Levi nodded. “Under Monroe.” Not that it looked like they needed one tonight. Although already eight o’clock, hardly any of the tables were occupied. Levi hoped that was because most of the town was at the fund-raising steak dinner and not because the hotel was struggling. He liked Troy Sheenan and wanted his venture to be a success.
The maître d’ settled them at their table, first pulling back their chairs and then flourishing their napkins in the air before settling one onto each lap. Levi vaguely registered a question about drinks, and judging by the wine delivered to their table not long after, one of them must have answered, but he didn’t remember any of that.
He was too consumed by the beautiful woman across the table. A small table, so that he could easily reach out and take her hand or begin a game of footsie.
“Have you been here before?” he asked, glancing down at the menu in front of him but not really taking any of it in.
She flicked a few strands of that luscious chocolate hair over her shoulder and shook her head. “I don’t come back to Marietta often, but when I do, I usually hang at Grey’s or the diner with the girls, and of course, I have to eat at home some nights.”
“How are your parents?”
She rolled her eyes. “Same as ever. Their lives still revolve around the church and their obsession with finding me a suitable guy to settle down and have babies with. Marriage first, of course.”
He couldn’t help laughing. “And you don’t want that?”
She shrugged and rubbed her lips over each other again in that way that did something to his groin. He shifted in his seat as she replied. “It’s not that I’m opposed to the idea of marriage or children, but I’ve kinda been too busy to find a suitable candidate. I’ve been focusing on my career instead.”
He nodded, then teased, “You could always get Pastor and Mrs. Davis to find a husband for you. I’m sure they’d have people lining up for the vacancy.”
She glared at him with her feisty eyes, and he thought she might actually reach across and whack him on the arm. His muscles tightened in anticipation of the connection, but a damn waitress arrived and Selah tucked her hands under the table instead.
“Good evening,” she said, with a chirpy smile. “Are you ready for me to take your orders?”
“That’d be lovely.” Selah glanced down at the menu, before picking it up and closing it. She looked up to the redheaded waitress and said something about chicken. Levi only realized when the waitress looked at him expectantly that he’d been too busy staring at Selah to a) listen to what she’d actually asked for or b) pay any attention to the menu himself.
“I’ll have the same.” He closed his own menu and handed it to the waitress, hoping she’d hurry the hell away. They hadn’t been here long, but he was already enjoying himself immensely. The waitress gave them another smile, asked if she could get them anything else and then scurried off, much to Levi’s joy. He turned back to focus on Selah. “Where were we? Your parents?”
She blew air between her lips, flicking up strands of her dark fringe. “The most boring topic on the planet. I didn’t come here to talk about my folks, Levi,” she said as she leaned a little toward him.
Again, suggestive undertones oozed from her words, reminding him exactly why she’d wanted him to come. He swallowed and looked right into her eyes to stop his gaze from drifting down to the pendant and the way it hung between her two awesome breasts. “If you’re not dating, what do you do when you’re not working, not writing?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t date, just that nobody has fulfilled my fantasies in the bedroom or made me want to race up the aisle.”
He wanted to talk about those fantasies. Hell, he’d like to enact some of them right this second, because no matter what they were, if they involved Selah, they’d be smoking hot.
Instead, he impressed himself by saying, “Hobbies?”
She sighed, as if irritated he wouldn’t easily succumb to her desire to take the conversation somewhere sordid. “I bake cakes. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my caramel mud. I watch a fair bit of television.”
“What? Scandal? The Good Wife?”
Again, she looked as if she wanted to hit him. “As it happens, Levi, I like watching documentaries.”
Now he was intrigued. He didn’t watch much TV himself, but when he did or when he picked up a book, he liked true stories, stuff that made you think. “What type?”
“Human interest stuff mainly—how advertisers trick us into buying things we don’t want, travel shows about places I’d like to visit and true crime. That stuff terrifies me at the same time that it fascinates me.”
