Chapter Twenty-Nine
Abby
My hand is shaking as I raise it to knock. Even though Levi, I mean SimpleMan, told me not to be nervous, admittedly, I’m terrified. Not of him, of course, but of the situation. We’ve talked daily since I messaged him through the dating app, including a few text messages, but he’s been busy with work. Tonight will be our first time seeing each other in a week.
One. Very. Long. Week.
The door opens before my knuckles can rap on the wood, and there he is.
Gorgeous.
Smiling.
So damn sexy that I might have just gotten off standing here.
“Hi,” I squeak out, my throat closed and my voice doing its best Alvin and the Chipmunks impression.
“Hey.”
What do I do now? Am I supposed to give him a kiss? Shake his hand? Maybe do one of those one-handed, back slapping bro hugs?
“Come in,” he says, taking a step back and opening the door widely. I start to cross the threshold when two arms wrap around my midsection and pull me against a firm, muscular body. Oh, this body. Being wrapped in his arms, my head tucked securely beneath his chin, is like heaven. “I’m not sure if this is appropriate or not, but I’ve missed you so much,” he whispers against my hair.
“I’ve missed you too,” I whisper, my lips caressing the stubbled skin of his throat. His scent surrounds me. He smells like the outdoors and musky soap, and just like that, my panties are wet.
Clearing his throat, he takes a step back, but doesn’t release the hold he now has on my hand. His hazel eyes search me, as if cataloging every curve, every line, and every part of my body. “Dinner’s about ready. I hope you’re hungry. I went a little overboard,” he says sheepishly, giving me that grin, the one with the hint of ornery, that I love.
“Starving,” I tell him as he leads me into his place.
The table is already set for two, a bottle of white wine chilling in a bucket of ice in the middle. “I hope you’re in the mood for steak,” he says, pulling my chair out from the table. “I was at the butcher today and they looked amazing. So we’re having prime rib, twice baked potatoes, with extra sour cream,” he adds with a wink, “and fresh asparagus that I bought at the farmer’s market.”
“You did all of this today? After working all night?” I ask, watching as he brings dish after steaming dish to the table.
“Yeah, well, I caught a nap when I got home, but I was a little too anxious to sleep.” Again, I get that sexy grin.
“It smells amazing,” I confirm, my mouth watering as he places food on my plate. When he brings out the prime rib, I think I might actually orgasm on the spot. “Wow.”
We dive in with gusto, neither of us really speaking much, but both of us stealing glances as we eat. We make it through almost the entire meal without many words spoken, but it’s comfortable. It doesn’t feel awkward or forced, but instead, it’s the most natural feeling in the world. As if we’ve done this a million times, and I guess we have.
“Full?” he asks, starting to clean up the empty plates and bowls.
“Stuffed. Let me get that,” I tell him, standing to take the stack of dishes in his hand. “You cooked; I can clean up.”
“Not tonight, angel. These will keep until later.”
I watch as he stacks the dishes by the sink, puts the perishable food in the fridge, and turns to face me. Suddenly, the sexual tension is so thick, I can almost feel it wrap around me like a warm blanket. Levi’s eyes are dark, dilated, and are looking at me as if he wants to gobble me up as a midnight snack.
Before I realize it, I’m moving across the kitchen. Strong arms wrap around me as my body collides with his. When his lips meet mine, I swear I hear the angels singing from the heavens. My body erupts in happiness and need, my arms unable to hold him tight enough.
“God, I fucking missed you so much. I’m so damned sorry, angel,” he mumbles against my lips before urging them open and plunging his tongue inside. This kiss is raw and full of need. It’s as if we can’t get enough of each other.
“I’m sorry too,” I whisper as his mouth slides down the column of my neck.
“No. You don’t apologize.” His eyes find mine, muddled with lust and desire, as he says, “I can’t take back what I did. As much as I wish I could have a redo, I can’t. But I can vow to never lie to you again, angel. Never.” His words are a plea for understanding and forgiveness.
“And I promise to never run away again, even if you’re being a dummy.”
“You can call me an asshole. I deserve something harsher than dummy.” His smile turns wicked, predatory even. “My plan tonight was just to hold you in my arms, and maybe watch one of those cheesy rom-com movies you like so much.”
“We can still do that. Naked. After you’ve made love to me.” My words are bold, completely unlike me, but the way his face blazes with desire, I think they hit their mark. He just brings out this braver, more daring side of me.
With the quickness of a cheetah, he wraps me in his arms, picking me up easily as he walks towards his bedroom. My legs wrap around his waist, and there’s no mistaking his level of excitement. Like some hussy, I grind myself against his erection, the balls of his piercing rubbing me in the most perfect, eye-crossing way.
“Stop doing that or you’ll make me embarrass myself. It’s been a really long week without you, sweetheart.”
“You went a whole year without it before. Now, one week is gonna kill you?” I ask, my hands toying with the longer locks of his hair.
“That was before I had a taste of you.” His words are the accelerant to the already raging fire between us.
Levi lays me on the bed, covering my body with his own. Our fingers are entwined, raised high above our heads as he devours my mouth in a bruising kiss. Shamelessly, I grind against his erection, wishing our clothes were gone. His hips thrust in sync with his tongue driving me wilder than ever before.
“Please. Hurry,” I beg in a choppy out-of-breath way.
“On it,” he says, jumping up to his knees. He makes quick work of shedding both of our clothes, even though he takes a moment to worship whatever part of me he’s exposing.
