I take a tentative step forward and reach my hand out to Levi’s waist. I let my fingertips drag lightly across his abs and along the edge of his pants. When I look up at him with a questioning look, he nods once.
I unbutton his pants and push them down. I lean forward and flick one of his nipples with my tongue while pinching the other. That finally triggers him into action, and he bends to lift me with each hand under one of my thighs. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist as he walks us toward the bed.
He kisses me tenderly, a vast difference from earlier when his kisses were animalistic in nature. Gentle sweeps of his tongue and sweet movements of lips against mine drive me crazy with need. I grind against him as he lowers me onto the bed. He slowly crawls over me, never losing contact.
He drags his knuckles slowly over my hips, ghosting over my belly, over the mounds of my breasts before he finally pinches my nipple with one hand. The other hand is tangled in my hair and bracing his weight. He pulls my hair at the base of my head, giving him open access to kiss my neck. He uses his lips, teeth, and tongue past my collar bone, to the swell of my breasts. His mouth closes over my nipple, and he gently bites down pulling a moan from me.
I feel him smile against my skin as he continues his trek down my body with his mouth and hands. His fingertips trace down my ribs and across my hip bones to the apex of my thighs which I part for him. His finger glides through my folds, teasingly light. I whimper as my hips lift to chase his touch.
“Tell me what you want, Ives,” he says against the underside of my breast.
“Play with my clit.”
He answers wordlessly by dipping his finger and immediately finding my clit. He starts with slow circles around it. Then pushes his fingers deep inside me, which elicits another moan from me. His fingers hook up inside of me, finding my g-spot and attacking it with blind determination. He takes me right to the edge before withdrawing his fingers from my body.
I look down, annoyed, just in time to see his head lower between my legs. His thumbs part me, and I swear I see stars as his tongue swirls around my clit. My hips rise again, shamelessly grinding against his face. He adds his fingers, working my g-spot again while his tongue continues its assault against my clit. He drives me right to the edge again. I can feel my orgasm almost begin when he pulls away.
“Levi,” I beg.
“What do you want, Ives?” He presses a kiss to my inner thigh.
“I want to come.”
“On my fingers? On my tongue? On my cock?”
“All of them. Any of them. I just need to come,” I beg some more.
“Are you on birth control and clean?”
“Yes, I haven’t slept with anyone unprotected since you.”
“Good,” he growls. “I haven’t either, and I get tested every three months. I’m clean.”
I hook my leg around his hip and roll us so I’m on top. It’s so natural to be with him, my body instinctively knows where to go. I slide down his cock, taking him deep into my pussy, and we let out simultaneous groans. I forgot how he fills me, stretches me the perfect amount.
I start to ride him, bracing my hands against him for leverage. He sits up, wrapping his arm around my waist, and lifting his hips to drill his dick into me. Our lips meet as our pace increases. I come first, and he follows right after. The feeling of his warm cum filling me leaves me feeling euphoric.
We sit there for a minute, lightly kissing each other and catching our breath before I lift my hips off him.
“Ivy,” he says with his forehead resting against mine, our chests still rising and falling rapidly, “I hope you know I’m never letting you go again. I will hunt you down and drag you back to me. I will kill anyone who touches you. You are mine.”
“I’ve really missed when you go all psycho possessive asshole on me.” I smile as I kiss him. “The only place I’m running to from now on is your arms. I never forgot how perfect we fit together. How no one sees me the way you do. My heart is home with you.”
“I love you, Ivy. Always have and always will,” he says as he lays me back down on the bed. He spends the rest of the night showing me just how much.
“How are we doing this?” I say standing by the bedroom door.
“Doing what?” Levi asks while he rolls the sleeves of his shirt up those sexy forearms.
“Going out there.” I point in the direction of the kitchen. “Con and Lilith are both out there.”
“You turn the knob and put one foot in front of the other,” he says with a smirk.
“Ugh, fuck off. You know what I mean, how do we tell them we’re back together?”
“Like this,” he swoops down and throws me over his shoulder.
“Levi!” I squeal.
“Relax,” he pats my butt. “Good morning! I licked this one last night, she’s mine again.” He says as he walks into the kitchen where Con and Lilith are getting breakfast. I’m so glad I’m behind his back and can’t see them right now.
“We heard,” Con drawls.
“Oh God.” I wheeze. That’s so embarrassing.
“Fuck off,” Levi says with no heat as he sets me down. His arm stays wrapped around me though. “Guess I’m moving in for the summer.”
“You guys,” Lilith’s bright blue eyes shimmer, “we’ve been waiting three years for this moment. You two, officially and publicly together.”
Con slides a cup of coffee toward me. “I’ll destroy you if you ever hurt him like you did before again.”
“Connor!” Lilith scolds.
“It’s okay,” I hold a hand up. “I get it. They’re brothers.”
“No,” she shakes her head, “it’s not okay. You were hurting and alone, too. It’s not like it’s all your fault.”
“True.” I take a sip of coffee. “I could have done things better, though.”
