Page 94 of Taken By Storm

Tiredness gave way to temper as she flung the door open and stepped back out into the relentless rain. She slammed the door closed, then kicked the front tire for good measure, cussing a blue streak.

“Mother fucking piece of shit!” She beat her fists down on the hood, these new tears driven by anger rather than sadness. “Goddammit!”

Headlights cut through her tirade, and she let her fury take control as Levi parked his truck behind hers.

He climbed out and walked over to her.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

Levi frowned, clearly taken aback by her anger.

“Truck break down?” he asked.

“No, Levi. I always use it for a punching bag in the middle of fucking storms.” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. Kasi wiped the rain out of her face, pulling the wet strands of hair stuck to her cheeks away with a quick swipe of her hands.

“You crying?”

Kasi blinked a few times before she realized she was. Her tears mixed with the rain, slipping down her face. She wiped her eyes again as she shook her head. “No. It’s the rain,” she lied. “Why are you here?”

“You know why? We have a conversation to finish.”

Kasi shook her head wearily because the idea of trying to have any sort of rational conversation was beyond her right now. She was fucking done in. Period. “I don’t want to talk. I don’t have anything to say.”

“You’ve got a lot to say. Get in the truck,” Levi said, gesturing to his vehicle. “I’ll take you home.”

“Why? So you can try to fuck some sense into me again?” Kasi taunted, unaware of the effect that challenge would have on her until her face flushed and her nipples beaded. She’d loved every single second of her time with Levi in the pantry. The only time her thoughts calmed was when she was with him. He brought a peace to her world that had been absent since the day her mother died.

Levi raked his wet hair out of his face as he stepped closer, studying her face with an intensity that told her he could see right through her. The rain hadn’t abated a bit. Actually, she thought it might be coming down harder.

“Is that what you need?”

She tilted her face as Levi moved into her personal space, less than a foot separating them. “What if it is?” Kasi’s heart refused to give up, refused to believe that things were over between them. She needed him.

Levi grasped her shoulders, pulling her breasts to his chest as he lowered his head and kissed her hard enough to bruise.

Kasi gripped Levi by the hair, closing her hands in it tightly. Then, she bit Levi’s lower lip, the taste of a metallic tang telling her she’d drawn blood.

Levi pulled away. “So it’s like that, is it?”

She nodded, her eyes narrowed.

“Fine. Run.”

“What?”

“You plan on running from this thing between us. I can see it in your eyes. But I think you need a lesson.”

Kasi’s heart raced, not with fear but desire. “Lesson?”

“You can run, little bear. But I’ll always chase you. And I willalwayscatch you.”

Holy shit. Every horrible feeling evaporated as Kasi gave in. She wanted to be his prey, and sweet Jesus, she wanted him to catch her.

She twisted, darting away from the truck, running quickly. She expected Levi to pounce immediately, so she was surprised when she made it to the corner of the fruit stand, hiding on the far side behind a pile of old rotted baskets without being captured. He was toying with her, giving her a head start.

So. Fucking. Hot.

Kasi quickly weighed her options, not wanting the chase to end too quickly. Unfortunately, the area surrounding the stand was open farmland, no trees, nothing to offer a hiding spot except the stand and their vehicles.

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