Blindsided (The Fighter Series Book 1) (32 page)

I didn’t realize how bad of an idea drinking was until right now. Right this very moment…I can’t find the hole. The key card can’t find it either. Everything slides around my vision at its own little pace, but the damn space is rushing me. And when I walked down the hall, I was jumped by a pack of walls. Yup, you’ll read about that in the newspaper tomorrow. “The Leveler, leveled by verti…vertigocial…nope. Shit. Straight up and down ninjas.” Yeah that works.

Paige is curled on her side when I enter the bedroom. She’s dazzling. Wait…is dazzling a word for someone’s beauty or is it for disco balls? Ah fuck it. Either way, she’s it. I grab my shorts and change out of this monkey suit I’ve worn for too many hours then slide into the bed lying on my back with my hands behind my head. I don’t want to disturb her and I thought I was doing good until I feel her eyes piercing the side of my head. Slowly and very carefully, I turn toward her.

Her forehead has wrinkles and her eyebrows are pinched together. Her lips are pressed tight as she frowns.

Whelp…she’s still pissed.

“Hiiii,” I slur.

“You’re drunk.”

“Damn you’re fucking good. Do they make trophies for you being so awesome?”

That shit sounded funny as hell in my head, but by her looks, she’s not impressed.

“Aww, Paigey,” I roll facing her. “Don’t be mad, please.”

“You come back at three in the morning smelling like a four-day-old drinking binge, and the last time we spoke you called me a possession. Please explain why I shouldn’t be mad?”

I look around the room trying to figure out the best answer, but the dude in my head isn’t working, so I fall back on the best thing I know. “Because I love you?”

“Couch.” She points.

I jerk my head back. “I’m in the doghouse?”

“You’re buried under it,” she informs me.

“Well fucking-A. I should have stayed at Adams,” I snarl swinging my legs over the bed and grabbing my head to steady the spinning room.

“I told you I didn’t want to see you again until you figured out your shit. And since you’ve been drinking I can tell I was the last thing you thought about.”

“You were the only thing I thought about!” I sneer.

“Right,” she says sarcastically and throws a pillow at me. “Sleep well.”

“The hell you’re kicking me out of my own bed. It’s not my fault you’re all pissy at me. You were the one falling all over Ryker.”

Slap!

I jolt my eyes at her, infuriated she dared to put her hands on me. She doesn’t say anything grabbing her pillow and heading out the door. I watch as she slams it then I fall back onto the bed. This isn’t good, is it?

The sun shines against my face waking me from a deep sleep. My eyes scream at the loudness of the light, and my body aches like I’ve been beat down. My damn head feels like a sledgehammer was used to drive nails in it.

I stretch and roll over to a cold bed. I lurch, scanning the room but it’s empty. I jump out of bed with every inch of me in agony, ripping the door open to a deserted hotel room. I fucking hate drinking. My recollection is fuzzy, but I swear Paige was here last night.

“Paige?” I call out, but there isn’t a response.

On the couch is a pillow but no body. I turn back to the bedroom and freeze. Her bags…they’re gone.

Rage. Hurt. Wrath. Storm. Pain. It all stomps through me and I scream, punching the wall. I grab my phone and call her, but it goes straight to voicemail.

“Adam, have you seen Paige?” I ask when he answers his phone.

“She’s not here,” he answers and I hang up sliding my fingers to the next best person, yet again.

“What the hell?” Blain answers.

“Is she there?” I ask frantically.

“What the hell did you do?”

“Is she fucking there?” I bark.

“I’m on the way to the airport to get her,” he bites back.

I sigh and plop down on the bed, dropping my head in my hand.

“What the hell happened, Levi?” Blain asks.

“I lost my cool,” I admit.

“So she says.”

“As long as you have her then I know she’s safe.” I have no other words and hang up.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

Chapter 38

Blain picked me up from the airport this morning and since then, I’ve been cooped up in my room. I’m not in the mood for company. I don’t feel like acting as if everything is just peachy…I just want to take a moment alone. Levi threw me a curveball, showing me a side of him I loathe. He made me feel like a piece of meat, irrelevant to his feelings, and regarded me as a possession.

Where the hell does he come off thinking I’m some sort of
his
property? Like he owns me? Where’s the respect? I’ve known he was egotistical, a pompous ass down to the bone, but so possessive that he tries to control me? That doesn’t fly well. One minute he’s tender and sweet—the perfect man…my dream man—then the next he’s a stormy, cantankerous prick.

I’ve been from my bed, to my desk, to pacing the floor, pondering back and forth. I’m not upset with myself that I left. I’m pissed because he confuses the hell out of me.

Suddenly there’s a loud banging on my front door. It’s forceful and I know who’s on the other side of the wood. I don’t want to deal with him today. Who knows which one of his moods he’ll be in? I sigh, walking down the hallway, pausing to take another deep breath before turning the knob.

Immediately, I’m swept from my feet and thrown over his shoulder.

“Levi!” I scream, pounding his back, but he doesn’t respond and continues striding to my bedroom.

