Levi guessed he’d taken her place as the quiet one. Levi hadn’t had much to offer on their conversation. He dropped his hands in his lap as he tried to calm his nerves. It was hard enough fighting his attraction, never mind trying to think of something clever to say. Every single flex of Thane’s thigh against his seemed to stiffen both his back and his cock. The heat from Thane’s body bled through the material separating his skin from Thane’s, and it was almost too much to contain his desire. Levi’s body ached but the position kept him inches away from the back of the chair where Thane’s arm rested, but he also couldn’t move too far forward, Thane was there too, leaning toward his brothers, laughing at something Luke said. Levi was so unnerved by Thane’s proximity that he’d missed what they’d been discussing. Certain that at any moment Thane would be in his lap with as close as he’d edged to his seat. How in the world would he explain any of this to his brothers?
“Can I take your plate?” the waitress asked from directly behind Luke. Levi started to move to the side when she slid an arm in to take his plate. Thane’s hand skimmed down his side, before wrapping around his back, holding him right there in Thane’s personal space. Damn, Thane smelled good. Intoxicating would definitely be an understatement.
With his body reacting so uncontrollably, Levi shifted, trying to keep from embarrassing himself. Thane stopped speaking and bent his head, his nose going to Levi’s hair. He could have sworn Thane breathed him in. He looked over, their gazes locked, and all the anxiety coursing through his veins slipped away while at the same time something insanely intense gripped him.
The feeling was something new, powerful, and raw. He couldn’t name it, damn sure didn’t understand it, but he couldn’t look away even as heat flushed his cheeks and his dick reacted to the desire darkening Thane’s eyes. The oxygen raced from the room as Thane’s smoldering gaze bore straight into his.
“You added the brown back into your hair.” Thane’s husky voice caressed his skin as that dark gaze slid over his face before lifting to his hair.
Of course, he’d notice something so simple. And why did knowing that cause an unnerving flip-flop in his chest? He could so easily lean the inch or two forward and press his lips against Thane’s full, fleshy mouth, and oh man, did he want to do that. But he didn’t. Instead, he blurted out the embarrassing truth.
“They started calling me Red at work. That means it’s usually time,” he confessed.
“I like the natural color.”
Levi had no choice but to shift positions, his dick had grown painfully hard. He squirmed in his seat, trying to relieve the pressure. It wasn’t until Luke nudged him in the side that he even connected to the laughter at the table. He looked at his brothers, who weren’t even trying to hide their amusement, neither was the waitress for that matter.
“What’d I miss?” he asked Linda who wasn’t laughing at all. Instead, she looked to be sizing Thane up.
“Dessert,” the waitress answered from behind him. “I passed out dessert menus.”
“I thought we decided to go to Moo Time,” Luke reminded them, but whatever just happened between him and Thane had his brother’s speculative gaze shifting knowingly between Levi and his boss before Luke started grinning like the Cheshire cat. It didn’t take long before Luke was chuckling, waggling his eyebrows, and making a production of teasing him. Up until this minute, he’d been so relieved to see Luke happy. Now, he just wanted to punch his littlest brother in the face.
“Moo Time, like over by the resort?” Thane asked. The hand at his side slid to the center of his back, warm fingertips grazing lightly back and forth over the material of his shirt, sending goose bumps springing up on his arms. Damn. He had to get control of himself and his reactions to Thane.
“Yeah, we could see where you work,” Logan added excitedly.
Oh damn. Shit! No! The word work caught his full attention. A whole bunch of no fucking way filled his head. He bit back his reaction, trying to remain level, but honestly, his brain might have exploded over that one simple comment. He’d been so caught up in himself and Thane’s presence that it hadn’t occurred to him that Thane represented work and his family had no idea where he actually worked.
“I’ve seen the Elvis out front. Never visited, always wanted to stop in.” Thane rambled on, oblivious to the slight heart attack Levi’d just had.
“I haven’t been either,” Alison chimed in.
“You guys are gonna have to go without me. I’m stuffed,” Linda said, rubbing her stomach.
With the waitress still standing there, Thane finally turned and lifted a hand toward her. “I think we’re ready for the check, and I’ll treat everyone to Moo Time, if that sounds all right?” Then he immediately glanced over to Luke and Logan and went on to say the words that guaranteed the trip to the ice cream store. “Unless, I’m wearing out my welcome?”