Page 87 of Hopeless Romantic
Beckett had found herself in one of those “leap, and the net will appear” situations. She couldn’t even run a block without becoming winded; how was she supposed to leap?
But as she stared into his eyes, an overwhelming sensation of being safe wrapped around her, and her walls started to crumble. Her muscles uncoiled, her eyes drifted closed, and she felt herself climbing, higher and higher, above the fear and uncertainty, above the doubts and disappointments, to a place that was safe to consider the possibilities.
“That’s my girl,” he said, gently coaxing her.
Those three words slid past what was left of her armor and settled in her chest. She wanted so badly to believe them, believe that she was his girl, that she gave up fighting and leapt.
And even as she let go, she felt Levi’s strength take hold. Bracing her as the biggest orgasm of her life raced toward her, straining her body and short-circuiting her brain. Her lungs burned, her breath came in painful bursts, and Levi met her every need.
“You might want to keep your eyes open and cape on for this, Girl Wonder,” he said.
Her stomach trembled with anticipation as they locked gazes, and if the fate of the world depended on her looking away, she decided they’d all die. Because without breaking eye contact, Levi pulled her panties all the way off—with his teeth—then sat back to admire his handiwork.
Beckett didn’t move, let him look his fill. There was something incredibly erotic and empowering about being stripped naked for his viewing pleasure. But it didn’t come at the expense of her pleasure. Oh no, Levi kept the pace steady, purposeful, taking her higher and higher without rushing her.
“I got you,” he whispered one last time, with a final swirl, combined with just the right amount of pressure. Beckett didn’t care how far she’d eventually fall. Her orgasm hit hard, and she flew apart like a mountain stuffed with seventy-five tons of dynamite. For a moment, she could have sworn she left her body, but Levi made sure her landing was just as pleasurable.
He gently coaxed her down, whispering sweet words and giving her tender kisses.
When she could draw in a breath, she found herself staring up into the bluest eyes. The way he looked at her, and the reverent way he held her hip, his thumb sliding back and forth over her stomach, offering her comfort and connection, as though she were precious.
As though she were his. She didn’t mean to fall; she knew better. But the warm ache in her heart told her that she had. Totally and completely.
He’d said he wanted to discover what she liked, and then what she loved, but in true Beckett fashion, she’d jumped right over the first part. Old Beckett would be throwing her clothes back on, making an excuse for why she had to leave, and overthinking everything to the point of a nuclear-scale meltdown.
But bold Beckett was done with excuses and overthinking. Levi said he had her, and she was going to give him the chance to be the man he promised. Not because she was testing him, but because she was trusting him.
So without asking what was next on his list, she tugged his belt and said, “I think I’d like that tour of your cabin now.”
* * *
Levi couldn’t decide if he was the luckiest son of a bitch to walk the earth or the stupidest. Because only in his wildest dreams would there be a reality where Beckett Hayes was kissing him, naked on his deck and asking him, no,begging,for a grand tour.
Or maybe he was the one begging. It was hard to tell when she slowly sucked his lower lip into her mouth and released it with a sexy fuckingpop.
She was hot, naked, and—there went his belt buckle—he was hesitating. Not on the kissing—he could do that all night, and ditto with the touching. And didn’t he want to see just how good she looked in his bed, then compare this to how she looked in his bed when the sun came up? Fuck yeah, he did.
But Levi had a hard time envisioning a tomorrow where Beckett didn’t harbor some regrets. Hell, he’d convinced himself that the time they had together would be worth it. Even worse, he’d convinced himself Beckett was on the same page. A see-where-this-goes expiration-date-looming kind of relationship. But there was nothing expiration-date-looming about her.
Beckett’s nature veered toward selfless and caring. It didn’t take a relationship expert to see that her emotions didn’t turn off when the clock ran out. Oh, she played the impenetrable superhero well, but beneath that cape and armor was an empathetic and nurturing woman whose capacity to love astounded him.
Then there was the way she arrived tonight, all soft and pliant and so damn sad over a chicken, so maybe the right thing to do would be to take a breather, clarify where everyone’s at emotionally, and avoid any potential regrets.
“Beck?” he asked against her lips. “Are you sure?”
He could have sworn she said yes, but it was hard to tell with her tongue in his mouth. Plus, there was her sexy little mewling that was doing a great job of distracting him from the question at hand.
Oh, and her hands? They were flat against his abs, pressing him back into the seat, and just like that she was straddling his lap, her cake coming in complete contact with his éclair. Normally, he’d take that as two big green lights, front and center, but with Beckett, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Was that a yes?” He hoped to God it was, because he needed her like he needed his next breath. And breathing came high on his list, right after tasting the sweet spot right behind her ear.
Still no word from her, but then, miracle of all miracles, it happened. She made a condom appear out of thin air. One minute her hands were unbuttoning his jeans, the next they were holding a condom—strawberry-flavored and ribbed for her pleasure. Which he’d remember for next time.
And in casethatwasn’t crystal fucking clear enough, her slim fingers delved beneath his jeans, skin on skin, as she got a hands-on experience that, based on the way her breath caught, put any and all questions to bed that Levi was not, in fact, a braggart.
Those toned legs wrapped around him, and Levi did his part to ensure her comfort, sliding his hands down; as though they had built-in GPS, they located her ass in a millisecond. Silky-soft and completely naked. He went to work supporting, exploring, cupping until he had two palms full of that heart-shaped backside—and life was suddenly wonderful.
She was squirming, trying to climb up his body, so he obliged, lifting her until all their good parts were in line. It got a little crowded in his pants with her hands, his raging hard-on, and their suctioned bodies, but he made it work. When her legs locked behind his back, he stood with her in his arms, wrapped around him like a pretzel.
