The Pretense (Men of Meadowfall Book 7)

by Anna Wineheart

  The thought of Levi’s body snug around his cock...

  Cole forced his thoughts away from that. He wasn’t supposed to spring a hard-on anywhere around Levi, not without things getting even more awkward.

  Gran pulled her phone out, unlocking its screen. To Cole’s surprise, it was one of the very latest smartphone models, with a home screen and apps and everything.

  Then again, she did own that million-dollar property Levi wanted so much.

  “I wanted to show you this thing the security guy installed for me,” Gran said, tottering over to them. Then she thrust the phone in their faces. “Isn’t it so handy? I tap on any room on the floor plan of the house, and it shows me what’s going on there in real time!”

  Cole stared. On the screen, there lay a sprawling plan of the mansion: three distinct levels. Gran tapped on a room on the second floor—the kitchen.

  At once, the screen switched to a video feed of a vast kitchen, with an island counter in the middle.

  “The video is green because it’s on night-mode,” Gran explained, zooming in on the video. “I had a rat infestation there one time. It took us installing the cameras to find out where the nests were. So if you need me to watch out for any strange goings-on at night, all you have to do is tell me!”

  Cole stared. Levi’s mouth had fallen open. “So... So you’ll be watching us with the security cameras?” Levi asked in a small, choked voice.

  “Gods, no!” Gran waved dismissively. “I wouldn’t do that!” But she tapped on her phone, frowning. “Now, how do you close this app?”

  The phone returned to the screen with the floor plans. Gran tapped around, and opened up a video feed of one of the bathrooms.

  The bathrooms, too? Cole stared at the phone in sick fascination. “Is there anywhere you don’t have cameras installed?”

  Gran scrunched up her face. “I don’t think so. I was so mad at that infestation, I said to the video guy, To hell with it! Install cameras in all the rooms! And that’s how we found the rats’ nests.”

  She wandered off with her phone, leaving Cole and Levi on the couch, staring in horror after her.

  “All the rooms have video,” Levi said flatly, as though he couldn’t believe it. “I’ve changed my mind, Gran. You can have the house back. I’ll live elsewhere.”

  “Pshaw!” Gran thrust the keys into Levi’s hand. “There. Remember, Levi and Cole. I want that guesthouse fixed up nicely, and I want to see a grandchild this time next year. Now, off you go. Get on it.”

  “Thanks for the tea,” Cole remembered to say.

  Gran waved. As they closed the door, Cole heard her muttering, “How do I close this app? I don’t want to look at the bedrooms, either!”

  They got into the car, making sure the doors were shut. Then Levi banged his forehead against the steering wheel.

  “The bedrooms have cameras! And the bathrooms, too!” He made a soft, hopeless sound, hugging the steering wheel. “I don’t want to live there anymore.”

  Yeah, with all those night-vision cameras peeking into every room... that was just creepy. “Why are you even doing this?” Cole asked.

  “I’m getting kicked out of my apartment. My mom told Gran about it, and Gran called me with the offer. I stupidly accepted.”

  “She’s probably seen you naked as a baby,” Cole said. “The cameras don’t really matter, do they?”

  “Except she thinks I’m living with you! What if she pulls open a video, and she sees only me? She’ll catch on that I was lying about you.” Levi hid his face, hunching his shoulders.

  “You could turn her down and rent another apartment.”

  “But...” Levi heaved a sigh, turning the keys over in his hand. “Gran’s sick. And I also... I also wanted to live in that house. If something h-happens to Gran, everybody will want a piece of the property. It’d be sold and I’d never get to see it again.”

  Levi sounded so miserable that Cole’s heart softened.

  He reached over, closing Levi’s hand around the keys. “Then we’ll go look at the place. Decide if you wanna stay there.”

  “It isn’t just me,” Levi said quietly. “If I move in, you’d have to as well.”

  Levi looked torn and vulnerable; he needed someone. Cole’s pulse quickened.

  “It’ll be fine,” Cole murmured. “It’s a mansion, right? We can take different rooms. It’s not the end of the world.”

  Levi was silent for a while. “You’re really okay with moving in?”

  Cole shrugged. “I’m living alone. My rental contract ends soon, anyway. It doesn’t matter where I stay.”