“Same goes for me.” Levi kisses my forehead. “There’s nothing that can tear us apart now though. Our parents aren’t married, Ives doesn’t even have contact with Jennifer, and we’re adults.”
I hope he’s right, that there isn’t something waiting in the wings to tear us apart again. Waking up beside him this morning was the best feeling I’ve ever had.
“I’m going to tell Dad that I switched my major.” Levi leaves me to make his cup of coffee. “And suggest that Ivy slide into my spot at the bank.”
“What?” I’m sure my eyes are bugging out of my head.
“We talked about this.” He looks at me. Con and Lilith’s eyes bounce back and forth between us.
“We talked about it for about two seconds during a day of heavy talks. I’m all for you finally telling your dad that you don’t want to take over at Marsh, but you can’t do everything at the same time. Frank will freak out.”
“He’ll be disappointed, but he loves you. We all know you are more qualified already than I ever will be. Plus, eventually you’ll be family. Like I said yesterday, Dad and I have majority shares in the board, so who cares what the others think?”
“You do make more sense,” Con agrees.
“See?” Levi’s eyes twinkle with mirth. “Plus, I have something in the works. I’m not ready to tell anyone yet, but it’s big. You’ll love it, Ives.”
“Okay,” I say skeptically. I give Lilith a look asking if she knows what he’s talking about. Her response is a shrug.
“Do you need Saul to drive you two to work, or are you going to call your own car?” Con asks Levi.
“I’ve got it,” Levi answers.
“We should celebrate you guys getting back together this weekend!” Lilith says as she reaches for her phone. “I’ll text Griff. Maybe I should get ahold of Grant. We could reserve a table at his new club this weekend.” She’s looking down at her phone, so I can exchange amused glances with Con and Levi.
“I’m actually going out of town this weekend.”
“What?” She looks up at me. “You didn’t say anything about that.”
“It’s a last-minute family thin
g.”
“Oh.” She deflates. “That’s okay. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, totally fine.” I smile reassuringly.
“Our ride’s here,” Levi herds me toward the door.
We say our goodbyes and walk down the hall toward the elevator.
“I do want to talk to Dad today.”
“About us or your future at the company, too?”
“Definitely us. Maybe both.” He links our fingers together as we step off the elevator.
“I don’t want to be there when you lay everything on him about not wanting to come work for the bank. I also don’t want you to bring up offering me the position,” I tell him as I slide into the backseat of the town car waiting at the curb for us.
A half grin crosses his face, and I know he’s scheming. “Okay, I can do that.”
“What’s with the smirk?”
“What?” He looks over at me. “There’s no smirk,” he leans down and lightly kisses me. “No plan.”
“Right,” I drawl. “When should we talk to Frank?”
“As soon as we walk in.” He kisses my forehead. “I plan on making a show of it. Prepare yourself.”
“No. Levi, just no.” I shake my head. “No PDA at the office. I don’t want people thinking I’m there because I’m fucking the heir apparent.”
“We’ll see.”
We fall into an easy silence the rest of the way. He holds my hand and absentmindedly runs his thumb over my knuckles the whole time. When pull up to the building, he helps me out of the car, never letting go once. It almost feels like he thinks I’m going to disappear if he isn’t holding onto me in some way.
I get it. Every time we’ve gotten to this point in the past, we’ve ended up torn apart. I’m serious this time though, I won’t ever willingly leave him again. I doubt anyone truly understands the bond we have. How we fit so perfectly together. Our ability to slide right back into each other’s lives like we never left.
I love him in the deepest, purest way possible. Our love has grown from being young summer love to tumultuous teenage angsty love to a warm golden glow that hums through my veins. There is no pulling it from me now. My phone chimes with a text message. I’ve been added to the group chat with Lilith and the guys.
Lilith: Added Ivy. She and Levi finally got their heads out of their asses and are back together.
Griff: Finally. Moody Levi is a little bitch.
Con:
Levi:
Ivy:
Griff: On a serious note, I’m happy to hear this.
Levi: We’re happy, too
We both put our phones away and step on the elevator. I look over at Levi who looks amazing even though he’s wearing the same suit as yesterday, just with a borrowed shirt from Con. His hair is a bit disheveled, and he’s got some blonde scruff on his face from not shaving. Even in my heels, I still only come up to his shoulders.
I run my hand up his chest, over his shoulder, and into the hair at the nape of his neck.
“I love you.” I stare into his eyes. “I’m with you with anything you want to tell Frank today.”
He leans down and kisses me tenderly. “I love you, too.”
The doors open before the kiss can move from tender to passionate. I step away from him, attempting to put a respectable distance between us, but he has other ideas. His hand finds mine again, and he firmly tugs me in the direction of Frank’s office.
He doesn’t bother to knock, just walks in. Frank is sitting with his back to the desk, on the phone with someone while he looks out over lower Manhattan. Levi clears his throat causing Frank to spin his chair around. A warm smile spreads across his face when he notices our hands.
“Levi, Ivy,” he points to the chairs in front of his desk when he hangs up the phone, “have a seat.” His eyes follow us expectantly.
