Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“ Y ou’ve been a naughty girl, Kasi.”
Kasi glanced over her shoulder at Levi and gave him a mischievous grin, one that was certain to get a reaction from him. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
Levi’s eyes darkened with a lust so thick, Kasi could barely breathe.
“You know exactly what I’m going to do,” he responded in that deep, dark-chocolate voice of his, so rich and thick and yummy.
Kasi took a step back when he approached her, not due to fear but because there truly was a thrill in the chase. He paused, but only for a moment before taking another step. Kasi matched his movements until she reached the kitchen table, putting a chair between them.
“My daddy is upstairs,” she murmured, aware that was only adding to the excitement coursing through her.
“You should have thought about that before you tugged on the lion’s tail, little bear.”
He certainly resembled a lion, his long hair loose and hanging in his face, his thick beard in need of a trim.
“Keith could come home any minute,” she added, even though her brother wouldn’t be home until the wee hours.
“Then he’s about to get one hell of an eyeful,” Levi taunted, lifting the chair she was using as a shield and pushing it aside.
Kasi lifted her hands, placing them on Levi’s broad, muscular chest, sorely tempted to lean forward and sink her teeth into the firm pec she felt beneath his cotton T-shirt.
“Are you going to take your punishment like a good girl?”
Kasi smirked. “I thought we already determined I was naughty.”
Levi chuckled, and it occurred to her the low sound should be more threatening than it was. In fact, it didn’t scare her at all. It only turned her on more.
He reached out, gripping her upper arms in his strong hands, tugging her closer and lifting her on tiptoe at the same time. He lowered his head until she could smell the sugar, cinnamon, and apples from the pie they’d eaten for dessert on his breath.
She lifted her face, closing the distance, so ready for his kiss.
It never came.
Kasi gasped as Levi spun her around so fast she was light-headed. Before she could react to his quick movements, his hand was between her shoulder blades, pressing her chest and face flat against the smooth surface of the kitchen table.
“Levi,” was all she managed to say before his hand came down on her ass, spanking her with a strength that should have hurt.
And it did. A little bit. But not enough for her to ask him to stop.
The heat from his blows worked its way through her system, her clenching pussy soaked. She needed him so desperately. It felt as if she’d die without his cock, pounding inside her.
“Please,” she gasped, but Levi didn’t acknowledge the request, his hand rising and falling on her ass. Kasi lifted onto her toes on each return, adding her own force to his. Her breathing grew ragged and stars formed behind her closed eyes.
God, she wasn’t going to come, was she?
From a spanking.
Was that even possible?
Levi paused, bending over her back, his breath hot in her ear. “Are you going to be my good girl?”
That question should not be so fucking hot, but Kasi was helpless to the way every part of her responded to it. She wasn’t sure what did it for her more—the way he wanted her to be a good girl, or the fact he wanted her to be his.
My good girl. Not a good girl. She noticed the difference and she liked it…a lot.
“Yes,” she hissed. “Please. I’ll be good. I promise.”
Levi nipped her earlobe. “I know you will.”
She started to push up to her elbows when he rose, but Levi’s hand landed on the nape of her neck, pressing her harder against the table.
“I didn’t give you permission to move.”
She pressed her palms flat against the table, her cheek resting on the cool surface. Her body jerked when she felt his fingers reach around her waist, working the button on her shorts free.
Finally.
He removed her shorts and panties with one quick pull, the material pooling around her ankles.
She started to kick them away but froze when Levi drew one finger along her slit, stopping when he reached her clit, stroking it.
Kasi gasped as she sat bolt upright, blinking rapidly in the dark room, her heart still racing.
Fuck.
It was a dream.
She was tempted to lay down, close her eyes, and find her way back. She even slipped her hand beneath the duvet, ready to help things along.
But then she realized this wasn’t her bed or her duvet or her room.
Where the hell was she?
The answer hit her the exact same time Levi’s voice cut through the silence.
