Page 18 of Just Between Us

I lift my eyebrows, but he doesn’t comment further. “Okay, where are we going?”

Levi grabs a champagne glass and hands one to me before picking up two more and we head out into what looks like an empty lobby area.

“It’s a surprise,” he says.

We wait for an elevator and when it comes, Levi swipes a card, before it lurches up. I glance at him and he’s smiling serenely, pleased with himself.

“Why’d you say Adam’s a dick?” I ask, still curious. “He seemed nice.”

Levi glances at me, leaning against the wall. For a second, I forget my question, looking at his eyes and then his lips. I hadn’t noticed but he has a prominent cupid’s bow, and I wonder what it’d be like to—

“Long story,” he says, cutting off my unsafe thoughts.

I swallow just as the elevator comes to a stop with a soft ding. I take a deep breath to steady myself and then a small sip of the champagne when we step out into a softly lit hall that has glass doors that open up onto what looks like a rooftop.

My breath catches when Levi opens the door for me. A burst of cold air touches my skin, but I barely notice because before me is the vast city in all its glory, stretching out into the night, buildings lit up like fallen stars illuminating from the ground.

That’s when I spot Cole, leaning against the wall. His arms are braced on the ledge and his back is to us, his hair blowing in the gentle evening breeze.

“Wow,” I hear myself say.

Cole turns, his eyes landing on me, assessing me carefully. Once again, I am prey caught in a web, unable to escape.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” His smile reaches his eyes.

I walk up to the ledge, stopping right next to him. It’s already February and I don’t feel cold despite the icy air. Maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe it’s them, making my blood pump through me at an unbelievable pace.

“Yeah,” I breathe quietly, looking out at the silhouette of London Bridge and the tower under construction in the distance.

Levi hands Cole the other glass of champagne which he places on the ledge. I can almost hear my heart racing and this time I dare myself to look at both of them, to ask myself what they want from me.

“Why’d you bring me up here?” I ask.

Levi shrugs easily. “It’s pretty. Thought you should see it.”

It’s a good enough explanation but there’s something else. Something in the way my blood rushes whenever Levi is close to me or something in the way Cole makes me feel like he can see right through me. It’s unnerving and it’s like they know.

Something akin to embarrassment takes root and I try to ignore it, averting my eyes and looking out at the jutting spires of churches, and skyscrapers. A light breeze kisses my cheek. I turn back to find them both looking at me. My heart leaps to my throat, my champagne long forgotten on the ledge.

“It is,” I say finally, my voice hoarse. “Pretty I mean. Thank you for showing me.”

Levi's eyes meet mine and he takes a step forward. I stay where I am, I have no choice, glued to the stone ledge that digs into my back. Butterflies set flight in my stomach, fluttering violently. I watch him as he takes another step and he’s so close I would only need to move my hand slightly to touch him.

I want to touch him.

I can feel Cole next to me, but I don’t dare look at him. My head is swimming and when Levi leans in, I’m engulfed in that familiar scent of tobacco and vanilla. Electricity jolts through me, and when his lips touch mine, I think I might combust.

For a second, I’m completely still, my lips struggling to catch up and then all at once, my entire body melts into him. I part my lips, letting his tongue in, kissing him back easily. His hand comes up to hold my cheek and a desperate quiet moan escapes my mouth. It’s like the entire world melts away—the lights, the breeze—everything going still. Yet just as I’m losing myself in it, it all ends too quickly, and he pulls away, a smile dancing on his lips. His thumb swipes my bottom lip and I open my mouth to say something.

“I—” words I don’t know are at the tip of my tongue, but before I can get them out, I feel a gentle tug and I slam into Cole’s hard body before my breath is completely stolen away again.

Where Levi is soft, Cole’s kiss is demanding. He doesn’t let up, his hand gripping my chin to keep me in place. This time, an outright moan escapes me, my hand gripping his shirt in a fist. Blinding heat rushes through me, pooling right at the bottom of my stomach.

It’s a bruising kiss, and I bend to it easily, without even fighting him. Images of things I want begin to flash behind my closed eyes and I try to banish them but it’s impossible with Cole’s lips on me. I pull him in further, desperate for some sort of friction.

Only before I can grind my hips against him, he pulls away and that awful feeling of humiliation washes over me in an instant like a bucket of ice water being thrown at me.

I open my mouth, but no words come. I look at both of them, my mind struggling to catch up with what has just happened.

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