Chapter 10

 

Elle

 

“Are you kidding me?”

That was Levi. 

He was on his phone and he was not happy.

We arrived in Denver late yesterday afternoon and all went smoothly on the way here.  Before we checked into our hotel I told him I needed to make a stop at a grocery store so I could pick up some chips.

After we checked into the hotel, Levi asked what my plan was for the rest of the day.  Oddly enough, I’d only ever been to Denver once before, but I didn’t have much time at all to explore.  I didn’t want to do anything too crazy, so I asked him if he’d mind keeping it pretty low-key for the rest of the day.  We decided to get dinner and stroll around downtown Denver afterward.  I went into a couple of small shops and picked up a few of my favorite things, a coffee mug and a book.

So, I have a couple other obsessions.

Coffee mugs, even though I don’t drink coffee.

And books.  I love to read.  And while books in digital format are convenient, I have always preferred holding a book in my hand.  I already started a collection of my favorite contemporary romance novels, which is my favorite genre, but I had no place in my apartment to display them.  It was my dream that one day I’d end up living in a home that would have a gorgeous library where I’d load up the shelves with my most-loved novels and could sit in a comfortable space just to read.  Of course, it’d also have to have a place for me to be able to sit and write my music as well. 

Levi asked me about my purchase yesterday.  I told him about my dream and he nodded in acknowledgement.  He didn’t seem to have an opinion on it one way or the other.

Now, it was early Friday morning and I was pressed up against Levi’s side in bed.  He had his phone to his ear and, as I said before, he was not happy.

“Check through them all.  I know it’s going to take time, but we can’t overlook any of them,” he demanded.

He waited silently as whoever was on the phone spoke.

“Keep me updated on what you find.”

Silence again.

“Thanks, Michaels.”

Levi disconnected the call and tossed his phone on to the bedside table.  He rolled toward me and kissed my forehead.

“Good morning, sunshine.  Sorry if I woke you.”

“It’s ok, I didn’t want to sleep in too late anyway.  Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough.  It’s mostly because I have you here next to me.”

“And if I hadn’t been here?”

“It’s very likely I’d have spent a good portion of my night worrying about you.”

I grew concerned at his admission.  I knew Levi was worried about what was going on, but he always seemed so in control and level-headed.  Admitting he’d have been lying awake at night worrying about me told me that I might not have realized the severity of the situation.  The problem with this is that I already thought it was incredibly serious, but not so much that it’d keep Levi awake at night.

“Will you talk to me about why that is?” I asked, hoping I sounded encouraging.

He looked me in the eyes and shared, “A couple of reasons.  First, any time I have a case I expect there are unknowns.  That’s part of the business.  But cases like yours have unknowns that I don’t like.  When my firm is hired by someone who wants to confirm their spouse’s fidelity, there’s a clear-cut answer to how the case will end.  Either someone is being faithful or they aren’t.  Generally, there isn’t some mysterious outcome by which we could be blindsided.  In your case, someone is threatening you.  We don’t know the extent of their obsession with you and we certainly don’t know how far they’ll go.  Any case like this would make me worry, but it’s my second reason that would keep me from sleeping well if you weren’t next to me.”

He paused.

I waited for him to continue, but when a few seconds had passed and he didn’t I asked, “And what’s that reason?”

He held my eyes with an intensity I’ve never experienced before now.

“The more time I spend with you the more I’m finding that I am no longer just beginning to care about you.  I simply do.  I care about you, Elle…a whole lot more than I know what to do with.”

Holy smokes.

I was so caught off guard that I stared at him in silence.  For several, very long minutes.

He cared about me a whole lot more than he knew what to do with. 

“Levi?” I murmured.

“Yeah?” he whispered back.

“Will you tell me what had you upset on the phone just a few minutes ago?”

He took in a deep breath and let it out before he answered, “You’re a very popular woman, Elle.”

“What?”

