“Whatever.” I shrugged, aware that we weren’t alone. But Johnson was security. A ghost. He didn’t care about our conversation so long as it didn’t pose a threat to my life.
You had to get used to sharing every part of your life with security pretty quickly, when you went from nobody to somebody overnight.
Silence lingered between us. She wasn’t close enough to touch, too far to ghost my fingers over the ink on her shoulder.
“Well, I should probably go—”
“Wait.” The word echoed through my mind. “Do you want to hang out?”
Her breath caught. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she whispered, the words like jagged knives to my skin.
“I’ll behave, I promise.” I held up my hands. “I just...” I couldn’t tell her.
I couldn’t confess how lonely I was.
Not me.
Levi Hunter: rock god and sex symbol.
Phoebe inhaled a sharp breath, her eyes fluttering closed. When they opened again, I expected her to tell me no. But the word, “Okay,” fell from her lips. “Just for a little while.”
She tucked her key card in her purse and moved closer. Sweet relief flowed through me. This was a good sign. Maybe if we hung out, if we were together, she would remember how good it could be between us.
I opened the door and stood aside, letting her passed. It wasn’t the penthouse suite, but it was still one of the best rooms in the hotel. It could have been a hovel for all I cared though. Because Phoebe was here.
“Drink?” I asked her, going to the mini bar.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Her brow went up.
“Soda then? Juice?”
“I’ll take a soda.”
I grabbed two sodas and went over to where she was hovering. “Here.” Our fingers brushed as she took it from me, electricity sparking up my arm. My eyes lifted to hers. “Phoebe, I—”
“So today went well?” She darted to one of the chairs and sat down.
“Yeah, it was okay. Now we’ve figured out the arrangement, it’s flowing.” I ran a hand over my head, choosing the couch. It put me dead opposite her.
“Letty’s right, I think this will work.”
“You really want to talk about this?” I’d kinda hoped we would talk about us, about what happened with us.
“I think it’s for the best if we keep things professional, don’t you?”
“Actually,” I said dragging my snake bit piercings between my teeth and letting them pop. “I don’t think that’s going to work for me.”
“Levi, please...” She darted out of the chair. “I should go, this was a mistake.”
“Don’t do that.” I got up and stalked toward her. “Don’t call me a mistake.”
It’s all I’d heard growing up. I could be that to my mom, to the father who didn’t want me. But I didn’t ever want to be that to this girl.
Phoebe inched back, but I snagged her waist, pulling her closer. “We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to say.” She dropped her gaze to the floor.
Irritation licked my spine. She was being stubborn, and part of me understood. She felt betrayed. But Riley was a mistake, one that happened before Phoebe arrived on the scene.
“Hey, look at me.” I gripped her chin and lifted her face to mine. “What happened with Riley was before you and I—”
“Stop, Levi. There is no you and me. It was one night.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“I can’t do this again. I can’t be with someone who will never put me first. I’m sorry, I am... but this, us, I was a fool to think there could ever be some—”
I cupped her face, slamming my lips to hers. Phoebe went rigid in my arms, but the second my tongue plunged into her mouth, her body softened against me. The kiss became a storm, sweeping us away with every stroke and every press of our lips. My hands dropped to her ass and I picked her up, pushing her up against the nearest wall.
“Fuck, Phoebe, you taste so fucking good.” I caged her body with mine, freeing up one of my hands to glide up her throat. “Tell me you feel it, tell me you’re here with me...” I stared into her heavy-lidded eyes.
“I...”
Say it.
I really needed her to say it.
“You need to stop. We need to stop.” She pushed around my chest, trying to wrangle out of my hold. I jerked away as if she’d slapped me and Phoebe slid down the wall, skin flushed and eyes apologetic.
“I see.”
“It’s for the best, Levi. You need to focus on the band and getting things back on track, and I need to—”
“Got it. You know where the door is. Don’t let it hit you on the way out.” I marched over to the minibar and grabbed the first thing I could find. The liquor barely registered as I chugged it down.
“That won’t help,” Phoebe said softly.
“I thought you were leaving?” I ground out.
She stood there for another second, before letting out a quiet breath and leaving. The door clicked shut but it may as well have been a gunshot to my heart.
What a fucking idiot.
The bottle flew out of my hand before I could stop myself, shattering into tiny pieces against the wall.
“Call someone to clean that up,” I barked at Johnson. I didn’t look at him, I couldn’t.
Instead, I grabbed another two bottles from the mini bar and headed for my bedroom.
At least there, I would have privacy.
Phoebe
I’d messed up.
When I’d agreed to go with Levi, I thought we’d talk. I thought it would be a good opportunity to clear the air.
I didn’t think he would kiss me.
Although kiss didn’t do justice to the way his mouth had laid siege to my emotions. I’d felt his desire for me, the hard outline of his dick pressed up against me. Levi wanted me. But he had the power the destroy me.
It had taken everything to push him away, to do the right thing. Because while nothing about kissing Levi felt wrong, it was a mistake.
One that would only lead me down a path of heartache and misery.
“We have a problem.” Letty greeted me. I was barely awake, and she looked ready to take on the world.
“A problem?” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“Levi, he’s a mess.”
Guilt shot through me.
“What happened?” Letty gave me a serious look as she barged into the room.
“I... I messed up.”
“Talk.”
“I went to Levi’s room last night. I thought he wanted to talk...”
“He didn’t?” Her brow arched but I found no judgment there.
“Not exactly. He kissed me.”
“And let me guess, you rejected him?”
“How did you—”
“Because Johnson found him passed out over a collection of mini bar drinks.”
“We should have emptied it.” We’d discussed it but Letty decided that after two weeks of exile, treating Levi like a child wouldn’t get us anywhere fast.
“He’s okay,” she said. “But his mood is...”