“Sure, sis.”
“You should see Molly. That girl’s had twice as much as me and is barely flushed. I’m pretty sure she could drink all the Jackson men under the table.”
I stiffen. Before Shay mentioned her name, I was ready to run home, change into dry clothes, and join them. More than ready—I was eager to su
rround myself with old friends and forget my problems for a few hours.
“Lots of practice!” Molly calls out in the background, and Shay laughs.
“When will you be here?”
Levi takes his eyes from the road for a beat to look at me, and I shake my head. “You can go,” I say softly.
“Is that Ellie?” Shay chuckles. “Are you with Ellie? Is she really staying at your house? Am I interrupting something romantic? Sorry, Levi. I never mean to be a cock blocker. It just comes naturally.”
“I’m gonna pass tonight,” he says, ignoring her questions. “I’ll see everyone tomorrow.”
“You can bring her! Come on, Levi.”
“It’s been a long day, and tomorrow will be another one,” he says, cutting his eyes to me again. “Remember that before you have another beer, okay?”
“Party pooper,” Shay mutters.
“See you tomorrow, Shayleigh. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He ends the call as he pulls into his driveway, pressing the button on his visor to open his garage door.
I feel like an ass. “You can go. Just because I don’t want to doesn’t mean you need to miss it.”
He shakes his head and pulls into the garage. “If I walked into that bar, it would give Shay an excuse to have another beer. That’s the last thing she needs before tomorrow.”
I cringe. “It’s a family weekend, and you’re stuck with me because you think it’s your job to play bodyguard.”
He cuts the engine and studies me for a beat, his dark gaze piercing in the car’s low dome light. “I can honestly say playing bodyguard was the furthest thing from my mind.” He shakes his head. “In fact, seeing you all wet in your bra and panties might have entirely wiped my brain of anything but lust. I’m surprised I remembered how to drive.”
Butterflies go wild in my stomach, but I try to laugh. “Now you need another cold shower?”
“Nah, I didn’t care for that. Anyway, someone told me real men take hot showers and jack off.”
My breath leaves me in a rush at that image, but he’s already climbing out of the car and heading into the house. I practically chase after him, closing the door behind me as I step into the hallway. “Need someone to wash your back?”
Levi pauses in front of the alarm panel before punching in the numbers to disarm it. When he turns to me and speaks again, his voice is lower, and all the teasing from his earlier tone is gone. “We rushed this last time and then you pushed me away.” His gaze drops to my mouth and his nostrils flare. “You’re so fucking tempting, Ellie, but I want more than sex, and until you remember more, I’m not sure either of us can trust your decision to give it to me.”
Saturday, October 27th
I slept alone. On purpose.
It was awful.
The first night here, I was truly too afraid to sleep by myself, and that made me go to Levi, but last night was different. After my encounter in the woods, maybe fear should have had me tossing and turning in my sheets, but all it did was reinforce my instinct to protect Colton.
Instead, I was restless from the ache between my legs, and the memory of the night at the lake with Levi played on loop in my brain. Lust and hot memories left no room in my brain for fear of the faceless boogeyman who assaulted me in my own home.
I’m at the kitchen table, sipping my second cup of coffee, when Levi strolls into the room, and I nearly drop my mug at the sight of him. He’s shirtless in low-slung jeans that reveal the defined muscles of his stomach and the delicious V of his hipbones. If I could get pre-injury Ellie in a room alone, I’d read her the riot act for walking away from him.
“All the guys are meeting at Brayden’s to get ready and do some pictures before heading over to the park for the ceremony.” Levi grabs his wallet off the counter and shoves it in his pocket. The movement pushes his jeans down another inch.