Page 82 of When The Mountains Held Us

His body stills and hardens under my hands, which are resting limply against his chest. A tense quiet falls between us while he processes my words. When he finally breaks the silence, his question is so quiet that I can barely make out the words.

“Did he hurt you?”

I shake my head quickly, dislodging a singular tear that slides down my cheek and disappears beneath his hand. He still hasn’t let go of my face, and I draw in a shaky breath at the caress of his touch and the warmth of his skin.

“I was coming out of the grocery store, and he drove past me. I don’t think he saw me.” The quiver in my voice is punctuated by the small sigh of relief that Levi lets out. He holds me tighter, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into him. I rest my head against his chest as he runs soothing circles over my back, not saying anything, just standing with me and lending a quiet support.

Time slows down until I think it’s stopped entirely, everything around us quieting and narrowing to focus on where we’re connected. And maybe that’s why I feel so at ease with him—because his mere presence stills the world around us and quiets the chaos within me.

“We’ll figure this out. Maybe not right now, but we will. I promise.”

The tight ball of anxiety in my chest loosens ever so slightly. “I’m scared. I don’t know why he can’t just leave me alone.”

“Because he’s a manipulative prick who doesn’t care about anything or anyone but himself and his own selfish desires. My father was the same way. People like that…” He stops himself, shaking his head like he doesn’t want to finish the sentence.

“What am I going to do?” My voice is timid, but I’m calmer with Levi here holding me.

“What are we going to do?” he corrects. “I can put a call in to the Sheriff and have him add an extra patrol by the bar.”

“No. If Travis sees a bigger police presence, it could set him off.” Travis has always hated the police, and there’s no telling what he might do if he thinks I had anything to do with their increased patrols.

“Oakley, I⁠—”

“No,” I repeat, firmer this time. The conviction in my voice, the steel in my gaze—it’s enough.

Levi relents. “Okay.” His voice is both hard and soft, and I let out an exhale at his acquiescence, whether he understands or not.

“I missed you,” I admit softly.

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, and I relax further into his embrace.

“I missed you too. I hated being away from you. Especially when you were being such a little tease last night.”

I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to distract me and get my mind off the colossal pain in my ass I just saw driving down the main street of my town. Maybe it’s the way the teasing lilt to his voice slithers over my skin, or the aftermath of the adrenaline rush, but my blood heats at his words and the memory that accompanies them.

“If I remember correctly, you got just as much out of that as I did,” I whisper.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

I pull back and frown up at him, but he continues.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to listen to those needy little noises and not be able to touch you?”

He drags his hand down the length of my back and follows the shape of my spine with his fingertips. A shudder runs through me as a rush of burning hot desire floods my panties. His lips find the shell of my ear.

“How utterly agonizing it was to hear you moan my name as you came, and not have the pleasure of cleaning you up with my tongue?”

Oh, God.

He runs that wicked tongue from the base of my ear all the way down the length of my neck. My entire body arches for him, bringing us impossibly closer. I want this. Want him.

He flicks his tongue into the divot at the base of my neck, his attention so focused on that singular spot that I wonder if he can feel my pulse fluttering erratically just below the surface of my skin. He drags his tongue back up my neck, the cool path trailing goosebumps in its wake, but too soon, the sensation is gone, and I want to cry out at the loss of him.

My eyes fly open to meet his, my storm-cloud gray clashing with his forest green, to form something I don’t have the words to express.

Electricity arcs between us, but it’s not just the spark of physical craving. It’s an emotional connection unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s as if our souls are speaking through our eyes, and the longer we stare, the closer we get to finally understanding this thing between us.

There’s a vulnerability here between us, like the feeling of freefalling through the air into the blue waters below. Just like that day, weeks ago, where I found myself teetering on the edge of a cliff, I’m eager to jump.