Losing an Edge

by Catherine Gayle

“Unless you really want to get hit with ice cream and bacon?”

  He took my hand, and we made a mad dash for the front door, laughing and grabbing our coats on the way. We were still laughing by the time we were in the car and moving.

  At a stoplight, Levi turned to me and brushed something off my cheek, then put it in his mouth. “Hmm. Bacon and ice cream isn’t half bad. Who knew?”

  I was about to tell him that apparently Jesse did, when he leaned over and kissed the same spot on my cheek, flicking his tongue against my skin. Then I couldn’t say anything. Heck, I couldn’t even breathe anymore, not after my initial gasp from the contact.

  He straightened away from me and started driving again when the light turned green.

  The rest of the way to his apartment, my ability to concentrate was nil. All I could think about was the soft touch of his lips and tongue against my skin and how I wanted more of it.

  Once we got inside, Levi came up behind me and helped me out of my coat. The warmth of the material had barely left me when the heat of his lips replaced it. He kissed me right where my neck melted into my collarbone, and I shivered. That was one of the spots he’d discovered early on—one of the ones that made me melt into a puddle of goo and had me willing to do almost anything he suggested.

  “Cold?” he murmured, his lips still making contact with my skin. He wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me back against him.

  I shook my head. “Not cold. If anything, I’m hot.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that,” he teased.

  I was tempted to elbow him in the ribs, but I was too short to reach him there. I might accidentally hit him somewhere that might cause damage, or at least put a quick end to what I hoped we were starting. Instead, I linked my hands with his, threading our fingers together.

  “I got you a Valentine’s Day present,” he said, his mouth so close to my ear that his voice sent reverberations through my whole body. “I hope that’s allowed at this point in our relationship.”

  “A present?” I asked, both elated and upset at the same time. “I didn’t think to get you anything.”

  “Good. Because I want this to be all about you right now.” He took a moment to hang our coats in the closet, then reached for my hand and led me into the living room. “Sit here and close your eyes,” he said, nudging me onto the couch.

  “I’m not good at keeping my eyes closed.”

  “No, you’ve got too much of Connor in you. Can’t do what you’re told.” He winked. “Close them, or I’ll blindfold you.”

  I bit my lip to suppress a grin. “You could blindfold me if you want.”

  He stared for a minute. Then he shook his head. “Don’t give me ideas. Close your eyes.”

  I closed my eyes and waited until I heard him doing something in his bedroom. Then I opened them again. He was right. There was a bit of Connor’s devious streak in me. Maybe that was where he’d gotten it, because that little boy’s nature was about as different from Cam’s as possible.

  A moment later, Levi came back carrying a small box, big enough to hold a stack of index cards. “You’re supposed to have your eyes closed,” he said accusingly.

  “Should’ve gone with the blindfold. Here.” I patted the seat next to me. “Let me see.”

  The expression on his face was a combination of amusement and annoyance. I figured that meant good things to come. He sat next to me, putting an arm around me the way he almost always did, and passed the box into my hands.

  “Go on, nosy,” he said.

  The lid was labeled Cadence’s Daily Treat. I lifted the top off the box and set it aside. Sure enough, it was filled with note cards. The first one said Present this card to redeem one romantic afternoon walk at the International Rose Test Gardens followed by dinner of your choice. I flipped through the box, scanning the different cards. They were good for all sorts of things: a kiss to be delivered even when one or both parties were angry, a dinner prepared by him, an authentic and heartfelt apology (whether he felt like he’d been wrong or not), a bubble bath, a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, a candlelit massage, a day spent babysitting my niece and nephew so I could hang out with my brother and sister-in-law without the kids getting in the way, a weekend getaway to the beach (schedules permitting), a foot rub, and even a few labeled Lady’s Choice. Some were clearly meant for when he was on the road or when I had to travel for competitions, since they offered things like an uninterrupted hour of Skype time, flower delivery, or travel arrangements to wherever the team was playing.

