She clicked open the chat box and read the only three lines of conversation.

Hope: I can't wait to see you! My bed is ready and waiting. Miss you <3 mika:="" this="" has="" been="" a="" long="" time="">

Hope: Text me on my cell. You might not get wireless in your travels.

s.h.i.t. Her stomach dropped. She stared, mouth open, at the page. This was bad.

"f.u.c.k."

Her gut twisted, making her feel like vomiting. Oh G.o.d. She had to tell him. He was going to be crushed. This whole trip wasted. The last four months wasted! She'd never hated her job as much as this moment.

A knock at the door startled her. That would be Levi. What should she do? Tell him now? Maybe after dinner. Yes, let him eat first. But what if he puked? No, she was the one about to puke. He'd probably be fine.

Not fine, but not puking either.

He knocked again.

s.h.i.t!

She shot up from her seat at the desk and went to the door. Hand on the doork.n.o.b, she gave herself a pep talk.

Play it cool. At least until after dinner.

She opened the door. On the other side stood Levi, damp hair sitting in a messy pile on his head, grinning in his adorable way as he looked her over.

His smile faded and he furrowed his brow. "You okay?"

c.r.a.p. He could tell. She'd never been a good liar. Already her palms felt sweaty. She heaved a breath and clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. Plastering on a small smile, she nodded.

He gave her a sidelong glance. "You look like you're gonna be sick."

"I'm fine."

Without permission, he pushed by her and walked into the room. "If you're not feeling well, it's better we don't get greasy diner food."

"I'm not sick."

"You look terrible."

Ugh. This was never going to work. She couldn't sit through dinner, smiling and pretending not to know his dreams were about to crumble down around him. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" He sounded concerned.

She heard the bed squeak under his weight. He'd sat down. Great. Now he'd refuse to leave until she gave him an answer. He was stubborn that way.

When she opened her eyes, he was gazing at her, his lips turned down in a frown. "What's wrong, Em?"

She felt her face crumple. Her eyes burned. In a small voice, she answered, "I don't want to say."

"Okay, now you're scaring me. You need to tell me what happened."

Right now, she needed to pound Heidi's face in for stringing Levi along, for breaking his heart. The intensity of the feeling shocked her. She wasn't the violent type.

Levi sat here, waiting patiently, his eyes growing big with worry.

She sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor. "I don't think you're the only guy Heidi is...talking to."

Seconds ticked by in silence. She refused to look at him, to see the devastation on his face.

"Why do you think that?" he finally asked.

"I saw a message pop up on her Facebook page. From a guy. She said her bed is ready for him and she misses him."

Another awkward silence. She lifted her head. He stared through her, forehead wrinkled in confusion. Then he jumped up. "That could mean anything. Let me see it."

She nodded and went to the computer. The page was already up, the messages sitting there like evidence in a trial. Levi moved in and read the three small lines.

Em bit her lip and watched him.

He must've read it over several times because he stared at it for a long time. Finally, he straightened and sighed deeply.

Arms crossed over his chest, he looked at Emerson. "Well f.u.c.k."

To say the least.

A humorless laugh escaped him. He shook his head then ran a hand through his tousled curls. She backed up a few steps. He was taking this far too well.

"I'm sorry, Levi." She cleared her throat. "Um. Maybe we should head to that restaurant. I bet there's a bar."

"f.u.c.k!"

"Yeah, a bar is good. How about a drink?"

He shook his head. "I just need a few minutes to myself, okay?"

"Of course." She moved out of the path of the door.

Levi strode toward it.

So much for dinner. She sighed. Maybe there was a vending machine.

Partway to the door, he turned back around. "You know, I'm actually not surprised."

"Oh. We're talking now? Okay."

"I mean, there were the red flags that made me contact you, but it hadn't crossed my mind that she'd be talking to more guys than me. It wasn't as if she were after my money. Not like I had any." He started pacing the width of the room. "But she was always vague about her plans. She'd say she was going out with friends but not who or where. Now I know why."

He headed toward the door again, leaving her floundering for something to say. She sucked at this part. Comforting words weren't her thing.

At the door, he stopped and spun to face her. "This is so hypocritical. She used to get suspicious of me when I went out with friends. G.o.d forbid there was a girl there. If I even mentioned a girl's name, I'd get h.e.l.l for it."

She took three steps back. He was revved up now. The muscles in his neck strained. His face was bright red.

"I figured she was possessive. Isn't that sweet? She loves me so much she's worried about losing me." He shook his head, staring at the floor. With a deep breath, his body seemed to relax a little. "But no. It was all about crowd control."

Emerson stood in place, still unsure of what to say though it didn't seem like he needed comfort so much as an outlet for his feelings. Maybe just being there, listening, helped.

A few minutes went by and his breathing slowed. Finally, he looked up at her.

"You know what? f.u.c.k her."

Yeah. f.u.c.k her.

She hadn't liked this Heidi girl from the beginning. How could anyone trust someone named Hope Love, even if it was fake?

Levi's face crumpled in sadness. Without thought, she walked to him. She didn't know the right words to say, but his suffering was killing her. Levi was smart and funny and sweet... He'd given himself wholeheartedly to this b.i.t.c.h and she'd stomped on his heart. He didn't deserve this.

