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  We start walking towards the hall where the usher is checking tickets and directing patrons.

  “So, I know how you paid for these tickets, but how the hell did you even get them in the first place? Hairspray has been sold out for months.”

  I shoot her a cocky wink. “It's good to know people.”

  Kadence doesn’t hesitate to gag.

  On a small chortle, I sigh, “I love when you make that face at me.”

  She glances away to prevent from grinning.

  The usher checks our tickets and instructs, “End of the hall. Please remember the use of cell phones is not permitted. The device needs to be turned off and out of sight upon the house’s warning calling.”

  “Warning call?”

  “They flash the house lights three times,” Kadence informs. “It indicates to the usher’s it’s time to shut the doors.”

  His impressed smile creates an uncomfortable taste of envy in my mouth. “Supporter of the theater arts?”

  “Since birth.”

  The man starts to speak again when I snatch my tickets out of his hand. “Thanks for the directions. Enjoy your evening.”

  My arm snakes around Kady’s waist, and I move the two of us along.

  Her voice vibrates with humor. “He was just being friendly.”

  I give her a sarcastic sneer. “He was just flirting.”

  “If that’s flirting then the guy at the grocery store has been trying to sleep with me for years.”

  Shaking my head, I mumble, “I don’t doubt that.”

  Kady snickers again. “Levi, I’m not nearly as attractive as you’re convinced I am.”

  Steps away from our entrance, I stop, spin my body to face hers, and state. “No. You’re not nearly as unattractive as you’ve convinced yourself you are. No. You’re not fake here,” my fingers trail the side of her face. “Or here.” They lightly graze the top of her chest. “Or here.” I allow my touch to skim her stomach. “And no, you don’t spend thousands of dollars getting your hair dyed every week or starving yourself to fit into the tiniest dress. But that doesn’t mean you’re not sexy as fuck, Kadence. Think about it like this…in a city where everyone is desperate to be someone they’re not to impress someone who probably doesn’t care, you proudly walk around with a smile that can’t be purchased, in clothes that allow your body to show its curves, and confidence that’s natural, not groomed.” My hand grips her hip. “You have what most men want and your aloofness to it, only adds to the appeal. So, trust me when I say he was flirting.”

  Her hand toys with the end of my tie. “Trust me when I say he was wasting his time….”

  Our mouths gravitate together once again except this time our tongues engage in a momentary tryst. I give hers a hard press and the action receives the sweetest whimper. Hopeful to hear the sound again, I repeat the forceful push while tugging her closer. Kadence gives the clothing in her clutches a harsher pull forcing me to fight every primitive instinct to pin her against the wall.

  Not usually this…reckless with women, but what can I say? There’s just something about her that shuts down my ability to act sensibly.

  An overdramatic throat clearing is what parts us.

  She suddenly pulls back, glances around me, and catches her laughter in her hand.

  I grab a glimpse of a frowning older woman holding the hand of what I assume is her granddaughter. The woman gives us a disappointed shake of the head, and I mouth my apology.

  My face turns back to Kady’s. “Didn’t I tell you my publicist would kill me if I got kicked out of this thing?”

  Her devious smile I can’t get enough of reappears. “Yes, but we’re not actually in the theater yet.”

  “Then how about we get there before we get into more trouble?” I lower my voice at the same time I lean in closer. “The kind of trouble where we miss the entire show because you’re stuck screaming my name in the bathroom.”

  A small redness tints her cheeks. “I’m not a screamer.”

  “You will be.”

  Temptation floods her brown gaze to the point she has to pull herself out of my arms to prevent succumbing. Our fingertips wind together and we return to walking towards our final destination.

  **

  Musicals have never been on the automatic date list. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t respect the art. I do. I absolutely fucking do, but there’s something about sitting in an auditorium for four hours listening to people sing their lines as opposed to say them that just isn’t my thing. Kind of like people who prefer wakeboarding to regular surfing. Everyone has what gives them a better high on the water and how you ingest your entertainment is the same shit. However, now that I’ve watched Kadence quietly mouth along to every song, and damn near every line, I have a new appreciation for them. The amount of pure joy that radiated off of her, hell, that’s still radiating, is intoxicating.

  Kadence continues bouncing along to the opening song of the soundtrack she turned on the moment we sat in my car.

  No need to point out how pussy whipped I am for letting this happen just minutes after watching the entire thing live.

  “Can you put the microphone down for a minute and tell me if you wanna grab dinner before I take you home?”

  She lowers the cell phone she had been crooning into. “We’re not going back to your place?”

  I try not to smirk. “We can.”

  As if our earlier argument never happened, she continues, “Wanna just get something delivered then? Wouldn’t that be easier than trying to squeeze in somewhere?” Once I nod, she exclaims, “Oh we could grab tacos from Tikki Tikki Rikki Tacos! I’ve been craving the ones with avocado sauce and purple cabbage all week!”

