Breaking the Habit: The Breaking Series #4

by Leigh, Ember

  And those eyes. Those hungry brown eyes that had completely consumed her as he pushed himself into her deepest, softest parts. The eyes that had reached a part of her she’d thought she’d quarantined and locked down.

  Somehow, he’d still gotten through. Pierced that part of her that she’d sworn to never resurrect, not for anyone.

  So it was good that he was showing this side of him now. She should consider herself lucky. True colors and all that. Now she had time to wise up and detach.

  Before she made the same mistake as always and went for the guy who was clearly wrong for her, like the bad habit it was.

  Riley needed to cut and run. It needed to be that simple. She tugged open the curtains, smiling at the light that spilled in. Like encouraging this resolution. No more off-time with Levi. No more watching fireworks.

  The light show always ended. No matter how much the gunpowder thought it would explode forever.

  She had logic on her side.

  So why did she feel like she was making a mistake?

  Chapter 18

  Three days after the incident, Levi got the notice that the paparazzo was pressing charges against him for vandalism and destruction of property.

  Over those three days, he’d had plenty of time to calm down. To realize that breaking a camera guy’s shit because he got too close after Levi asked nicely for him to back the fuck off was not a good idea.

  But the deed was done. And it wasn’t the only thing he regretted from that day.

  The blowup with Riley haunted him. When he shut his eyes at night, he could still see the hurt slash across her face from when he’d called her a nobody. A nobody. He was the dumbest man alive. It didn’t matter how much he believed in what he was doing or why he was hunting notoriety.

  He said the stupidest shit when he was upset. Everyone in his life knew it. Now Riley did too.

  Levi needed to make it up to her bigtime. After training that day, he went to the most expensive florist he could find on Google Maps and bought the darkest bouquet they had. Black and mauve roses with gray lilies. Riley would go crazy for that shit. And he could try to make light of his own stupid words. If she’d look him in the eye.

  She hadn’t texted over the past three days—not that he’d expected her to—but neither had he. Part of him felt like this was a weaning process. Their sex had been explosive, but it couldn’t go further than that. So why push it?

  But his own fuckup made him eager to fix things. They had more practices coming up. More matches. It would be awkward, and he hated awkward. So he loaded up the expensive flowers and headed to her house to surprise her.

  Levi knocked on the front door, his entire body clenching as he waited for someone to answer. He had to knock a second and third time before the front door opened. Nikki peered out at him.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, uh…Nikki?” He flashed his best smile. “Is Riley home? I really need to see her.”

  Nikki blinked at the bouquet in his hands. “Oh, she’s gonna be so fuckin’ happy.”

  He liked that little insight. “So, is she here?”

  “Sorry. She’s at the studio.” Nikki shook her head, eyes still on the flowers. “Black roses. You really know her already, don’t you?”

  Nikki’s words stuck with him as he booked it back across Los Feliz. He pulled up just when the golden hour was in full force. He hid the flowers behind his back as he trotted up to her studio. The door was open, and he pushed inside, the scent of patchouli greeting him. Low music hummed, something blues-y and sad.

  Riley twisted toward the door, camera in her hand. She was with a client. Levi stilled, staying near the door.

  “Oh,” she said, zero enthusiasm in her voice.

  “Hey, Riley.” He kept the flowers behind his back, eyes darting between her and the client—the man—in front of her. He was probably early thirties, with an impeccable finger wave in his longish hair and a tailored suit. He looked at Levi as if he was expecting something, maybe from Riley too, and all his muscles went rigid. Like he was fucking jealous or something.

  “Uh, I got a special delivery for you.” Levi revealed the flowers. His heart hammered in his chest, and suddenly he was so nervous and desperate for her that he couldn’t control himself. “I grew these, you know. It took a lot of trowel and error.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of Riley’s lips. “Good one. Give me ten, okay?”

