He coughs. “No. I don’t like it. It makes me want to break the promises I’ve made and find the nearest flat surface where I can fuck you senseless.”
“Oh. Well, that doesn’t sound awful.”
He chuckles softly and pulls me closer. “I remember the first time I saw you in it. You wore it to the bar after Ava and Jake got back together. You looked so damn beautiful, and Colton was there but seemed totally oblivious to you. Every time you looked at him, I thought you were going to cry. I wanted to shake him for not seeing what was right in front of him.”
I close my eyes, remembering that night—one of the many after things deteriorated between Colton and me but before we broke up. “I wanted to tell him I was pregnant, but he was acting weird. I was afraid he already knew and was trying to figure out how to get out of being involved.” I study his dark eyes. “I’d become invisible to him, but you always saw me. From the beginning.”
“When he made you happy, I wouldn’t let myself think about my feelings for you. But once he started making you so damn sad, it was all I could do not to pull you aside and beg you to ditch his ass and be mine.” He exhales slowly. “Who needs enemies when you have friends like me?”
I pull back to study his face. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Didn’t I? I made love to you the first chance I had. Before you even knew what had happened between Colton and Molly, I jumped in.” He shakes his head. “And here I am, trying to do it again.”
“And here I am,” I whisper, “wanting you to.”
He kisses the top of my head.
I lean against his shoulder and watch the bride and groom dance a few feet away. “They’re so happy.”
“They fought for that. No matter how easily love comes, happily-ever-after isn’t simple.”
“It seems like it should be.”
He buries his nose in my hair and breathes deeply. “Yes, but if you’ve only ever seen sunshine, how do you know you can face the storm?”
/> I close my eyes and focus on the heat of his body against mine. Is that what this is? The ring I took from Colton, the assault, and my subsequent recovery? Are Levi and I simply weathering a storm that’ll leave us stronger in the end? Could we have a chance together? Despite everything?
“Can we go somewhere private?” I ask. I was going to wait until tonight to tell Levi about my latest memories—to confess I remember our night together—but now I don’t want to wait another minute.
He looks around the reception before giving a sharp nod. “Yeah. Sure.” He releases my waist and takes my hand, leading me off the dance floor.
We walk through the kitchen, weaving around staff members who are busily preparing trays of appetizers for the party. Opening a door at the back of the kitchen, he steps into Jake’s office. I follow him in, shutting the door behind us and blocking out some of the noise from the kitchen.
When I turn to him, his eyes are all over me, moving up and down my red dress, my legs, pausing a beat at my hips, my cleavage, my lips. When he meets my eyes, he swallows hard. “Thank you for coming today. It means a lot to my family, and my family means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.”
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t have missed it.” I stalk toward him and shake my head. “Did I tell you I remember the night at the lake? You built a fire, and we spread a blanket out in the back of your truck.”
“You do?”
Nodding, I slide my hands beneath his jacket and up his chest. “You didn’t take advantage of me, Levi. You gave me what I asked for. What I needed.”
He draws in a breath through his teeth.
“You make this suit look so good.” I push the jacket off his shoulders.
He shrugs out of it and lets it fall to the floor. “If you like it so much, why are you taking it off me?”
“Because you make shirtless look really good too,” I whisper, my fingers already working on the buttons of his dress shirt.
“Ellie,” he murmurs, a warning in his tone. “I can’t pretend I don’t want this, so if you’re looking for me to be the noble guy . . . if you’re thinking we can take this further than we have and I’ll step aside for Colton if he comes back, you’re wrong.”
“Good to know,” I say. “I don’t have any idea why I would have walked away from you.” I release the last button on his shirt, then move to the buttons on his pants. “But I’m here now.” I drop to my knees before him. “And I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Levi
On her knees, Ellie slides my pants and briefs down my hips. Her gaze goes straight to my cock, and the little noise that slips from her throat makes me even harder. I’m so fucking turned on that I’ll have to fight like hell not to come the second she puts her mouth on me.
She runs the tip of her tongue along the underside of my dick, and I lean against the wall to get my balance. When she looks up at me through her lashes, she licks her lips. “I dreamed about this.”