It reminds me of the way things used to be, when we hardly knew each other. Before that night happened. Before everything got complicated. Before he broke my heart.
“It’s over, Vista. It was fun, but this was never going to go anywhere.”
“But, Levi—”
“There’s nothing left to say, Vista! It was just sex. Why can’t you just accept it? I have.”
I’ve replayed those words in my head countless times. Enough to drive a person crazy. Was it just sex? Because it felt like so much more than that to me. We had a connection. I gave him everything that night, only to have him walk away, leaving me feeling like the biggest fool.
“Are you sure you’re too tired to have a drink with us? Not even one?” Levi asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Glancing over his shoulder, I see the guy who walked in with him keeping the women entertained while they wait for Levi to rejoin them. There’s no way I’m going to be the third wheel. Or fifth. Whatever. Besides, the smart thing to do here would be to keep as much distance between me and Levi as possible. The less time I have to spend with him, the faster this month will go. The faster I’ll be able to get back to my life.
“I’m positive,” I tell him with a bitter edge to my words. Reaching up, I reclaim my hair and toss it back over my shoulder. “You clearly forgot I was going to be here tonight, and I would never dream of intruding on your...date.” Dates? What is the correct terminology for what they’re doing together? Fuck buddies? Orgy? Or could one of those women actually be his girlfriend?
The instant I think it, I throw the thought away. According to everything I’ve read about him, Levi has never been seriously connected to any one woman. He’s a total man whore. So, I’m going to assume they’re fuck buddies.
Funny, that pill isn’t any easier to swallow now as it was when I was still hundreds of miles away.
“That’s not possible,” Levi says, dropping his voice to a bare whisper. The words are spoken so softly I almost miss them. I don’t think he intended for me to hear him, but I have. I freeze, my gaze locked with his, which is why I notice the exact moment he slips back into his usual persona—casual, cocky, unaffected. Raising his voice, he taunts, “But if you’re dead set on being a Debbie Downer, then far be it for me to stand in your way.”
My gut twists. It’s the same feeling I had when he walked away from me that night after telling me that we were never going to happen. He’s baiting me. I know this, and yet I can’t help wondering if it’s how he really thinks of me. But, I quickly remind myself, nothing Levi Black says or does affects me anymore, and I shrug it off. To hell with him. In fact, I should be grateful he’s such an ass. It makes it so much easier to walk away.
Everyone is looking at me now thanks to him, and even if I had wanted to stick around, I certainly don’t now. Levi Black can kiss my lily white ass.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I spin around and march toward the stairs, relieved that he’s unable to follow, but not before Levi gets the last word.
“Sweet dreams...sis.”
That son of a bitch.
3
Vista Marquis is in my home. In my bed. I don’t know how to deal with that right now, which is why I’ve spent the evening getting plastered. If I surround myself with enough distractions, numb all the shit her being here dredges up, then I might actually be able to keep myself from climbing into her bed and fucking her senseless. Assuming I can make it up the stairs, that is.
Damn this cast. Damn the asshole that can’t kick a ball for shit. Damn my father for making me do this. Fracturing my tibia has thrown a wrench into my plans, setting me back months with everything from managers to investors, but it’s also given me a break I hadn’t anticipated.
Damn, Vista’s grown up. She’s always been a knockout, but the years have treated her kind. I honestly didn’t know what to expect to find when she got here, but it certainly wasn’t the bombshell I was presented with.
Since I checked in at the front desk on my way up, I already knew she had arrived. I’d just hoped she’d be in bed by now so I wouldn’t have to deal with another headache. On the off chance she wasn’t, Victor and the groupies we picked up earlier were supposed to provide a buffer, something to keep me occupied. I never expected to walk in and find her sitting on my couch, looking sexy as fuck. Without a bra.
Jesus, I can still picture those perky tits in my head. Those little nipples poking through the thin cotton, begging for attention. Begging for my mouth, my tongue. And that hair. Goddamn. My palms itch just thinking about running them through all that long, honey brown hair.
It’s a distraction I hadn’t planned on and definitely don’t need. I should have one of these broads bent over the arm of my couch right now, instead of offering them another drink. I definitely shouldn’t be thinking about Vista. Or the way she looked up at me with those expressive brown eyes when I twisted a lock of her hair around my finger. She was on fire, practically begging me to touch her, to taste her. At that moment, I would have buried myself between her silky thighs if she’d asked me to. Forcing myself to calm the fuck down and back away had been nearly impossible, until she opened her mouth and broke the spell.
I knew having Vista here was going to be a problem, but I thought the years of separation would provide the buffer I needed. Quell the thirst. Boy, was I wrong.
Four years ago, I buried every thought and feeling I had for Vista Marquis in a slew of women and booze and never looked back. Aside from the dreams I can’t control, the method had a near one hundred percent success rate so long as I remained awake. To that extent, I haven’t given her a single thought in four years.
Until my father asked me to do a favor for his wife.
