Page 119 of The Price of Ice

“Well, lure calms you down, doesn’t it? It makes you...” Levy glanced away, as if searching for the word amidst the busy cafe around them. “Safe!” He smiled at Kallen in triumph. “It makes you feel safe, and if you know you are safe, you don’t need to attack anyone.”

Kallen nodded slowly. It did make sense. Safety... that’s what an oasis would be in a dessert, wasn’t it? “And if you know you are safe, you can be open,” he added. It didn’t feel like something he’d come up with, but something that was true that he’d simply caught sight of and recognised as such.

He remembered how he’d felt after the meeting with Taylor. How absolutely calm and certain of his own value. It’d been easy to be open with the knowledge that he mattered, that he was more than enough, he wasamazing. And whether someone else could see it in him or not, that didn’t change.

For once in his life, he’d felt absolutely safe to be himself.

Of course he’d discovered lure with Levy, the one person who’d made him feel like that from the very beginning. Of course it had been Levy who’d got him to open up, because Levy himself had always been absolutely open about how happy seeing Kallen made him.

Long before they’d kissed or done anything beyond cook and play together, Kallen had known Levy loved spending time withhim. There was probably no one else in the world that he’d have felt confident enough to step in and help like he had his friend.

His life was a mess, he didn’t have a job and he hadn’t even quit the team yet.

But once again Levy was here, seeking him out because heliked him. He hadn’t known about Kallen’s volunteering to teach lure. In fact, he hadn’t pushed foranyinformation on Kallen’s new life. He’d asked and he’d listened, but he hadn’t needed it.

Levy didn’t care if Kallen was successful, or useful. That was all him. Levy just liked spending time with Kallen so much he was talking about applying for a job in his city.

And Kallen hadn’t even told him how he felt.

He opened his mouth, but had to close it again. His mouth was dry and his pulse was hammering in his neck.

“You okay?” Levy asked, his gaze weighing on Kallen.

“What did it feel like for you?

“Lure?” Levy asked. “Well, safe?” he said, a little tentative and Kallen realised that of course Levy had already told him. More than once, he realised. It was just hard to believe him, especially about the light. “I mean, back when Leila made me do her chores, I didn’t even get angry afterwards. As an adult, I can see it was messed up, sure. But in the moment, it was like she really needed me and I was happy to help.”

Oh. That was how lure went bad, then. Funnily enough, it was exactly how alpha will went bad, too, when you were so focused on your own needs that you forgot about the other person. When you used your power to override their own instincts to prioritise themselves so they’d serve you instead. Lure sounded like it felt better in the moment, but it would feel worse afterwards when you realised the person had forced you.

“And... when I did it?”

“Safe,” Levy repeated. “And I still feel safe now.” His lips were curving upwards already. “You just made me an offer too good to resist.”

Kallen snorted despite himself. He half wanted to ask permission to do it right then and there. Not because he wanted anything from Levy, what he wanted was the calm certainty that he would be okay no matter what answer he got.

But that wouldn’t have been fair. And anyway, maybe he couldn’t quite know for sure right now, but he could still have faith.

“Can I make you another one?”

Levy’s face went blank and he went very still. Then he nodded, slowly, eyes never leaving Kallen’s.

“Stay. Stay with me.” He shook his head, annoyed at himself and met Levy’s eyes again. “Bewith me. For real.”

Something flickered through the alpha’s face. “You are asking me out, right?”

Kallen bit back a laugh. He felt so exposed, but he could read Levy’s doubts loud and clear. “Yes, Levy, I’m asking you to be my boyfriend.”

The smile broke through like an unstoppable weight until Levy was dimpling on both sides and Kallen was echoing it, helpless to resist. A moment later the table rattled and he was getting yanked to his feet into another embrace, almost too tight. He returned it with equal fervour.

“Yes,” Levy whispered, like he thought Kallen might need to hear it.

He didn’t, he could feel it. But it was still nice.

EVEN THOUGH KALLENhad driven him there, Levy had made it to the interview by the skin of his teeth. They hadn’t had privacy for more, but they’d gone back to holding hands over thetable, talking about everything and nothing, and it’d been easy to lose track of time.

Kallen had teased a bit, because it felt nice to get Levy to lose his track of thought by licking his lips. It wasn’t so unlike lure, really, a game they were playing together, a dance where Kallen was leading for a bit and then Levy took over, running his thumb over the delicate web of skin between Kallen’s thumb and forefinger and smirking when it made him shiver.

It was less fun to wait in the car with a semi. But even that was an acceptable sort of discomfort, knowing as he did that Levy would come out and they’d go somewhere together. He hadn’t asked about his...boyfriend’sreturn flight to Jiro. And Kallen was under no illusions about it, Levy only had a small overnight bag, he’d have to go back.

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