Page 57 of West Bound
“Don’t wear yourself out. You’ll need the energy,” Levi chastises as he grabs a saddle stand and drags it to the center of the room. He pulls the saddle off it, handing it to one of his guys, and instructs them to move it out of the way.
Then Levi’s eyes meet mine, the shimmer of deviant delight dances just behind the pale blue-green of his irises. I can feel the spark of anticipation run up my spine. He closes the gap between us and grabs my wrists by the rope he put on them before we walked in here. He leans forward so he can keep his voice soft enough that only I can hear when he speaks.
“Trust me.”
It’s a simple enough reminder of his promise that he’ll keep me safe. The funny thing is, I do. I trust him in this moment like every other one in recent memory, even though I’m questioning my own sanity for it. He tugs me forward, and I shuffle alongbehind him. My booted feet are slow and meticulous with each step across the boards, still unexcited at the prospect of being brought closer to Corey.
I watch as Levi nods to the men waiting for his orders at the corners of the barn, giving them the signal that they can step outside. I’m sure they’ll be within earshot, but it leaves only the three of us behind standing in the center of the space. The late-day sun casts long rays over Corey’s body and onto the stand Levi’s placed in front of him like a sort of makeshift altar.
“Your wife and I have been getting to know each other better over the last few weeks. She’s been filling me in on some of the details of your arrangement. How you met. What kind of man you are. Fascinating, honestly,” Levi mutters as he brings me in front of my husband.
“Stay away from my wife,” Corey growls.
Levi just laughs in response, guiding me to the saddle stand.
“The way I hear it, you don’t treat her like much of a wife. More like discarded property. It doesn't sound very romantic, and that’s before we even make it to the problems in the bedroom.”
“There are no fucking problems. In the bedroom or elsewhere.” I can feel Corey’s eyes on me, hear the silent accusations he’s hurling in my direction.
“That’s not what I heard.” Another taunting laugh rumbles free from Levi’s chest as he places his palm at the base of my spine and then smooths his hand upward over my back, applying pressure that nudges me forward over the saddle stand.
He grabs the rope that binds my wrists and pulls it forward, making my chest meet the worn wood in front of me as he secures it to a hook at the far side. It holds me in the bent position, vulnerable, like an offering laid out across it. He tucks the stray hairs in my face behind my ears and brushes some of the longer, wispier bangs to the side as he gives me a reassuringlook. One that tells me this is for my husband’s benefit and not his own, silently reminding me to trust in our plan.
“Get the fuck away from her.” I hear the tremor in Corey’s voice as Levi rounds the stand to the far side, moving behind me. Corey’s eyes dart nervously back and forth between Levi and the stand, never quite making eye contact with me.
“I wouldn’t be making demands up there if I were you.” Levi mocks him.
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. You think you’re getting away with this? I’ll have your fucking balls if you lay a single fucking finger on her.”
“We’ll see about that,” Levi snaps back, but his focus returns to me. I feel his hand caress my hip and then cup my ass through the skirt I have on. “Go on. Stop me,” he taunts Corey. I hear the rattle of the gambrel as Corey kicks his feet, gritting his teeth and trying to get momentum in his favor again.
It’s folly to try. Even if he could somehow defy gravity to overcome the hooked ends, he’d likely fall face-first onto the floor.
“That’s right. You can’t stop me now. Just like you haven’t been able to stop me for weeks. You know what the worst fucking part of it is for you? I don’t have to force her. I don’t have to plead with her. I don’t have to parade other women in front of her. She comes to me in the middle of the night all on her own. She asks for me.”
“You fucking piece of shit! I will fucking kill you.” He grunts as he wiggles, making himself look even more pathetic when he fails to accomplish anything.
“Little late for that.” Levi gives my ass cheek a soft squeeze, one that sends an unexpected bolt of awareness through my body.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” he snarls uselessly.
“How does it feel anyway? Knowing your wife would rather never know the touch of someone again than let you touch her?” Levi asks. “Going to aconvent. Fucking hell. That has to cut deep, right?”
His hand slips under my dress, and the tips of his fingers dance up the backs of my thighs. They light little fires in their wake, making my nerve endings come to life under his care, just before his palm smooths back over my skin and calms the storm. He repeats the attention as Corey growls back at him. I don’t even hear the words. Only Levi’s voice when he speaks again.
“You know she confessed to me once. On her knees. Told me when she goes to bed at night and slips her fingers between her legs, that it’s me she imagines. Even though she thought I was a priest at the time.” Levi’s amusement is evident in his voice, and I hear the desperate sound of frustrated anger tear out of Corey. “Can you fucking believe that? She’d rather touch herself at night, fantasizing about a priest fucking her senseless, than have you anywhere near her. That’s gotta fucking hurt. I don’t think I could live with myself if that’s how my wife felt about me. I told her I would’ve done the honorable thing and hung myself years ago.”
Levi pulls my dress up, exposing the sheer underwear I have on underneath. It was one of the pairs Dakota got me, and it feels wildly appropriate for the moment.
“Fuck. Look at these.” Levi runs his finger under the elastic band that wraps around my upper thigh, starting on the outside and moving slowly inward. “Do you think she wore them for me?”
“Fuck you.”
“You’re right. She probably wore them hoping she could fuck me.” His fingers stop short of where I want them, and the realization that I’m enjoying it, that I want him even like this, hits me hard.
“Then she’s a fucking whore.”
Levi sucks in a breath and gives me a swift pat on the cheek, one that feels like a promise of more, before he turns his attention back to Corey.
