Perfect Kiss (21 page)

I love you.

That thought should have scared the shit out of him. Instead, it made him feel…right. She felt right.

Chapter 18

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E
very inch of Shelby’s body tingled in the aftermath of her toe-curling orgasm. Closing her eyes, she snuggled as close as she could possibly get to Levi as he laid her down on the sofa. Inhaling deeply, she breathed in his unique sweet but woodsy musk, and the scent spread through her like hot chocolate on a chilly morning. Licking her lips, she tasted a hint of salt from when she’d placed openmouthed kisses on the slope of his neck.

As much as she wanted to move this along and get to round two, she had to admit that, if a genie popped out of a bottle right now and gave her three wishes, she would use the first one to request that she stay in Levi’s strong arms forever.

Which was beyond unnerving. She was not a forever type of a girl. She had always been allergic to commitment.

Even before Kevin and everything that relationship had put her through, intimacy and her were like oil and water. Sex? She loved. Foreplay? Sign her up. Exploring fantasies? She was your girl. Intimacy?
No, thank you. Move along. There’s nothing to see here.
The connection she felt from doing the dirty deed with people never extended to anything beyond physical satisfaction.

At least, it hadn’t before Levi. Even with how amazing it had felt to come apart in his arms, to have his finger touch and tease her while his hard length erotically ground against her swollen sex, this was better. Being in his arms gave her so much more than just the safe feeling she’d been craving. His skin against hers, his muscles flexing as he held her tight, his heart beating rapidly in time with hers—all of these combined to give her a feeling of complete and total power and surrender.

She knew she could completely let go, free-fall into the bliss he was supplying her, and he would catch her. Shelby trusted him implicitly with her body. The flip side to that sexual coin was that she instinctively sensed that, as much as his body was affecting her, hers was doing the same thing to him. She’d felt his body tense, his length harden and grow, his skin grow damp with perspiration in perfect sync with hers like they’d been in an erotic dance.

It was as if their souls were intertwined in a hyper-dimension that only the two of them could access. Every sound, every movement, and every taste was amplified. It had never been like this with anyone else, and somehow, she knew that it never would be again.

The cushions dipped beneath her as Levi pushed off the couch to stand. Shelby immediately missed the weight of his body on hers, the security of his arms around her. A frustrated moan fell from her lips in protest. Opening her eyes, she saw Levi looking down at her with a sexy bad-boy grin that always sent her heart racing down Pitter-Patter Lane.

His smile still in place, he hooked his thumbs in his black drawstring sweats. Her eyes followed as he pushed them down his long, muscular legs. After stepping out of each leg, Levi stood, and Shelby’s eyes locked on the most magnificent penis she’d ever seen. Its significant length and girth weren’t the only impressive things about it. Oh, no. It was just so…perfect. It jutted straight out of a sprinkling of dark hair. Its mushroom head looked smooth and plump. A masculine vein ran the length of his engorged shaft. When she licked her lips to avoid drooling, her mouth watered—and his manhood jumped.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m not going to need this because the show will be over before the first act.” He held up a condom that had somehow materialized out of thin air.

“Oh no, the show is just starting,” she insisted.

While he opened the package, her body surged back to life. As much as she’d wanted to luxuriate in just being held by him a minute ago, she wanted him inside her a million times more now.

Lifting her hips, she started pulling her panties down, but then Levi’s hand covered her knee, halting her movements. Her eyes shot up to his, and if her panties hadn’t already been wet, the look she saw in his intense golden gaze would have soaked them.

“Let me,” he rasped.

The timbre in his voice sent a thrill racing down her spine and goosebumps broke out on her skin as she lowered her hips and her hands dropped to her sides, her panties still in place. She watched, breathlessly as Levi took himself in his hand and rolled the protection down his firm, engorged flesh. A man putting a condom on himself had never struck her as the sexiest thing in the world before, but somehow, Levi effortlessly managed to elevate the action to that status.

“Damn,” she said in pure, unadulterated appreciation.