  I set them all back in the box and returned the lid to its position. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s not difficult. Every day, you pick a card, and I give you whatever’s on the card. I’ll restock it whenever it starts running low, so there are always plenty of options.”

  “But…” No one had ever done anything like that for me before, let alone doing something for me every single day. With Guy, it had always been about what I needed to do for him.

  “But nothing,” Levi said. “Every day, no matter what, you get to pick a card. And you get whatever is on the card, no questions asked, no arguments, no hesitation.”

  “No matter what?” I asked. Because the wheels had started spinning in my mind.

  “No matter what.”

  “And I get to start today.”

  “I hope you will.”

  “All right.” I opened the box again and fished through it until I found one of the Lady’s Choice cards.

  “Going for one of those to start with, hmm?”

  “Yes.” I pressed it into his hand. “Because I have something very specific I want.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  I looked up, meeting his eyes full on. “I want you to take me to bed.”

  I WASN’T SURE what I’d been expecting her to ask for, but sex was definitely not it.

  And that was what she meant, wasn’t it? Maybe I was reading too much into it, putting my own desires into her words when she hadn’t intended anything of the sort. I needed to be sure before I did something stupid.

  “You want me to take you to bed?” I repeated.

  “Yes. Your bed.”

  That was all it took to have me salivating. “You’re sure?”

  We’d been making out a lot over the last week, so much that I tended to lie in bed awake at night afterward, jerking off to the memory of her taste, her scent, the firmness of her body beneath my hands mixing with the softness of her curves. Every time I was around her, I had to fight off my inner teenager. I wasn’t sure I was ready to be with her in a way that would be good for her, not only good for me. Sheer terror swamped me that I might blow my load the second I came into contact with her naked flesh.

  “Positive.” She didn’t look the least bit deterred. “Absolutely one hundred percent positive.” She took my hand in both of hers and held it still for a moment before placing it flat against her ribs.

  The tips of my fingers brushed the underside of her breast, and I groaned.

  She set the box of cards on the coffee table and straddled me, rising up on her knees so we were on the same level. Her eyes had gone dark green again with those fiery golden flecks making them come to life. I wanted to drown in them, to let the flames consume me.

  “Remember?” she murmured before her lips pressed to mine in a teasing, taunting kiss. “No questions asked. No arguments. No hesitation. Take me to bed, Levi.”

  “You’re sure you’re ready for this?”

  She rabbit-punched my shoulder. “That’s a question.”

  “It’s an important question.”

  She kissed me again, sucking my lower lip between hers and flicking her tongue against my skin. “I solemnly swear that I am making trouble, and you’re going to like it or else.”

  “That’s not even close to the quote.”

  “It’s close enough. Besides, I don’t care about that at the moment. What I care about is you gave me a box of cards, and you’re letting me pick what
I want from you, and this is what I want. And if you don’t stop asking questions and take me to bed, I’ll start twisting quotes from the Dowager Countess of Grantham, instead.”

  “Oh, God. Not Downton Abbey. Please, don’t torture me like that.”

  “Levi…” She had the most adorable warning tone in her voice, like I’d heard her use several times with Connor when he was misbehaving.

  I was tempted to peck her on the nose again, to further infuriate her, but I held back. “I’m done. No more.” I stood up, holding Cadence by the waist. She wrapped her legs around me, and the skirt of her dress inched upward until it was barely covering her at all. Her gorgeous, bare thighs squeezed tight around me.

  She worked on undoing my tie as I carried her to my bedroom. By the time I set her on her feet in front of me, she had the knot undone. It slipped free from my collar and remained in her hand.

  “You planning to use that for something?” I asked in a teasing tone.

  She shrugged, her eyes sharpening while a devious smile came to her lips. “I don’t know. I’m sure there are a lot of things we could do with this.”

  “Maybe some other time.” I slid my fingertips up her rib cage and over the length of her arm, then took the tie away from her and tossed it to the floor. “Not this time. I don’t want anything between us this first time.”

