Chapter 30
HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH. FINALLY.
PARKER
My heart was pounding. I’d just asked Levi to take me to his bed. He stared at the hand I extended to him long enough for me wonder if I’d overstepped. But then he nodded and slipped his hand in mine.
His first step collided with his beer bottle and sent it tumbling across the floor.
Neither of us stopped to pick it up. We took a few more steps, then we were there.
At his bed. He turned on his bedside lamp.
It wasn’t bright, but it offered enough light for me to see the way he was clenching his teeth.
“You sure about this?” I asked.
I hoped he didn’t think I was taking advantage of him. We’d had an emotional night for so many reasons. Maybe we shouldn’t do this tonight. Except I really wanted to. I’d wanted to be with Levi for years. But tonight… Tonight clinched it for me .
I wasn’t lying to him when I said I chose him. I think I always had. He was it for me.
Maybe Nana’s practical approach to life had unwittingly become a guiding force in my life. Or maybe hearing the story of my parents’ ill-fated relationship had soured me against believing in soulmates. But to me, choice was everything.
“I feel like I should be asking you that.” He brushed my hair from my eyes. It was such an intimate thing to do, the kind of thing a lover would do. Levi’s gaze caught on mine. “You’re gorgeous. I’ve always thought so.”
I snorted because, yeah, no. I really wasn’t.
But it was nice that he liked the look of me.
I liked the look of him too. Even when his nostrils were flared and he was taking short, huffing breaths.
Hmm, maybe I liked him best that way because it meant he was teetering on the edge of his control, and I’d discovered I rather liked a wilder, less contained Levi.
And I was hoping for a lot more of that in the next hour or so.
I wanted to shred his every doubt. I wanted to make him a little wild. I wanted to make him realize that I was serious when I said I chose him. And I guess I wanted him to choose me too.
That whole fated mate thing was fine for some, but not for me.
I was the captain of my own damn ship. And right now, we were sailing into orgasmic waters…
or something like that. Honestly, the metaphor got away from me because we were standing beside Levi’s massive bed, and I was ready to dive into those orgasmic waters.
Jesus. Why wouldn’t my mind stop already? Orgasmic waters? What did that even mean? Because when I thought about it literally, it sounded pretty damn gross.
Enough.
I had better things… uh, people … to do. Levi. I was going to do Levi.
But that didn’t sound right, either. Whatever I’d share with Levi tonight would be far more earth-shattering than a physical release.
As Levi’s gaze held mine, the color of his eyes deepened to a rich brown, like they did when he shifted into his minotaur form. His nostrils were still flared. His cheeks had darkened and were a wonderful shade of pink that reminded me of the raspberry sherbet I’d had on our summer menu.
I rested my hands on his chest, and his breathing quickened, but he didn’t move away.
With my gaze locked on his, I slowly slid my hands up to the top button on his dress shirt.
I unfastened the first button. Levi held his breath.
I moved to the next button. Levi released his breath on a shuddering exhale.
The pattern repeated—button, inhale, button, exhale—until I had to tug his shirt from his pants.
I quickly dealt with the remaining two buttons.
Only then did I let my gaze cascade down his torso.
A thick mat of dark curly hair covered the skin I’d exposed. Eager to know everything about him, I slid my fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it appeared. It was. And then I saw the dark lines of his rune tattoo. Levi’s breath caught as I traced it with my fingertip.
“So, this protects you?”
He nodded .
I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to it.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the tattoo. Because magic was real and even if I didn’t have my own magic, I could offer my thanks to the magical marking that’d kept Levi safe all these years. It couldn’t hurt, right?
Levi shivered.
“Is this okay?”
Levi let out a tortured sounding groan as he nodded.
“Words, Levi,” I said. “I need words.”
“Yes,” he whispered as another shiver rolled over him.
Emboldened by his response, I tackled the buttons on his cuffs next. I was half-tempted to roll up his sleeves to expose his forearms—because hello, that was sexy as fuck—but decided I could do that another day. Because there would be other days. A lot of them.
Instead, I slid my hands under his shirt again, over his chest hairs, to his shoulders, where I nudged the shirt off until it dropped to the floor.
I’d never seen Levi shirtless in his human form before.
And fuck me. My imagination had not prepared me for what I found under his fancy dress shirt.
