I stared at Levi, watching as his mouth curled into a grin, my belly executing a slow flip at the sight of it. Inside, I was a storm of emotions and need. I hadn’t been able to resist touching him. He was a beautiful man. In a rugged, elemental way. My fingertips had come to rest along the stubble at his jawline. His lips were beckoning me. If I’d thought I could get a grip on myself and the need roaring through me, I was so very, very wrong.

At the sight of his dangerous grin, my belly tightened and need spun tightly inside. I was hot all over, so hot I could barely stand. I felt like melted wax near him, the fire between us softening me, while also making me want him more than I’d ever wanted anyone in my life.

I tried to be angry, but his grin was irresistible. Before I knew it, I was grinning in return. His hand had been holding mine right beside my hip. He eased his grip, his palm sliding around my hip and cupping my bottom.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting someone Lucy,” he said.

I knew that of course. There absolutely wasn’t anything wrong with wanting someone. I just hated how out of control I felt when I was near him.

I wished my brain had a fire alarm. I needed one, one just for Levi. The alarm could go off and let me know I needed to run. But I couldn’t hold the heat back. The need inside built with such intensity, I couldn’t turn away. So when he pulled me a little closer as he sat there—still bare chested, mind you—all of my defenses were useless.

I stood there, my body humming and my sex clenching. I could barely breathe as my pulse pounded so hard and fast, I was certain he could hear it.

Somehow, the act of him cooking me dinner—such a domestic, mundane event—had struck me at my core and wiped away the last of my resistance. My hand slid into his hair, and I dipped my head. If I was going to be stupid, I might as well go all in. The moment my lips met his, I went from hot to burning. I hesitated at the point of contact. In all honesty, I hadn’t had a ton of experience with kissing. It was too intimate, so I avoided it as much as I could. It was fair to say no man had blown me away with kissing. But Levi. Oh. My. Fucking. God.

Levi’s hand cupped my bottom more firmly, pulling me flush against him. With him seated in the chair and me standing between his knees, every inch of his muscled chest was against me. It was glorious. I could feel his cock hard and hot just below the apex of my thighs. I’d wanted to touch him for forever it seemed. My burning, raw, aching desire could no longer be held back. One hand slid down over his muscled shoulder while the other coasted across the sculpted planes of his chest. I ignored my bulky brace. If Levi even noticed it, he didn’t give any indication.

It felt as if he were waiting a beat to see what I was going to do. When I moaned at the feel of him under my touch, a low growl escaped from his throat, and his grip tightened as he pulled me closer. His tongue swept into my mouth, eliciting another moan from me. Sweet hell. I felt like I’d been waiting forever for this kiss. His lips were soft and mobile, his command of our kiss complete. By no means was I passive. My body was moving on its own as my tongue tangled with his. I couldn’t get close enough fast enough. Suddenly, he tore his lips free and leaned back.

“Lucy,” he said, his gravelly voice sending shivers through me.

I managed to open my eyes, so stunned I’d kissed Levi, I almost couldn’t speak. My heartbeat was thundering in my ears. I could feel the moisture between my thighs. I was so aroused, I could barely think past it.

His gaze was locked to mine, the rich blue darkened to navy. Simply looking at him made my sex clench. We stared at each other, our breathing ragged in the quiet kitchen, the hum of the dishwasher the only other sound in the room.

“Do you want this?” Levi asked.

I swallowed, my mind a jumble, my internal state a tornado of need, sensation, and confusion. I wanted to say I didn’t want this, but I wanted it so fiercely I couldn’t bring myself to say otherwise.

I struggled to catch my breath, all the while I couldn’t force myself to move away from him. Being close to him felt too delicious. Hot and hard, so much better than my dreams. And let me tell you, those had been some amazing dreams.

When I didn’t say anything, he leaned back, his hand loosening in my hair.

“I’m only asking because you did tell me to fuck off before,” he said bluntly, his gaze holding mine.

His words felt like a dare. I swallowed and gathered myself. “I know,” I finally managed to say, my voice coming out in a breathy whisper.

“So you don’t want to tell me to fuck off now?”