He reaches for a condom, but I stop his movement with a hand to his forearm. “I trust you.” And I do. So much it hurts. That’s why I took it so hard when I figured out he was SimpleMan. But even now, after knowing what he did, I still trust him, because no one will ever compare to Levi. No one will ever hold my heart in the palm of his hand and treat it as if it were the most valuable treasure in the world. Sure, he hurt me, but that wasn’t his intention.
I know that now.
“You do?” he chokes out, and if I’m not mistaken, his eyes cloudy with tears.
“Yes. There’s no one I trust more than you.”
He closes his eyes, his throat working hard to swallow, and when he opens them again, I see it. Love. No, he hasn’t said the words, but I feel them. They radiate beauty and life from his eyes, his love shining brightly like a lighthouse on the coast. And that love is for me.
“Hold on, angel. This is gonna be a rough ride,” he says with a sassy smirk before lining up his erection and slowly pushing forward. It’s funny (not funny haha, but funny strange) how tight my body seems after merely a week without him.
Those magical balls slide easily against my inner walls, driving me closer and closer to orgasm. My breathing is erratic until he becomes fully seated within me. Then, he stops.
And stares.
He gazes down in awe at where we’re joined together so intimately. He looks up to my eyes, a whirlpool of emotions shining brightly. Three little words are on the tip of my tongue, but then I can practically hear Payton shouting at me. “You can’t say I love you while having sex.”
So I bite my tongue and don’t say the words I long to say.
Our bodies crash together, frantic and quick-paced. We’re both strung too tightly to even attempt to fend off the sweet release that’s barreling down on us. Sweat has broken out on his forehead as he drives into my body, each pump of his masterful hips bringing me closer and closer to euphoria.
Levi remains on his knees, but bends down enough to take my hips with his and my hands within his. I feel so much bliss with each trust, my own muscles starting to tighten around him. And we all know that when that happens and I feel that piercing slide against me, it’s pretty much over. My body can’t recover from that kinda teasing.
Arching my back, I let him push me over the cliff, the bright white light of paradise drowning me and lifting me up all at the same time. Blood swooshes in my ears, but not enough that I can’t hear the one name falling from my lips. “Levi.” It’s his name I call over and over again as he draws every ounce of pleasure he can from my orgasm.
And only then does he follow me over the edge, my name dripping from his incredible lips like a blessing and a curse. He shudders within me, grunting from the sheer force of his release, his sandy blond hair hanging down in his face.
His eyes meet mine, a mix of ecstasy and fatigue. Turning together, we remain joined, wrapped around each other as if the other was a lifeline. We’re both sweaty, but that’s okay. I mean, maybe we can move this party to the shower.
My hands are in his hair, my legs still wrapped around him, as our breathing finally starts to normalize. I tremble beneath his fingers as he softly grazes his fingers up my bare back and down to cup my butt cheeks.
“That was pretty…wow.”
“Mmmhmmm,” he mumbles, my cheek vibrating against his chest.
“We should do it again,” I tell him, resulting in a hearty laugh.
“I’m still hard inside you from the first time and you’re already asking for round two? What kinda monster have I created Miss Summer?” he asks, rolling me over and placing gentle kisses on my lips, cheeks, and chin.
Reaching forward, he moves a wild piece of hair behind my ear, caressing my cheek as he goes. “Thank you,” he finally says.
“For what?”
“For giving me a second chance. For trusting me.”
His lips are back on mine, a warm tingling sensation racing through my blood and landing straight between my legs. A mixture of his release and my own is running down my leg, but I ignore it. There’s something I’ve wanted to do since the first time I saw him naked.
Licking my lips, I push him over so that he’s flat on his back and crawl up beside him. He’s already semi-erect, glistening with the wetness from our first go-around. My eyes devour him; the way the piercing makes his dick look even more appetizing and the way it hardens before me, without even touching him, makes my mouth water.
“What are you doing?” His words are gruff and his breathing labored.
“Something I’ve wanted to do since the first time you took off your pants.”
He groans loudly, his erection jumping on his stomach. It looks angry now, the large pierced head turning a darker color. The smooth, velvety skin is stretched tautly over his length, a few veins popping out that beg to be traced with my tongue.
Just as I start to bend over, ready to lick him like a human popsicle, a shrill alarm sounds from within the room. I know instantly what it is; I’ve heard Levi’s fire pager go off a million times. He’s moving before I have the chance to taste him.
“Attention Jupiter Bay Fire. All units respond to a business structure fire at 614 Main Street, Jupiter Bay. Report of smoke coming from the building directly to the east. All units requested. Police and ambulance already in route.”
“614?” I ask, as Levi jumps up and grabs a pair of jeans from his drawer.
“Yeah,” he says, shoving his long legs into the denim.
“Isn’t Payton’s flower shop 612?” I ask, the words dying on my dry lips.
He turns and faces me. “Yeah.”
I’m moving before he even answers the question. After the world’s fastest trip to the bathroom to clean up, my legs slide into shorts and my shirt is pulled over my head. I don’t even care that I don’t have a bra on. “Come on, angel. You can call her on the way,” he says as he laces up his thick work boots.
We’re out the door, hand in hand, racing towards the scene of the fire. My heart is pounding and my legs are numb as we climb into the cab of his truck. The blue light flashes as he tears out of the parking lot, racing towards downtown Jupiter Bay.
My fingers shake and I almost misdial her number. Eventually, I get it right and it rings.
“Hello?” she asks, her sleepy greeting echoing through the truck.
“There’s a fire.”
“Where?” she asks, alert and trying not to panic.
“Next door to Blossoms and Blooms.”
Her sharp intake of breath guts me, but not as much as the fear in her voice when she says, “I’m on my way.”