The moment he spoke, I knew what he was referring to. Me needing time to think. Me telling him to hold off. How I’d told him that us hooking up in that bathroom didn’t mean we were back together.
“So pushy,” I whispered, turning away to stare at the empty buildings we walked by. It was too early; no one else was out. It was just him and I. No better time than the present to bare my truths…because we might not have another moment. Life might come at us with another curveball, and I stuck to my guns when I said I didn’t want to live a life full of regrets.
Mistakes, yes. Things I wished I could go back and change? Hell yeah. But life was too short to spend it regretting every little thing—and every big thing. It was literally now or never.
“I think we both know what I’m going to say,” I told him, tossing my head back with a swagger I was not feeling in this particular time. “You’re like…well, you’re impossible to avoid, you’re persistent as fuck, and somehow in spite of everything, I love you. So…yeah, my answer is yes. Just don’t let it go to your head, you know. You are the first guy who can claim that Kelsey Yates is his girlfriend, so—”
Levi stopped walking, pulling me back with the hand holding onto mine. The rest of my sentence was pulled from my lungs when he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. He was measured in letting go of my hand so he could grab both sides of my face—as if I’d stop him or pull away—to hold me still. His fingers wove their way through my hair, and I let myself get lost in the embrace, closing my eyes and drowning myself in everything that was him.
His musky, manly scent that I couldn’t describe but recognized. The way his lips melded against mine, taking everything I had to give. How soft his hands were on my cheeks, how the fingers in my hair tugged slightly, pulling gently.
I leaned into him, weakly holding onto his arms. The world spun, and he…he was everything to me. He would be my strength when I had none. He’d catch me when I fell, and he’d sure as shit tell me pointblank when I was doing something stupid.
The kiss lasted forever, but at the same time it was over just like that, leaving me breathless and hungry for more.
His breath was hot on my face, his lips brushing against mine as he whispered, “I love you too, Kelsey. I’ve never wanted to be a better man before, but all of that changed the moment I met you.” Levi was slow to drop his hands from my face, and my skin felt the loss immediately. The air was too cold outside, the dawn too brisk.
I needed to be under covers, and I needed Levi with me.
“Oh, shut up,” I told him, smiling. “You’re just saying that to get on my good side.”
Levi grinned, something he didn’t do often enough. “You love me. I’m already on your good side.”
“Oh, Blue, if you think just because I love you you can’t get on my bad side, you’ve got another thing coming,” I told him as we resumed our pace, holding hands once again. “I can hate you and love you at the same time, you know. It’s not an automatic gold star.”
“It’s not? Then what’s the benefit?”
I thought on that, instantly saying the first thing that came to mind: “Sex?”
Levi leveled a blue-eyed stare at me. His come on look was right, of course. He’d had sex with me before real feelings got involved. Sex was really nothing new, but I wasn’t sure what else I could bring to the table.
“Cuddling?” I spoke the word with a disgusted expression on my face. Never was one for cuddling. The past few years, to cuddle after sex was to admit that feelings might be involved, and until Levi, I’d steered clear of that. No real feelings for me, thanks.
And then this bastard came into my life, the sneaky little shit.
Levi debated this. “I don’t know. I still got you to cuddle that first night, even though you didn’t want to.”
“Then what do you want, Blue?” My dorm building neared, its tall towers growing even taller the closer we came.
“Hmm. Will you make me a sandwich anytime I ask?” That comment earned him a jab of my elbow on his side, and he winced. “You are stronger than you look, aren’t you? That’s going to bruise.”
“Don’t say stupid things, then,” I told him, forcing out a frown as we arrived at the side entrance to the building. With the door propped open by my foot, I stopped, glancing back at Levi. He’d let go of my hand, and he stood there, looking…conflicted.
I was conflicted too, but I knew, without a doubt, I didn’t want to be alone up there. Not with Mel gone.
“Stay with me,” I said, more of a command than a question asking him if he even wanted to. I didn’t need to ask. That one would jump whenever I said jump. We were each wrapped around each other’s fingers, honestly.
Levi nodded, following me inside.
The halls were quiet. No one else was up. It was way too early, even for the ones who had eight A.M. classes. The closer we came to my room, the more my stomach sank. I really didn’t want to go in there, but there was no way I could avoid it. It’s where I freaking lived, where all of my clothes were, my books, my notebooks.
My bed.
Oh, God. How the hell was I supposed to get any sleep when Mel was still in the hospital? This fucking sucked.
I unlocked the door, letting us both inside. The room felt vacant, empty. Stupid, considering I’d spent time in here alone before, without Mel. Mel wasn’t always around, but right now I knew where she was, and that she wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon—and that was a depressing thing to think.
Levi stepped inside after me, closing and locking the door. I went to my desk, tossing my keys and wriggling out of my hoodie, dropping it on the chair. He watched me in silence as I slipped off my shoes.
That stupid thing in my chest felt heavy; it was almost hard to breathe. “I’m going to shower,” I said, moving past him, needing to take my clothes off and wash away the stench of the last day. I grabbed my shower caddy and towel and slipped on my flipflops, heading down the hall like a girl on a mission.
