Resolving to hold my ground, I cross my arms, frowning. “For what?”
“Being an ass.” He lifts his hands out at his sides before shoving them in his jeans pockets. “I mean, look at you. Any guy would kill for a chance to be yours, and I threw it down the shitter. You deserve better. I don’t want to lose you, Jewels. I shouldn’t have been such a dick when you called.”
Still not convinced, I shake my head. He was the first guy I wanted to date in a long time. I couldn’t believe it when he wanted to be with me and thought I was so lucky when he agreed to go out a second time. But it just goes to show how naive I’ve been. “I was never yours, Levi. I was just there to fulfill your sexual needs. I don’t need that kind of a codependent relationship. It isn’t healthy.”
He bursts forward, stopping just a foot away. I recoil a bit when the scent of leather and Axe deodorant appease my senses, reminding me of all our past intimate encounters. Reminding me of the way his hard body feels pressed against mine.
“You’re wrong,” he says in a low voice. His eyes are rimmed with a puffy redness, as if he’s actually been crying. “I mean, yeah, at first I was amped at the thought of having sex with you. Who wouldn’t be? But I never should’ve said those things about not wanting anything serious with you. My head was a mess all day when I realized I may never see you again. I know I can be a real asshole sometimes, but I’m begging you to give me another chance.”
He reaches out suddenly, pulling me up against him. My body vibrates with the familiar feel of his hands against the small of my back, the way our hips fit together. “I think I might love you, Jewels.”
I balk. All thoughts of Levi being crude, immature, and heartless fade away with the three little words I thought he wasn’t capable of feeling. My lips part with a small gasp.
Levi misunderstands the act, seeing it as an opportunity to kiss me. His mouth feels uncharacteristically gentle against mine as his warm tongue nudges its way inside, filling my taste buds with a hint of mouthwash. One of his hands reaches up to cradle my face as the kiss intensifies.
I stand with my arms stiff at my sides, still engaged in an internal battle, even though my mouth and the rest of my body respond to him on their own. A few weeks ago, this would’ve been exactly what I wanted, for Levi to actually want to be with me. But in just a couple of days, it feels like everything has changed.
Adam has reminded me there can be so much more to a relationship than two good looking people hooking up and having hot sex. Levi and I have so little in common, and he almost never showed interest in me beyond the bedroom. I don’t want to end up stuck in La Crosse, spending nights alone as Levi puts in late hours at his shop. As much as I want him to have a relationship with his son, I don’t want to deal with his crazy baby momma, either. Levi’s a dead end. It was right to break things off with him.
Yet, I intertwine myself with him, my body aching for him to touch me the intimate way he does when we’re hot for each other. A low moan rumbles in his throat when my hands climb up underneath his shirt, exploring the ridges and smooth muscles I know by heart. He suddenly breaks the seal between our lips, lowering his mouth to my ear.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispers, trailing a line of hot kisses down my neck.
“Lee,” I protest, trying to separate my sensible thoughts from my raw desire. “It’s not a good idea.”
“We’ll just talk,” he promises, still nibbling at the skin on my collarbone. “I just want to hold you. Please, let me hold you.”
His promise of being together without sex seems genuine, yet is so unexpected that I nod, pulling him along to the entrance. One of my hall-mates holds the door open as she leaves the building, grinning at me and Levi knowingly.
Levi’s hands are all over me as we climb up to my room. After I flip on the light, he pushes me back up against the door, pinning my hands above my head. His kisses go from innocent and meaningful to hungry and wildly passionate. His tongue is relentless inside of my mouth, licking, probing, tasting.
My nagging doubts and building resistance are overtaken by my hormones as I get caught up in him, basking in the familiarity of it all. I push him off me to help peel his jacket from his arms and throw it to the floor, then his shirt. In return, he slips my shirt off so fast that my head spins. His fingers slip underneath my bra, unclasping it to massage my breasts with raw need. My body aches for him, wanting him to appease the sudden throbbing between my thighs. When his lips enclose around a nipple, sucking and tugging, a million shivers rip down my spine. He unzips my pants, playfully running a finger up and down my pelvic bone without going down to touch the part of me that wants him the most.