“Runs in the family, doesn’t it?”
“I guess.” They share a long look and laugh before Levi gets up, still holding the napkin. “Not that this wasn’t eventful or interesting, but I have places to be. I’ll see you around.” He zeroes his gaze in on me. “I’ll take you home.”
What? Is he crazy?
“Gordon is waiting for me, so there is no need.”
“I want to talk to you about the wedding, and since we rarely see each other, I thought it would be the perfect time. I told him to go home anyway.”
“How could you decide—” I exhale, noticing Rafael’s brow rising. “All right. Let’s go.” I can’t eat any more anyway. “I’ll see you both at the office,” I tell my brothers. “And I’ll be there for the next dress fittings.”
“We’ll hold you to that,” Emmaline says. Giving them one last wave, I go straight ahead as Levi trails behind me. “Don’t ever make any decisions for me again,” I throw over my shoulder as we go to the exit. The valet has already parked his car out front, waiting for us. “And why do we need to talk anyway?”
He goes to the passenger’s side and opens the door, motioning with his head for me to get in. “Lavender, unless you want me to fuck you against the nearest surface with no regard for anyone watching, get in the car.”
Too shocked by his words, I do as he says, afraid he would actually go through with the threat. I sit still, waiting for him to get inside the car and get onto the busy road, smoothly navigating between the cars.
I can’t stand it for long, though, especially with unfamiliar frustration and pressure building inside me that demands something to break this tension all around us. “Your hand must hurt.”
“It doesn’t.”
“How can it not?”
“I’ve experienced way worse injuries than that.” His clipped tone piques my curiosity, but before I can ask anything else, he says, “I don’t appreciate the fact that other men are allowed to touch your scars but I’m not.”
Hysterical laughter bubbles up inside my throat. “Other men? That’s my brother.” He sounds as if I were cheating right in front of his eyes.
Not that it would have been cheating anyway, since we are not together.
“My point still stands.”
“No, it doesn’t. You realize how insane you sound?” I just didn’t want him to touch the one on my cheek, too afraid it might take him out of the moment and make him finally see how ugly it is.
“Why should I care? Imagine if it were the other way around.” He takes a hard turn to the right, driving toward my building. “You wouldn’t be allowed to touch a certain part of my body, but some other woman would have such privilege?”
The idea of some random woman touching all his tattoo-covered muscles that…
Wait a minute.
“I don’t mind Aileen touching you. In fact, what a gross statement.”
“That’s because my body exists for your pleasure,moy cvetochek. If any part of it was forbidden for you, you’d be singing a different tune.”
He parks the car, and I quickly get out as he does the same and spin around to face him, rolling my shoulders back. “We’re having…a fling!” Can’t believe I’m naming this madness between us. Somehow, giving it a name makes it even more real, and I should be squashing the illusion, not indulging in it more. “A secret fling that implies this is very casual. An affair of sorts.”
I know I’m weak when it comes to him, and I won’t resist if he pushes for more, so I have to draw the boundaries that allow me to exist with this whole thing peacefully.
No one needs to know, and Levi will get bored at some point.
Besides, the world, or rather our families, will never accept it, so the only thing left for us is a casual fling.
The minute the words slip past my lips, I know I made a mistake, though, since his face darkens.
You can only poke a lion so many times before it finally roars.
Levi
Her eyes widen when I wrap my hand around her graceful and pretty throat, rubbing my thumb over her puckered skin that’s always going to be the most attractive thing about her to me.