  “Oh.” Levi pulled his hands out from under Cole’s, his cheeks darkening. Then he started the car, reversing out of Gran’s driveway. “I guess we can... decide when we get there.”

  The property wasn’t too far from Gran’s current home. When they pulled into the long driveway, the lights on either side of the road lit up, section by section, as though leading the way to the manor.

  Cole looked askance at the lights. “Does your Gran have those lights connected to her phone, too?”

  Levi winced. “I don’t know. But I wouldn’t put it past her. She has a lot of money.”

  “So we’d have to assume that she could be watching us at any moment,” Cole said slowly.

  “I guess.” Levi sighed. “Look, I didn’t mean to pull you into this. I certainly can’t expect you to put up with this for a year.”

  Being watched was nothing like stepping into a burning building, and Cole did that regularly. He shrugged. “I’m pretty hardy. We’ll see.”

  It wasn’t just that, though. Cole was coming to the realization that... he wouldn’t mind living close to Levi. Just being able to smell him every day. See that beautiful face.

  Gods, Cole was a sap, wasn’t he? They weren’t even back together, or anything.

  Levi drove up to the roundabout in front of the house. The roundabout surrounded a three-tiered marble fountain, and to one side, a maze of bushes led to the rest of the garden. Definitely more than what Cole could afford with his paycheck.

  “How did your gran even afford all this?” he asked.

  Levi shrugged. “I’ll ask her one of these days.”

  They climbed the gold-lit stairs up one story, to the front door on the second level. Inside the house, the foyer lights had already been turned on.

  “Creepiness aside, this is pretty sweet,” Cole said, his voice echoing around the marble-lined foyer. “Feels like only royalty would live here.”

  “It’ll take some getting used to,” Levi agreed, glancing around the place.

  Then the lights in the next room turned on. Cole’s hair stood on end; Levi sucked in a sharp breath.

  So maybe Gran was still keeping an eye on them. Or at least, she was attempting to make the house more welcoming.

  Cole met Levi’s eyes, and Levi’s chest heaved. Did Gran have mics installed, or just cameras?

  “I guess—” Levi gulped “—I guess this continues. Me and you.”

  Cole’s throat went dry. With Levi smelling like jasmine and sex... “How far do you want to take this?”

  “I—I don’t know.”

  Were they just kissing, or would Cole end up tangled with Levi in bed, sliding into the heat of Levi’s body?

  His heart thumping, Cole shut the front door, locking it.

  Levi hadn’t moved from where he’d stopped. And Cole couldn’t help closing the distance between them, until their shoes bumped and the heat of Levi’s body emanated into his chest. Levi craned his neck to look at Cole, his throat exposed, that scar on his shoulder silvery against his skin.

  That had been Cole’s bonding mark.

  Cole fought down the rumble in his chest, gently cradling Levi’s face in his palm. Levi could stop him at any point. Instead, Levi stood still, his breathing shallow, his eyes wide.

  “Are you afraid?” Cole whispered.

  Slowly, Levi shook his head. Then he tiptoed, slanting his lips i
n invitation, and Cole couldn’t help himself. Just leaned in and claimed Levi’s mouth, savoring the sweet, exquisite brush of their lips.

  Levi groaned, musk rolling off his body. He felt so familiar, so good. Cole wished he could learn this omega again. Wished he could stroke down Levi’s chest, down between his legs, see if Levi’s cock would respond to his touch.

  Something yanked behind Cole’s stomach. Something that shot right down his spine, to his cock, and Cole was so hard he fucking hurt.

  He wheezed. Shoved Levi against the wall and kissed him hard, only to have Levi writhe against him, his lips parting for Cole, his tongue tangling with Cole’s in an electric dance.

  “More,” Levi breathed against his lips. “Cole.”

  Gods, he was saying Cole’s name. And Cole nudged Levi’s lips open wider, sliding into his mouth. Levi tasted like tea and cookies, and when Cole reached down, he found Levi hard behind his pants. Levi shuddered, jerking into his palm, his cock hungry.

  They weren’t bondmates anymore. They weren’t even lovers. But this... Cole had known everything about Levi’s body, once upon a time.

  And if Cole didn’t stop this right now... They’d fuck before the night was over. Levi would regret it.

  “I’m in a rut,” Cole whispered against Levi’s lips, his pants so tight he could spear through fabric. “I should leave.”

