look up at him. “Is it because of me that you feel like that?”
“No.” His quick frown assured her that he spoke the truth. “I just need to find my place. Everything was easy at AdMix. Well, not everything. There were crazy demanding clients there too.” He hitched one shoulder. “But I had a great AD and we just clicked.”
“Yeah.” Find his place. “Are things not working with you and Scott?”
“Yeah, yeah. He’s good too. It’s just…different.”
She shifted again and looked him in the eye. “Not everything is easy, Levi.”
He blinked. “What does that mean?”
“I mean, you’re a prince, right? If I didn’t know that before, I know it now after meeting your family. Everything comes easy for you.”
“That’s not true.” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Sure it is.” She patted his chest. “It’s not your fault. I’m just saying…sometimes you have to work for what you want. And sometimes, the things you have to work the hardest for mean the most.”
“I do work hard. When it comes to my career, I bust my ass.”
“I know you do! I’ve seen you there at seven at night still working. Never mind. Mason’s impressed with you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” She finished her champagne and reached across Levi to try to set it on the table. She couldn’t reach, but he took the glass and set his empty one down too. “I think I’m falling asleep.”
“Yeah. It’s late.” He flicked out the light and they settled into place, curled together.
She wasn’t used to sleeping with a man and it felt…wonderful. Safe and warm. As she drifted between awake and asleep, she reflected on the day. And the night. She thought about how much fun she’d had at the wedding. How much fun she’d had with Levi. How he made her feel, whether they were laughing together or dancing, or having sex. He made her feel good. He made her feel desired. Cared for. Handing over control to him as she had let her truly, utterly relax. It was something she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt in her life, and for sure hadn’t since her mom had left.
She’d taken on so much responsibility, had been the one they all relied on. In her job, she was business-focused, solving problems and keeping clients happy. It was pretty heady stuff to be the focus of someone else’s care and attention, especially when that focus was on making her feel so good.
Chapter Sixteen
Levi closed the door of Sloane’s office Monday morning and leaned against it. “Did you really mean that?”
She looked up from her computer and frowned at him. “Mean what?”
“That you wouldn’t care if I went out with other women.”
Yes, this had been bugging the hell out of him the rest of the weekend. She’d confessed she’d been jealous when she saw him with Essie. Which therefore meant she did in fact care if he went out with other women. Which he strangely had no desire to do and the idea of her seeing other men made him want to punch someone.
He’d managed to ignore that when they’d woken up together Sunday morning and enjoyed a slow, lazy sixty-nine, another shower together and a room service breakfast before checking out of the hotel and going their separate ways. After that, even while he was picking up Chuck from Colin’s place, working out at the gym and then doing his effing laundry, he couldn’t stop thinking about this. It was stupid.
Her eyebrows rose. “Why are you asking me that?”
“That’s not an answer.” He stepped toward her desk. “Do you want to go out with other guys?”
Her forehead creased. “Um. I don’t know.”
“Oh. Great.”
“No other guys are asking me out,” she said.
“Well, if they do, you’re going to say no.”
The eyebrows shot up again. “I beg your pardon?”
He set his hands on her desk and leaned toward her. “I don’t want you going out with any other guys. I don’t want to go out with any other women. Yes, the sex is off-the-hinge hot, but there’s more to us than that.”
She stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, we’re…we’re dating. In a relationship.”
She tilted her head to one side. “I told you, I’m not good at relationships.”
“Well, neither am I.” He paused. “Not sure I’ve ever had one, actually.”
Sloane’s lips twitched. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be involved with someone from work.”
“Too late.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t want people here to know about it.”
“Why not?”
She blinked. “I just think it’s better to keep work and personal