  My foot hits the brakes again, cringing at the downtown traffic we’re stuck in. I toss my attention her direction. “Hope you’re not starving because it’s gonna be awhile.”

  Kady’s phoneless hand lands on my thigh. “Good thing I kinda really like you right now.”

  The urge to milk her happiness for as long as possible collides with the perfect segue to tell her the other reason I’ve been MIA all week.

  Swallowing my personal objection, I sigh, “You may not when I tell where else I’ve been this week.”

  Her eyes narrow, and she snatches her touch away. “You said-”

  “I wasn’t out with another woman,” I practically growl. “I was signing the final paperwork for the next movie I’m shooting in a few weeks. That’s why I was meeting with my agent and publicist. I was also being prepped on the pre-production schedule, which starts next week with stage combat classes, diving lessons, wardrobe fittings, living accommodations, and meetings with my fellow cast members.” Traffic begins to move, redirecting my focus to the road. “We’ll be filming in Coconut Bay for four and a half to five months.”

  There’s a long, strained stretch of silence before Kadence manages to croak, “That’s like....”

  We stop at another red light, and our eyes meet.

  It’s obvious she’s not capable of finishing the sentence, so I take over. “About a two-hour plane ride or about eight hours if you drive.” Unsure if I see appreciation for having those figures ready or disheartenment, I push past the anxiety building between us. “I don’t know about you, Kady, but I wanna keep what we have going. I wanna do the calls and the texts and the video chats and the visits as often as fucking possible. I wanna get the stupid food photos chicks send when they wish you were eating with them. I wanna go into town and buy you one of those tacky touristy shirts and make my assistant spend the extra eighty bucks to make sure you get it the very next day.”

  The corner of her lip curls.

  “I wanna do all those thing, and I’m praying to God you do too-”

  “I do,” she whispers.

  “Then I’m really going to need you to trust me more.”

  “Trust has to be earned, Levi.”

  “And I may not have earned all of it, but I’ve damn sure earned more
than you’re letting me have.”

  Kadence glances away seconds prior to the light turning green.

  For a few moments the two of us linger in grim stillness.

  Am I wrong? Should she be overly concerned I’m that much of an asshole? That I’m going to cheat on her every time we’re apart more than a couple of days? Have you even seen me look at another woman in that way since I met her? Because I damn sure can’t recall doing it.

  “This relationship is never going to work, Kadence, if you can’t trust me. If you can’t believe me when I say my heart only belongs to one woman and that woman is you.”

  Her hand slides back onto my thigh and every ounce of tension vanishes. While I expect there to be an argument or demand for more reassurance, there isn’t. Instead, her thumb simply begins to softly stroke the area it landed. “How long do we have before I need to try to squeeze into your suitcase?”

  I lightly laugh, cover her hand with mine, and accelerate onto the highway. “About three weeks. But don’t forget, I have some pre-production shit I have to do during it.”

  “Will you be able to make time for us?”

  “As much fucking time as possible, babe.”

  “Starting tonight?”

  My cock thickens, and I quickly try to command it to stop.

  She wasn’t implying sex. She was….Well….Honestly, I don’t what she was trying to convey, but it damn sure wasn’t that.

  Kady glides her hand across my dick and gives it a hard squeeze.

  Holy shit, was she?

  I grab a brief glimpse of her mixed expression yet decide against replying.

  Fuck…I’ll explain to her once we’re settled at my house with a safe distance between the two of us that just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean we’ve gotta have sex. And when I say safe distance, I mean from the other side of the room, with my eyes shut so my dick can’t be distracted by how fucking sexy she looks. Letting your dick do your heavy decision making is how we as men get in the most fucking trouble….

  The rest of our drive is only filled with music and heavy, staggered breathing. Kady recants any previous notions about being hungry for anything other than me.

  Is the deadline for my departure acting like an aphrodisiac?

  She guides me slowly by the hand up the stairs for my bedroom. I let her. I let her take the lead, have the control over our speed just as I promised from the beginning I would. Our bodies gravitate towards the king size bed and the mixture of hunger unforgivingly clashes against honor.

  I need to be the good guy here….I need to be the hero. She’s already convinced I’m just another Hollywood asshole….

  Kady slinks down onto the navy comforter, tosses her clutch onto the nightstand, slides the top half of her dress down, and leans back invitingly onto her palms.

  My mouth instantly begins to water.

  She tilts her head in her infamous challenging way, but the hint of doubt still lingering in her eyes keeps my feet planted where they are.

  “We don’t have to do this tonight, Kadence. The first time shouldn’t be out of some false sense of obligation. It should be-”

  “I think I’m falling in love with you,” she bluntly blurts out.

