by Lelly Hughes
Zara stands, making the next move for both of us. She seems so sure of what she wants and yet I continue to hesitate. Even though I extend my hand toward hers and our fingers lock, I’m second-guessing what’s going to happen once we walk inside my house. Yet, those lingering feelings aren’t enough to keep me away from her. We climb the steps of my deck one by one and walk the few feet to the sliding glass door. The soft lights that I have set up throughout the house illuminate the inside, making it easy for us to see where we’re going.
“This is Willow’s room,” I say as I open the door. The style is similar to her room in California except she has a massive window that looks out over our land.
“Her view, though.” Zara walks in and heads right to the window to look out. “I can’t imagine waking up to this every morning.”
“You can switch rooms if you’d like?”
She glances at me from over her shoulder. “My room is fine.”
So is mine, but I don’t say that to her because my heart and mind aren’t even close to being on the same page right now. I motion for her to follow and to Stormy’s room, which is decorated in her pre-teen mode of life and will probably have to be cleaned out and redone when she moves back home.
“I think I like Willow’s window better,” Zara says. I happen to agree with her, but Stormy would never.
“The night Stormy was born… well, you can imagine we were in the middle of a storm. Iris and I were young and thought that naming our child after the weather would be cute. The older she got, the more I realized it was foolish, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. However, because of her name, she’s deathly afraid of storms. She hates hearing about them, especially if they’re destructive.”
“She could always change it.” Zara laughs, making me wonder if she’s changed her name since she came into the industry.
I walk toward her, but stop and grab onto the post of Stormy’s bed. “Is Zara your birth name?”
“It is,” she says, coming closer. “But a lot of people in the industry change their names.”
I don’t know how I feel about Stormy changing her name. I know Iris and I were young and foolish, but it’s who she is to me.
Zara’s close, much too close for my liking considering where we are. Instead of kissing her like I want to, I take her hand and lead her out of the room and down the hall to another door.
“The room you’ve been waiting for,” I tell her as I open the door. She gasps as she steps inside the glass-enclosed room that contains the full-size pool, Jacuzzi, and dry sauna. Until the girls moved out, this used to be my favorite room. We used to spend hours in here, swimming around, splashing and having a grand time.
“Levi, this place… it’s amazing.” She’s looking up at the ceiling, staring into the night sky.
“It hardly gets used,” I tell her. She doesn’t respond. Instead, she strips down to her bra and panties, a different pair from what she wore earlier and dives in. I push away from the wall and watch as she swims the length of the pool, and when she surfaces, the water drips away from her skin painstakingly slow, accentuating over the top of her breasts. She splashes me, catching me off guard and calling me out on my ogling.
“Get in the pool, Levi,” she demands. There isn’t an option of saying no or suggesting we do something else. My hands know what to do and work quickly to rid me of my clothes. Clad, yet again in my boxers, I jump in and stand in front of her.
“Is this better?” I ask, knowing full well that I’m about to open myself up for something that I fear she’s not ready for. Standing here now, I know I’m going to give into temptation, give her what wants.
“I really love your house, Levi.” She trails her wet fingers up my arm, letting the water trickle over my muscles. “Thank you for letting me stay and giving me an opportunity to escape my reality for a little bit.” Each word she speaks brings her body closer to mine. On instinct, my hands find a resting place on her hips as I pull her flush against me.
“I thought you wanted the full tour?” I ask.
“Sometimes detours are meant to happen, right?” she asks as her lips barely graze mine. I swallow hard and nod, but even to me, the action is incoherent. I can’t think straight with her like this, with her lips brushing against mine, with the heat between us increasing despite the fact that we’re surrounded by water.
“Zara,” I say, trailing the back of my fingers over her cheek. “I really want you to be sure about this.”
“I am, Levi. Don’t ask me how I know, but I am. I can feel the connection we share. It’s strong, and I don’t want to deny it.”
“We hardly know each other.”
“In our worlds, we’ve known each other a lifetime.” Zara presses her lips to mine before I can even mutter a response. The smooth feel of her tongue pushing against mine spurs me into action. I crouch down and pick her up, carrying us to the deeper part of the pool so I can use the wall to my advantage. I have no qualms about taking her here, under the cloak of darkness but not for our first time.
She hisses when her back comes in contact with the wall, either from pain or the coldness of the tile. As much as my hands want to explore her body, I place them behind her back for comfort and push myself into her center, letting her feel exactly what she’s doing to me.
Zara arches and her eyes flutter as she pushes herself into me. I lean down and kiss her breast, moving from one to the other, wishing that my hands were free to touch her. In a flash, her bra is being taken off and tossed over her head, leaving her puckered nipples exposed and ready for my mouth.
“Mmm,” she moans when my mouth latches on her flesh. My teeth tease her, biting on her taut bud while her nails dig into my back and arms. I alternate between her breasts, paying each one equal attention until I feel her hand push into my boxers and then I’m the one gasping as she grips my erection.
“We can’t do this here,” I tell her as I pick up her weightless body and carry her out of the pool. She doesn’t seem to care or notice that we’re walking down the hall with water dripping off our bodies, wetting my floors. Nor do I care that my comforter is getting soaked because as soon as I set her, my hands are gripping the sides of her panties and pulling them down her legs.
