Fallen Stars (Stone Bay Series Book 3)

Chapter 30

For three staggering,disbelieving heartbeats, I thought I was seeing things. Wouldn’t be the first time since July.

Then I said his name and he stopped.

Levi.

He’s here.

Why is he here? Who brought him?

I quickly scan the crowd and don’t spot any familiar faces. My attention is back on him in a blink.

Fuck, I’ve missed him. So goddamn much. For months, I have been hollow. A shell. A soul without purpose or heart or animation.

Without Levi, I am not alive. Just merely existing.

Indecision mars his brow as his blue eyes roam my face. The crowd, the town, the world fades into white noise. Under his inquisitive stare, thrill courses through my veins for the first time in months. As he takes in every curve, dip and angle of my profile, I do the same of his.

Shorter than he typically wears it and a bit unruly—as if he’s run his fingers through it repeatedly—Levi’s hair skims the middle of his forehead. The natural shine and temptation in his blue irises are absent, a glum, matte-blue in its place. Bruisy crescents paint the skin beneath his eyes. A faint shadow darkens his sunken cheeks and bony jaw. Although he’s gained weight in the past two weeks, he appears frail and unsteady.

God, I want to touch him.

A simple brush of my finger against his. Maybe a lift of my hand to gently caress his cheek.

I want to wrap my arms around him, pin him to my chest, and reacquaint myself with the way his body molds against mine. I want to breathe in his clean, cedar scent, embed it in my senses and memory, and never forget it. I want to press my lips to his and kiss him with profound tenderness.

More than anything, I want to tell him how much I love him. How much I miss him. How it feels like I can’t fucking breathe without him.

Instead, I stand statue-still with my lips sealed.

Levi must be in control of his life going forward. He may need help with certain aspects while he heals, but ultimately, he should be at the helm of his future.

With what he’s been through, I refuse to be the person who steals his choices. As desperate as I am to have Levi in my life, the decision isn’t mine to make.

Shuffling closer and standing within inches of me, he licks his lips, tucks them between his teeth, swallows and releases them. On a shaky inhale, his eyes dart between mine. “I need you.”

The backs of my eyes sting as I nod woodenly. Saliva floods in my mouth as my breath catches in my throat. I swallow and blink a few times, not wanting to cry and distress him.

In the small space between us, I lift and offer my hand. His gaze drops. For a beat, he stares at my hand. I don’t breathe, don’t move, don’t say a word.

I just wait.

His blues lock onto my greens as his fingers curl around my hand. With one simple touch, one easy connection, the earth steadies beneath my feet. He laces his fingers with mine and I instantly feel whole.

“We can go back to my place.” I jerk my head in the general direction of my house. If we shortcut through the trees, we’ll reach the stairs to my loft apartment in no time.

Levi nods. “Let’s go.”

I tighten my hold on his hand. “Need to text Trip and Hailey. So they know to pack up my drums.”

“We don’t have to go now.” His breathing picks up as his eyes dart to the crowd.

“Hey.” I caress his knuckles with my thumb and wait for his gaze to meet mine. Inching closer to him, I whisper, “Moje srce.”

Blue eyes flash to mine. A hint of that luster I’ve missed so damn much rims his irises. A glint of his passion simmers just beneath the surface.

“I promise they won’t be upset.”

With a gentle tug, I take one step, then another, and slowly guide us through the crowd. When we reach the clearing beside the stage, I pull out my phone and type a text in the Hailey’s Fire group chat. Levi tries to release my hand so I can type with both.

Not a chance in hell.

I strengthen my hold on him, but not in a possessive or controlling way.

Bumped into Levi. Headed back to my place. You cool to pack up my shit?

Hailey

Go. We got you.

Trip

Absolutely. Chat later.

I shove my phone back in my pocket. “All good.”

We follow a faint footpath through the trees and come out on my street a few minutes later. Two houses down, we climb the stairs that lead to my apartment above the garage.

Levi doesn’t let go of my hand the entire time.

It only makes me want to hug him, kiss him, love him more.

Unlocking the door, I gesture for Levi to go in first. Hands inseparable, I shuffle in behind him and ease the door shut but don’t lock it. For a moment, we loiter in the small entryway.

At his side, I peer up at his profile. Watch him as he takes in the space with a new perspective. Study his nuances as he steps into the home we shared briefly.

I trail the pad of my thumb over his knuckles. “Hungry?”

