Page 39 of Breaking the Habit

His thighs tensed from wanting her. He had to count to five to get the water out of his hands and onto the nightstand.

“Whatcha looking at?”

Riley showed him the camera as he eased onto the bed next to her, stifling a groan. The adrenaline was wearing off, so the real-life aches and pains of his fight would be settling in for the next week or so. Each fight was different, and this one promised to be a doozy.

“I captured it.” A smile tugged at her lips, and some of her silky hair, glinting black in the low light, slipped out from behind her ear. “The way you were looking at me, when I came into the dressing room before the fight. Nobody’s ever looked at me like that before.”

There was a heartbreaking honesty in her words, and it made him pause. He knew intuitively that she didn’t say shit like this to just any guy.

“Like you’re a sexy dark angel descended from the heavens?” he asked.

She snickered, setting the camera aside. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Mmm. That’s hard to believe.” He scooped her up into his arms, maneuvering her onto his lap. “Basically, you’re saying I’m the only man with functioning eyeballs in the world.”

She melted into him, pressing her forehead to his. Her arm slung around his neck, the weight of her in his arms felt right. Like he’d been waiting for her to come along and fill them.

“LA is weird,” she murmured into his neck, her breath leaving a damp spot there. Chills shivered through him. This was new for him and a little weird—not getting straight to the sex. But he liked it. With Riley, he’d see it out. “Everyone is trying to be someone or be in the right group that knows that someone. Plus everyone is gorgeous. You’ve probably noticed that already.”

Levi traced the curve of her ass as she spoke. His cock had stiffened under the waistband of his briefs the second he saw her perched on his bed. Seeing her there felt as much like a fantasy as a vision from the future. That second part he didn’t understand; it pushed him into an area he didn’t think about often. Didn’t have time to think about.

“I only notice one gorgeous person,” he said, and it wasn’t a lie. Normally, in the six weeks he’d known Riley, he’d have six new notches on his bedpost. He’d hit the scene hard in LA the second he got here, but after he met Riley…that changed. Without him even deciding it.

“You don’t have to flatter me,” she said into his ear, which made his cock twitch. “You got me alone in your bedroom—your work is done.”

“Oh, no. Far from done.” He kissed a path along her jawline, then back up to her impossibly soft lips. “It’s just beginning.”

He snagged her lips in another kiss. Urgency rushed through him, and he was so eager and anxious and hungry for her all at once that he could have fucking unraveled.

His composure snapped. All the remaining patience, gone. He’d waited six weeks for her to send him one heated glance, and he wasn’t about to delay this any longer.

“Jesus, Riley,” he groaned once the kiss broke. “I need you to take this dress off.” He slid his hands further up her thighs, pushing the fabric of her dress all the way up to her hips. Black satin panties awaited him underneath. All the air in his lungs escaped him in a whoosh. “Were these for me too?”

She laughed throatily, and he took the opportunity to trail kisses up her neck.

“I might have had you in mind,” she whispered, dragging her fingertips back and forth over his bicep. “Though I didn’t honestly believe you’d see them tonight.”

“Really? You mean you didn’t know it was over the second you stepped into the dressing room?” His kisses wandered down over her collarbone, then down to the valley between her breasts. He needed more of her—now. He pushed his hands beneath the sides of her panties, unable to break the stream of kisses for even a moment.

A laugh escaped her, followed by a shiver as he bunched the dress up to her natural waist. He plunged his tongue in to meet hers. Electricity skated through his limbs. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted someone this much. This intensely. He was losing a piece of his mind.

“How did you know?” she asked, tipping her head back again as his kisses drifted down her neck. “That I—you know—”

“The way you looked at me.” He buried his face between her breasts, then took a soft bite of her cleavage. He groaned, pushing the dress higher, up to the line of her bra. “Oh, damn. Let me—” he tugged the dress up and over her head. She giggled when the fabric crested her head. He tossed the teal garment aside, groaning appreciatively as his hands roamed the newly exposed skin. Her black satin panties matched her black satin bra, a detail that sent his mind spinning.

“Fuck.” His lips found the dip between her breasts again. “What was I saying?”

“I have no idea.” Her head lolled back. He took a soft bite at her neck, and she moaned.

Yeah. This was going to be a great night.

Levi shifted, grunting as he slid out from underneath her to lay her back on the bed. The air whooshed out of him as her weight left his arms, and he crumpled to her side.

“Damn. Do I weigh that much?”

He laughed into her shoulder, tried to prop himself up, but his wrists protested the decision. His entire body wanted to shut down. But that didn’t mesh with his plans, which involved continued physical exertion, possibly until daybreak.

“It’s not you, I swear.” He sucked at his teeth as he pushed to sitting, moving his shoulder in a slow circle. His whole upper back burned.

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