“So, what did you think?”
“I think you’re crazy and I never want to do that again,” I tell him as I peel my fingers from his shoulders and feel the solid ground beneath my feet again. “But I’m also glad I went. I can cross skydiving off my bucket list.”
“You have a bucket list?”
“Yep. I made it when I was a kid.” I used to be a dreamer before I became an adult and realized that everything takes money and time, neither of which I have much of.
Escorting me back to the hangar where we started this crazy journey, Levi asks, “How much of it have you checked off?”
“This is the first.”
Stopping in his tracks, Levi stares at me like I’ve sprouted a second head. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, why?”
Shaking his head, he continues on. “I just figured with someone as ambitious as you, you would have at least half of it done. I had mine almost done, but with all the traveling, I’ve been adding to it.”
“You have a list?” I ask, looking up at him.
“Doesn’t everybody?”
I don’t know, but we do, and I feel strangely happy knowing that we share that common thread. Having something in common with Levi gives me a warm feeling in my chest that isn’t entirely uncomfortable but is completely worrisome.
I can tell by the way he avoids eye contact that Levi can sense something has changed, too. Thankfully, he doesn’t look any more eager than I feel to talk about it. He helps me strip out of my pack, letting his hands linger a little longer than necessary before removing his own, and then we’re back in the car, speeding back to his penthouse.
13
“Dig in deep, princess. Oh, yeah, right there.”
I’m laid out on the chaise lounge in the middle of the living room receiving the best massage of my life. Vista’s fingers are magic. They press down in all the right places, like they know exactly where the aches have formed and are on a mission to eliminate them. Ever since the skydiving stunt I pulled, she’s been quiet. Stiff. Reserved in a way that makes me want to draw out some of that fire I know she has inside of her.
She thinks I didn’t notice the change in her, but I did. Something happened up there among the clouds. Something that makes her even more uncomfortable to be around me than she was when she first arrived, and I know exactly what it is.
She hasn’t been able to take her eyes off me. I know, because I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her. Having sex with her wasn’t my brightest idea. Instead of working out years’ long frustrations, it’s only complicated things further. I can’t stop thinking about how it felt to be inside her and, God help me, once wasn’t enough. So, to distract myself from throwing her down on the floor and crawling back inside her, I’ve decided to put her to work doing exactly what she came here to do: keep my muscles loose. I don’t know if it’s due to the talk we had or that she’s looking for any excuse to touch me, but I’ve somehow managed to talk her into a full-body massage, citing the aches and pains that require medicinal intervention most days. And it’s not a lie. My body is sore, just maybe not as much as I claimed.
Best. Decision. Ever.
“You can move the towel, you know,” I inform her as she reaches the base of my spine. For a split second, she freezes, and then sets back to work, grinding the pads of her fingers in deeper. “I’m not wearing any underwear, in case you were wondering,” I continue. I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t stop goading her. Reading her reaction is more entertaining than watching television.
“I wasn’t,” she snaps then, much to my disappointment, she removes her hands and steps away. “You’re done.”
I’m done. I hear the truth behind her words and it bothers me because I’m not even close to being finished here. Pressing my hands into the table, I sit up, allowing the towel around my hips to split open before closing the gap. Accident? Maybe. Maybe not. Vista’s eyes flare and dart away and I smirk, knowing she caught a glimpse of my package.
“What’s wrong, princess?” I ask innocently as I set my feet on the floor. “You’re looking a little flushed.”
“It’s hot in here,” she says with a dismissive flick of her hand. She works fast, shoving her oils back into the designated pockets of the bag before retreating toward the kitchen. “How are you feeling?” she asks distractedly as she pours herself a glass of water from the sink and gulps it down.
Rolling my shoulders, I don’t feel the usual pinches and aches I’ve grown used to, which is impressive. Being active takes a toll on the body. “Like a fool for not hiring you sooner,” I say honestly. “Where’d you learn to use your hands like that?” It’s a rhetorical question, but she snorts in amusement.
“I went to college, remember?”
“Physical therapy, right?” I seem to recall my father mentioning something about it over the phone, but I wasn’t really listening. I am now, though. For some reason, I want to learn more about the woman standing in front of me.
“That’s right.”
Entering the kitchen, I close the distance, taking satisfaction in the way her body stiffens. Drawing back her curtain of copper colored hair, I intend to get a rise out of her, but the way my own body reacts to the slender slope of her exposed neck distracts me. My body hums as I lean in to inhale the soft, sweet scent of her perfume. “Does that mean you’re well versed in anatomy?”
“Stop it, Levi. I know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing, princess?” She smells so sweet, the delicate rose scent calling me, and I can’t resist. Skimming my nose along her smooth, creamy skin, I take her into my lungs at the same time I press my growing erection into her back.
“You’re trying to get a rise out of me.” Her chest lifts and falls heavily, and even though I think she meant her words to be an accusation, they float off her tongue almost breathlessly.
“It’s only fair,” I drawl, lightly running a finger down the length of her spine. “Considering you’ve been giving me a rise since you got here.”
Sucking in a scandalized breath, Vista jerks away from me. Her angry eyes shoot daggers as she stares me down. “I’m not doing this again, Levi. That’s not appropriate. I don’t want you talking to me that way anymore.”
Leaning back against the countertop, I fold my arms across my chest and feel a smirk slide into place. “What way, princess?”
“Like that! Telling me I give you erections. It’s sick.”
I laugh, because it can’t be helped. “If it’s so ‘sick,’ then why does it turn you on? I’m only speaking the truth. It’s not my problem if you’re too uptight to own it.”
“Own it?” she shouts, throwing her arms out to her sides. “Our parents are married, Levi. Married. What part of your ‘truth’ makes it okay to do...this?” Her hand waves frantically back and forth between us.
She’s right. I know she is, because I was the one that ended “this” four years ago. The problem is, every minute I’m around her, I’m questioning the wisdom of that decision. Because you weren’t the one who made it. Instantly, memories of the past come rushing back.
I pull on my shoes, buttoning my pants as I sneak toward the door, careful not to wake her. I can’t risk anyone finding out we’ve been together. It would ruin my father’s business. Ruin the family name he’s worked his whole life to build. The Blacks run this city. If word got out what happened here tonight...
Well, it won’t. That’s why I’m leaving, while everyone is still asleep.