by Witt, L. A.
Then the cabin door opened, and Levi stepped out. The second their eyes met, Carter’s head started spinning. He stopped in his tracks, just like when he’d seen Levi on the set yesterday, heart pounding and stomach fluttering.
Levi smiled, which didn’t help at all. “I was almost afraid you’d reconsidered.”
I should. God, I should.
“Had to wait for Anna to let me go.” Why am I here? Carter held Levi’s gaze, and those gorgeous eyes were filled with the same lust that had driven Carter here in spite of his nerves. Oh, yeah. That’s why I’m here.
He glanced back down the pier. There wasn’t a soul in sight—they were one hundred percent alone. No one to see them, hear them, or have any clue at all what they’d come here to do. The only question remaining . . .
Why the fuck am I still standing here?
Carter stepped from the pier onto the boat.
“You made it. That’s all that matters.” Levi slipped an arm around Carter’s waist, and his kiss—his soft, unhurried kiss—canceled out every second thought Carter had had. The few times they’d done this before had been enough to weaken his knees, but there was something foundation rattling about this one. Maybe the fact that years’ worth of fantasies were on the verge of becoming a reality.
Carter grinned against Levi’s lips. “You have everything we need?”
“You’d better believe it.” Levi gently freed himself and gestured over his shoulder. “Come on in.”
They climbed down the ladder into the main part of the cabin, and Levi led him into the back. The living quarters were roomier than he’d expected on a boat this size, but still a tight fit. They both had barely enough clearance to stand, though if Levi stood on his toes, his head would touch the ceiling.
In the tiny room inside the boat, they faced each other.
Here we are. Oh my God, here we are.
Neither of them said a word. They inched together, eyes locked, and Carter wondered if Levi’s heart was racing like his was.
Almost touching, they stopped, and Carter was more aware than ever of their height difference—Levi was a little taller, but this close together, Carter had to tilt his head up to meet his eyes.
Levi’s fingertips brushed Carter’s cheek, sending a shiver through both of them. “You sure about this?”
Carter swallowed. “Are you?”
Levi didn’t answer. He just gathered Carter in his arms and kissed him, and everything about that kiss said that yes, yes, yes.
Carter pushed Levi’s shirt up and off, and then he ran his fingers down the man’s sculpted torso. Seeing Levi like this on-screen was nothing compared to seeing him in person. He was all lean muscle. Pure power.
He slid his hand up Levi’s chest. Sure enough, Carter’s heart wasn’t the only one going a hundred miles an hour. He could feel Levi’s thumping pulse. His body heat.
Carter had seen the scars on Levi’s arm and the one on his face, but there were more on his biceps and shoulder, and a nasty one under his collarbone. They weren’t unattractive—if anything, they were silvery-white reminders of how the odds had been stacked against this moment happening at all.
He tried to take a step, but wobbled a little.
Levi caught him. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” Carter laughed, steadying himself. “Guess I still don’t have my sea legs.”
“It’s okay.” Levi wrapped his arm tighter around him. “We don’t need to stay on our feet anyway.” He drew Carter backward with him and they sank onto the bed.
The warmth of Levi’s skin took Carter’s breath away. “Oh my God.”
Levi ran his hands down Carter’s sides. “I want you so bad, I don’t know where to start.”
“I don’t even . . .” Carter shivered, pressing his body against Levi’s. “I don’t even know if you’re a top or a bottom or what.”
Levi dragged his nails up Carter’s spine. “I’m whatever you want me to be tonight.”
Jesus. H. Christ.
He searched for Levi’s lips, and right before he kissed him, he murmured, “Fuck me.”
Levi moaned and pulled him into a deep, breathless kiss. They held each other tighter, scraping fingernails across flesh and kissing as hungrily as they had this afternoon.
“Don’t move.” Levi reached for a black plastic bag on the edge of the bed. Carter’s heart beat faster as Levi tore a condom from the strip. It wasn’t only arousal, either.
Levi’s eyebrow arched. He paused, running a hand along Carter’s thigh. “You okay?”