“I love that shit, too,” he admitted, surprised to find this much in common already. “I saw one recently about this outlaw gang who were conned by a bunch of old ladies.”
She snapped her fingers at him. “I saw that one, too. It was hilarious.”
He couldn’t help but grin at her laughter, which washed through him like liqueur. “So, baking and TV?” Seriously, what more could a man want in a woman? Besides hot sex, which was all she was offering him.
She nodded. “And yoga. I love my yoga.”
Damn it, his mind shot straight to the gutter at the mention of yoga. All sorts of images of Selah’s clearly flexible body in kinky sexual positions tortured him. He picked up his wine glass and gulped half of it down. How the hell was he going to get through the main course, nevermind dessert, without leaning across the table and covering her mouth with his? All he could think about was slipping his hands up into her hair and caressing the nape of her neck while he kissed her.
“Do you do any other sport aside from the rodeo?” she asked, twisting her wine glass in his fingers.
He took a breath and focused on the question. “Nothing structured. The horses keep me busy, but I occasionally get out and run. Team sports were never really my thing.”
“Not enough blood and gore?” she asked, referring to the dangerous nature of the rodeo.
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
Their conversation flowed far easier than Levi had imagined it would. Their meals arrived—chicken fettuccine Alfredo, not what he’d have chosen if he’d been paying attention—and between mouthfuls, they continued learning about each other. Although he’d known Selah for years, in many ways this felt like the first getting-to-know-each-other date, but without the awkward silences that frequented so many of those. He genuinely liked hearing her anecdotes about life and work, and they had fun discussing their former classmates and what had become of them.
“Shall we get dessert?” he asked as the waitress cleared away their main dishes.
“Dessert?” Selah hoped Levi didn’t hear the disappointment in her voice. Truth was, she’d been hoping she’d be his dessert. Then again, the way they’d been laughing and bantering across the table for the last hour or so had to be a good omen. Surely, he wouldn’t want to spend so much time with her if he wasn’t still a little interested. She could almost see the sexual tension sizzling between them across the table and felt confident her new sexy lingerie was not going to go to waste.
He picked up the dessert menu the waitress had left on the table and perused it a moment. She liked the way tiny creases formed in his forehead as he contemplated. Then he looked up. “I’m thinking the crème brûlée or the molten chocolate cake.”
She smiled. “You can’t go wrong with chocolate, but I’m not sure I could eat a whole one. Should we share?”
Levi raised one eyebrow, as if telling her he saw right through her plan, but then he grinned, closed the menu and said, “Good idea.”
The waitress, who seemed to have some kind of instinct telling her exactly when they needed her, appeared as if from nowhere. “Do you need any recommendations?” She spoke only to Levi, her lips stretched into such a big aim-to-please smile, Selah worried they might snap.
He’s mine, she thought, glaring at the woman.
“We’ve decided on the choc
olate cake,” Levi told her.
“Good choice.” She picked up the menu and hugged it close.
“To share,” he added, looking only at Selah as he did so and causing her heart to go a little crazy.
The waitress went away, but Levi continued gazing at Selah in a manner that was both thrilling and disconcerting. In many ways, she was glad he’d chosen to do things a little more classy—she’d enjoyed dinner and his company immensely—but the longer it took to get to the bedroom, the more nervous she was getting. She had no doubt he could give her exactly what she’d been missing all these years, but what if she disappointed him? Her experience at this kind of thing was limited, to say the least. How could she be both insanely excited and terrified at the same time?
“What?” she asked, her chest heaving with a big breath as she wondered what kind of scrape she’d gotten herself into.
“You’re beautiful,” he replied simply, then reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek, cupping her chin and holding his hand there a moment. “And I’m so damn glad you sought me out again.”
While his seductive, very complimentary words and his touch sent shivers down her spine, and to much more feminine places, she told herself to take it all with a grain of salt. The last thing she needed was to start falling for Levi Monroe all over again. To start thinking of him as something more than the man she wanted to bed.
