Chapter Twenty-Four Levi
I try to keep my breathing controlled as I run through the park in the early evening twilight. I’m three kilometres in and my pace is steady. I feel good. A book I’ve decided to pick up says running helps to clear the mind, so I’ve been running a little more than usual to help with that even if my muscles hate me for it.
Not that I need to clear my mind much these days. Being back together with Cole and having Kai is like being thrust into some impossible fairytale, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Doctor Sloane recommends we take things slowly to avoid any drastic mood changes for me, and even though I know she’s right, taking it slow is nearly impossible. It’s been two weeks now and he’s over all the time and we’ve pretty much spent every weekend holed up in the house in a cycle of talking, sex, food and talking again.
I don’t want to take things slow and I’m not very good at it either. Honestly, if I could convince Kai to move in with us tonight, I would.
I won’t tell Doctor Sloane that though.
I run past a few people making their way home from work, and families taking an early evening stroll as I round the corner into an avenue of trees. It’s a pretty well-lit area and behind me I hear someone running, keeping a close distance to me and matching my pace. I sneak a glance back, but they have a black hoodie on and in the dark it’s hard to tell their features but it’s definitely a man.
I think they have been running behind me for a while now. When I’ve increased my pace, they’ve always managed to keep pace as well. I try not to think about it as a podcast about the rise of populism drones in my headphones and by the time I leave the park to make my way back home, the stranger has disappeared.
I take a deep breath and slow down. Most people are home now, and expensive cars line the streets, golden lighting illuminating from their living rooms. Just as I round the corner onto our street, I hear the sound of quick footsteps behind me. I sneak another look back, and it’s the same runner from the park, dressed in the black hoodie that covers half his face.
From my glance, I know he has an athletic build and he’s probably almost as tall as me. I swallow the weird lump in my throat, keeping my nerves at bay. It’s a bit weird that he’s been running so close to me, but it would not be strange if he lived around here too.
I try to calculate the distance between us—maybe a hundred metres and if he were to catch up and try something, I could probably fight him off.
My mind whirrs, weighing up possible scenarios but I decide not to take an unnecessary chance. I take my next left and set off in a quick jog, choosing to take the longer way that takes me through a maze of streets. It will be disorientating if he doesn’t know the area well. It works because he does follow for two more turns but I quickly lose him.
When I make it back home, I’m sweaty and my heart is racing but he has vanished. Only our cars sit on the walkway and our street is almost silent. I make my way to Cole’s office and he’s behind his desk, frowning at his screen.
I stand by the door for a moment, admiring the view. A strand of hair falls over his forehead and into his eyes. He’s in a simple blue t-shirt and sweats and yet, he still manages to look like that. He loses his frown when he looks up at me and my heart does that thing where it trips before it gets itself together again.
“How was the run?” he asks, holding out his arms.
I smile and walk over to him, not caring that I’m all sweaty as I straddle him and kiss him on the corner of his lips. “It was good, but I don’t know at the end I think someone was following me.”
His brow creases. “What?”
I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I tell him anyway. “There was a runner behind me through most of my run in the park. He disappeared for a while but when I was near the house, he was suddenly behind me again. I decided to take a different route home and at some point, I lost him.”
Cole is stiff under me. I can see his mind working. “Did you get a look at his face?”
I shake my head. “Nope, but lots of people around here run the same way.”
It is strange that he appeared again when I was close to home, but this neighbourhood is safe. He’s probably a neighbour or something even if he was acting strange.
I shrug. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
Cole still looks sceptical and knowing him, he’ll have his security detail back on me from tomorrow. He had Daniel’s men following me everywhere when we were apart and as controlling as it might seem, I like that he cares enough about my safety even when we’re not on the best of terms.
Speaking of, I shift slightly, thinking about something. “Have you spoken to Nick about everything?”
Now that I know the truth, my dislike for Nicholas Armas has grown into something uglier. Everything he has done to Cole because of misguided jealousy caused by their parents makes me ill but I can tell it’s hard for Cole to tell me or Kai about it. The only people who have ever known the truth were his grandparents and Kez. All this openness is an adjustment for all of us.
