She noticed him try to subtly readjust himself. Gripping Big Boy, she gave it a couple more suggestive strokes, daring him to continue to ignore her, to turn her down. He wanted her, she knew he did. So how long could he keep his hands to himself?
Levi chuckled, but she could see a blush crawl up his neck and across his cheeks. But he made no move to … make a move.
Disappointed, she put Big Boy back in line. Just as she’d thought. Levi talked a big game, but when push came to shove—or at least when she wanted it to—he was the boy next door, the guy you’d bring home to meet the family. Not the guy she’d hoped would follow through on all his teasing.
Well, Zoe didn’t bring boys home to do that. Not since Sean left her, anyway. Well, she supposed technically Levi had met her mother, but it wasn’t like that.
Levi stood up, Zoe thought to leave. But then he crossed over to the desk, a curious sparkle in his eyes.
“You know, if you ever get tired of toys, you can have the real thing right here.” He spread his hands like she didn’t realize he meant him. “You look a little stressed. Maybe I can help you out with that.”
Zoe narrowed her eyes. Now he was just being mean. “You’re a tease.”
“I’m not teasing,” he said. “I’m being completely serious. But if you want me, you get the whole package, not just my, err,” he glanced down, “package.”
“I think I’ll be just fine with Big Boy,” she waved it in front of his face.
His eyes scanned the full, very full, length of it. He held a hand out. “May I?”
She dropped it into his hand and he seemed surprised by the weight of it. All the mechanisms inside that made it do everything but dance added a bit of heft.
“Why are you taking them out?” he asked. “Don’t you need to sell these?”
“That’s a fairly new product. The company often sends me free stuff to test. I can’t sell what I haven’t tried myself.”
His wide eyes scanned the toys lined up across the desk. “And you’ve tried all this stuff.”
She wasn’t sure why she liked to shock him so much. His blush always made her think of things she could show him, what she could do to him that would make him blush harder. It was like she wanted to shove her sexuality in his face—literally and metaphorically—just to see how far she could push him, how much she had to tease him until he finally broke.
“These are just the beginning. I’ve pretty much tried it all.”
After adjusting every switch, dial, and knob on the big red beast in his hands to see what it could do, Levi sat down on the desk in front of her. He shifted uncomfortably like he needed to readjust again.
“So why sex toys?” he asked. “What made you want to get into that line of work?”
“I didn’t get into it. It got into me.” She winked. “That’s how it usually works, anyway. Or do you need a demonstration. I’m a certified sexual health rep for Pure Pleasure, you know.”
His sexy mouth quirked up. “I like the sound of that.”
“I have a certificate and everything.”
“You’re practically a sexpert.” He laughed. “But no, come on. Really. Why do you like to sell this stuff?”
“Because I believe sex is important. It’s important to your physical health as well as your mental well-being. And as a whole, society doesn’t get it enough. It’s a rather neglected organ in the body. There are cardio machines for your heart and lungs, and weights for muscles and joints. These,” she waved at her collection, “are machines to exercise a person’s sexual health.”
“And do you get enough exercise?” he asked suggestively.
Technically Zoe didn’t get any at all, but she wasn’t about to admit that she was practically a nun. “What’s enough?” she asked vaguely. “That’s why I have to supplement.”
“Like a daily vitamin?” He chuckled.
“Or several times a day.” She could hear her voice taking on the usual sultry cadence she used to sell sex toys. Only, it wasn’t the toy she was trying to sell him.
God, she wanted him so bad it hurt. She was sure that it would only take one time. If she could just have him for a couple of hours, her missing orgasm would come back home on its own, and they could both move on with their lives. But Levi was one tough customer.
“Several times, huh?” he said. “Then you must be really healthy.”
She could hear a change in his voice too, a response to her own. Something had altered in the conversation. Maybe it was in the shifting of his body, like he wanted to touch her, or the way his eyes dropped down to the low neckline of her blouse.
“I like to take good care of myself,” she said, moving a little closer.
“With Big Boy?” He flipped a switch and it moved up and down in a thrusting motion.
She ached at the sight of it. “It might be the only thing that can handle a woman like me,” she joked.
He slid off the desk to stand in front of her. He was barely touching her, but she could feel his heat.
“Oh, I can handle you. The question is, can you handle me?” He moved to place both hands on the desk on either side of her hips, trapping her there.
“Honey,” she said. “I would destroy you.”
“I’d like to put that to the test. How about that demonstration?” He smiled, but it wasn’t his usual cheesy grin. It was infused with a dare, with lust, a confidence that made Zoe wonder if he might actually be able to keep up with her.
“Well Big Boy might be a bit much for your first time, but I might have a strap on somewhere around here.” She glanced in the toy box on the desk, pretending to search.