I stared at him, trying to jumpstart my brain. But thought was hard to come by. I felt my head shaking back and forth before I realized that’s what I was doing. Still, he simply looked at me.

“In your court,” he said softly.

My heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if it was going to fly out of my chest. The need for Levi was coiled so tightly inside of me, it was a force beyond reckoning. I told myself to step back, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to move away from him.

Rather than words, I slid my hand back up to his hair, tangling my fingers in his silky locks and dipping my head. It was strange, as small as I was, to have him seated and me standing almost level with him. It felt as if he was trying to make sure I consciously did this. That was both empowering and annoying as hell. Because I wanted to forget myself, to lose myself in this and in him. Then his lips were on mine again and his hands were pulling me close. His fingers traced along the curve of my bottom, so close to that sweet spot between my thighs, I almost cried out.

He slipped a hand under my sweatshirt, the calloused surface of his palm sending sparks skittering along my skin as a low moan escaped. I barely recognized myself. I was frantic, anything to meld myself with him—with Levi, a man I’d desperately tried to persuade myself I didn’t want.

In the far reaches of my mind, a voice whispered, reminding me I’d wanted him from the start and that’s why I’d hated when he flirted with me. Something about my first sexual experience had messed with my head. It wasn’t as if it was awful, but something about that event colliding with my father hitting me had fucked me up inside. I wasn’t afraid of sex. I’d even had it more than a few times since then, yet every encounter was rather ho-hum. The electricity I felt with Levi, that subtle hum in my body with him—as if I was a tuning fork for him and him alone—was something I’d never felt before.

Aside from the whacked part of me when it came to sex, I was determined not to depend on any man. Ever.

I’d seen firsthand how that went for my mother. It was a disaster. But the fire flashing into flames between Levi and me was stronger than my determination to stay away. I couldn’t think rationally. My defenses were burning to ash. All I could think of was the feel of Levi’s hard body under my touch, of the hot need knotted at the apex of my thighs, and a few too many dreams where he’d been buried deep inside me.

I dimly came into awareness, straddling his lap. His cock was hard and hot against my pussy through the thin fabric of my sweatpants and the denim of his jeans, so insistent, so present, and so hard and thick.

Levi murmured my name as his mouth closed over one of my nipples, sending pleasure in a jolt through me. I felt crazy. Something about him saying my name nudged me out of the wild place inside. For a flicker, awareness sliced through. I realized what I’d been about to do. I dragged my eyes open to see my sweatshirt on the floor. My nipples were damp from his wicked tongue. I ached for him, every inch of him.

Startled, I scrambled off of his lap and snatched my sweatshirt off the floor, tugging it over my head, swearing when the sleeve caught on my brace. I knew I looked like a wild woman. My hair was a mess, my clothes were barely together, and I was flushed all over.

I looked toward Levi. He hadn’t moved from where he sat on the chair. His golden hair was a tousled mess, his eyes dark, and his lips damp. My willful eyes trailed over his chest, landing on his lap where his arousal was blatant. I hadn’t even realized I’d torn his jeans open. His cock was outlined against his black briefs. He was the sexiest man I’d ever seen.

I needed to get the hell out of here.

“This wasn’t a good idea,” I said abruptly.

Oh. My. God. I sounded like a crazy idiot. Levi simply nodded. For a beat, I thought he was about to say something. I didn’t wait. I spun away and dashed up the stairs.

I actually ran away from him. Slamming the bedroom door shut behind me, I tried to catch my breath.

Oh my God, I can’t believe I just did that.

What the hell was I thinking?

I scrubbed my hands over my face and pushed away from the door quickly, locking it and crossing my arms across my chest. I began pacing in a semi circle around the bed. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I was mortified, so embarrassed I could hardly calm down. It suddenly occurred to me that Levi could probably hear my frantic pacing. I plunked down on the end of the bed, curled my knees up against my chest and hugged them, staring at myself in the mirror across from the bed. I didn’t know how I calmed myself down, but I managed. Mostly because I had no other choice. The worse option was to try to face Levi. I convinced myself a night of sleep might help me forget that I’d come within a hairsbreadth of fucking him. He’d been right there with me, every step of the way.