Page 32 of Stroke of Fate

His loud voice causes a few heads to swing in our direction, and I cringe inwardly, wanting to be anywhere but here, where he’s causing a scene.

“Thank fuck that’s taken care of,” Levi mutters, sounding way too pleased with himself.

I push up off the bench, needing space. It’s hard to think clearly with Levi’s fingers trailing over my shoulder. Every nerve ending in my body feels on fire when he’s around.

With my back to him, I close my eyes and focus on taking calming breaths.

In through my nose, out through my mouth.

That was intense, uncomfortable, and awkward—everything I tried to avoid the first time I spoke to Finn. I don’t know how Finn is feeling, but if I had to guess, probably not great.

And as much as I’d love to pin it all on Levi, I share some of the blame. But that doesn’t mean he’s off the hook.

Swinging toward him, I stab an accusing finger into his chest—and hate that I notice how solid it feels under my touch.

“Are you insane?” I whisper sharply.

He stares down at my finger before lifting his gaze.

“You looked uncomfortable talking to him,” he mumbles, frowning.

Dropping my arm to my side, I stare at him. I didn’t expectthatto be the reason he came out here. Levi hardly knows me, yet he picked up on my body language. On the other hand,Hunter had known me for years and never once seemed to notice when I was uncomfortable. Maybe he just never cared enough to think about how I felt. He always brushed it off as me being too shy around new people and said that I “just needed to lighten up."

“I had it handled,” I mumble, my voice losing some of its edge.

He cocks his head. “Him giving you his number was you handling it?”

I roll my eyes, annoyed at how easily he calls me out. “What does it matter to you?”

Without skipping a beat, he says, “You matter to me.”

Throwing my hands up, I shake my head. “You don’t even know me!”

I sound as exasperated as I feel. I’m so tired of not knowing what’s going on with him—his behavior, my feelings… all of it.

One minute, he’s kicking me out of his apartment, and the next, he's coming to my rescue. It’s giving me a severe case of whiplash, leaving me rattled—and oddly hot and bothered at the same time.

“I’m trying to, but you keep shutting me down,” he says.

“So, your solution is what? Barge your way into my life?”

He cocks his head as if genuinely thinking it over. “If that’s what it takes.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I groan.

I step toward the bench, intending to grab my stuff and leave, but Levi picks that moment to stand.

We’re barely an inch apart, and I swallow, suddenly losing my bravado. He stares at me with the same intensity as earlier, like he’s committing every feature, every line of my face to memory.

When his hand cups my cheek, I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting to maintain some semblance of control. Desire floods through me at the feel of his skin on mine. His thumb strokes my cheek, and I let out a soft whimper. I’m losing my ability to act sensibly and it’s all because ofhim.

“Teddy Bear.” Levi’s voice is a whisper, caressing my skin, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from reacting further.

“Stop.” The word carries no weight, even to my own ears.

“You can’t deny—”

Those words have me snapping my eyes open, and reality comes crashing down.

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