Chapter 9: IX
Isabell POV
The sound of my name sounded sharp out of Levi's mouth which had me losing my balance completely, and I fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Levi ran after me immediately with his arms outstretched in panic as if I were a wounded puppy.
“Are you okay?” he exclaimed, kneeling beside me, his eyes full of concern and his mouth turned down into an unhappy frown.
The moment Levi’s hand brushed past mine, as he helped me up from the ground, my entire body felt like it was on fire. His touch was firm yet gentle, the kind of balance that made me feel both safe and anxious at the same time.
"I'll show you." His voice was gruff, causing me to swallow and wipe imaginary sweat off my forehead.
"You put your foot here, carefully," he instructed as I hopped on while I pretended to not be affected by him.
Every slight touch sent sparks running through my body, and I cursed myself for feeling it so strongly.
"Keep your balance, look straight ahead," Levi said, his voice calm but firm.
I pedaled faster, and he let go, letting me feel the momentum on my own. I wobbled slightly but managed to stay upright. Relief and pride flooded me, and I laughed, a sound that seemed to pull Levi closer, even though he stayed a step behind.
"Not bad for your first try," he said, his lips curling into a smirk. My stomach fluttered.
"You make it sound like I did it perfectly," I replied, trying to mask my nervousness.
"Perfection isn't the goal," he said, his tone low, teasing, almost intimate. "Balance is."
I swallowed, trying to focus on the bike instead of the heat rising to my cheeks. Every time he spoke, leaned slightly closer, or brushed against me while correcting my posture, I felt my pulse spike. I hated how aware I was of him.
A sudden shout from the kids broke my thoughts. "Faster, Aunt Isabell! Go!"
"You're improving," he said, his voice lower now, almost like a growl.
The air between us shifted, charged. I stepped back, suddenly aware of how close we were, and cursed my pounding heart.
"Thanks," I muttered, averting my gaze.
"Careful," he said softly, his olive-green eyes locking on mine. "You've got a way of making it hard to look away."
I froze. The words, the tone, everything in his presence made me dizzy.
"Uh... we should probably head inside before the kids get bored," I said, my voice higher than intended.
He murmured something under his breath but his words seemed to fade with the background noise as my attention was fixed on his lips as they moved . They were pink and perfect and so close.
“Isabell!” Levi’s words jolted me out of my thoughts and brought me back to reality.
His brows were furrowed and his face looked concerned and slightly irritated now.
“What?” My voice came out more irritated than it should have and for some reason Levi smirked at it.
“You seemed to have zoned out” His smirk was back , “For a minute or two, maybe even more. Are you feeling alright?”
“I am fine!” I blurted out without thinking, then clamped my mouth shut.
Before it got more awkward, the girls ran out, their similar faces carrying identical grins.“We will get the first aid kit” And soon they ran off again.
“Do they always speak in sync?” I said quietly when the distance between us began to grow.
“Most times”
Something stung and I glanced down at my elbow which was bleeding and definitely scraped, as well as a few bruises I hadn’t noticed before.
“Let me see that” Levi stepped closer, his cologne invading my nose and making my mouth water.
I shrugged “It isn't serious, it's already stopped bleeding” I tried to sound nonchalant and not embarrassed about how pathetic I must look like but his gaze held a strange gleam of sympathy. Maybe pity?
“You know,” he spoke in a low voice, “You should be less jumpy,” He was already taking my arm into his hands, carefully examining every inch of the injury.
“It's not that bad.” I tried to pull my arm away to create a little distance between us. His touch was warm against my skin and made goosebumps rise all over my flesh. ‘No. Not now. Stop it. He is only helping,’ I told myself sternly.
Before I could ask what he was doing, I felt his tongue on my skin.
“Levi!” I gasped, jerking back in response.
“What?” he said nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “It’s clean now”
“That’s… weird,” I muttered, though the truth was, it didn’t feel weird at all. It felt… intimate. I just could not bring myself to tell him that I liked his tongue on my skin.
He grinned, clearly amused by my reaction. “Weird, but effective.”
Before I could respond, he leaned in again and blew gently on the scrape. The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down my spine, and I had to bite my lip to keep me from reacting.
“You okay now?” he asked, his voice softer this time.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Levi's eyes were focused on my neck now, on the spot where my pulse beat wildly in my throat and I wondered what he could possibly be thinking about.
Levi stepped back, and the girls hadn't returned.
I thought of what to say to him,
“Uh, thanks for helping me up” My cheeks were burning and I hoped he would attribute my blush to embarrassment.
Instead of replying, Levi gave me another one of those mysterious looks. “We haven't spoken since that night”
“We have, we are speaking right now” I said too quickly not wanting him to go further down this line of conversation.
“You know what I mean Isabell” His expression grew serious.
I don’t know what you want me to say,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
Levi's eyes dropped to my lips, lingering there for a moment before returning to meet my gaze.
“I think you do,” he said, his voice low and filled with something that made my heart race.
I swallowed hard, my palms suddenly clammy. “Levi…”
He stepped closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating off him. “This,” he whispered, his gaze flicking to my lips again. My breath hitched as he leaned in, his face inches from mine. The world seemed to pause, everything narrowing down to just him.
And before his lips could meet mine, a loud scream from the girls broke in the air.