Page 278 of Most Eligible Billionaire CEO

I wipe them away.

I bite my lower lip hard enough to draw blood in my attempt to keep my own tears at bay.

“Linc followed my cue. He has a stunning La Catrina tattooed on his back—an exact replica of mine. Instead of the generic Day of the Dead girl, I asked Rod’s artist to use a portrait of our mom. The pain was excruciating. Every needle point hurt like a bitch, but now, they’re with me forever.”

“Oh, Levi…”

They say you don’t know what it’s like until you walk in someone else’s shoes. I’ve walked in Levi’s shoes. When people find out I lost both my parents, they’re usually quick to extend their condolences. This is the first time I find myself in a position where I take on someone else’s sorrow as my own.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted so much,” I say, guilt squeezing at my chest.

“My tattoos are hard to miss,” he says. “This being LA, a lot of people assume it’s random art. You were willing to dig deeper. And honestly, I didn’t mind telling you because it’s something we share in common.”

I just nod.

“I became a club member at Rod’s insistence,” he says. “Dark Compulsion…” His words trail.

The silence that stretches is awkward, damn near deafening.

“The club allows me to keep things simple with zero expectations,” he says. “It’s what I needed at the time. I couldn’t offer more. After losing Mom and Annmarie, I closed the door shut to anything that could bring me that much pain. I don’t date because nothing lasts forever. Getting close to someone and then losing them is unbearable.”

His words are like an arrow to my heart.

I screw my eyes shut in an attempt to forget his words, which are still hanging heavy in the air. I don’t want him to read my utter devastation.

This is all on me.

He made me no other promises than to help me forget this dreadful day by giving me a few orgasms. Mission accomplished. He never promised more. My mind––and my heart––conjured more because it’s never been like this before with any other man. It’s just my luck it happens to be with a man who’s closed his heart.

Chapter 14

Levi

My hand keeps stirring the liquid in my cup, but I’m miles away.

A hand waves in front of me.

I jerk my head back in surprise.

“Earth to Levi,” a man’s voice startles me, snapping me back to reality.

My eyes bounce up at a familiar face, staring at me, puzzled.

“Rod,” I blink, scouring around the coffee shop from where I’m standing at the prep station. It’s as if I forgot where I was for a brief moment.

My buddy’s brown eyes shift from mine to the large latte.

“Is everything okay?” he asks carefully.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” I lie.

“Fine?” he scoffs. “You’ve been stirring that thing for ages,” he points out. “Not to mention, you’re lost in space. I had to call out your name three times before you heard me.” Shit. “So spare me the bullshit lie. Clearly, something is up, Levi.”

Rod is not one to mince words.

“I had a rough night,” I tell him truthfully.

He frowns. “Want to talk about it?”

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