For a guy who sat behind a desk all day, he was surprisingly fit.
I hadn’t expected that. He didn’t have a six-pack, but his strength was right there in front of me.
He wasn’t lean by any definition, but he was beefy, brawny, built…
There were so many beautiful words I could use to describe him.
The soft light from the bedside lamp highlighted the dips and hollows of his chest, and I followed each one with my eyes. His pecs flexed under my perusal, as if begging for attention .
But I had other things I needed to do first.
I snagged his leather belt and slid the strap through the buckle. Then I went for his pants. I didn’t stop until he was naked before me.
I stood back to admire him, because let me tell you, there was a lot to admire.
He could have been the model for an ancient Greek sculptor.
Every part of him was gorgeous… and let’s just say his package was proportional to the rest of his body.
And right now, his length was thick and hard with arousal.
Sweet baby kittens.
“Parker?”
“Hmm?” I should probably have quit ogling his impressive erection, but I couldn’t. We were going to need lots of prep to get that in me.
I couldn’t wait.
“Parks?” Levi’s voice was strained, so I dragged my eyes away from his cock. He was chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“What’s the matter?”
“Is it too much?” He swallowed hard. “A few people have said I’m hung like a bull, and not as a compliment. I can bottom, if you want.”
“Nuh-uh. You’re perfect,” I said, cupping his cheek in my hand. I held his gaze, so he’d know I was serious. “Seriously, you’re perfect for me in every way. I want to feel you deep inside me.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a sexy smile. “Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah,” I agreed, nodding emphatically .
“Okay, then. So does that mean I can undress you now too?” A hint of humor laced his question.
“Huh? Oh… Yes. Right.”
Whatever shyness or insecurities Levi had been experiencing earlier had disappeared. He closed the distance between us with a smirk playing across his lips… and my need for him spiked. I wanted to rip my clothes off and throw myself at him. Instead, I let Levi undress me.
His fingers danced along the hem of my T-shirt, brushing against my stomach, before he pulled it up and over my head.
His touch slipped along my heated skin until he found the button on my jeans.
The tips of his fingers glided along my erection as he slid the zipper down.
And fuck me. I was ready to explode. Now I was the one panting.
He tugged my pants over my hips but left my underwear.
Jesus fuck. He was really drawing this out.
I was ready to come, and we’d just started.
He kneeled on the floor in front of me and my knees almost gave out.
He smirked, like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
When all my clothes were gone except my underwear, I couldn’t handle the slow pace anymore.
I hooked my thumbs on the waistband, ready to shed them, too.
“No,” Levi said, stopping me before I could. “Let me.”
He leaned forward, then I swear to God he nibbled at the waistband with his lips.
The heat of his breath mixed with the soft sucking of his mouth along my skin made me dizzy with want.
I grabbed his shoulders to keep my balance.
Finally, he captured the edge in his mouth and tugged it down with his teeth .
His cheek, bristly with his late-day scruff, scraped deliciously against my cock. He worked his way from one hip to the other and back again until my boxers finally slipped down my legs. Halle-fucking-lujah.
I moved to step toward the bed, but Levi grabbed my ass in his big hands and held me in place.
“Levi—” I grunted as Levi swallowed me down.
With the heat and the wetness and the suction, I swear to God I saw stars circling my head, like in those old cartoons.
Beautiful white and blue stars. They swirled and pulsed around me like sparkly ribbons.
They were stunning, but when Levi sucked hard and bobbed his head, I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the mind-numbing sensations rocketing through me.
My toes curled. Fuck, I was already close.
“Levi.” I tapped his shoulder. “I’m gonna…”
Levi didn’t let up. With a grunt, I shot my release down his throat. He swallowed everything. I staggered, but Levi caught me. He guided me into his bed with a satisfied smile on his face.
“Christ, Levi,” I muttered. “If there was a gold medal for blow jobs, you’d win.” Then I frowned. “Except you can’t do that to anyone else.”
“Good to know.” Levi laughed, like really laughed. I don’t know if I’d ever heard him laugh so freely. Sure, we joked around all the time, but this was different.
He reached for the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out the lube.
“Condoms?” I asked.
Levi paused, still holding the lube. “Why? You aren’t going to get pregnant. ”
“For STIs?”
“ST… What?”