In my world, everyone knows that when David Black asks for something, he’s not asking. He’s telling. If it had been any other person, I would have told them to take a hike. Levi Black doesn’t do favors. But when it comes to my father, people listen and fall in line because those who cross him generally aren’t heard from again. Not in the sense that they’re buried six feet under in an unmarked grave. Nothing as sinister as that. But David Black has connections. He gets his way, one way or another, and when he doesn’t, he knows the right strings to pull to reduce a person to nothing. Many in the business world have crashed and burned in his wake, and he didn’t even have to break a sweat.
Do I fear my father? I’d be stupid not to. If not for him, I wouldn’t be where I am now or have the things that I have. He’s an unstoppable force in the business world. He makes things happen. And he can make them “unhappen” just as easily.
My gaze lingers on the staircase where Vista disappeared, and I can’t stop the barrage of memories that hit me. Her quiet sighs in my ear. The sweet taste of her skin on my tongue. The shimmer in her eyes when she walked away from me. They’re as fresh and new as when they happened. I’ve spent this long ignoring all of it, avoiding the memories, drinking and fucking them away, but this time they refuse to return to the black box I keep them locked in. All it took was seeing her again, and I’m transported back to when I was a teenager, a rising soccer player with a scholarship and his whole future laid out for him.
Before Vista and her mother came along and fucked it all up.
It’s a good thing one of us is thinking clearly tonight. Even as kids, Vista was on the fast track to success. She had goals, dreams, and aspirations. There was never room in her life for someone like me—a cocky, self-assured playboy with a reputation. When I cut her loose that night, I did us both a favor. Now, she’s free to pursue her career, and I’m free to live my life without having to worry about disappointing someone. Being connected to a woman means expectations, and I’m not ready to be tied down. Vista is the only girl who’s ever challenged me to think differently, so it’s a good thing I got out when I did. I regret everything that happened between us. It’s put a stain on everything, including my relationship with my father. He’s never looked at me the same. I’ve damaged the t
rust, changed his view of me. Not that it’s much of a loss.
“You’ll end this now and that’s the last I’ll hear of it.” I hear his words in my head all over again. They transport me back to a place and time I don’t want to think about. My hands clench around the crutches before I realize I’m even angry. There’s no point in dredging up old memories, though. It’s just wasted energy.
One month. After I got busted up, my father hired the best nurses available to see to my care at home. While it was nice having someone pretend they gave a damn, it grew exhausting trying to keep up the nice guy act when I felt like shit. So I didn’t. Thankfully, my father knows what palms to grease. Over the last few months, the penthouse has been turned into a revolving door of healthcare workers.
But now, that’s all changed. Once the cast comes off, Vista will step in, taking on the responsibility of getting me back on my feet and back in action. I can’t fucking wait. Accustomed to an active lifestyle, I’m not used to so much free time. I’ve been spinning my wheels for so long I’m beginning to feel like a hamster in one of those plastic wheels—going nowhere fast.
I miss the field. I miss the smell of the dirt, the feel of the sun bearing down on me, the sound of the fans chanting my name in the stands. What I don’t miss is everything in between—the coaches yelling in my ear, my father berating me when I miss a goal, never being home, the constant grind to stay on top of every second of my life so I’m always ready to move. It’s just not the same anymore, which is why I’ve been reconsidering my future, but I need to get back on my feet before I make any life-changing decisions.
As eager as I am to get back to normal, I can’t say I’m overly thrilled about who’s going to help me get there. When my stepmother, Lara, heard that her husband was shopping around for a skilled physical therapist that wasn’t easily scared off, she jumped at the opportunity to shove her daughter under his nose. She’s under the impression that Vista needs to build a prestigious portfolio to give her an edge in the business—as if being connected to the family name won’t get her places all on its own—and who better to start her on her path than yours truly? Of course, my father is on board. Anything to make his bride happy. More like anything to shut her up, keep her occupied, so he doesn’t have to.
“I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.”
The warning he issued alongside his order when he called to tell me what was going to happen is fresh and forefront in my mind. At least, it was, up until the moment I set eyes on the very person who made that warning necessary.
Holy shit. I don’t know if I can do this. Vista is a problem. My problem. Having her here, in my home, is going to change everything.
Who am I kidding? It already has. But it doesn’t have to, a voice in my head whispers.
One month.
That’s all I have to get through, and then my life can return to normal. I can go back to pretending she doesn’t exist, doesn’t matter.
One month. I repeat the words in my head until they’re keeping time with the beat of my heart. They’re my new mantra.
One month.
One month.
Piece of cake.
Now all I have to do is believe the lie.
“Unless you’ve developed an unhealthy attraction to stairs I don’t know about, quit staring into space and get over here, jackass,” Vincent calls out. “I’m not a one man circus. Help me keep these bitches entertained.”
The women gasp as if offended by Vincent’s crassness, but they’re not. They are bitches, and they know it. Hell, they’ve made it an art. It’s what makes them attractive to men—being unattainable.
Except to me.
Being who I am, women like them are a dime a dozen, which grew boring ten minutes ago.
I stare up at the empty staircase for a moment longer before kicking a crutch out behind me and twisting around to join the party with the realization that choking down the lie is going to be damn near impossible.
