Levi, Page 2

  "I booked the flight last night. I'm excited to go home for a little while. I enjoy the craziness that is New York, but I miss my small, quiet hometown sometimes." Skye tells me about the next trip she has planned and we talk for hours while I work. I pay invoices, work on next week's schedule, arrange a lunch with Noah and one of the city alderman, and clean up the office, all while taking the occasional phone call and answering client emails about bookings.

  When I lost my job several years ago I never thought I would find a new job as quickly as I did, especially not one I love. Meeting Noah at the bakery that fateful afternoon was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was in no immediate need for cash, but I knew I needed to find a job so I didn't spend my inheritance. Noah gave me this job and working at Forbidden Desires is the longest I've ever held a job. I make mistakes all the time, yet Noah is patient with me. He could have fired me last year after the whole incident with Skye being attacked and secretly working for the company behind his back, but he didn't. I'll forever be grateful for that.

  The sound of the phone ringing makes me glad the office will be closing soon. The phone in the office has been dead for the last fifteen minutes so it pains me to have to answer another phone call. "Forbidden Desires, Incorporated. What's your pleasure?" I try and hold back an irritated groan begging to be released past my lips at the sound of this guy's desperate voice. I'm glad Skye is here because she understands the type of men I have to deal with night after night. Whenever she visits, the evening goes fast and I'm always erupting with laughter. Laughter is good for the soul but not so good when I'm trying to answer the phone for this line of work.

  "This is my last night in town before I have to head back home to Idaho and I need to get laid. Do you have any women available tonight?" I let out another irritated groan. There's always a desperate guy who doesn't quite grasp our services.

  "We don't sell actual sex here, sir. That's illegal. What I can do is check if any female escorts are still available for the evening to offer you companionship."

  "I don't care if you want to call her an escort, prostitute, or hooker, as long as she still gets the job done."

  Like I said. Desperate.

  "Sir, we do not solicit sex here but let me see if an escort is available for the night." I click a couple buttons on the keyboard and watch the monitor to see if we have any last-minute openings. After a careful appraisal, I see we don't.

  "I'm sorry, sir, but it looks like we have no one available for the evening. We book up quickly so it's rare to find an escort available this late at night unless there is a last-minute cancellation. What I can offer you, if you're interested, is a phone date with one of the beautiful women on our PSO staff."

  I hate when these men call last-minute and think they can just get whoever they want sent over to them. Forbidden Desires is as classy as the sex industry gets. Most of our girls get booked weeks in advance and I'm speaking the truth when I say we don't sell the act of physical sex. Our escorts are there to accompany men who need a date for the night. If sex happens on those dates it's completely the escort's decision and we don't want to know anything about it.

  "I guess that will have to do. Are you sure no one is available?"

  "I'm sure, sir," I answer as I dramatically roll my eyes and Skye covers her mouth with her hand to mask her giggle. "I'm going to put you through our automated system. You'll need to follow the prompts and after you put your financial information in you can select one of our friendly and passionate women to talk to. Have a great night and remember to contact us in advance the next time you're in New York."

  I send him to the automated system and look at the clock. It's time to close up. Tossing the key over to Skye I instruct her to lock up and she does. I make quick work of shutting down the computers, phones, and lights and then we wait inside the door for Levi to come walk us down. A member of the security team always walks me out. Noah used to send up whoever was available at the end of the night, but ever since Levi started working for him I've requested Levi be the one to walk me out. I thought Noah would give me shit over the request but he never teased me.

  We only have to wait a few moments before there is a knock at the door. "Kendall, I'm here to walk you out whenever you're ready." Levi's deep masculine voice is muffled behind the office door, but I know it's him. He says the same exact thing to me almost every night.

  "His voice is so...yummy," I whisper.

  "I think you've mentioned that before." Skye smiles. "Instead of admiring his pipes from in here you should probably open the door for him."