“Not yet,” he says easily. “I think I’m still trying to decide what I want to do about it.”
Something tells me he knows exactly what to do about it and he’s probably done it already. Maybe he doesn’t want to scare me. Maybe I should be because of the rabbit and what he’s done—who he really is—but I’m not and I don’t think Kai is either.
I wonder what that says about us.
I watch him for a moment, hoping I can get something, but Cole doesn’t show anything he doesn’t want to. “Okay,” I whisper, kissing him again. “Oh, I almost forgot. Jenna messaged me today.”
Cole raises an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s Kai’s birthday in a week.”
“And he hasn’t said anything?”
I smile. In a way, Kai and I are the same. We both hate the idea of inconveniencing anyone or having people fuss about us. With Cole, I’ve learned to let that go a little and Kai will too.
“I think he doesn’t want us to make a big deal out of it.”
“Well, he won’t be very happy with me then. I was planning a surprise for you both. We can change it into a birthday surprise.”
“Do I get to know what the surprise is?”
“No, that’s why it’s called a surprise,” Cole whispers against my mouth before kissing me, his tongue invading my mouth and his hand carding through my hair and pulling me. I grind down against him and he hisses. I completely forget about the man following me.
***
“That’s a plane,” Kai deadpans, standing still as he stares at the private jet in front of us. It’s a sleek black G6 that belongs to Cole’s grandparents, and it sits on the tarmac under the grey English clouds in all its glory.
A porter comes along and takes our bags from the car as Cole curls a hand around Kai’s waist with a triumphant smile. “Why do you think I asked you to pack your passport?” he asks, planting a quick kiss on Kai’s slightly open mouth. He is still staring at the jet, half horrified, half in awe.
“Are you either of you going to tell me where we’re going?” Kai finally turns, looking between us.
I shrug. “Don’t look at me, he won’t tell me either.”
It’s one of the things I love most about being with Cole. I barely have to think when I’m around him. I know my professors would be so disappointed that I’ve been underutilising my brain since graduating. I was supposed to have at least three published papers by the time I hit twenty-seven.
Maybe getting fucked dumb is a real thing.
Cole gives us a wink and pulls his sunglasses down before walking ahead of us. Kai still looks a little lost. I take his hand, and he smiles at me, eyes grateful. “Not a fan of surprises?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “It’s not that. I’ve just never seen anything like this.”
I bump his shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I had the same reaction when I first saw it.”
Even if I grew up extremely privileged, we were never private jet rich, but both sides of Cole’s family are rolling in unfathomable amounts of money. Private jets and presidential suites are nothing to Cole Armas.
We follow behind Cole and up the flight staircase. Lauren, the air hostess appears with a bright Colgate white smile, dressed in her navy-blue uniform. Her dark hair is tied back in a sleek bun and her eyes are a stunning blue.
“Welcome aboard Mr. Armas, Mr. Bellamy. It’s good to see you again,” she says. She holds out a hand to Kai. “Hello, Mr. Thomas. My name is Lauren, I’ll be your hostess today. It’s a pleasure.”
Kai shakes her hand, looking slightly dazed. “Ah, nice to meet you too, Lauren.”
He gives me a look like he can’t quite believe it and I squeeze his hand as Lauren moves aside to let us through. “I’ve been told I’m not allowed to say our destination, but our flight time will be just under two hours so please make yourselves comfortable.”
“Thanks, Lauren,” Cole says, and they smile at each other conspiratorially.
The interior is lush with ivory leather seats and a grey carpet. The seats have an S.C.L. embossed in silver lettering for Cole’s grandparents' names, Serena & Christian Laing.
“Two hours flight time,” I say. “I’m guessing we’re going somewhere south?”
Cole looks back at me as he takes his seat on one of the four seats that face each other. He lifts an eyebrow.
“You think so? What’s your guess, Kai?”
Kai thinks for a second. “Two hours is about the flight time to Paris,” he says.