“I didn’t mean for me,” he said.
She fake-sighed. “Shame.”
“I meant for you.” He moved forward, erasing what little space was left between them.
“Mmmm,” she purred as he pressed against her. “I like a giving man. But I’m a girl who likes to pay my debts. How can I return the favor?”
“I have something in mind. But it’s a surprise.”
“I like surprises.” She tugged at the waistband of his jeans, wanting to discover what surprise he was hiding from her.
“So you’re up for whatever?” he asked.
She pretended to think. “Depends if the favor’s worth returning.”
“Oh, I’ll make it worth your while.” His voice held a guarantee she couldn’t ignore.
“Then you’re on,” she said.
“It’s a deal.”
The unknown made Zoe clench with anticipation. Was it really happening? Was he finally giving in? It wasn’t often a man had her on the edge of her seat. She yearned for her “surprise” almost as much as she yearned for his touch.
But he didn’t touch her. Instead, he stood back, groping her with his eyes, assessing every curve and swell as though deciding where to start first. Well, if he wasn’t going to hurry up and decide, she’d have to do it for him.
Reaching out, she laid her hands on his stomach. Scraping her nails down his shirt, she felt the contours of his muscles. Her palms slid farther down, over the bulge beneath his pants. She lingered there, fingers exploring the shape. Levi groaned, and that was all the invite she needed.
All that talk of sex toys, his verbal teasing, it was like a tortuous foreplay. Zoe was ready to go. And by the feel of him, Levi was ready too.
Reaching for his belt, she gripped the hard leather. But before she could undo it, he grabbed her wrists and held them aside.
“Not so fast,” he said.
“If we go any slower, I’m going to explode.” For a second, she worried that this was going to be like the last time. That she had it all wrong again. That he didn’t want her.
He chuckled. “No, you won’t. But you will when I’m done with you.”
“I can’t wait.” She reached eagerly for his belt again.
“Do I need to restrain you?” he asked.
Searching around the desk, his eyes landed on a role of thick, hot pink ribbon. Picking it up, he unwound a length of it and cut it with a pair of scissors from the drawer.
“Hey,” she said. “That’s for thank-you notes.”
“I’m sure you can thank me some other way.”
He backed her up until she sank into the office chair. Spinning it until her back was to him, he drew her arms behind her. He held her wrists, tying them together so slowly that she felt each tickle of the ribbon against her skin. It sent a surge of tingles up her arms.
As he fastened the last knot, it dug a little painfully, deliciously into her skin. He spun her chair around to face him, and her head spun with it in excitement.
“How am I supposed to join in all the fun?” she asked, testing the strength of her bonds, but they wouldn’t give.
“You don’t always have to be in control,” he said.
“Have you met me?”
“Maybe it’s time you learned to let go. To just lie back and let someone else take the wheel.”
Reaching under the seat, he flipped a lever and the chair suddenly reclined. She gasped in surprise and a little eagerness.
He leaned down as though to kiss her, but before their lips touched, he paused. “You can say no.”
Instead of saying no, she leaned up to touch her mouth against his, but he pulled away before she could. Holding her gaze, he reached down and began unbuttoning her blouse.
The more he exposed her, the faster her breathing became. It was both thrilling and frightening. If she could touch him, kiss him, control things, maybe it wouldn’t be so scary. It had been so long since a man had seen her, had explored her.
Levi stood back, gazing down at her bound body. She couldn’t hide from him. And as he pulled her blouse apart, she could hide even less. But like he’d said, she could say “no.” At any moment, she could stop him. He was giving her complete control over the situation, so she relaxed into the leather chair.
Despite the fear, it made her feel giddy, enticingly naughty. She gave into the idea that she really didn’t have control, and at the moment, with everything going on in her life, the brief reprieve was welcome. Levi could do anything he wanted to her, and oh, God, what was he going to do?
One by one, Levi slid the rest of her buttons free until he could pull the blouse open wide. Her breasts heaved up and down beneath a leopard-print bra as her breathing quickened.
Levi took in the sight of her, running a palm over her smooth, pale skin. Pushing her bra aside, he slid his fingers beneath the fabric and gave her nipple a pinch.
She squealed and jumped, the sensation tensing her entire body. He’d hardly done anything yet, and somehow the effect seemed to excite her even more, to build her up like a shaken pop bottle about to burst.
Finally, he stepped back. Gripping both her knees, he parted her legs and forced her skirt up until it was bunched around her hips. He slid her thong aside, running his finger down her.
Nerve endings fired in a jolt that had her back arching. He’d built her up to the point that she couldn’t take much more.
“No more teasing,” she panted. “I’m ready.”
His fingers inched a little deeper. “I can tell.”
