by Danica Avet
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
And I really don’t. I want to ask who Natasha is to him—although I’m certain they’re romantically involved—why it matters so much, what he thinks he can do, how in the world he knows Josef is a fake but like I said, he scares me a little. Okay, a lot. There’s just something about him that reminds me of a feral beast. One minute he looks harmless, but the next, you can see the danger in his eyes. Kind of like that dog from the Stephen King novel. Rabid.
Terrible’s jaw bunches as he takes a step towards us. Levi releases me only to shove me behind him, putting himself between us in a move so innately protective, my heart warms. Like the worst possible time to be feeling all mushy. Not with Ivan the Terrible seconds away from implosion.
“Stay the fuck back,” Levi grits, his shoulders swelling with aggression. “Don’t know what your fuckin’ game is, Terrible, but you go anywhere near her and—”
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, I don’t want your girl,” Terrible finally roars. “I’m doing her a favor. Got it? Now I just need to fuckin’ know if she wants me to ruin the dipshit little Jim Morrison wanna-be”—Levi snorts loudly in agreement—“Or just embarrass the fuck outta him at that expo he’s plannin’ to show that picture at.”
Shock has my mouth hanging open and Levi going quiet. Heck, even the birds stop chirping at Terrible’s shout. He looks so angry, I almost expect him to stroke out. Gone’s the cool, bad guy facade I remember seeing when Lena was in trouble, or any other time I saw him around campus. Forget a rabid wolf or any other kind of animal. Terrible’s anger is greater than that. Like a volcano about to destroy everyone and everything in its path.
Yet despite the anger emanating off of him in waves, there’s a raw honesty in his eyes that tells me paying his debt to me means a lot.
“No blowback for her?” Levi says quietly, although his entire body vibrates with suppressed emotion.
Terrible visibly calms himself. “She’s free and clear.”
“I want in.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Terrible’s already shaking his head. “You don’t have the unique set of...skills I have to get this taken care of, but that painting will not show.” His gaze goes from Levi to me. “We’re even when it’s done.”
“How do we know you’ll do it?” Levi demands. “You could just be blowin’ smoke up our asses. Playin’ one of your fuckin’ games.” Terrible blinks. “Yeah, I may not know about the shit with Lena, but I know your modus operandi. You don’t do anything for free, don’t make promises, and don’t give your loyalty to anyone. Why are you really doin’ this? Because of some girl?”
The other man’s lips tighten. “Natasha means the world to me. She’s not just ‘some girl’ to me. Jolene did her a solid. I’m doin’ one back. For Natasha. For me. That’s all the fuckin’ promise I need to make.” He drops his cigarette and grinds it into the ground with his heavy boot. “Opening night of the expo. Be there.” He takes a couple of steps before pausing and glancing at me over his shoulder. “Don’t need to tell you to keep all of this shit to yourselves. Don’t even tell your girls.” With the dangerous glint in his eyes, I just nod dumbly.
He walks away before I can find enough brain cells to ask him what he’s planning to do, how he’s planning to do it, or anything else. Josef told me the artwork is locked in a special room before the expo so no one can see each other’s work. How Terrible managed to even get a peek at the picture is beyond me. How he plans to get to it, or get Josef to pull it, baffles me as well. But as he disappears around the corner of the building, I think of the passion in his eyes when he talks about Natasha. He loves her.
Poor Nessie.
“Jolene,” Levi says quietly, drawing my attention to the man holding me in a vise grip. “Babe, you gotta know I’m not happy you came to see that bastard without telling me.”
Turning in his arms, after a brief struggle when he doesn’t want to let me go, I wrap myself around him, my heart twisting with emotions I’m barely able to untangle. There’s love and fear, unease and relief, gratitude and pride.
