Page 46 of Break Away
Why wasn’t Zoey Hardesty getting a clue?Charissa had seen her at the post office and made a stab at beingfriendly even while trying to find out if the stupid womanconsidered Levi her boyfriend. Damn the clerk for calling the nextcustomer before Zoey could respond. Charissa thought the LookBookpost on the city’s community page would causesomethingtohappen. Levi must have seen it. Why didn’t he realize howinappropriate the hippie woman was for him? Apparently, subtletywasn’t going to get the point across. Charissa needed to be moredirect. That’s why she’d followed Levi after softball practice.
Sitting in her car in a corner of the parkinglot of Gio’s Pizza, she’d watched and waited. She could see throughthe back window of the restaurant all those police officers withtheir wives or girlfriends. There were even female cops, which shethought was stupid. That wasn’t a proper job for a woman.
Levi had walked outside with Zoey, andCharissa had slid down in her seat, but neither of them had noticedher. Oh, how she had wanted to be the woman with Levi. She’d dressbetter than that slut, plus she was taller and better suited to bewith Levi.
One day Charissa be the one sitting next toLevi. He’d want to hold hands because he wouldn’t be able to bearnot touching her. He’d steal kisses, and she’d have to pretend toshoo him away. Then she’d laugh and kiss him back. All the while,their friends would be looking on with a touch of envy at how closeshe and Levi were, how obviously in love.
Zoey and Levi had stood together next to thewoman’s hippie car, talking for several minutes. Something in theirposture, the way they were standing a bit closer than peoplenormally stood, the way Levi had reached out and touched her arm,had intensified the sick churning in Charissa’s stomach.
She’d rooted around in her purse and pulledout the little white bottle and popped three of the pills in hermouth. Taking the prescribed single pill wasn’t getting the jobdone. She had no idea how many she had already consumed that day.The water bottle in the cup holder had been in the car allafternoon and had been warm, but she’d used it to wash down thepills anyway, swallowing the tablets that were her only relief fromthe constant knot in her stomach.
Zoey had pulled out first, then Levi hadfollowed her, looking like a sexy bad boy on that motorcycle. Shehadn’t needed to follow them because she knew where they lived.She’d waited five minutes, then had driven to their houses, turningoff her headlights when she was close enough to creep up to thedriveway. That’s when she’d spied them on the porch and that bitchZoey had yanked Levi close to kiss him like the slut she was. Aroaring had started in Charissa’s ears that had blocked out anyother thoughts.
She’d slammed her car into gear, then flooredit into the driveway, tires spinning in the gravel. It wassatisfying how they’d jumped apart like they’d been caught doingsomething dirty. She’d had the insane urge to stomp on the gaspedal and ram the car into the porch, anything to disrupt thatkiss. But she’d lost her nerve when Levi had jumped down the stairsand grabbed his helmet.
She’d sped down the road at breakneck speed,her breath coming in gulps, the single headlight of the motorcycleappearing in her rearview mirror. She’d turned onto the highway,cutting off a semi, grimacing when the angry driver laid on thehorn. Desperation had her speeding up to pass another car. She’ddriven recklessly, she knew that, but she’d been desperate to getaway. As much as she wanted Levi’s attention, she knew he wouldn’tunderstand. Her street had appeared and she’d made the turn, hopinghe was too far back to see, and sure enough, she’d lost him.
She drained her glass and picked up thebottle. Huh. It was already empty. She got up, holding the back ofher chair when the room spun, then walked slowly to the cupboardwhere she carefully stored her bottles lying on their sides.
Everyone knew you laid wine on its side tokeep the cork wet. When she and Levi were married they’d get one ofthose fancy wine racks she’d seen in a magazine. She picked out abottle, Stella Rosa this time, and once uncorked, topped off herglass.
For her plans to come to fruition, ZoeyHardesty would have to be dealt with. Charissa had been plotting tomarry into the Gallagher clan for years, taking little actions hereand there, but being patient. She’d miscalculated when Brad hadbeen more serious about Emmaline Kincaid than she had given himcredit for.
Charissa wasn’t going to make that samemistake with Levi.
He was hers, and she wasn’t going toshare.
***
Levi should have gone to the cabin and bed,gone to the brewpub and hung out, gone anywhere but where he was.He felt on edge, wired from the chase, worried about Zoey, and notable to get that kiss out of his head. Even knowing the odds werethat he’d get a door slammed in his face, he knocked on thedoor.
He heard Lucy’s bark and then her snufflingnoises, then Zoey’s quiet murmur.
“Zoey, it’s me.” His voice soundedhoarse.
She opened the door, Lucy at her side, and heswept her with a look. Men’s boxer shorts, a yellow t-shirt withtext that read “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” and her wild black curlsescaping from a ponytail. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anythinghotter.
Add the challenge in her expression and shewas irresistible.
“Did you catch the car?”
“No. I tailed it to the highway, but thedriver almost killed him or herself when he cut off a semi to getaway.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “It’s alight-colored SUV crossover. Not much help.”
“Okay. Thanks for trying, Levi.” Herend-of-conversation tone didn’t match the hungry look in her eyes,but he was betting on the latter.
“You going to invite me in?”
The question hung in the air, both aware ofwhat he was asking. Her gaze locked on his, the moment stretchingas they silently took each other in, her internal battle evident inher turbulent dark eyes. Then she moved back to hold the door openwider. He stepped past her, and when she shut the door and turnedthe lock, he could feel the answering click like a physical openingof his heart.
He moved in and she met him halfway. Hismouth crashed down on hers in a wild tangle of lips and tongue, hishands cruising over the curve of her hips, over her ass. He boostedher so their lips could more easily reach, hitching her up with herback against the door. His need was raw and powerful, urged on bythe heat generated wherever they touched. With her hands in hishair and the blood roaring in his ears, a bomb could have gone offon the other side of the door and he wouldn’t have noticed.
He wanted to feast but forced himself to slowdown, to make sure she was with him. He moved a knee between herlegs and let her rest on his thigh so he could free his hands. Withboth palms framing her face, he used his thumbs to brush along hercheekbones. Her eyes were open and aware, and the way she rubbedagainst his leg was making him crazy. He reined in the urge to takewhat was his, and asked, “You good with this?”
He saw the hesitation and thought that wasthe end, that by asking he’d given her the moment she’d needed toregain her senses. But then her hands went to his face to pull himdown to her. “Oh yeah,” she spoke the words against his lips.
Her sweet mouth went wild and met his in akiss that ignited his blood. He boosted her once more, this time alittle higher. She raised her legs to wrap them around his hips,pressing her heat against his rock-hard erection, and his bloodroared in his ears. He should slow it down, savor their first time,but he couldn’t get his actions to obey the orders from hisbrain.
Not that Zoey seemed to have any thoughts ofslowing down. Her hands slid under his shirt to skim over the skinof his back, then tugged it up and over his head. “Oh yeah,” shemurmured again as she dipped her head to press her lips to hiscollarbone. She ran her hands through the hair on his chest, thenducked her head to use her tongue on his nipple.
