Chapter 27
Levi
They keep me at the jail for hours. Hours of sitting in a holding cell, hours of pretending to be worried, hours of waiting for them to release me.
Finally, around six p.m., Director Drake himself comes to get me.
“Good work, Harrison,” he says quietly as he walks me out. “You and Dakota both. This is going to shut down one of the biggest illegal breeding operations we’ve seen in years.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Go home. Get some rest. We’ll debrief tomorrow.”
I nod, but as I’m walking out of the police department, I see my dad’s truck in the parking lot.
Caleb Harrison is leaning against it, arms crossed, waiting for me.
He’s got this look on his face that says he’s unhappy that I haven’t kept him in the loop, but at the same time he knows that I have to keep things a secret in the grand scheme of things.
“Hey, son,” he says, pushing off the truck and walking toward me.
“Hey, Dad.” I meet him in the middle.
He pulls me into a hug, and I hold on tight, suddenly feeling about twelve years old again. “Come over for dinner tonight,” he says when he lets go. “You shouldn’t be alone after what went down today.”
I shake my head. “I’m not gonna be alone. I appreciate it, Dad, but I’m good.”
He studies my face, and I can see the question in those eyes. “You’re not alone, huh? Magnolia.”
It’s not a question.
“Yeah,” I admit. “Magnolia. Does mom know?”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “About damn time, Levi.”
“What?” I grin, crossing my arms over my chest.
He runs his fingers through his hair, giving me a wink. “You’ve been in love with that girl since you were fifteen years old. I was wondering when you’d finally do something about it.”
My cheeks heat. “It’s complicated.”
“Life usually is.” He claps me on the shoulder. “But I’m happy for you, son. She’s a good woman. She deserves someone who’ll treat her right. And by the way, you’re mom thinks you’re still her little boy. You’ve never done anything that could make her look at you as a man,” he laughs.
I roll my eyes. “I just don’t wanna hear it from mom, ya know? And I’m trying to be that person she deserves.”
“You already are.” He gives me one more pat, then steps back.
“But I’m serious about not wanting you to be alone.
So if you say you won’t be, then I trust you.
Just…be careful, okay? Cody’s going away for a long time, but men like him find ways to cause trouble even from behind bars. I’ve been there a time or two.”
There are times when I can remember as a kid that all of us would sleep in the living room, like we were having a sleepover. Now that I’m thinking about it, it may have been because he was worried about what might happen. Back then though? It never crossed my mind. “I will be. Thanks, Dad.”
I drive straight to my house, my hands shaking on the steering wheel. As soon as I pull into the driveway and see Magnolia’s SUV, relief floods through me.
She’s safe, she’s here, and none of this seems to have touched her today. Which is exactly what my hope was. That she wouldn’t have to deal with any of this.
Inside, I find her in the kitchen, pacing. As soon as she sees me, she runs, launching herself into my arms.
“Levi. Oh my God, Levi.”
I hold her tight, burying my face in her hair. “I’m okay. I’m safe. It’s over.”
“I saw them arrest Cody,” she says, her words muffled against my chest. “Molly and I were at The Café, and I saw them bring him in. He looked right at me, Levi. He said it was my fault. He said I’d pay for this.”
Anger surges through me, hot and fierce. “He can’t touch you. He’s going away for a long time, Magnolia Grace.”
She pulls back to look at me. “But this…this means he’s going to contest the divorce even harder now. He’s going to make this as difficult as possible. I saw Shelby, but I don’t know if I believe it. That all of this could help us.”
I cup her face in my hands, cutting off her spiral. “Listen to me. You need to listen to Shelby. With Cody facing federal charges for wildlife trafficking, this could actually help your case. No judge is going to side with a convicted felon.”
She blinks, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You think so?”
“I know so.” I press my forehead to hers. “This is good news, baby. This means you’re one step closer to being free of him.”
She lets out a sob, and then she’s kissing me, hard and desperate and full of relief. When we break apart, she’s laughing through her tears.
“Okay,” she says. “Okay, I’ll believe Shelby.”
She throws her arms around me again, and I lift her up, spinning her around the kitchen while she laughs.
“I love you,” she says when I set her down. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” I kiss her softly, then deeper, until we’re both breathless. “Now let’s celebrate. Just you and me.”
“Yes, I wanna give you everything,” she whispers, biting my lip.
I’m completely ready for that.
We make our way down the hallway, and once I lay her down, I walk from one side of the bed to the other, stopping at the foot and gazing upon the woman in front of me.
My hand goes up to my mouth, and I cup it like I’m about to dig into the best motherfuckin’ feast I’ve ever had.
Some men would say they wouldn’t know where to start. Truth is I do.
“Take off your clothes, except for the panties,” I tell her, as I start to get rid of mine.
When she’s done, the two of us look at each other, seeming to throw down a challenge. I’m ready to take it.
I don’t have a footboard, and there’s a reason for it. Lying down on my stomach, I slither my way up until I’m completely between Magnolia Grace’s legs, spreading her thighs wide and pushing them over my shoulders. I nose away the lace of her panties and go to town with my tongue.
