Page 146 of Never Die for a Sinner
“You know what? Fine. You want to run around and be Cross’s whore, be my guest. Don’t come crying to me when he leaves you when he gets what he wants because that’s what he does.”
The truth in his words washes over me, and I wish I could say they don’t sting, but they do.
I know this thing between Levi and me is only momentary. I know a day will come when I’ll hate myself for allowing him to sweep me up in his vortex, but I also know I’m powerless to stop it.
I’m falling in love with Levi Cross—every dark, broken piece of him.
Alex turns away from me, going back to typing on his stupid computer.
“I’d rather be his whore . . . than your wife.”
His shoulders stiffen, but I don’t stick around to hear what else he has to say.
It’s only when I make it halfway across the lawn that I hear the clatter of something crashing into the wall in the security shack.
Fuck Alex. He doesn’t get to shame me just because I don’t want him. If the roles were reversed and I were sleeping inhisbed every night, he wouldn’t have a problem with it. It’s only because I’m with Levi that it’s a problem.
I shake my head, growling under my breath when I step into my room.
Right now, my mind is going a million miles a minute, wondering how in the fuck Alex knows about my contract with Levi.
If he knows . . . who else does?
I head towards the bathroom, but I stop short when I see the single blood orange lily resting on my pillow. For a split second, my heartbeat skyrockets.
He used to bring me flowers when he’d done something terrible, only . . . he’d bring roses. I hate roses.
Somehow, part of me knows Levi didn’t forget, and my heart blooms in my chest.
He remembered.
I look towards the door, stuck between wanting and Alex’s words replaying in my head. I want to see him. What does that say about me?
I get called a whore by one man, only to turn around and find myself desperately craving another.
With a sigh, I give in, needing him to chase away the thoughts clouding my mind right now.
I knock, but he doesn’t answer, so I slip inside and close the door behind me. The lock echoes in the room, and in the background, the faint hum of the shower drifts through the bathroom door.
Carefully, I push the door open, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of his naked body dripping with water. He doesn’t look up immediately, his hands on the shower wall in front of him as the water rushes over the dark tattoos inked on his skin.
Heat slides through me, and my mouth is suddenly impossibly dry.
Levi looks like a carefully carved statue of Hades. Like every single line of his body was meticulously crafted to fulfill a woman’s darkest fantasies.
My heart bottoms out in my chest when his head turns, his eyes locking with mine. The darkness in his gaze steals my breath away.
My body thrums with my heartbeat, impossible to ignore. Regardless of who he is, there’s something about Levi Cross that draws me in and won’t let me go.
Sucking in a deep breath, I try to calm my racing heart and remind myself of my mantra.
The worst he can do is say no.
Holding his gaze, I reach for the hem of my T-shirt and slip it over my head, dropping it to a puddle on the floor at my feet. His jaw clenches, his eyes hardening as they lick a line of fire up my stomach before moving to my breasts, where they light with a burning fire.
I slip my pants off, blushing under the heat of his stare. I fight every voice in the back of my head telling me to run back to my room and hide under the covers until either the apocalypse or taxes take Seattle—and me—out.
“Ava,” he warns, voice so quiet and dark, I can barely hear it when I stand in front of him completely naked.
