Levi left Shelly just before six o’clock the next morning. And that was only because he had woken up with an erection due to sleeping with her nude body wrapped around him. He was prepared to ignore it, to wish it away, but Shelly had noticed and she climbed on top of him, rubbing herself against him in the sexiest move that he had ever seen any woman make.
They didn’t have sex and yet last night and this morning were better than any sex that he had ever had. There was something about Shelly’s face, those big green eyes, that sleepy smile, that look of sweetness combined with her raw sex appeal.
He had it bad for her and he could blame no one but himself. He had started it. He had taken their first kiss too far. He had touched her. He had stripped her naked. He was the one in control even though he felt so out of it whenever he was around her.
And that’s what was troubling to him.
He was just supposed to be having a nice visit with her, reliving old times. Not waking up naked in her bed and wanting never to get out.
It might have been different if she weren’t a virgin, if they were two adults who just liked sex and wanted to spend their time having it with no strings attached, but it was more than that. It would mean more than that because he was the first man to ever touch her in those ways, to ever kiss her lips like that, to ever be invited into her bed.
Friendships and sex didn’t mix well and he couldn’t screw things up between them, but he also knew that as long as she was near him, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. But then again, it wasn’t just sex. They hadn’t gone there yet, but it already felt deeper than that. What they had was more than sex.
He stripped off his clothes as soon as he got in the house, trying to put Shelly out of his mind. But it wasn’t working.
He could still smell her on him. Her lightly scented lotion. The shampoo she used. The smell of their … he didn’t know what to call it. But he could still smell it on his skin and it took everything inside him not to go back over there.
He thought about going back to bed and trying to sleep away some of these strange feelings, but he knew sleep wouldn’t come. Even if it did his dreams would be filled with Shelly and her gorgeous curvy body, and the sounds she made when he was stroking her, and that blissful look on her face after she came. So he plugged in his dead cell phone and headed to the shower.
He ran into Zanna coming out of the bathroom.
“Damn it, Levi. You can’t go walking around the house in just boxer briefs. You’ll give a girl heart palpitations.”
“Really?” He ran his hand down his stomach. “I’m feeling a bit bloated today.”
She laughed. “I think you’re a bit of an exhibitionist. I saw that spread you did in that men’s health magazine. Shelly’s a lucky woman.”
“Shelly’s just my friend,” he said, not even believing himself.
“Maybe, but she’s a friend whose house you went to last night and stayed at till this morning. You’re not dating anyone else, are you, Levi?”
“No.”
Zanna was looking at him like she could almost see through him, like she knew what was going on in his head.
“Good, because you can’t hurt her. Shelly is too good and sweet. She deserves a nice man who will love her forever.”
“She’s my best friend. Don’t you think I want that for her, too?”
“I know you do. You’re a good guy.”
“You barely know me. How could you tell?”
“All you King boys are, despite what the world may think. Especially since Lolly had a hand in raising you.” She squeezed his arm and walked away. Levi would bet money that Zanna would become part of their family pretty soon even if she and Colt didn’t know it yet.
He took a long shower and returned to his room to find that his dead phone had come back to life and was ringing. He could tell by the ringtone that it was Duke. He picked up, curious what his brother wanted from him so early in the morning.
“Hey, Dukey.”
“Where the hell were you?”
“None of your damn business,” Levi replied cheerfully.
“I called you both a few times this morning. Nobody picks up their damn phone.”
“Can’t a man take a shower without you jumping on his ass?”
“I guess. I don’t want you smelling up the place when you get here.”
“Get where?”
“I need you and Colt to come to where I’m staying.”
“Where are you staying? And what the hell are you up to? We were so focused on keeping Colt out of jail, I forgot to ask.”
“You’ll find out. I’m at the old Phillips place. We need to talk about the bank and some other stuff.”
“The bank?”
“You and Colt just get your asses over here as soon as you can.”
Levi got dressed and walked into the kitchen in search of Colt. The room had become his personal office since they had been there. Colt was at the table, but he wasn’t alone. Zanna was sitting in his lap. Her arms were wrapped around him and Colt was looking at her in a way that Levi had never seen him look at anyone.
Levi almost hated to interrupt them, but he did and conveyed Duke’s message.
A few minutes later they had pulled up in front of an old, oddly shaped house that had definitely seen better days. Paint was flaking off, the porch was lopsided, and the whole thing just looked kind of sad. It didn’t make sense for Duke to buy this house. He could have had anything he wanted the town. Hell, he’d bought up half of it.
“Why did Duke tell us to come to the old Phillips place?” Levi asked himself more than anyone else.
“Old Phillips place?” Zanna looked back at him.
“Next to us, the Phillipses were the most talked-about people in town,” Levi explained to her. “Everybody said the son was crazy and that they kept dead bodies down in the basement.”
“That wasn’t true,” Colt said, staring at the house. “The Phillipses were older parents and their son was mentally ill and didn’t take his medication because of all the side effects. He was harmless, though.”
“I wonder what happened to him.”
“He lives just outside Vegas in an assisted living apartment,” Colt explained.
