thin line. On one hand, an unhinged part of me wants to let go and drown in the moment — even if I might die afterwards. On the other hand, the logical part can’t forget that this is freaking Levi King.
The same King who’s been making my life hell.
I hate the bastard. I shouldn’t be kissing him or even entertaining the idea.
But a taste won’t hurt.
Would it?
“Open. The. Fuck. Up.” With each word, he bites down harder on my lip, sucking and pulling it between his teeth. I’m surprised he didn’t draw blood with his merciless tug.
My mouth parts in a whimper.
That’s all the opening his needs.
Levi devours my mouth.
He doesn’t ask for access, he barges right in like he always had a claim on this part of me. His hot, relentless tongue swirls around mine with animalistic urgency.
I’m lost.
Completely sucked in by everything Levi. The hard ridges of his chest. His strong, powerful hands. And his lips.
Damn his lips.
How the hell did I survive without kissing them before?
Something at the back of my mind tells me this is wrong, but I tune it out.
I’m floating in a foggy air as tingles run down my spine straight to my core. I’ve been kissed before, but never in my wildest dreams have I been devoured like he’s dying and I’m the only air he can breathe.
My eyes flutter closed and I let myself fall, even knowing it’ll hurt when I hit the ground.
But if this is wrong, then I don’t want anything to be right ever again.
18
Astrid
The push isn’t painful, the fall is.
* * *
I sit in Levi’s car — the same car I vandalised. That should mean the sky will fall on the ground any second now.
I’m still stunned from the kiss in the car park. I unknowingly find myself licking my lips as if I’m chasing the taste.
The surreal feeling.
The complete abandonment.
It’s like an experience out of my own skin, and I still can’t wrap my head around it.
As if that isn’t enough, Levi kidnapped me to his car saying that he’ll drive me home. He wasn’t hearing my half-attempts at reminding him that Dan is my ride. Then, the rain started pouring and he pushed me inside the Jaguar.
Of course, someone like Levi drives a fast car. Everything about him is. Nothing goes slow when he’s around including my heartbeat, my thoughts, and my memories.
And I’m licking my lips again. Dammit.
I need a night’s sleep to think through whatever mess I’m in the middle of.
It doesn’t matter whether I back off or not. Levi is the type who slams in head first just like he did with Jerry.
The power from earlier still stifles the air like a potent aftertaste.
Even now while driving, he has this constant, volatile energy that’s barely tucked under the surface. He’s like gasoline, waiting for a spark to erupt so he can leave ashes in his wake.
I’m not sure whether I’m the spark or the ashes. Or both.
“How did you learn to whistle that way?” he asks as we stop at a red light.
He has his shirt’s sleeves rolled to his elbows and I can’t help gawking at his strong arms with veins and tendons rippling over his skin.
I shake my head from the distraction. “Mum used to stop taxis that way and I picked up the habit.”
“Did she teach you any other cool tricks like that?” He flashes me a charming grin.
For the love of Vikings, can he stop doing that?
No wonder he has all the girls dropping their knickers — or to their knees — for him.
I like to think I’m above being charmed, but thinking back to how I melted in his arms, my case doesn’t look so good.
I stare through the window. “Mum taught me everything I know. My first sketch. My first bike ride. But most of all, she taught me not to kill my fire and to be myself.”
“She never thought you’d end up in this plastic world, did she?”
My head cocks his way. “How do you know I ended up in this world?”
He winks. “I can find out anything I want, princess.”
Ugh. The arrogant prick.
“You don’t like the life you were thrown in, huh?”
“What’s there to like?” My gaze gets lost in the lights and buildings being soaked by the rain. “Everyone here are copies of copies. It’s like they strive to be each other instead of their own selves. If anyone tries to rise above the norm, their heads will be chopped off.”
Silence greets me, and