“You always have.”
Why did it sound as if he’d known that forever, when she was just figuring it out? “You’re probably right.”
Her easy admission had him staring hard at her again.
“Okay,” Beth said, “so what are you thinking?”
“That I need up.” Those words struck Levi funny, and he turned his head on a rough laugh. “Hell, what am I saying? I’ve been up since I opened my eyes and realized you were still here.” He looked back at her. “In bed.” His voice lowered. “With me.”
“Of course I’m still here.” Beth pretended affront. “I told you last night that we’d talk this morning.”
“You also told me that you weren’t letting me go. But you were half-asleep and I’d just given you an orgasm, so I wasn’t sure how much stock to put into those words.”
“You thought that maybe after everything we did last night, I’d freak out in the light of day and dodge you again?”
“That worry did keep me awake for a while.”
They needed time to iron out all the misunderstandings and come to an agreement, one they could both deal with, Beth decided. “Well, we’re here, and we’re talking now.”
Levi smiled. “And I’m thrilled, I really am. Except that before we get too involved, I’d like to hit the john, brush my teeth, shave—”
“Modesty?” Beth teased. “You want to greet me at your best?”
“You deserve the best.”
He said that so seriously that she wanted to confess undying love. But before she did anything like that, she needed to figure out how Levi really felt, and why he wanted to marry her.
“I snuck into the bathroom without waking you.” She brushed his mouth with hers in a feather-light kiss. “No morning breath for me.”
His thumb skimmed her jaw. “No whiskers, either.”
“I like your whiskers, Levi.” What an understatement. She loved everything about him. “And your disheveled hair, and the warm, sleepy way you smell…” She put her nose to his neck and inhaled.
On a groan, Levi caught her upper arms, lifted her up and away from him and put her on her back beside him. “Do me a favor, will you, honey? Hold all those tantalizing thoughts while I do a rush job here, okay?”
Beth nodded.
His gaze dipped to her legs, exposed beneath the hem of her pajama top. Thanks to the cold, she’d buttoned up to keep her chest warm, but she hadn’t bothered with her bottoms at all.
Levi slowly inhaled before visibly girding himself and, wonderfully naked, he strolled into the bathroom.
Beth watched him until he was out of sight, then she squeezed her eyes shut and hugged herself. Now that she’d accepted her involvement with Levi, things were easier.
And exciting beyond belief.
When she heard the water come on, she jumped out of the bed and called the front desk to request a pot of coffee and a basket of Danishes. Being Ben’s stepsister got her priority service, and she barely had time to drag a brush through her hair and pull on her pajama bottoms before the knock sounded on the door.
Looking refreshed and resolute, Levi stuck his head out of the bathroom.
Beth deliberately confused him by grinning. “Unless you want to be seen in your birthday suit, you better duck back into bed.”
“Breakfast?”
“Coffee at least.”
“You’re an angel.” And with that, he stepped into jeans and went to the door for her. After signing the charge and slipping a few singles to the bellhop, he turned back to Beth, tray in hand.
Beth patted the bottom of the bed. “Put it here, and we can get comfortable together.”
His jaw worked, but he gave in with a shrug. “If you say so.”
Beth went about pouring coffee for them both. “I suppose you’re wondering about my change in attitude, huh?”
“A little, yeah.”
His dry tone made her chuckle. As she handed his coffee to him, she tried to explain. “Well, you know I talked with Grace and Sierra and Brooke last night?”
“Yeah.” He took the cup from her and sipped.
“We talked about…us. You and me.”
“I figured.” He took another sip.
“I told them how I felt like a marauding sex fiend with you.”
Levi choked. He looked at her, then sputtered and choked again. Quickly, he set the steaming cup of coffee back on the tray and stood.
“Are you all right?” Jumping to her feet, Beth went to the other side of the bed and started to pat his back.
Still coughing, Levi shot to the side to dodge her. “I’m okay,” he wheezed.
“Are you sure?” He didn’t sound all right.
Holding out a hand, he kept her at bay while he sucked in a few strangled breaths. When normal color returned to his face, he looked at her, put his hands on his hips and opened his mouth.
Beth blinked at him.
He said nothing. His mouth closed. He frowned.
“Did I embarrass you by telling them about us?”
He shook his head, more in confusion than denial. “Sex fiend?”
Maybe she shouldn’t have shared that with him. “You have to admit that I’m not really myself with you.”
“You’re exactly yourself.”
“I hadn’t been that way before.”
“Because you hadn’t been with me before.”
He sounded pretty confident about that. “It’s not what I’m used to. It’s not how I thought things should be.”
“It’s how I hope things will always be between us.” Shaking his head, Levi said, “Forget what you told your family. I don’t want to think about that.”
“Not my whole family,” Beth corrected. “Just the women.”
“Ha.” He shook his head again. “They probably made beelines to tell the men. They probably shared stories. Hell, they’ll all be grinning at me this morning, you watch and see.”
“They wouldn’t do that!”
“No, you’re right. Ben will probably want to kill me for debauching his little sister.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “I’m not really his little sister, just a stepsister, and I seriously doubt that Sierra said anything to him.”
