Freefall (Santa Cruz Skydivers Book 1) (19 page)

Throwing on the jacket he had lent me, I waited until he had put on his riding gear before asking his help with the helmet.

“Levi, can you help with the clasp on the helmet, please?” I asked shyly. I didn’t know where I stood with him now.

He grunted in reply, and clicked the clasp in place under my chin. Our earlier laughing and joking had been replaced by ice and hostility.

He threw his leg over the bike and the engine fired up with a loud rumble.

“Get on,” he yelled at me over the noise of the Harley’s loud revs.

Quickly, I scrambled on behind him, wrapping my body around his. His muscles tensed beneath my touch. Obviously, I repulsed him. Thankful that he couldn’t see my face, my eyes teared, hurt that we couldn’t even be friends.

“What’s your address?” he asked me over his shoulder.

I flipped the visor to reply, but took care that he couldn’t my eyes in his rear mirror. “I’m on Laurent Street, number eight. It’s off Kings. Do you know where it is?”

“Yep. I’m good,” he quipped over his shoulder, and revved his bike a couple of times. He pulled down on the throttle of the bike once more before letting the clutch out, spinning up loose gravel with the rear tire, and left the beach parking lot behind us in a haze of dust.

We rode to my place faster than we had ridden out. My body pumped with adrenaline as I clung onto him tightly. Most of the ride, I had my eyes clenched shut in fear. Since the first time meeting him, I was unsure of him. I didn’t dare ask him to slow down. In fact, I didn’t dare speak to him. Not that it mattered anyway. He didn’t attempt to talk to me on the ride and, unlike before, there was no flirty touching of my knee and rubbing my hands that were now locked in a death grip around his waist.

He pulled up to a stop outside my apartment complex. Without killing the engine, he left his hands on the handlebars and looked over his shoulder at me, waiting for me get off the bike. His face was devoid of all emotion. With a heavy heart, I put my hands on his shoulders, flung my right leg back around the bike, and stepped down onto the ground. Not wanting to ask for his help again, I stepped away from him and turned my back while I attempted to unclip the helmet by myself. I successfully unclipped the helmet’s chin strap first try and turned back around to him after I pulled it off, holding it out for him expectantly with one hand while I ran my fingers through my helmet hair with my other hand. He looked at me, his face pained, turmoil reflecting out of his eyes. I wanted nothing more than to throw the stupid helmet on the ground and embrace him. Make him want to love me.

His shoulders sagged, and he reached over and took the helmet from my hands, his gaze unwavering from mine.

I removed the jacket and folded it over my arms. I couldn’t leave him like this. I had to tell him. What else did I have to lose except my dignity? “Thanks for the great afternoon. I had a really great time. In fact, the past twenty-four hours with you has been the best time I’ve ever had in my whole life. I’ll never forget you.”

He finally shut off the engine and stepped off the bike, placing my helmet on the seat, and took his off, resting it on top of the fuel tank. My heart was thudding so hard I could feel it pounding against the material of the black shirt of his I was still wearing. He ran his hand through his hair a few times, his mouth pinched tight, as if he were struggling with an internal dialogue. What more did he want from me? I’d already given him an exit.

“Levi, you don’t have to explain. I get it. I’m cool with friends. I actually don’t have that many, so...” And before I say any more about us making great friends, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me in tight against him and kissed me passionately, our mouths hungry for each other. I dropped the jacket and reached up with both my arms and wrapped them around his neck, locking my fingers into his hair, and kissed him back with everything I had. My heart raced like I had run a quarter mile in under a minute.

“Do you really want to be just friends?” he asked once our kissed ended, his eyes searching for the truth.

I clung to him, breathless, letting him hold me up. Jell-O legs had returned, threatening to give way at any moment. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“Truthfully, in the beginning, yes.” He averted his eyes, unable to look at me directly. “But after today, I realize I have real feelings for you. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. I was going to tell you in the cafe, but you told me you weren’t interested.”

“I only said that because I thought you had reconsidered and changed your mind.”

“I had changed my mind.” He looked at me again, giving me one of his knee-trembling smiles. “I want more with you. I can’t promise you forever, but I want us to be together. More than just benefits. I want to get to know you better. What do you think?”

I couldn’t talk. I just stood there and nodded at him with a stupid grin plastered across on my face.

We stood there awkwardly for a few moments, both of us smiling at each other, until something changed. I no longer felt shy and unsure. Our smiles dropped and we only had eyes for each other—the rest of the world faded away. He reached up and brushed back a lock of my hair that had blown across my face and kissed me tenderly.

I was now one hundred and twenty percent in love with this guy. I could only hope that he would eventually feel the same way.

