Page 59 of Never Die for a Sinner
Levi catches me with an arm around my waist and a devious glint in his eyes.
“God, do you moonlight as a brick wall?” I snap, and he cocks a brow. I fall back a step when he steps forward, then another and another until my back hits the wall and all the air whooshes out of me.
He towers over me, his frame blocking mine until all I can see is him. He leans on his arm above my head, his front so close to mine, I can feel the heat of his body against my skin. My breath catches in my throat, my pulse skyrocketing as that familiar scent of whiskey washes over me like a drug.
“Hello, little ghost,” he greets so quietly, I can barely hear him over the pounding of my own heart.
His eyes burn with amusement. His free hand comes up, brushing a lock of hair back from my face, and my skin burns where his fingertips touch.
“You seem tense, Ava,” he says, his thumb lingering on my cheek for far too long to be considered appropriate.
“Not that it matters to you, but I’m hungry.”
“Last night work up an appetite for you?” His gaze flicks down my body. In response, my core tightens. “Are you sore?”
“I don’t know why you’re pretending to care,” I bite, and dry amusement flickers across his gaze.
He readjusts, and my hands press further into the wall when his lower half brushes against mine. For a striking moment, I feel . . .himpressed against my stomach before he readjusts.
Last night comes flooding back to me, and warmth travels down my spine. It’s madness, considering how this will only end one way. I’m nothing more than a distraction for him. Eventually, he’ll get tired of me and leave me alone.
I’m merely enticing now because it’s something new. He practically hates me, yet, for some sick reason, he wants me, and that pisses him off. Even if he won’t say it, there’s a part of Levi Cross that can’t ignore me any more than I can ignore him.
“I couldn’t care less. I won fair and square.”
Rude.
“Oh, so fucking me was a challenge?”
“Perhaps . . . I always did love giving to charity.”
What. A. Dick.
I shove at him, but he doesn’t budge, and I’m this close to stabbing him with my bare fingers, if that’s even possible.
“Little Ava, so afraid to live her life. Tell me, is that why Mendez is so fascinated with you? He thinks you’ll be easy to control?”
“His name is Alex,” I correct, looking at his lips. It’s a mistake because I can’t stop thinking about the way they felt against my skin just last night. “Don’t you have something better to do? Like steal virgins in the night?”
His lips tip up in a smirk, and he inches even closer
“I’d love to hear how you lost your virginity. I have a feeling you weren’t inviting some little frat boy to chase you through the woods?”
“Still thinking of last night? I thought you weren’t interested?” I breathe, accidentally looking at him for a split second.
Unfortunately, it’s long enough to send a shot of desire through me.
My entire body is humming with approval at having him in my space while my mind races a mile a minute trying to combat the shame of wanting a man so inestimably that it’s burning through my veins.
“Mmm . . . I find youveryinteresting, baby girl.”
My heart flutters uncontrollably; my stomach drops to my toes.
“Pity. You must have fallen and bumped your head if you think anything between us will ever happen again.”
A twinkle of something dark and repressed flashes across his gaze, before it’s replaced with a calm clarity that stirs something unsettling in me. Stepping forward, he aligns the front of his body to mine, his knee pressing between my legs, and I let out a quiet gasp, trying to shove him back. I may as well be fighting with a brick wall because he doesn’t move.
His lips curl into a snarl, and I can feel his erection digging into my stomach.
