“Yeah, I’ll talk to him. I’m sure we don’t need to go to those lengths. But thanks, Maddie.” I turn to leave.
“Levi,” she calls out after me.
I stop and turn to face her. “Yeah?”
She closes the two steps I took so we’re directly in front of each other. “I watched her talk to him. I watched her walk away and get into a cab, but I also watched him rush to a car of his own. I’m not sure, but it looked like he could’ve been—”
“Following her,” I finish for her.
She nods. “I don’t want to upset you, but that’s what it looked like anyway. You know how things can get misconstrued when you don’t know what’s going on.”
“Thanks, Maddie. I gotta go.” Without another word, I take off in a sprint toward the elevator.
I rush out of the building, hoping to find Dani sitting on the concrete fountain like usual – even though I know she took a cab – but it’s empty. I turn and run toward the parking lot. I climb behind the wheel and shift into drive. Hitting the gas causes the car to jump forward, and the moment I’m on the road, I press the button on the steering wheel, calling her back.
The phone rings and rings until it goes to voicemail.
“Fuck, Dani. Answer the phone.” I try to convince myself that she’s just taking a shower or changing out of her work clothes, but there’s a pit in my stomach that tells me otherwise.
On the drive home, I call her cell over and over until I’m pulling into the parking lot. I grab my briefcase and run inside. I get in the elevator and hit the button for my floor. The door closes too slowly, and I stand there bouncing until they open again.
I turn the corner and run down the hall to my door. I stop just outside it, listening. I hear soft whispers from the other side, so instead of barging through it, I twist the knob calmly. The door opens, and I step in, finding Dani and Nick sitting on the couch.
“Oh, hey,” I say, pausing and setting my briefcase down. “What’s going on?”
Dani’s eyes are wide, and they move from mine to her busted phone on the floor. It looks like it was thrown against the wall and shattered on impact.
“What happened to your phone?” I ask, looking between her and Nick.
“It wouldn’t stop ringing. Why the fuck were you calling so many times?” Nick asks, standing and turning his body so he’s facing me.
“Maddie, at work, told me there was an issue with you today. And that it looked like you could be following Dani. I was worried.”
“You thought I’d hurt her?” he asks, pointing at his chest.
“Well, you are the guy who picked her up by her throat. Are you not?” I feel anger surge my veins.
“Man…fuck you. Why are you even in this? This is our business.” He turns back to Dani. “You know that was a mistake. I apologized for that.” He sits down and takes her hand in his. Just watching him touch her has my heart pounding. It pumps the anger twice as fast.
“Nick, you need to leave,” I say sternly.
His head whips around in my direction again. “What? Why?”
“She broke up with you. She called off your engagement. This is stalking. If you don’t leave her alone and stop showing up at her work, we’ll get a restraining order.”
My eyes flash over to Dani, and I see her bite her lower lip as she inspects her wrist. It’s red and swelling. There are marks I can clearly see from across the room that are blue and purple.
“What happened to your arm?” I ask, pushing past Nick and bending down to examine it.
I look over my shoulder at him. “Did you do this?”
“It was an accident.” He waves his hand through the air.
I stand up and march over to him. “Get out and leave her alone. You’re done.”
“What if I don’t?” he challenges.
I shove against his chest, and since he’s a lot bigger than me, he swats me away.
“Stop!” Dani yells, standing from her place on the couch. She moves between us. Tears are filling her eyes. I know the only thing she’s thinking of is her dream from last night. The one that scared her. The one that had me holding her all night. Not him. Me.
She turns toward Nick. “I want you to go. I’ve already told you that we’re done. And Levi is right. If you don’t stay away, I will get a restraining order. You’ve hurt me enough. Now go before I call the police.”
Nick looks hurt as he looks between her and me. “I can’t believe this. You’re my best friend,” he says, looking at me as he backs toward the door.
I shake my head once, keeping my eyes trained on his. “Not anymore.”
He turns and storms out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Dani quickly runs up to it and locks it before rushing into my arms.
I hug her close, inhaling her scent. For the first time, I don’t think about what could happen to me because of Nick. I think about what could happen to her. It’s obvious that Nick is more concerned about winning her than he is for her safety. All he wanted to do was talk, and now, look at her arm.
“Come on. Let’s wrap that arm and get some ice on it,” I say, leading her toward the kitchen.
She sits at the table, and I fill a bag with ice. I sit at her side and take a look at it. “Do you think it’s broken?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, I can still move it. It’s bruised from him grabbing it, but it’s sore from falling on it.”
“Falling on it?” I ask, my eyes jumping back up to hers.
“I was walking into the apartment, and I guess he followed me. He charged the door as soon as I had it open. He pushed his way through the door and me.”
“I think we should go ahead and get that restraining order.” I pull my phone from my pocket and call the police.
It’s not long before they’re knocking on my door. We explain the whole situation, tell them how he’s been showing up here and at the office, then show them her arm. They make a report and give us the forms. We’re told to file the forms with the courthouse in the morning, and Nick will be notified. There will then be a hearing granting the order or throwing out the judgment if she doesn’t attend.
