No One But You: Levi & Stacy

By KC Kendricks

Lovers Stacy James and Levi Wright keep their relationship hot and spicy by enjoying the little things in life. Levi welcomes Stacy home from a business trip but an offhand comment by a stranger cools Stacy's ardor, and sets in motion a chain reaction that rocks the very foundation of Levi's world. He's never cheated on Stacy, but Stacy has sudden doubts. 

On his own, Levi is tested in his discoveries – about Stacy, their relationship, and about the kind of man he wants to be. One thing he knows for certain. He's not losing Stacy over a careless whisper that isn't true, but will the only man he'll ever love forgive his angry words?

Stacy made the worst mistake of his life telling his lover to find another place to sleep. Levi might be younger, but he's a man, with a man's pride. Stacy draws on all his experience to walk a road full of detours and pitfalls to meet Levi halfway, and bring him home. Because for Stacy, there's no one but Levi.

*   *   *

A fine trembling seized my body. This conversation was out of control, the potential for disaster increasing by the second. My stomach clenched in on itself until I fought back the dry heaves. The world spiraled around me, going black at the edges.  I broke free of his hands.

"I love you. I never cheat on you. And yet you sit there and ask me if it's possible I could have given you the clap - or something worse? Maybe I should be the one worrying! And you have to do it here? I have to go in there and work!" I choked, unable to breathe. "I never…"

Stacy's arms came around me. I shoved him away, holding him at bay. The words came as I managed a deep breath. Horrible words that I couldn't stop from pouring out of me in my anger and pain that he didn't know me well enough to believe how much I loved him.

"Why don't you go get a blood test since you can't trust me! Now you listen to me. You decide whether or not you love me enough to have me hang around because if I've gotten a little old for you, you should tell me. I'll step aside so you can go find yourself another sixteen year old!"

He drew back like I'd struck him, which I had. I'd lashed out, hitting him with the most damaging words I owned. He'd been falsely accused of having sex with a sixteen-year-old boy when he was twenty. The boy had lied – Stacy hadn't touched him – but the accusation had almost ruined Stacy's life. The pain lingered, and I, who loved him so much, knew the wound lingered in him, unhealed at its deepest point. 

And I used it against him.

I reached for him and this time he batted my hands away.

"I'm sorry, Stace. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that."

"You said it, so you did mean it. Now get out of the car. I can't be with you right now."

My stomach roiled. "Stacy, please. We need to go back home and talk this out."

He refused to look at me. The cold rage in his voice didn't completely disguise the hurt. 

"No, we don't. Going home won't fix this, Levi. I need some time alone. Do us both a favor and find someplace else to sleep..."

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Deer Enterprises/White Deer Books
• Release date: Jul 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386012443

KC Kendricks

KC Kendricks calls herself an accidental writer. After completing her first novel writing as Rayne Forrest, she was urged to submit it to a publisher, and everything snowballed from there. Today, the author has had over seventy books published. In July of 2021, she tried to retire but her employer offered her a deal to work at home. She accepted. Now she balances work, writing, and hearth and home in a controlled chaos. A native of scenic western Maryland, the author enjoys most activities that don’t include snow. In warm weather she might be found walking the dog, biking on the C&O Canal towpath, planting delicacies in her garden for the deer to munch on at night, playing in the creek, or lazing on the patio with her Kindle reader or laptop. She recently began to research her family history and can't drive past a cemetery without stopping to search for family sites. Her mission is to photograph old tombstones before the elements erode the stones and the names are lost to time. For more about KC Kendricks and Rayne Forrest’s writing life, please visit the Between the Keys blog at http:kckendricks.blogspot.com . If you’d like to know more about the author’s country lifestyle and her daily activities full of simple country pleasures (and a lot of work), please visit the Holly Tree Manor blog at http://hollytreemanor.blogspot.com . KC can be reached through her blog, Between the Keys. All comments are strictly moderated by the author and personal messages are treated as such. Follow the author on Twitter for up-to-date announcements at Twitter.com/KCKendricks.

Book preview

No One But You

by

KC Kendricks

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, media, brands, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, and actual events and locales, is coincidental.

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Copyright © 2009, 2017 KC Kendricks

Cover art © 2017 KC Kendricks

All Rights Reserved

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, regardless of whether any type of currency is exchanged or not, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author of the book. Law strictly prohibits reproduction of this digital e-book for file sharing or selling, other than what the author grants in writing.

Piracy is a crime.

About No One But You

Lovers Stacy James and Levi Wright keep their relationship hot and spicy by enjoying the little things in life. Levi welcomes Stacy home from a business trip by delighting his partner with a quick trick in the men’s room of a local pool hall.  An offhand comment by a stranger cools Stacy’s ardor, and sets in motion a chain reaction that rocks the very foundation of Levi’s world. He’s never cheated on Stacy, but Stacy has sudden doubts. 

On his own, Levi is tested in his discoveries – about Stacy, their relationship, and about the kind of man he wants to be. One thing he knows for certain. He’s not losing Stacy over a careless whisper that isn’t true, but will the only man he’ll ever love forgive his angry words?

Stacy made the worst mistake of his life telling his lover to find another place to sleep. Levi might be younger, but he’s a man, with a man’s pride. Stacy draws on all his experience to walk a road full of detours and pitfalls to meet Levi halfway, and bring him home. Because for Stacy, there’s no one but Levi.

