N. Walters - Past Promises

She dropped her hand and rubbed it up and down the fine wool of her dress pants. It was distressing how quickly her body reacted to Levi. It had been that way from the first moment she’d met him. All the man had to do was walk in the room and she felt her body temperature rise. She had to control herself. Levi was a friend, nothing more.

She didn’t know his entire story, but she knew he’d been in the army with Jonah—Special Forces. He’d left the military and had come to Jamesville to help Jonah about six months ago and had stayed. She figured he was entitled to take some time to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Besides which, he was the perfect tenant. He was quiet and he’d done more than enough work to pay for at least six more months’ rent. She had no idea how long he was staying and hadn’t worked up the courage to ask. The last thing she wanted to do was make him think she wanted him gone.

“I think you’ve got your first customers waiting outside.” Levi’s quiet voice broke the silence between them. She looked at him and he canted his head toward the door. Sure enough, through the huge display window beside the front door, she could see Cyndi, Shamus, Amanda and Jonah waiting to get inside. All her friends had come to her opening.

Smiling, she let all thoughts of her family and her sexual feelings for Levi slip away. Plenty of time to deal with them later. Or not. Taking a deep breath, she strode across the store and unlocked the door. “Welcome to Past Promises.”

Levi set his coffee on the counter the minute Linda’s back was turned. Whatever was in that letter had upset her. He’d stood in the shadows watching her for several minutes before he’d spoken. He’d seen the way she unconsciously placed her hand over her stomach, the way her shoulders had hunched forward.

He didn’t like it.

Reaching down, he plucked the letter out of the garbage and stuffed it in his back pocket. He’d read it later and decide if there was anything he could do to help her.

Some might consider it an invasion of privacy, but not Levi. He had skills that most people didn’t and if he could use them to help someone he cared for then that’s what he should do. Besides which, she’d thrown it in the trash without even tearing it up or shredding it. That made it fair game in his mind.

Linda was special. A classy lady who was never pretentious. She’d been reserved with him at first, but he’d soon discovered that was just her way. She reminded him of a dog who’d been abused. Guarded. Not trusting until she was certain she wouldn’t be hurt.

He didn’t like the idea of someone hurting her.

Not that she was fragile or anyone’s idea of a victim. Just the opposite, in fact. Linda was fiercely independent and a hard worker. She’d pitched in, working long hours alongside him, sweating deep into the late hours of the night to whip this place into shape.

She had to be curious about him and his past, yet she’d asked him no questions. Linda had accepted him as he was, and that was a rare gift. He knew he made a lot of folks uncomfortable. It wasn’t only his size, but the way he watched things. He’d been told more than once he had scary eyes.

But Linda hadn’t seemed scared or intimidated at all. She’d worked beside him, sharing funny anecdotes from her trips to look for more antiques. She handled all the details of the renovation, as well as the pressures of getting a new business launched without breaking a sweat.

However, she wasn’t all calm and composure. More than once, he’d caught her swearing when things went wrong with the renovations. Her blue eyes blazed and her skin flushed a rosy red as she dealt with whatever problem arose. She was cute when she was mad, but he’d never tell her that. He wasn’t totally without social skills when it came to the opposite sex.

He liked Linda. She was comfortable to be around. Plus, she was easy on the eyes. He didn’t like the idea that someone, or something, had upset her as much as it had.

He glanced over at her as she hugged Cyndi and Amanda. Linda was tall for a woman, about five-nine, but she was still small alongside him. He liked the way her black hair was cut short. The style wasn’t fussy and suited her. She had a slender build and porcelain skin. He longed to touch her, but knew he was much too rough around the edges for a woman like Linda.

That hadn’t stopped him from fantasizing about it though. His imagination had created scenario after scenario, which featured both of them naked and rolling around in his bed. Hell, he didn’t even need a bed. A table, a sofa or even a wall would do just fine.

He could imagine her hands touching him—everywhere. He wanted to feel her fingers skating all over his skin from his face to his feet and everywhere in between. Then he wanted to return the favor.

He’d lost countless hours of sleep wondering what color her nipples were and how sensitive they were. Levi wanted to feel the texture of her fine skin beneath his fingertips, wanted to taste her soft flesh, caress her plump breasts.

He imagined working his way down her body, teasing her bellybutton with his tongue before dipping even lower. He wanted to spread her thighs wide and bury his face in her pussy, learn her scent and smell as he discovered what made her moan and what made her scream with pleasure.

His jeans tightened around his cock as it expanded. He swore under his breath and concentrated on bringing himself back under control, thankful he was standing behind the counter. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to keep the problem from getting any bigger. He usually had no problem with control, except around Linda.

Her voice, low and cultured, slid over his skin like a physical caress as she greeted her friends. It had been that way from the moment he’d first heard her speak. She glanced over her shoulder at him as if she sensed his scrutiny. She raised her eyebrow at him in silent question. He stared back, giving away nothing of his thoughts.

Cyndi caught her attention, pulling her away to look at a display of dishes in the corner. Levi picked up his coffee and headed over to where Jonah and Shamus were standing just inside the front door. He nodded to both of them. “There’s coffee if you want it.” He pointed them in the direction of the coffee pot.

