Page 20 of Well Played

His eyes met mine, and his stare burned the damn skin off my arms.

“I suppose I can understand that,” I whispered.

Levi rubbed his index finger along the rim of his empty shot glass. “When I was younger and first starting out in the NFL…yeah, the sex aspect was exciting because it was new. I didn’t care as much about what was up here back then.” He pointed to his head. “You know? But as I get older, I need more mental stimulation to get me off. Sometimes you just want to have a fucking conversation with someone, or hang out without having sex and just watch a movie. Everyone has this impression of what being with me is like, and I always feel pressured not to disappoint them. Sometimes all I want to do is to just fuckingbe—just talk, or sit in comfortable silence with someone I trust.” He sighed. “That’s not easy to find at all.”

What he’d just said hit me in the feels, but I tried not to show it. Instead I joked, “You poor baby. It must be so hard being you.”

He bent his head back in laughter. “I know. Woe is me, right?”

“I’m kidding,” I said. “Honestly, I never gave much thought to how difficult it would be for someone in your shoes to trust. I always assumed you had the pick of the litter. But I guess that’s just on the surface, huh?”

“You know how when you were a kid and got birthday money to go to the toy store, you couldn’t figure out what to get? You had enough to get almost anything in the place, but for some reason because youhadthe money that day, there was nothing you wanted? That’s sort of what it’s like. It’s too easy sometimes. I like a challenge. At the same time, if I found her now—that special person—how would I know she’d want to be with me if I wasn’t Levi Miller?”

As much as I’d teased him a minute earlier, I did feel bad that he saw things this way. It must suck to never know who to trust or who might be using you.

“Do you sometimes regret your career?”

He bounced his head back and forth silently. “That’s tough to say. I don’t regret getting to play for a living. In that sense, I’m living the dream. But I could do without some of the other bullshit that goes with it. The problem is, you can’t have it both ways, and it’s futile to think about now anyway.”

“Yeah.”

“But I do know the right person for me would have to be someone who doesn’t give a shit about Levi Miller the quarterback. Because a career in the NFL has a shelf life. As my brother knows all too well, it can end in an instant.”

The mention of Tanner sent a wave of guilt through me. I was enjoying this intimate conversation with his brother a little too much right now.

Levi once again looked me straight in the eyes. “Part of my negative feelings toward you in the beginning were because I thought you’d left Tanner when things got bad—even though that never lined up with the way I remembered you, the type of person I believed you were. I’m sorry for making assumptions.”

“I would never have left your brother, Levi. I loved him. But he betrayed me twice. And those are just the times I know of. His lying was the reason it didn’t work out. I can assure you it had nothing to do with his injury.”

His stare was penetrating. “I know that now.” Then he shook his head, seeming to snap out of it. “Anyway, this conversation is way too deep for nearly four in the morning. You’d better get some sleep before Alex wakes up.”

As much as I didn’t want to leave, I pretended to agree. “Yeah. I’d better.”

“Take the guest room,” he insisted.

“I injured you, remember? You need the comfortable bed.”

“Not up for negotiation, Presley. Take the bed.”

“Thank you.” I smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

As I turned around and headed to the room, I felt my entire body buzzing with desire. Hearing Levi say he wanted more than just sex with a woman made me want to have sex with him, if that made any sense. I was losing my mind. Then when I lay down in the guest bed, I immersed myself in his scent. His cologne had infiltrated the bedding where he’d been sleeping earlier.

Damn.

I tossed and turned in the sheets, moving my legs around and thinking about our time together in the kitchen—the way he’d demanded that I sit, the way he was looking at me, the way he so very directly asked me about sex. There was something so unapologetic about it all, and somehow I knew he would be the exact same way in bed. I suddenly imagined him bending me over his knee and smacking my ass so hard it burned.

What in the ever-loving fuck, Presley?

Somehow the thought of that led to me closing my eyes and imagining his naked body over me. He was physical perfection. I slipped my hand down my panties and began circling my clit as I imagined what his cock would feel like sinking into me. When I’d shined my flashlight on his crotch earlier, I’d gotten a clear view of his bulge. I could tell he was massive.

It took me all of one minute to give myself one of the most intense orgasms I’d had in ages. I continued to throb between my legs and wondered if I needed another round to calm down enough to sleep.

Panting, I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

You just got off thinking about Tanner’s brother. Real nice.

---