Chapter Twenty-One

Andi

“Do you want to come inside?” I ran my hands across his broad shoulders and down his arms. This was all new territory for me. An actual guy responding to my affections. Best go with cool and casual.  “I mean, we could stay out here and make out, but personally, I’d rather go inside and make out.”

His eyes lit up. “You don’t need to ask me a second time. Lead the way, sexy ass.” He grabbed my behind just to punctuate his command.

My heart surged with happiness. At this exact moment, I didn’t think I had ever been this happy. I grabbed his hand that was groping me, collected my stuff he had stored in his saddlebags, picked up the dropped jacket, and then led him up to my apartment. I fished around in my clutch for my keys and opened the front door with it.

“Wait,” Levi said, pulling me back before I walked inside. And before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my clutch and the jacket from my hands and scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder caveman-style. He carried me inside with his hands manhandling my butt.

I started laughing and grabbed his ass in response. Any excuse, really, to feel him up. “Levi, we aren’t married. You don’t need to carry me over the threshold.”

“I know, but it’s my first time here as your boyfriend. I kinda feel like I have to.”

With blood rushing to my head, I was certain I hadn’t heard him right. Had he just referred to himself as my boyfriend?

The door behind us slammed shut, causing me shriek out loud, and I kicked my legs out almost kicking him in the face.

“Sorry,” he apologized sheepishly as he righted me back onto my feet once we were in the middle of the room and he had thrown my stuff on the nearest chair. “I kicked the door closed a little too hard. I guess I’m just excited.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and laughed into his chest. I was stupid giddy with excitement. He pulled me in tight against him. Considering moments ago, we weren’t even really speaking, and now he referred to himself as my boyfriend, I had to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind.

“Levi. Did you mean what you said just now?”

He didn’t reply verbally, but answered me with a kiss.

“Who’s there?” Lili called out from her bedroom, interrupting things before they got too hot. “Is that you, Scotty?”

Crap, I’d forgotten about Lili. “No, it’s just me. And Levi.”

A little thrill ran through me. This was the first time I had brought a guy home, and apparently, my first boyfriend, too.

She quickly joined us in the living room, her eyes still red and puffy. I was guessing things between her and Scotty hadn’t changed.

“Where have you been?” Her eyes wide, flicking between Levi and me. “I’ve been worried about you. Your cell kept going to voicemail.”

To my utmost happiness, Levi had kept his arm wrapped around my waist and kissed me affectionately on the top of my head. Leaning in against his chest, heat flashed through my entire body.

“Um, actually my cell’s battery died last night and I stayed at Levi’s. I kind of forgot to charge it. Have you heard from Scotty yet?”

At the mention of his name, she collapsed into the armchair and started crying. “No, he’s not answering my calls or replying to my text messages.”

I turned my face up to Levi. “Just give me a second,” I whispered, squeezing his hand, and went to kneel by her side. “I’m so sorry.” I held her hand and rubbed her back. “I thought for sure he’d come to his senses.”

“I let a good thing go because I was jealous,” she sobbed into my shoulder.

Behind me, Levi softly cleared his throat to get my attention. I turned slightly so I could still rub Lili’s back and look at him at the same time.

“I should go.”
He mouthed the words at me and thumbed in the direction of the front door in case I didn’t understand his lip-syncing.

“No,”
I replied, mouthing back and shaking my head. I frowned, flicked my head in the direction of my bedroom, and indicated with my eyes he should go wait for me there.

He turned his head in the direction of my room and nodded in agreement. He walked behind me and affectionately brushed the back of my hair as he did. I felt like a complete bitch right now. I desperately wanted to be a good friend to Lili and be here for her, but I really just wanted to be with Levi. I was torn between doing the right thing as a best friend, or having ground-shaking sex with my new boyfriend.

Lili sniffed back her tears and stood up, pulling me up with her. She gave me a weak smile. “I’ll be fine, go be with Levi.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, you deserve the guy for once.” She held up a finger. “On one condition, though. I want all the dirty details tomorrow, okay?”

“All of them?” I widened my eyes in mock shock.

“Everything! Have fun. I’m going to try to call Scotty again.”

We hugged, and I waited until she was in her room and shut the door before I joined Levi in my bedroom. His clothes were strewn across the end of my bed and he had made himself comfortable in it. Not that I was complaining. I paused, admiring his muscular body. His was lying on my pillow, with the bed covers pulled up to his waist only, his naked, tattooed torso exposed. His eyes were shut, with his hands tucked up underneath his head, his biceps flexed from the position.

I shut the door and kicked my heels off. My feet were killing me. Never again would I wear heels motorcycle riding. “Are you comfortable?” I began peeling off my clothes.

He opened his lust-filled eyes, watching me undress. “Very. Hurry up, I’m lonely in here.”