I looked up at him, puzzled at his statement.

He went on to explain, “That was Trent on the phone.  He’s one of the guys on my team.  The guy is a genius on the computer.  Anyway, he checked into your social media accounts.  There are more than a handful of people with the initials B.B. that follow you.”

“I thought you said Michael when you were on the phone,” I pointed out.

“Michaels,” Levi clarified.  “Trent’s last name is Michaels.  When we are speaking with him, we typically call him by his last name and you’ll probably hear the guys call him that when they’re talking amongst each other.”

“That makes sense.  Ok, so how many followers is more than a handful?”

“Two hundred and fifty-seven not including the ones that could be made into B.B.  What I mean by that is, someone who is named William or Robert could easily be called Bill or Bob, but they don’t use the nickname on their social media account.  Trent has to go through all of those as well, which adds another couple hundred to the list.”

I took in a deep breath and began to panic.  “Do you think it’s one of them?  How will Trent know who it is?  What’s he going to look for?  I mean, I can’t imagine that there’s going to be a big sign on their personal page that says how much they hate me.”

Levi’s arms tightened around me as he said, “Relax, sunshine.  Trent’s been doing this a while now.  He knows what to look for and he’ll do it quickly.  I expect he’ll get through them all before the end of the weekend.”

I relaxed slightly and wondered, “He’s going to work over the weekend on this?”

Levi laughed at my question and explained, “Stalkers, criminals, and other bad guys don’t just work on their craft during the week.  If we don’t work on the weekend, that gives them two extra days to do more harm.  Regardless, while we give Trent the time he needs to look into this, I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you.”

“Ok,” I murmured.

“You ok?” he asked.

I cuddled further into him and admitted, “I think I lucked out.”

“What does that mean?”

“A few minutes ago, you said that you cared about me a whole lot more than you know what to do with.  I think I lucked out because I’m finding that as time goes on, I’m realizing just how much I really, really like you.”

He gave me the biggest smile I’d ever seen before he teased, “No kidding?”

I shook my head.

“Well, I’d love the opportunity to show you just how pleased I am to hear you say that.”

“What did you have in mind, my superhero?”

“Your superhero?” he asked.

“Are you someone else’s?” I retorted.

Levi rolled me to my back and came to hover over me. “Not at all.  I’m only yours, sweetness.”

As I wrapped my arms around his neck and parted my thighs to allow him to settle between them, I praised, “Good answer.”

At that, he dropped his head to mine and pressed a kiss to my lips.  I opened my mouth and allowed him to slip his tongue inside.  My hands moved along his bare back while his hands slipped up along my sides, my nightie going along for the ride.

Levi’s mouth disconnected from mine as he pulled the nightie over my head.

His mouth was inches from my lips when he whispered, “Have I ever told you how much I love that you don’t sleep with any panties on?”

I smiled inwardly and replied, “I don’t think you’ve ever said the words, but you’ve showed me several times already.  That said, I’m loving the fact that you’ve decided I shouldn’t be alone in this and kept your undergarments off last night.”

He grinned against my lips while he simultaneously slid his hardened length in my soaked core.

“Levi,” I moaned.

He thrusted slowly in and out of me and growled, “Fuckin’ love that, too.”

Levi continued at this slow pace for some time before he pulled out of me. 

I whimpered at the loss of him.

“Turn, sweetness,” he encouraged, his voice gentle.  “I want to take you from behind.”

I shuttered at the thought.  Levi and I had slept together several times and tried a variety of different positions.  This is one we hadn’t tried yet.

I turned over and went up on my hands and knees.  I arched my back and wiggled my ass in front of him.  When I looked back at him, I saw the intense heat in his eyes.

Levi brought his hands to my hips, squeezed, and ordered, “Just because your back is to me doesn’t mean I don’t want your eyes.  When I make you come, Elle, I want your eyes looking back at me.  You got me?”

“Yes.”