Both men took him up on the offer, heading over to help themselves to a cup. The letter he’d dug out of the garbage was practically burning a hole in his back pocket, but it could wait. If there was one thing he’d learned during his time in Special Forces, it was patience. He’d need privacy and time to examine whatever was in there. He settled back and pushed the letter from his mind for the time being.

Right now, he needed to be near Linda. Joy and excitement lit her face from within as she showed both women around the store. He soaked it up, feeling a sense of pride at his small part in helping to make this happen. The corners of his lips turned up slightly as he watched her flit around the store like a butterfly, not quite landing anywhere, but touching everything in her path. He’d bet every cent he had, which was a considerable amount, that she knew every object in the store and could tell you its history and price without checking her computer.

The door opened and several older ladies walked in, followed by a younger couple. Linda smiled and greeted them. Past Promises was officially open.

Levi did what he did best. He faded into the background and watched the proceedings unfold before him.

Linda locked the front entrance a little after half-past five. Every muscle in her body ached, but it was a good feeling. She was exhausted, yet exhilarated, by her first day in business. It had been busier than she’d expected, considering the time of year. Many folks had simply been curious about the store, but many had come to buy.

Twirling around in a circle, she let out a small laugh. She grabbed hold of the side of a table when the room began to spin, a sharp reminder that she’d been so busy she hadn’t had time to eat lunch. Added to that the fact that she’d been too nervous to eat any breakfast and it had been almost twenty-four hours since she’d eaten. No wonder she was feeling lightheaded.

Satisfaction filled her as she went behind the counter and began to tally the day’s sales. She’d done well, considering it was early April and there weren’t many tourists around. Already her mind was jumping with ideas. She definitely needed to start looking for a part-time employee she could train so she could seek out new stock at estate sales and auctions.

She hummed as she worked, enjoying the quiet after the excitement of the day. When her bookwork was done, she locked her deposit and account books in the antique safe that sat beside her desk. It had taken five men and a lot of sweat to get the heavy metal box into place so she wasn’t worried about the receipts sitting there overnight. Besides, most of her sales had been credit card. Only a handful of folks had used cash.

“Are you done?”

Linda gave a half-shriek as she spun around in her chair, her hand plastered to her chest. “You have got to stop doing that,” she scolded Levi. The man moved like a ghost. It was very disconcerting.

“Sorry about that.” He leaned against the doorjamb that led to the inside stairwell and the apartments above. She tried not to notice how delectable he looked with his brown eyes gleaming and his black hair shoved away from his incredible face.

“Did you want anything?” As much as she enjoyed spending time with Levi, she hoped he didn’t need anything. All she wanted right now was a long soak in her claw-foot bathtub and something to eat.

Heat flashed in his eyes before being buried beneath his usual unreadable stare. Linda was no longer certain what she’d seen in his eyes in that brief second. She’d probably imagined she saw a spark of sexual interest because she was so tired.

He pushed away from the doorframe and came toward her. “I’d like a lot of things, but right now I’d like to feed you dinner. You didn’t have any lunch?”

It sounded like an accusation and raised her hackles. “I was busy,” she snapped. He raised one of his brows and she took a deep breath, refusing to apologize. She’d done far too much of that in her life.

“So I saw. The store did great today. You must be proud.”

Great, now she felt small and petty for snapping at Levi. The man was just making conversation and, if she’d heard him correctly, was offering her dinner. Her stomach chose that moment to growl. Loudly.

Levi smiled. It was the briefest flash, but it changed his face completely, softening the harsh features. Linda blinked. She’d only seen him smile a handful of times and each one left her feeling warm and tingly all over.

It was a good thing that he didn’t smile all the time or she’d never be able to function around him. As it was, she tended to act like a blithering idiot half the time. She had no idea why. She’d been exposed to rich, good-looking, powerful men her entire life. But none of them affected her the way Levi did.

He sauntered toward her, muscles flexing and rolling with each step. “Why don’t you come on up to my place and I’ll feed you dinner while you tell me all about your day?”

“I’d planned to take a bath.”

The color of his eyes deepened as he leaned closer. “You could take your bath first.”

Linda swallowed hard and closed her eyes in self-defense. Images of the two of them in her large antique tub crowded her brain. Soapy, slick limbs entwined. His hands caressing her breasts, cupping and shaping them. Her breathing quickened. Her head was spinning and this time it had nothing to do with the lack of food. Her body swayed.

Levi steadied her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “You’re tired. Food first.”

She shook herself out of her stupor. She must be more tired and hungry than she thought. That was her only explanation for allowing her daydreams about Levi to take over so completely. Usually she was able to control her unruly thoughts. But not tonight.

“You don’t need to do that, Levi. I was just going to fix a sandwich or something.”

“It’s no trouble. Besides, it’s already cooked. All you have to do is sit and eat. Then you can get your bath.”

It was an offer too good to refuse. “Just let me get the lights.” Going to the bank of switches, she turned off all but three, keeping them on for security purposes. The store took on a ghostly feel as the deepening shadows enveloped it. “Good night,” she whispered to the store before turning back to the doorway where Levi waited.