  We walk out and I lock up before turning around to see him for the first time tonight. When I look into his hazel eyes with flecks of sea blue and muddy green, he gives me that adorable smile and I swear his dimples dare me to kiss them.

  Levi is huge. I'm talking NFL linebacker huge. His buff arms and broad shoulders practically want to bust from the body-hugging Bar Forbidden t-shirt he's wearing. He's got on a pair of black slacks that are tight around his quads and a pair of black sneakers. It's not the most stylish outfit around but it does a good job at flaunting his perfectly muscular body. He must work out constantly to maintain that body.

  "You're looking sexy tonight, Levi." In the past my flirtatious comments made him blush but now he's used to them.

  "You look beautiful as always, Kendall. The same goes for you, Skye. Can I get you girls a cab?"

  "We're going to have a drink at the bar while I wait for Noah," Skye answers, and we begin to head over to the bar. Bar Forbidden is just one of the many businesses under Forbidden Desires, Incorporated and Noah owns them all. As Noah's secretary, I work in the office and handle the customers who call in for escorts, phone sex operators, strippers, our web cam girls, and the pole dancing classes we just started offering on Tuesday mornings. Across the street from the office is the hottest bar and club in New York. Everyone has heard of Bar Forbidden and Club Desire, and if you're a celebrity in town it's the first place you go.

  Bar Forbidden is your typical bar thrown in the center of the Upper East Side. The place has an old charm to it, with modern touches like the seven flat screen televisions playing a different sporting event on each channel. The lighting is intimate and it's what makes the place so perfect. It's great for a date or a guys' night out.

  If you walk through Bar Forbidden, you'll find the entrance to Club Desire. There's a separate cover to get past the velvet rope, and it's not cheap. If you plan on going in you should plan on spending a small fortune and it's totally worth it. The music is loud and seductive and there are always beautifully flawless women dancing on each stage. It's not a strip club–none of the girls get completely naked. It's more of an erotic dance club. The women on the stage dress in expensive lingerie and dance sensually as the patrons look on.

  What Noah's grandfather created when he started this business was a genius idea, and over the years Noah's perfected it.

  When we walk in, Bar Forbidden is getting ready to shut down for the night. The club will remain open until four but since Skye only agreed to a quick drink we stay in the bar. I walk us back to a round table top and sit down on one of the vintage stools.

  "What do you ladies want?" Levi asks and I notice he doesn't sit down with us. "I'll go get it for you before I get back to work."

  "You don't want to drink with us?" I ask disappointed.

  "I'll have to pass, but thanks for the offer."

  "I want tequila," Skye requests enthusiastically. "Want to do tequila shots, Ken?"

  "Tequila it is!" I shout and Levi turns without a word and heads over to the bar.

  "Look at his ass. You could bounce a quarter off that thing."

  Skye looks his way and agrees. "He does have a nice ass–"

  "Are you looking at another guy's ass, shorty?" Noah interrupts as he comes up behind Skye and wraps his arms around her. His beard rubs against her skin and he kisses her temple before adding, "We haven't even been married long enough for you to
be bored with me."

  He tries to discreetly slip a Hershey's kiss in her hand but I see it, and I know the story behind those kisses. It's incredibly romantic.

  "Kendall was commenting on Levi's ass again, and I was just agreeing with her. The guy is fit."

  Noah laughs and then directs his next question at me. "You're still trying to hook up with Levi? I don't know how I feel about two of my employees dating. If things go bad I'll have to choose and we all know Skye will make me choose you. I don't want to lose the best bouncer on my security team."

  "Oh, please," I say, getting ready to defend myself. Noah's like the big brother I never had, and when your big brother gives you a hard time, you have to fight back. "Who said anything about dating? Besides, weren't you the one who brought Xaria to Skye's engagement party last year? Last I checked she dances at Club Desire and the boss dating a dancer is an HR mess." Skye visually flinches as I bring up that bad memory for her and I give her an apologetic smile.