“That was quite a dream.”
She glanced next to her, quickly tugging the sheet around her when she realized she was naked from the waist up and giving him a peep show.
“You’re in bed with me,” she said, stupidly stating the obvious.
Levi sat up, and she could see from the faint beam of light shining through the cracked-open bathroom door that he was shirtless as well. “You hit your head, Kasi. I wanted to stay close and make sure you were alright.”
Today had not been one of her better days, which was saying something, considering how much they’d all sucked lately. She had tossed and turned the previous night despite her exhaustion, too worried about her family’s financial situation…and too worked up over Levi’s kisses.
In the end, she’d given up trying to sleep, climbing out of the bed she’d only just climbed into a couple hours before. She spent her morning—which began at three a.m.—moving around the kitchen like a zombie, baking for the fruit stand and making breakfast and lunch for her father, before heading to the barn to load the produce baskets into the truck.
That was all she remembered before waking up on the dirt floor of the barn, wiping what she’d initially thought was water from her eyes before realizing it was blood. Then Keith walked in and basically lost it, yelling for Pete and Paul to help him get her to the truck despite her insistence she was fine. It had been a lie because her head was pounding and her ears ringing loudly.
It wasn’t until Doc put in the stitches and gave her some pain medication that she’d started doing a mental tally of how much the hospital visit was going to cost them. Her mood turned black after that, and she’d taken it out on poor Monty, Keith, and—she grimaced—Levi.
“I’m sorry I was such a bear earlier,” she said, feeling guilty for her behavior. She was usually a nice person and considered herself to be pretty pleasant. When she wasn’t running on fumes anyway. Which was next to never these days.
She held the sheet against herself, taking mental stock of her injuries. Her scalp, where Doc had put in the stitches, was tender and she felt a bit stiff, but other than that…
She hadn’t felt this good in days. No—weeks.
“You were hurting…and living up to your name,” Levi said good-naturedly. “I’m a pain in the ass when I’m hurt too. Now,” he said, giving her that charming grin that had her considering adding her panties to that pile of clothes by the side of the bed. “Tell me about that dream. What was I doing to you that had you so breathless and flushed?”
Kasi narrowed her eyes, determined to wipe that arrogant, sexy smile off his face. “What makes you think I was dreaming about you?”
She expected him to laugh. What she didn’t anticipate was his sudden fierce scowl.
“I’m going to let you in on something, little bear. I’m only just now discovering that I’m a possessive, jealous asshole when it comes to you, so I don’t want another man showing up in your dreams any more than your real life.”
Kasi’s heart started to race again because…wow…swoon-worthy.
“Fine,” she said softly. “Maybe I was dreaming about you. That doesn’t mean it was a sex dream.”
Her response wiped away every trace of anger, his grin larger than life. Levi ran one finger along her bare arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake.
“Oh, it was definitely a sex dream. What was I doing to you?”
She was glad the room was so dark. She hoped that meant he couldn’t see her blushing. “Nothing.” Hell would freeze over before she admitted that she’d dreamed about him spanking her to the precipice of an orgasm over her family’s kitchen table.
Her family’s table.
Dinner.
Shit!
Kasi jerked around, looking for her phone, then glanced toward the curtains. It was dark outside. “What time is it?” she asked.
Levi shrugged. “Maybe midnight.”
“Midnight!” Kasi shrieked, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. “I told you to wake me up. Where’s my phone?” She bent down, feeling around the floor for her clothes while struggling to keep herself covered by the sheet.
“I turned off the alarm and took it to the living room. I’ve got it on a charger out there.”
Kasi gave up the search for her clothes, whirling around to face him. “You had no right to do that.”
Levi leaned closer to her. “I had every right. You passed out again ,” he stressed the last word, “because you aren’t getting enough sleep and you aren’t eating. From this point on, I’m taking charge.”
She laughed, though there wasn’t a bit of happiness in it. “Bullshit.”
