Not So Suddenly Soulmates, page 11
Her knee bounced as they got closer to the restaurant.
Levi pulled the golf cart up to the valet area and hurried around to help her down. “Stop worrying.” He kissed her check.
“How can I not worry when you might be having second thoughts? This could be over before it really begins.” She grasped his arms. “Levi, I—”
He covered her mouth with his, his tongue sliding between her parted lips.
Rhi melted into him.
“A private dinner on the beach would be more suitable for that kind of kissing.”
Rhi pulled away from Levi and blushed as she turned to see her cousins Liam and Link grinning at her. They both wore the official Edgerly Island valet uniform. “Uncle Len finally put you two to work?” Her grandparents owned and still lived on the island, but her Uncle Len ran the day-to-day operations. Her aunts Leann and Levina both split their time between the island and the states.
Liam shrugged. “I run the entertainment at the resort, and Link’s been working to make the island self-sustainable. Hell, all the electricity here is run from solar panels and windmills now. But we also fill in where we’re needed.” The staff lived on the island as well, and when one got sick, there was always someone to fill in.
“That’s amazing.” Rhi smiled. “You two remember Levi, don’t you?”
“How could we not?” Link laughed and shook Levi’s hand. “The three of us got in tons of trouble back in the day.”
Liam did the same. “But you two weren’t kissing the last time you were here, and I haven’t seen the social media queen updating the world on her new relationship status, so is this a hush hush kinda thing?”
“Try more like a brand new kinda thing.” Levi chuckled. “This is our first date.”
“Well, shit, we’re keeping them from doing more than kissing.” Link put his arms around both their shoulders and led them into the restaurant. “Alban, private family table for these two. This is my cousin Rhi and Levi’s her date.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am and sir.” He gave a slight bow. “Right this way.”
Rhi and Levi waved to the twins and followed Alban to a private dining area off to one side. They stopped in front of a recessed wraparound booth with curtains to block the view of other patrons.
Rhi slid into the back of the booth.
Levi followed and settled in next to her.
Alban handed them menus. “Your waitress will be with you soon. Can I get you drinks?”
“Moscato for Rhi, Cabernet Sauvignon for me.”
“Very well.” Alban bowed again and disappeared.
Rhi turned in her seat and folded her leg under her. “Are you having second thoughts?”
He took her hands. “I don’t want to lose my best friend but that’s not going to stop me from seeing where this goes. I enjoy kissing you too much.”
“I can deal with that ’cause I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Are you going to let me order for you?”
Rhi perused the menu. “The maple glazed chicken sounds good.”
“Right. You’re going to choose a boring chicken breast over steak and lobster?” Levi quirked his brow.
“Well, I mean, when you put it that way.” She chuckled. This was just Levi. Nothing was going to change except some of what they did together.
“You look amazing.” He brushed a stray hair behind her ear.
She blushed. “Thank you.”
Levi caressed her cheek. “You never blush with me.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t usually compliment me like that.”
“Well, I should have. You’ve always been beautiful, Rhi.” He kissed her forehead.
The waitress appeared and placed their drinks on the table. “Do you know what you want?”
“We’ll both have the steak and lobster, the steak rare. And can we have some unsweetened tea to go with that?” Levi put his arm around Rhi.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“No, we’re good. Thank you.” Levi gave the waitress a smile before she slipped through the curtain.
As she sat with Levi, Rhi’s mind went blank. Her throat grew drier and drier the longer they sat there. Her breath caught. Good Lord, how many first dates had she been on? This shouldn’t be this hard. She cleared her throat, grabbed her drink, and took a sip. The cold liquid lodged in her throat and she barely had time to grab a napkin before she coughed some of it up.
“Are you okay?” Levi handed her another napkin.
She took it, cleared her throat a few times, and finally caught her breath so she to speak. “Tell me what you like to do in your spare time?”
Levi quirked a brow at her. “You okay?”
“Well, I had to break the tension somehow…I was choking on it.”
“You choked on wine—not tension.” He winked at her. “And why is there tension? We do this on a regular basis.”
“Just without the possibility of it going anywhere.” She snuggled in closer to him.
“And that makes a difference because? Talk to me. What would we be talking about if this wasn’t a first date?”
“What do we want to do the rest of the week?” She smiled. He’s right. No reason to stress about this.
“Tell me what you want to do. I was hoping we could do some jet skiing. Maybe some island hopping?”
“Yes! I want to go over to the bird sanctuary on the next island over. Oh, and there’s the cove. It’s my favorite spot here and I don’t think I’ve ever shown you.” Rhi took his hand. “When I was a teenager, I’d disappear there to get away from the crazy family.”
“While I was out causing trouble with the twins.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind checking out the farm to see all the upgrades Link’s done.”