Shit. He must’ve tensed without even realizing it. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He swallowed. “I, uh, just haven’t done this in a while. Bottomed, I mean.”
“It’s okay. I’ll go slow.” Levi tipped Carter’s chin up with two fingers and kissed him lightly. “I’ve wanted this for a long, long time. Believe me, I’m not in any hurry for it to be over.”
Carter melted, and he wrapped his arms around Levi again. In between kissing and touching, they got the condom out of its wrapper, and with four hands and a lot of clumsiness, they finally rolled the condom onto Levi’s cock. It wasn’t like either of them were inexperienced, but they were too damned busy making out to concentrate on anything else.
Panting, Levi broke the kiss and pushed himself up. He reached for the lube, and once he’d put some on, he met Carter’s eyes. “Turn around.”
As Carter obeyed, Levi kept a hand on him, a light, warm touch that moved from his shoulder to his back and finally to his hip.
He couldn’t tell if it was the boat’s gentle rocking or his own fucked-up equilibrium, but he was sure the entire world was about to list violently beneath him. He gripped the sheets, breathing slowly as he tried to steady himself.
Then Levi’s other hand materialized on his ass. Carter closed his eyes.
“I’ll go slow,” Levi said softly. “I promise.”
Carter just nodded. It wasn’t nerves now. All anticipation. And disbelief. And complete and total surrender.
Levi teased him gently, and he hadn’t lied—he wasn’t in any hurry. There was never pain. Never discomfort. At the first hint of resistance, Levi backed off, giving Carter a chance to relax completely before he continued. Maybe with any other guy, he’d have resented being slowly prepped like a scared virgin, but Levi made it feel so, so good. With a single finger, he had Carter trembling. When he added the second finger, Carter stopped caring about anything except how amazing he felt. How Levi knew exactly how to touch him, tease him, drive him slowly out of his mind.
He’d almost forgotten this was a step toward something else until Levi withdrew his fingers.
Oh. Oh God.
That’s where this is going.
He opened his eyes, staring down at the comforter he was gathering in his fists.
Behind him, Levi released a ragged breath as he ran a hand up Carter’s sides. “I can’t even tell you how long I’ve wanted to do this.”
Carter shivered. “Likewise.”
Levi laughed softly, and then they both gasped as he pressed his cock against Carter’s entrance.
Oh God. Oh my God . . .
Carter didn’t move. He focused on breathing as Levi slowly pushed into him. Vision blurring, he reminded himself again and again to relax—it wasn’t that he was worried that Levi would hurt him, this just felt so damned good, it was all he could do not to pass out and miss it. And, God, he didn’t want to miss a second.
Levi withdrew and then slid in again, easing himself deeper inside Carter, and every slow, gentle stroke made Carter light-headed. If there was one perk to lengthy periods of celibacy, it was the intensity of that first fuck after so long without. As Levi carefully worked himself in, a shiver drove Carter onto his forearms. The angle now, leaning downward with his ass in the air, may not have been the most dignified position ever, but he didn’t give a damn. How he looked was irrelevant because Levi felt so fucking good.
Somehow, Carter managed to lift himself up onto his ar
ms again, and he rocked back against Levi, matching his rhythm.
“God, this is even better than I imagined,” Levi murmured, and Carter’s whole body broke out in goose bumps. Levi had imagined this too?
“This is . . .” Carter closed his eyes. Everything about this was amazing, so much better than he’d imagined it, but he couldn’t speak.
Levi wrapped his arm around Carter and kissed the side of his neck. He used his body weight to guide Carter down onto his stomach, and once they’d landed gently on the firm mattress, he started moving again, slow, fluid strokes at the most incredible angle.
The only thing missing was Levi’s addictive kiss.
He turned his head and finally managed to slur, “L-let me get on my back.”
“I like the sound of that.” Levi kissed beneath Carter’s ear, and then he pulled out. They shifted position, Carter lying on his back and spreading his legs so Levi could guide himself in again. Levi watched himself take a few slow, deep strokes, whispering what sounded like curses.
