“Which one of these is yours? Because I’m gonna fuck you in a bed tonight, or so help me.”
“End of the hall,” she said on another laugh. “And do you promise?” She tightened her arms, bringing her close enough to kiss.
“Guarantee.”
And I closed that gap between us without stopping, kicking the door at the end of the hall shut behind me.
9
Plus-One
STELLA
I flopped onto the bed, slick with sweat and panting at my ceiling.
Light filtered in through my sheer curtains, the summer sun high and bright. It was morning for us—afternoon for the rest of the world—an unsurprising late rise. I smiled over at Levi as I tried to catch my breath, taking a moment to appreciate the perfection of the male specimen I’d shared the last twelve hours with. His profile a line of strength from brow to the bridge of his nose. The plane and swell of his lips and the cut of his jaw. The rapid rise and fall of his broad, glistening chest moved in opposition to his abs, and my eyes followed the line of him down, charting his nakedness with the appreciation of an art curator.
He lifted a large hand to drag his fingers through shaggy, dark hair before he felt me staring and glanced over with that crooked smile and a flash of teeth.
I rolled over and into his side, wrapping myself around him. “Morning.”
He curled his massive arm around me, his hand cupping my shoulder. “Morning.”
“Sleep well?”
“Woke up better.” He smirked down at me.
“Did I mention I’m glad you came to the party last night?”
“You might have. Where was it … in the shower?”
I pretended to think about it. “Or was it when you had me tied up with your belt?”
“Oh, you definitely mentioned it then. And when I woke you up—when was it? Three?”
“Three thirty,” I said on a laugh.
Levi pressed a kiss to my damp forehead, his hand moving to tangle his fingers in my wavy, air-dried hair. “When will I see you again?”
“You’re not coming to the next party?” I asked with my first frown since I’d met him.
“Gonna have Cecelia put me on the guest list?” he joked.
Through a pause, I thought about it. “Oh, I think you can scrounge up a date somewhere.”
He leaned back so he could see me, his face colored with amusement. “You offering?”
“Maybe I am. Somebody’s got to convince you we’re not just a bunch of spoiled rich kids.”
“And that somebody’s you?”
“Got any other offers?”
He angled for my lips. “If I did, I wouldn’t take them.”
Before I could laugh, he kissed me. And for a long, lazy moment, that was the sum total of my universe. “Consider the invitation open.”
The self-assured expression on his face made my stomach do a back handspring.
“Stella Spencer’s plus-one to indefinite Bright Young Things parties? How could I refuse?”
“Guess you can’t,” I said with a smirk to cover the skipping of my heart.
“No, I guess I can’t.” He kissed the tip of my nose and rolled away with a sigh. “The last thing I want to do is leave, but the deadline waits for no Bright Young Thing.”
I tucked my hands under my head and shamelessly cataloged every glorious inch of him as he stood. “On a Saturday?”
He bent to pick up his pants and stepped into them. “Weekends don’t mean a thing when you’re working against the clock.”
“Pity, that.”
With a sigh, I rolled in the other direction and padded to my closet in search of clothes. My limbs and muscles groaned in protest, tired and aching pleasantly from a night in Levi’s company. I smiled to myself, stepping into a pair of cheeky panties and pulling on my Blondie T-shirt. Regrettably, by the time I made it back into my room, he was dressed, his vest hanging open and his muscular chest disappearing with every fastened button.
I walked over with the objective of another kiss, and at my approach, he glanced up. His fingers froze, but his smile rose, and when I threaded my arms around his neck, he granted my wish.
Levi was something I could get used to.
Something I couldn’t have.
Typical, Stella. You really know how to pick them.
When he’d told me he was leaving, I’d been disappointed, no doubt. But the truth was, I needed something temporary. The situation was ideal, one that met both our expectations, and though he really had tried to be a gentleman about it, that wasn’t what I wanted from him. And I’d made damn sure he knew it.
“Coffee before you go?” I asked when we parted.
“I think I can make a little time for that.”
He popped me on the ass, and with a yelp, I led us from my room and into the empty apartment. As Levi gathered his discarded wallet from the living room floor, I got the espresso machine going.
When he met me in the kitchen, it was with a frown on his face and a dubious look in the direction of the machine. “Got any regular old coffee?”
I smirked. “Don’t worry—I won’t make you drink it out of a tiny cup or anything. I’ll make you an Americano.” He still looked wary, so I clarified, “Espresso and hot water. Tastes just like filtered coffee, but better.”
He relaxed a hair and sat at the island bar just as the door burst open.
Betty and Z walked in, arm in arm and still drunk, swerving and leaning on each other as they laughed hysterically at an unheard joke.
They looked a glorious mess.
“I see you two made it out okay,” I teased, and they turned to me in unison.
“Stellaaaaaaa,” they cried like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, a joke that I’d never found particularly funny. But a wasted Z and Betty howling it in rumpled circus attire left me laughing.
And then they saw Levi and skidded to a stop.
Z appraised Levi shrewdly. “I’d ask what you did last night, but it looks like he’s sitting in your kitchen.”
Levi lifted a square hand.
“Tell me you’ve got a friend who isn’t Ash,” Z said with a twisted smile.
Levi laughed, and I poured his coffee, setting it in front of him with a smile. “One or two. I’ll see what I can do.”
“I knew I liked him,” Z said. “Aren’t many gentlemen left in the world, and one who stays all night and for a cup of morning coffee is a keeper.”
“No pressure,” Betty said on a laugh as her shoes hit the ground with a thump.
Levi and I glanced at each other and flushed.
I mouthed, I’m sorry.
“Hard not to be with a girl like her,” Levi said, his smile tilted and eyes smoldering.
“Tell me he’s coming to the next party.” Z addressed me rather than Levi.
“A girl can hope,” I answered.
Z’s smile was sinful. “Yes, she can.”
Levi drained his cup and stood. “On that note, I really do have to go.”
I tried not to pout.
Z didn’t—her lip poked out pitifully. “But I just got here.”
Levi chuckled as he made his way around the island to slide his hand into my waist. “Don’t worry—I’ll see you soon,” he said to Z before pressing a kiss to my hair. “Sooner, if you’re interested.” The promise was hot against my ear.