  Levi nodded, setting the bouquet down on her countertop before letting himself out of the studio. A whoosh of relief flooded him—at least she didn’t kick him out—and he occupied himself window shopping and checking his phone damn near every minute.

  He waited eleven minutes before venturing back to the studio. Riley was alone now, clicking through her laptop on the tall counter. Levi stuffed his hands into his pockets once he re-entered the cool, fragrant air of her studio. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning to him.

  “Hey.” His gaze skated up and down her black overalls, paired with a skin-tight slate gray top and those combat boots. She looked grunge but still somehow edible. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your session. I wanted to come say I’m sorry.”

  Riley tilted her head.

  “I don’t know if you noticed this yet, but…I’m kind of a hothead.” Levi scratched at the back of his neck. “And…I feel like an asshole. So I thought I should get you some dark and serious flowers.” He gestured toward them. “You know, because that’s what you are. But that’s the best part of you.”

  Riley looked like she was fighting a grin. “I’m not that serious.”

  “I know. I just…I had to go with the theme.” He drew a fortifying breath, surprised by how fast his heart was racing. This really meant something to him. More than he expected. “Listen, it’s important to me that you understand. Okay? The whole paparazzi thing…I didn’t mean for it to be personal. It’s sort of like…a goal of mine. Like a business goal. And you’re not a nobody because you avoid them. You’re actually the coolest fucking person I’ve ever met.”

  Riley nibbled on her bottom lip, the paper crinkling around the flowers as she picked them up, admiring them.

  “Besides, Gage really wants to see you again, and he won’t shut up about it.”

  Riley dragged her honey eyes his way, which sent electricity sparking through him. “I miss Gage. I’ll have to hang out with him sometime.”

  “And not me?”

  She shrugged, but the beginning of a smile quirked her lips. She fingered the slate gray petal of the lily, then looked at Levi, something on her face shifting. “I don’t have time for the paparazzi bullshit. I’m over them. They tried to ruin my life once, and it’s not going to happen again.

  Levi blinked. “What?”

  Her throat bobbed before she carried the bouquet toward the bathroom. He wasn’t sure he’d get the answer until she came back out into the studio, carrying the flowers in a vase.

  “My ex was a celebrity. When he cheated on me, the media came after me. Like I was the bad guy.” She sniffed, arranging the flowers. She’d grown distant, suddenly—almost icy. “They stopped caring so much, but only recently.”

  Levi’s mouth parted as the meaning sunk in. “Fuck.”

  “So I don’t like the paparazzi much.” She sent a grim smile his way, crossing her arms. “Not when I still get hate mail at least once a week.”

  He crumpled at that, covering his face with his hands. “Jesus, Ri. I’m sorry.”

  She drew a deep breath, running a finger up and down the stem of a rose, dancing a fingertip over the thorns. “The women-haters on Twitter are usually the worst. And after all that, well…I really don’t like the spotlight.”

  Levi paced the studio as he worked over the new information. How was it possible she could still be getting hate mail? He needed to fix this. To help her somehow.

  “Do people show up at your house and shit?” he asked.

  “No. Thank God.” She wiped at an eye, and it was only then that he
realized she’d gotten emotional. His heart cracked open, and he went over to her, swooping her into a hug.

  “Sorry,” she whispered into his chest. “I don’t like to talk about this stuff. It was a really hard time.”

  Levi tightened his arms around her, swaying gently back and forth. He would squeeze all the sadness out of her if he could. And he intended to. He’d hug her for twenty-four hours if she needed it.

  “It makes me so angry,” he murmured into the top of her head. “I can’t believe how fucking stupid people are.”

  “I was the one who got cheated on!” she said, her little hands snaking around his waist.

  “It’s not fair.”

  Riley buried her face into his chest. A sob wracked her body. She stayed like that for a few moments, and then she pulled away, wiping at her face.

  “Oh my god. I don’t want to be crying about this.” She fanned at her face. “I told myself it was in the past.”

  “Ri, it’s okay. You can cry into my chest. I’m not gonna tell Nikki. Your secret is safe with me.”

