Page 65 of Wicked Dares
“Mr. Vale, over here!” shouts a reporter from the back of the group, holding up his camera.
“Levi! Just one shot!” says another.
They were all waiting like they do on TV.
Levi pulls me closer to his side. “Stay close to me,” he murmurs, guiding me forward.
“Is that your girlfriend?” someone calls. “The Chroniclewould love a shot, Mr. Vale!”
Levi turns slightly toward them, his posture sharpening.
“Levi, just one picture!” another voice pushes through. “Give us something for the morning edition! Like a kiss!”
Levi looks at me and winks—a silent cue before he stops in the middle of the pathway.
He’s going to kiss me. And I’m not sure I can brace myself for it.
Because Levi doesn’t kiss halfway.
But this is part of the deal. The thing I agreed to.
My heart is suddenly beating far too fast, and it speeds up even more when he cups my jaw. His hand feels warm and steady against my skin while everything inside me turns chaotic.
We look at each other for a heartbeat before he lowers his head to my lips and kisses me.
His lips on mine shouldn’t feel so natural, like he’s the missing piece of me.
The world narrows and it’s terrifying how easily I melt into him.
The noise and cameras fade, and I feel like I never want to go back to a time when we’re not like this.
But then he stops. He pulls away, and the reporters go crazier than before.
“The Chronicle’sgoing to love that!” a man calls out. “Sorry, ladies, Levi Vale is off the market.”
He sounds like a walking headline.
“Let’s go.” Levi slips his arm around me and guides me past the crowds.
The cameras are still going, and my lips are still burning.
If he’s going to kiss me like that every time we have to do this, I’m not sure I’ll last. I thought fake kissing would feel more… fake. I know what his real kisses feel like. That back there was one of them.
As we reach the car, the door opens. We slip into the back seat and the world finally quiets again.
The driver sets off a minute later.
Levi glances at me but doesn’t say anything.
I can’t think of anything to say, either, so I keep quiet and gaze out the window.
We travel in silence. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to reach my apartment.
The car pulls up outside the block, rolling to a stop near a group of guys. From the look of things, they’re either dealing drugs or taking them.
The shift from Manhattan glamour to whatever this is outside my apartment building feels brutal.
“I’m walking you inside,” Levi declares before I can say anything.