“Keep fighting me on this, Kasi, and I’ll flip you over and introduce you to those consequences I told you about, concussion or not.”
He’d mentioned those consequences just before she fell asleep earlier. No wonder he’d been the star of her dreams.
The rebellious part of her was tempted to push him, simply because she wanted what he was threatening.
So. Fucking. Bad.
But the practical side won out because, well…she’d gotten a lot of sleep, thanks to him, so her thoughts were crystal clear and not foggy with exhaustion for the first time in forever.
“I need to go home, Levi,” she said, striving for a calmer tone.
“No, you don’t.”
Kasi turned around again, trying and failing to find her clothes on the floor. Did Levi move them? “I have to get back. There are so many things I didn’t do. Things I need to do.”
“Remi ran the stand for you today.”
“That was sweet of her.” Kasi was grateful for her best friend’s help. Not that Kasi had been much of a friend of late. Prior to Mama’s death, she and Remi had been thick as thieves, always going out to the movies or to ladies’ night at Whiskey Abbey after they both turned twenty-one. They hadn’t done either of those things in the past eight months, Kasi too bogged down with work.
Not that her never-ending list of excuses for not going out had stopped Remi from trying. Hell, lately she didn’t even attempt to draw Kasi out, showing up at the farmhouse instead, armed with a bottle of wine that they split as she helped Kasi bake for the stand and regaled her with gossip and funny stories. She’d been too tired to truly appreciate her bestie’s attempts at lifting her spirits.
“But Dad?—”
“She made dinner for your dad,” Levi interjected. “Apparently, she coaxed him out of his bedroom and the two of them ate together on TV trays while watching Jeopardy . She said he was way too amused by how many answers she guessed wrong. He mentioned that your mother was some kind of Jeopardy savant.”
“She was. We always told her she should try out,” Kasi replied absentmindedly, too hung up on what else he’d said. “Daddy ate downstairs?”
“He did,” Levi replied.
She was instantly overwhelmed with a strong sense of regret. In the weeks following Mama’s death, Kasi had tried a million different ways to draw Daddy out of his room, but he always refused. After a while, she’d stopped trying, too busy with her own chores, too lost in her own unending grief. She’d thought the way things were now meant they were the new norm.
But what if they weren’t? What would happen nowadays if she pushed and prodded him like Remi had?
Oh God. What if Daddy hadn’t been hiding in his room due to grief but simply in need of someone to draw him out?
“I’m going to bake her a pie.” Kasi was perfectly aware even that wouldn’t be thanks enough for what her best friend had done today.
“She’d like that, but it isn’t necessary. She was glad to help because apparently, she’s made a lot of offers that haven’t been accepted.”
Kasi had rejected most of Remi’s offers to help. The only exceptions were those wine nights, which were too few and far between.
“As for the rest,” Levi continued. “Keith took care of the animals, then helped Pete and Paul finish harvesting the beans. They’ve got them packed up for delivery, and your brother has promised me he’ll handle those for you, since neither of us want you driving for a few days. You’re prone to passing out.”
Kasi frowned. “You didn’t tell him about the other day in the fruit stand, did you?”
Levi crossed his arms. “I did.”
“I didn’t want him to worry.”
He scoffed, unmoved. “He’s not a kid anymore, Kasi.”
She rolled her eyes. “So he keeps telling me.”
“He went out with some friends after his chores were finished, but he was back by nine to relieve Remi. He’s home with your father. So, there’s no need for you to rush out right now.”
There were plenty of reasons for her to go home but the longer they sat there, the more self-conscious Kasi became about her near-naked state.
And his shirtless one.
His pecs were every bit as bite-able as she’d dreamed.
“Where are my clothes?” she asked.
“Your shirt is in the trash. I tried to wash it but the bloodstains wouldn’t come out. I had better luck with your jean shorts. They’re hanging over the porch railing, drying.”
“How am I supposed to get home with no shirt?”
