Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  “You know you could just follow me to the loft and take a nap there with me.”

  “I snore, Levi. You don’t want to nap with me.” Her nose wrinkles up in a playful manner and I grin. “I’ve also been told that I steal the blankets, Hallie, so I suppose we’re even.” I feel myself grow agitated with the idea of her sleeping in bed with any man. Feeling territorial over her already was a little strange, but something I couldn’t seem to stop. “Zara told me that very same thing this morning when I tried to cuddle with her apparently.” With this, she rolls her eyes.

  “I’m bigger than Zara so I think I can handle you, and I don’t mind at all if you try to cuddle.” Silently, I beg for her to agree, but by the way she begins to back away, I know she won’t.

  “I’ll see you at five,” she tells me while walking backward a few more steps. She offers me a little wave before pivoting around and joining Zara, who has been waiting for her just inside the doors. Kane sits on a chair to the left with his legs stretched out before him and his sunglasses on his face. He’s been so unusually quiet that I had forgotten he was even there.

  I knew he wasn’t sleeping; I’m sure the dick was enjoying the front row seat to my current rejection.

  “And we call your brother whipped,” he declares, confirming my thoughts.

  Kane pushes up out of the chair and walks toward me with a confident swagger, one he uses often whenever he thinks he’s somehow won. Stretching his arm out, he throws it over my shoulders and starts to drag me toward the front entrance. “You got it bad, man, but in your defense, the woman is damn fine. I don’t blame you for falling all over yourself whenever she’s around. She’s sweet too.”

  I push his arm off of me and shoot him a glare, only making him laugh even harder. He wasn’t lying, I do have it bad already. So whipped by this woman, but I don’t mind one bit.

  ***

  I unbutton and roll up the sleeves of my shirt on each arm just enough to show off my forearms. The tattoo that runs the entire length of inner part of my right forearm peeks out from beneath the cuff. The word, strength, stretches from my wrist to the crease of my arm where my elbow bends. It was one of the many tattoos I have, but most remain hidden beneath my clothes.

  Deciding on my favorite jeans that are slightly frayed and worn around the pockets with a few patches on the legs, hopefully Hallie will like my casual look.

  Staring at myself in the mirror, I realize that I’m taking entirely too much time getting myself ready. With one last look, I unfasten one more button on my shirt collar and see that the simple move exposes yet another of my tattoos, or just a small portion of it at least.

  “Are you finished primping, pretty boy?” Leo asks, eyes fixed on me, while he busts out in laughter.

  “Fuck off, asshole,” I mutter as I toss the towel on the sink toward Leo’s head before exiting the bathroom and meeting Kane and my brother in the living room. They both sit on the couch fully dressed and ready to go. I ignore the ridiculing comments like “looking too pretty for your lady now” they offer me as I move past them toward the front door. I am not about to bite when they are trying their best to get a rise out of me.

  Throughout the elevator ride downstairs and the walk along the long corridor leading to the restaurant, I feel myself growing more anxious to see Hallie.

  “Name?” The tall slender woman behind the podium asks without even lifting her eyes to meet ours.

  “Hallie Randall,” I answer, causing her to finally look up, “I’m sure the ladies are already inside waiting for us.”

  With a nod of her head, the hostess utters, “Yes.” Stepping away from her perch, she begins walking toward the restaurant behind her. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you inside to your table.”

  Leo and Kane share a few comments about the woman needing to get laid that I ignore. I’m surprised she can’t hear them as they aren’t even attempting to be quiet. Sometimes I wonder why the hell I even keep company with them, especially when they act like two fraternity horn dogs without manners.

  She leads us toward the back of the restaurant where a large round table awaits. Four ladies are seated around the table, but I only see one. I see the beauty in black, her warm blue eyes and glowing smile cast my way are all for me. As she starts to stand, I can’t decide if I like her better in this black dress or the red one she wore before. Then she faces my direction, a stunning sight standing before me, and I’m at a loss for words. As I take her all in, my heart ceases.

