Dance With Me (With Me in Seattle #12)(31)

“Were you sleeping?”

“Unfortunately, no.” He sinks into a reclining chair and rubs his hand over his eyes. There’s a bottle of scotch next to him, along with a half-full glass.

“Are you drunk?”

“No.” His brown eyes hold mine as I perch on the edge of the couch across from him.

“You look horrible.”

I want to climb into his lap and hold him tightly, to assure him that whatever is going on will be okay.

“Thanks.”

“Levi, what’s going on? Why didn’t you reply to my calls or texts?”

“I’m sorry about that,” he says, rubbing his eyes again as if he’s trying to scrub something away. “I should have replied. It’s just been a rough day.”

“I see that.” My voice is soft as I watch him. “Did someone die?”

He grins humorlessly and looks over at me. “Yeah. Two someones, actually. Well, three if you count the baby.”

“What in the world? I didn’t think you worked homicide?”

“And I won’t be.” He takes a sip of his scotch. “Not after today. I’m not going to fill your head with what I saw today, sweetheart. And I’m not great company right now, so I just came home to brood and get a little drunk.”

“I guess being with a cop means there will be tough days like this.”

His eyes meet mine again in surprise. “There are some rough days, yes.”

“So, in the future, if there are bad moments, can I expect you to just disappear? I shouldn’t worry? I’m not trying to flip you shit for this, Levi. I’m honestly not, I just want to be ready if it happens again.”

“Come here.”

Finally. I comply, and he pulls me into his lap and buries his face in my neck, holding on tightly.

“You can always talk to me,” I remind him as I push my fingers through his hair, soothing us both. “Always. I might not understand, but that doesn’t mean I can’t listen.”

“Today was too horrible,” he mumbles against my skin. “Too gruesome to talk about. And I can’t really talk about it. But you’re right, I should have gone to you rather than try to protect you from it because having you here for less than ten minutes has already calmed me.”

I smile and kiss his temple. “I’m glad. Are you tired?”

“Bone-tired.”

“Does this thing recline?”

He reaches to the side, and suddenly, we’re rocked back. I stretch out, half on him and half off, my head on his chest. We don’t say anything at all, we just listen to the stillness of the night around us in the apartment. Before long, Levi is snoring softly.

With my ear pressed to his chest, listening to the soothing, rhythmic beat of his heart, I follow him into a deep slumber.



“For Christ’s sake, Jax, you’re going to break my freaking tailbone.”

I rub the spot with indignation, pissed as all get out that Jax just threw me on my ass.

“Stick the landing, and you won’t have a sore ass,” he retorts. “You’ve done that move a million times.”

“Yeah, when I was in shape for the tour, not when I’ve been off the road for a month.” I stand and walk to the edge of the studio to retrieve my water bottle. “Why are you so damn intense today?”

“I’m just doing my job.”

“No.” I cock my head to the side, watching him. “You don’t usually toss me around like that unless you’re pissed. What are you pissed about?”

He turns his back on me and yanks his white towel off the bar to wipe his face.

“Logan irritates the fuck out of me sometimes.”

“Lover’s spat.” I nod and take another drink. “That’ll do it. For the betterment of my ass, could you tone it down just a smidge? I’m going to be bruised.”

“He can be so damn inconsiderate.”

I suppose we’d better hammer this out so I don’t leave here with a broken wrist. “What did he do? You guys don’t usually fight.”

“His mother,” Jax says with a sigh, making me grin. “It’s not funny. That woman is the worst.”

“What did she do?”

“She wants us to come to dinner tomorrow night.”

“How horrifying of her.” I smile as he glares at me.

“We already had plans, Star. Tickets to see a show we’ve wanted to see for a long time, and they weren’t cheap. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.”

“Gotcha. Okay, so Logan just tells her it’ll have to be another night.”

“One would think. But, no. No, he pretty much does whatever his mom wants him to do. So, instead of seeing the show, we’re going to have dinner with that woman.”

“Why can’t he just tell her you have other plans?”

“Because she has cancer,” Jax says and holds up a hand. “Now before you call me insensitive, hear me out. She has stage 0 breast cancer. The tiny lump has been removed, and the doctors don’t even suggest she have a mastectomy or any other treatment. It’s just gone. But she calls the goddamn c-card as often as she can, and he falls for it.”

“Yikes.” I scrunch up my face in sympathy. “Yeah, it does sound like she’s using it as a way to manipulate Logan.”