“She’s his wife. If she doesn’t tell him everything, then she should.”
Beth scowled. “So you’re saying that you think she should have told him?”
Levi held his head. “I think you should have talked to me about this instead of telling them.”
Damn it, Beth hated feeling guilt, and Levi had made her feel more guilt in a week than she’d felt in her entire life. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He dropped his hands. “We’re here talking about it, and that’s a big improvement to me chasing you. However we got to this point, I’m grateful.” He came back to his seat. “So, you feel like a sex fiend, huh?”
Now he was smiling! Beth cleared her throat. “My point, before you started strangling to death, is that none of the women were surprised.”
“You know why? Because what we did was perfectly normal.”
“I didn’t tell them anything we did.”
“No?” He relaxed a little. “Then what did you tell them?”
“That it was more than I’d ever done before, and that it—you—made me feel so much more.”
Levi absorbed all that before smiling again. “And they told you that was a good thing, right?”
“They told me to own up to my feelings, which is what I’m trying to do.” To keep Levi from interrupting further, Beth shoved a cherry Danish toward him. “Now, since we’ve just established that I enjoy you, and you haven’t denied enjoying me, I think we should continue to…enjoy each other.”
Levi knew if he took a single bite of the Danish, he’d start choking again. He set it aside on one of the small plates that had come with the tray.
So, did Beth want to commit to him? Or just sleep with him?
It was a first, but damn it, he felt used. Insulted. He wanted everythi
ng, not just sexual satisfaction.
After a long look at Beth, he went to his overnight bag and withdrew a small wrapped package. “Here.”
Rather than take it, Beth stared at the ribbon. “What is it?”
“A Christmas gift.” Levi took her hand and pressed the package into it. “I know it’s not Christmas yet, but close enough, so open it.”
Excitement twinkled in her eyes. “Okay.” Careful not to rip the shiny paper, Beth opened the present. “A CD? Oh, by my favorite artist! I was going to get this next month.”
“I know. I heard you mention it. You’d already spent so much on Christmas shopping that something for yourself wasn’t in the budget.” He went back to his overnight bag and withdrew a larger gift. “Open this one, too.”
“But—”
“Just open it, honey. Please.”
Happy to oblige, Beth tore through the tissue paper. “The decorating book I mentioned.”
He tossed the next present to her, and without argument, she opened it, and then laughed. “Socks?”
“Special socks to keep your feet warm.”
“Because I’m always complaining of being cold?”
He nodded. “That’s right.” Digging deeper into his bag, he withdrew one more gift. “I wrapped this up after.”
“After?”
He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and said, “After you were no longer Brandon’s. After you were no longer off limits.”
Her lips parted. “Levi…”
“After you became mine.” He handed her a beautifully decorated, slender box.
For long moments, Beth just stared at the package. Finally, with infinite care, she opened the red-velvet ribbon, parted the silky paper, and lifted the lid.
“Oh Levi.” In no more than an awed breath of sound, Beth lifted out the delicate bracelet with a dangling pearl held inside a three dimensional heart-shaped pendant. “This is the exact bracelet that I fell in love with last summer.”
Levi crossed his arms over his chest. “I know. We were downtown for a play that Brandon wanted to see, and you stared at it in the jewelry window.”
Slowly, Beth brought her gaze from the bracelet up to Levi. “You noticed that?”
“I notice everything about you. I always have. I just didn’t let you or Brandon notice me noticing you.”
Beth hugged the bracelet to her chest and gave a tremulous smile. “I’ve always noticed a lot about you, too.”
“I know.” He crossed the floor to sit beside her on the bed. “Sometimes it worried me, because I didn’t want to be the cause of problems with you and Brandon. I kept wondering when the two of you would marry, and I didn’t know how the hell I was going to handle it.”
“Now you don’t have to handle it, because Brandon and I are over and you had nothing to do with it.”
Levi took her hands. “You like your gifts?”
“Yes, very much. All of them, but especially the bracelet.”
“While you were still engaged to Brandon, I didn’t dare give it to you. CDs and books were platonic enough, but jewelry…”
“It was so long ago, I’m surprised you were able to get it.”
“After seeing you admire it, I bought it the very next day.” He shrugged. “You wanted it, so I didn’t want anyone else to have it. I’m glad I can finally give it to you.”
Beth grinned. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.” She reached for him.
He said, “Marry me, Beth.”
She went still.
“You admitted to wanting me.”
Nervousness replaced her elation. “I do.”
“You admitted to liking my company.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone I’d rather spend time with.”
“Then marry me. Right now. The sooner the better.”
She wavered. Levi could see it in her eyes. She wanted to say yes, but fear of condemnation held her back.
Tentatively, she asked, “Don’t you think it’s a little too soon for that?”
“Not for me.”
“But…what will I say to everyone? I was just engaged to Brandon, and then poof—I’m marrying you.”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“Well, what about Brandon? Do you care what he thinks? How will he react to you, his best friend, wanting to marry me?”
Levi was about to reply to that when their phone rang. They looked at each other, Beth shrugged, and Levi reached out his arm to snatch up the receiver. “Hello?”