I can’t ignore the hollow ache in my stomach that’s formed from just seeing her any more than I can ignore the throbbing pulse that’s demanding attention in my jeans.
Vista Marquis thinks a few stairs can keep me from getting to her? Then she doesn’t really know me.
I can obtain anything I want.
I’m Levi-fucking-Black, and just like my father, I make shit happen.
4
Oh, Heavenly Father, please forgive me, for I am about to kill my stepbrother!
“What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!”
Levi is leaning in my open doorway—a door I know I closed when I went to bed last night. Or tried to. It took hours, listening to him and his “friends” laughing and making all kinds of racket, before I finally managed to fall asleep.
Now, he’s standing in my bedroom, half naked, and looking at me like I’m something he wants to kill. Or eat.
My thighs clench at the thought of Levi putting his mouth on me. The last time—no. I shut the thought down before it has a chance to go too far. It’s inappropriate. This whole situation right now is inappropriate.
“Get out!” I shout again, because he just continues to stand there, completely stoic. Unreadable. “Are you high?” Along with the rest of the world, I’ve witnessed the kind of life he leads: late nights, partying, an endless supply of women. The possibility that he’s actually high right now isn’t that far-fetched.
Why does he have to look so damn good, though?
Levi’s shirtless chest moves in a silent huff and a humorless smirk makes his lips twitch. And that damn beard. It’s distracting. I’ve only ever seen him clean shaven, but this look is even better. He looks rough. Dirty. Mountable.
Lifting his arm to his head, he rakes his fingers through his hair, making it messier than it already was. The action makes his bicep flex, showing off a massive bump, and creates a long visual line that draws my gaze down over his sculpted chest and abs to the pair of sweat pants that hang so low, I can see damn near everything.
As my eyes land between his legs, it begins to grow. My throat turns into a desert and I swallow, tearing my eyes away as I cast the inappropriate thoughts the vision inspires away. Or at least I try to. They keep sling shooting back, taunting me. Just look at it. One little peek. No!
It should be illegal to walk around like that. In fact, he should be thrown in jail for assault. I’ll never get the vision of him like this out of my head.
I hear Levi’s soft chuckle and jerk to attention.
“You should see your face right now,” he says, his voice mocking. “You behave like you’ve never seen my dick before, which we both know isn’t true. Or,” he says, his voice pitching low as he pushes off the jamb and stands tall, putting that hard bulge on full display, “maybe you just want another taste.”
Yes, please. The heat in my face deepens. I do want it. I won’t deny that, but I refuse to let him drag me any deeper into the rabbit hole or humiliate me over something we both know we want but can’t have.
“I’m not the one standing in his sister’s room with an erection,” I toss back, throwing my legs over the opposite side of the bed in a desperate need to put distance between us. “Besides, I’ve moved on to bigger and better things.”
Levi’s humor vanishes, his eyes narrowing to slits as the insult hangs like a guillotine between us. I’d be proud of myself, if I wasn’t lying through my teeth.
“That’s good, sis,” Levi says, his voice and expression flattening out. “It’s nice to know you’ve moved on. I always worried you’d turn into a spinster in my absence.”
That s.o.b. “That was never a danger,” I say through clenched teeth. “But it’s good to see that you’ve been living up to everyone’s expectations. You’ve certainly defined what it means to be the son of a billionaire: a sleazy, spoiled, lazy, entitled man whore. Stop me if I missed anything.”
The fire that lights Levi’s eyes burns so strong I feel a niggling of worry—that I’ve gone too far—bleed i
nto my muscles. An imperceptible tremor vibrates through my body as he stabs the crutches into the floor, crossing the room in a matter of seconds to stand over me. Being injured certainly hasn’t taken away his ability to be scary. He’s seething, his nostrils flaring as the breaths saw in and out of his lungs, resembling a raging bull.
“Fuck you, Vista,” he seethes. “What do you know about me? Nothing,” he fills in automatically. “And how could you, when you ran off in the middle of our parents’ wedding and are only just now coming back?”
Incensed, I glare openly now, resentful of him bringing up the past. He knows why I left. What was I supposed to do? He’d rejected me, and I was on my way to college anyway. I’d just sped up the process, saving us all a lot of headache.
“You’re right, maybe I don’t know anything about you, but you know what? I don’t want to. So if you’re worried I’ll want to stick around and find out, don’t be. As soon as this month is over, I’m gone,” I shoot back, getting in his face. I have plans—big ones—and none of them involve hanging around here any longer than I absolutely have to. Levi Black is a means to an end, that’s all.
Bringing his nose to mine, Levi looks into my eyes. “I. Can’t. Wait.”
The anger with which he says this twists something inside my chest. I don’t want to acknowledge what it might be, so instead, I scrunch my nose up at the fetid smell of stale alcohol on his breath. “You need to brush your teeth.”
Like a total pig, he opens his mouth wider and huffs in my face, making me want to vomit. “My breath might not be minty fresh, but at least it doesn’t smell like dirty ass.”
“Oh, do you speak from experience? Do you make a habit of going around smelling people’s asses?” I toss back.
“Only when I’m chin deep in pussy and they’re sucking my cock, princess.”