Levi rose from the bed, looking hotter than a man had the right to in a pair of faded jeans. There was something oddly intimate about watching him walk around the bedroom shirtless and barefoot.
He grabbed something from a chair in the corner, returning to her side of the bed.
“Asked my brother Jace to stop by with a few things. He brought you one of my shirts to wear.” Levi pulled it over her head as he spoke, grinning when she pulled the large shirt down over the sheet to make sure she didn’t give him another peek at her tits.
“Didn’t realize you were so shy,” he teased.
“Didn’t realize you were such a perv,” she retorted.
Levi laughed, then offered his hand. She took it, climbing out of bed, allowing him to lead her to the kitchen. His shirt hung to mid-thigh, so she didn’t have to worry about flashing her panties. She started to ask where her bra was but decided fuck it. She wasn’t so well-endowed that she couldn’t walk around without it, especially since she’d lost a bit of weight. It figured she’d lose it the one place she didn’t want to.
“Jace also dropped off some food. I wanted to feed you something as soon as you woke up.” He opened the refrigerator, pulling out some sliced cheddar cheese and ham, as well as a stick of butter. Grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter, he put together a couple sandwiches, buttering the bread before plopping them onto a griddle on the stove. Her mouth watered as the smell of melting cheese and butter permeated the air.
While the sandwiches were grilling, he opened a can of tomato soup, dumping it into a pan to heat as well.
“Want something to drink?” he asked, opening the fridge once again. “We have water, soda, and Rain or Shine IPA.”
“Water, please.”
Levi grabbed a bottle for her and one for him, placing them on the table before he finished cooking and plating their midnight feast.
It wasn’t until he’d placed the soup and sandwich in front of her that she realized she hadn’t even offered to help. She’d been too distracted by his six-pack abs and the strong muscles in his back.
“This smells delicious. Thank you,” she said, picking up her spoon just as her stomach let out a loud rumble. “I’m starving.”
“Did you eat at all today?”
She considered lying, but decided against it since Levi seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to her truth telling…or lack thereof.
Kasi shook her head. “I wasn’t hungry when I woke up.” She didn’t bother to add she’d gotten out of bed at three a.m. “Then I got busy with baking.”
Her stomach had been tied in knots lately over the farm’s finances and the extreme lack of money coming in. In addition to the tax debt, they were still making payments on the new tractor her father had bought just a few months before the fire. The tractor—like the corn—had been a casualty of the blaze. There was nothing more painful than making monthly payments on a useless hunk of charred metal.
The meager amount of savings her family had in the bank had been used to pay for Mama’s funeral, a shockingly expensive endeavor. Between the service, the casket, the plot, and the headstone Daddy had insisted they order immediately, that nest egg, which had been pitiful to start with, was completely gone.
While Kasi was relieved they hadn’t lost a day’s worth of earnings from the fruit stand, she knew it would be nowhere near enough to pay off their personal property tax debt. If she didn’t find a solution soon…
No. Fuck that. She was NOT marrying Scottie Grover.
This was all her fault. They should have plowed the burned fields and planted corn in the spring, but at the time, Daddy had been lost in his grief, hunkered down in his room. Keith had been running wild all over the county, trying to escape from his own misery, like he could outpace it if he just drove that motorcycle fast enough. They were down to the one tractor—the old one that was on its last legs. And she hadn’t known enough about the farm side of her family’s business at the time to make any decisions. She’d always helped her mother with the baking and the stand. Keith took care of the animals and helped at harvest time. But the actual choices of what to plant when and where had always been something Mama decided, and Kasi had never cared enough to pay attention.
Levi grunted, clearly annoyed by her poor eating habits. “By the way, Jace headed over to your farm after dropping off the clothes and food.”
“Why?”
“He offered to help with a couple of things on that honey-do list you made me.”
Kasi put her sandwich down without taking a bite. “He didn’t have to do that. Shit, Levi, I told you that you didn’t have to do it. I can take care of those things.”
