The Fall Up (The Fall Up, #1)(23)

It suddenly didn’t feel like Sam standing in front of me at all.

He felt like a stranger who had just come face-to-face with Levee Williams.

Damn it.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you about to freak out?” I whispered, nervously moistening my lips.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not really sure yet. But I’m gonna need you to stop licking your lips long enough for me to figure it out.” His mouth cracked into a wide grin, and my shoulders relaxed.

Now that was a flash of my Sam.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s just… I think this is the first time I’ve realized that you’re some big-time celebrity. I might be in over my head here, Designer Shoes.”

“I just make music, Sam.” I returned his smile and very slowly prowled in his direction. “Imagine how I feel though. You’re Samuel Nathan Rivers. A tough, tattooed furniture designer who makes six figures a year but is too afraid to tell his mommy he votes democratic.” I giggled as he frowned humorously. Stopping in front of him, I dragged a fingernail down his chest then teased the waistband of his jeans. “Have you considered that maybe I’m the one who’s in over her head here?” I leaned forward to nip at his lips, but he spun us around.

“Excellent point. I’m going to need you to try really hard to keep it together, Levee. You haven’t even seen my six-pack and huge cock, yet.” He smirked and attempted to return my nip, but I stepped out of his reach.

“You brought beer and chicken?” I feigned excitement.

That one corny joke was all it took to bring my Sam back completely.

With a sexy smile and a coy shrug, he seductively backed me toward the bed. “What can I say? I like to be prepared.”

“Clearly,” I breathed.

He moved in close so his lips were only a centimeter away, but for as much as I wanted him, it was agonizing. “Clearly,” he repeated, his smoky yet sweet breath breezing across my mouth.

His strong arm looped around my waist, tugging me against his chest, while I stared into his hooded eyes, eagerly waiting for him to make a move.

Any move.

Every move.





Her eyes were pleading. A plea I had every intention of answering—in time.

My time. Not hers.

After sliding my hand down the small of her back, I let it splay over her ass.

“It’s hot in here. Maybe you should take this off?” I tugged at the fabric of her dress.

A laugh sprang from her mouth. “That was your line? ‘It’s hot in here’?”

“It wasn’t a line.”

“It’s freezing in here. It was absolutely a line.” She continued to laugh but wrapped her arms around my neck. Our breath was twisting between us in the only small gap our flush bodies had left.

“I haven’t even taken them out yet and you’re already busting my balls.” I grazed my teeth over her bottom lip.

She lazily closed her eyes and went in for the kiss. Taking a move from her play book, I swayed out of her reach.

Groaning because of the miss, she popped her eyes open. “Sorry. It’s just that you started off so strong with the huge-cock thing,” she teased even further, bursting into laughter all over again.

“You seriously need to stop laughing,” I replied, not even the slightest bit annoyed.

There were a ton of reasons why millions of people swooned over Levee on a daily basis, but seeing her up close as she lost herself in a snarky joke, I knew they were missing all the best parts.

I watched with a smirk as heat blazed through my veins until she finally sobered. Her smile was still filled with humor—an expression that was quickly becoming my favorite. And, like a judge and jury, my cock confirmed it by swelling between us.

Suddenly, a different smile formed, and mischief lifted the corners of her mouth.

I had been wrong. That one was unquestioningly better.

Fuck, I’m in trouble with this woman. Mainly because I knew the real trouble would be if I didn’t get her naked—soon.

Thankfully, we shared that feeling.

She cupped my straining erection. “Then give me a reason not to laugh, Sam.”

Not. A. Fucking. Problem.

With a growl, I crushed my mouth over hers and lifted her off the ground. I attempted to toss her onto the bed, but at the last second, she wrapped her legs around my hips, dragging me down on top of her. She laughed into my mouth as our teeth painfully clanked together. It transformed into a moan when my hard-on blissfully landed against her core.

“Fuck,” I hissed as she rolled her hips into mine.

“What’s wrong, Sam?” she asked innocently.

I would have answered, but with only two layers of clothing stopping me from planting myself to the hilt inside her, I was done talking.

Done joking.

Hell, I was even done listening to her laugh.

I was suddenly in the mood to make her come—hard.

And fast.

Then I wanted to come—slowly.

And repeatedly.

Trailing kisses up her neck and over to her ear, I tugged at the hem of her dress. “Do you want this on or off while I’m licking your *?”

She froze, and as I’d hoped, her laughter fell silent.