  “That is some dress.” Kane is the first to comment, and I want nothing more than to throttle him for even looking, yet I can’t blame him as my eyes are stuck on her too. She is heart-stopping.

  The dress she chose tonight hugs her like a glove. The dip in the front leaves very little to the imagination: a large V-shaped neckline, dipping so low that it shows off the sides of each of her breasts and part of her stomach. I stare, wondering for a second how she keeps everything in the proper place.

  My mouth goes dry, and for a few seconds, I forget how to move my feet. My pulse races to the point that I feel dizzy, and when she smiles, I am fucking done for.

  CHAPTER 11

  Hallie

  “Hi,” I barely squeak out, feeling like a fumbling fool. Levi steps up close as he reaches out and places his hand on my hip. Leaning in, he gently presses a soft kiss to my cheek. The man is dressed so simply but I have never seen a man wear simple so well.

  He looks casual, yet suave, in his dark blue button-up shirt and a pair of jeans. It is the first time I’ve gotten a glimpse of the tattoos I didn’t even know he had.

  “You look amazing.” I feel my cheeks heat from his compliment. Or maybe it is the way his gaze scans over me slowly like he’s eating me with his eyes, and how his tongue rests upon his lower lip while he does so. “Really amazing,” he adds with a smirk and I know I’m right. The dress is a win, just as I’d hoped.

  Ladies, you can never go wrong with a little black dress.

  It proved to be torturous spending a day with him and not jumping him after the way we’d left things last night. I have been worked up ever since, so choosing my most revealing dress to lure him in was my plan.

  It seems to be working.

  I quickly offer introductions before we all have a seat at the table and order our first round of drinks.

  By the time the appetizers arrive, Levi already has his hand on my thigh, his touch igniting a fire that blazes through my body. He toys with the hem of my dress, his fingers teasing the skin on the inside of my thigh to the point where I’m finding it difficult to focus on the conversation going on around me.

  Levi seems to notice how his touch is affecting me. He’s watching me close, a sly grin, one I would explain as pleased, covers his lips.

  Oh, Levi, you want to play with fire? I can’t wait for you to burn for me, but I know I’ll be burning too.

  As I part my legs, he looks at my lap before his hungry gaze shifts back up to my eyes.

  It takes him a few minutes to gain the strength to make the next move, but when he does, I grip the edge of the table tightly to control my own reactions.

  It is a tantalizing game, one I thought I was winning, but I couldn’t be more wrong. He is most definitely in control, and I’m ready to let him seize my body and make me surrender.

  The very second his thumb drags along the edge of my panties, I bite my lip to keep from whimpering and part my legs even more. He tries his best to keep breathing normally, but I am struggling to even gain a breath. Levi continues the torture, using only one hand to eat while the other continues to play.

  I can’t hide my excitement as just his simple touches have me ready to combust.

  Picking at the small portion of food on my plate, his teasing is distracting me so much that I can’t seem to remember how to chew.

  “Not hungry?” I lift my head and look at Levi instead of my plate, which I have been staring at for what feels like hours. He is face is poised with a look of norma
lcy, not giving anything away, and I wonder how in the hell he is keeping it so together when I am ready to come undone. He is good, and I believe he knows exactly what his teasing is doing to me. “You’ve barely touched your food,” he murmurs in my ear.”

  “I’m not in the mood for food,” I barely squeak out.

  “What exactly are you in the mood for, Hallie?” He knows damn well what; I can already see it in his eyes. Part of me wants to drag this out and make him suffer as much as I am. But the other part of me not only wants—but needs—satisfaction. I want him, and I won’t pretend that I don’t.

  “You.”

  After I utter that one but powerful word, something shifts in his eyes. Gone is that playful manner from only seconds ago. In its place is a hunger matching my own.