Carter reached up, took Levi’s face in both hands, and drew him down into a kiss. Levi slid his hands under him, hooking them over Carter’s shoulders. A few times, Levi’s hips all but stopped, as if he couldn’t focus on fucking and kissing at the same time. Carter lost himself too, running his fingers through Levi’s hair and letting the kiss consume him completely, and then Levi would start moving, and they’d both gasp as their bodies began rocking together.
A hard shudder went through Levi, and he broke the kiss again, letting his head fall beside Carter’s for a moment before he pushed himself up. His slow, intermittent strokes became deep thrusts, and Carter was in heaven.
He put a hand on Levi’s shoulder, and with the other, he started stroking himself. He didn’t know if he was stroking in time with Levi’s thrusts, or if it was the other way around, but that didn’t change how fucking incredible it felt.
Carter heard himself groan. Then he realized it hadn’t been him at all, and he forced his eyes open and met Levi’s.
And this time, the groan was his.
Holy fuck, Levi looked amazing. This was Carter’s hottest fantasy come to life—Levi on top like he’d been in Broken Day, eyes half-closed and lips apart, low light playing on the sheen of sweat as he moved like he intended to draw this out till dawn. And yet this wasn’t Levi the action star, or Levi the man he’d idolized. This was the man he’d been getting to know all this time. The one who’d gone from his faraway idol to his closest friend.
From the one who’d inspired him to act and made him realize he was gay, to . . . to this.
In all his fantasies of getting Levi into bed, Carter had always imagined he’d be starstruck, but he was awestruck. The limelight had faded a long time ago, and Levi was just . . . Levi. And somehow that made him more than Carter had ever imagined.
Levi picked up speed until he was thrusting hard enough to push Carter back against the headboard, and Carter rocked his hips, encouraging him to fuck him even harder. His elbow ached from jerking his own cock, but he didn’t care because Levi had him right on the edge, ready to lose it at any moment, ready to unravel completely at just the right touch, the right sound—
The right look.
Levi’s eyes met his, lids heavy and pupils blown, and Carter lost it. His back arched off the bed. Semen coated his hand, his abs, Levi’s abs, and Levi didn’t stop. A low groan left his lips, and the cords stood out from his neck as his lips peeled back over his teeth and his eyes screwed shut, and then his eyes flew open. He gasped. Thrust all the way into Carter. Shuddered.
His weight shifted. Then his lips brushed Carter’s, the kiss lazy and soft, and Carter held him close as they caught their breath.
Eventually, Levi pulled out, and they both shivered again. Levi kissed him once more before he sat up. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here.”
Levi grinned, and then disappeared into the boat’s tiny bathroom.
Carter grabbed some tissues from the shelf beside the bed, and after he’d cleaned himself up, he lay back on the pillows. He listened to his heartbeat slowly coming down. The boat continued rocking. The world was still turning. The dust was settling.
He couldn’t believe he’d just lived his hottest fantasy, and it had been even better than he’d imagined. But as all things did, it eventually had to end and the smoke had to clear. Reality set back in, and an uncomfortable feeling knotted in Carter’s gut.
Sooner or later, they’d have to leave this boat and return to a world where this—whatever it was—could affect their jobs, their reputations. Yeah, he’d wanted a night with Levi Pritchard, and he’d gotten his wish, but . . .
Now what?
Chapter 21
Levi refused to meet his own eyes in the mirror as he took care of the condom and quickly washed his hands.
Excitement had kept his second thoughts at bay for hours, but now that he’d finally taken Carter to bed, he couldn’t escape them. The voice that had been whispering from the back of his mind was shouting now. What happens next?
It wasn’t as if one-night stands were below him. God knew he’d had his share. But sleeping with a friend and coworker, that could get complicated. Especially when that friend was Carter. The one person on the planet Levi couldn’t convince himself he’d had—or would ever have—casual sex with. Especially since Carter wasn’t into that, and had made that clear from the beginning.
Fuck. This was going to get complicated.