My voice was filled with need and lust.  I rocked back a bit and pushed my ass into him.

He understood my intent and filled me instantly.  My back arched as my head dropped back, exposing my throat.  Levi’s grip on my hips tightened.

“Fuck.” His voice was a deep, throaty growl.

He was no longer interested in taking his time.  Levi powered into me from behind.  His strokes were long, hard, and incredibly satisfying.

“Oh, God.  You feel so good, Levi.”

He kept at it.  I did my part, though.  I dropped to my forearms, keeping my ass in his hands with my back arched, and I squeezed him from the inside.   

“Jesus Christ, Elle.  Every part of you,” he panted.  “It’s like honey everywhere.  So fuckin’ sweet.”

I loved hearing him talk like that.  He knew what to do to get me to where I wanted to be, where we both wanted to be, but when he said things like that I climbed to the top so fast.  He had me on the edge of soaring.

Levi knew I was close because he ordered, “Give them to me, Elle.”

I looked back over my shoulder at him. 

He thrusted harder, never letting my eyes go. 

“Let go and fly, sunshine.”

And so I did.

He did, too. 

I flew. 

Levi made that happen and I knew that no matter how high he took me, especially with the way he looked in my eyes, he’d always be there to catch me when I came down.  That realization flooded through me as I fought to keep my eyes on him.

That is precisely when it happened.

I fell.

I fell so hard for him.

We talked this morning and I told him how much I really, really liked him.  It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth.  Unfortunately, at the time I told him, I hadn’t realized this. 

I didn’t just like Levi.

I was beginning to love him.

A lot.

My orgasm tore through me as Levi slowed his strokes, spilling his hot release inside me, until he eventually stopped moving. 

We stayed like that for a bit, the fingers on his hands biting into the flesh on my hips while we stared silently at each other.  Something flashed in his eyes before he looked away and pulled out of me. 

Whatever just happened was big.

So big, it was beyond words.

After what I had just experienced and the fact that Levi no longer had my hips in his hands, my arms buckled and I collapsed to my belly on the bed.

Levi maneuvered himself around me and fell to his back beside me.  He stared up at the ceiling with his forearm draped across his forehead for a long time.  His mind was working hard.  I left him to it since I was attempting to process my own overwhelming thoughts.

I didn’t get very far when Levi turned his head to the side and looked at me.

“Something’s changed,” he announced.

What?

I lifted my head from the pillow and wondered, “Pardon?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Elle.  I know you know exactly the moment I’m referring to.  There’s no way to deny what just happened.”

Fuck.

I wasn’t prepared for this conversation.

“Levi, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He rolled toward me, pressed a kiss to my temple, and maintained, “Yes, you do.  It’s ok.  I’ll wait until you are ready to discuss it.”

That made me fall even harder.  He wasn’t going to push me into this.

I stayed silent and dropped my head back to the pillow.

Levi changed subjects.

“So, I’m not sure what on your agenda for today before you perform, but I need to get to the venue at some point before this evening.  I spoke with the owner of the place earlier this week and explained the situation.  He was more than accommodating of my request to check out the venue ahead of time so that I can have a game plan should anything arise.”

“Sure,” I agreed.  “Can we do breakfast first?”

“Of course,” he answered.  “Go get cleaned up and get ready.  I’ll take you out for breakfast.”

“You don’t have to take me out, Levi,” I shared as I rolled to my back and sat up in the bed.

“I know,” he began as he sat up and kissed my cheek.  “But I want to.  Now go get ready.”

I knew it would be useless to argue about this so, considering I was feeling famished, I scooted out of the bed and walked to the bathroom to clean up and get ready.

Thirty minutes later, Levi and I were on our way to breakfast.  We went to a local breakfast joint and ordered.  While Levi ordered, I used the opportunity wisely and pulled my phone out of my purse.  The moment the waitress walked away, Levi turned his head back to me and smiled.  I took a picture.