I step back and admire the beauty that is Zara Phillips, naked and wet on my bed as I slowly peel my boxers away from me and palm my erection. Nothing about us makes sense, yet everything seems right. I want her touch, her mouth, and her body. I want to feel her body pressed against mine. I need to have her writhing under my touch, to submit to me, to give me something that is so sacred to her. I believe that somehow we were brought together and meant to be in this moment, at this time.
Chapter 21
Zara
My fingers trail up and down Levi’s chest while his do the same against my arm. My leg is hitched over his with my knee resting in what could be a dangerous place, yet he doesn’t seem to mind. I rise onto my elbow to look at Levi and find him with his eyes closed, his free hand placed behind his head and a soft smile spread across his lips. I know that if I kiss him, I’ll taste myself there.
Levi is only the second man I have been with. I wish I could say that I didn’t compare him to Van, but I did. I couldn’t help it. It’s not that I wanted him to be better than my soon to be former spouse, but I wanted everything to be different.
And it was. From the moment Levi put his mouth on my core, I knew that I was in for a wild ride. He wasn’t rushed, eager, or lazy in what he was doing to my body. It was like he knew every inch and how to bring me to the edge. He made me teeter, only to pull back and focus on another spot that pushed me until I was about to fall over. Every move had a purpose, an end game, that game being my pleasure and eventually his. When he finally entered me, it was as if we had been dodging this connection for years, not days. The ache I had been feeling wasn’t from missing Van, but from missing Levi. He gave me something that I didn’t know I wanted until that moment in the pool when he had me agains
t the wall.
“Do you have regrets?” he asks me even though his eyes are still closed. I reach up and kiss him, pushing my tongue into his mouth greedily. Levi responds instantly and rolls us over, pinning me to the bed and moving between my legs. He’s hard and ready.
“I want this,” I tell him in between kisses. “I want you.”
He opens his eyes and finds me staring at him. It should be awkward, being this close, but nothing ever is with him. That’s how I know this is real. That’s how I know that what we’re sharing is going to last. This isn’t some May/December romance for me, and I don’t think it is for him either.
Levi leans over me and reaches into his bedside table and pulls out a condom. I long for a day when I can tell him one won’t be needed, but until my test results are back, I can’t do that to him. I would never put him in any danger, unlike what Van has done to me.
He hovers over me, breaking my thoughts on the negative in my life. I widen for him, and he pushes in slowly, languidly. My eyes roll back, and I imagine that his do so as well.
“Open your eyes, please?”
I do as he requests and watch his face as he pushes into me, never breaking eye contact. The muscles in his arms strain as he holds himself up, even though I want to feel his body pressed against mine, I feel that right now he’s testing me, making sure that this is what I want. Each push brings him deeper than before. Our first time was hard and fast, nothing like now.
My legs rest on his hips and my ankles push into his ass with each thrust. He’s setting me up for a mind-blowing orgasm and just thinking about it has me on the brink already. Levi looks down at where we’re connected and groans before settling himself on top of me, changing the angle that he’s hitting. I cry out when his pelvis rubs against my swelling bud.
“Don’t stop,” I beg of him only to have him pull out and flip me onto my side. I almost cry because he’s done it again. He’s masterful and showing me what’s in store, only to change and start over. I think he enjoys the game otherwise he would just do the deed and be done with it.
But now he’s hitting it from the backside, and his thumb is playing my clit like it’s his own personal piece of musical equipment. I cry out when he hits my g-spot and arch away from him only to slam into his chest when he pushes into me faster.
He pulls my leg over his hip, exposing my core to the cool air of the room. Instantly, the heat within takes over, and I find myself thrusting back into him, needing more friction.
“Do you need more, Zara? Tell me what you need, baby.”
How he knows my body so soon, I’ll never understand. But I nod yes and squeal as he flips us once again, but this time my back is to his chest, and his hips are raised. It’s the sound of him smacking into my center, and the creaking of the bed that has me so turned on I can barely think straight. It’s my hand that is rubbing my clit, pushing my orgasm to the point of no return, and when it finally hits, Levi is there to catch me.
He slows down and rides out the waves of my body before moving us back to our original position. He looks at me again, while he moves in and out, and kisses me deeply. I pant into his mouth while he moans into mine. We stay this way until he’s come.
I don’t know if I’m the type of woman who adds labels to anything because I’ve never had too, but I’m going out on a limb here and saying that Levi Austin just made love to me, and while the thought should scare me, it doesn’t.
I want him and more of what he’s willing to give me.
Levi kisses me before he rolls off the bed and disappears into the bathroom. I decide to follow him, and for what reason, I don’t know, but the idea of having him out of my sight for even a minute doesn’t sit well with me.
“Hey,” I say as I catch him cleaning himself up with a washcloth.
“Hey, yourself.” He hands me a matching cloth, already wet and warm; he did that for me, and that thought has my throat closing briefly. I didn’t know that simple act of kindness could affect me so.
