But Lev is… more than nice, really. He’s kind and warm, and those dimples on his cheeks do something to me. His scent might not be as strong as Redd’s or Monroe’s, but it’s still something I can close my eyes and revel in. Bergamot with just a hint of cherries, a unique scent that pulls me in.
“This stuff is actually pretty entertaining,” Lev admits. “I never really watched any of this stuff before—I’m mainly a movie guy—but the drama is top-notch. I can see why you like it so much.” He’s the only one out of the guys who’d admit something like that to me, and that’s what endears him the most to me.
He’s truthful and he’s not afraid to be himself. I honestly don’t think he has a single bad bone in his body.
“We didn’t have any streaming services at N.O.A.,” I tell him, leaning my cheek on his shoulder. “It is fun to watch, even though half of it’s probably staged.” I shrug, not really caring either way. Entertainment is entertainment, and when said entertainment comes with the goal of a happy ending when it deals with omegas and their mates, you can’t help but wish for the people on the screen to get their happy ending.
Even if, somehow, those happy endings never seem to last.
“You think it’s staged?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious.
“I think some of it is, yeah. Like the dates when they’re out of the villa, and the close-up interviews. I do wonder what it’s really like, though. How close any of that is to reality.”
“Us normal folk can only imagine,” he deadpans, shooting me a dimpled smile.
I lift my head off his shoulder and gently touch his cheek, near his dimple. “I love your dimples, Lev. I think they’re adorable.” My words make the dimples on his face deepen, which in turn makes me grin right back.
“You know, I’m probably the only one here who’d be happy to be called adorable. Redd and Monroe? Don’t think they’d like it so much.”
“Then it’s a good thing it’s just you and me, huh?” And it’s crazy to me how comfortable I feel with him. Though we’ve gotten to know each other a bit since we first met, I don’t know everything there is to know about the beta, and he doesn’t know everything there is to know about me, either. There’s still so much left to learn and discover, and knowing we have a lifetime to do it makes me content in a way nothing else could.
Lev turns his body so he’s facing me on the couch rather than the TV mounted on the wall. “The two alphas do seem to want to monopolize your time,” he says, though he doesn’t soundbitter in the slightest. “I can’t blame them. I mean… look at you: gorgeous even when you’re wearing sweats.”
It’s true, I’m wearing baggy, comfy clothes right now. His compliment makes me blush, and I bite my lip and look away as my heart speeds up in my chest. A single compliment can make me lose it with these guys.
“You probably haven’t been told that enough in your life,” he goes on. “So let me say it again: you’re gorgeous. You’re beautiful. You’re freaking stunning, Dulcie. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
“Stop,” I whisper, slow in meeting his hazel eyes.
He doesn’t stop, though. He keeps going. “How can I stop when it’s true? You might not believe it yet, but I’ll say it to you every day until you do—and even after that, I’ll keep reminding you. You’re amazing, inside and out. We don’t deserve you.” Just based on the way he says that last part, he means it. In his heart of hearts, he means every single word. The beta’s not just blowing smoke up my ass; he’s being painfully genuine.
And I love him for it.
Love. That word hits me like a brick. I don’t know that I’m in love with them quite yet, but I do think I’m falling. How silly is that?
“Lev,” I whisper, but all I can get out is his name. Everything else gets caught in the back of my throat, and not in a bad way. More like aneverything wants to come out at onceway.
“I love the way you say my name,” he whispers back, lifting a hand and sweeping some of my hair behind an ear. His fingertips graze my cheekbones in the process, sending tiny electric zaps zipping along my skin. “Can I tell you something?”
All I can do is nod.
“I’m dying to kiss you right now.” The way he says it, so softly, sends a shiver down my spine, and the way he stares at meso intently, patiently waiting to see my reaction, makes me melt into him.
“Then kiss me,” I whisper. I’d be lying if I say I haven’t thought about it. Of course I have. I thought about kissing him long before thoughts of him and Redd together filled my brain today. I kissed Redd and Monroe, did more than that with each of them, but with the beta, things have moved slower.
Not that I’m complaining, but… I would like to know how his mouth feels on mine.
The smile that spreads on his face after I say that is a slow one, and those dimples? Those dimples reappear, and my heart flutters as his face draws near. My eyelids close the moment his face becomes too close to focus on, and seconds later, his lips are on mine.
Kissing Lev isn’t like kissing either of the alphas. It’s sweet and gentle, warm in all the right ways, with no rough edges about it. The kind of kiss you could easily lose yourself in. His hand finds the back of my head, angling me how he wants, and the kiss deepens in the best way.
A soft moan escapes me, and Lev responds by pulling me onto his lap, his mouth never leaving mine. His other hand roams along my back, bunching up my shirt, and his fingertips eventually find the skin on my lower back. The moment he touches me there, I have to pull my mouth off his and pant. It’s too much all at once, too many sensations at war with each other, all while I try to kiss him back.
He stares at me with half-lidded eyes. “Your lips are so soft,” he murmurs. “I could kiss you all day.”
My breath catches at his declaration. I want to tell him that kissing him is just as nice, that his lips are the right kind of gentle, but no words come. All I can do is wait until he decides to bring his mouth to mine again.
I don’t have to wait long. Lev’s mouth presses against mine once more as we both close our eyes and lose ourselves in the embrace. It’s a slower start, with more of a countdown than it was with the alphas, but that’s not a bad thing. There’s something to say about taking it nice and slow—something nice about not leaking slick ten seconds after starting a make-out session.
