His hand spans my lower back, firm, possessive without being crude. I should pull away. I don’t.
“You’re enjoying this,” I whisper.
“You started it.”
“Afraid you won’t get bid on?”
His mouth dips close to my ear. “Afraid you’ll forget this thing between us is fake?”
My pulse thunders. “I won’t forget.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me. “Sadie.”
He hasn’t said my name like that since I left. Not intern. Not Hotshot. Sadie.
“Yeah?” I manage.
“You don’t get to run this game,” he says softly. “If we’re doing this, I lead.”
My stomach flips.
“You think I can’t handle you?” I challenge.
His grip tightens slightly at my waist. Not painful. Not gentle either.
“Hotshot,” he murmurs. “I know you can’t.”
Heat floods my face. Behind us, Axel wolf-whistles. Mrs. Dottie beams like she just arranged a royal wedding.
Levi finally releases me, but his fingers trail deliberately down my side before letting go.
The message is clear. This may have started as a joke. But he doesn’t do anything halfway.
As the church ladies bustle away discussing centerpiece colors and fundraising spreadsheets, I turn to him.
“See?” I say lightly. “Problem solved.”
His eyes are unreadable. “For ninety days.”
“For ninety days.”
“And when it’s over?”
I hesitate for a fraction of a second. “We go back to normal.”
He studies me like he’s searching for a crack.
Then he nods once. “Fine.”
Ash wanders back over, grinning like a menace. “So… should we install that sprinkler system now, or are you two going to handle combustion on your own?”
Levi doesn’t look away from me when he answers. “We’ll handle it.”
My heartbeat refuses to settle. Because I know Levi Kane. And if he decides to play this game?
He doesn’t spark.
He scorches.