“We’re back together.” Levi says with a matching smile for his dad.
“So I see.” His gaze lands on me and the fatherly affection in his eyes makes my own water. “I can’t begin to describe how happy I am to hear this. You two have always had an undeniable bond, and no one makes him happy like you, Ivy. We should celebrate with drinks after work one night this week.”
“Well,” Levi looks to me for reassurance. When I give him a nod he continues, “I have to tell you something.”
“Are you pregnant?” Frank looks at me, alarmed.
“No,” I say shaking my head, “nothing like that.”
Frank lets out a sigh of relief. “Good. I want to be a grandfather but not before you two graduate from college.”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Levi says softly. “I changed my major from finance and business to history. I don’t want to take your position here.”
Sadness and disappointment wash over Frank’s face before he can school his features. “It has to stay in the family, Levi. The bank has been ours for four generations.”
“I know, and I have a plan.” Levi answers confidently. “I told Ives I was going to wife her up a long time ago.”
A strangled laugh escapes me. I can’t believe he’s leading with this. He glances at me and winks. I freeze up and glare at him. I know I told him I’d back him up on everything, but I didn’t know he was going to throw down all his future plans in one swoop.
“I haven’t proposed or anything.” His eyes cut over to me. “Yet. We could also frame it as you passing the company on to your former stepdaughter, who you have publicly remained close with since divorcing the cunt known as Jennifer.”
“Levi.” Franks eyes cut to me.
“It’s fine.” I wave my hand dismissively. “He’s called her that to my face since we were thirteen. I don’t disagree.”
“Ivy’s a much better fit than me. She’s excited about numbers, finance, and business. I’m not and never have been.” Levi says reaching for my hand again.
“What are you going to do then?” Frank leans back in his seat. He’s more open to this than I thought he’d be.
“I want to teach at the college level, get my PhD in history or political science. I also want to coach football and basketball.”
“You keep your position on the board.” Frank says decisively. “You still come to the office once or twice a month, attend every board meeting.” He looks over at me. “I was going to offer you a position starting after you graduate next spring. Looks like you’ll start at an even higher level than a VP position. For the rest of the summer, you are shadowing me exclusively. I get you on all breaks, too, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your swim schedule.”
“Yes,” I nod, “of course.” This is all happening so fast. I look over at Levi, and he and his dad are smiling identical grins at each other.
“Ives, I want to run some things by Dad privately. Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”
“No problem.” I stand as Frank does too. He walks around the desk and squeezes me in an embrace almost as comforting as a hug from my dad.
“I’m so happy you two are back together. You’ve always belonged with each other.”
“Yep. I’m not going anywhere ever again.” I say against his chest.
“I don’t think Levi would allow that, even if you tried,” he jokes.
“I wouldn’t,” Levi says from his chair. His eyes follow me as I leave the office.
22
LEVI
“Hoodrat!” I yell as I walk into her bedroom with my hands over my eyes. I’ve caught her and Con fucking one too many times over the years of living together. That’s just nasty when it’s your cousin. “You decent?”
Her hands wrap around my wrists and pull my hands down. “Yes. What do you need?”
“Ives wants to show you something.” I’ve been sent to get her in the car.
“Can it wait? I want to get a workout in before I go to bed.” She gives me a look, like she’s sizing me up. “You could use one, too.” She pats my stomach, which is straig
ht muscle thank you very much. “Getting a little soft, Levi.”
“Watch yourself, brat. I’m not afraid of taking you down anymore.” Mainly because she consistently takes me down. In the rare event I see a chance, I take it every single time.
“Please.” She rolls her eyes at me. “That rarely happens, and you know it.”
“I know, you’re a badass.” I grab her hand and start pulling her out behind me. “But I need you to come see what Ives has going on downstairs. Come on.”
“Why are you acting so weird?” She grabs the counter, halting our progress. “Tell me what’s really going on?”
“No, just come on.” I try to pry her loose.
“No.”
We stare each other down for a minute.
“Fuck it.” I bend down and throw her over my shoulder. I pull my phone out and tell Con to meet us in the lobby. I’ll probably end up with a black eye for this.
“What in the actual fuck are you doing Levi Franklin Marsh?” She screeches and pinches my back. “I’m going to beat your ass for this. I work in this building!”
“It’s a Thursday night. You’ll be fine.” I hit the button for the lobby. I debate setting her down but decide if I do that, she’s likely to punch me. Best to keep her over my shoulder.
The elevator opens to an amused Connor.
“Lily causing problems?” His question is directed at her.
“Levi’s being a di-” she stops mid-sentence when she sees everyone standing there. “What is going on?”
“We’re going on a little trip.” Con starts pulling her toward everyone, leaving the biggest surprise waiting for her in VI’s private jet. Griff and Claire are standing by the limo with Ivy. All the bags are packed in an SUV that’s already on the way to the airport.
“I don’t have a bag packed.”
“Yeah, you do.” Ivy says with a smirk. “You actually have two packed. Probably way more than you would have normally.”
Relentless (Titans of Founder's Ridge Book 2) Page 18