by A. K. Evans
Levi pulled his head back and watched as his fingers went straight to the spot between my legs.
“Dripping.”
One finger slid inside me. Levi almost completely withdrew the finger and added a second one before he pushed back inside. He continued his torturously slow assault on me, building me up.
“Fuck me, Levi. Please.”
My voice was filled with desperation, need, and lust.
That was it; he didn’t make me wait. Within seconds, Levi filled me to the root of his cock. My hips were in his hands as he drove into my body.
Pure bliss.
“Oh,” I moaned.
Levi gave it to me. It wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t fast. It was steady. More than that, it was gratifying.
Sexy.
All Levi.
“Such sweetness,” he whispered.
He had already built me up using his hand and now as he continued to deliver exquisite movements with his hips, I knew it was coming. I struggled to fight against the mounting pleasure.
Levi knew I was close. He dropped my hips and brought his hands up to frame my face. I wrapped my legs around his waist. My fingers were holding on tight to his arms, and with each thrust into me, my grip on him tightened.
“Liquid honey,” Levi rasped.
I couldn’t begin to decipher the meaning behind what he said because my body was on the verge of something extraordinary. With each stroke, he took me higher. I closed my eyes, bracing for it.
“Eyes, Elle.”
I couldn’t open them.
“Give me your eyes,” he demanded.
“I can’t,” I panted.
He stopped moving.
My eyes shot open and I whimpered.
“I want your eyes, sunshine.”
I nodded my understanding.
Satisfied, Levi began moving again. It took seconds to get me back to where I was and, this time, he didn’t stop.
“Oh, Levi. I’m gonna come,” I managed to get out through my ragged breathing.
He increased his pace and I shattered, exploding around him.
His eyes never left mine.
Levi worked me through my orgasm and just as I started to come down, he found his. He called out my name just before he brought his mouth to mine. I kissed him and swallowed his groans while his thrusts began to slow until, eventually, they stopped.
He collapsed on top of me briefly before rolling to his back and taking me with him. Our bodies covered with a sheen of sweat, we took the next several minutes to catch our breath.
“I hope you’re no longer disappointed with me,” Levi teased.
“That’s not possible, my hero.”
His body vibrated with laughter underneath me.
“I’m a hero now?”
“You’re my hero,” I answered honestly.
His arms tightened around me.
I gave him a moment to absorb what I said before I continued, “I don’t just mean here in the bed, Levi. What you’re doing for me by keeping me safe, I could never repay you. We need to talk about that, by the way.”
“Sunshine, look at me.”
I lifted my head from his chest to look at him.
“Is my dick inside you right now?”
I blinked and jerked my head back.
“Yeah.”
“Right. I thought it’d be self-explanatory, especially now, but I guess not. First, don’t ever talk to me about paying me anything to keep you safe while I’m still inside you. Second, don’t talk to me about paying me anything to keep you safe…ever.”
“Levi,” I got out before he cut me off and started moving.
“Need to get this condom off,” he explained as he slid out of me and shifted me over in the bed.
He walked to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and left me there wondering what his deal was. Of course, I did this while I admired his flawless backside. By the time he strolled back into the bedroom a minute later, I had pulled the sheet up to my underarms. Levi climbed into the bed and settled on his side, facing me. He propped his head up in his hand and looked down at me.
“We’ve got to talk about this,” I insisted.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Is this case going to require some of your time, effort, and resources?” I pressed.
He nodded.
“That stuff doesn’t come free, Levi.”
“It does for you,” he said, softly.
I pulled my brows together and asked, “Why?”
“Elle, a couple months ago my brother’s girlfriend was being targeted by her ex. I didn’t charge her nor Zane a dime for doing what we needed to do to make sure they stayed safe.”
“Zane’s your brother, though. He’s family.”
“Yeah, and do you really think I’m going to let the woman who’s sharing my bed pay me to keep her safe?”
I rolled my eyes.
“I haven’t even been sharing your bed for a full twenty-four hours yet.”
“Are you going to be in my bed again tonight?”
“Yes.”
“There you have it. And, just to say, now having had a taste of what you in my bed is like, I can tell you it’s something I would have loved to have had since the day I met you.”
“It was your choice to not be with me.”
“And it would seem that I changed my mind yesterday. Given that, and the fact that you seem to be on the same page with me as far as the two of us goes, I’m going to settle this whole payment thing now. I’m not accepting payment from you, Elle. Even if you get to a place where you don’t want to be in my bed anymore, I’m still not accepting payment. If you decide you’re not ok with this and want to fire me and my firm as your security and private investigations team, I’m not going to accept that. You can hire someone else, but I’ll still be covering you until I know that there is no longer anyone threatening you. Bottom line, sunshine, I’m not going to not do this for you.”
“Why?” I asked quietly.