An hour later, the police leave.
Dani decides to take a bath while I offer to fix something for dinner. I was going to run out and get her a new phone, but she asked me not to since she doesn’t want to be alone. While she takes a bath, I open the fridge and dig around all the drinks and condiments, but find nothing to cook. I go to my desk and pull out the stack of takeout menus. I toss them onto the desk; I’ll get to them later. For now, I just want to strip out of my work clothes.
I’m pulling on a pair of basketball shorts when the bathroom door opens, and she steps out, wrapped in a towel. Her blonde hair is wet and hanging around her face. Her dark eyes are glassy and puffy from crying, and her plump lips are swollen from her chewing them, no doubt.
“Come here,” I whisper, holding my arms out.
She slowly walks into my arms, and I wrap them around her. She leans her head against my chest and wraps her arms around my waist.
“I can’t believe this,” she mumbles, shaking her head.
“It’ll all be over soon,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She looks up, and her big, brown eyes meet mine.
“Levi, I’m so sorry for bringing my mess into your life.”
“Shhh, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” I lean in and press my lips to hers. They’re soft and strong as they move along with my own. Her tongue darts out, demanding entrance, and I willingly open for her, needing to taste her.
I don’t know what is going on between us, but she’s my newest addiction that I can’t seem to deny. She’s like the sweetest piece of chocolate cake, and even though I tell myself I will only have one bite, I end up devouring the entire slice. But I no longer feel guilty for it. Nick never loved her. Not the way I do. I’ve never admitted it to myself, but I’ve been in love with her since college; since I had to sit back and w
atch Nick treat her like shit.
Our kiss turns serious, and I feel like she’s no longer looking for comfort. Now she’s looking for a release, a way to escape her fucked up world. I don’t think as I lift her onto the bathroom counter and pull her towel away.
When we manage to pull ourselves away from one another, she runs off to get dressed, and I pick up the phone to order some dinner, now too tired to want to cook anything. I order some Chinese food and toss the menu back onto the table as I slide my phone into my pocket. I walk into the bedroom and find her lounging on my bed wearing nothing but a white tank top—no bra—and a pair of my plaid boxer shorts. She fills them out better than I ever could. If I hadn’t just been inside her, I’d move in again. Hell, I might still. I laugh at myself and shake my head as I move into the bathroom for a cold shower. I tell myself that I can’t be pawing at her all the time. I don’t want her to think that’s all I want, or that I somehow get my rocks off by fucking my best friend’s ex as much as possible.
I take a quick shower; with the water so cold, I had to. I towel off and pull on my pants. The the moment I walk into the bedroom, someone is knocking on the door. I head down the hallway, hoping it’s my food and not Nick.
I peek out the peephole just to make sure it isn’t an unwanted guest. Then, I grab my wallet and open the door a crack.
“It’s twenty-two fifty,” the guy says, handing over the brown paper bag.
I shove thirty in his hand. “Keep the change.” I pull the bag back inside and lock the door.
I walk back into the bedroom to find Dani curled up on the bed. I turn on the bedside lamp and went to off the ceiling light. “Want to eat in here and watch some TV?” I ask, picking up the remote and turning on the big TV hanging on the wall.
“Sure,” she agrees, sitting down on the bed.
I sit down beside her and hand her the remote so she can find something to watch while I get the food out of the bag.
I hand her a carton of rice and another full of orange chicken. “Did I get your order right? It’s been a while since we had Chinese together.”
She opens it and smiles. “Good job. What did you get?”
“Just some rice and a vegetable stir-fry.” I kick back and start eating while we watch an old sitcom rerun.
After we finish with dinner, she clears off the bed, and I turn off the lamp. She crawls into my side, and I hold her close as we watch a late-night re-run of MASH. I breathe her in deeply, letting her scent relax me. It’s amazing how just touching can cause everything else to fall away. Suddenly, I’m not thinking about Nick, work, or how I’m going to keep her safe. Now, all I can think about is keeping her with me. I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. I’ll be her boyfriend, her fuck buddy, and even her friend with no benefits if she wants. I don’t need sex to love her. I just need her, be able to hug her, breathe her in, hear her laugh, and see her smile.
The friendship we had before she left Nick has only grown. It’s morphed into something I don’t even recognize. I’ve never had a friends-with-benefits relationship before. I’ve had friends, I’ve had girlfriends, and I’ve even had a couple of casual hook-ups. But I’ve never had one person I couldn’t claim as mine that I couldn’t keep my hands off of. She’s testing all my limits. I’m trying my hardest not to fall in love in case this doesn’t work out, but deep inside, I already know I love her. I’ve loved her since I saw her, but now, that love has grown to be so much more than I ever thought it could be.
I turn my head and press a kiss to her head, and she kisses my chest. Neither of us moves for the rest of the night. We’re both too worn out from work, dealing with Nick’s shit, and making love to do anything else.
