Page 39 of Taken By Storm

“I know you do, little bear. But this is just another one of those things you’re going to have to stay mad at me for because I’m not giving you the receipts.”

“How much was it?”

Levi ignored her, tilting his head toward her plate. “Finish eating.”

The gnawing anxiety she felt whenever she thought about money was back. Now she wasn’t just in debt to the town but to Levi as well. Freaking awesome. “I’m full.”

Levi pushed her plate closer to her. “Finish every bite.”

The stern look he gave her told Kasi this was yet another argument she wouldn’t win. She picked up the sandwich and took a large bite. Then another and another, until it was gone. Once the plate was clear, he pushed the bowl of soup closer. She scowled at him but didn’t complain, picking up her spoon and shoveling in every drop of that as well.

“Good girl,” he murmured, once she’d finished eating, his words sending her straight back to her sexy dream.

Levi cleared the table, putting the dishes in the sink before returning to his chair.

“I sure as hell like those blushes of yours.”

Kasi raised her hands, covering her cheeks.

“Which reminds me,” he said, reaching across the table to pull her hands down, gripping them in his firm grasp. “You never did tell me what I was doing to you in that dream of yours. From the way you were breathing heavy and squirming around, it must have been something good.”

“I’m not saying. It’s too…mortifying.”

Levi shook his head. “Nothing between us is embarrassing, Kasi. This is who we’re going to be to each other. There’s not a thought, dream, worry, or fear of yours I don’t want to hear about. And the same holds true for me. I’m going to tell youeverything. We’re going to dig so deep into each other, we won’t know where I end and you begin.”

Kasi couldn’t quite make herself believe all the incredible things Levi was saying. For one thing, his abrupt about-face when it came to their relationship status was giving her whiplash. For another, she wasn’t sure she should accept what he was offering. Her life was a shitshow, and it didn’t seem fair to drag him into that.

No matter how much she wanted to.

“Tell me just one thing about it, and I’ll give you one of Mom’s homemade salted caramel cookies.”

Kasi’s eyes flew to the counter, and sure enough, there was a clear plastic tub with half a dozen of her all-time favorite cookies. “You would deprive a woman with a concussion her favorite cookie?”

Levi’s eyes crinkled, amused by her attempt at guilting him out of a treat. “I absolutely would.”

“You’re a monster.”

Levi tightened his grip on her hands. “Maybe so, but you can’t deny you like my monster. He gets you all hot and bothered, doesn’t he? Tell me something, little bear. If I had slipped my fingers into those cute panties of yours right after you woke up, how wet would you have been?”

Soaking,she thought.

Drenched.

Then she realized that state hadn’t changed. Watching him cook for her shirtless had kept her arousal going strong.

Despite the flames licking her face, Kasi gave Levi what he asked for. Or at least a crumb. “I was dreaming about those consequences you’ve mentioned.”

Levi’s dark eyes went black. “You dreamt of me spanking you?”

She nodded, looking away.

Levi didn’t let her get away with it, cupping her jaw, forcing her to face him. “Were you over my lap?”

Kasi shook her head, suddenly wishing she had been. “I was bent over the kitchen table at my farmhouse.”

Levi swallowed deeply, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob. “Were your pants down around your ankles?”

“Not while you were spanking me, but after…” She paused, reimagining her dream with his vision of how it would go down.

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