His full lips turned up as he used one hand to lift her ankles in the air. Her heart was pounding and her sex was pulsing in anticipation. She was so fevered with desire that she felt lightheaded. Not wanting this show to end with her passing out, she desperately tried to slow her breathing so as not to hyperventilate.

While she did everything in her power to take steady, even breaths, her eyes hungrily roamed over Levi’s gloriously naked form dancing over the solid, muscular planes of his chest and abdomen. Every line, every dip looked like it had been etched in marble.

To say that he was perfection would be to liken the Mona Lisa to a kindergartener’s finger-painting.

A tremor rippled through her as Levi slid the back of his finger down the underside of her leg while his other hand held her ankles captive.

“So soft. So smooth,” he said, his gravelly voice washing over her like an erotic breeze as his finger traveled down her calf, behind her knee, and past her thigh before running over her lace-covered mound. His touch caused a shock of sweet pleasure to burst in her core. “So wet.”

She gripped the cushion to try and anchor herself from shooting off the couch like a rocket launching into outer space as he slid her panties up her leg. Biting her lip, she tried her best not to urge him to hurry things along. She was dangerously close to pleading, bargaining, begging for him to be inside her. The only thing stopping her was that she desperately wanted to see how this played out and savor every moment.

Since the night they’d met, she’d been fantasizing about what this moment would be like. If she rushed things, she was worried she would short-change her experience. Not only did she not want that to happen, she also wanted to be totally present and commit each second to memory.

Part of her wanted to believe that this wasn’t going to be a one-time only performance, but she was too much of a realist to let herself totally buy into the fantasy that there was going to be an encore. Over the past month, she’d gleaned a few things about Levi’s private life—never from the actual source, all third-party info. Normally, she didn’t put too much weight into gossip, but it was all she had to go on. The consensus was that Levi Dorsey did not do relationships.

Which was fine. She planned on leaving at the end of the summer and she definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship. To Shelby all that meant was that she needed to enjoy tonight and relish every minute.

Her eyes were locked with his as he dropped her panties to the floor before he slowly spread her legs wide, draping one over the back of the couch and the other off the side, her foot resting on the floor. Then Levi moved in closer, his movements predatory and agile. He reminded her of a jungle cat as he climbed onto the couch and kneeled between her legs.

Her breasts heaved as her breaths came in short pants. Every fiber of her body was alive as fiery, exquisite sensations tingled over her.

As Levi moved his eyes down her body, she felt it run across her skin like a physical touch. His large hands skimmed up her thighs and stopped just before the spot she needed him the most.

When his fingers bypassed her sex and spread over her hips, a whimper escaped her mouth. Levi grinned as he moved over her, and any disappointment that he wasn’t touching her where she wanted him to was instantly replaced with sheer ecstasy as she felt the weight of his body, lined up perfectly with hers.

Releasing her death grip on the couch, she moved her hands to his sides and around his back. She could feel the unmistakable pressure of the tip of his dick pressing against her wet slit. Her inner muscles were palpitating in anticipation.

Covering her completely, Levi rested his elbows beside her face as he ran his fingers through her hair. His fingertips grazed her scalp, and his gentle touch caused her heart to fill up like a balloon. With an overwhelming wave of vulnerability crashing into her, Shelby closed her eyes as tears filled them. She hoped Levi didn’t see what he was making her feel. Treasured. Special. Precious. Loved.

“Shelby.” His hands and body stilled.

“Hmm?” she asked, realizing for the first time that the only noise in the room was the sound of their labored breathing.

“Open your eyes,” he softly commanded.

She wanted to hide what she was feeling, but even more than that, she didn’t want this to stop. So, going against every protective instinct that was screaming for her not to, she forced her lids open.

Levi was above her, his eyes peering down at her. He didn’t speak, and neither did she. She also didn’t try to mask what she was feeling. The sheer act of staring into the chestnut pools of his soul gave her courage. An inner fire. She wasn’t going to hide—not from him. He’d asked her to look at him, so if he didn’t like what he saw, that was his problem, not hers.