  Kissing Skye on the cheek, Noah lets go of her and stands up straight. He looks brooding and sexy with his messy brown hair, brown eyes, and gorgeous colorful tattooed sleeve. Underneath his sexy rough exterior is a sweetheart who loves my best friend more than anything. "Do you mean Skye's engagement party to another man? I brought Xaria to make Skye jealous and it worked. She was making a huge mistake marrying Caleb. I needed her to see it. Thankfully she did, although it took her forever to figure it out."

  Turning around on her stool, Skye wraps her hands around Noah's neck and stares up at him adoringly just as Levi approaches the table with a tray full of shots. "Have I mentioned how much I don't deserve you?" Skye asks. "I'm going to spend my life showing you just how much I love you."

  "You don't need to, shorty. I already know." He leans in to kiss her and it's all I can take of their sappy love fest. Grabbing a shot off the tray Levi abandoned, I lift the glass to my lips and tilt my head back, consuming the hard liquor. It goes down smoothly and instead of chasing it with a lime, I grab another glass and down it. I get a glimpse of Levi's ass before he walks into Club Desire and I have to suppress a moan.

  I hate that I may never get to be with him. I hate that I might never get to feel what that body can do.

  "Slow down, Ken. At the rate you're going I'll be picking you up off the floor before I even get a chance to knock one back."

  I grab two more shot glasses off the tray and hand her one. "Here's to finals being over, and to you and Noah getting a happily ever after. I still can't believe the two of you up and got married last year without telling anyone." The glass hits my lips and the tequila slides down my throat before I even give her a chance to add her wisdom to the toast.

  Setting the glass down I can already feel my head getting foggy and my lips tingle. Skye chases her shot with a lime and I wait for her to finish. Noah sticks around and the three of us continue talking. Levi is nowhere in sight.

  It feels like an hour later and I'm six shots in and dancing to the music coming through from Club Desire. The bar is closed and Skye and I are the only two people in here that aren't working.

  "If you two ladies are done having fun, I think it's time I take my bride home," Noah says, interrupting our dancing.

  Tripping over her own feet Skye leaps into his arms and gives him a sloppy kiss as her hands assault his body. "Please take me home," she begs and I sigh out frustrated, knowing she is getting laid tonight while I'm going home alone.

  Skye sucks on his bottom lip before he pulls away and agrees. "Anything for you, shorty."

  Grabbing my purse off the table and digging through it for my phone I gently slur, "I'm going to head home, too."

  "Let me call you a cab," Noah insists.

  I open the app and request a ride. "No need, I just requested an Uber. My driver is four minutes away."

  Noah looks like he wants to fight me on this. He's always such a gentleman and I know it must kill him when I act independently and he can't be chivalrous.

  "I'll walk her out." Levi's hand falls against my lower back and his chest presses against my shoulders. "I requested off early tonight so I'm headed home now, too." His voice sends a strong shiver down my back that I'm sure he can feel through the tips of his fingers.

  "Okay, thanks, man. Hope you’re able to get a few hours of sleep once you get home," Noah replies before looking directly at me. "Please send Skye a text once you're in your apartment."

  "I will."

  "I mean it, Kendall. Last time you got drunk like this I asked you to send her a text and you passed out instead. I ended up across town at six a.m. banging on your front door to make sure you were okay."

  Putting my hands up in surrender I giggle. "Okay, okay. I'll text her."

  I give Skye a hug and then head outside for my Uber. Levi's hand never leaves my back and I like the comforting feeling his touch gives me. If only he would move his hand a little lower.

  "You don't have to wait with me." Looking down at the app I add, "My driver will be here in less than two minutes."

  "I don't mind waiting. Besides, I have twenty minutes to get to the subway."

  Twisting my neck around so I can look at him more directly I ask, "Why are you taking the train? You can just share an Uber with me."

  "I don't think we live near each other."

  "Who says we have to make two stops?"

