Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, #1)(64)

"Good?" he asked as he boosted me higher on his chest. My legs dangled on either side of his slim hips while his arms braced underneath my thighs and ass.

"Good." I kissed him. I kissed him deeply because even though we weren't moving now, my head was still spinning just a little bit. Our tongues tangled, his head turned, and I felt his fingers dig into my skin where he held me so tightly.

Levi broke the kiss and walked us out of the gym. He paused just as he cleared the door into the garage. "Do you want your chair? I guess I got presumptuous."

I grinned. "Presume away. I'm perfectly fine with a little manhandling today."

"Good to know," he murmured against my lips.

As he walked us to his apartment, my body tucked into him, I knew that Levi would never view anything that was about to happen as manhandling, though, and neither would I.

I pressed my face into his neck and breathed him in. This was the person who made me feel the safest, the strongest, who made me feel the best just exactly as I was.

He kicked the door shut behind us, the harsh clap of sound tightening the skin around my bones. It wasn't bright in his place, only brief pockets of the sun coming through the edges of the curtains. As he tipped me back onto his bed, I liked what those slices of light did to his body.

"Take off your shirt," I told him. "I want to see."

Levi lifted his chin in the direction of my sports bra. "Just remember, now that I know this kind of payback is on the table, you're not the only one who can use it."

"I do not think this is your style," I answered seriously. "The straps would do nothing for you."

Even though he grinned, I felt the joke dry up like sawdust in my throat when I yanked his shirt off, exposing row upon row of twisted, roped lines of tight muscle under his skin.

I ran my hand over his stomach, and his chest heaved. My fingers tucked into the edge of his gym shorts and boxer briefs, and against my pinky, the thick line of his hardness jumped.

Before he pulled those off, he offered me his hand, and I sat up.

"Lift your arms," he said. I complied, falling just a little bit further because he actually had to stop to think about how I'd get this strappy bullshit sports bra off on my own. We laughed together when he had to tug it roughly over my head, but his laughter died as soon as I dropped my arms. Even though I wanted to and felt the undeniable urge to, I didn't cover my breasts with my arm.

I laid back, and he followed, licking up the line of my stomach, then stopping to press a kiss on the center of my chest. He breathed there for a second. He cupped the weight of one breast in his hand, and I squirmed, wanting more of … something.

When his thumb circled around the edge of my nipple, followed by his mouth closing over me, I got it.

Sighing his name, I clutched him to me. His mouth increased its suction, and I gasped. Hot, bright white, I felt it down my back, which arched up off the mattress. He moved to the other side, but I gripped his face with both hands and dragged his mouth up to mine for a searching, seeking kiss.

Levi pressed against me, rolling his hips with a groan.

As we traded wet kisses, my hand slid down his chest and under his shorts so I could feel him, feel how heavy and hard he was with my fingers curled around him. He hissed out a breath through clenched teeth when I moved my hand experimentally.

"Is this," I whispered, "is this okay?"

His laugh was strained. "Yeah, yeah."

I rolled my thumb, and he made a sound like he was dying. Watching his face tighten with pleasure when I did was my new favorite thing in the entire freaking world. I did that to him with one tiny swipe of one tiny finger.

"You can," he started, then wrapped his strong fingers around mine, moving my hand faster, tightening my grip harder than I would have dared. "Yes, just like that. Shit, Joss, that feels so good."

He dropped his mouth to my chest again, this time working his tongue and teeth against my skin, and my rhythm faltered.

When his forehead pressed to my shoulder, and his breathing picked up, he stilled my hand with his. "Wait, stop, I don't want … I want to be right there with you, okay?"

My nod was shaky and fast. "Right, okay. Let's do that then please."

His smile was brilliant, and the look in his eyes softened when he gazed at me. There was affection there and undeniable, bright, unwavering love.

"Oh, my beautiful girl, there's no rush right now. Trust me."

"Speak for yourself," I mumbled when he sat up and tucked his hands into the waistband of my leggings, dragging them slowly down my hips. His entire body froze when they cleared just a few inches, and there was nothing underneath but skin.

I grinned up at him.

"You were serious," he said.

Biting my lower lip, I nodded.

Levi sucked in a breath, then pulled them carefully off one leg, then the other. Tears pricked my eyes at how perfect he was being, how he knew exactly what to do and didn't hesitate, or question, or make me feel uncomfortable. Not only because of my legs but because of the two people here, one of us was new at this whole sex thing.

But the newness for both of us was in the uncovering of our bodies, the unveiling of skin so that we could touch and taste it. I pushed his shorts down and tracked the V bracketing his hips with my fingers as I stared unabashedly at him. He leaned down and kissed the tops of each of my thighs and spread his hand over the middle of my stomach, only turning his fingers toward my core when he kissed me deeply again, claiming my mouth, claiming everything.