She swallowed, resisting the urge to shift her head slightly and kiss the palm of his hand. “Me, too. I’ve had a great night.”
“It’s not over yet.” He put his hand back on the table, but suggestion dripped from those four words.
The butterflies that had been fluttering in her stomach flew away as her excitement kicked up. She squeezed her thighs together to stop from crying out in anticipation and silently reminded herself they were still in public. But, hell, the chocolate cake couldn’t come fast enough. She wanted the man sitting opposite her more than she’d wanted any other man before.
“Tell me more about your work,” he said, lifting his glass again and taking another sip.
Selah blinked, wondering if she’d just imagined their little near-public-display-of-affection. She took another sip, more like a gulp, of her own wine and then replied, “What do you want to know?”
He shrugged. “The articles you’ve mentioned writing so far and the one you’re doing on cowboys don’t seem to suit you.”
She frowned, confused and unsure what he meant.
“No offense. Charisma sounds like a fun sort of magazine, a great place to work, and I’m sure your articles are well-written, but your interests run deeper. Don’t you ever want to write about something grittier than the latest handbag styles?”
The funny thing was, coming from anyone else she would have been offended by such a comment. But Levi’s words didn’t put her on the defensive. It was as if he’d reached right inside her and found a truth she’d not shared with anyone yet. “Yes,” she answered forcefully. “To be quite honest, I’m bored out of my head. I always wanted to be a serious journalist, but I’ve been writing for fashion magazines for so long, I…”
She let her words fade off, not wanting to admit to a man who rode bulls for a living that fear was keeping her back. She was a small-town minister’s daughter, and although she’d traveled widely and lived a somewhat glamorous life, she still felt like a country girl. Being back in Montana with her friends made her realize even more that her life in Seattle wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She missed the friendliness and community that a place like Marietta had to offer.
“Why not write something for you?” Levi suggested. “If you could write about anything in the world, what would it be?”
Considering she’d all but offered him sex on a platter, Levi seemed to be taking a great interest in finding out about who Selah was now. She couldn’t help but like him more for it.
“I’d write human-interest stories about ordinary people who do extraordinary things.”
“Have you got anyone in mind?” he asked as their waitress delivered the most amazing-looking chocolate dessert to their table. She placed it between them and set two tiny forks on the edge of the plate.
“Enjoy,” she said, but Selah swore there was an edge to her voice and that she gave Selah an evil glare as she stalked off. It made her feel happy and smug. If she had to witness another woman dining with this sexy cowboy, she’d be spitting with jealousy, too.
When Levi dug his fork into the chocolaty, gooey goodness, Selah forgot all about their conversation. She forgot she had ambitions and dreams and desires that didn’t revolve around him. Her breath halted as she waited for him to taste the first mouthful, to watch his Adam’s apple work as he swallowed. But, instead, he stretched out his arm and offered the forkful to her.
“Open your lips.” His voice was low, and for a moment Selah swore he’d told her to open her legs. She would have obliged either way.
Her mouth opened, her heart strumming a quick beat as Levi slipped the fork into her mouth. Her taste buds exploded as the chocolate melted on her tongue, but it was the intimacy of Levi feeding her that set her on fire.
He withdrew the fork and looked expectantly at her. “Well?”
“It’s good,” she all but panted and then reached out to gulp from her water glass.
Levi shoved his fork back into the cake and devoured a chunk himself. Wanton need shot through Selah at the realization that that fork had been inside her mouth only moments earlier. It wasn’t anything like sex, but it felt as intimate as they could get in a respectable restaurant.
“I see what you mean.” Having finished his first mouthful, Levi dug his fork in again and offered her another. They finished the cake in this manner, each mouthful setting Selah more and more on edge, so that by the time the plate was empty, she felt like a desperate, panting mass of need.
