Free Duty Bound by Samantha Chase

his tongue to tease and play with mine. I tightened my fingers in the back of his shirt and raised my other arm to tangle in his hair.
    He made a low, gravelly sound and wrapped an arm around me to lift me higher off the couch, so he could have better access to me. My entire body was flooded with emotion and sensation, both of them mingling together with such intensity I couldn’t tell which part of me wanted him most—my body or my heart.
    “Harper,” he murmured, breaking the kiss briefly to give us both time to suck in air. “Harper.” He glanced little kisses on my lips before sinking deeply into my mouth again.
    I was throbbing in my head, my chest, between my legs—and I kept clawing at his shirt and his hair, trying to get even closer to him.
    Then I jarred my leg unexpectedly, and my ankle gave a sudden throb of pain. I made a muffled noise in response, and he immediately pulled out of the kiss.
    “You okay?” he asked, his hot eyes searching me urgently.
    “Yeah. Ankle.”
    I still desperately wanted to pull him back toward me again, pull him down on top of me. I wanted him to rub his body against mine and then get rid of our clothes, so we could lose ourselves in pleasure.
    But the interruption had reminded me of everything else. This was Levi. Gavin’s best friend. And he’d spent his life laughing at me and bossing me around.
    Nothing really had changed, except I was crazy attracted to him.
    But attraction could be controlled. And there was no way in the world I was going to be a one-night stand to a man like Levi.
    I dropped my arms and collapsed back onto the couch, breathing heavily and starting to burn with embarrassment and confusion.
    “What just happened?” I managed to ask, since someone needed to say something.
    Levi was holding himself rigidly still, and I couldn’t read his expression. I had no idea what he was thinking.
    “I don’t know” he said at last, shaking himself off slightly and raising himself to his feet. “I don’t know.”
    “Oh, well…” I trailed off, having no clue what to say. “Thanks for taking me home.”
    Better to get him out of here quickly so I could start to recover my wits.
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Have a good evening.”
    I don’t know if the words surprised him or not, but he finally understood that I wanted him to leave. “Right. You too. Give me a call if you need anything.”
    At last, he left the room and then left the house. I heard the door close and then a car drive away. My car, I assumed, since he wouldn’t have any other way to get back.
    Okay, so that was awkward. And confusing. And incredibly hot.
    But there was no way I could hook up with a man like Levi. He was everything I didn’t want in a man.
    And there was no way he would want me—for anything but a quick fling—either.

 
Six
    Levi
     
    The bitch of it was that there was no excuse for how I felt when I woke up the next morning. I couldn’t blame it on alcohol. My head was pounding, and I felt sick to my stomach, and I couldn’t honestly say that I’d gotten more than two hours of sleep.
    Thanks to Harper.
    What the hell had I been thinking? I knew better than to kiss her, to get close to her. No good could come of it. She was my best friend’s sister. My dead best friend’s sister. That was all. No more kissing. No more touching. No more staying up half the night fantasizing about how it would have been to have her right there on her living room couch.
    I might as well be banging my head against the wall because it was no use. I might be able to abide by the no kissing and touching thing, but I’d be damned if I’d give up the fantasy too. Sometimes, being a glutton for punishment was all a guy had.
    The clock read seven a.m., and I wanted nothing more than to roll over and attempt another hour of sleep. I couldn’t, though. I had to get Harper’s car back to her and then pick up my truck and get to work. A bullet in the foot would be less painful than facing her