“I know you won’t.”
“All right. Go on back to bed. I’m cold just looking at you. I’ll put this fire out and be right in,” I promise her, and she leans forward and kisses my cheek.
It’s a chaste kiss, but it leaves a brand on my skin all the same. Reminding me of the way I kissed her in the woods. The taste of strawberries on her lips. I’m lost in the thought when her voice breaks through again.
“Thank you. For everything. Truly.” She offers a small smile and then takes off back up the hill.
I dragmy feet a little longer than I should going back to bed. I’m hoping to find her passed out and sound asleep. I'll still lie on the bed for a while to make sure she knows someone’s there, but then I plan to wander back out to the living room.
When you have the kind of insomnia I do, entertainment and distraction are your best friends. The last thing I want to do isstare up at the ceiling, listening to her cute little snores while I contemplate how to choke myself just enough that I pass out, but not enough to die, because I can’t take the lack of sleep anymore. Working on casino business, checking the security cameras, plotting our next move. That’s what I do in the middle of the night when I’m all alone with no interruptions. But I want to keep my promise to her, and if she needs someone next to her tonight, I’ll do it.
I creak the door open slowly and see her sprawled on the bed, looking angelic with her eyes closed and curled up on her side. Reaching behind my head, I pull my shirt off, tossing it over the chair. I hesitate as my hands go for my belt buckle. Normally, I'd strip down every night if I were sleeping in my own bed, but with her here, I’m not about to. I don’t need the temptation. So I slip the belt off slowly and the jeans and socks with it, but I leave my boxer briefs on when I slide under the covers. I keep my distance from her, curling up on my own side of the bed so she’s still got plenty of room.
The sheets are soft, perfect really, thanks to my sister-in-law’s taste in decor. I'll be in trouble for that mug Zephyrine’s ex broke, but I can replace it with a new set that she'll hopefully like just as much. I could look for that online tomorrow at breakfast. I’m trying to think about anything right now that isn’t the woman lying next to me as my head hits the pillow.
The vision of her wet for me and bent over the saddle stand won’t stop replaying in my head, even though I know it’s wrong. It was meant for his benefit. I wanted to prove to him that he was a fucking loser for not treating her better than he did. That she’s perfect in every fucking way possible, and he never had the fucking vision to see her for what she was. What sheis.
She was wasted on him, but that doesn’t mean she’s meant for me either. Even if every day I want her a little more. Shewants the convent, and I promised her I’d give her what she wants. I have to rein myself in.
“Levi?” She hums my name softly and turns her head. “You came.” I can hear the relief in her voice.
“I said I would.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
I wasn’t either. This feels like asking for trouble. Not to mention, I haven't slept in a bed with a woman for years. Breaking that streak with her seems as perfect as it is dangerous.
“Nah. I’m here. You can go back to sleep now, sweetheart.”
Her lashes flutter, and her eyes are heavy with exhaustion, but she offers up a small smile in the darkness. I don’t know how anyone could want to do anything but protect this woman.
“Would you…” The words fade on her lips, and she turns away from me again, like she wishes she hadn’t started the request.
“Would I?” I repeat the question. Curiosity getting the better of me.
She risks another glance back at me before she stares down at her pillow.
“Would you hold me?” She asks the question so softly it’s barely audible.
“Of course. Come here.” I force myself to sound more confident than I am. I want to be here for her when she needs someone. Tonight of all nights.
She slides across the bed tentatively, and I reach over, wrapping one arm around her thigh and another under and around her waist, dragging her until her body is flush with mine. She curls up on her side, curving her body to meet mine. When I move to pull my arm away to give her space, she wraps hers around it, pressing it to her chest. My heart thuds low, and my chest swells at the fact she's seeking me out like this. She’s anangel, and if she needs me to keep her safe, I’ll do anything she wants.
“Thank you for this. For everything. It means a lot,” she whispers.
Her words crack straight into my heart and momentarily steal my own from me. I don’t want to say the wrong thing here, and I don’t want to ruin this moment, so I squeeze her tighter in response, hoping it gives her what she needs, and she rests her head on the pillow next to me. We stay like that for a long time until her soft little snores lull me to sleep.
TWENTY-SIX
Zephyrine
Levi wakesme up with his hand around my throat and one arm snaked around my middle as he takes me from behind. He’s already slipped inside me while I slept, waking me by demanding that I say his name. I let out a soft moan when I realize how wet I am already. He’s hitting me at the perfect angle, his grip on me tightening as he kisses his way down my throat. I’m completely lost in it now. Lost in him. The rhythm he keeps is perfect, and his hand drifts between my legs, softly brushing over my clit as he takes me closer to my orgasm. I knew it would be like this with him.
His voice is rough and throaty as he orders me to take him deeper and switches his position until I’m nearly coming with each successive thrust. I could cry for how good it is. Every touch I’d had from Corey had been selfish and neglectful, and on the worst days, baselessly cruel and often painful. He’d told me to shut up, to stay quiet so he could concentrate, while Levi begs to hear more from me again. So I give him everything he wants in return.
Just as I’m getting close, his hand moves to my hip, and he shakes me, rocking me back and forth and pulling away from me. I let out a whimper of disappointment. Instead of demanding his own name, he’s calling out mine, more and more urgently with every shake of my body. I frown as the cabin walls around us start to meld into darkness, and I take in a sharp gasp of air.
I blink. It’s pitch-black, with only a small patch of moonlight arcing in through the window of the cabin’s bedroom. My skin is heated, and the low bloom of want is still here in my body. But he’s not inside me. He’s not even touching me besides where his hand rests on my hip.
