Page 99 of Wicked Dares
An answer to all of it.
There’s no point lying to myself about my feelings for him, though I never really did. I just tried to restrain them. And if something happened to him, distraught wouldn’t even come close to covering it.
“Yes,” I whisper softly.
“Yes to what, Butterfly?”
“All of it.”
His arm slips around my waist and he pulls me closer. I hook my arms around his neck, and he looks at me as though I’m something precious.
He leans closer, and I think he’s going to kiss me. He doesn’t.
He presses his forehead to mine and closes his eyes as if savoring the moment and the closeness between us.
I watch him, losing myself again.
But this time, instead of holding on to fear, I let go. And I savor him, too.
Chapter Twenty-One
PIPER
The next few hours pass by far too quickly, but Levi and I have so much fun swimming around and frolicking in the water.
By the time we climb back onto the yacht, I’m exhausted in the best way possible.
Wrapped in towels, we sail toward Shelter Island, where Levi docks at a small harbor lined with little cafés and boats bobbing gently against the piers. We grab coffee and chocolate chip muffins from a waterside café and sit out on their terrace to enjoy it.
I listen to Levi talk about his many adventures on the seas and on Wall Street. In the background, cameras go off, signaling reporters nearby, but neither of us pays them any attention.
Being with Levi feels so normal that our arrangement never crosses my mind.
There’s no reason for it to do so. None of this is pretending, or for show, or for Arthur Lockwood.
It’s simply us.
Later, we grab more coffee and cakes to go, then we sail away again.
This time, we’re heading back to Levi’s home.
The ride back feels quieter than before, more reflective.
I sip coffee and stand near the railing, watching the ocean while the waning sun melts gold across the water. The breeze cools my still damp skin, and somewhere behind me, Levi moves around the helm, steering us to shore.
I look back at him. He’s so focused he doesn’t notice.
Apparently, near-death experiences, even fake ones, really bring people together because this morning, I was determined to leave his house. Now I’m standing on his yacht wondering how I ended up doing an emotional one-eighty.
Honestly, I know the faux near-death experience was just one more thing. I was already feeling like this starting last week. I can track back further, but it was last week at the club that something shifted in me.
I found that little piece of myself that wanted to indulge in a gorgeous man who wanted me.
That part of me has returned.
The shoreline slowly comes back into view, followed by the long private boardwalk leading toward Levi’s house. Warm lights glow through the windows in the distance as the yacht glides toward the dock.
We’re back. The adventure is over.