Levi wiped his mouth and hands, then leaned back in his chair, his legs kicked out in front of him. “I asked him to take a look at the tractor because Pete said you’d been having some trouble with it. Jace is a good mechanic. He replaced the transmission belts, filter, and pads, tinkered with the gearbox, and changed the oil. Sounds like whatever he did was just the trick because Pete said it hadn’t run that well in years.”
Dealing with the old tractor had been one of the major items on Kasi’s to-do list, but she’d kept shoving it down because she feared getting it fixed would be costly.
“That was…” Kasi was overcome with relief. “I’m baking him a pie too.”
Levi laughed.
“And please tell him to send me the receipts so I can reimburse him for all the replacement parts.”
Levi shook his head. “I already took care of that.”
Kasi narrowed her eyes. “Then you send me the receipts.”
He laughed again, acting like she’d made a joke.
“I mean it, Levi.”
“I know you do, little bear. But this is just another one of those things you’re going to have to stay mad at me for because I’m not giving you the receipts.”
“How much was it?”
Levi ignored her, tilting his head toward her plate. “Finish eating.”
The gnawing anxiety she felt whenever she thought about money was back. Now she wasn’t just in debt to the town but to Levi as well. Freaking awesome. “I’m full.”
Levi pushed her plate closer to her. “Finish every bite.”
The stern look he gave her told Kasi this was yet another argument she wouldn’t win. She picked up the sandwich and took a large bite. Then another and another, until it was gone. Once the plate was clear, he pushed the bowl of soup closer. She scowled at him but didn’t complain, picking up her spoon and shoveling in every drop of that as well.
“Good girl,” he murmured, once she’d finished eating, his words sending her straight back to her sexy dream.
Levi cleared the table, putting the dishes in the sink before returning to his chair.
“I sure as hell like those blushes of yours.”
Kasi raised her hands, covering her cheeks.
“Which reminds me,” he said, reaching across the table to pull her hands down, gripping them in his firm grasp. “You never did tell me what I was doing to you in that dream of yours. From the way you were breathing heavy and squirming around, it must have been something good.”
“I’m not saying. It’s too…mortifying.”
Levi shook his head. “Nothing between us is embarrassing, Kasi. This is who we’re going to be to each other. There’s not a thought, dream, worry, or fear of yours I don’t want to hear about. And the same holds true for me. I’m going to tell you everything. We’re going to dig so deep into each other, we won’t know where I end and you begin.”
Kasi couldn’t quite make herself believe all the incredible things Levi was saying. For one thing, his abrupt about-face when it came to their relationship status was giving her whiplash. For another, she wasn’t sure she should accept what he was offering. Her life was a shitshow, and it didn’t seem fair to drag him into that.
No matter how much she wanted to.
“Tell me just one thing about it, and I’ll give you one of Mom’s homemade salted caramel cookies.”
Kasi’s eyes flew to the counter, and sure enough, there was a clear plastic tub with half a dozen of her all-time favorite cookies. “You would deprive a woman with a concussion her favorite cookie?”
Levi’s eyes crinkled, amused by her attempt at guilting him out of a treat. “I absolutely would.”
“You’re a monster.”
Levi tightened his grip on her hands. “Maybe so, but you can’t deny you like my monster. He gets you all hot and bothered, doesn’t he? Tell me something, little bear. If I had slipped my fingers into those cute panties of yours right after you woke up, how wet would you have been?”
Soaking, she thought.
Drenched.
Then she realized that state hadn’t changed. Watching him cook for her shirtless had kept her arousal going strong.
Despite the flames licking her face, Kasi gave Levi what he asked for. Or at least a crumb. “I was dreaming about those consequences you’ve mentioned.”
Levi’s dark eyes went black. “You dreamt of me spanking you?”
She nodded, looking away.
Levi didn’t let her get away with it, cupping her jaw, forcing her to face him. “Were you over my lap?”
