Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
LEVI
Levi: She knows that I know that she knows.
Penny: That strangely makes sense.
Ollie: How do you know?
Levi: Not much time. Out to dinner with her, she scuttled away and is talking on the phone. Probably to her friend. She keeps looking over at me. No doubt she knows.
Winnie: Think she’ll confront you?
Levi: No, I think she’s going to bring it.
Blakely: What do you mean?
Penny: Like fight your fire with her fire?
Levi: Yup. Queens, prepare yourselves because I think this is the climax. We’re about to walk into dangerous territories.
Ollie: Why am I excited?
Winnie: I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wishing I was a fly on the wall.
Penny: Are you going to hold strong?
Blakely: Or are you going to fold?
Levi: What do you guys think?
Ollie: Hold strong.
Winnie: Don’t cave.
Penny: Do whatever you can not to fuck her, but almost fuck her.
Blakely: This is your moment. Prove to us that you can handle this!
Levi: I will. I can. I shall not break.
Penny: That’s our boy!
Blakely: Make her sweat!
Winnie: Make her yearn.
Ollie: Spank her!
Penny: No spanking, Ollie. But . . . maybe a little accidental choking could work.
Shaking my head, I put my phone in my pocket just as Wylie approaches, and from the gleam in her eye and the smirk on her lips, my assessment is confirmed. We’re in this game together, both aware of what we’re after and ready to play.
And there’s a voice in the back of my head that’s saying, don’t .
That’s reminding me of the repercussions.
That’s telling me this is a bad, bad idea.
But fuck . . . just look at her.
Look at the way she’s strutting toward me, full of confidence.
The grin that tugs at her plump lips.
The sway of those tempting hips.
How could I not play the game?
At least for a moment in time.
A moment when I can forget about what would happen if I took one simple taste.
Who am I kidding? Nothing about this woman is simple.
When she takes a seat at the table, I ask, “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great.” She puts her phone face down and then adjusts her napkin on her lap. “I hope I wasn’t gone too long. A craving of bagels didn’t happen upon you, did it?”
I smile. “Not yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know, maybe around two this morning.”
“I can’t wait. I love getting up in the middle of the night to fetch you breakfast carbs.”
“You know”—I cross my arms over my chest—“I knew you liked it. It was a guess, but that’s why I kept sending you because I thought it fulfilled something within you.”
“Oh, it does. Nothing makes me happier than making you happy.” And then, her foot rubs up against my leg under the table.
Yup.
She’s playing, and I’m all fucking in.
Consider my will being snapped.
My strength weakened.
My need for her too strong.
The question is, who will break first? Because it sure as hell won’t be me.
And just like that, this agony I’ve been living through just got a touch more fun.
“Besides making me happy, what brings you joy, Wylie? What are your hobbies? What do you like to do when you’re not fetching bagels for me?”
She shrugs but continues to rub her foot over my leg under the table, and I just allow it. “Hobbies...I like trying new things.”
“What kind of new things?” I ask.
Her foot runs up to my knee. “Experiences, going out to clubs, things like that.”
“What kinds of clubs?” I wet my lips, letting my eyes flash to her mouth and back up.
“I think you know what kinds of clubs.”
I smirk. Look at her turning on a dime. She was a bumbling mess before, and now she’s ready to battle. Let’s see how far I can push her because if anything, I’m a competitor, and I’ll be damned if I don’t win . . . whatever the hell this is.
“Yeah, have you ever fucked in one?”
She twists her lips to the side and shakes her head. “Just watched.” Her eyes meet mine as she asks, “Have you?”
I rub my hands together and lean back in my chair. “What do you think, Wylie?”
Even though she’s putting up a facade, her cheeks blush a pretty shade of pink. “I think you have.”
I lift my glass of water to my lips. “You would be right.”
“Do you prefer it that way? Keeping it at the club?”
I shake my head. “I have no preference as long as I have a good time and so does my partner.”
She nods. “Well, if you ever need someone to go to one with you, I can go.”
“Yeah. Maybe have a little company party?” I wiggle my brows. “Help your boss pick someone up?”
“I don’t think you need help.”
“Very true, but I’d love to see what your thoughts are on who you think I should be with.”
She pauses for a moment and glances around the room. “You know, I think Jessica on the airplane was a very good option for you.”
“Like I said, she’s not my type.”
“Then why did you take her number?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
“It’s called being polite,” I answer. “I’m not about to be a dick to her and say no thanks.”
“Instead, you’re going to get her hopes up and make her wait by the phone?”
I shake my head. “No. I already texted her.”