“Oh my God,” she breathes heavily through her nose. “This was supposed to be for you.”
Pulling my mouth away from her clit, I bring my hand up and smear my middle finger against her.
Bringing it away, I paint my way up to her nipple, circling it with her juices.
“Trust me, baby, this right here, this damp heat is all for me, and there’s no way I’ll ever turn it down.
Getting you off gets me off. Let’s say congratulations to each other.
” I lower my mouth back onto her, moaning when she pulls at my hair with her hands, tilting her legs up, which in turn tilts her pussy more to my liking.
Stiffening my tongue, I lick a trail down and then back up, sucking on the prominent bud, swallowing as she floods with arousal.
“Fuck me, Levi. Do everything he wouldn’t do for me,” she begs, her fingers tightening against my hair, almost hurting. I enjoy the pain though, love that I can push her this far.
I pry my mouth away from her core and move up her body, taking her nipple into my mouth, circling that bud the way I circled the other. “Not yet, Magnolia Grace, not yet. Let me get you ready first.”
“I’m ready,” she argues, knocking my shoulder with her hands, digging her nails into my back.
“Not yet.” I bite down on her nipple as I push two fingers into her heat, enjoying the way she whines against me. “Put those hands above your head and let me work you.”
“I’m supposed to work you,” she argues, as she does like I asked.
Grinding my dick into her thigh, I mumble against her flesh in my mouth. “You’ve got me completely worked up, I’m just making sure I’m taking you with me.”
Frustration eats at both of us. I can tell with the way we move against one another. “I wanna touch you,” she pants, tilting her head against the pillow when I work my way up to her neck.
Once there, I bite, lick, suck, basically own every piece of real estate she’s revealed to me.
When she moves her head back down, I grab hold of her lips, giving her a deep kiss that I feel to the very depths of my bones.
The things this woman does to me should be illegal in all fifty fucking states.
“I want you to keep those hands up there,” I tell her again, moving my mouth to her ear.
“Just enjoy what we’re about to do together.
Giving me free reign over your body is the best celebration you could have ever given me. ”
She makes a noise in her throat as I push back on my haunches, lift her thighs with my arms and thrust my cock home. We both moan loudly as I enter and then withdraw, before I push back in.
Grinding against me, those eyes of hers open up. “There’s no one around to hear, and you’re not going to make fun of me for being so vocal.” Her smile is dreamy.
“Nope,” I don’t temper my voice. “No one around to hear me say I’m going to fuck you so hard and good, you’ll come more times than you can count. I’m gonna come in you, on you; I’m gonna shake this bed, make the headboard hit the wall, and I’m going to grunt every time I want to.”
Apparently, my words get to her because she grinds deeper, pushing our bodies closer together. “What are you waiting for?”
It’s the invitation I need to take her hard and deep, to move my hands along her body, squeeze her nipples, push against those thighs.
Her fingers grip the rails of the headboard above her head, holding on as I bend her to my will.
“Don’t let me hurt you,” I warn her, as I push back, reaching forward to grab the edges of the headboard.
Grasping onto it, I use it to swing my hips into her, knocking the hard wood against the wall, feeling satisfaction as I make one of my thoughts come true.
“You aren’t hurting me.” Her head is thrashing on the pillow. “Don’t stop,” she pants. “Please don’t stop.”
I hear the message loud and clear and let myself go. I let go of all the frustration, fear, and need that’s built up within me, letting the two of us absorb it between us. Because that’s what this relationship, is going to be about. We’re going to be partners in every sense of the word.
Moving one of my hands down her body, I use my thumb on her clit, rubbing against it in circles, to help her along. I’m not sure how long I can hold off, not with all the noise, the nails, and the feeling of freedom this empty house has given us. “Come with me?” I ask her.
“Yeah.” She nods, squeezing her eyes tight, using her hands against the headboard to push herself up against me. “When you go, I’ll go,” the promise is there in her voice.
I pick up the pace, reaching up to grab her hair.
Judging by the way her pussy squeezes around me, she loves this.
The sound of my balls slapping against her flesh would be comical if it wasn’t for how serious this situation is.
Thrusting into her, grinding against her, and pushing her body up are the only things I can think about right now.
They are the only things going on in my world.
I can feel the tension gather at my back, and I know it’s almost over.
“Right there.” She squeezes against my cock, forcing me to close my eyes against everything invading my senses. “Right there. Don’t stop, Levi, keep going.” She widens her thighs, welcoming me into their cradle.
“I couldn’t stop if I wanted to.” Out of nowhere, I’m hit like a brick wall from the orgasm that travels through my body.
Emptying inside of her, I don’t stop my thumb on her clit.
With superhuman strength, I lean forward, grab her nipple in between my teeth and worry it before soothing it with my tongue.
That’s all she needs as she thrusts against me.
My cock jerks inside her, pulsing one last time before I’m sure I’m done.
“Oh my God.” She giggles, looping her hands around my neck.
“I know.” I laugh, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. “I love you, Magnolia Grace. Thank you for the celebration.”
Her eyes are closed as she snuggles up next to me. “Love you too, and it was my pleasure.”