“Lightweight,” Levi muttered.
She was halfway to shitfaced and she hadn’t even had a full drink yet.
“We’ve got line dancing here, too,” Jim told them. “My wife leads it. You should come back.”
“Line dancing! My friend Judy from work likes to line dance. Can we come back?”
“Line dancing won’t be any fun with just the two of us here.”
“No?” She gave him a smile that he could only describe as downright sexy. “I don’t think you’ve ever danced with me before. You don’t know how fun it can be.”
He hardened. Just the thought of her lush body moving against his turned him on. “Damn it, Shelly,” he groaned.
“I’m not expecting you to rent this place out again. I didn’t expect you to do it this time.” She stood up and stumbled into him a little, her soft hands wrapping around his biceps. “Can you take me home now? I think I’ve had enough adventure for one night.”
“Okay,” he agreed quickly. He needed to get away from her. Not because he wanted space from her, but if he didn’t get some, he was positive he wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands off her.
Chapter 8
Shells,
There’s a store here that makes a cookie with a whole other cookie baked inside.
Now, that’s a cookie that dirty dreams were invented for.
P.S. I’m sure the milk couldn’t look you in the eye, either.
It was a little after midnight when they arrived back at Shelly’s house. Levi followed her to her bedroom, his hands on her shoulders, probably trying to ensure that she stayed upright. He didn’t need to. She was steady on her feet and her mind was clear. She was just feeling pleasant. Happy even. But she wasn’t sure if that had more to do with Levi’s presence or the fruity concoction.
She liked the way his hands felt on her shoulders. His letters and emails had always been a steady presence in her life; her days were a little brighter whenever she received one from him. And now he was there, with his hands on her shoulders, keeping her steady again.
“How are you feeling, Shells? You want me to get you some water?”
“No.” He always took care of her even when he was thousands of miles away. He brought laptops for her classroom and backpacks for some of the poorer kids in town. If she mentioned she liked something he got it for her. She knew he had a reputation for fighting with other racers, and partying just a little too hard, and if she hadn’t known him before all of that she might have stayed away from him. She might have severed their friendship if he had changed, if he had treated her poorly. But over the years he had only grown kinder to her.
He sent her romance novels every month, ever since she wrote him a letter telling him about her love for them. Ones with the most ridiculous plots and titles that he could find. She could get married and be devoted to her husband, but she knew that no other man would do that for her.
No other man would understand why that had brought her so much joy. She could love another man, but no other man would hold the place in her heart that Levi did.
She reached for him and hugged him. Her ear was pressed against his chest, and she could hear his heart beating. “Thank you for today.”
“Why are you thanking me?” He sank his fingers into her hair and rubbed her scalp.
“For making me do things I would have never normally done.”
“It was just some new clothes and a drink at a bar. And if I remember correctly you didn’t want either.”
“I don’t want to go to the dentist, but I need to.”
“You know I like you just the way you are, Shell? I’m not asking you to change. I don’t want you to. And if you want to wear that ugly brown dress don’t let me stop you. I’ll still love you.”
“People think I’m a nun, remember? I’m burning the damn dress.”
He chuckled and his laugh vibrated through her body, giving her all sorts of tingles. His body was warm and hard, his scent all male and delicious and Shelly knew that if she died in that moment she would be perfectly happy.
“Kiss me, Levi.” The words popped out of her mouth before her brain could catch up.
“What?” He looked down at her, his eyes searching her face.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she said quickly. “I just haven’t—”
Her words ended when his lips touched hers.
Ah.
Her eyes drifted shut. It was a gentle, lingering closed-mouth kiss that was so sweet she wanted to float away on it.
But then it changed and she felt the tip of Levi’s tongue run across her lips. A jolt went through her and landed right between her legs.
“Open your mouth, Shelly, and kiss me back.”
She did as he asked, inviting his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on it. She didn’t know what made her do it. She had never done it before, but it felt right. It felt … un-freaking-believable.
He deepened the kiss, or she did. She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that his hands had slid down to her cheeks, holding her in the kiss as if she was going anywhere. She held on to him a little tighter, pressing herself against him even more. Her nipples grew tighter, her knees weaker, her lungs breathless. It wasn’t the type of kiss she had in mind when she asked him to kiss her, but it was better than any she could imagine.
He broke the kiss slowly. His eyes closed. His breathing heavy.
He stepped away from her, and she felt a little bereft. “I’ve got to go. We’ll go to breakfast. Nine o’clock. I’ll pick you up.” He shook his head seeming a little confused.
She had no idea what he was thinking. But she thought that maybe she had done something wrong.
Best friends didn’t kiss like that.
She wondered if he was regretting his decision already.
*
Levi staggered out of bed the next morning, feeling hung over even though he’d barely had a sip of his beer. He was kiss-drunk.
Or Shelly-high.
Or just plain stupid.