I clean up quickly and toss my washcloth on the floor next to his. Levi pulls me into his arms and peppers me with kisses. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “I am. I’m more than okay, Levi. You don’t have to keep asking.”
“I’m sorry; I just worry about you…”
“I know.” And I know it must plague him… the thought that I’m rushing into something with him, but I’m not. We could wait, but what is the predetermined waiting period for moving on? There isn’t a chance in this world that I’ll take Van back, so why do I have to wait? “I’m right where I want to be,” I tell him. He smiles and pushes my hair behind my ear. I can’t imagine what my hair looks like with the combination of chlorine and sex, but it doesn’t matter because I’m in his arms and that’s all that matters.
Levi spins me in a half circle so that my stomach in pushed into the countertop. For a brief moment, I think he’s about to take me from behind and make me watch until his arm covers my breast.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I want to look at us, and I can’t do that if I’m staring at your glorious tits,” he says, whispering into my ear without taking his eyes off me through the mirror. He rights himself and stands behind me.
It’s then that we become one. I don’t see him as an outsider in my world, but someone that I want to spend every waking minute with.
“Do we fit?” I ask him.
“Unbelievably so,” he replies.
Only people on the outside won’t see it as we do. They’ll see the rocker, Zara Phillips, with her platinum and purple hair with the country god, Austin Levi. Women will see me as someone crossing the line and taking one of the good ones. But I don’t care.
Levi scoops me up into his arms and carries me back to bed. He pulls the somewhat damp blankets over the top of us as we both settle onto our sides.
“Tell me about your career. I saw Grammys earlier,” I suggest. Levi and I are long past the getting to know you stage, but there are some things you can only hear from the person instead of reading them online.
Levi smiles shyly. “Instant stardom,” he says. “My mother taught me to play the guitar when I was younger and always insisted that I sing in the choir. Then one day, I’m down on the Row singin' a cover song, and I get noticed. By then, Iris already had Stormy, so I signed the contract. I won Best Country Song and Album my first year. I got a lot of hate, but I’ve been on top ever since.”
“That’s amazing. My dream really, but the band has never had that monumental breakout hit. We’re always at the top of the charts, but never number one.”
“Have you ever thought about having a solo career?”
His question gives me pause. Truth is, it’s always been the guys and me. I don’t know how to do what I do without Darian. I shake my head. “I haven’t, at least not until you just mentioned it. The band, it’s made up of my brother, two friends from high school, and Van. Darian, that’s my brother, Rusty, and Gabe, and I have known each other for so long. I told them one day I wanted to be in a rock band so Darian bought all this foam for our garage and covered the walls so the neighbors wouldn’t complain and we’d play.
“For our first garage gig, my mom made food for everyone. It was great. By the time I was seventeen Van walked into the garage and said he could play drums better than Gabe. He was right, but now…”
“Things are strained.”
I shrug. “More or less. The record label loves him, but it’s my band ya know? And I don’t want him taking it from me.”
Levi pulls me into his arms and soothes away the despair I was starting to feel. “You know if you ever want to record while you’re here, you can use my studio.”
“Where is it?” I ask after pulling away from him.
He nods over his shoulder. “Go past the bathroom and through the door. It’s in there.”
“This house… it is absolutely amazing, Levi.”
“Thank you,” he says, pausing. “I have to go back to LA. Willow…
she wants to come home, and I promised her that she could. Stormy too, but she’s doin' so reluctantly. I have to spend some time finding her a dance teacher that either lives out here or an instructor willing to move. I don’t want to take that away from her.” He swallows hard, and I can see the agony in his eyes, but for the life of me, I don’t understand why.
“I don’t want you to think you have to leave or that the girls will bug you. They won’t. You still have free reign over the house, the land--”
“Your body?” I hedge.
“My body,” he says with a grin so wide that I can’t help but giggle. “But they’re my babies, and I need them here.”
“I understand, Levi. Honestly, I’d like to be around family for a while. I miss mine and lately, all Darian wants to do is talk about Van and the group.”
“Oh, I hope you don’t regret those words in a few days.”
Never, but I don’t tell him that. Instead, I snuggle into him and close my eyes, letting the scent of the both of us carrying me off to sleep.
Chapter 22
Levi
I finally understand what it means to be on cloud nine. Still, it’s hard to describe how I’m feeling as Zara and I walk hand-in-hand down the streets of Nashville. Each look we receive has me wondering what that person is thinking. Here I am in my cowboy boots, jeans, and a t-shirt while she’s dressed in combat boots, fishnet stockings, denim shorts with my flannel tied around her waist, and a tank top. If we aren’t polar opposites, I don’t know what you’d call us. But, from the moment we got out of my truck, she reached for my hand and hasn’t let it go, unless it’s been so I can open the door for her, or if she’s trying on some clothes.
Yes, that’s right. Rocker chick Zara Phillips has tried on some countrified clothes today and even allowed me to purchase her a shirt or two. She drew that line at boots, but I still have time to get her to change her mind. I told her if anything, they’re a fashion statement and someone like her could bring them back in full-force. She, however, didn’t buy a single word I was trying to sell her.