Then she lifted her arms up over her head!
Levi lifted one eyebrow, then the other. but he still hadn't moved a muscle so she flushed and started bringing her arms down and thinking of a reason to explain why she just spent the past ten seconds standing with her arms above her head in the middle of his room.
But before she could come up with something he scooted forward on the bed, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to her knees in front of him. He looked straight at her, his eyes spilling questions she didn't want him to mouth. So she shut her eyes and tried hard to will them back to the moment before Wren had texted, before she had decided to take things a step further.
"Cather"
She shook her head.
"Open your eyes!"
She did, slowly. Reluctantly. A small smile was playing on his lips and it tugged at her stomach. He reached down to the hem of her shirt and started playing with it.
"Do you really want this?"
She looked down because she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. Less than a minute ago she had wanted it; but now she just felt ridiculous, like a child who was too eager when she shouldn't have been!
She gave a small nod, still not facing him.
He tugged at her chin and pulled her eyes back to his, his smile had already grown bigger and he dipped forward until their lips met. It was a brief kiss and it did little to calm the storm inside her stomach. He pulled back and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Do you still remember what I said? About the table and what's off it?"
Another nod.
"We don't have to do this, if you're not ready"
"I'm ready" She found some of the strength that had possessed her to raise her arms in the first place and said more confidently: "I'm ready"
She moved her hands up to his hair and slid her fingers through it until she fisted her hand at the back of his head then moved forward until her lips were almost at his ear to whisper: "I want this!" and kissed the soft spot beneath his ear then moved to the edge of his jaw where she started trailing small kisses all the way up to his doll-like lips.
He pulled back and gazed deeply into her eyes; like he was making sure she really wanted this. She didn't know what he saw there, but clearly it was enough to convince him it was safe to move forward. So he shifted and pulled on her arm until she was back on his lap and moved his lips back to hers.
She let her eyelids slide shut as he started nudging her chin with his and pulling on her lower lip.
After a few seconds of this she felt brave enough to lift her arms up again. That was the effect Levi had on her; he made her feel braver, like she could do many things, things she couldn't do otherwise.
This time he didn't hesitate, his hands moved to the hem of her shirt and started slowly sliding it up, still giving her a chance to change her mind.
When she didn't make any move to stop him, he slid it over her head, brought his hands down to her waist and pulled back to look at her.
Goosebumps erupted all over her arms and she couldn't tell if it was because of the sudden cold or because of the way Levi was looking at her, taking her in like he had never seen her before.
She let her head fall forward so that her hair spilled over her shoulders and covered her up a bit, which made Levi frown so she straightened back up, worried he'd think she was changing her mind. Because she wasn't.
Because the way he was looking at her, right that moment, pushed all trace of hesitation out of her head.
She waited for him to say something, anything really. When he finally looked back into her eyes his smile was so soft she wanted to kiss it. She always wanted to kiss Levi's smiles but this one was different, this one was because of her.
"You're beautiful!"
She wanted to argue, but before she could open her mouth his lips found their way to hers again. This time his kisses were all earnest taking, like he couldn't get enough of her. And she couldn't get enough of him as well, so she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and could feel the muscles in his back moving as he shifted, carrying her, until his back was against the head of the bed and she was straddling him.
The warmth of his palms against her bare skin was beginning to scorch marks into her waist, but when he moved his hands up and over her back she could feel that heat spreading all over her skin like wildfire.
He skimmed her forearms and rested his palms over her shoulders, she couldn't tell where he would go next and she was starting to tense up. She worried she was going to ruin this for both of them.
Levi moved his lips to her ear and said softly: "Do you want me to stop?"
She wanted to say no but couldn't find her voice so she shook her head instead and placed her palms flat on his chest. She could almost feel his heart hammering through. She slid one hand down to his stomach and could feel the muscles there contracting beneath her touch. He was tense too, that got a small laugh out of her.
"What's so funny?"
"You are" she teased.
"Oh, really" his tone was challenging. He slid one finger beneath her bra strap and pulled it off her shoulder. Her arm instantly shot up and put it back in place.
"Now who's funny!" he chuckled.
She made a move to get off his lap but he grabbed her by the hips and held her in place. His thumbs started tracing slow circles against the skin right above the band of her jeans while his eyes roamed over her skin, slowly tracing every curve all the way up to her mouth. His eyes flashed to hers and the desire she saw in them made her insides churn.
She moved up his lap until she was flush against him, the feel of his warm skin against hers made a soft sigh escape her throat, then she moved her hands to the back of his head and tugged slightly on his hair until his head fell back and she had full access to the knot in his throat and the soft area beneath his jaw. She started kissing him there and moving her way up until she was nibbling on his ear lobe. That earned her a small groan from him. She liked that he was feeling this almost as much as she was.
A few bites later she moved to his lips and starting tracing their outline with the tip of her tongue. Levi had beautiful lips, so perfect it was as if they were drawn with a fine brush.
Suddenly he was moving and she squealed as he pulled her off of him and onto the bed. He moved so that he was on top of her, holding himself up by one elbow while his other hand went around the side of her neck and his thumb started brushing against her lower lip.
"You're driving me crazy, you know" his smile was warm and his eyes looked so big up close she could see every flick of color in them. He leaned in and started kissing her lower lip and pulling on it, then his hand moved away and his lips were on her neck feathering her with soft kisses. Her head fell back giving him more access and a small sound escaped her.
"You smell so good here" he nuzzled the hollow at the base of her throat then placed a soft kiss there. His lips started their journey south as he moved from her neck to her collar bone and then even further. Her breathing grew fast and shallow as his lips found their way to the edge of her bra.
She wasn't ready to take it off yet so she was relieved when he moved back up to her mouth and started devouring her there instead.
The need to touch him was building so quick inside of her, so her hands moved up to his chest and started tracing the lines around his arms and stomach.
"I like it when you touch me" he said.
"I like touching you"
She could feel the smile that spread across his face against her lips and then he was kissing her again, slower this time like he was trying to memorize the feel of her lips sliding against his.
He relaxed down to the bed and pulled her closer so she was practically lying on top of him. She knew he wanted more; she could practically see it in his eyes earlier but this was the most she could give him tonight. She wanted to take things one step at a time with him.
Levi's kisses stopped and his eyes were on hers. The flames inside them were less raging now, albeit still there.
"I really, really like you Cather"
"I really, really like you too"
"Will you sleep with me tonight?" he grinned.
"As long as you promise not to run off in the morning"
He laughed, remembering the first night he spent in her bed.
"I won't", with that he moved his lips back to hers while his arms wrapped around her and pulled her to his chest; where she spent the night, nestled against him and slowly drifted to sleep.