Kasi shook her head, suddenly wishing she had been. “I was bent over the kitchen table at my farmhouse.”
Levi swallowed deeply, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob. “Were your pants down around your ankles?”
“Not while you were spanking me, but after…” She paused, reimagining her dream with his vision of how it would go down.
“So you were bent over, face down, while I spanked you.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“And after?”
“I woke up,” she confessed.
“That’s a shame. You want me to tell you how it would have ended?”
Kasi should end this here before things between them got out of hand. Until she figured out what this was between them, and decided what it should be, she was the worst kind of masochist to allow him to plant even more seeds in her feverish, lust-drunk brain.
Unfortunately, her head moved, nodding rather than shaking, and she was completely helpless to make it change direction.
“Once I’d finished painting that sweet ass of yours red, I would have stripped off your pants and panties, then knelt behind you, pushing your thighs apart so I could see that pretty pussy.”
For a second, she wanted to ask him how he knew it was pretty. He’d never seen it, but the smart-ass question vanished when he continued speaking.
“I’d run my tongue along that soaking wet slit, drinking down every drop of your juices, then I’d tease that cute little clit of yours until you were riding my face, begging me to fuck you.”
Kasi clenched her legs together, pursing her lips to stop herself from doing that begging right now.
“Your first orgasm would be on my tongue, the second on my fingers. I’d fuck you with one, then two, then three, stretching your tight cunt until you were screaming for more.”
“God,” she breathed, hanging on every word. No one had ever talked to her like this. Shit, she’d always been convinced that men didn’t say stuff like that in real life, those words confined to the pages of a romance novel.
“Only after you were hoarse from crying out my name would I stand up and fuck you. You’re going to feel so good around my cock, Kasi. But be warned, I’m not a gentle lover, and while I might be a strong man typically able to remain in control, I’m afraid that won’t apply when it comes to you. I want you too much. So I’m going to fuck you hard—hard enough that you’ll feel the effects of it weeks later.”
A small squeak escaped before Kasi could call it back.
Levi smiled, lifting their clasped hands to his lips. He drew one of her fingers into his mouth, sucking on it until she was gasping, struggling hard to breathe. How could he make such a simple thing so sinfully sexy?
“Levi.” She was intent on begging for everything he just described. She was panting, for God’s sake, her pussy dripping.
So she was shocked—and thrilled—when Levi released her hands.
Yes!
No words were necessary.
Levi led her back to the bedroom, pulled the duvet down, helped her in, then circled to the other side, climbing in next to her.
Kasi shifted toward him, disappointed when Levi gave her the quickest, most platonic kiss she’d ever received before saying, “Good night.”
“But—” she started.
“Kasi. You have bruises all over your body, stitches in your forehead, and a concussion. And while I’m glad you were able to steal about ten hours of sleep, you still need at least twice that to make up for the way you’ve been running yourself ragged lately. You need rest.”
“I don’t want to rest.”
Levi grinned, then tapped the tip of her nose playfully. “Every single thing I said to you just now is going to happen, but not tonight. You’ll have to give me a rain check on making your dreams come true.”
She narrowed her eyes, but the truth was, now that she was back in the ridiculously comfortable bed, her energy was already starting to wane.
“Fine,” she said, grumpily. “But I make no promises on that rain check,” she lied, turning away from him.
“You’re giving me the rain check,” he insisted in that arrogant tone of his.
“What about my cookie?” she asked, somewhat petulantly. If she wasn’t getting him, the least he could do was give her a treat.
“Another rain check.”
She sighed.
Levi shifted next to her, wrapping his arm around her middle and pulling her back against his chest. She’d never been held by a man in bed in her life. That was the first thought she had when Levi’s breath evened out, sleep coming for him quickly.
Her last thought before she joined him in dreamland was a simple one.
He was going to win yet another argument.
Because she was totally giving him that rain check.