What the hell had he been thinking?
He shouldn’t have kissed her like that. But she had asked for it. Literally asked for it. Why else would she press that distractingly hot body against his? Why else would she look up at him with those big sweet eyes? Why else would her lips taste so damn good?
Peaches and oranges.
He didn’t think he would ever be able to have those fruits without his manhood turning to steel.
And she kissed him back. That was the worst part. She didn’t kiss him like she was some innocent miss that people referred to as a nun. She kissed him like a bad girl. She sucked his tongue into her mouth. She slid her hands up the back of his shirt. It was as if he were dealing with two different women.
And the worst thing about it was that he wanted to kiss her again. He knew he was going to have to kiss her again. He wouldn’t be able to help himself.
She made him feel that rush.
Zanna’s outraged voice snapped him out of his fog. He looked up to see a half-naked Zanna on top of a fully clothed Colt. It seemed Levi wasn’t the only one with woman problems at the moment.
“What in the hell do we have going on in here, kids?” Levi stood in her doorway, grinning at them. “I get up to answer nature’s call and I find you two going at it with the door open.”
“We aren’t going at it. This isn’t what it looks like!” She scrambled off Colt and tossed a pillow at him. “This never would have happened if your bossy son-of-a-bitch big brother didn’t come in here to wake me up for work.”
“We have things to accomplish at Lolly’s shop,” Colt said as he picked up a blanket and draped it over her Zanna. Once again protecting her body from Levi’s eyes. “It’s your responsibility as head stylist and manager.”
“Oh yeah.” Levi shook his head. Colt was a goner. He could tell by the way he looked at her. “Colt and work. He loves that shit. Probably more than he loves me and we all know I’m his favorite person in the wo
rld.”
“You could come to the shop today and help out,” Colt said, setting his eyes on him.
“No thanks. I’ve got plans with Shelly.”
“Shelly? That sweet little schoolteacher a couple of doors down?” Zanna asked in surprise.
“Yup. She’s my best friend.” She was more than his best friend at the moment, but he was going to keep that little detail to himself.
“You keep that girl out of trouble,” she warned.
“No can do. Those are the exact opposite of my plans.” He winked at them, but he knew it wasn’t Shelly he was going to have to worry about. It was him. “You two have fun, and remember to keep the door closed next time.”
Levi didn’t know what else to do with himself. Going back to sleep wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t be able to think about anything but that kiss, so he got dressed and headed to Shelly’s house.
It was probably another mistake. But he didn’t care. He went around to the back of her house and went in through her bedroom window. He remembered the task being a lot easier when he was a kid.
She was still in bed. The covers pulled up tightly around her and that little voice in his head told them to pull them down just so he could see how much … or how little she was wearing. But he ignored it, kicked off his shoes, and climbed in bed beside her.
She inched closer to him, her backside coming in contact with his body. He threw his arm around her, spooning her body in his. She was so warm and soft. And he felt ridiculously cozy with her under the blankets in her cold air-conditioned room.
“Why are you here so early?” she asked, yawning.
“Couldn’t sleep.” But as soon as he felt her skin, his eyes grew heavy and he felt in danger of drifting off. “I also wanted to ask you if you would come with me to visit Lolly today after breakfast.”
“You know I will. That was a question that could have waited another hour or so. You’re disturbing my beauty sleep, you know. You may not need yours but I need every moment I can get.”
“You want me to go?”
“I didn’t say that.” She put her hand over his. He’d worried for a moment that things would be a little awkward between them today, but she seemed fine. She seemed completely unaffected. He wondered if she’d given the kiss a second thought after it was over.
He buried his face into her hair and a few moments later he had drifted off to sleep.
Her alarm went off sometime later, but he didn’t want to get up. He could have easily stayed with her like that all day—and that was a problem.
He hadn’t known what it would be like seeing her again after all these years, but he hadn’t thought it would be like this.
She got up and stretched. She was braless, wearing a little nightgown that was molded to her body.
Why were her nightclothes so much sexier than the stuff she had on during the day?
But he was okay with that because no one else got to see her this way.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you thinking?”
“Are you sure there’s no man in your life?”
She frowned at him. “Of course I’m sure. I would have told you. The last man I went out with was that guy in my master’s program and then he decided to go to China and teach English and that was that.”
“You could be leaving some things out.”
“Like you do?” She raised one of her brows. “You don’t tell me about every one of your conquests.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” He was a flirt and he had his fair share of women, but he wasn’t a man-whore. The media might have portrayed him as one but he chose his partners carefully.
“Uh-huh.” She shook her head with an eye roll. “You forget that you’re famous. I’ve seen the women you go out with. The kind of women whose cup sizes match their bad grades in high school.”
He laughed. “Don’t dumb-shame.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. “You don’t really want me to write you about every woman I see socially.”