He dried off his hands, set his shoulders back, and returned to the tiny living area.
Carter hadn’t moved. He gazed at Levi with heavy-lidded eyes, and his sleepy smile was almost enough to chase away those worries all over again.
“You’re not gonna kick me out yet, are you?”
Levi laughed and joined Carter in bed. “Of course not.”
“Good,” Carter murmured as Levi pulled the sheet over both of them. “Because I don’t know if I can stand up.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Oh, it is.”
They fit perfectly together. Carter’s body molded against his, head beneath Levi’s chin with an arm slung over his stomach. Maybe they should’ve gotten up, but . . . This feels so nice. He could’ve stayed like that all night long.
I could stay like this for—
“Comfortable?”
“Mm-hmm.” Carter raised his head. “Should we get out of here?”
Levi stroked Carter’s hair. “We don’t have to.” But we should. “Isn’t like we’re paying by the hour for this place.”
“Won’t your cats get worried?”
“Oh, they don’t mind having the house to themselves as long as they have food.” Carter rested his head on Levi’s shoulder again, and Levi kissed it. “To tell you the truth, after the last week and a half, they’re probably happy to be on their own for a little while.”
Carter chuckled. “I can imagine.”
Levi trailed his fingers up and down Carter’s arm. “And anyway, I’m not in any hurry.”
“Neither am I.”
It wasn’t a dream.
As Levi slowly came around, the boat’s gentle rocking trying to lull him back to sleep, he realized Carter was still beside him. The sleepy sex they’d had in the darkness at God knew what time, that might’ve been a dream—though the twinges in his hips suggested otherwise—but they’d definitely fucked a couple of times before that.
Some people didn’t like the smallish beds on boats like this, but Levi wasn’t complaining about it. Not when it forced him to stay this close to the man he’d slept with last night.
Carter. Jesus, he couldn’t believe they were here. He closed his eyes and smiled. What was it Carter had said about meeting your idol? How people said it ruined the illusion? Oh, meeting Carter hadn’t ruined anything. And sex with him? Amazing.
Those nagging worries still tried to pour cold water on him, but he ignored them for now.
What
ever comes next, just let me have this.
He kissed the back of Carter’s shoulder. “Morning.”
“Is it?” Carter lifted his head. “It’s not even light out.”
“No, but we both have to be at work soon.”
Carter buried his face in the pillow and grumbled something.
Levi laughed and kissed his shoulder again. “We should get breakfast.”
“Coffee,” Carter muttered. “Need. Coffee.”
“I have coffee on the boat.”
“Thank God.”
Levi got up, and after some stretching and cursing, so did Carter. They gathered their clothes off the deck. Dressing together in the tiny cabin wasn’t quite as easy as undressing—probably because they’d been holding each other and stripping off their clothes with no regard for anything, while they needed a little elbow room now.
In spite of the tight confines, they managed to get dressed. As they moved into the kitchen/living area, Levi’s stomach was quickly becoming a ball of nerves. Sooner or later, they were going to have to deal with last night.
While they waited for the coffeepot to do its thing, they faced each other, and Levi’s ball of nerves grew.
“So, um.” Carter fussed with his sleeves. “What now?”
Levi gulped. Here goes. “I’ve gotten about as far as getting off the boat. What about you?”
“Same.” Carter gnawed his lip, staring at the deck between them. He laughed cautiously. “So much for being just friends, right?”
Guilt twisted beneath Levi’s ribs. “Except I’m not sure what exactly we are now.”
“Neither am I.”
Levi studied him for a moment. “Things don’t have to change just because we’ve slept together.”
Carter’s gaze slid toward Levi, something unreadable in his expression. “I . . . um . . .”
Levi raised his eyebrows.
Carter shifted his weight. “I didn’t think anything had changed because of that.” He avoided Levi’s eyes, color blooming in his cheeks. “I guess I kind of thought we . . .” The color deepened, and he sighed.
“What?” Levi stepped a little closer, but stopped when Carter tensed. Oh shit. “Talk to me.”