  4

  LEVI

  COLE BROKE THE KISS, his chest heaving, his pupils blown wide. Levi’s body ached with the loss of his warmth.

  “No,” Levi breathed, curling his fists into Cole’s belt. “Stay.”

  Cole froze, his eyes growing dark. “You know what it means if I stay.”

  Yeah, Levi knew. It was a risk. But his cock throbbed, his body ached, and he needed something thick inside him. “Tell me.”

  Cole’s breath shuddered out. Then he leaned in close, bracing one arm against the wall, right next to Levi’s head. And his face was just inches away, his gaze locked on Levi.

  “If I stay,” Cole whispered, his breath hot on Levi’s lips, “you’re gonna find yourself stripped naked, bent over, and I’m gonna open that hole with my cock.”

  Levi’s insides grew molten-hot. His hole squeezed at those words, and his mouth went dry.

  He hadn’t been fucked in so long. Who better to do that with, than the alpha who knew a hundred ways to make Levi come?

  “There’s a spot inside me,” Levi whispered. “That needs to be filled.”

  Cole groaned, reaching between them. He yanked Levi’s shirt out of his pants, reaching under it to splay his hand across Levi’s chest. Cole’s hand was big, callused, and Levi knew Cole could feel the thrum of his heart.

  “I have a condom,” Cole breathed, wetting his lips. “So I can only fuck you once.”

  Levi dripped in anticipation. “Good enough.”

  He shoved his hand past Cole’s waistband, finding the thick, hot length of Cole’s cock. The very thing that would fit up against Levi’s ass, push into his hole, and fill him up. Levi moaned.

  “Fuck.” Cole tugged Levi’s hand out of his pants. Then he flattened Levi’s palm on the outside of his jeans, right over his cock, and dragged it down his length. “Hard for you. Gonna fit all of this inside.”

  Gods, he was big. Levi’s breath stuck in his throat. He squeezed Cole’s cock. Reached up to open Cole’s pants, his hands trembling with need.

  Except Cole grabbed Levi’s hands and pinned them against the wall, leaning in to kiss him deep. He slid into Levi’s mouth, his soft, damp tongue learning Levi again, before reaching deeper, sliding out, and plunging back inside.

  Just like how he’d fill Levi’s body with his fingers, or his cock. Gods, that thick cock.

  Levi writhed, his body aching. He hadn’t been touched in so long. And when Cole trailed damp kisses down his jaw, to his neck, Levi didn’t even protest.

  This was a pretense. They weren’t in a relationship, they weren’t anyone important to each other. And yet... Cole closed his lips around Levi’s scent gland, right over his bonding mark. Then he sucked.

  Pleasure twisted down Levi’s nerves. His hips bucked uncontrollably, a whimper falling from his lips. Cole rumbled. “Want something?”

  “Yes,” Levi hissed.

  “Tell me.”

  “Touch my cock.”

  Cole chuckled. “Maybe.”

  Then he shoved his thigh between Levi’s legs, just enough to nudge at Levi’s balls through his pants. That left Levi’s cock hard, neglected, dripping into his briefs.

  “I need more, Cole.”

  Cole growled. “Say that again.”

  “I need more,” Levi panted, rolling his hips, trying to seek pressure against Cole’s thigh.

  Except Cole leaned away. “No. Say my name.”

  That was too intimate. And yet... they were pretending to be lovers. It was okay to. “Cole,” Levi breathed. “Fuck me.”

  Cole groaned, musk rolling off his skin. He released Levi’s hands, turning him around to face the wall. Then he cupped Levi’s ass, shoving his fingers up against that vulnerable spot between Levi’s cheeks, where his opening was.

  Levi jerked against him. Cole knew exactly where Levi wanted to be touched.

  “Bend over,” Cole rasped in his ear, his breath heavy. “Lift your ass up.”

  Levi’s face burned. On any other day, he would’ve found this crazy. Levi would’ve hightailed it out of here. Cole wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

  But this was different. So he obeyed, angling his hips up so that, if Cole stripped him of his clothes, Levi’s hole would be right there, Cole’s for the taking.

  “Very nice,” Cole growled, his breath rushing out of him. “Gonna fit my cock inside.”