“How do you know that?”
“I sent him there. His mother wrote to me five years ago and asked me to help her find a place for him after she passed away.”
“Why did she ask you?”
“Because I’m rich.” He shrugged. “Don’t you get people writing to you asking you to help them?”
“Sometimes. I guess the better question is, Why did you do it?”
“Because I’m rich.” He shook his head. “Does it matter? Let’s go see what Duke wants.”
The news surprised Levi but it shouldn’t have. It was just more proof that Colt wasn’t the cold son of a bitch the world thought he was. But then again Levi had always known that.
Duke came from around the side of the house as they walked up. Levi took note of all the new wood and power tools on the porch, which left him even more confused about why Duke was there.
“Whatcha looking at, Duke?” Levi came up behind him, slapping his brother on the shoulder.
“He’s on the fucking roof.”
“Who?”
“My son.” He quickly glanced at Levi and then back up to the roof.
“What do you mean your son?” Levi grabbed his shoulder, forcing him around, sure that his ears had failed him. “You’ve got a goddamn kid? When the fuck were you going to tell us?”
“Today.” He shrugged off Levi’s hand and looked toward the roof. “I just learned the truth for sure myself. Grace got pregnant before I got locked up. She never told me. She still wouldn’t have told me, but I found out by accident and threatened to sue her for custody.”
“That worked?” Levi asked, still dumbfounded. “Her father is powerful in these parts.” Judge Truman had ruled over the Destiny courthouse for more than thirty years before ste
pping down.
“The boy is mine.” He looked at Levi and then to Colt. “There’s no denying it. She named him Ryder.”
“Shit. Really?” Colt asked, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. “The whole damn world could have figured out he was your kid with a name like that.”
“Somebody want to clue me in?” Zanna said, looking exasperated. “What’s the big damn deal about the name?”
“My favorite movie is Easy Rider.”
“He used to have a leather jacket with an American flag on it,” Levi told her.
“He always said that if he had a boy he’d name him Ryder,” Colt added.
“Yeah. I’ve got a boy and he’s on the fucking roof.”
“Where’s Grace?” Zanna looked up, trying to spot the kid.
“She’s taking shifts at the hospital to make ends meet now that school is out for the summer. She left him here with me. I told her that I would sue her for full custody if she didn’t let me be a part of his life. And she did and now I fucked up because I don’t know shit about kids. He was supposed to be heading to summer school, but when I tried to take him he climbed onto the roof. And I don’t know how to get him down without dragging his ass off.”
“Did he climb on the roof because he was afraid you were going to kill him?” Zanna asked, only half joking.
“I should kill him. He’s a surly, miserable little bastard. The only thing that’s stopping me from wringing his neck is that he’s just like me when I was his age.”
“And you were a delight,” Colt said, surveying the house. And then Colt did something that surprised Levi for the second time that day. He climbed the porch railing and hoisted himself up on the roof.
“Colt!” Zanna called after him.
Levi grinned. Colt used to be more like him. He used to climb trees and the water tower. He used to get into trouble. There was a mischievous side to his brother, but somewhere along the way he had changed; he had become too serious. All the serious focus was what he needed to succeed, but Colt had lost a lot of the person he used to be in the process.
“It’s not that high.” Colt looked back to Zanna, extending a hand to her. “Levi, help her up.”
“Gladly.” Levi grinned and hoisted Zanna up to the railing. She didn’t need much help, though. She was a surprisingly good climber, especially in those wedges she was wearing. Levi followed her up, not believing they were here.
When he’d left Shelly this morning his biggest problem was how he was going to handle his crazy need for his best friend.
The roof of the old house gently sloped upward, and on the other side Levi could see a young boy lying down with his hands shielding his eyes from the sun. Levi froze.
Goddamn it. The kid looked like Duke. Same build, same dark hair, same expression.
There was another one of them. A King man. He’d never really thought about the next generation of them. He never thought about any of them having kids, or wanting them for that matter. But now Duke had a son and Levi couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“It’s hot as hell up here.” Colt eased down on the roof next to their new nephew.
“Who the fuck are you?” The boy sat up and stared at Colt.
Like father. Like son.
“Watch your mouth.” Colt clamped his hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Your father may feel too guilty about missing out on your life to tan your behind like our father did ours. But I’m not your father. I’m your uncle and I’ll put your ass in check.”
“We’ll toss you right off the roof,” Levi told him. “It’s not that far a fall. You can survive with a broken arm, Ryder. A good compound fracture might mellow you out a bit.” Levi sat on the other side of him, taking in his features.
A mini Duke.
Incredible.
“There’s a lady here.” Colt motioned toward Zanna. “We respect them. Apologize.”
A mulish expression crossed the boy’s face and Levi wondered how nobody knew who Ryder’s father was. How in a town as gossipy as Destiny word hadn’t gotten back to them.
“It must really hurt being tossed off a roof,” Levi said, looking around him, not even bothering to conceal his threat. “Especially if you don’t land right.” Their father had always made sure they respected women. He showed them by example. Cal King had loved his wife. He was good to her. Things didn’t start going bad for them until after she had passed away.