“Right! And Liam’s always been up on the latest and greatest entertainment. We can head over to the resort tomorrow and see what he has planned.”
“Check out the music scene. I think I remember seeing something about a movie on the beach?”
“I’d rather do something at our own beach. Less people to run into.”
“Less people seems to lead to more kissing.” He caressed her cheek.
“Kind of thinking that sounds like a good idea. I happen to like kissing you.”
He leaned in, his lips inches from hers. “Me too.”
The waitress cleared her throat as she set their plates down in front of them. “I hope you enjoy the food as much as you seem to be enjoying each other’s company.” She gave a slight bow and disappeared as quietly as she’d appeared.
“Let’s do something private after this.”
“Skinny dipping on the private beach?”
“I believe your words earlier were ‘why? we have suits.’” Her body heated as an image of the two of them came to her mind.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Levi whispered.
Rhi couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. She bumped his shoulder with her own. “Then I guess we should eat quickly.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
LEVI
June 9th
Levi held Rhi’s hand as they stood staring out over the sea as the waves gently washed on the shore. “It’s a beautiful night.”
“The company’s nice too.” She frowned. “It’s super shallow here. You can walk out a hundred feet or more before it goes above our knees.”
“Trying to talk me out of the skinny dipping?” He grinned at her.
“I mean, if you want to get naked within eyesight of my mother, you go right ahead.”
Levi laughed. “No thank you. What about the pool? You still up for a swim?”
“That sounds perfect.” She squeezed his hand as they turned back to the pool.
“You want to do the island-hopping thing tomorrow morning? We can go check out that bird sanctuary, and I’ll let you drag me shopping.” He teased but shopping with Rhi was never terrible. She was in and out of most places in a snap. If there were antiques, though, she could get lost for hours.
“Works for me. I’d like to take you to the cove when we get back. It’s rather secluded and not too many people know about it.”
“Secluded cove with my new girlfriend. Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Edgerly?” He dropped her shoes on one of the chairs next to the pool and faced her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Seduction won’t be necessary tomorrow. I plan on doing all my seducing tonight.” She kissed his lips then laid a single kiss in the dip of his throat near his Adam’s Apple.
He groaned. “Not fair…you know all my spots already.”
“It is fair because you know all of mine too.”
Levi spun her, so her back was facing him. If she was going to play dirty, so was he. He played his fingers over the muscles of her neck. Gently massaging until she moaned. His lips and tongue followed the same path his fingers just had.
Her legs buckled and she clutched his shoulder.
He wrapped his other arm around her waist, rubbing circles through her dress just above her hip bone.
She moaned. “You’re right. This isn’t fair.”
“You want me to stop?” He nipped her earlobe.
“No.” Her voice was no more than a breathless whisper.
“Too bad.” He left her on one of the lawn chairs and stripped down to his boxer briefs.
Rhi sat there staring at him. “What are you doing? And why did you stop?”
“I seem to remember plans of swimming.”
“Yeah, but that was before…” Rhi stopped and pulled her dress over her head revealing a strapless teal bikini that tied in the front. She tossed her dress on the chair.
Levi’s gaze swept over her body. “Nice.”
“But you haven’t been nice.” Rhi strode over to him and placed her hands on his chest.
Levi smiled. “Never.” He caught both her hands as she shoved him backwards, pulling her into the water with him.
They both came up sputtering. “What was that for?” Rhi laughed, brushing her hair out of her face.
“Because you weren’t about to push me in?” Levi pulled her to him.
“Well, of course I was but you weren’t supposed to pull me in too.” She pushed him back. “No, you don’t get to make my knees go weak again.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be seducing me?” He dove under the water, swam to the other end of the pool and back, coming up behind her to embrace her again.
The thin fabric of his underwear did nothing to hide his erection pressing against her back. He wanted her more than anyone before. And there was no doubt in his mind he wanted more than a one-night stand.
His lips came down on the back of her neck again, and she tilted her head to give him better access. His hand grazed across her ribs, grabbed the tie on her bikini top, and undid it with one tug.
She gasped and her hands flew to her chest. “Levi!” She turned around, one hand covering her breasts and the other grasping for her top.
“What?” He threw the top on the deck as he backed her against the wall of the pool. “You were the one who suggested skinny dipping.”
“Yeah but we also didn’t want to do it in view of my parents.”
Even in the pale moonlight, he could see her skin flush. Her lips begged to be kissed.
She folded her arms over her chest to cover herself.
Levi brushed her wet hair away from her face with one hand and touched her arm with the other. “Let me see you. There’s no reason to hide from me.”
“I…I thought we were waiting?”
“Do you want to?” He took a step away from her. The last thing he wanted to do was stop but he would.
“N-no.” She reached out and pulled him back toward her, still covering her breasts.
