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Raking his eyes over her face, Levi closed the distance between them. “You might say you wouldn’t have expected me to defend you, but it still rankles that I didn’t.”
“Yes. I realize it’s irrational, but yes.”
Not irrational at all. He wouldn’t have felt any happier about it, in her shoes. “What was I supposed to say to her, Piper? ‘Actually, Celeste, I can’t stop wondering what it’d feel like to have your stepsister sucking my cock’?”
Piper’s lips parted, red and swollen. His dick predictably twitched. She blinked hard. “Sorry, what?”
“A man does not tell a woman he’s involved with that he finds her stepsister attractive. I didn’t speak up for you, because I didn’t trust that my words wouldn’t reveal what I really wanted: You. Under me. As many times as I could have you.”
She gave her head a little shake. “No, seriously, what?”
“I tried shoving all that aside. It didn’t work. Not when I was with Celeste, and not after we ended things. Even the fact that you were eighteen back then ceased to mean anything to me. But I still couldn’t act on what I wanted, because she isn’t the kind of person who’d have paved the way for me to make a move on you, and I didn’t want to make things worse between the two of you than they already were.” Levi edged into her personal space. “To put it simply, I wanted you then. I still want you now.”
“But you …”
“I told her what she needed to hear. That’s all.”
“And how do I know you’re not doing the same to me right now?”
“You think I’m lying to you?”
She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “I don’t know, Levi. I never thought you’d ever say any of this to me. And I mean ever. It’s hard to take it in. Hard to believe it. Especially when my mind is also busy working through the ton of crap that’s currently going on around us.”
“This wasn’t the right time for me to lay this on you, I know. But I wasn’t going to let you walk away thinking I meant what I said to Celeste all those years ago. I lied to her then. I’m not lying to you now.”
Her arm flopped to her side. She looked so lost and overwhelmed, an ache struck his chest.
He stroked his hand over her hair. “Go to bed,” he said softly.
Blinking, she gave a distracted nod.
As she padded out of the room, he scrubbed a hand down his face. His blood was still hot, his cock was still hard, her taste was still in his mouth … and Levi knew he wouldn’t be able to wait until after they’d bonded before he made a move. Knew, too, that his demon wouldn’t wait.
It would be interesting to see how long he and the entity lasted before the urge to take what they wanted became too much. Probably not more than twenty-four hours. They’d spent too many years craving her to hold back for very long.
The next time she went to bed, he’d be right there with her. And neither of them would get much sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Her phone to her ear, Piper descended the stairs the next morning. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“So I heard,” said Whitney, a note of anxiety in her voice. “And, like the attack itself, I should have heard that from you.”
“I knew you and Joe were at a party, I didn’t want to ruin it. And it wasn’t like there was anything you could have done. I didn’t think the news would reach you so fast.”
Walking into the kitchen, Piper found Levi sat at the island, an empty bowl in front of him, a half-full cup of coffee in hand. Another steaming mug was on the opposite side of the island, along with a plate on which a toasted bagel sat. And as her gaze locked with his, her lower stomach clenched at the glitter of heat there.
Memories of their kiss crawled all over her. She’d gone to bed restless and horny and so damn disoriented. She’d had it in her head for so long that she wasn’t his type that she still struggled to let the apparent truth sink in.
“Tell me your attacker has been detained,” said Whitney.
Piper perched herself on a stool at the island. “He hasn’t yet, but he will be. Levi is on it, as are Knox and the other sentinels.”
“Good. Joe and I are counting on Levi to sort out this situation and ensure you’re well-protected.” Whitney paused. “I’m sorry about how badly things went with Celeste the other day—”
“It isn’t you who needs to apologize.”
“Maybe not, but we both know you’ll hear no such apology from her. I wanted to invite you and Levi to dinner. Celeste won’t be there. I won’t have a repeat of what happened a few days ago. Joe and I would like to get to know your anchor better.”