That’s a pretty good guess.
Cole shrugs, clearly enjoying this. “We’ll see.”
Kai shakes his head, his eyes scanning the plush cabin. “This is kind of crazy,” he says quietly, his hand still in mine, holding on tightly. I like the way it feels like he needs me to anchor him.
His birthday will be in two days, and I quietly hope he likes our gift.
Once we’re all settled, Lauren brings us glasses of champagne even though it’s only eleven in the morning. The pilot welcomes us and before long we’re in the air. Cole sits across me, and Kai is next to me, his eyes glued to the window.
“Since we have two hours to kill, let’s play a game,” I say, pulling out a battered box of UNO cards. My dad and I always played when I travelled with my parents as a kid and carrying around my beaten-up stack wherever we go has become a habit.
Kai’s eyes light up, looking at the cards. “I don’t think you want to play against me. Outside of my sister Zoe, no one can beat me.”
“Is that a promise?” I ask him with a raised eyebrow.
Kai’s smile is smug as he swipes the deck from my hand and begins to shuffle. “More of a warning.”
“We should raise the stakes then,” I say, an idea coming to me.
Across me, Cole looks at us innocently. He’s terrible at any card game which always makes me a little happy because he’s annoyingly good at everything else.
“The last person to finish has to get on their knees for the winner.”
Kai’s lips part and I give Cole a wicked smile because I know he’ll be last.
“What about Lauren?” Kai asks, looking behind us at the curtain.
Cole laughs quietly. “Let’s just say Levi and I have travelled with her a few times, and she knows not to disturb us.”
“Right, of course,” Kai says, shaking his head with a smile. He’s quickly learning. “Shall we begin?” He distributes the cards between us.
Cole sets his card down first and I follow. Everyone is quick and a few minutes later, Cole is the first one to finish. I stare at him and he’s smiling like a kid at Christmas. What the fuck?
“What was that?”
He blinks once. “What was what?”
“You won,” I say.
Cole’s smile spreads into a grin. Kai looks between us. “Am I missing something?”
“Cole is awful at card games. He never wins.”
“It’s just that you really like winning, Evie. I’ve never had the heart to disappoint you,” he says. “But I liked the stakes on this one, so I turned it up a little.”
My jaw drops. “You’ve been letting me win all this time?”
He shrugs and I can barely believe it. He’s been pretending to suck at UNO, even with my parents. Next to me, Kai is laughing and my ears heat. I roll my eyes, looking away from him and turning to Kai fully. “Let’s play.”
My round with Kai is quick and he makes light work of beating me. “Sorry,” he says cutely, planting a quick kiss on my lips.
“No way, another round,” I say, shaking my head. I never lose a game of UNO, and I feel ridiculously annoyed that they won. I’m not a sore loser or anything but Cole has been letting me win for years and Kai is good. I’ll never win a game again.
Across me, Cole spreads his legs wider and raises an eyebrow. “I think you’re forgetting something.” His eyes fall on Kai. “Come sit next to me, princess?”
Kai does as he’s told, and I try very hard to look like I hate this. I may hate losing but I do love Cole’s cock in my mouth. I sink to my knees and undo his belt just as he pulls Kai into a kiss. Cole is already half hard when I wrap my mouth around him, gripping him tightly with my hand. He cards his free hand through my hair, and I hum around him as I sink. He breaks away from Kai and both of them look at me, starry-eyed. I think I’m getting addicted to that look.
I pull off and lick down his shaft, running my tongue down those gorgeous veins.
“You’re so fucking sexy, Levi,” Cole rasps out.
I blink up at him through my eyelashes. I know what I do to him, what I do to both of them, and it makes me feel like the most powerful man on earth. I tighten my grip around him and sink again, going faster.
We only manage to play another round which Kai wins, and I lose again. The pilot announces over the speaker that we’re approaching our destination and asks us to take our seats. When the plane finally lands, I look out the window and it all clicks.
My eyes meet Cole’s as he smiles.
“Welcome to the South of France.