She glanced down at his crotch, biting her lip. Instead of reaching for his belt, he reached for her erotic display on the desk. His hand hovered above each colorful, erect form, as though deciding which one to choose. When he reached Big Boy, his hand grasped it firmly, decidedly.
She gasped as he positioned it between her legs. “I haven’t taken him for a test drive yet. I’m not sure I can handle it.”
“Then you’ve really got problems,” he said. “Because Big Boy’s got nothing on me.”
She groaned in response and squirmed in the seat. He smiled as he brought the tip closer. The moment it touched her she jumped. It felt cool against her fired-up warmth, the sensation invigorating as he leaned in, pushing it deeper.
Her breath hitched. Her muscles tightened around the soft silicone. Levi’s arm flexed as he pushed against the resistance. Zoe made a noise, like a half-gasp half-moan, and he hesitated, searching her face for signs of pain.
“Don’t stop,” she managed to say. Placing her legs on either side of him, she braced against the desk.
And then he filled her all the way.
Her cry of pleasure was drowned out by his own grunt of satisfaction. He kneeled down on one knee as he drove it inside of her again and again.
It was so different from when she used toys on herself. Her own movements were familiar, habitual. She knew exactly how to move it, how to position it, how fast or slow to go. But this was better.
Not knowing what he’d do next made it unpredictable. It was exciting, almost torturous in the way he dragged it out. He built her up, higher and higher until she felt herself go beyond her usual self-induced pleasures. When she thought it couldn’t get any better, he started playing with the buttons.
Each time Zoe opened her eyes, his were on her, enjoying the sight of her body moving, her sounds. As her moaning grew louder, his cheeks flushed. By his half-lidded eyes and his staggered breathing, she could tell he wanted to take Big Boy’s place.
Was he thinking about what he had in store for her after? What was he going to have her do to return the favor? Was he going to finish her off and then have his way?
Finally, when her body couldn’t hold off any longer, she cried out, arching against the leather backrest, unable to hide her explosive reaction as she fought her bonds. Levi groaned with his own sense of gratification, maybe with pride in being the one to make her shake and tremble before him.
When Zoe grew still, relaxing against the seat, he slowly pulled Big Boy out. Emotions surged through her, emotions that had been building for days, like her bottle had popped its top and flooded her body.
After it settled, she felt better than she had in a while, but she still craved more.
“I need you,” she told him. She bit her lip as she realized how the words had come out. But she didn’t mean it like that. She wanted to take it back somehow, to correct herself.
He laughed. “What? Big Boy wasn’t enough for you?” His voice sounded a little thick, like he wanted his favor returned, and soon.
“No,” she said. “I mean, yes. But I want the real thing.” She could hear the pleading in her voice, but she didn’t care enough to reign it in. “Enough teasing.”
“You’ve had your fun,” he said. “It’s my turn, remember? You said we could do whatever I wanted.”
She sighed, nodding readily. “Whatever you want.”
“You promise?” His eyebrow arched as he held her gaze, like he didn’t believe her. Just what exactly did he want from her? Was it something kinky?
“I promise. I’m all yours.”
He smiled. Having the control clearly did it for him. “Good.”
Spinning her chair around, he tugged on the ribbon binding her wrists. When he pulled Zoe to her feet, her knees buckled and she leaned against him for support. Eagerly, she pressed herself up against him, but Levi drew back.
“I’ll give you a minute to collect yourself.”
Zoe frowned. “Collect myself for what?”
“You’ll see. I’ll meet you downstairs at my van in five minutes.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“It’s my turn for fun.” He pointed a finger at her, as though daring her to back down. “You promised.”
She stared at him, a little confused. He wanted to have sex in his van? To each their own, she supposed.
Levi readjusted the bulge in his pants. “Actually, I might need ten minutes.” He scanned her toys lined up on the desk until he found a Beater Cheater. “May I borrow this?”
Zoe’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe it. The way he’d looked at her, the way he’d touched her, she knew he wanted her as badly as she wanted him. But apparently, he’d rather take care of himself than let her do it. She didn’t get it.
Finally, she managed to answer. “K-Keep it. You’ve earned it.”
Watching him head for the bathroom, Zoe wilted like month-old mitsuba and sank into the chair with disappointment. Sure, she’d climaxed. Finally. The pleasure that was still vibrating through her body told her that much. And yet she felt unsatisfied.
She briefly eyed the line of vibrators in front of her. But they just didn’t hold the same temptation for her. Instead of being cured, instead of being able to move on from the Levi Dolson orgasm block, she knew her vibrators wouldn’t cut it.
There was only one thing that would satisfy her now. Only one thing that she wanted, that she needed: Levi himself.
And she wasn’t going to feel satisfied until she had him.