  “Should we—”

  I don’t even give him a chance to finish his question. “We definitely should.”

  Levi pushes his chair back so quickly that it practically topples over before he reaches out to stop it. With his other hand, he takes mine and helps me up from the table. When I look around, I notice all eyes are now on us. Some of them wear a knowing smile—from my perverted friends of course—and the rest look a little confused with Levi’s hurried outburst.

  “We need to take care of something,” Lexi explains before practically dragging me away like a caveman. I look back at the group to see Zara and Robyn simultaneously giving me a phantom high-five, which makes me laugh.

  Excitement surges through me when the two of us exit the restaurant and practically jog down the corridor toward the elevators at the end that lead upstairs.

  My legs tremble while we stand side-by-side waiting for the car to arrive. His hand holds mine firmly, as if to ensure there isn’t a chance I can get away. There’s no place I’d rather be right now. Our need is so strong that we can’t even speak, and, oh god is it intoxicating.

  The doors slide open and we step inside as others step out. The moment the doors close, he turns his body to mine and backs me up to the wall at my side. His body presses to mine and his mouth steals my lips. Instantly I am lost in his hungry kiss, the way his hips hold mine hostage to the wall behind me, it is all so electrifying.

  When the elevator makes a ding sound, the doors slide open and two couple step inside. From the way they quietly observe us, I know that I must be a mess from Levi’s hands.

  Yet, all I can do is smile.

  “Is it just me or is this elevator taking forever?” Levi whispers near my ear, making me shiver from the way his heated breath fans out over my neck.

  “I think we’re being tortured.” I lift my hand to my mouth and touch my lips with my finger. Lips that are still tingling from his kiss. “We didn’t even make it through the appetizers at dinner.” I can’t control the laughter that bubbles in my chest.

  “It took all I had not to grab you and leave the very second I saw you stand up from the table wearing this dress,” he confesses before his palm glides over my hip and around my waist, stretching out over my stomach. Applying just enough pressure, he guides my body back until I am firmly pressed against him. Every ripple and hardness I feel makes me want him even more than I already do.

  I don’t even hear the elevator announce our arrival; all I feel is Levi nudging me forward when the doors slide open.

  He must feel the anticipation of this moment too because his hand shakes a little as he scans his card in front of the door. Everything feels as if its moving in slow motion, the tick of the card registering with the system, the click of the door unlocking. Even the twists of the handle and the opening of the door is all being slowly and carefully etched in my mind.

  The room is more than I imagine; the images online don’t do it justice but I’m wound entirely too tight to want to explore. I feel like a ticking time bomb about to explode if he doesn’t touch me soon.

  “Should we—”

  I spin around to face him and shake my head, “No.”

  With a slight tilt of his head, he watches me closely. “But I could get us a—”

  Again, I stop him before he can offer me anything other than him. “No.”

  He chuckles. “Well, okay then.”

  Taking my hand in his, we walk through an entryway to the kitchen. “I’m the only one without an actual bedroom, but I can assure you that this,” he points toward the big fluffy bedding that looks like a cloud, “is more comfortable than anything I’ve ever slept on.”

  The way it is set up, how the wall on the outside is nothing but windows that run from floor to ceiling, make the room feel as if it were in the clouds. Almost like the building just fell away and we were floating. All the bedding is white and so soft you can sink right in like a cozy piece of heaven. A few throw pillows make up the only color in the room except for Levi’s scattered clothes.

  I feel Levi step up behind me, his hands resting at my waist and my heart races. The tickle of roughness from the stubble on his jaw causes my eyes to flutter shut as I attempt to control the dirty thoughts racing through my mind.

  I want his hands on me. All over me. Everywhere.

  “All I keep thinking about is the idea that I could have been doing this very thing with you over and over had I not been so blind back then.”

  “Maybe it was meant to happen this way,” I offer, turning into his embrace so that I can face him. “We have now.”