“Shall we get the bill?” she asked, code for “Are you ready to take me to bed?”
“Good idea.” Levi glanced around and caught their waitress’ eye. He gestured that they were ready to go.
Selah felt like an impatient child as they waited for the bill. It was all she could do to stop herself from squirming in her seat. Neither of them said anything, as if they were both thinking about what was about to follow, but Levi whipped out his wallet the moment the bill was delivered.
“We can just put it on my room,” Selah suggested, anything to save time.
“No, this is my treat.” Levi retrieved a few bills from his wallet, leaving a generous tip before standing. “Shall we go?”
“Yes.” She hadn’t meant to sound so husky or so excited, but his grin said he didn’t mind.
“I’ll walk you to your room.” He took her hand in his as they weaved through the other tables to the exit, and as they crossed the lobby, she prayed the elevator would be fast tonight.
As if God were on her side, the doors peeled back the moment Levi pressed the up button. They stepped into a thankfully vacant elevator, and Selah turned to him the moment the doors slid shut behind them. She licked her lips as he took a step toward her and did exactly what she’d been dreaming of all night. Well, the beginning of said sordid fantasy.
He put his hands on her waist and tugged her against him, his hands sliding around and up her back as he bowed his head and kissed her like he would die if he didn’t. She was thankful he had a good grip on her, for the feel of his tongue sliding along hers left her weak. It could have lasted only a matter of seconds, but it was the hottest kiss she’d ever participated in, and when the elevator opened again, she broke free and tugged him along behind her like some kind of sex-starved nympho.
“Praise the Lord,” she uttered as she slipped her hand into her bag and found the room card immediately. She swiped the door unlocked, and Levi pushed it open, lust and hunger visible in his eyes as he gazed down at her.
Not waiting for them to get decently inside, he stepped close again, pinning Selah against the door as he slid his knee between hers
. His mouth went to her neck. She groaned at his touch and anchored her fingers in his hair, drawing him even closer. Not wanting him to ever stop kissing her.
Then, as quickly as it had started, Levi broke free. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned as if he’d just won the lottery.
“See ya later, Selah.”
Her mouth dropped open, her hand flying to her chest as he turned and swaggered off down the corridor back toward the elevator, dashing all her hopes, dreams and desires for that night.
Chapter Six
‡
Selah woke to the alarm on her cell phone and flapped her arm out to turn it off without even opening her eyes. It was Saturday—the first official day of the Copper Mountain Rodeo. She had old friends to meet, greasy rodeo food to eat, cowboys to ogle and a pretty damn hot country music singer to interview, but after last night, none of those things was enough to make her want to drag herself out of bed.
“Oh, God.” She rolled over, wrapping the covers around herself and pulling a pillow over her head. If only that embarrassing fiasco with damn Levi Monroe had been a dream, or rather, a nightmare.
She was still wearing her sexy underwear, having only just managed to rip off her own dress while sobbing uncontrollably. She could still taste him on her lips, and the skin on her neck felt a little raw from where his rough stubble had brushed against it. And her insanely sexy high heels were discarded on the floor like clues from a crime scene. All painful reminders of the way she’d thrown herself at Levi, and he’d teased her, led her on and then dropped her like a hot piece of coal.
Had he ever planned on following through? On taking her up on her proposition? Or was the facade of dinner, the undeniable flirting, all his idea of a sick joke? Something inside her snapped, and her humiliation led to anger. How dare he play her like that? Well, two could play at that game.
Spurred on by this thought, she threw back the covers, all but jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. Under the water, she contemplated her outfit—she didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, but if Levi saw her (and Copper Mountain wasn’t that big, so he likely would), she wanted to be sure he knew what he’d turned down. She wanted to make him regret his decision to play her for a fool, and if her distraction put him off his game, well, that would be payback for kissing her stupid and then walking away.
Tease Me, Cowboy (Montana Born Rodeo Book 1) Page 6