He blinks then turns to meet my gaze. “Yeah.”

The longer he looks at me, the more I see hints of the old Levi. No matter what, though, he will always be my Levi.

“Anything sound good?”

His expression brightens. The corner of his mouth twitches, a half smile tugging up his lips for a second.

Damn, I missed his smile.

“I would kill for some pizza and a Pepsi.”

Laughter bubbles in my chest and spills from my lips. God, it feels good to laugh again.

Pulling out my phone, I call the pizza place around the corner. With the fall festival crowd and the main drag of Granite Parkway closed, it’ll take forever to get here, but I don’t care.

“Hey, Jenny, it’s Ollie.”

The manager rambles on about the crowd and jokes about running out of cheese. As often as I order, I’d usually go back and forth with her or give her a hard time about business being so good.

But not tonight.

“Can I order a couple pizzas and sodas for delivery?”

“It’ll be an hour or more.”

Glued at my side, his hand still in mine, Levi visually roams the apartment.

“Not a problem.”

“Okay. Fine.”

“I need a Pepsi, Cherry Coke, and two large pizzas, both with roasted garlic, grilled onions, and pineapple.”

Levi’s gaze snaps to mine. I don’t hear anything Jenny says.

“That’s all,” I say, hoping it answers whatever she asked. “Cash.” I rattle off my phone number and address then disconnect the call.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Levi whispers, his brows twitching and chin quivering.

I shrug. “You know I’ll eat any kind of pizza.” I stroke the length of his thumb with mine. “But yours is my favorite.”

His fingers threaded with mine, grip impossibly tight. “Thanks… I guess.”

“You have good taste.” I tip my head toward the couch. “Want to sit?”

He gives a gentle tug of my hand and leads me across the room. Warmth floods my chest as we sit and his thigh brushes mine. Still connected, he strengthens his hold.

His gaze drops to our hands as he lifts his other and starts tracing my fingers, my knuckles, and up to my wrist. Fire dances under my skin where he touches me. Electricity crackles in my veins and wakes dormant parts of my body. My pulse zings and my breathing stutters as he caresses me with unmatched tenderness.

I open my mouth to tell him how much I missed his touch but snap it shut when he speaks up first.

“There’s no good time to do this…”

My heart falls to my feet.

No.

“I want to tell you about… my abduction.”

Mentally, I sag with relief. Not that hearing about his time in captivity is something I relish. But it sure as hell beats what I thought he was going to say—that he didn’t want to be together.

Lifting my other hand, I cradle both of his. “Only if you want to.”

A sad smile mars his expression as his blues connect with my greens. “I don’t really want to.” He rolls his lips between his teeth. “But I need to.” He audibly inhales. “Does that make sense?”

I hug his hands with mine and methodically nod.

And until the food arrives, Levi shares every dark and horrid detail of his abduction. The entire hour and eighteen minutes, I listen to every word. I give him every ounce of my attention. I keep my emotions at bay and don’t let my feelings overshadow his.

Traumatic as it is for him to say and relive, agonizing as it is for me to hear and not yank him into my arms and drown him in love, we both live through his retelling of the past two and a half months.

When I deposit the pizza, soda, and two glasses with ice on the coffee table, our first slices get eaten slowly in silence. Midway through the second, he speaks up again.

“I want the impossible.”

Covering my full mouth, I ask, “What do you mean?”

He huffs out a laugh. “Normal. All I want is my version of normal.”

I wipe my mouth and sit straighter. “May seem impossible right now.” My hand twitches at my side, eager to touch him, comfort him, give him strength. Rather than take his hand, I press my leg to his and give him some of my weight. Give him a modicum of love and courage through the innocent contact. “But we’ll find normal again.” I swallow. “Together.”

He leans back and his arm presses against mine. Then he drops his head on my shoulder and melts into my side.

My nose and the backs of my eyes sting. A charm of hummingbirds takes flight in my chest. One shaky breath followed by another; I rest my head on his and close my eyes.

Damn, I fucking love him.

“How do you say my forever in Bosnian?”

I blink away my tears and scrunch my brows together. “Uh… the translation is a bit different. More like mine forever. Moj zauvjek.”

He inches back, sits up straight, and holds me captive with glassy blue eyes. “Help me find normal again, moj zauvjek.”

Without thinking, I cup his cheek. Stroke his prominent cheekbone ever so gently with my thumb and nod. “Until my last breath, moje srce.”