Then, after a few rounds when I keep up with his pace, slamming one glass over the other, many of the team start chanting my name.
There’s something contagious about having so many people shouting my name and cheering me on.
“You’re going down!” Ronan slurs as both of us sway.
“No, you’re going down!” The ceiling is spinning, but I blink, bringing the shot to my lips.
I miss it and break into a fit of giggles when alcohol falls down my neck.
“He’s out!” The entire team yell, catching a falling Ronan.
“Hell yeah!” Xander shouts at a few guys by his side. “Pay up, bitches.”
“I won?”
Cole smiles, shaking his head. “You won.”
“I won!” I scream and jump.
Bad idea.
The ceiling spins round and round as I fall backwards. The cheering and hooting stop altogether.
Strong arms clutch me and I crack my eyes open, looking at the face that’s been torturing me for two weeks.
Pale blue eyes stare down at me as if I’m the most beautiful thing on earth.
And it does shit to me.
That look. Those eyes.
It hurts knowing I don’t have this in my life anymore. Why did he come in if he planned to leave all along?
I slap his cheeks with both my hands. “Oh, you’re real.”
Tears blur my eyes as I giggle. “Is this a dream or a nightmare?”
“Both, princess.”
44
Astrid
Why is it impossible to hurt you?
* * *
When I open my eyes, I have two thoughts.
Where the hell am I?
Why is there someone digging near my head?
I cradle my skull and wince. Apparently, the digging is in my head.
I turn to the side and sit up slowly. On the nightstand, there’s a cup of coffee, a bottle of water and paracetamol pills.
I snatch the water and pills. The water soothes my scratchy throat enough to sip the coffee.
Eww. It’s bitter.
I still sip it anyway because I need to wake up.
Tequila shots — and whatever shots I had afterwards — were a bad idea.
If Dan was going to stop me, he should’ve done it earlier.
I’m adding that to his friendship manual.
I feel like I’m going to topple over and puke all over myself. Oh, and the hangover will last for a week.
My gaze strays to my surroundings. I’m sitting on a king-sized bed with untidy sheets. The open balcony causes curtains to flap inside and into the room.
I’ve never seen this room in Dan’s house before. And since when do they have gold-rimmed ceilings?
I stare down at myself and gasp when I find out I’m only wrapped in a bathroom robe.
With a beating heart, I stare underneath. Shit. I’m completely naked.
I’m not in Dan’s house and I’m naked. Please tell me I didn’t do something I’ll regret.
The clearing of a throat pulls me from my stupor. My head snaps to the other side. I didn’t even realise someone else was in the room.
My breath comes in short gasps. Levi sits in a recliner with his jean-clad legs crossed above each other.
He’s wearing a black T-shirt that sticks to his defined abdominal muscles. His tousled hair is pushed back giving a full view of the sharp lines in his face and the murderous look in his pale eyes.
My stupid body comes to life and tiny tingles shoot straight to my core.
Nope. I’m not going there.
Crossing the robe over my chest, I jerk off the bed, abandoning the cup of coffee on the nightstand.
A stupid little part of me is wishing for a word from him. A touch.
Anything.
But I’m not that girl anymore.
It’s the first time I take the Clifford pride seriously. Levi won’t dictate my life anymore.
Tucking in my headache and my shell of a heart, I stride to the door. The moment I open it, a hand slams it shut from behind.
A large — and a very hard — body glues to my back. And the warmth. Damn him and his warmth.
I dig my elbows into his ribs. He doesn’t back off.
If anything, he pushes his hips into me from behind, pinning me in place.
Angry tears barge to my eyes.
How dare he do this to me when he already wrote me off?
How dare he play with my body and my heart as if it’s some game?
I turn around and punch his chest. “You don’t get to do this. We’re nothing anymore, King.”
His face closes off. “Says. Who?”
“You! We were never something to be over, remember?”
“So you decided to drink with my team.” His voice hardens. “Is that your way to get back at me?”
That was my way to get back at myself. I planned to drink myself into oblivion. But at some point, I started to have fun with Ronan and the guys. For a moment, I was able to forget about this bastard.
“I’m so over you, King.” I laugh with bitterness. “Oh wait. It wasn’t something to be over, anyway.”
“Fuck, Astrid.” He growls, closing his eyes. When he opens them, there’s a chaos of emotions I can’t decipher.
What happened to you?
Why did you push me away?
Those questions slip to the tip of my tongue, but I don’t ask them because deep down, I’m afraid of the answer.
I’m afraid he’ll cut through the fresh wound and ruin me beyond repair.
“Stop acting like you can belong to someone else.” He grips both my hips and pulls me into him. “There hasn’t been a moment where you weren’t mine.”
My fists clench and I hit his chest the hardest I can. “What the hell do you want from me, Levi?” Hit. “What?” Hit. “I can’t do this anymore.”
He grabs my wrists in his hand. “You can’t do what?”
“I can’t pretend like all of this is fine. I can’t plot your demise when I’m aching to see you again. Checkmate, you won. You fucking won. Are you happy now?”
“Not even close.” He spins me around and I fall backwards on the bed. He’s on top of me, his body covering mine. My robe falls open at the bottom and his erection presses against my thighs.
I can feel myself crumbling.
My skin flushes coming alive under the friction of his clothes.
Two weeks. It’s been two damn empty weeks without him.
I’m aching to be filled again and only Levi can make that happen.
My fingers fist in his T-shirt. I don’t know if it’s to bring him closer or to push him away.
“How can I win when I’ve been losing to you since the beginning, princess?” There’s a strange vulnerability in his eyes that hits me in the chest. “Do you know how I spent the past two weeks without you?”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Too bad because you will.”
He flips me around and I gasp when I end up on my hands and knees — very trembling hands and knees. I can’t process what’s happening when his hard body covers mine from behind and his lips find the lobe of my ear. He runs his tongue over the shell and makes a trail down my neck.
A shiver covers my skin and a zap of pleasure trickles down my thighs. Oh. God. Just one touch and I’m a helpless fool.