  “Okay.” She lowered her eyes until all I saw were lids and lashes, and she bit her lower lip in a move that was equally innocent and sultry. Then she slipped her hands up my chest and started undoing the buttons of my shirt.

  I had to suck in some air to be sure I kept breathing through whatever she had in mind. “Okay?” I repeated.

  She nodded, dragging my shirt free from my waistband to finish getting it open. “You can have what you want if I can have what I want.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “I don’t want you to be careful with me. Everyone’s constantly trying to be sure I’m not hurt, that no one’s done anything to me.” There was a fire burning in her eyes that would melt me if I wasn’t careful. “Tonight, I want you to do things to me. Dirty things. Messy things. The kind of things you could never talk about in front of the guys without turning bright red from embarrassment.”

  “But…I thought the first time should be sweet and romantic.” Hell, it was Valentine’s Day. Wasn’t I supposed to be doing the whole flowers, chocolate, and candles thing? Not mauling her like a piece of meat. Don’t get me wrong—mauling her sounded seriously fucking good, but it wasn’t how I’d envisioned any of this would go. Especially since I was falling so hard for her. Hell, I never thought I’d be taking her to my bed so soon. The wild and crazy part, with her adorable-one-minute-turning-to-sex-goddess-the-next eyes, might do me in and make it official.

  The L word. How could I have possibly gone from trying to one-up my brother to falling in love in the blink of an eye? But I clearly had.

  “We’ve got lots of time later for slow and sweet. Right now, this first time? I want it hot and fast and loud. Frantic, like I am.” She undid my belt buckle and the fly of my slacks, never removing her eyes from mine. Then she dropped her hand lower until the tips of her fingers barely grazed my straining cock.

  My heart was about two solid beats shy of bursting through my ribs, simply from the thought of all she was asking of me. But then I stopped thinking entirely. There was no room for thought in this. Only for action.

  “You’re sure that’s what you want?” I asked.

  She nodded, delving lower to wrap her hand all the way around me.

  I groaned, but then I spun around so Cadence’s back was against the wall. I picked her up by the waist, pinned her in place with my hips and thighs, and kissed her as hard as I’d been dreaming of.

  She let out a tiny sound, and I backed off a bit in case I’d hurt her. She pulled me closer, putting both arms around my neck and nipping at my lower lip the same way she always bit her own. Then she squeezed me with her thighs and ground against me.

  “Oh, fuck, baby,” I said on a groan.

  I fumbled with the zipper in the back of her dress, but it was no use. Couldn’t get it to budge, so I caressed her breasts through the fabric. Her nipples were hard nubs, even through all the fabric. I slid my hands up her thighs, lifting the skirt out of the way until it bunched at her waist. She was so slick and hot that her panties were soaked, and I’d barely touched her.

  She shoved my shirt and suit jacket over my shoulders, and they pooled at my feet while she worked on lowering my pants. “Condom,” she panted.

  “Hell.” Wasn’t thinking. Not at all.

  I carried her with me to the bathroom, kicking off my pants as I went, and pressed her against the door frame for stability. Then I ripped open the top drawer, where I had a small stash. Fumbled around until I got my hands on one. I tried to get the stupid thing open, but I was too hot and sweaty and frustrated to get the job done.

  “Give it to me,” she said, ripping it from my hands. In no time, she had the foil wrapper open. I slipped the condom into place as she tugged her panties to the side.

  Then I was inside her.

  Her eyes went wide. Fucking hell, I should’ve taken at least a little more time to be sure she was ready for me, but it was too late now. Her pussy was as small and tight as the rest of her. I’d never felt anything like the way she squeezed me. This might as well be heaven, because I couldn’t think of anything better than the way I felt right at this moment.

  I tried to move slowly, to give her time to adjust, but Cadence dug her fingernails into my upper back and buried her head in the space between my neck and my shoulder, and she said, “Fuck me, Levi.”

