“Goddess, Levi,” I whispered under my breath.
“Something the matter?” Levi asked. He leaned forward, put his elbows on the table, and I squirmed under his full attention.
“You can’t just… you..” I trailed off.
“The Ami I know always knew how to speak her mind. Go on, it’s just me,” Levi said kindly.
“You can’t just say things like that,” I said.
“Oh? And why is that?” He asked.
“It’s just… very…” I trailed off.
“Honest?” Levi finished.
“Yes,” I muttered.
“I try to be honest with you. Is there something wrong with me wanting to take care of you?” Levi asked. I shook my head. “Does it make you uncomfortable?” I shook my head again. “Do you like it?”
“Like what?” I whispered. He leaned in closer and all of a sudden, I was shy. I tried to mentally shake myself. This was Levi. Why was I being shy with him? This whole weekend has shown me that there is another side to him and I like it. His gaze was so intense, I picked up my drink and looked away from him.
“Do you like it when I take care of you?” Levi asked.
I practically choked on my juice. I spluttered and he grabbed my drink from me. Looking around for a napkin, I cursed when I realized there wasn’t any. I pushed my chair back to get up, but Levi pulled my chair forward. He reached for me and I watched his movements as he wiped my chin with the inside of his hand and with the outside of his hand, he wiped the other side of my mouth.
“Are you going to eat? You haven’t taken a single bite since we sat down,” I choked out.
“Answer the question, baby girl,” Levi growled.
Growled.
Could humans growl?
I definitely don’t think… that’s something they can—
Levi pushed the stray strand of hair over my eye behind my ear, disrupting my line of thinking. His fingers trailed along my face with the movement. A small tingle had my eyes fluttering and I bit down on my lip to break the spell that Levi had cast over me. He took every opportunity to touch me and distract me. Well, I wouldn’t buckle. I leaned into him and stared through my lashes at him.
“Yes, Levi, I do,” I murmured.
His eyes flared with satisfaction and his lip slowly turned up. Turning from him, I slid my hair off my chest and pushed it behind me. Pretending I couldn’t feel his fiery gaze on my face, I picked up my fork and continued to eat.
“You can eat too, you know. I won’t bite,” I teased.
“Mm.” There was a rumble in his chest. “I hunger for something else. As for biting, I can’t make any promises,” he said, his voice husky and tinged with something dark. I gulped and somehow refrained from sitting straighter and clenching my thighs together. I cleared my throat.
“Well, try it, it’s really good,” I said, putting emphasis on the really.
I continued eating. I was bold, but not bold enough to look at him when I felt predator vibes all over him. Now that I had my fork in hand again, I started to shovel food into my mouth. I was too hungry to eat elegantly. Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten something.
Levi didn’t comment on my eating etiquette, nor did I feel judged for eating like a caveman. He started cutting into his meat as I chewed hungrily. When he placed a piece of his meat on my plate, I lifted my chin and looked at him. He didn’t look at me as he continued transferring food from his plate to mine. I swallowed.
“You don’t have to—”
“Don’t rush. I promise it’s not going anywhere,” Levi murmured.
He scooted his chair closer to mine and when I looked back to the food in front of me, I felt his hand on my back. I let out a breath, my throat tinged, and I fought back the tears that threatened to come up. I was still in fight or flight mode. I wasn’t used to being able to have a nice full meal and being able to eat comfortably was something that made me emotional. My cheeks warmed and I hated the shame I felt.
“I’m going to get fat if I keep eating here,” I joked in an attempt to make light of things.
“I see no problem with that,” Levi murmured.
“Are you saying you’ll like me when I’m fat?” I asked.
“Have you seen yourself?” He asked. I flinched at the question. He couldn’t have known, but my toes curled as I tried to hide my reaction.
“I see myself everyday,” I lied.
“And what do you see?” Levi asked. Another direct hit.
“I see… a mess,” I answered honestly.
“Do you want to know what I see?” He asked.
I can’t say that I did.
I was afraid of his answer.
I didn’t want to ruin this… delusion I was having about Levi.
“What do you see?” I sighed.
“I see a queen hidden under the self doubt,” Levi murmured. The door opened and I jumped in my seat, the spell keeping us in our own little world broken. Levi turned in the direction of the noise and I followed his gaze. It was the woman we passed on the way downstairs. I swear his eyes flashed red, but as soon as I’d seen it, it was gone. The girl had her head bowed and waited for Levi to speak. After a minute, he finally spoke.
“I don’t remember calling you,” he said coldly.
“Forgive the intrusion, I wanted to be of service,” she murmured provocatively.
Levi watched her with a predatory look in his eyes, but he didn’t speak to her again. He turned back to me and I felt awkward with her just standing there. Her head was still bowed as she waited his instruction, but Levi didn’t bat an eye. The harsh look was completely wiped from his face and my Levi stared back at me.
“Leave. I don’t require your… services right now,” Levi said dismissively, in a tone he never used with me.