Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, #1)(63)

"You'll need the band around your waist," I told him. "Then loop around mine too."

Levi nodded, and I saw him switch into trainer mode. "Glutes?"

"Yeah. You'll be stationary, and I'll do my reps going forward."

"So"—he paused, staring hard at the yellow mat—"you'll be …"

"On my hands and knees in front of you." Oh, look at me, I said it with a straight face.

His hazel eyes narrowed again, but he didn't say anything.

Just do the damn thing, I yelled in my head. So I channeled my inner stripper and pulled my T-shirt off as gracefully as I could manage. As it cleared my head, I arched my back just a touch, and I heard a supremely gratifying inhale come from Levi.

Not making eye contact, I tossed the shirt over by my chair and then propped my hands behind me.

"Ready?" I asked him.

If I thought his eyes sparked hot before, I was terribly mistaken.

By the way he stared at the contraption of thin straps crisscrossing my chest and the glorious amount of cleavage shown in the deep V, it was no spark.

He'd just set me on fire with one look.

"You are an evil, evil woman," he said in a low voice.

Attempting a super casual shrug of my shoulders, I sighed. "It's hot in here."

"Is it now?"

He'd barely moved his eyes away from my bra, and honestly, I couldn't blame him. It made my tits look absolutely fantastic. I'd never thought of them as tits in my entire life, but when I'd stared at myself in the mirror before coming here, it felt like the perfect time to add it into my vocabulary.

"Ready?" he asked when I didn't say anything.

I had to fight to keep a pout off my face because I was expecting him to descend on me like a ravenous animal by this point, but apparently, I'd underestimated his willpower.

Which shouldn't have surprised me, in retrospect. He'd hid his feelings for five years. Clearly, he had a lock on his … urges. What an asshole. I wanted those urges unleashed. Unleashed on my entire freaking body.

"So we're still pretending we're going to do the exercises?"

"Who's pretending?" he said, staring straight-faced and unblinking. Like I could see clear through him, I knew the wheels and cogs were turning in that brain of his. Trying to process how serious I was.

"Come here," I pleaded.

He didn't.

It was my turn to narrow my eyes.

"Did I mention I'm not wearing underwear?"

Levi swiped a hand over his mouth, letting out a small, strained laugh. "You are determined to kill me, aren't you?"

I answered him as seriously as I could. "If by kill you, you mean have sex with you, then yes."

Tipping his chin up to the ceiling, he took a few chest-expanding deep breaths. "Joss." He laughed quietly.

"Levi. Great, we know each other's names."

With a growl, he dropped to his knees and prowled over me, moving one leg to the side until I had no choice but to lay back on the mat. Halle-freaking-lujah. I slid my hands up his back and felt the tension he held in all those muscles.

Even though he was over me, he didn't kiss me. Levi propped his elbows on either side of my head, caging me in so I couldn't really go anywhere, which was fine by me. I lifted my chin to find his mouth, but he evaded me.

"I had plans, you know," he said, looking deep into my eyes. His thumb tangled lightly with the hair next to his hand.

"Yeah?"

I shifted my hips, bringing us closer, and his eyes closed. Levi, my best friend turned first boyfriend, was hard. And big. There was one moment when I had the same thought that probably every virgin had.

Holy shit, how's this gonna work?

"Joss." He sounded like he was in a great deal of pain, and based on what I felt tight against my core, he probably was. "I am not making love to you for the first time on this ugly yellow mat."

I smiled a little, using my fingertip to trace the edge of his lips. I really, really liked his lips. "Okay."

He dropped his forehead to mine, then kissed the tip of my nose. Next to my eye. The corner of my jaw. With each tiny kiss, I got all melty. My whole body went warm and soft.

"I had plans," he repeated. "They were romantic and sweet. I want it to be perfect for you."

"Were rose petals involved?"

He laughed, finally kissing me on the mouth. We stayed there for a couple of seconds, and my arms went tight around his neck while I enjoyed the feel of his lips against mine.

I pulled back and cupped the side of his face. "Do you know what I need for my first time? The best thing that could possibly be in any plan that your brain could come up with?" I traced my finger over his forehead, where a few worry lines had popped up. "Just you. That's it. Just you and me, Levi. It could be anywhere, and as long it's you and me, it'll be exactly what I need."

His eyes searched mine, weighing the sincerity of my words. The moment he saw what he needed to see, a switch flipped in his brain.

"Hold tight," he told me quietly.

One of his big hands cupped my bottom as I tightened my grip on his neck. With an ease born of incredible strength, Levi held me to him and stood. I squealed when it made my head spin, and he laughed into my neck.