Cup of Joe (Bold Brew 1)

“Why?” Levi licked his lips, and the quick motion of his pink tongue made all my blood rush south.

“You’re trouble,” I whispered.

“Man, I hope so.” He grinned.

And I was doomed. So doomed.

Chapter Six

Levi

My new mission to get Joe to reveal some of his mysteries had me almost bouncing from my perch on the couch. I’d sworn off relationships after my ex-jerk, Rick, but that didn’t mean all my interest in sex had magically evaporated along with the future I’d expected. And I’d heard friends joking about rebound flings before, the oft-repeated advice about getting over a bad guy by getting under a good one. That hadn’t held much appeal to me.

Before Joe.

But now it was like my body had suddenly come back online, all processors lighting up, engine humming, every sense more alive. That Joe was kinky wasn’t that much of a surprise, but that he was kind about the whole Rick debacle, supportive instead of derisive, made him even more attractive to me. Not that I truly wanted Joe to deck Rick, but I liked the idea of having a champion a little more than was probably healthy.

And even as Joe told me I was trouble, I was still dying to know more about him, specifically about his kinky side. Like Rick, he was older and undoubtedly more experienced, but unlike the jerk, there was a humbleness to Joe that made him more approachable but also harder to read.

“You can tell me.” I went for a teasing rather than suggestive tone. “Like I don’t need your user ID to stalk your page. I just wanna know the highlights.”

“The highlights?” Joe raised both eyebrows at that. “You seem rather sure I won’t shock you, when there’s a number of pretty…interesting subgroups on Kinkbook.”

“Oh, I want to know even if it’s out there,” I assured him. “I told you one of my most embarrassing secrets. I promise not to laugh.”

Joe groaned. “It’s not laughing I’m worried about.”

“Are you worried that I won’t be able to control myself if it turns out we’ve got compatible kinks?” I considered this. Joe being attracted to me would be a bonus, as would him welcoming some sort of advance. Not that I was particularly good at come-ons, but I was game to try.

“I just don’t want things to be awkward. I like this.” He motioned at the food and the TV.

His sheepish expression and earnest words made him that much more appealing because he wasn’t a player, wasn’t all smooth and slick. And he hadn’t entirely shut down my plans, which had me even more bouncy.

“Me too. I don’t want awkward.” I nodded enthusiastically. “But it doesn’t have to be weird. You weren’t wrong about me needing a friend. I’ve got my coworkers at the coffee shop, but that’s not the same as having friends. And I’ve never had an actual in-person friend I could talk kink with.”

Talking was a few steps removed from doing, but I didn’t want to send him fleeing by offering a friends-with-benefits deal too soon. And even if Joe wasn’t interested, I was telling the truth. It would be really nice to have a friend I could admit my kinky side to.

Joe’s expression softened, eyes kind, mouth less tense. “It is nice to have people you can trust to talk about kink with. And honestly, I’m probably more vanilla than a lot of that crowd, but I’m not going to kink shame whatever you’re into either.”

“No furry suit in your closet? Darn. Maybe I’m the one with the collection of tails…” Laughing, I poked his arm. “And no offense, Joe, but totally vanilla people don’t end up on Kinkbook.”

“Point taken.” Joe’s eyes drifted shut like he was pleading with the universe. Maybe for patience. I was being a little extra.

“Sorry.” I shifted back to normal sitting. “We can watch the game—”

“I like giving orders. Control. I’m not into heavy pain play, but I love things like orgasm denial. Begging does it for me. Beyond that, I’m still figuring out what else I like these days. Things have…changed recently.”

“Oh?” I decided to ignore how much I liked the first part of what he’d said. If I was serious about being friends, I needed to actually listen, not jump him at the first sign of compatibility. Just because he liked the Dom role, didn’t mean he’d want to be my Dom, even temporarily.

“This is the embarrassing part. When I was younger, it was easier. I was super built, in football shape, and my partners tended to be heavily into the muscles. Then my mom got sick, and I stopped living so many hours a week in the gym. Let myself go, I guess you could say—”

“I would not say that.” I gave him an appreciative once over. “And if people are seriously that superficial, you’ve been hooking up w ith the wrong people.”