Intro to No One But You

...Stacy’s arms came around me. I shoved him away, holding him at bay. The words came as I managed a deep breath. Horrible words I couldn’t stop from pouring out of me in my anger and pain that he didn’t know me well enough to believe how much I loved him.

Why don’t you go get a fucking blood test since you can’t trust me? Now you listen to me. You decide whether you love me enough to have me hang around because if I’ve gotten a little old for you, you should tell me. I’ll step aside so you can go find yourself another sixteen-year-old!

He drew back as if I’d struck him, which I had. I’d lashed out, hitting him with the most damaging words I owned. He’d been falsely accused of having sex with a sixteen-year-old boy when he was twenty. The boy had lied—Stacy hadn’t touched him—but the accusation had almost ruined Stacy’s life. The pain remained, and I, who loved him so much, knew the wound lingered in him, unhealed at its deepest point.

And I used it against him.

I reached for him, and this time he batted my hands away.

I’m sorry, Stace. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that.

You said it, so you did mean it. Now get out of the car. I can’t be with you right now.

My stomach roiled. Stacy, please, we need to go back home and talk this out.

He refused to look at me. The cold rage in his voice didn’t completely disguise the hurt.

No, we don’t. Going home won’t fix this, Levi. I need some time alone. I’m sure Danny or Luke will give you a lift back to the house to get your pickup. Do us both a favor and find someplace else to sleep tonight...

What they said about No One But You

This fast paced sequel to Shining Victory picks up five years after Stacy and Levi have gotten together. The relationship between Stacy and Levi is just as hot and intense as ever... This was one story I hated to see end. - 4.5 Nymphs, Literary Nymphs Reviews

Two from Goodreads:

I just LOVED Levi and Stacy. They are soooo hot. I was upset that careless words could so easily cause problems between them. But true love prevailed. I found that there is the story on how these two met... now I have it along with about 4 more of KC's other stories. Those are for another day.- 5 stars at Goodreads

No One But You is a wonderful follow up to Stacy & Levi's story. I found it to be very emotional and poignant book. It tugged at my heartstrings and even made me cry. This couple will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend this entire series!

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Praise for the writing of KC Kendricks

KC Kendricks never disappoints!"—Fallen Angel Reviews

..beautifully moving in all the right places...KC Kendricks gives us a well-crafted tale- The Romance Studio

Good to the last word....- Sensual Reads

...Seriously entertaining and totally engaging...- Joyfully Reviewed

...solidly written contemporary romance...-Jessewave

Table of Contents

About No One But You

Intro to No One But You

What they said about No One But You

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

A bonus read from Shining Victory

About the Author

Books by KC Kendricks

Books by Rayne Forrest

Dear Readers,

CHAPTER 1

The only saving grace to my life partner being away on a business trip was that I had the keys to his late-model Corvette. I missed Stacy every empty, aching hour he wasn’t breathing the same air as me, and looked forward to his return tomorrow afternoon. I might even give him his car keys back. Until then, I needed speed.

I shoved a compact disc in the player and cranked up the volume since Stacy wasn’t with me. He enjoyed a lot of the bands I did, but cringed over my preferred decibel level. I eased the ’Vette out the driveway and pressed down on the gas pedal. The car responded, chirping the tires. Mentally, I pictured our neighbors, up and down the street, rolling their collective eyes as the Corvette gathered speed, its throaty rumble filling the air and rattling windows. Likely they’d be glad for my lover’s return, too, and to have quiet restored to the neighborhood.

Basically, I was a law-abiding citizen, but speed limits frustrated me. I made the swing onto the state highway and gave the powerful car more throttle. I pushed the four hundred horses up to eighty-five on the deserted blacktop, then eased back to sixty miles-per-hour, only a tad over the posted limit. I’d have put the top down, but the weather forecast called for rain.

The parking lot at my favorite watering hole wasn’t crowded, but I snagged a spot in the back row, a few spaces away from other vehicles, for safety’s sake. Cue case in hand, I stepped through the door and glanced around, scoping out the clientele.

Each end of the large, low-ceilinged room held three pool tables. In front of the massive oak bar, seating took up the center of the space. A few of my buddies greeted me as I laid my case on a table and took out my stick. I belonged to a local billiards and pool league and I’d planned tonight, before Stacy came home, for some much needed practice time before an upcoming tournament.

Hey, Levi, you’re late. Where the fuck have you been?

He’s been filming all day, doncha know? He’s Levi Wright, the big cable channel guru—whoo-hoo!

I acknowledged them, flipping them the bird and tossing a few profanities in their general direction, but my attention was riveted to the older man at the end of the bar. A shiver tickled along my spine, from my neck all the way down to dark, private places, as my pulse edged faster.

He perched casually on a bar stool, one boot heel hooked on the chair rung and the other firmly on the floor. Tall, at least six-foot-one without the boots, his expensive black leather jacket rested with ease on his broad shoulders. Formfitting black jeans showcased his trim hips and the tight, rounded bump of his genitals, dressed to the left. His wavy dark hair almost reached his collar, begging to have me run my fingers through it. The man took sipping a draft beer to new levels of sexy.

His cue case leaned up against the bar, a sure sign he wanted to get in on a game. I had a few bucks in my pocket, and didn’t plan on losing them, but I’d play with him if he asked me nicely enough.

My teammate racked the balls and invited me to break. Not to brag, but I was the star player on my team. That’s not to say I couldn’t be beaten—I could—but I drew the tough match-ups. It took a certain amount of practice to stay sharp.