Page 80 of Needed You

After we eat and the young kids and some families start to leave, I turn to Lev. “Do you mind if we go hang out with Ryan and Katie and those guys for a while?” I ask.

He smiles, removing his hand from my thigh. “Yeah, let’s go for a little. That’s cool.”

I lean over, giving him a chaste kiss. “Thank you, date,” I say, smiling. “Come with me.”

I get up from his lap, and he links our fingers together as we walk to the group of my friends. Once we get settled in an empty seat, Lindsey comes over to us with two chairs and hangs for a little, introducing her new boyfriend to us. He seems like a really nice guy.

The air is cool, and the festivities are picking up. Lev and Lindsey go to the food tables to get a few snacks, and I stay in the group, talking to a few guys I haven’t seen for a while. I sigh as I see Lance walking across the lawn to our group. He sits down beside me in one of the empty chairs and gives me a sly and almost dirty grin.

“You’re looking fucking hot tonight, Dare.” He reaches over and rubs his fingers up my arm.

I still, meeting his eyes. “Thank you, and you can stop touching me now.” I move my arm away from him and shift in my seat.

“Aww, come on. I miss you,” he says, leaning closer.

Lance’s breath is warm on my cheek and smells an awful lot like alcohol. There’s a searing burn on my other cheek. My head snaps to the side, and I find Lev, holding a few bags of single-serve chips and pretzels, his eyes locked on the two of us as he tries to hold a conversation with one of the older men cleaning up. I know he wants nothing more than to get back to our group.

I smile at him to let him know I’m okay and turn back to Lance. “I’m sorry, Lance. Why are you being like this? You know whatever was between us is done now. I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear.”

Ryan shifts in the seat beside me.

Lance scoffs. “Acting like what?”

I can tell he’s been drinking, and he’s really not acting like he normally does. My stomach tumbles.

“Please, Dare. Spare me. We’re done so you can be with the bulky motorcycle dude?” he says, his tone mocking and his speech slurred. “Isn’t he like, your brother’s best friend or something? That’s quite incestual, don’t you think?”

I’m up and out of my chair as quickly as Ryan is, and he instantly gets in between the two of us. I hear Lev yell “Hey!” as he storms over to the group, dropping the chips in the chair beside me. I really, really don’t want a scene, but people are already gawking, and so I guess that’s too much to ask. Ryan has his back to me, one hand behind him on my stomach and his other hand on Lance’s chest. Lev is suddenly there, too, stepping up behind me, his body heat seeping into my back.

I work to control my breathing as I hold Lance’s gaze over Ryan’s shoulder. Lance was always such a nice guy when we were hooking up. I’m a little surprised by his reaction to me now and to Lev when he saw him at the bar a few days ago. Maybe our hookups meant more to him than I thought. Yikes. Maybe I'll deal with him and that another time. Right now, I need to diffuse the current situation.

“I’m good. It’s good,” I say, and I try to step back from Ryan, but the wall of man behind me keeps me from moving away. “I’m fine. I—we’re fine. I’m sorry Lance. I’m just—”

“He’s with me,” Lev growls, wrapping his arm around my waist. I swallow hard. This possessive side of Lev is a fucking turn-on. And the way he’s touching me is sending me into orbit. I never thought I would be into the possessive, growly type, but with Lev being like this? It’s fucking awesome.

I lean back into Lev and look at Lance again, trying not to show how giddy I’m feeling. But my next words come out with a strong conviction. “I’m seeing Lev now, and I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Lance replies with only a short “whatever” and walks away from our group. Ryan turns.

“W-T-F was that?” he asks in pure Ryan fashion.

I snort. “Bug up his butt, I guess.” I can’t really think clearly now that Lev is holding me like he is. Between what just happened and this, I’m a little dizzy. I press my backside against his front, and he growls in my ear.

I like growly Lev. I like him a lot.

I wiggle a slight wiggle, so discreet that no one but Lev will know.

Lev’s breath warms my ear. “You better knock it off, lycan. I can’t be walking around this party with a hard-on.” He nips the lobe of my ear, sucking on the stud pierced through it. I tilt my head back against him and exhale quietly.

“Okay, gross, you two,” Ryan shouts, and my face heats up as I remember that we’re in front of a bunch of people. Oops.

We pull apart, and after a moment to breathe and settle, Lev injects himself into the group. Lindsey must have come back when everything was happening, and her eyes are wide as they dart between Lev and me. She gives me a warm smile and shakes her head at her brother.

It’s a little weird, honestly, being here with Lev and my friends. It’s okay, just new and different from what I’m used to.

It’s starting to get dark now, the beautiful fall yellow of the evening sky disappearing into the horizon, and the fire is burning brightly. We all grab chairs and find places in a circle next to the fire.

It’s time for the big kids to play now.