The bathroom was completely empty, not that I expected to see anyone there. My footsteps echoed in the space, and I chose the last shower stall, exhaling a long sigh. After starting the shower, I shed my clothes, leaving them on the small ledge on the in-between space, between the outer curtain and the inner curtain that kept my clothes from getting wet.
Kind of wanted to burn every single piece of clothing I’d been wearing, but that would only set off the alarms, and then everyone would hate me for setting them off at such an ungodly hour.
To think, everyone around me was asleep, dreaming peacefully, unaware Mel was gone. Hardly anyone would care, but still. The mere thought annoyed me to no end.
I moved under the water, yanking the inner curtain closed. The water coursed down my body, practically scalding, but it felt so damn good. Who the hell could take showers that didn’t burn off the top layer of your skin? If there was anyone out there like that, I had yet to meet them. There was something about the way the hot water felt on my skin that I loved.
Seriously, I was known at home for long showers, and not because I was jerking off like the boys did. I just stood there, letting the water pelt my hair and my back, and let myself relax.
And if you knew me, you knew how hard it was for me to fully relax.
Maybe the heat helped to lower my guard. Maybe the steam was a way for me to just be peaceful and tranquil without having to prove anything to anybody. No tough Kelsey, just naked Kelsey in the shower, and that really wasn’t much to see.
I let out a long sigh, and it wasn’t but two seconds later when I heard the door to the bathroom open. Was someone else up? Seemed an odd hour for any student to willingly get up, but maybe they ran to the rec before their morning class or something—
Turned out, I didn’t have to worry, because it wasn’t another student.
Well, it was, but it was just Levi.
Just Levi, as if it could ever be just him.
He stepped into my stall, moving around the outer curtain. He p
ulled the inner one aside, getting a nice, long look at my body before I realized what he was doing. Or, more accurately, where he was.
“This is the girls’ restroom,” I told him, as if he didn’t know. “You can’t just walk in here—”
“Why not?” he asked, cocking his head and giving me a smirk that sent my insides a tumbling. “You did.” He must’ve left his jacket back in the room, hopefully the door unlocked as well, for he went straight to yanking off his shirt and laying it on top of my clothes.
“Yeah, well I’m a girl. Are you?” A silly question, because we both knew the answer to it by now.
Levi Harlen was no girl, not with that body, not with that dick.
He took off his shoes and socks, electing to go barefoot in a communal shower, which was kind of nasty, but my snide remark on that died in the back of my throat as I watched him take off his pants and his boxers.
What was I thinking about again? All train of thought vanished in my head. It was impossible to look at Levi when he was naked and not zero in on his cock. I mean, it was just there, and even before it got hard, it was impressive.
I knew now wasn’t exactly the best time for sex, but I’d be damned if this man didn’t step in the shower and we didn’t have a little quickie. Some stress relief. Maybe getting fucked against the shower wall would help me forget the previous night’s events. If any dick was magical, it was his.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, my body heating in a way the hot water on my back could never drum up. My eyes were slow to rise from his dick, unhurriedly raking across his chiseled abdomen—each and every square there rising and falling with the ragged breaths he took. The man knew what would happen if he stepped in here, and he did it anyway.
I’d call him a fool, but by now we were both aware of how foolish each of us were.
“I’m keeping you company,” Levi said, his body pressing against mine as he closed the inner curtain, shutting us both in. The stalls weren’t exactly created with the idea of two people sharing them—and we’d definitely get in trouble if anyone else walked in—but that was half the fun, wasn’t it?
“Uh-huh,” I murmured, running my hands down his chest, the hard muscle underneath tensing from my touch. “Company. Is that what kids call it these days? I’m so out of touch—”
Levi pressed his forehead against mine, and his arms snaked their way around my lower back, pulling me against him. He grew harder and harder by the second, and I couldn’t help but sigh when I felt that erection pressing against my lower stomach. “Who’re you calling a kid?” he posed the question, giving me a slow smirk.
“You,” I whispered over the noise of the water, knowing I only egged him on. What could I say? Egging on this man was one of my favorite pastimes, and I’d missed it all those weeks we were apart.
His chest let out a rumble, almost like a growl. The sound made me shiver. “I’m not much of a teacher, but I think you need a lesson.” His hands were like iron on my sides, flipping me so that my back was against him. He leaned his cheek on the top of my head, adding, “I think you’ll like the lesson.”
His hands roamed over my body, possessive in the way they gripped my breasts and claimed every inch of skin on my stomach as his. Before his hands could touch that aching bit between my legs, he put his hands on my upper back and bent me over. I had to place my palms on the tiled wall to keep myself upright, though that grew harder and harder with each passing minute.
Levi pressed his hardness against my backside, and I rubbed ass against his length, unable to help myself. Whatever lesson he had in mind, I was totally game. I couldn’t not be. This might not be a good time to lose myself in him, but I didn’t care.
I needed to lose myself right now, and there was no better person to help me do it.
One of his hands traced my spine, causing me to shiver. No other man in the history of history ever made me feel like this. It was true: I didn’t want anyone else. For me, it was only him. I’d unknowingly written off every other guy the moment Levi strolled into my life with that confident swagger, the way he dared me to challenge him. How could I not fall for him? It was written in the stars, as much as I believed in fate.
