Sweet Soul (Sweet Home #5)(52)
The man must have asked something about me, as Levi smiled down at me, nodding his head. “Si,” he replied, his head lowering in timidity. “Lei é la mia ragazza.”
The man tapped Levi on his arm, and replied, “Ah, é bella.”
This time, when Levi looked up at me through his fallen strands of hair, something inside of me set on fire. I stared, waiting desperately for him to respond, just to hear that beautiful language, when he rasped, “Si, Carlo. Bella mia.”
Levi sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, and I couldn’t help but blush. Carlo moved toward me, taking my hand. He pressed a kiss to the back of my hand and said, “Buon appetito.”
I nodded my head in thanks, as Carlo walked off and left us alone. Levi sat down, but he didn’t lift his head. I reached across the table to take his hand resting on the top. Levi inhaled deeply and met my eyes.
I shook my head. “You speak Italian?”
A shadow seemed to pass across Levi’s eyes and he nodded his head. “Yeah,” was all he said. I squeezed his hand letting him know I wanted more, when he ran his free hand down his face. “My mamma was Italian, from Florence. She moved here to be with my pop.” He glanced up then back down and added, “She only really spoke to us in Italian. Austin brings us here a lot. That’s how we know the manager.”
I didn’t realize how hard I was gripping Levi’s hand until my fingers began to ache. Pulling myself closer to the table, I brought our joined hands to my face and ran his hand down my cheek, only to land on my lips so I could press a kiss to his warm skin. Levi watched my every movement. He swallowed as I stayed quiet. But I said everything I needed to say with that kiss—I understood.
“So,” Levi rasped, emotion thick in his voice, “What did y’all think of the game?”
I shook my head looking out onto the full moon reflecting off the water. “It was surreal,” I replied, the water rippling in the gentle wind. I looked back to Levi and continued. “It was so full of people, people chanting your name, and watching you like you were a God.”
Levi’s expression was guarded as I spoke. He looked out over the water too, but he ran his thumb over the back of my hand and asked, “Is it… could it be something you could get used to?”
His thumb paused on my hand, awaiting my answer. I shrugged. “I’m,” I stopped and shook my head. “I’m not sure I could be around it all the time.” I lifted my hand to my right ear. “The sounds were deafening.” I huffed a laugh at the irony in that statement, but said, “There were so many people there. I’ve never seen so many people in one place before.” I inhaled. “It was overwhelming.”
Levi didn’t say much in response, but he appeared hurt and my heart cracked. I never wanted him to be hurt, but that situation, for me, seemed unbearable.
The server approached at that moment, and Levi ordered our food. We ate the meal mostly in silence, until an hour later, Levi paid the check and rose to his feet. Sighing, he held out his hand. I stared at his offered hand, worried he was still disappointed in me. Levi pushed it farther in my direction and I couldn’t help but slip my palm against his. He clasped it tightly as I got to my feet. His free hand immediately threaded into my hair and he pulled me closer. I looked up at his bright eyes, the gray seeming silver in the moonshine, then he pressed his lips to mine, taking possession of my mouth.
I moaned as his tongue pushed against mine. Releasing my hand, he now placed both hands in my hair, his hard chest brushing against my breasts. Shivers speared down my spine when Levi groaned low. He inched in as close as he could get, so close that I felt his hardness pushing against me. Heat swirled in my stomach and traveled lower to my core.
When Levi groaned again, I pulled back, gasping for breath. My palms were flat on Levi’s chest. I could feel his heart racing, and when I looked into his eyes, they were leaden with lust and lit with fire.
Levi closed his eyes and dropped his forehead to mine. He inhaled and exhaled in deep and steady breaths, until he said, “We need to leave.”
My stomach flipped, wondering what he meant, when he explained, “I have one more thing I need you to see.”
Needing a minute too, I let my hands slip to his wrists and said, “Okay.”
Though we didn’t move. We stayed under the full moon, next to the water, completely silent, but holding tight. Like the bright moon above, I knew we had just transitioned into a new phase. I hadn’t ever been there with a boy before. I had never been touched before Levi. And if I was right, this shy boy with a heart of gold, hadn’t been with anyone either.
My blood rushed through my body when I realized that I wanted him. I wanted to give him, me. I wanted to give myself to him in every way I could. My cheeks blazed as I searched for words that could give my desire life, but there was none. I would never know how to say I wanted him, fully. I just didn’t have the words.
“Elsie,” Levi’s rough and strained voice called my name, and I looked up at him through my lashes. His hands on my cheeks tightened as I stared up at him, knowing there was hunger in my eyes, but he said, “We really need to get going. I want—” He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, and moved back, joining our hands and leading us from the dock, through the restaurant to the street.
I was desperate to know what he was going to say.