“I didn’t want you to know about this,” I whisper into his chest, feeling like an idiot. “I- I didn’t want you to have to deal with the mess I made of things. I’m sorry.” My voice is watery and weak. Because this is my fault. “I shouldn’t have trusted Josef, shouldn’t have told him about my ex-boyfriends, but I was so happy to have someone to call my own.” Fat lot of good that did me. Josef turned on me like a rattler. “And he’s not even a real person! All I could think of is how it would make you feel seein’ that picture, if your friends and frat brothers see it.” I shake my head. “I should’ve known better—”
His hand cupping my chin cuts off my self-flagellation, tilting my face up to meet his gaze. “Why are you apologizing for what he did?”
I can feel how red my nose is and know I’m only moments away from a complete meltdown. His face is so soft, the anger in his eyes buried under the love he’s given me without reservation.
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t trusted him, I wouldn’t—”
His thumb covers my lips, shushing me. “You wouldn’t be Jolene. You’re not responsible for the way other people think or act, baby. He’s pissed off and lashin’ out at you like a child who needs his ass beat.” The gleam in his eyes has red flags going up all over in my mind, but his next words have me melting into him. “Even if Terrible hadn’t found out about that picture, do you honestly think I, or my friends, give a shit what a jealous ex-boyfriend says? There will always be idiots who believe everything that comes their way, but their opinions don’t matter and they never will. You’re loved, Jolene, a hell of a lot more than you probably even realize.”
“Levi,” I sigh because that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me, about me.
“Baby, trust me. All those things you’re thinking? That isn’t and never will be me. I’m on your side. Always.”
The tears filling my eyes distort his face until all I see is a blur. But I feel him when his lips touch mine. Not with lust and the crazy chemistry we have between us. But with love. Acceptance. Loyalty.
Levi walks me back to the dorms, arm around my waist in an easy, natural hold. Snuggling into his side, I try to find it in me to care that I’m going to miss the rest of my classes for the day, but I can’t. It’s been one heck of a day and I’m so emotionally and mentally drained, I just want to sleep.
Instead of dropping me off at the doors, Levi follows me all the way to my room. Neither of us say a word as I unlock the door. Knowing he has his piano class, I turn to tell him I’d see him later, but as soon as I do, he’s on me.
Now, kissing Levi is one of the best things in my life. He’s always so tender and sweet, building up my desire until I’m pulling and tugging at him. Sex between us is beyond amazing because he takes his time with me. Until now.
His mouth devours mine, his hands roaming over my body with urgent, impatient demand. But the heat I always feel when he’s touching or kissing me ignites. I take his brutal kiss, twining our tongues together, my fingers tunneling through his thick hair, sudden need wiping away all traces of exhaustion.
We’re moving, almost waltzing with him in the lead. I vaguely hear the door slamming closed behind him, but I can’t stop kissing him long enough to make sure we’re not about to put on a show for my entire floor. There’s just me and Levi. Just this hot, passionate kiss.
His hands delve under the hem of my shirt, callused fingers abrading my skin in a way that makes my lower body clench with want. Then the material is up and over my head, forcing us to break the kiss. But it isn’t as though I’m left wanting. Not when his hands are on my breasts, tugging on my bra cup to free me. Then his lips are on me, sucking, lapping.
That clench becomes a flex as I gasp, my head going back as pleasure fills me. I pull on his shirt and he lets me remove it, his mouth latching onto me as soon as he’s clear of the fabric. I moan when I run my hands over h
is bunching shoulders. I love his body almost as much as I love his soul. Muscles, smooth, satiny skin, tattoos that detail his interests and passions. I love everything about him and having all of that intensity at my fingertips is as much a turn-on as what he can do with his mouth, hands, and penis.
“Jolene,” he groans around my other nipple. “Need you.”
“I need you too,” I mumble, my fingers sliding down the hard ridges of his abs to the waistband of his jeans. “I need you so much.”
He growls low and his hands are on the move too. Everything seems to melt away after that. My bra flies across the room, our shoes are discarded somewhere, pants and underwear dropped where we stand. Naked, skin sliding against skin, we grope and grapple, both of us wanting our way, wanting to touch and torture, succeeding only in driving each other crazy with need.