“You wouldn’t throw me off this roof.” Ryder sounded brave, but Levi could tell by the wary look on his face that he wasn’t sure about the sanity of his new uncles.
“You don’t know us,” Colt said. “We would. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about us. We were infamous here.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryder said quietly to Zanna. “My mom doesn’t like cursing, either. She tells my dad—I mean Duke—that he’s not allowed to do it in the house.”
“He shouldn’t. I’m Levi by the way.” He extended his hand. “That’s Colt. The pretty lady here is Zanna, but she’s not family yet. We just are staying with her for a while.”
“I know who you are,” he said, looking between him and Colt. “I watch your show.”
“Do you?” Levi grinned. Levi wasn’t sure why that made him happy, but it did. They could have another car-head on their hands. “I get to play with cars and people give me money for it. My job is pretty cool.”
“I told my mom I didn’t need to go to school to get a good job.”
“You’re wrong.” Levi shook his head. He heard that from a lot of kids. They wanted to be like him and didn’t think they had to go to school for it. But if it weren’t for school Levi would never have had a racing career. That’s where he met the kids who opened his eyes to a world he’d never known about.
“My dad—I mean Duke—didn’t even finish high school. He’s rich. You didn’t go to college.”
“Your dad got his GED. I had to train in Europe to become a race-car driver. Nobody handed me anything. And Colt”—Levi looked over to him and grinned—“Colt’s the reason we have what we have. He’s the one who went to the fancy school. He’s the one who learned all about finance and how to make money. He’s the reason your dad has freaking windshield wiper fluid with his name on it. Race-car drivers and football players make lots of money, but when you’ve got smarts like Colt, you keep growing your money. You’re not just rich, you’re wealthy.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You don’t know?” Levi shook his head and glanced at Colt. “I guess that’s why you should take your ass to summer school. Come on.” Levi rose. “I want pancakes. You want pancakes? I didn’t get any breakfast yet.”
Ryder got up and followed him, and Levi knew he was going to like him, like being an uncle.
That is, if he could get over his brother keeping such a huge secret from him.
Duke looked kind of bewildered when they reached the ground. “What the hell did you say to him to get him down?” he asked Colt.
Colt’s lips curled into a tiny smile. “Levi threatened to toss him off the roof and then offered him pancakes. You know, normal uncle stuff.”
Duke looked like his head was about to pop off his body.
He rounded on his son and grabbed the back of his collar. “If you think you’re getting pancakes with your uncles, you’re out of your damn mind. You are going to take your ass to school, just like your mother wanted you to. I wouldn’t mess with me, boy. I’ll tell your mother that we should go vegan and she’ll have you eating so much kale and soy your behind will turn green. I can make it so you never have another meat product again.”
Ryder’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me, boy. I’ve dealt with bigger and badder than you and I always come out ahead.”
Ryder’s nostrils flared and Levi got goose bumps. Father and son wore identical expressions. It was spooky.
“Damn it, Duke,” Colt said softly. “He’s so much like you.”
“I always w
anted a boy who was just like me,” he said, looking at his son. “I’m not so sure that it’s a good thing.” He let go of Ryder’s shirt and put his hand on his shoulders. “Look me in the eye, boy, because I’m only going to say this once. Go inside. Get your book bag and meet me out here so I can take you to school. If you get on that roof again, I’ll climb it. If you run, I’ll come after you. And trust me, if I catch you, it’s going to be a hell of a lot worse. So do what I say and the world will be a brighter place for you.”
Ryder’s jaw set, but he nodded. Duke let him go, watching him until he went into the house.
Duke wiped his hand over his face, and Levi was torn between feeling sorry for his brother and wanting to knock his teeth out.
“This is funny,” Levi said to him. “I’m really fucking pissed at you for not telling me you had a kid, but seeing him give you a run for your money makes me so damn happy.”
“Don’t bust my balls, Levi. I just found out that I’ve got a son with Grace. A teenager for fuck’s sake.”
“Pleasant little bastards.” Levi grinned. The boy was going to give him hell. “You’ve got a son, Duke. If any one of us should be a father it should be you.”
“Why do you say that?” The disbelief was clear in his eyes.
“You took care of us, Duke,” Colt said. “You were a father long before you had a son.”
Duke got arrested the first time because he stole in order to feed them. He used his pocket money to pay bills. He stepped up when Levi and Colt needed someone to step up.
He would be a good father. There was no question about that.
Grace’s car pulled up then and Duke let out a long string of curses. She got out of the car looking madder than a wet cat.
Duke was in trouble.
This made Levi happy, but he also couldn’t believe how Grace had changed. She had definitely grown up. For so long Levi had an image of her as a beautiful rich girl in her expensive prim clothing. But she was a woman now. Still pretty, but she was a woman driving a shitty car who had been through some stuff and now was in full-on mama bear mode.
“The school called wanting to know why Ryder wasn’t there. What happened? I asked you if you could handle taking him. You told me not to worry.”
Heart of a Bad Boy (Bad Boys of Destiny #3) Page 14