Breakaway (Penalty Kill 1)

“I am aware that you are not some Bunny.” He rubs his thumb over my cheek. “I don’t want to treat you like one.” He pulls my bra and shirt down.

“I didn’t mean we had to stop,” I almost whine.

Levi laughs. “Let’s think of it as ‘to be continued’.” Levi stands and puts his shirt on. I almost drool on myself as I see his abs and hard chest. I have seen a lot of hockey players, but Levi is really built. He holds out his hand and pulls me up when I take it.

He gives me a heart-warming kiss. “I’m going to leave, but I will call you in a couple of days.”

I nod. “I could give you a ride to your car.”

He shakes his head. “The cold night air will help me calm down.”

“Thank you for a great evening.” I smile sweetly at him.

“Thank you for those hot lips.” He wags his eyebrows at me before he walks out the door.

Chapter Seven

Levi

The most I can do is shake my head at the thought of the past couple of hours. When I heard what Presley said about sleeping with her and then leaving, I felt a little guilty. Of course, I know that she isn’t a Bunny, and I don’t want to treat her like one. I meant that. The guilt is still here because in the beginning, that was exactly what I planned. It was going to be a wham bam, thank you ma’am. Just to spite her brother.

Who would have thought that she wouldn’t actually be a Bunny? Then it would have been at least somewhat acceptable to fuck her and leave her. Most of them expect that. With the cold air biting my cheeks, I wonder just what I’ve gotten myself into this time. I shake my head once more and think of what I’m going to do. It seems that while Trevor doesn’t approve, he’s going to let Presley do whatever she wants. If I really want to irritate him, I’m going to have to think of a better tactic.

Would hurting Presley hurt McCarthy as much as I want? Or just piss him off? Both? Either way, I’m going to try.

I can remember that day. It’s still so fresh in my mind. I came into the house and threw my things on the floor.

“What’s the matter?”

“Mom,” I said, regretting it already. “I’m sorry.” I sat at the kitchen table beside her and she took my hand in hers.

“What’s wrong, Levi?”

“It’s nothing, Momma. How are you feeling?” I asked, squeezing her hand as gently as I could.

She settled her eyes on me and waited. She wasn’t going to answer my question without me answering hers first.

“I lost my captaincy.”

“Oh, baby,” she cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry. Want to talk about it?”

“No, Mom,” I gritted and instantly hated myself for it. “How are you feeling?” I asked again. She looked so tired. She’s always looking so tired. Frail. Sick. She looked that way because she was.

“I love you, Levi,” she smiled, her eyes looking into the distance behind me.

“I love you too, Mom.”

“I don’t know what happened, but keep playing your best. I’m sure you’ll regain your Captain status soon, son. You’re going to be a history making player, I just know it. I’ll support you and be here for you all the way.”

She lied. She couldn’t do those things if she wasn’t here. I helped her to her room, tucking her in as if she was a child and kissing her cheek. She told me that she loved me again, but she was asleep before she heard me tell her that I loved her too. Mom had already left us when we woke up in the morning. I miss her so much.

All my bad luck started withhim moving to town and whether I should or shouldn’t, I blame him. The day I lost my captaincy, I disappointed my mom. My mom was so sure that one day I was going to be huge in hockey. I failed her and continue to fail her today. Part of me wishes that I had waited a couple of days to tell her, so when the inevitable happened, I wouldn’t have disappointed her.

She wouldn’t have known.

It doesn’t matter now. I need to focus. Presley is my key, and I need to figure out the perfect way to use her to my advantage. The question is, how? By the time I get in my car and back to the house, I haven’t really gotten anywhere. Nichols is sitting on the couch watching TV and he looks my way when I come in.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” he asks.