Wylie sits taller as her expression changes to surprise. “Wait, really?”
“Yup.”
“So . . . uh . . . that means that you’re going to meet up with her?”
“What makes you think that?” I ask.
“Well, you texted her. I’m assuming that means you plan to meet up with her.”
I shake my head. “No, I texted her to tell her I was flattered, but I’m into someone else at the moment.”
Her mouth slightly falls open, but then she masks her reaction and glances down at her silverware, quickly moving to look busy.
“That was, uh . . . that was nice of you to let her down like that.”
“Yeah, thought it was the decent thing to do.”
Her eyes meet mine again when she asks, “So if you’re into someone else, then why do you want me to help you find someone at a club to fuck?”
“Because the person I’m into can’t offer me what I want. What I need, therefore, I need to expel this energy somehow.”
“Oh . . . makes sense.”
“Don’t you ever get so incredibly horny that you just need someone, anyone to fuck?”
She wets her lips softly. “I usually resort to my vibrator.”
“A viable option, but sometimes, Wylie, that just isn’t enough,” I say just as our food arrives at our table.
Perfect timing.
Levi: Reporting in. I’m going full force. I jacked up the AC in the hotel room to force her into my bed.
Ollie: Clever.
Penny: What’s the plan for sharing a bed?
Winnie: Levi, you realize her nipples are going to be incredibly hard. Can you handle it?
Levi: I want her nipples hard so they’re more sensitive. And the plan . . . to tease the ever-living fuck out of her. I want this over by tonight. I want her begging me, so I can win and it all be done.
Ollie: Well, I just got horny.
Penny: You’re always horny.
Winnie: I’ve never met anyone hornier than you, Ollie.
Levi: I’d agree with that statement. The horniest.
Ollie: I wear the label with pride.
Penny: Well, good luck. I approve.
Winnie: Approved.
Ollie: Go for it!
Levi: Where’s Blakely?
Blakely: Trying to have phone sex with my man, so stop texting!
Chuckling, I set my phone down on my nightstand and am plugging it in just as Wylie exits the bathroom. She’s carrying her clothes from tonight and strutting around in a pair of tiny silk shorts and a tank top.
Her legs and ass fill out the shorts so when she walks, they ride up. Her shirt clings to her chest and stomach, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Fuck, she’s so fine.
And I like her especially like this. No makeup, hair in a messy bun, casual. She looks cuddly and like I could wrap my entire body around her to keep her warm and protected.
“My goodness, it’s chilly in here,” she says as she sets her clothes down and looks around to find the thermostat. Her eyes zero in on it, then she glances over at me as I lie casually on the bed, the blankets barely covering my torso. “Did you want it to be an icebox in here?”
“Yeah, I was too hot in our last hotel room. I prefer it to be cold.”
“Okay, well, it’s freezing.” She turns toward me and points at her chest. “Look at my nipples. They’re hard as stone.”
I wet my lips, very satisfied with looking at her nipples that I can nearly see through her shirt.
“Nipples look great to me,” I say. “No complaints.”
“Says my boss,” she says.
“Hey, you’re the one who told me to look at them. I’m just doing as I’m told.”
She rolls her eyes and walks over to her cot where she slips under the covers. I turn out the light and sink into the mattress, just waiting for my moment to pop the question.
I listen as she moves on her cot, trying to get comfortable.
After the third jostle, I say, “Everything okay over there?”
“Fine, just trying to get warm.”
I smile and place my hand behind my head as I stare up at the ceiling. “You know, you can always join me in my bed if you’re cold. I run hot.”
I hear her still, and I can’t contain my smile. She comes off tough, like she can hang in this sexual warfare, but I think it’s all show. I don’t think she can hang at all. I think she’s trying to grasp anything to make it seem like she can hang, but in reality, I own this battle.
“You want me to sleep in your bed?” she finally asks.
“I don’t want you to do anything. I’m just offering since you’re so cold,” I answer.
She’s silent again, and I know she’s thinking about it.
I hope she says yes because I want nothing more than to be able to sleep next to her, to hold her, to fucking drive her mad with need.
After a few seconds, she says, “If I go in your bed, I’ll need to use your body warmth.”
“Use me any way you want, Wylie,” I say.
After another bout of silence, she leaves the cot and moves over to my side of the bed. Her silhouette comes into view, so I lift the bed sheets and let her in. She slips under the covers and then curls away from me and into one of my pillows.
Not even wanting to give her a second to reconsider, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into my bare chest, exposing her to my body heat.
“Warm?” I whisper into her ear.