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Piper felt her face soften. “I’m sure Levi will be up for it.”
“We know how busy he is. Find out what evening would be best for him and then get back to me. Now, tell me how things are going at Urban Ink.”
Piper did exactly that while eating her bagel. After ending the call a few minutes later, she looked at Levi, the impact of his piercing gaze hitting her like a fist to the solar plexus. “That was my mom. She wants us to have dinner with her and Joe at their house. Just the four of us.”
He lifted his cup. “When?”
“She said to ask what would be a good evening for you. She knows you’re a busy guy.”
“You pick a day. I’ll make it happen.” He sipped at his drink. “How’s your shoulder?”
“Healed.”
“Fully? You won’t be much good with a tattoo gun today if not.”
Piper took a swig of her coffee. “There’s no blemish, no pain, no nothing.”
“Good.”
As they went on to talk about general things, she braced herself for any mention of their kiss and the conversation that had followed it. But … he didn’t once raise the subject. Didn’t even hint at it.
It wasn’t entirely surprising. She’d figured he might choose to act like it hadn’t happened. It was important to Levi that nothing got in the way of them forming the anchor bond, and he might worry that acting on their attraction in any way would do exactly that.
Piper was glad he wanted to keep things platonic. She was also disappointed. The whole thing was … ugh, she honestly had no idea what she truly wanted here.
Her demon, on the other hand, was having no such internal crisis. It was totally up for blurring some lines, so it was annoyed with both her and him for their inaction.
“I’ll walk you to the coffeehouse next to the studio,” he told her as she washed the dirty dishware. “The girls will be waiting for you there. After that, I have a few things to do. Enzo and Dez will stand guard outside the studio throughout your entire shift. I’ll be there to pick you up as usual at closing time. If you wish to leave the studio at any time, your guards will go with you.”
She nodded. “All right.” Would all this protection gall her? Not at all. Getting attacked was no fun, and she’d rather make it difficult for anyone to repeat said attack.
“If you need me for anything, reach out telepathically or call my cell.”
“You said you had things to do. I don’t want to bother you when you’re busy.”
“Piper, I’ll never be too busy to answer a call from you—telepathic or otherwise. You come first. Understand?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
Not so convinced she was sure, Levi narrowed his eyes. “Do you have it in your head that you’ll come second to my positions within the lair?”
“Well, I kind of expect to. I won’t be upset about it. I understand you’re dedicated to your roles. I admire the level of your dedication.”
That comment annoyed him as much as it warmed him. Because while he liked that she respected his commitments to their lair, he didn’t like that she’d so much as think that those commitments came before her. It annoyed his demon just the same. “I told you, you’re my priority.”
“Mentally, maybe. But you won’t always be able to act on that, because a lot of your time is taken up by both sentinel stuff and being Knox’s bodyguard. I don’t say that with resentment, I swear. That’s not the sort of person I am.”
“And neglecting my anchor isn’t the sort of person I am.”
“I’m not saying you’ll neglect me. I’m simply saying you’re a busy guy and that that will be a factor here.”
Levi crossed to her, pinning her gaze with his. “Let’s get a few things straight. You don’t come second to my positions, Piper. You never will. Am I busy? Yes. Will we always spend as much time together as we do now? No. But you can bet your sweet little ass that I’ll be checking in with you on, at the very least, a weekly basis. You can reach out to me any time. I’ll always answer. I’m an ‘all or nothing’ person, Piper. You don’t have to worry that I’ll be a half-assed anchor.”
She nodded again. “I believe you.”
He studied her closely. “Do you? Or do you believe that this is all wishful thinking on my part?”
A sigh slipped out of her. “This is one of those situations where time will tell, isn’t it? Now, are you ready to leave? Because I don’t want to be late for work.”
He shot her a narrow-eyed look, not liking that she meant to brush the topic aside. But as this wasn’t a good time for him to push, he made a mental note to revisit the matter later. “Then let’s go.”