Apparently, he liked whatever his emotional x-ray vision had seen, because his lips tilted up in a sexy smile. Then he pressed those same lips to Shelby’s before pushing into her in one powerful thrust that stole her breath away. There was a sharp sting, but it quickly faded into carnal pleasure.

After filling her completely, Levi stilled, and Shelby assumed that it was to give her body time to acclimate to his generous size. But when he broke their kiss and gazed down at her, he looked like he was barely holding on. His jaw was tense, and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

“You feel so good. So tight,” he rasped.

A smile rose on her face as a thrill ran through her from the knowledge that her body was making him feel that.

His voice was strained as he warned her, “Once I move, it’s not going to last long.”

That was fine with her. Just his being inside her, not moving, had her halfway there already. She wanted to tell him that, tell him not to worry, tell him that he felt so good that he didn’t even have to move. But all she managed to squeak out was, “Okay.”

Thankfully, that was all he needed to hear. Her body clamped around him as he slowly slid out of her tight passage before pushing back in. When he repeated the movement, almost-unbearable pleasure built. By his third measured thrust, she felt the telltale pressure of a release building low in her belly.

His fingers threaded through her hair as he tilted her head back. Then he rested his forehead against hers. The sweet heat of his breath fanned over her face as his hands fisted in her hair, causing a sharp tingle to spread from her scalp straight to where their bodies were joined.

That was all it took for her to go up and over her peak. As she plunged over the crest, she was seized by a rush of decadent gratification so intense that she cried out. Her hands held on to the strength of his shoulders as she came with soul-shattering intensity. Her climax exploded into a thousand pieces, sending pleasure erupting through her. The walls of Shelby’s core squeezed his manhood to the point of no return.

Levi had lasted long enough to make sure she’d given in to her intoxicating climax first. In fact, her orgasm pushed him so far over the edge that his body flexed with pent-up tension, and the most sensual sound came out of his mouth as he found his own release.

Did he just growl?
Shelby wondered as she rode out the rest of her orgasm with Levi.

The final wave washed over her and retreated like the ocean on the sand. As she returned to reality, she lifted her eyes and saw him looking down at her, his eyes glazed over.

“I don’t even… That was…” He shook his head, looking like he was still lost in the power of it.

If he was feeling even half of what she was, she totally understood. It felt like her world had just been rocked. Literally.

“That was perfect,” she offered, finishing his thought.

She was rewarded with one of his trademark bad-boy grins as he nodded.

“Perfect,” he repeated.

That really was the only word for it. Now, she just had to remind herself that
perfect
did not mean
permanent
.

Chapter 19

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E
arbuds in place, Shelby sang out—loud!—as she happily buzzed around the Roadhouse, completing the opening duties. Bending down to pull inventory to restock the bar, Shelby felt the physical reminder of her and Levi’s night of debauchery. She was sore all over but mainly between her legs. Not that she needed a reminder; it was all she could think about.

Last night, after the first time around, Levi had picked her up and taken her to the bedroom. Then he’d closed the window (which had made her laugh) before climbing in bed with her, where they’d had not one, but two encores. They’d also stayed up until early this morning talking about their lives, past and present, their personal dreams, the bar, the B&B, and all of Levi’s plans for it. She’d shared some of her ideas and he’d
really
listened to her, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

Over the time they’d been working together, Levi had treated Shelby more like an equal than any other employer she’d ever had. He’d switched several things around in the bar based on her suggestions and even had her sit in on the interviews before he’d hired two extra bartenders for the summer.

Shelby did not believe in the existence of The Perfect Man, but if that title actually existed and was up for grabs, she would’ve nominated Levi without hesitation. He was kind. Funny. Smart. Ambitious. And the cherry on top of his Perfect Man sundae was hands-down his off-the-charts sexiness. Not just how he looked or how he performed in the bedroom (which, after having been with Levi, Shelby actually felt sorry for every woman who hadn’t). His talents were unparalleled. His sex appeal wasn’t simply physical, it was that intangible, unexplainable, undefinable thing that some people had and others coveted. He had it in spades. Add to the fact that he was a business owner who could fix
anything,
build
anything
—he was a triple threat against any guy.