“Because I’m not ok with the possibility of never hearing this voice or seeing these fucking eyes again, particularly when they become liquid honey. To add to that, I liked the peaches yesterday, but I saw what you had in that bag in your car the day you came to my office. I’m very much looking forward to tasting all the flavors on your lips.”
Liquid honey.
He liked my eyes.
He also didn’t mind that I was obsessed with lip balm.
My belly flipped and my insides grew warm.
I turned myself toward him and pressed a kiss to the middle of his chest.
“Ok, superhero. You win.”
Chapter 6
Elle
“Why did we not do this months ago?”
I lifted my head from Levi’s chest and looked at him, waiting for an answer to my question. We had just finished round two of sex and, after disposing of the condom, Levi came back to the bed where he curled me into his body.
Round two, by the way, was incredible. Quite frankly, I was beginning to regret the time we wasted in not allowing ourselves to enjoy this sooner, which is why I asked him the question I just did.
“I was trying to do the right thing,” Levi answered.
“The right thing for who?” I asked.
He gave me a look.
“It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, Elle. Emme’s birthday celebration at Lou’s was probably one of the most difficult times for me. Zane and Emme showed up late because, well, everyone knows why they were late. I’ll never forget when you stood up from the table to wish Emme a happy birthday and you said you wished you had a reason to be late. I wanted to pick you up, carry you out of there, and make your wish come true.”
“Really?” I pressed.
“Absolutely. I’ve got to be honest; I’m not happy about this situation you are in right now, but I’m over the fucking moon that it has led to this.”
“What’s the plan for my situation?”
“I wou
ld love nothing more than to spend the day with you today, but I really need to get into the office to get some work done on your situation. With the flower delivery you received last night, I have a little more to work with now.”
“It’s alright. I have some last-minute planning and details to get squared away for my upcoming tour, so I’ll be able to keep myself busy.”
“Upcoming tour?” he repeated.
I nodded before explaining, “Yeah. Nothing crazy. I’m not some international superstar, but I’m doing a small tour here on the west coast.”
“How small?”
“Eight stops.”
“Fuck. When and where?”
I grew tense and a bit upset.
“Why do you seem angry about this?”
“I’m not angry. Just need to know when and where.”
“The first stop on the tour is next Friday. I’ll be in Denver. Then, I’m heading to Arizona. I’ll be doing a stop in Phoenix and one in Tucson before heading to Los Angeles. After LA, I’ll do a stop in San Francisco followed by two nights in Las Vegas, and finally ending the tour at Lou’s in Rising Sun.”
“Alright. I need to get up, get ready, and get to the office because you just added a bunch of work to my caseload.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant and decided it might not be a great idea to ask. Levi seemed a bit distracted and inside his own head. I didn’t want to add any additional concern or worry to what he was already dealing with, so I simply suggested, “How about I go downstairs now and make breakfast while you get ready?”
“You don’t have to do that, Elle.”
“I know, but I want to.”
He held my eyes a minute before I continued, “A half dozen eggs, right?”
Levi nodded and smiled at me.
I flattened the palm of my hand to his chest so I could get up, but he held on to me. When my eyes came to his, he challenged, “Are you forgetting something?”
My brows pulled together and my eyes darted back and forth.
Was I?
I felt his body shake before he spoke through his laughter, “Kiss me, sunshine.”
Oh.
Right.
That.
I leaned back in and pressed a kiss to his lips.
After, Levi let me go so I could make breakfast for us.
An hour later, my phone rang.
I had just finished cleaning up from breakfast and gotten the rundown from Levi on the security system at his house. He wanted me to arm it after he left and explained every feature it offered. Essentially, if something happened all I needed to do was push a button that would send a signal to the Cunningham Security offices. He had hidden cameras in the house (he didn’t say where) and said that they’d immediately be able to see what was wrong and get help to the house.
If I was being honest, I was a bit freaked out by this. To relax myself, I worried out loud.
“Someone is stalking me, Levi. They might know where I live and where I perform, but what are the chances they know I’m staying here?”
Levi put his hand to my neck. His thumb brushed back and forth against the skin just below my jawline as he answered, “I don’t know yet. Until I know more and can possibly get a handle on who this is, I can’t give you that answer. I’d like to think he doesn’t know you’re here, but I’m also alright with him knowing that. If he’s got any brains at all, he’ll know my house is not the place to target you.”
“Ok,” I responded meekly.
“Would you prefer to go with me into the office?”
I shook my head.
He needed to work and didn’t need the distraction. I had to get these last-minute details regarding my tour ironed out and I needed to call my parents.
After pressing a closed-mouth kiss to my lips and giving my neck a gentle squeeze he went on, “Ok, sunshine. I’ve got to get going. I’ll get back here as soon as I can. If you need anything, just call me.”
“Thanks, Levi.”
With that, he left and I set the alarm before I went about cleaning up the breakfast dishes. After I finished them, my phone started ringing, which led me to now.