There’s no grace or finesse when we stumble in the direction of my bed. And when Levi finally manages to wrestle control from me—I did try to win this scuffle by gripping and stroking his thick erection, but he got me with a press of my clit—it’s to push me onto the bed, coming down on top of me.
Except he doesn’t reach for the condom he’d had the foresight to remove from his wallet before getting rid of his jeans. Instead, he braces himself over me, hips wedged between my widespread legs. There’s a light sheen of perspiration on his skin, turning him all shiny and beautiful, his scent surrounding me until he’s all I breathe.
“Levi?” I ask, the empty ache at my center demanding to be filled. I gyrate against him shamelessly, grinding the wet lips of my sex into his abdomen. My breath catches. “Please, I need you inside me.”
He pushes up, kneeling between my legs, his face dark with arousal, but his eyes solemn. He takes the condom, ripping open the foil. I watch him with hunger as he rolls the latex down his length. Levi is bigger than my past boyfriends. Thicker, longer, and one day I’m going to taste him. When he gives me the chance. The times I’ve tried, he’s cursed and told me he wouldn’t be able to control himself if I put my mouth anywhere near him.
“I love you,” he says as he smooths his hand down his length, stroking himself under my ravenous stare. “You’re it for me, Jolene. And one day, you’re going to realize what that means. But if it takes the rest of my life to prove you’re perfect for me in every way, I’ll do it.”
Now I’m staring at his face, shocked to my core. “What?”
He prowls over me, grabbing my hands and lacing our fingers together, pinning them to the pillow on either side of my head. He widens his legs, pressing my thighs open even more before settling his hips in the cradle he’s made for himself. The move brings his mouth only inches from mine, his intense eyes staring directly into mine.
Notching himself to my entrance without using his hands, he holds painfully still as I quiver with need. “Nothin’ anyone says or does is gonna change how I feel about you,” he whispers, warm breath caressing my face. “You’re mine.” He presses into me, slowly, making me feel him giving me every inch. My heart pounds at the delicious stretch. “I’m never lettin’ you go.”
He doesn’t stop until he’s in me to the hilt and then goes even further by grinding his hips into me, making me moan when he touches that spot. The one that almost hurts, but somehow doesn’t. It just revs my arousal even higher, makes me feel achier.
“Levi,” I whimper, needing him to move.
“I’m in this forever,” he whispers as he kisses me.
He withdraws his hips, the slide of his thickness making me arch my back, wanting him to return. I can’t move much. Not with his hands pinning mine to the pillow, but that doesn’t stop me from wrapping my legs around his lean waist, pulling him back into me. He groans against my mouth, his pace slow and steady, pumping leisurely as though we didn’t nearly maul each other only moments ago.
That isn’t acceptable. He’s treating me like I’m fragile and while I appreciate it, I want all of that intense passion of his slamming into me, pounding me into the mattress. I want to feel him hours and hours later.
So I try the one thing I’ve had boyfriends ask me to do in the past. Dirty talk. Except my brain can’t seem to conjure up the words, so I go with the only thing I know.
“Levi?” I gasp his name when he grinds against my clit again. Oh this boy! “Levi. Presto,” I moan. He pauses. “Vivace.” He stops moving. The exact opposite of the idiotic commands coming out of my mouth. Frustration has me straining against him. “Levi, please!”
He starts shaking and I open my eyes to see his face filled with love and laughter. “Are you telling me to fuck you faster and...? Livelier?” he asks.
I feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment and I turn my head away from him. Apparently I’m terrible at dirty talk.
He doesn’t let me pretend I hadn’t just messed up the beautiful love we were making, nuzzling my neck and jaw. “Lento,” he murmurs against my skin, thrusting into me as slowly as before. “Have to build up to the crescendo.”
It feels good, making me temporarily forget my gaffe. I moan, matching my hips’ movement to his, meeting his strokes.
“Stringendo,” he rasps, nipping my ear, sending a thrill down my spine. Then he suits words to actions, slowly picking up the pace.
I arch against him, giving him complete access to my throat. The little bites he gives me has my inner muscles spasming in delight and my breath catching at the sensation.