  Unsure if I heard her correctly I continue to stare on.

  “That’s the real issue here, Levi.” Her body shoots itself back to a complete sitting position. “That’s why I’m worried I’m not good enough in the bedroom for you. That’s why I’m worried about you cheating and leaving. Because you have my heart and I don’t want it to get broken. Falling in love is on my five-year plan. Dealing with heart ache is not.”

  I can’t plant my mouth on top of hers fast enough. She welcomes me with parted lips and an equally excited tongue. Both hands latch onto the sides of her neck to keep her from falling backwards. My tongue rolls around and around until it’s convinced her mind is just as dizzy as mine. At that moment and only at that moment, do I stumble backwards, giving us the breathing room we desperately need.

  The efforts to still my overworking chest increase. “I need you to know.”

  Kadence tries to shake away her daze. “What?”

  In a voice, I can barely call my own, I beg, “I need you to know that’s what you’re feeling, babe. I need you to admit it out loud and then let me love you with everything I have.”

  She quietly proclaims, “I love you, Levi.”

  Damn, I didn’t think I’d ever hear those words again in this way. Damn sure never thought if I did they would come from a woman who I can’t see myself living without. Acting for years to come may be in my future, but Kadence Allen is my future. She’s my sixty-year plan. Getting to be with her until I die is the only guarantee in life I need.

  Too much time passes without me retorting. “Are you really not gonna say it back?”

  A bold smirk presents itself. “Do I really need to?”

  Like I hoped, Kadence rolls her eyes and rises to her feet, irritation gracing her complexion. She attempts to storm past me when she’s caught in my arms. My mouth descends hers, but she pretends to fight against it. Her balled fists pound feebly against my chest, while her tongue submits to every push it’s given. Eventually, she abandons the assault and aggressively shoves my jacket off my shoulders. The action detonates the desire to remove all remaining barriers with celerity. We exile loose articles of clothing and oscillate between nips and sucks on every inch of skin that becomes bared. By the time we’re underneath my sheets and my cock is covered I’m concerned about coming within the first three minutes.

  Which is whale shit for the record. This…bizarre must come now syndrome is brand fucking new to me. Even when I first started having sex, which was with Anna, it wasn’t like this. I learned quicker than most how to control when to come. When not to come. How is Kady undoing years upon years of perfected skill?

  Her arms tangle around my neck. “Go slow. It’s been…a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Couple years.”

  A dark groan festers in the back of my throat while the tip of my dick thrusts past her dripping lips, ready to rise to the task of rewriting the number. She immediately bows off the bed, and I groan again at the way her tits crush against me. Inch by inch slips inside loving the way it causes her to gasp for air. Kadence’s tight pussy begins to pulsate the moment I reach the hilt, and my face falls to the crook of her neck on a barbaric growl. It takes every fiber in my body to cease my movements.

  “You’re fucking coming already?”

  She whimpers weakly.

  Her body trembles underneath mine with enough force to tear my own orgasm out of me long before it should be possible. I do everything in my power to distract myself from jumping off the ledge with her. I drag my teeth along her neck, loving the way her racing pulse feels against my tongue. I harshly nip at the skin I’ve made damp, determined to mark her like territory inside and out. She begins digging her heels into my back in encouragement to move and my balls clench in premature surrender. I clamp down ferociously on her neck, grip the outside of her thigh, and begin to pump viciously.

  Kadence struggles to call out my name, “L…L…L….”

  The lack of completion is such a turn on I have to squeeze my eyes shut to maintain the minor control I have left over my cock. Her hold hardens and her luscious moans transpose into breathless gasps. My greedy grunts sync to the sound of the headboard ruthlessly rocking against the navy colored accent wall. Sweat begins to swim across our skin, and I lap up the salty testament of our shared struggle to keep going. To make our first time last for a life time.

  My lips gently brush against her ear. “I love you, Kadence.”

  A choked orgasmic sob is the only sound she makes before she comes a second time. Knowing I won’t be able to resist twice, I dive deeper and let the underused muscles constrict around my cock. Relentlessly, they squeeze, choking every last drop of cum out of me. Every section of our bodies shakes. Heaves. Howls for momentary mitigation. Ou
r tongues find one another’s again and anxiously agree this is the beginning of many sleepless nights.

  I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her. And just between you and me? I hope she never gets enough of me either.

  Chapter 9

  KADENCE

  Levi Stone is way too charming for his own good. I went from take me home to take me to bed in record timing. How the hell did he do that?! And he got me to acknowledge what was really bothering me with absolutely nothing more than a warm look he let linger too long. I think I’m broken….No. I don’t mean my lady land. I mean me. Ugh. Fine. After hours at it, probably my pussy too. Big dick and refusal to stop until I get off are going to the top of his pros list right now.