  He smiles down at me sympathetically just as a red sedan with Uber signage displayed on the windshield pulls up to the curb. "I'm flattered, Kendall. I really am-"

  "No need to finish that sen...sentence." I'm having a hard time focusing on what I'm trying to say. The alcohol hit me a lot harder than I thought. "I know...when I'm being...rejected." I can tell he wants to say more to me, but he listens to my request and opens the back door for me to get in. The driver gives me a courteous greeting and Levi studies him for a moment before sliding in the backseat with me.

  "Wha-what are you doing?"

  "I changed my mind," he speaks roughly. "Sharing an Uber isn't a bad idea." His words fill me with hope. Just when I thought there was absolutely no chance of anything happening between us, he shocks me by coming home with me. He's the most difficult man to read.

  Our driver pulls away from the curb and my renewed hope for a wild night with Levi is crushed all over again when he tells the driver, "We're going to be making two stops."

  Chapter Two

  Levi

  After calculating the cost of this ride compared to my nightly New York City Subway fare, it's clear this ride will cost me a small fortune. It may be on Kendall's account but there's no way I'm going to let her pay for the driver to drop me off on the other end of the city. As we travel through the dark night to Kendall's apartment I discreetly take two twenties out of my wallet and slip them in her purse. This should be enough to cover the trip.

  She's quiet, which is in contrast to the Kendall I'm used to. Her striking light eyes reflect off the glass window as she stares out at the dark street and I can't help but watch her. She's beautiful–stunning, really. She's the kind of woman who walks in the room and every head turns. I've been attracted to her since the first time I saw her. I had just started working security for Forbidden Desires and the security team was having a meeting with Noah in his back office. All of a sudden the office door opens and in barges this beauty–all long legs, brown hair, perfect smile, and a body that very few attain.

  Then her mouth opened and I knew I was in trouble. She had sass and I liked it. Her quick wit and charm flowed through that brief conversation with my new boss and when she left the office I was consumed with wanting to know more about her. She may not have even noticed me in the back corner of the room, but those few minutes were all I needed for her to permanently be on my radar. It wasn't until almost a week later that I was briefly introduced to her for the first time as she sat at a table with Noah, Skye, and Skye's ex-fiancé.

  Watching her now, I wish I could apologize and explain to her why we'd never work. I have responsib
ilities–responsibilities her presence in my life would complicate. While I'd want nothing more than to get lost inside her for the night, it wouldn't be fair to her. I can't treat a woman as just a thing to get off in. I respect women more than that.

  We pull up to a large apartment building and when Kendall opens the door to get out, I tell the driver if he waits for me a few minutes I'll give him a nice tip. As Kendall fumbles with her keys at the front door of the complex, I step up beside her to wait.

  "You don't have to walk me in, Levi." My name passes her lips as a hiss, and then she hiccups, closes her eyes and starts uncontrollably laughing. Proof that she's had a couple drinks too many. "I'm perfectly capable of getting in on my own."

  Trying my best not to patronize her I respond, "I'm sure you are. It would make me feel better if you let me walk you in. It's the gentlemanly thing to do."

  "Yes, I'd hate for you to do anything ungentlemanly," she slurs sarcastically as she finally gets the front door open.

  I accompany her all the way up to the fourth floor and when she gets her apartment door open I realize it's time for me to say goodnight. Five years ago, I would have brought her back to my place and spent the next hour making her scream in pleasure, but I learned early on how selfish that would be.

  Kendall looks up at me with her hazed and drunken eyes. "Would you like to come in for some coffee?"

  She has no idea how hard it is to turn her down.

  "Thank you for the offer but I need to be getting home."

  "Right, okay then." She goes to close the door on me, leaving me out in the hall alone when I dart my hand out to land on the wood door, keeping it open. "Kendall, you're beautiful. I need you to know that."

  "I know I'm beautiful," she replies as if I'm crazy and I smile at her confidence. Of course, she knows she's beautiful. She has a mirror.

  I continue, "It's just that...how do I say this? As beautiful as I think you are and as attracted as I am to you, this is never going to happen between us."