“Am I going to end up on the internet again?” he teased.

I smiled big at him and nodded.

His lip twitched as he shook his head.

Then, I went about posting the picture of him with the caption: If touring results in having breakfast across from this guy, I might have to seriously consider more tours.

After blasting Levi’s picture all over the internet, I tossed my phone back in my purse.  We spent nearly the next two hours talking and eating.  A large majority of my time at breakfast was filled with laughter.  It was then that I realized just how true my photo caption was.

There was something about what was happening between the two of us that was so effortless.  Levi and I just clicked.  It had been that way since the day I met him.  The physical attraction was always there, undoubtedly, but it was now so much more than that.  Something I couldn’t begin to quantify.

The circumstances surrounding us getting together were less than desirable, but it threw us together in a way that made it impossible for us to avoid developing a deep connection.  I found that since I had now experienced life with him, I wasn’t sure how I ever lived without him in my life.

It was the little things.

The fact that he accepted me with all my obsessions and never made me feel like a crazy person because of them made me want to hold on to him for a long time.  A very long time. 

Of course, it was an obsession that led us to this point.  Someone else’s obsession with me.  At least, that’s what we were assuming it was for the time being.  This was the one thing I wished we didn’t have between us now.

Levi is the best at what he does, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like that we have this to deal with instead of just enjoying getting to know each other better and working on what we have with one another.  Even though he does his best to keep himself level-headed and mostly unaffected, I see how he is when we walk out in public now.  His eyes are constantly scanning, looking for any possible threat that may come my way.  I hate that for him.  For us.

I shook off the negative thoughts and brought my attention back to the present moment.  Levi saw to it that I had a great breakfast, which was preceded by him giving me a great morning in bed.  I shifted my focus to that instead because not only did I want it, but he deserved it.

“Are you ready to get out of here, sunshine?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

With that, Levi paid the bill and we left to head over to the location I was going to be performing at several hours later.  Not quite two hours later, we finished at the venue and were on our way back to our hotel.   Even though there were still a couple hours left before I was set to head back to the venue, I needed to account for the time it would take me to get ready.

If I was being completely honest, though, I wanted time alone with Levi.  When we were at the place I was set to perform, I allowed him to do his thing as I watched.  That, coupled with the eye-opening realization I had earlier that morning of where my heart was, made me want to cuddle up in his arms where I felt safe, protected and, dare I say it, loved.  Of course, it also brought me a bit of inspiration and had me itching to write some music.

After parking the car outside of the hotel, Levi came around to open my door.  As we walked to the door of the hotel, I looked up at him and worried, “I hope you don’t mind that I don’t have any big plans for the day.  Considering I’m performing for the next three nights and there is a flight in the middle of all that, I’d prefer to just take it easy.”

Levi opened the door and ushered me inside when we reached the front of the hotel.  Once we made it to the elevator, he confirmed, “I’m completely fine with it, Elle.  In fact, I’m content to do whatever it is you need me to do to help you relax.”

“I’m sorry.  I know you are not used to sitting around and doing nothing.  I promise I won’t make it like this every day.  You know, the hotel has a gym if you need to get a workout in.”

We stepped inside the empty elevator when the doors opened.  Levi hit the button for our floor and pulled me to him as the doors closed.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” he informed me.  “Besides, I can think of other ways to get a workout in our room.”

A knowing smile spread across my face, but I wanted to tease him.

“I said I wanted to take it easy, Levi.”

He gave me a sexy grin in return and explained, “You can.  I’ll do all the work.”

I melted in to him and he held me tighter.  The elevator chimed, indicating we had reached our floor.  We stepped off the elevator, walked to our room, and went in. 

Then, we spent a good part of the afternoon making sure Levi got a workout in.  I didn’t let him do all the work, but he was no slouch either.  When all was said and done several rounds later, we were both covered in sweat and breathing heavy.  It was then I decided that not all workouts were bad.