Entering his room, I give myself a little tour, checking out his stuff. There are photos on the wall taken of him with his coaches and teammates over the years, some friends, and some action shots of him running the ball down the field. I’ve never actually been to one of his games before, but he wears the look of an athlete well. There’s something about a sweaty man that makes my stomach flutter.
“So, soccer huh?” Glancing at him over my shoulder, I catch his eyes as he watches me move around the room. “Three months is a long time to be away from something you love.”
The ball flies from his hands again. Bump.
“I bet you can’t wait to get back into the game.”
Bump. Bumpbump.
The last two are thrown so hard, the sound of the ball smacking against the drywall causes me to flinch. Levi’s expression is set in stone, but I can tell something’s eating at him. Could the flowers have really upset him this much? Frowning, I cross the room and sit down on the side of the bed facing him.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Nothing to talk about,” he grunts, then whips the ball again. It crashes back into his waiting hands and he repeats the process.
“Tell that to the ball you’re abusing.” The remark is meant to make him smile, but he doesn’t. Whatever is on his mind, it isn’t good. And I have a feeling that I have something to do with it.
“If you’re mad at me, I’m sorry about the flowers. I shouldn’t have destroyed them.” He casts me a doubtful look. “No, really. It ended up clogging the disposal, and I spent hours under the sink trying to figure out how to remove the hardware so I could clear it out. Bad move on my part. Rest assured, the next time I throw flowers away it’ll be in a trash can.”
Catching the ball, Levi presses it between his palms, warping it. “If I had known you harbored such a profound hatred of flowers, I would have ordered a box of chocolate instead.”
“I don’t have anything against flowers,” I correct him. “Just the kind you send.”
He chuckles under his breath, and I feel a margin of relief. “And chocolate?”
“Three weeks from now, they’re the only thing that will save your life.”
“Guess I’d better stock up then.”
Watching Levi lay there, squeezing the ball in his hands, I feel embarrassed. What kind of woman grinds up flowers? I love flowers! I’ve been denying my feelings for him for so long that when he actually did something nice for me instead of insulting me or trying to embarrass me, I reacted like a crazy person.
“Are we still friends?”
Blowing out a heavy breath, Levi rests the ball on his chest and turns his head, giving me a heart-wrenching look. “I don’t know if I can be your friend, Vista.”
My chest constricts painfully. “Why?”
The pause feels like an eternity, but when he finally speaks, his words cause my heart to crash in my chest. “Because what I’m feeling isn’t very friendly.”
I clear my throat and run my hand over the duvet, unsure of how to feel about what he’s said. “Because you’re mad at me?” I venture, even though I know damn well and good that’s not what he meant.
Releasing the ball, Levi raises up, propping himself on one elbow, the upper half of his body turned toward me. His blue eyes are intense as he looks into mine. “Because I want to fuck you.”
8
Vista’s lips part on a gasp, and it takes every ounce of control I possess to keep from leaning up that last inch and covering her mouth with mine.
“Come on,” I say, rolling over and climbing off the bed. “Let’s go do something fun.”
Grabbing a discarded t-shirt from the back of the desk chair, I pull it over my head. When I turn around, Vista’s still sitting there on my bed, looking a little dazed, and just the sight of her there in her little t-shirt and shorts so short they should be outlawed, makes me want to throw her down on my sheets and touch her ‘til she screams my name.
I never should have told her I want to fuck her. Once words like that are shared, they can’t be taken back and now it’s all I can think about, and I’m betting the same is true for her. Something tells me she’s not even close to ready to go there though. That’s why I have to get out of here. I need a distraction, but the thought of spending any amount of time without her is unthinkable.
“Where are we going?”
Vista’s sweet voice in my ears threatens to send me over the edge. I back out of the room slowly, hoping she’ll follow, and she does. Thank God.
I grin at her. “It’s a surprise.”
At least she’s smiling now, instead of looking like a deer in the headlights. “I guess that means I should get dressed.”
“Or don’t,” I say with a shrug. “In fact, wear nothing. I got all the body heat you need.” God, just stop talking, man.
With a coy look, she runs off to her room to get ready while I head downstairs to put on my boots. I haven’t been riding in...too long. I love my car, but my bike is my first love. It’s the first thing I bought for myself when I got signed to MLS, but touring the country for games hasn’t left me with a lot of time lately to enjoy her.
My phone goes off as I’m slipping my arms into my riding jacket and I take it from my back pocket. It’s Vincent and I don’t even have to answer it to know what he’s calling for.
“Hey, man, what’s up?”
There’s a lot of noise going on in the background, so I guess he’s at a party, or a club. There’s no telling with Vincent. Wherever the fun is, he’s always there, no matter the hour.
“I got two words for you. Booze and pussy.”
“That’s three words, dumbass.”
“I got a couple more for you. Fuck you.” He belts out a laugh. “Anyway, I got this girl here who’s dying to meet you. You want me to bring her to you, or are you coming to us?”
My eyes lift to see Vista coming down the stairs. My dicks stirs as I take in the pair of skintight black jeans and multicolored tank top with ruffles that shows off just a hint of cleavage. Damn, just a hint, and I’m hard as a rock. I must be crazy.
“Naw, man. I’ve already got plans. Rain check, okay?”
“Dude, seriously? These women are fine as fuck. You can’t say no—”
I end the call while he’s still speaking because I honestly don’t give a shit about other women right now. “You look—damn.” I scratch my fingers through my beard, taking her in.
“Damn is good,” Vista says with a soft, flirty smile.
“You ready to go?”
She draws in a deep breath, and nods. “As I’ll ever be. Where are we going again?” She asks, eying my leather jacket and boots.
Scooping up my keys, I push her out the door and into the waiting elevator. “You know I’m not going to tell you.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can draw it out of you somehow,” she says, her eyes traveling down my body. I know that look, but I doubt she even realizes what she’s doing.
“You think you’re the only woman to try to seduce me, princess?” The elevator lets us out on the ground floor, and I lead her toward a back exit that lets out onto the building’s parking lot. The instant she sees what we’re heading for, Vista’s eyes practically shoot out of her skull.
“You own a motorcycle? We’re going to ride on that?”
I grin as I remove two helmets from the saddlebags. “That’s right, princess. Just something to add to the list of things you didn’t know about me. And here’s something else,” I say, passing one of the helmets off to her. “When it comes to keeping secrets, I’m a steel vault.”
She rolls her eyes as she turns the shining black helmet in her hands. I can’t even begin to restrain my smile. I had it specially made for her last week, and when she sees—