If something happened, and we weren’t together after SCC, I knew no other man would ever feel as good. No other man would ever drive me as crazy as this one drove me. I’d hit my peak early, go figure. If Levi left, there was no other way to go but down.
The moment I felt his tip prod at my entrance, I filled my lungs with the steamy air, bracing myself against the wall. Just from the angle he came at me, it was a bit uncomfortable at first, but once he was in, he was in, and my body adjusted to his addition quickly. My body craved his just as much as I did, like it had a mind of its own: yep, dick’s inside, so now I can relax.
When he pulled his hips back, dragging out his length only to push it back in, I might’ve let out a groan. Making noise in the bathroom was probably something to avoid, especially since any of the girls on my floor could waltz in and hear what was going on, but it was hard to care, harder to see reason.
Levi’s hands held onto my hips as he thrust into me, fucking me against the wall, in the shower. Not a place I thought I’d ever get nailed, but hey, there was a first time for everything, I supposed. I arched my back more, my face mere inches from the wall, my way of wordlessly asking for more. I’d take every inch he’d give me, and then some.
My eyes closed, and I inhaled a sharp breath when he filled me up to my core. So deep I thought I could feel him in my stomach—an exaggeration there, but if you saw the size of his cock, you’d understand. The water coursing down my back made my skin heat up, but the inner flame inside was stoked only by Levi.
I let out another moan as my fingers clenched on the tiled wall. His thrusting had grown harder, and it took nearly all of my muscle to keep my head from banging on the wall itself. The nerve of that guy, fucking me like some wild animal.
Okay, I loved it. You called my bluff.
My breasts swayed with each pump of his cock, water somehow finding my face and gathering on my parted lips. I sounded like a dog, panting for breath, but Levi’s breathing was even harder, more ragged, worlds more animalistic. He had me right where he wanted me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The minutes blurred into each other, both of us lost in ecstasy. To say being with Levi was pleasurable would be the understatement of the century. It was pure rapture, plain and simple. There was nothing better in this world, and if I was the kind of person who believed in an afterlife, I’d believe there was nothing better off it, too.
Levi grunted, his fingers tightening their grip on my sides. He thrusted once, shoving his cock as far in as it could go, filling me up to the brink. I imagined him filling me up even more with his cum—and since we were already in the shower, there’d be hardly any cleanup, cha-ching—and panted out a breath.
“You feel amazing,” Levi muttered, his cock, spent, still inside me. “I don’t want to pull out.”
“Then don’t,” I dared him. If he didn’t pull out, we’d just stay in here, and if we had to stay in here forever, I wouldn’t say no. It would mean I wouldn’t have to face what waited outside. Or, rather, outside and down the hall.
But that was kind of like running, wasn’t it? I couldn’t hide from the truth, couldn’t pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t. I had to face it, and Levi pulling his dick out of me and letting his cum dribble down my legs and wash through the drain was the first step.
Levi was slow to step back, his cock sliding out of me. Instantly I felt the emptiness it left, and I straightened my back, my head once again under the showerhead, the water coursing down my body, not quite as hot as it was before. Or maybe that was me, because my body was already heated up, thanks to Levi.
When I turned to face him, he gave me a half smile. “I’ve had better,” he told me, deadpanning it. The bastard.
If I was anyone other than me, I’d be insulted, but I was me, so
I responded by saying “Me too” and shrugging.
His eyes narrowed, and he gave me a miffed look, making me giggle. Yes, this man reduced me to a giggling machine, and I was not nearly as embarrassed as I should be.
“Don’t pout,” I said, grabbing his neck and bringing his face down to mine, giving him a fast, sloppy kiss that stoked the flames his dick had created. I could keep going. Together, we could be the little engine that could—in this case, the engine that came again and again and again—but it was probably time to get out of the shower anyway, just in case any early birds decided to get an extra early rise.
I licked his bottom lip before letting him go, feeling quite proud of myself when I felt his cock stir again, hard as a rock. I reached behind me to turn the water off, which stopped him from saying anything. He would have to be really quiet from here on out, just to be sure no one else was around.
As I pushed past him, I gave him a wink, unable to help myself. He only scowled back, which made me laugh silently.
I grabbed my towel, doing a quick once-over before handing it to him and letting him use it to dry himself off. Though I tried not to ogle him as he dried off, it was almost impossible not to. The way those muscles flexed when he bent his head over, how that stomach tightened even more when he ran that towel over it…
Oh, God. A girl was bound to get ideas watching a man like him.
Once we were both dressed, I was the first one out. The bathroom was still silent, meaning no one else was here, but that said nothing of the hallway. I poked my head out of the door, giving the hall a hard look both ways to make sure no one would see Levi leaving it behind me. A quick gesture for him to follow me was all I gave him before darting out, hurrying to my room with my towel and shower caddy in tow.
And Levi. Couldn’t forget that hunky sculpture of a man, could I?
No. The answer to that was always no. Try as I might, I could never forget him.
Mistakes : A College Bully Romance Page 30