Before she knew what she was doing, she stepped into his body and hugged him. She rested her cheek on his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, hoping she didn't just make this ten times more awkward. She wasn't normally a hugger so it already felt weird and uncomfortable.

A moment later, his arms came around her. His scent washed over her, and the warmth of his body against hers caused a fuzzy feeling to grow inside her. This wasn't so bad. A small smile settled on her lips.

Not good.

The man was hurt and she was smiling? She was a f.u.c.king s.a.d.i.s.t.

She went to pull away but Levi's arms drifted from the middle of her back, down to her lower back, just above her a.s.s. Warmth slid down her spine, following the path of his hands. She shivered. Her eyes drifted shut as all of her focus centered around the weight of his hands on her back.

Was she that touch starved? It was just a hug but she felt it all the way down to her toes. His hands lifted, then he dragged his fingertips over her a.s.s. She fought back a full body shudder. He cupped her face in his warm hands then forced her head up to look at him.

"f.u.c.k her," he said, gazing intensely into her eyes.

Yes. f.u.c.k me instead.

Confliction was evident in his eyes. Did he wish she was Hope? She didn't want to be anyone's sloppy seconds, but when she tried to pull away, he held her still. His features sharpened as if he'd just remembered he was mad. Then he crushed his mouth to hers.

He tasted like Pixie Stix. The kiss was angry but somehow that made it s.e.xy. His lips moved urgently against hers as he turned his head sideways to fit better. She let her lips fall open so he could access her mouth. His tongue slipped between her lips. Kissing had always been erotic to her. She found it more intimate than s.e.x. Faces pressed close, tongues dancing, mimicking the motions of s.e.x. Sharing that s.p.a.ce, that experience with someone was significant.

Maybe she should stop him. He was obviously rebounding. But he smelled so good, felt so good. Tomorrow, she'd blame her dry spell and live with the regret. He probably would too.

Screw it. She was too turned on to care.

Levi edged her toward the bed then fumbled with the hem of her t-shirt. Barely pausing the kiss, he yanked the shirt up and over her head.

What bra was she wearing?

When he stopped a moment to look at her, she dropped her gaze to check. Of course she'd be wearing her girliest bra black but with colorful little hearts all over it.

He smirked. "Cute."

"Shut up." Up on tippy toes, she restarted the kiss.

He didn't hesitate to respond. d.a.m.n he was a good kisser. Panting, she tried to keep up with his teasing. He shouldn't have all the control. Timidly, she felt for the bottom of his t-shirt. He slowed as she pulled it up his torso then he helped yank it over his head.

She smiled at the sight of his bare chest. f.u.c.king hot. Smooth and lickable. And apparently, he wanted it as badly as she did.

Without warning, he pushed her backward and she tumbled onto the bed. "Hey!"

Smiling, he went for the waistband of her jeans. For the first time, she noticed the wet that had pooled there between her legs. Her c.l.i.t was throbbing, her panties soaked through. When had she gotten so turned on?

Despite the embarra.s.sment, she let him pull her pants off. His eyes were rapt, watching each inch of her legs as he uncovered them. She was so relieved she'd shaved.

When the jeans were fully off, he threw them on the floor and snaked his way up her body. She let out a low groan when he pressed his lips to her neck.

His answering chuckle was wicked. "You have s.e.xy underwear too."

She looked down. His body covered most of her, but she spotted the black lace at the top. Could've been worse.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No." He licked the sensitive skin just above the top of her bra. "I don't make fun of people. If I were to tease you though..." he stopped and stared down at her, his eyes twinkling with amus.e.m.e.nt, "it would be about all your secret tattoos. Are you in a gang or something?"

Then he scooted down to her hip and nipped the Mario Brothers pixilated mushroom there.

Her squeak seemed to please him. Before she could stop him, he grabbed both her thighs and flipped her over. She moaned into the mattress when he ran his tongue across the tattoo on her upper back. Gooseb.u.mps rose on her skin. For the life of her, she couldn't remember what the h.e.l.l that tattoo was.

f.u.c.k. Her body turned all melty, like it had when he'd whispered in her ear. It'd been so long since she'd gotten any action, even with her vibrator. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if this was a bad idea. She wasn't the one night stand type, and they had no emotional attachment.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Please say yes.

"Let's not question it," was the answer.

c.r.a.p. That didn't seem wise. Maybe she should As his fingers slid down her back then traced the waistband of her panties, coherent thought drifted away. Clutching the blanket hard between her fingers, she bit back a moan. Her eyes fluttered closed. Levi traced the edge of her panties, down her hip. Had she been thinking about stopping him? Any reason for that errant thought disappeared when he slipped his fingers between her legs, finding her warmth and stroking there.

She squirmed, trying to direct him, arching back toward his fingers. With a deep chuckle, he removed his hand.

Nooo, she almost whined.

He gripped the waistband of her underwear and slowly, very slowly, pulled them down. His action was so precise, so purposefully meant to torture her, she almost cursed at him. She refrained, figuring it wouldn't make anything go faster. He seemed to be enjoying the moment, and it was only making her wetter.

He stopped when her a.s.s was exposed. The coolness. .h.i.tting her skin made her aware of how vulnerable she was. She gave a little kick.

"Impatient?" he asked.

"Shut up."

s.h.i.t. Condom!

"Condom," she said, turning to look at him over her shoulder.