“Cataclismico.” Very loud and short. He groans, his sack slapping my backside with every thrust, my bed rocking with our movements.
Sweat slicks our skin, adding to the friction, creating a hot, steamy atmosphere. He laps at the spot right behind my jaw as the coil in my lower body tightens. He changes the angle of his hips, rubbing his shaft over my clit. Over. And over. Jolts of sensation spread throughout my body.
“Festoso,” he mumbles. With happiness.
That’s the last thing I hear because he’s slamming into me at a hard, fast pace that’s exactly what I need. I meet him stroke for stroke, our bodies moving together at the tempo he set. Turning my head, I take his mouth in a hot, passionate kiss. My pleasure builds. The bed starts knocking against the wall. He’s grunting with his thrusts, powering into me.
I cry out, my orgasm obliterating everything except the feeling of my inner muscles clenching around him, squeezing.
He shouts, stiffening a moment before he pounds into me. I feel every pulse of his release, the knowledge that I gave him as much pleasure as he gave me making me ripple around him again. He shudders, slumping until his forehead is burrowed in the crook of my neck.
“Con amore,” he whispers. With love.
Our harsh breathing fills my dorm room, then his body starts shaking again just as I hear him laughing. Too tired to do anything more than lay there, I mutter, “I’m horrible at dirty talk.”
He kisses my jaw. Then my ear. “Baby, you can talk musical theory to me any fuckin’ time you want.”
Levi
People move out of my way as I enter Cortez Hall. By rights, I should be floating on fucking air, but once I was away from the warm softness of Jolene’s bed, the issue of Josef’s painting jumped to the forefront of my mind.
Hell, if I wasn’t prowling through the Art Department on the search for him, I’d be in her twin bed with her. Not for another bout of sex either. Which, I should feel bad about because she probably needed soft words and lots of hugs, not fucking, but I’d needed to imprint myself on her, show her she wasn’t alone. Plus I was kind of pissed at her for not telling me about the painting as soon as she found out. If Terrible hadn’t sent me a text as well, she probably wouldn’t have said a word because she didn’t want to burden me.
Still, I should turn around and go back to her room, cuddle up with her until she’s calm. And ignore my dick’s urging to be inside her. Funny how things change. The only things I ever gave much thought to before Jolene were music and sex. Now though, I want her to be happy and carefree. I want her to know how much lo
ve I have for her. Sure, I can barely keep my hands off of her, but it’s all tied in with the rest. Making her happy and showing how much I love her is all that matters.
And this son of a bitch is messin’ with the joy my girl should be glowing with.
My hands curl at my sides, my muscles straining with violence. I should be in Piano 350 right now, practicing the piece for my final, but I’m roaming the halls on the lookout for that little motherfucker. Even if I trusted Terrible, I’d still beat the shit out of Josef. Problem is, I don’t trust Terrible.
I’m not too sure what the deal is between him and Lena, but remembering the hostility Jolene showed him at the tattoo shop, I know it wasn’t good. Which isn’t surprising. Terrible’s one of those people who always has an ulterior motive for anything they do. He lived with me and Tight for all of one semester, but it was long enough to see the way he manipulates people and situations to suit his needs.
I don’t know if he did anything truly nefarious, but some of the people who came by the house to see him weren’t ones I was comfortable having around. Not to mention the girls with all the fucking drama. Like one girl leaving as another arrived to hop in his bed. Could’ve done without all that shit. The screaming and catfights right there in our living room. That was probably part of the reason I stayed friendly with my fuck buddies. It was an uncomfortable situation until he finally moved out.
So no, I’m not overly surprised that he’s up to his usual bullshit, but I especially don’t like that Jolene and her friends came on his radar. They’re good girls, all of them. They really shouldn’t have to deal with his brand of assholeness. And if it wasn’t for the fact that he seems so determined to pay Jolene back for helping that Natasha girl, I’d find a fucking way to hunt down and destroy the fucking painting. In lieu of setting the goddamn picture on fire, I’m going to beat the shit out of Josef.
Focused on my prey, I run into a familiar face.