  Riley dissolved into laughter, and he scooped her into another hug. With her in his arms like this, the whole rest of the world stopped spinning. It was just them inside this studio and the intoxicating warmth of this embrace. Levi didn’t want to move. Not now. Not ever.

  “Okay, well, thanks for being my therapist,” Riley said, propping her chin on his chest to look up at him.

  “I’ll send the invoice to your house.”

  She dissolved into laughter again and untangled herself from his arms. Cold whooshed around him as she stepped away and headed for the bathroom. When she came back out into the studio, she looked refreshed somehow. Maybe the cry had done her good. Levi didn’t tend to cry, but he figured his need to fight was roughly the same thing, so he got it. Fucking someone up really made him feel better.

  “Anything you’d like to cry about?” she said, that twinkle back in her eye. Hell, he had plenty of things that would make regular people cry. Which was probably why he needed to punch so many people so often. But he didn’t want to be sad today. He had something entirely different on his mind.

  “I think I’m good. Do you forgive me?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, I need a yes or no, because if it’s no, then I’ve got some more work to do.”

  The smile finally blossomed in full on her face. She looked so beautiful, he wanted to kiss her. He moved toward her again without realizing it, hooking his finger though the beltloop of her overalls, bringing her crashing hip-to-hip against him.

  Riley tilted her head up to receive him, and then their lips were together, velvety and seeking and warm. Kissing her felt like going home, which sounded ridiculous, but Levi couldn’t ignore the thrum of intensity as their kisses deepened. Riley wrapped an arm around his neck; he slid his hands up to find the smooth dip of her waist, thumbs pressing at the edges of her breasts. When the kiss broke, Riley watched him with a ravenous look.

  Levi knew what she wanted. The same thing he wanted. The same thing his cock wanted, trapped hard and eager beneath the waistband of his shorts.

  “That’s a yes,” she whispered, and Levi cupped her face in his hands.

  “Thought so. I’ll go lock the door.”

  “Good idea.”

  Levi shut the front door as Riley drew the drapes closed, save for the sunlight peeking in at the edges. They had their own sexy haven here, well-scented with blues crooning in the background. Levi’s heart thumped strangely. He met her in the middle of the studio, cupping her face before trailing his fingers down the sides of her body. He grabbed healthy handfuls of her ass and then hoisted her easily into his arms. She giggled, hooking her ankles behind his back.

  “Oh, that’s right,” she murmured, pressing her forehead to his. “You’re all healed up now.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Now I can fuck you exactly how I want to.”

  “And how’s that?”

  His lips curled up, a devious smile spreading. “Right over there on that counter.”

  Chapter 19

  Riley felt like she’d been wrung out, chopped into pieces, and then reassembled by Levi’s loving hands. It didn’t make sense. She could go from hating him to swooning to dying for him in the span of a half hour, and if that wasn’t a sign of craziness, she didn’t know what was.

  She couldn’t keep her lips off him either. Even when she tried to break for air, she couldn’t. She clawed at his sturdy arms, needing more of him. Wrapped around her. Buried inside her. Voice at her ear. Filling her in every way imaginable.

  Something had shifted between them. When he’d shown up at the tail end of her portrait session, she’d seen the look sear across his face at finding another man in his studio. That had been the beginning of the end of her resistance. He’d fired the warning shot—I’m here to win you over, and you’re going to take it—and she’d tried to put up a good fight, but it was useless.

  Against these arms, these juicy kisses, this solid chest he’d offered like a pillow to wipe up her tears? She didn’t stand a chance of staying mad. Even though she’d tried to stay firm, something about Levi invited her to open up. And she’d fallen for it. Cracked herself wide open.

  Levi kicked through the door leading to the darkroom and office space. She flicked on the lights with the toe of her boot, and he hummed with appreciation.

  “Right here.” He brought her over to one of the work tables in the center of the room. This was where she laid out prints, inspected them for clarity. The only thing being laid out now was her.