  After the drought in Levi’s partners, Cole’s words were so filthy. They sent blood pooling between Levi’s legs, made his body squeeze tight. Levi blushed, thankful that Cole couldn’t see his reaction.

  “So fuck me,” Levi muttered. “Quit stalling.”

  Cole barked a laugh. “This is stalling?”

  He reached around Levi, yanking Levi’s pants open. The pressure at his hips eased. Levi’s cock strained upward, tenting his briefs. Cole found it easily, rumbling when he wrapped his hot hand around Levi’s cock, squeezing it.

  Pleasure jolted down Levi’s spine; he arched, jerking helplessly into Cole’s hand.

  This wasn’t what he’d planned for tonight. Not meeting his ex, and certainly not fucking into Cole’s fingers.

  “You haven’t forgotten my touch,” Cole whispered, pulling Levi up onto tiptoes. Then he pressed the length of his covered cock against Levi’s ass, pumping Levi lightly through his briefs. “So fucking wet.”

  Cole touched the damp spot on Levi’s briefs, where Levi’s desire had betrayed him. Before Levi could blush, Cole slipped his fingers past Levi’s briefs, caressing Levi’s bare cock. Levi’s breath shivered out of him. He couldn’t help shoving his cock at Cole, silently begging for Cole to touch him there.

  “Still with the foreskin,” Cole murmured, trailing his fingertip around the opening of Levi’s skin. Sparks of pleasure skittered down Levi’s nerves. “Sensitive.”

  Cole pushed his finger under that skin, his calluses catching on Levi’s tip. Bliss whispered through his nerves; Levi jerked. Cole chuckled darkly. Levi watched with aroused fascination as Cole pulled his finger out, then pushed it back under Levi’s foreskin, like he was fucking Levi there, too.

  Then Cole squeezed Levi’s ass, grinding his fingers against Levi’s hole, his touch muffled through the denim. “Gonna be doing that here,” Cole growled.

  Except he grew impatient, yanking Levi’s jeans down his ass, leaving the thin cotton of Levi’s briefs clinging to his body. Just one layer keeping them apart.

  Levi whimpered, his heat thrumming through his veins, his hunger sending slick trickling out of his hole. All week, he’d been yearning for someone to touch him, someone to open him up, fuck him good and
hard.

  Cole sniffed at him, his grip tightening around Levi’s cock. “That made you hot?”

  And his musk rolled through the air between them. Cole was hungry for Levi. Levi’s throat went dry.

  With an arm around Levi’s chest, Cole straightened Levi up, looking over his shoulder. “You weren’t this big earlier.”

  Then he tapped on Levi’s cock, where Levi’s tip had pushed out past his foreskin, dusky and glistening with precome. Levi couldn’t hide his need, not with his cock looking like that.

  He reached down, trying to cover it. Except Cole pulled Levi’s hand off, kissing his shoulder. “Show me. I want to see how hot you get for me.”

  And he dragged Levi’s foreskin down, exposing his entire head. Cole flattened his dry palm against Levi’s tip, then rolled it around that sensitive head, so jolts of pleasure shot down Levi’s spine, almost painful. Levi stiffened and shuddered.

  “Mine,” Cole growled, biting lightly into Levi’s shoulder.

  Do you mean that? Levi stopped breathing. Cole froze against him.

  Seconds later, Cole relaxed, wrapping his fist around Levi’s cock like he hadn’t just blurted the one thing Levi craved to hear, but knew he shouldn’t want.

  Cole had probably said it in case there were mics, and he was worried Levi would take offense.

  To take the awkwardness off, Levi panted, “Aren’t you going to fuck me already?”

  Cole growled, sliding his arm around Levi’s waist. Then he rutted against Levi’s almost-bare ass, his cock a hard line behind his jeans. “Want my cock?”

  “Yes,” Levi hissed, his slick drenching through his briefs.

  It was almost a relief when Cole released him, reaching down to undo his own pants. The zipper rasped, loud in the silent foyer.

  Then Levi felt the nudge of something thick and heavy, a smear of wetness against his lower back. Cole was leaking, too—did he want Levi that much?

  Holding his breath, Levi gasped when Cole fitted his cock into the leg of Levi’s briefs, so the cotton trapped Cole’s cock right against the side of Levi’s sac. Cole was silky. Hot. Probably the biggest Levi had fitted inside him. Levi’s face burned.