He kicks the door shut behind him, then places my feet on the ground and starts backing me against the wall. My breath escapes my lungs as I run out of room to go, staring into a set of eyes that hold a murderous gaze. He grabs my face and kisses me hard then pushes off, shoving a finger in my face.

“Don’t you ever sneak away!” he scolds me.

“I—”

“You don’t ever walk out on me like that, ever!” he sneers. “You said we were a team, so fucking act like one. I overreacted seeing him get a smile out of you, seeing you laugh with him. I worked so fucking hard for you.” He jams his hand through his disheveled hair. “I got overprotective. I can lose you in an instant and that thought destroys me.”

“Levi—” I try again.

“If you wanted to talk, you wouldn’t have walked out without saying a fucking word. Now it’s time for you to listen. If you’re pissed at me, it’s one thing to be in another room, but you don’t abandon something you say you love. You don’t fucking walk out on it. You keep fucking running away. When the hell are you going to stop? This…” he points between us, “is brand new to me too. You’re not the only one it scares the hell out of, but I’m not running from it. I keep having to chase after it. What’s with you? I’ve made it clear where I want to be, but you…you’re so damn complicated.”

His chest is heaving, eyes laced with determination and locked onto me. “Do you want this?” he asks.

I’m desperately trying to blink back tears, steadfast to keep my wounded heart in check. “I want you, but you’re so damn complex. You’re overwhelming. Your lifestyle is exasperating. You…” I jam my finger in his chest, “are exhausting.”

His eyes flare. “I’m putty in your hands, Paige. You! You control me. You have me. It’s you who possesses me. You want me to jump, I’m off whatever fucking building you point to. You don’t fucking get it, Paige. I’d run off and marry you.”

“I compromise with you. I understand your lifestyle surrounds you with beautiful women and will take you away from me for weeks if not months at a time. It’s a dangerous concoction. You’re narcissistic, and drop dead gorgeous, Levi.” I point to myself. “But this no-name has more trust in you than you do in me.”

“You’re my perfect escape. You’re the reason to breathe, but I can’t do this one-sided. I want to be in your life because I cherish what you bring to the table,” he says more calmly.

“Then treat me as an equal. Trust me, Levi,” my voice quavers. “I love you and I’m willing to deal with the bullshit, but you have to figure a way out to regard me as your partner, not your enemy or something you think you can control.”

His eyes flick left to right, studying me before slowly leaning in and placing the softest kiss on my lips. He presses his body against mine, pinning me between muscle and wall dragging his hand down my ribcage to my hips. He yanks me into him, guiding me toward the bed and undoing my shorts. Once my legs hit the bed, he shoves me gently allowing me to fall and rips my shorts off then grabs my ankles, kissing his way up my thighs. His tongue slides across my clit, and instantly my body reacts, goosebumps shatter across my skin, my back arches off the bed, and I whimper. He slides his hand up my shirt and kneads my breasts, pinching my nipples.

Tremors begin rolling through my body, and abruptly he stops his wonderful torture against my clit to drag his tongue up my stomach, following a path between both breasts and nuzzling into my neck. Somewhere in this mix, he’s lost his shorts. His smooth hard flesh rubs against me and I wriggle beneath him trying to slide him where I’m aching to be touched.

“Please,” I beg, pulling at his arms.

“No,” he answers.

Sitting back on his knees, he places my ankles on his shoulders and kisses each foot. Normally, any touch on my feet sends me into a tickle fit, but not these kisses. They’re gentle, passionate, and tender. He licks his thumb and circles it over my clit. Hot molten sensations pulse through me, and my insides tighten craving to feel him.

“Please,” I beg again.

He smiles, placing the head of his penis to my entrance and nudges only half of his dick into me, not satisfying my lust for him. I gyrate my hips trying to get more, but he’s not allowing it and continues to work my clit with his thumb. My orgasm is creeping up and I dig my heels into his shoulders. He leans forward and imbeds himself into me with one thrust. I cry out rocked with a dizzying fullness, the pain tangling with pleasure.

My legs are still on his shoulders as he watches himself pump into me. Raising his gaze, his nostrils flare and he grits his teeth.

“This,” he slams into me letting my ankles fall off his shoulders and dropping his face to mine. “You,” he impales deeper.

“Levi…” I gasp. My every muscle is on fire, buzzing with an ice-cold burn.

“You’re mine,” he shoves. “I fucking love you, dammit.”

He begins rocking with earnest and it’s all that I can handle. I erupt gasping against his shoulder. A fierce blistering shutter rocks me, ripples of ecstasy flood my muscles, and I dig my nails into his back. Gripping my hips and angling them up, he heaves furiously, slamming into me. The sounds of skin slapping, grunts and moans echo off the wall. Finally, he loses control and shouts out a few cuss words bucking wildly into me.

His breath is jagged as he lugs himself off me and sits on the side of the bed. I roll, dragging my fingers down the length of his spine and he shivers. He drops his head and exhales then heads for the bathroom. I frown at the lack of affection. It’s not like him to not have anything to say.

He’s in the shower with his face turned to the water when I slide the glass door open.

“Levi? What’s wrong?” I ask.

He wipes the water from his eyes. “I’ll talk when I get out,” he says solemnly.