I stripped off to just my thong and climbed into bed with him—surprised to find he still had his Calvin’s on—and snuggled up against him. He wrapped me in his arms and held me there. He made me feel so confident and beautiful.

“What’s wrong with Lili?” He brushed his fingers tenderly through my curls.

I nuzzled into his chest. “Scotty dumped her Friday night. They had a huge fight over the way she treated me after you left. He told her he didn’t want to see her again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She was jealous of the chemistry we had going, and Scotty called her on it. She apologized to me yesterday, but he’s still not talking to her.”

“So she should be jealous of you. You’re perfect. To be honest, the moment I saw you Friday night, I was already obsessed with you. I just kept denying it. I know this sounds very corny, but do you believe in soul mates?”

I pushed myself up and rested my chin on his chest so I could look into his gorgeous green eyes.

“Yes, I do,” I confessed.

“A part of me kept thinking I knew you from somewhere else. But what it if it wasn’t that, but just us reconnecting because we are meant to be together?” He laughed out loud. “Listen to me talk trash. I’m turning soft.”

“Don’t stop, I like hearing you talk. Besides, I believe in those things, too. My friends all think I’m a weirdo.”

“Come here.” He grabbed my hips and lifted me so I was lying on top of him. “When I said all that stuff about needing you in my life, I meant it. What do you think?”

I answered him with a kiss. He moaned under my lips and ran his hand down my back. He finished by cupping his hand over my butt cheek.

“Andi, you don’t know what you do to me. I’ve honestly never felt like this before. The things you do to me.”

“Really?” I was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“You have no idea? Just have a feel.”

He grabbed my hand, slipped it between us, and put it on his cock. It was like rock pushing up hard against the thin material of his boxers. Shifting slightly so I could move my hand more freely, I gripped his penis through the material and started moving my hand up and down his shaft. He shut his eyes and moaned softly.

“Like this?” I asked him, gripping a little tighter and pulling a little harder. The material allowed my hand to move smoothly up and down.

His eyes flashed open, raw emotion burning inside. He grabbed my waist and flipped us over so he was now on top of me. In the sudden movement, I lost contact with his cock and while reaching for it again, he grabbed both my wrists and pinned my arms above my head.

“Didn’t you like it?” I asked, unsure. “I’m sorry, I’ve never done that before.”

“Andi, I stopped you because if you kept doing that, I would have come. You drive me so wild.” He leaned down and gently bit my earlobe, blowing softly in my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine. “I don’t want this moment to be spoiled by you jacking me off. I want to make love to you, slow and sweet, like you deserve. But this isn’t the time or the place. Not with Lili in her bedroom next door. Later, at my place, just you and me. I promise you, it’ll be like our first time should have been.”

I smiled tenderly at him. “Okay. But I rather enjoyed our first time.”

“Me too,” he replied, his voice husky.

“We still have about an hour until I have to go to my parents’ house for dinner. Would you like to come with me? You know…as my boyfriend.”

Those words sounded so foreign coming out of my mouth. He smiled and kissed me, his tongue teasing me, not letting my arms go.

“I’d love to. But until then, do you think you can control yourself and stop trying to rape me.”

I wiggled underneath him trying to get my arms free. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the one pinned down here.”

“I’ll let you go, only if you promise not to tempt me in anyway whatsoever. You are forbidden to make me to want to rip your underwear off and screw you senseless right here and now.”

I laughed at him and wiggled a little more just to tease him. “I promise, but you’re so sexy it’ll be hard.”

He sighed dramatically, but let my arms go anyway. “It’s a burden, I know.”

He rolled us back over so we were in our original position.

“Let’s have a little rest before we go to your parents’. I’m feeling like a good twenty-minute power sleep will recharge us for later tonight. I intend to show you first and how much you drive me wild, so you had better nap as well.”

“Mmm, I can’t wait,” I murmured, kissing him lightly on the neck. Talking about sleep had brought on a sudden bout of tiredness. It had been a big day, emotional and physical, plus I was still feeling the after effects of all the tequila from last night. With all the adrenaline from the bike and being with him, I had been able to ignore the dull ache in the back of my head. But now that I had stopped, my head began to throb. A quick nap and some ibuprofen before I saw my family, and I’d be better than normal. Besides, I knew I needed the rest. Dealing with my brothers with a hangover was not a good idea.

Stifling a yawn, I nestled in against his body and he wrapped his left arm around me. “Can you set an alarm, please? My cell battery is dead. If you’re coming to dinner, it’s best if we get there before my brothers.”

“No problem,” he agreed, and set the alarm on his cell phone.

I closed my eyes, drifting to sleep almost immediately, thinking of how I couldn’t wait to see my family’s reaction when I walked in the door with Levi on my arm.