Page 86 of Well Played

“Yeah, sure. Go do whatever you need to.” Tanner smirked. “Orwhoever you need to.”

I probably should’ve walked to the bar a few blocks away and finished getting shitfaced, but instead I went to my room, unable to bring myself to leave the inn. Since my room was at the far end of the hall, away from the common areas of the house, I couldn’t hear when Presley came back. Which was probably just as well.

But an hour or so later, there was a light knock at my door. I opened it to find Presley.

She glanced back over her shoulder. “Can I come in?”

I debated saying no for about two whole seconds, but who the hell was I kidding? I was incapable of turning this woman away.

So I stepped aside and held my hand out.

Inside, she stared down at the floor. “This is such a mess. I don’t know what to do.”

“I do. We need to tell him.”

Presley’s eyes flared as she looked up. “No, we can’t!”

I raked a hand through my hair. “If I have to watch him put his hands on you or listen to him call youbabeone more time, I’m going to lose it.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. But I don’t know how to make him stop. You’ve heard me tell him to knock it off. I’m not doing anything to encourage him.”

“No? You don’t think playing two-hand touch with a man who has made it known he wants to touch you all over is encouraging him? Or making his favorite meal for dinner in the house you invited him to stay with you in?”

“I madeyouyour favorite dinner.”

I scoffed. “That’s not what he thinks.”

“I don’t care what he thinks.”

“Good.” I put my hands on my hips. “Then we’re in agreement. If you don’t give a shit what he thinks, we’ll tell him.”

“Levi, don’t twist my words. You’re not being fair.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Fair? You know what’s not fair? Having to answer my brother when he asks me for advice on how to get you back.”

Presley closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath. “God, I’m sorry.”

“Are you? Because I’m starting to think maybe you just want to keep your options open.”

She pursed her lips and glared at me. “You know that’s not true. Stop being an asshole.”

“Tell me,babe. If I go down on you, are you going to moan my name like you usually do, or might Tanner’s slip out?”

If eyes could shoot daggers, I’d be pretty holey at the moment. From the look on her face, I thought I was about to experience the wrath of Presley, but instead she stormed toward the door in silence. I caught her arm as she attempted to pass, knowing I needed to stop her, but not sure what the hell to say.

She spun around, and our eyes locked. So many emotions blazed through my veins: anger, sadness, confusion,terror.Presley’s chest was heaving; she looked as pissed off as I felt. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself, so I could figure out how to fix this, but all it did was bring in a whiff of her perfume.

Fuck.

She smelled so good. Suddenly, the anger coursing through my veins mixed with something else, and composing myself went out the window. I yanked her arm, pulled her against my chest, and used my teeth to capture her mouth.

Fuck.

Like a salve to a wound, her taste soothed the pain away. I felt greedy, wanting all of her to erase the doubts in my mind. Backing her up against the wall, I wrapped my hands around her cheeks and planted my lips over hers. The last two days seemed to disappear as she moaned into my mouth and lifted her legs to wrap around my waist. Her tits pushed against my chest, and she grabbed for the button of my jeans.This.This is what I needed to forget about everything else in the world. When she slipped her fingers into my pants, wrapped them around my cock, and squeezed, the swoosh of blood coursing through my ears was so loud, I wouldn’t have heard the fire alarm.

Though it wasn’t the fire alarm I needed to hear.

It was the knock at my bedroom door.