Page 25 of Leviathan's Song
“How much trouble will we be in?” I whispered quietly while he pulled me around another bend. I moved as smoothly as I could to avoid jingling any of my decorative chains, but I had a lot of practice with that.
He threw a glance back at me and grinned. “None, really,” he said quietly. “They’re out here because the rave didn’t have permits, breaking fire codes, illegal drug usage, stuff like that. I might get a slap on the wrist for being paid to help, but I don’t want to spend the night sleeping on concrete while they process everybody. They might make us pay a fine. But there were so many people rolling in there that I don’t think we have to worry about them catching us. We don’t have to be fast, just faster than the others.”
He broke into a wide grin before I felt the previous Enforcer’s magic quickly edging toward us from behind. My eyes widened, and I pointed behind me. His focus flickered behind me before he grabbed my hand and pulled me up a flight of stairs and into a dark loading bay. As we crept farther into the shadows, Levi looked like he was trying to suppress laughter at our antics.
A man’s voice became audible, “… need another drunk tank and some medics with hydro kits at the Wilkerson warehouse down on…” and then faded into the night. We slid behind a wooden crate as he jogged past. Levi opened his mouth to say something when he was out of sight, and I shook my head slightly. I could still feel the Enforcer’s magic.
As I felt it fade, I realized Levi and I were standing very close together in our hiding place. We were huddled against one another in the dark, his breath skimming over my cheek when he exhaled. His eyes were deep in shadow, but his face appeared vaguely amused.
He stared at me for a long moment, possibly listening for more footsteps, but I only felt people moving around in the distance. He leaned closer in, and lightly, ever so gently, brushed his lips against mine. I heard myself gasp over the pounding in my ears. When I stiffened, he retreated slightly, moving back an inch or two before I clutched at his shirt collar and pulled him back.
He gave me a small grin and appeased me, leaning back in and whispering against my cheek, “May I kiss you?” His lips grazed against my skin as he spoke, his enchantment powerful, alluring.Compelling.
I nodded, my mouth suddenly too dry to answer. He shifted and pressed a light kiss against my temple, and I felt his grin widen against my skin. He placed his hands gently on my elbows and slid them up to my shoulders, then my neck, finally cradling my jaw like a baby bird. I knew my eyes were wide, but he wasn’t looking at them. He was staring at my mouth.
He approached slowly, hesitating as if he was giving me time to prepare myself, but it only served to make my blood roar louder in my ears. I couldn’t breathe. He pressed his lips gently to mine, freezing my mind and stilling my panic. When I responded in kind, he pulled back slightly and returned again with another soft kiss. Slowly, he began plying my lips with his own, little nips and tugs in between more soft presses. It felt like he was savoring me, taking minuscule little sips that left my chest aching and my breathing ragged. My fingers tightened in his shirt.
I gradually began to move with him, enjoying the feel of him against me and trying to catch his lips in mine the way he did to me. Levi slid one hand farther back into my hair, and his fingers tangled lightly with it as he kissed me sweetly, tenderly, over and over again. His softness, his gentleness, made my heart hurt in a way I didn’t understand. I felt hungry for him, wanted to consume him—all of him. My only thought was that I wantedmore.
He must have felt some of my frantic need building as I moved my grip to his shoulders—thick, rounded caps of muscle that emphasized his swimmer’s build—because he slid one arm around my back and gathered me against his chest. Our kisses became deeper, less gentle, and I was startled to feel the wet heat of his tongue slide across my bottom lip.
Voices of fellow revelers seeped into my consciousness as a large group of partiers made their way down the nearest street. We broke our kiss and Levi rested his forehead against mine as we struggled to quiet our breathing. I focused on his face and found his eyes intense and searching, and I quietly returned his stare as we waited for the voices to fade into the distance.
“You are quite possibly the most beautiful little creature I’ve ever seen,” he whispered when all was quiet again. His voice was low and reverent. I was grateful for the cover of darkness because if my face wasn’t already flushed by his kisses, it certainly was now.
Even as my heart thrilled at his praise, I felt clumsy, unsure how to respond. I’d always been awkward with compliments.
I slid my hands down to his waist and buried my face against his chest, feeling shy but unwilling to remove myself from physical contact with him. Everything about him felt steadfast and sure, firm muscles and strong bones, like a fortress against the dark unknown. He smoothed his hands up and down my back and toyed with the ends of my hair.
I wanted his mouth back on mine. I wanted more of his hitching breaths. I wanted to climb him like a tree, but I didn’t know how to ask for that.
“What is this?” He tugged on a lump buried in the swath of cloth wrapped around my side. A wasp.
“Don’t prick your finger on that. It might knock you out.”
“What? What is it?” He craned his neck over my shoulder to get a better look and tried to tug at the cloth without touching the lump.
“Myactualguards,” I muttered.
“A true Empress,” he teased.
“Why do you still call me that?” I wrinkled my nose against his chest.
“Because you can be my queen anytime you want,” he murmured against my hair with amusement in his voice. I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but the mental images it conjured felt a little shocking.
I pulled back to look at his face. He had a wicked grin.
“You look magnificent in this outfit, by the way.” His eyes trailed appreciatively down my torso to my legs and back to my face. He shook his head as if he were trying to clear it and huffed a breath.
“We should get you home,” he said, sounding a little rough. It occurred to me that Sidney had forgotten to leave her key with me when she left. What a mess. Horrible banshees. Ridiculous brothers. I let out an irritated huff.
“I can’t. I’m supposed to bunk with Sidney tonight, and she forgot to leave her key. I’ll have to go find her and pick it up, since she hasn’t called to let me know that they’re done yet.” I began digging through a hidden pouch for one of my calling stones.
“Didn’t she say she lives here in the Gulch?” His mouth pressed into a frown as he shook his head slightly. “I can walk you back to your own house.”
I sighed. “My block has been evacuated for the night due tobanshees,of all things. That’s why I’m staying with her.” His frown deepened.
“Why don’t you come stay with me?” he asked, quickly adding, “I can sleep on the couch.”