I picked up the phone, checked the display, and answered, “Hey, L.P.”
“Well, I’m thrilled to hear you sounding like that,” Leah started. “I wanted to check in on you after last night.”
I loved Leah. She was the sweetest person I’d ever met. Most everyone who met her felt the same way. Initially, this was usually because she was a very quiet and shy person. As she got to know someone better she opened up and was a bit more vocal. That’s when you couldn’t help but love the person she was.
“It wasn’t a good night,” I admitted. “Thankfully, Levi was with me.”
“Did he figure anything out yet?” she asked.
“No, not yet. He spent the night comforting me and holding me, but he left just a little bit ago to head into the office this morning and work on my case.”
“So, you’re alone at his house now?”
“Yeah, but he’s got a state-of-the-art security system; I’ll be fine.”
“I’m surprised he was willing to leave you. Though, considering you sound like you’re in a better place mentally, I’m guessing that’s the reason why.”
“He’s the reason for my mood shift,” I shared.
“What exactly does that mean?” Leah asked, her tone accusatory.
She knew what I was hinting at and she was not going to allow me to not share details with her.
“Nothing,” I began, a small smile spreading across my face. “Levi held me and comforted me last night, but then this morning he made good on our original plans for last night.”
“You slept with him.”
It wasn’t a question. She already knew that I had, so I admitted, “It was amazing, Leah. He’s got this incredible body. Seriously…it’s to die for and he knows how to use it. He was really good to me in bed and I like how he makes the effort to take care of me out of bed, too. He’s got such a genuine heart.”
“Wow, E. I mean, I get the hotness thing, but you barely know him. You mentioned him to me once before back when you met him, but I didn’t realize you had gotten to this point with him. I hope he continues to treat you right.”
I felt my insides warm thinking about Levi. After the conversation we had about me paying him or, more accurately, me not paying him, I knew he would treat me well.
“So,” she announced, breaking me out of my daydream. “Since you are there alone and I’m stuck at my parent’s house for one more night because they’re out and people are here working on the roof, you should definitely come over.”
“People work on roofs on the weekend?” I asked.
“Apparently the people my parents hire do. Please tell me you’ll come and keep me company. Bring your swimsuit. It’s so hot and humid today; we can use the pool. Besides, I want more details on your morning with Levi.”
“I’ve got the tour starting next Friday; I planned on working out the last-minute details of that this afternoon.”
“We can do all of that here. You know what, bring your laptop with you. I really need to get you set up and using your own social media accounts anyway.”
“You already know that I have no interest in that,” I retorted, rolling my eyes.
Leah had set up accounts for me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter a very long time ago. I told her I didn’t mind so long as I didn’t have to deal with using them. She agreed at the time, but for the last six months she’s been trying to get me to take over the accounts. According to her, there were things I could do that would grow my following immensely. I explained several times that I didn’t necessarily care about growing my following. Since she took her many roles in my career seriously, she insisted that not having social media was not an option.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. We’ll discuss it further when you get here. You are coming over, right?”
“I’m coming. Let me get my stuff together and call my pa
rents. I need to fill them in on this whole situation. After, I’ll head over. See you soon.”
“Love you, E.”
“You too, LP.”
An hour later, I was glistening.
After getting off the phone with Leah, I changed out of my nightie and into clothes. I packed a bag that included, amongst other things, my laptop, my notebook and pen that I always carried in case inspiration for a song came to me, and my bikini. Before I armed Levi’s house and got in my car, which had been delivered from Cunningham Security sometime the day before, I made a call to my parents.
“Hello,” my mother answered after two rings.
“Hey, Mom.”
“I was actually going to call you today, Elle. I wanted to make sure you were planning to stop by to see us before you head out on tour next week.”
“Well,” I started, a bit nervous. “I’m not exactly sure. I would like to, but I’m in a bit of a situation right now.”
“What’s wrong?”
I took in a deep breath.
“I don’t want to worry you or Dad, but I think you need to know what’s going on. I’m not currently staying at my apartment.”
“Why not?” my mother asked. “Where are you?”
Oh boy. This was more difficult than I thought it was going to be.
“I’m staying at Levi Cunningham’s place.”
“Levi?” she wondered. “Zane’s brother? Why are you there?”
I went on to tell my mother everything that happened after Charley and I went out for lunch on Friday. To say she took the news hard was an understatement. She went crazy.
Eventually, my dad got on the phone because my mom was so worked up. I explained to him what was happening and what we knew to that point, which wasn’t much. He was upset, but managed to keep it together much better than my mother.
“I promise I’ll try to check in as much as I can while I’m on tour. Wes knows and he’s insisted that Levi give him regular updates, so he’ll be able to fill you in as well.”
“Is Levi going to be going on tour with you?”
I didn’t know.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “He asked me about the dates for the tour today and told me I just added a lot to his caseload, but he didn’t confirm that he was going. I would feel horrible if he did go.”