  So I did. It was hard and fast and loud—all the things she’d demanded of me. I pounded into her, thrusting so hard it knocked her back against the doorjamb repeatedly. Somehow we ended up on the bathroom floor, my head banging against the toilet seat on my way down. I didn’t care how bad it hurt because it was the best fucking sex I’d ever had in my life. Maybe the best I ever would have.

  Because this time, it mattered. Cadence mattered more than I was prepared for.

  She rose up over me, riding me while I let my hands explore her petite body. Her pink dress was drenched in our sweat and wrinkled beyond belief, and I was only making it worse by manhandling her through the fabric. I couldn’t seem to stop myself, not with the sounds she was making. Soft moans mixed with sharp cries that echoed in the bathroom, all of them urging me on. But we’d started out so fast and hard I didn’t know if I could hold on much longer.

  “Baby, I need you to come,” I ground out, trying to hold back my own release.

  “I’m close.”

  “I’m too close,” I insisted.

  Keeping her eyes on mine, she grabbed a handful of my hair and tugged me up and over her, leaning back until I was on top. She hooked her ankles over my shoulders and locked them together behind my neck. I held on to her hips and tipped them forward just enough that I had to be hitting her G-spot.

  After a few more thrusts, her eyes rolled back and she cried out, while I rode the wave of her release. The tremors squeezed my cock so much that I lost the thin rein of control I’d had to that point, shouting “I love you,” as I came.

  Her hands stroked my face, my neck, my shoulders, both of us panting and trying to come back down to earth. After a moment, I realized she had to be insanely uncomfortable being crushed beneath me with nothing but the cold, hard tile floor to cushion her. I rolled off her, but she came with me, straightening her limbs as we adjusted.

  I was about to suggest we get up off the floor and maybe take a hot shower together when she propped herself up on her elbows to look down at me and said, “You love me?”

  “I…” I blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out if I should pretend I hadn’t said it or if I might as well admit it. But it didn’t matter. It was the truth, and there wasn’t any good reason to lie about something as important as that. “Yeah,” I said, grinni
ng at the dumbstruck look on her face. “I do. I love you, Cadence Johnson. So get used to that.”

  She bit her lower lip again, but she was smiling. “Okay. But only if you get used to the idea that I love you, too.”

  Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, she went and flipped the script on me. I tugged on her hair until she came down and let me kiss her, long and slow.

  She broke off the kiss after a minute and giggled. Straight back to the cute and adorable version of herself. How on earth could she switch back and forth like that? I didn’t have the first clue, but I intended to spend as much time as necessary studying her to figure it out.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  Cadence shrugged with a devious grin that would put her nephew to shame. “Mischief managed.”

  At least she got that quote right.

  ONCE AGAIN, I leaned forward on those damned figure skates Bergy had bought for me—the ones he insisted I wear for these lessons—and once again, I caught the fucking toe pick on the ice and fell flat on my face.

  “Ow!” I shouted, barely stopping myself from shouting a bunch of less acceptable things in front of Sophie.

  She giggled, and Cadence skated over to offer me a hand.

  “So, what does Levi need to do, Sophie?” Cadence asked. “What’s he doing wrong?”

  Sophie put her hands on her hips, taking up a posture I’d seen her mother use countless times. “Don’t just bend the knees. Bend the ankles.”

  “Hockey skates don’t allow you to bend the ankles,” I grumbled.

  “But figure skates do,” Cadence said. “Which is why you’re wearing them and not those stiff old hockey skates.”

  “I like my stiff old hockey skates.”

  Cadence shrugged. “You can learn to like these, too.”

  With that, Sophie skated away from us, trying to perform a spiral move she’d been working on with Cadence for a while. The way her eyes lit up when she finished it, I couldn’t help but nod. “Yeah. I suppose I can.” For Sophie’s sake, at least.

  The twinkle in Cadence’s eyes told me she understood exactly where I was coming from. She took off to follow her true student, and I had to try to catch up to her without falling on my ass. “You’re as messed up over Sophie as I am over you, aren’t you?” I asked her once I reached her side.