“I do actually. In excruciating detail. Like how much you paid for dinner and if you left more than a twenty percent tip.”
“You want to know about the stuff we do after dinner?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Like if I touched her on the backs of her thighs?” He touched Shelly there. Slid one of his hands all the way up. He was feeling the rush again.
Don’t stop. Go farther. Get what you want.
“Am I hairy? I can’t remember the last time I shaved back there.”
Well, that stopped him.
He looked up at her and she was looking cool as a goddamn cucumber while he was sporting a substantial erection.
She ran her fingers through his hair. “You’ve got pillow creases on your face and you’re all rumpled.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.” Her hands slid down to his face and she stroked her thumbs along his jawline. He wanted her to kiss him. He wanted her to press her body against his and kiss him till he couldn’t think straight. “Go home and change,” she ordered, stepping away. “I can’t be seen with you in public looking like you just rolled out of bed.”
“This is just payback for yesterday.”
“A little.” She walked over to her closet, her hips swishing, hypnotizing him with every step. “Plus you really are all wrinkled. Come back in half an hour and use the front door. You’re getting older, honey. You didn’t used to make so much noise when you came into my bedroom thirteen years ago.”
“Okay.” He got up to go out and gave her behind a smack as he did. Her head whipped around, her face full of surprise and outrage.
He laughed and he was still smiling as he walked up to his front door and ran into Duke coming out.
“Where the hell have you been?” Duke asked him. Immediately it rubbed him the wrong way.
“I wasn’t aware I had a curfew.” And he sure as hell hadn’t asked Duke where and how he had been spending his time since they were here.
“This town … There always seems to be trouble surrounding us when we’re here even if we didn’t cause it. Just be careful.”
“I was with Shelly,” he admitted, knowing that Duke had once gone out for drinks here—and instead of coming home he’d ended up in prison.
“How is Shelly?”
“She’s a grown-up. An elementary school teacher, just like she said she was going to be.”
“She let you keep her out all night?” There was some judgment in his voice, as if Levi were corrupting her. Levi could understand that from other people in town, but he didn’t like hearing it from Duke.
“Not all night, just most of it.” He wouldn’t apologize for it, either. “I was teaching the teacher how to live a little.”
“I’m going to look at a car. You need one? How are you getting around town?”
“I bought one, Duke.” He tried to hide his annoyance with his older brother’s babying, but Duke just sapped his good mood right out of him. “I’m twenty-nine. I think I can take care of myself.”
“Sometimes I doubt if you can wipe your ass good enough.”
“I don’t know if you realize it, but I’m an adult, too. And I managed to get pretty damn far in life without your help.” He had made a success of his racing career years before Duke was out of prison. He had supported himself since he was eighteen. He had always worked or been working toward something.
Maybe hosting King’s Customs Creates was making his brothers think that he worked for them instead of with them. And maybe that was true. He had no ownership in the company, but his paycheck came from there. He liked hosting the show, but maybe it was time it came to an end and he went back out on his own. He didn’t want his legacy being the little brother of Duke and Colt King.
“I’ll see you around.”
Levi walked into the house and away from his brother. He had been so focused on Shelly that the whole reason he wanted to talk to his brothers in the first place had gone out of his head.
*
Shelly noticed that there was a marked difference in Levi’s mood when he returned to her house half an hour later. They traveled to breakfast in near silence and she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done something wrong.
She had asked him to leave that morning because she needed space from him. He had grabbed her hips and brought her close, running his big strong hands up the backs of her legs. She had to fight to keep her knees from going weak.
She felt the heat creep up her and the same little flutter grow between her legs. The same flutter she felt the moment that he kissed her. She didn’t know what was going on with him. With them. It seemed like there was something else between them. Something she couldn’t name.
She looked away from her menu and up at him. He was so beautiful. Part of her couldn’t believe that he was here with her. There were plenty of times when she never thought she would actually see him in person again.
He was always so busy. Racing and traveling and filming. He had changed some. With that lifestyle it was inevitable, but part of him was still the boy she had loved for years.
She got up from her side of the booth and slid in next to him. “What’s wrong?”
She took his hand beneath the table.
“Nothing. I’m okay.”
The waitress came over just as she was about to press the issue. It was like a spell had taken him over, because he gave the older waitress that sexy smile he seemed to bestow on all women.
“Hey there, Miss Evelyn. You remember me, gorgeous?”
“You know I do, sweetheart. We’re so proud of you boys we could bust.”
Evelyn barely looked at her, which she should probably expect when she went out with him. “What can I get you, honey?”
“Your phone number? I remember that you make the best bread pudding I have ever tasted.”
“Oh hush.” The elderly woman blushed. “You come back here later and I’ll give you a pan.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Shelly, what are you going to have for breakfast?”
“Grilled cheese with bacon. Home fries and tea.”
Heart of a Bad Boy (Bad Boys of Destiny #3) Page 9