  “I’ve never had sex in my studio before,” she whispered, as if somehow they might be overheard. As if the unused film around them might spontaneously imprint the experience if alerted.

  “Even better.” Levi tugged her boots off, and then her socks. She giggled once her feet were bare, wiggling her toes in the air. Levi released the hooks of her overalls.

  “You’re the only girl I know who can pull these off,” he said as the black denim crumpled around her waist.

  His big hands pushed over the front of her rib cage, cupping the mounds of her breasts through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. Her breath hitched, and she arched herself toward him. She needed more of this electric touch, which was as potent as their fiery night at his apartment.

  “But now I’m going to pull them off,” he said, scraping his teeth against her neck. She giggled.

  “Have you always been the biggest jokester in the room?”

  “Maybe not the biggest, but definitely always the best looking.”

  Riley threw her head back and laughed as Levi tugged the overalls past her ass and peeled them off her body. When she was dressed only in her panties and T-shirt, Levi hummed with appreciation.

  “Why are you so hot?” Levi asked, scraping his teeth over her collar bone. “It’s not fair.”

  “I should ask you the same.” She hooked her ankles behind his back, bringing him crashing against her pelvis. She could already feel his cock pressing against her crotch. “It makes me do stupid things.”

  “Oh yeah?” Levi tipped his head to the side as he hoisted her ass in his hands. He rolled his pelvis against hers in a slow circle. The friction of the hard ridge in his pants against her pussy made her gasp. “Stupid like what?”

  “Like let you to fuck me in my own dark room.”

  The laugh that came out of him was as sexy as it was suggestive, and suddenly, Riley was desperate to see this man. Every inch of him. She clawed at his shirt, urging it up and over his head. When his sun-kissed skin was on display, she sighed with relief. The sprinkling of dark chest hair, the familiar ridges of his abs. The freckles that splayed over his shoulders and down his back like a constellation, a map to a world that only she knew.

  His body was comfortable to her somehow. Comfortable yet still provocative. Made her want to nest inside him and jump around and kiss him until her lips fell off.

  He made her fucking
crazy.

  Levi fumbled with his wallet for a moment, retrieved a condom, and then shoved his shorts down to his ankles. Riley ran her hands over his biceps as he opened the wrapper, memorizing the drool-worthy landscape of his muscles with her fingertips. It seemed like every muscle on his body flexed with the most mundane of movements. If Levi blinked, it might still count as an ab workout.

  He tugged her panties down, and then his big hands scooped beneath her ass cheeks. That fiery gaze swept over her again.

  “Are you ready for this jelly?”

  She pressed her forehead to his. “Slather it on.”

  Levi snorted. “Slather the jelly?”

  She rocked her hips toward him. “Whatever. I was trying to work with your metaphor. Come on.”

  Levi squeezed her ass cheeks, a message of endearment or maybe a warning, and then he eased himself inside of her. But slowly…so slowly that it made her angry.

  “Levi!” she grunted, after he’d gone a half millimeter in what felt like an hour.

  His breath came out shaky. “I need to go slow.”

  “Why?” She arched against him, urging him deeper. His breath slid out shakily, and his eyes fluttered shut.

  “Ri, your pussy…” He didn’t finish his thought. He wet his bottom lip and surged forward. A gravelly moan ripped out of him.

  “Jesus, Levi,” she gasped, once he buried himself so deep it felt like he’d popped out the other side. He pressed his forehead against hers.

  He grunted, digging his fingertips into her ass cheeks hard enough that she thought it might leave bruises. He jerked her body higher against him. She gasped. He could move her like a rag doll…and she loved it.

  “God, you feel fucking amazing.” Levi’s words came out angry. She inhaled sharply when he drilled into her again, leaving her quaking.

  “Be careful,” she warned, voice shaky.

  He grunted, easing out of her and then drilling in, burying himself to the hilt. “Why? Are you okay?”