Seriously? Wasn’t going to happen. In fact, under normal circumstances, Sarah probably never would have met his brothers. That’s just the way it was for him.
Katrina gave him a pointed look. “You know, in the twelve years that I’ve known you, I’ve never even heard you mention a girlfriend, let alone met one of them.” A small amused smile eased across her lips. “Mason swears you’re still a virgin. Or gay.”
Levi literally gaped at her. Un-fucking-believable. His brother was such a wise ass. “Well, you can assure him that I’m definitely not gay, and I haven’t been a virgin since my senior year in high school.” And what the hell—was he really defending his sex life to the three women who were like sisters to him?
“Really?” Katrina’s brows rose in surprise. “In high school, you were so. . .”
Withdrawn. Introverted. An outsider. As a moody, hormonal teenager with a shit-ton of family issues, being stand-offish had been his only way to maintain control of his emotions. Except there had been an equally moody Goth girl who’d followed him into the bathroom one day while everyone else was in class, pushed him up against the wall, put her hand on his dick, and said, I want you to fuck me.
It was an offer his cock couldn’t refuse, and even that first time, he’d recognized his need to be the one in control, and those dominant urges had only increased every time they screwed around. There had been nothing emotional about their encounters. They didn’t talk about their lives or share personal things with each other. Hell, he’d only known her name because she’d been in one of his classes. And because their trysts were all about a physical release, she’d let him fuck her however he wanted, however he needed—rough, aggressive, demanding, with her on her knees, or her hands restrained, and him in charge.
Yeah, he’d picked up on his needs early in life. The situation had worked for the both of them, and after graduation they’d gone their separate ways. And by then, his sexual preferences had been set.
Levi shook his head of the memory, unable to believe how off track the entire discussion about Sarah had gone and where his thoughts had traveled. He glanced at all three women, desperate to put an end to the subject. “I’m not having this conversation with you guys.”
Samantha reached out and gently squeezed his arm, her gaze soft and warm and nurturing. “We just want you to be happy.”
He softened at the heartfelt statement, appreciating the fact that they cared. “I’m perfectly happy,” he said, even as he realized he’d just contradicted his earlier thoughts about feeling left out
and alone now that his brothers were in committed relationships. But being on his own worked for him. The women he was with might enjoy that darker, more dominant side to his personality when it came to sex, but emotionally, he had nothing to offer long term.
He exhaled a deep breath, suddenly feeling tired and worn out. “Look, Sarah is a friend. Can we leave it at that?”
Thankfully, all three girls agreed to let it go for now, but he had a feeling that their interest in Sarah wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
* * *
Sarah glanced out the glass window from the inside of Circle K as she waited anxiously for a certain hot, gorgeous guy to pick her up for their date. She would have stood outside, but when she’d arrived a few minutes ago, there had been three sketchy-looking guys loitering by the side of the building, and after being held up just a few days ago, she found herself much more suspicious of the people in the area. She felt safer hanging inside with the two cashiers who were working the Sunday night shift.
She had no idea what kind of car Levi drove, but figured he’d pull up to the mart and see her standing inside. As minutes passed, she grew more anxious—a combination of nerves and anticipation swirling like a dozen butterflies set free in her stomach. It had been a long time since she’d been on a date with a man. Even with Dylan, he’d never taken her out somewhere nice with romantic intentions, and once they’d arrived at Sacrosanct, she’d been locked inside the compound, and her life for those three weeks had changed drastically, until she’d finally escaped.
She still wasn’t sure if it had been a smart idea to say yes to Levi, but she’d told herself a dozen times that one evening with him wouldn’t hurt. She’d been living a lonely, solitary life the past five weeks—being holed up in her shitty motel room during the day and venturing out in the evenings to work. Was it so wrong of her to want to enjoy a night of easy conversation with Levi, along with the flirting and the attraction that made her feel sexy and desired?
She’d already made it clear that this date was a one-time deal, and she intended to stand by that claim. She’d also decided that at some point tonight she was going to tell Levi that she was leaving Chicago, probably within the next few weeks, and a statement like that was certain to put a damper on his future interest in her. And that, she told herself, was for the best.
She watched as a white, sporty four-door pickup turned into the lot and headed toward the store. As the vehicle neared, she clearly saw Levi through the windshield. Her heart began to race in her chest, and she suddenly felt like she was back in high school. And along with that thought came those same self-conscious feelings about what she was wearing.
Living in foster homes for the better part of her young life, most of her clothes had been second-hand—faded, worn, and always out of style. She’d never had pretty outfits, and even though she was currently on a strict budget, she’d splurged at Walmart and had bought a cute and flirty royal blue tank dress off the clearance rack for nine bucks. She’d found a pair of black, patent-leather-looking flip-flops—i.e., plastic—that had been stylish but only a few dollars. And even though she desperately needed the ends of her hair trimmed, she left it down instead of up in its normal ponytail. At least it was shiny and soft to the touch. But her outfit was still cheap, and she felt awkward as she waited for him to park.
As soon as he pulled in, she went outside to meet him, a huge smile on her lips despite her insecurities. He turned off the engine and immediately got out of the truck, and when he started toward her, she noticed the intense scowl on his handsome face. Before she could greet Levi, and without a single word from him, he took her arm in his firm grasp and escorted her to the passenger side of the vehicle. He opened the door and helped her up onto the seat. As she buckled her safety belt, he hand-locked her door before closing it, then rounded the pickup to the driver’s side.
Once he was settled in his own seat, he glanced at her, still wearing that fierce expression, and she had no idea why. “Is something wrong?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah, there is,” he said as a muscle in his jaw twitched. “Can I just say that I fucking hate that you work here?”
Startled at the unexpected vehemence in his tone, she stared at him with wide eyes, not sure what to say to that.
“You’ve already been accosted by a robber, this is a crappy neighborhood, and I’m pretty sure those three guys over there are up to no good,” he went on gruffly, his gaze flicking to the men who had prompted her to wait inside the mart earlier. “Then you come walking out of that store looking so goddamn sweet in that dress, and all three of those assholes turned to leer at you. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t made it fucking clear that you were with me, they would have been all over you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, meaning it. She might have no alternative, but she was grateful he cared enough to be upset.
He exhaled a harsh breath that seemed to calm him a bit. “Thinking about you working here at night gives me a goddamn ulcer,” he muttered as he shoved his fingers through his hair. “I. Fucking. Hate it.”
She hated it, too. So much, and even more after being held up with a gun pointed at her head. She’d even started having little anxiety attacks when certain people walked into the store, and she honestly couldn’t wait to have enough money saved so she could quit and move on.
“It’s only temporary, until . . .” The words came out before she could think them through. She cut them off, but she definitely caught his attention.
“Until what?” he asked with a frown. “Do you have another job lined up somewhere?”