Page 62 of Next Level Up
“You are,” Haven cuts in, still grinning.
I lean back, arms crossed. “Guess that answers your question.”
James laughs nervously, still staring like he’s not sure I’m real. “Man, this is—holy shit, this is insane. You’re like—top three in the bracket right now.”
I shrug. “Sometimes, but breathe before you pass out, fanboy.”
He laughs awkwardly, still red-faced, and glances at Cassie. “Yeah… we should probably get going,”pushing to his feet.
Cassie stands too, giving Haven a quick hug before heading for the door. “I’ll text you later, okay?” she says, smiling. Then she waves over her shoulder. “Later, guys!”
Haven stretches, brushing her hair from her eyes. “I’m gonna go check a few emails and take another look at the leader boards,” she says, heading down the hall.
“Don’t work too hard beautiful.”
God, sometimes I wish my brother would shut up.
She gives a small wave without turning around. A moment later, her chair creaks, followed by the soft clack of her mouse filling the empty space.
I lean back in the recliner letting the quiet settle around me I can actually think again.
A full ten minutes go by before I wander down the hall, pausing in her doorway. She’s leaning back in her gaming chair, one leg tucked under her.
“You gonna keep pretending that didn’t turn you on?”
“Don’t know what you mean,” she says, not looking at me.
“Liar.”
I step inside, and close the door behind me. Her shoulders tense just enough that I see it. She’s bracing, She likes bracing. I drop into a crouch in front of her, reach into my hoodie pocket, and pull out the red paracord I grabbed from my bag earlier. Her eyes land on it instantly.
“Still think I was bluffing about the rope?”
“No,” she whispers.
“Good.” I set it on her desk. “You scared?”
She shakes her head, but her thighs press tighter together.
I sit at the edge of her bed, legs spread, and guide her to stand between them. My hands find her arms first. I trace slow lines from her shoulders down to her wrists, letting my knuckles drag over her skin, light enough to make her shiver.
can feel her pulse through my fingertips. This—this is the part I love. The pause before the rope, the quiet charge that builds under her skin and mine. I haven’t done this much, definitely nothing like this—but I’ve thought about it. More times than I’ll ever admit. Ever since that night she asked me to take my mask off, made meseeher while she came apart riding me.Fuck.
Now, she’s here again, trusting me with something even more dangerous than her body.
I let my fingers trail over her wrists, memorizing the shape of them, the warmth. “You know the rule,” I say, looping the first rope around her wrist. “You tell me if anything’s too much.”
She nods.
I give her a look. “Words, angel.”
“Yes,” she breathes. “I promise.”
The first knot is loose. Not sloppy, just a soft hold. More symbolism than restriction. The second wrist takes longer. I wrap her with slow, smooth loops around her skin, keeping her arms behind her, watching the way her chest rises with every pass of the rope.
Once her arms are secure behind her, I shift closer, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “You’re so damngoodat this,” I whisper. “Letting go.”
She makes a sound in her throat.