Beth watched him as he listened to the message from the front desk. Knowing she wouldn’t like this new turn, but that perhaps it was for the best, he held her gaze.
“Okay, thanks. Tell Ben we’ll be right there.” Levi hung up the phone. “You’re worried about Brandon’s reaction? Well, now’s our chance to find out what he thinks.”
Beth’s face went pale. “What do you mean?”
“Brandon’s in the lobby, waiting for us.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. And once again, your whole family is there. Seems they all came over to have breakfast with you. Only now they know that Brandon cheated on you.”
“Oh no.”
“Better yet, the desk clerk says it looks like Brandon tied one on last night, and he hasn’t sobered up yet.”
Beth rubbed her forehead. “Dad’s reasonable enough. He won’t meddle in my business.”
“No? Well what about Ben and Noah?”
Beth jumped up from the bed and made a mad dash toward her clothes. “Hurry, Levi. Get dressed.”
He narrowed his eyes and watched as she threw off her pajama bottoms and stepped into her jeans. He waited, but she turned her back to him before shrugging off her top and yanking on a sweatshirt.
“Are you so worried about Brandon’s welfare?”
While stomping her feet into shoes, Beth scowled at him. “Don’t be an idiot. I have no romantic feelings for Brandon anymore. It insults me for you to even suggest otherwise. But that doesn’t mean I want someone else trying to punish him.”
“You’re sure about that?”
Beth stopped dressing long enough to stomp over to Levi, bend down close and snarl into his face, “I know I’ve been a little wishy-washy here, but don’t insult my pride, damn it. Brandon burned his bridges as far as I’m concerned.”
“And what about me?”
“I want you.” Beth grabbed his ears and kissed him hard. “Only you.”
His tension eased. “Okay then.” In less than a minute, he’d pulled on a sweatshirt and socks, and tied up his boots. He took Beth by the hand. “Come on.”
Before they reached the lobby, Levi could hear Brandon’s loud drunken voice. The idiot. He picked one hell of a time to start drinking.
Worse, every word out of his mouth was an insult to Levi.
Looking down at Beth, Levi said, “Given his attitude, I’d say Brandon already knows about us.”
“But how?”
“You spent a weekend with me, Beth. Plenty of people could have seen your car there.”
She made a face. “Great.”
“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”
“My neighbors, so they would get my mail.”
“And they would have told Brandon if he asked. And he would have seen my truck out front.” So the cat was out of the bag. “Stay out of sight, honey.”
“Why?”
“Because neither of us wants Brandon to say something stupid to you. If he does, your family will maim him.”
“Oh, right.” Beth stayed around the corner as Levi went into the lobby.
“You miserable bastard!” Brandon staggered toward him. “You fiancée stealing ass. You pretended to be my friend.”
Levi stepped in front of Brandon to keep his attention away from Beth. Normally well suited and groomed, Brandon looked like hell warmed over.
Levi felt sorry for him. After all, he’d just given up the very best thing in his life. “I am your friend, Brand
on.”
“Bullshit!” He almost fell over with that outburst. “You stabbed me in the back.”
Levi glanced around and saw the fury gathering among Beth’s relatives. “Why don’t we take this someplace private?”
“After you just publicly took her from me? Why bother. Let’s settle it right here, you traitor. You Benedict Arnold. You—”
“Just calm down, Brandon. Let me explain.”
“Explain!” Being drunk didn’t suit Brandon at all. “You’re not good enough for her and you know it.”
Levi stiffened. He could feel everyone looking at him.
“You’re a gym teacher, for God’s sake.” Brandon stuck his nose in the air. “She was going to marry me, a doctor.”
His anger sparked. “Until you cheated on her.”
“One time! Just that one itty-bitty time.” Brandon listed to the left, then caught himself. “It was only a little indiscretion. Marcia isn’t anyone important. She didn’t mean anything to me.”
The females in attendance all grumbled over that.
Hoping to divert the topic, Levi said, “You didn’t drive here drunk, did you?”
“Like you care?”
“Did you?”
Brandon hiccupped. “I came down here last night, but the desk clerk refused to tell me which room Beth was in. Then I saw your truck, and I remembered everyone saying that her car was at your place for the whole weekend.” He stabbed at finger at Levi. “Then I started drinking.”
Damned fool. “Because you thought that would somehow help?”
Brandon’s face fell. “Tell me that you didn’t touch her. Tell me, Levi.”
Levi clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
Brandon howled. “Where is she? I need to talk to her.”
“No. Not like this. Not while you’re crocked.”
“Beth still wants me, I know she does. She deserves a doctor. A man of money. An educated man.” He curled his lip at Levi. “She deserves a man who can give her anything she wants.”
She deserved love, but Brandon didn’t understand that. “She’s mine now, Brandon. Accept it.”
Screeching like a wet cat and looking just as pathetic, Brandon took a halfhearted swing at Levi’s head.
Levi dodged him, and then had to catch him so Brandon didn’t land on his face.
Brandon shoved him away, or more to the point, he shoved himself away and into a wall. “What do you mean, she’s yours?”
I m Your Santa Page 8