Levi drew her into a hug and kissed her forehead. No matter how much he wanted her, he wasn’t going to do it if there was even the slightest bit of fear.
He reached behind her to grab her top off the deck. “Do you want help putting this on?”
“No, I want you.”
“You’re scared about something. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Please, Levi. I want you. Seriously.”
He hugged her tight. “Not tonight.”
She took her top from him and turned around to put it back on. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I know you well enough to know when you’re scared, and the last thing I want is for you to regret making love to me.”
“The last thing I’m going to do is regret this.”
“Good then you’ll have a negative amount of regret if we wait.”
Rhi turned toward him and snorted. “Negative regret?”
He shrugged. “All the blood in my body is in the wrong head to be coming up with something clever.”
She secured her bikini top and groaned. “You’re stopping? No chance I could get your motor running again?” She ran her fingers down his chest.
“The motor never stopped running but we’re not going there tonight.” He hopped up onto the deck and reached down to help her out. “We should have brought towels.”
“I shouldn’t have been hesitant.” Rhi picked up her dress and shoes from the chair.
“You can’t help how you feel. And I don’t want any fear when we do go there.” He gathered his own clothes and offered her his hand. “Would you like me to stay with you? After my cold shower?”
Rhi’s face brightened. “I knew you wouldn’t give up that easily.”
“Not giving up at all. Just making sure you’re ready.” He caressed her cheek. “And I don’t care how many cold showers I have to take. It’s not happening tonight.” He kissed her lips—a single peck—then pulled away, put his arm around her, and led her back to their cabin.
Chapter Twenty-Five
RHI
June 10th
Rhi sat in the living area in the main pavilion, waiting for Levi.
Her mom came in and joined her on the couch. “What are your plans for the evening?”
“I want to take Levi to the cove while we’re still here but it’s hard to get to in the dark.” She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands.
“You’re disappointed.” Her mother rubbed her back. “Tell him.”
“It’s not that. We can go tomorrow. I messed up last night. We were getting pretty hot and heavy and I guess I looked scared or something and he stopped.”
“Most women would find that endearing. He didn’t make you continue even though you were unsure. He put your needs before his own.”
Rhi let out a deep breath. Her mother was right, no matter how much she didn’t want to admit it. How many times had she wished for a guy who did what Levi did? “I didn’t want him to stop.”
“It’s not like there won’t be other times. Seduce him. Make sure he knows you want him as much as he wants you.”
“But what if he sees the same look on my face like he did last night?”
“You’re telling me there was no doubt in your mind last night about taking the next step with your best friend. You weren’t scared sex could irreversibly change everything between you two?”
“Okay, maybe there was a little fear. But I don’t think that’s going to change until after it happens.”
“Then talk to him about it. He needs to know how you’re feeling.”
Rhi hugged her mother. “I hate that you’re right.”
Jen laughed. “I’ve seen the in-love-with-my-best-friend thing play out before.” She hugged her daughter back.
The door opened and Levi inched through. “How embarrassing would this conversation have been for me?” He came around the couch and kissed both women on the cheeks.
“Why do you think we’re talking about you?” Jen winked.
“Don’t you always?”
Rhi snorted. “Not always but we were this time.”
“I may have lost my sleazeball card last night but it was only a matter of time.” He grinned and plopped into the armchair.
“I don’t think you’ve ever had a sleazeball card.” Jen patted him on the back.
“I can name quite a few women who’d disagree with you.”
“That’s because they didn’t take you seriously when you said you didn’t do more than one-night stands.” Rhi scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t want to think of him with other women.
“Hey, I know we talked about going to the cove but I figured we could go over to the resort instead since it’s getting late. They’re showing all three of the original Star Wars movies on the beach.”
Rhi frowned. “I know it’s my favorite to binge but I thought we didn’t want to be around a bunch of people.”
“It’s a private island, Rhi.” Jen chuckled.
Levi nodded. “She has a point. And I can’t see there being a ton of Star Wars nerds here.”
“Lex and Chelsea will be there.”
“So? We’ll tease them about making out then do it ourselves.” Levi laughed. “Come on…I know how much you love the movies. I’ll be the Han to your Leia. Tell me you love me.”
“I do love you.” She laughed.
He stood and did his best Harrison Ford impression. “I know.”
“And you’re an ass.”
“I know that too.” He grasped her hands, pulled her to her feet, and gave her a quick kiss. “Come on, nerd queen. Let’s go be extra nerdy.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
LEVI
June 13th
Levi stared into the refrigerator and groaned. He slammed the door shut and raked a hand through his hair. He wasn’t even hungry. Well, not for food at least.
“Hey, you have time to sign some papers for me?” Leon strolled to the table and grabbed a stack of papers.
“Sure.” He sat down, welcoming the distraction