  “Just now?” He asks, making it hard for me to concentrate when his fingertips are traveling up my arm and over my shoulder. When one single finger traces over the exposed skin between my breasts, my eyes flutter shut again as I bite my lower lip. “I want more than just now.” His lips tickle mine as he speaks against them just before devouring my mouth in a searing kiss.

  There is a tethered feeling I get when Levi kisses me. Like I’m feeding off of him, taking and needing everything he will give. His kisses are intoxicating, consuming every part of me, rendering me breathless, making me crave more.

  Reaching behind my back, I attempt to unzip my dress. The angle is awkward, and Levi notices. Without saying a word, he slowly begins to lower the zipper, the upper part of my dress gaping open in the process.

  I don’t shy away when the coolness of the room hits my breasts, making my nipples harden. Levi swallows hard when he looks me over before meeting my stare once again. “Beautiful,” he whispers.

  I tremble as he continues to lower the zipper, eyes locked on mine the whole time.

  In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have ever imagined the way I feel right now. The intimacy that swims between us, the longing way Levi watches at me, it’s crippling.

  My dress gradually falls away from my body, pooling around my feet. Standing before him in only my panties and heels, he surveys my body. A pleased moan escapes him when he skims over the side of my breast with his palm. Or maybe it’s the way I arch out my chest, practically begging him to touch me more.

  “Are you sure you want this, Hallie?”

  “More than anything,” I tell him with all the truth I can muster as there is really no reason to lie. Long gone is the girl who would find this very thing intimidating. In her place is a hungry, lioness of a woman who wants nothing more than to be ravished.

  He begins to unbutton his shirt one button at a time and I can’t control the urge to help him. A desperation rushes through me to see more of him. As my hands reach his and begin to work free his buttons, he lets me take over while staring intently into my eyes, making me feel so very exposed yet excited.

  Pushing away his shirt, moving the soft material over his shoulders and down his arms, his tattoos all come in to view. An intricate design runs over his shoulder and down his bicep, spilling onto his chest and along his side. His beautiful ink is mesmerizing, and his tattoos make him look even hotter if that’s even possible.

  Our movements quickly become frantic, him working his pants with short hurried movements, kicking his legs to break free from the denim that is only in our way. Grabbing his pants in a rush, he dig
s through his pocket and pulls his wallet out.

  The very second the foil packet comes in to view, it hits me: This is real.

  I’ve thought of this very minute so many times before in my life, and now it was here.

  My high school fantasy is finally coming true.

  CHAPTER 12

  Levi

  Lowering Hallie to the soft bedding, her body sinks into the plush white cushions behind her. I pause, allowing myself to take in every single part of her. Not wanting to forget a single inch of her, I etch it and this moment to memory, knowing already that she will be impossible to forget. Earlier when I said this little cove of mine was my own form of heaven, I couldn’t have been further from the truth. This, having her here with me, with nothing in the way of my view of her, is heaven. She is a goddess, so beautiful as she looks up at me with a hungry look on her face.

  I have so many things I want to say to her, but I can’t seem to form the words.

  This weekend was about a last hooray for my brother, just us guys getting careless and wild. I never in my wildest dreams imagined something this life-altering could take place. That my past would find me again and I’d never want to leave.

  Hallie isn’t just some girl; she’s a piece of my history. She’s someone I had feelings for once, even if they were hidden and clouded by my adolescent mind. There is something here now, something screaming out inside my mind telling me that this moment is the one that will change the course of my life.

  Positioned on my knees before her, I tear open the condom and begin to sheath myself, noting how intently she’s watching me. She bites her lip, her eyes appearing hazed with a lust that matches what I’m feeling inside as I continue to cover my thick and hardened arousal.

  Running my palms over her thighs, I pause at her hips and hook the sides of her panties before lowering them in taunting movements. I have to count to ten in my mind when she comes completely into view to keep from embarrassing myself. “God damn, Hallie, you are perfection.”