I wake sometime throughout the night and don’t even bother looking at the clock. I don’t care what time it is. I don’t care how much time I have left to sleep before my alarm goes off. All I can think about is watching her. Now that she’s asleep, the stress she’s been carrying around has fallen away. She’s completely at ease, and she looks angelic. Her blonde hair is splayed out all around her, tangled around her neck, arm, and mixing in with my hair. Her long dark lashes are fanned out across her cheeks, and her lips look so juicy and plump. I want to lean in and kiss them, feel them with my own, but I know she’s exhausted, and I don’t want to wake her. But I can’t resist touching her. I lift my hand and run the back of my index finger across her sculpted cheek with a featherlight touch. It causes the corners of her mouth to pull upward just a bit, but she doesn’t wake.
I let my hand fall back between us as I lift my head and press the softest of kisses to her forehead. She lets out a content sigh as I lower my head back to the pillow, waiting for sleep to take me again.
12
Danielle
Levi calls into work and lets both Bennet and Maddie know that the two of us will be late since he insists on going with me to the courthouse. I can’t say I blame him. Nick is going out of his way to get me to hear him out. And the funny thing is, he hasn’t said anything new. It’s the same old story over and over: I’m sorry, it was a mistake, it will never happen again if you take me back. Well, I have news for him: it will never happen again because I won’t take him back. I didn’t realize how badly he treated me until I got with Levi and discovered how I should be treated. I love coming home from work every evening and having dinner with someone. I missed the days of cuddling, making love, and just talking. When I was with Nick, I was always alone.
I turn in the paperwork and am informed that it will take about a week to get in and see the judge. In the meantime, Nick will be notified. I pray that this isn’t a reason for him to double his efforts. When we make it to the office, Maddie and Bennet are standing outside Levi’s office.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Levi asks, shaking Bennet’s hand.
“We just wanted to talk about how we should handle the Nick issue,” Bennet says, sliding his hands into his pants pockets.
“Let’s go into my office, shall we?” Levi says, opening the door and flicking on the light. We all step in and freeze.
Levi’s office has been trashed. The filing cabinets are knocked over with their contents thrown about. His desk has been flipped over on its top, and the computer and phone have been smashed. Framed pictures of his family look like they’ve been thrown on the floor and stomped on, with shards of glass everywhere.
“How the fuck could this happen?” he asks, motioning toward the mess.
I feel like this is all my fault. I back up against the wall and cross my arms over my chest while leaning my head against the wall.
“There are security cameras in the hallway. I’ll look into this,” Bennet says, rushing out.
Maddie turns to me. “I don’t want you going anywhere alone. Do you hear me? I want you safe.”
I nod in agreement as she chases after her husband.
“This is all my fault,” I say out loud.
“No, it isn’t,” Levi says, bending down and picking up a broken silver picture frame. “This is all Nick. It’s the same shit he’s done his entire life.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Remember back in college when that professor wouldn’t change his grade in that advanced science class?”
I think back and remember the fit he threw. He swore up and down that the teacher had it out for him and wanted to see him fail. He kept telling me how that was nothing less than an A paper.
I nod.
“Well, remember how a week later, that professor’s office was trashed, and the grade book came up missing?”
That, I don’t remember.
“He had a fit when he wouldn’t change his grade. If he didn’t get an A in every class, he wouldn’t get his bonus.”
“His bonus?” I ask, confused.
“His dad bribed him into getting good grades. If he aced everything, he got whatever he wanted: cash, clothes, cars, apartments, anything. And that one paper knocked his grade down to a B. He tried everything to get it cha
nged, but the teacher wouldn’t change it. Finally, he broke in and trashed his office. He stole the grade book, and the professor hadn’t put the new grades into the computer yet. Since he didn’t have his book, he had no choice but to drop the last assignment. Meaning Nick kept his A.”
I shake my head. “I don’t believe this. And he got away with it?”
Levi scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t he get away with everything?”
“Well, I’m sure he’s caught this time. As Bennet said, the office has cameras everywhere.”
“Let’s hope so,” he replies, picking up files and papers and making a stack.
I bend down and help pick up anything that could be of value. A little while later, Bennet and Maddie are back.
“Well?” I ask, stopping what I’m doing and standing.
“We found it. It happened at seven-fifty last night,” Bennet says, rubbing his hand over his jaw.
“That would’ve been after he left our place,” Levi says, looking at me.
“The only problem is he was wearing a hat. We couldn’t get a clean shot of his face.”
“So, he’s going to get away with this?” I ask, feeling annoyed and angry.
“Not necessarily. I have someone sorting through the outside cameras now. If we don’t get a shot of his face coming in or leaving the building, I’m hoping we, at least, got one of his car and plates.”
“How’d he even get in?” I ask. “I mean, doesn’t the building get locked?”
Bennet nods. “It does, but not until nine or so. Many of us stay late. Me, Damon, Callan, we’re all here after hours. The door doesn’t get locked until the cleaning crew starts. There’s no cash on site here, and there are cameras everywhere. We never had this issue before.”
“So, did anyone see him? Did any of you stay late last night?” Levi asks.
His Every Desire (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 46
