Page 38 of The Stone Secret
It took me a second to realize he was speaking to Selas because he hadn’t taken his magnetic gaze off me.
I swallowed past the sudden dryness in my mouth and broke contact to look at Selas.
The elite’s milky gaze held warning, but she shrugged a shoulder. “That’s up to Cam. But you should know that we don’t encourage tutor-cadetfraternization.” The emphasis made her meaning clear.
“I’m not just her tutor. I’m her friend,” Levi said.
My heart ached at his words because he was right. We’d been friends first, always friends, but I wasn’t sure we could be that any longer, not when his sire was Ulrickson.
Still, I owed him my time. I owed him decency. “I’ll join you at the observatory in a few minutes, Selas.”
“I’ll wait. It’s not safe for you to be out alone.”
“I’ll walk her over,” Levi said.
Once again, Selas looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes then. Buzz to be let in.” She walked off into the night, and Levi and I were suddenly alone in the moonlight.
The darkness pressed in around us like a shroud of intimacy, and my feet ached to take a step closer to him. To hold him and say,sorry,so sorry, Levi. I never wanted to hurt you. I hated being this aloof person. Hated the distance between us.
“Did the cadet hurt you?” Levi asked softly.
“No. He was a good guy, just…under the influence of a bad one. He didn’t deserve to die.”
“I’m sorry you had to see it happen.”
His tone was warm with sincerity, inviting me to let down my guard and get comfortable, but I kept mine cool and short. “I’m no stranger to death, Levi. I’m fine. Honestly. You don’t need to check on me.”
“No…I suppose I don’t. You have the Mason boy, after all.” There was no bitterness in his tone, which told me he was probing, not having a dig.
I wouldn’t bite. “He’s not a boy. He’s a grown male.”
Levi gave me a half smile and reached up to gently pinch my chin. “Is he?”
My cheeks flushed, a familiar heat climbing up my body to hug my neck and sting my lips, forcing them to part. Fuck this shit.
“What are you doing with him, Cam? You don’t love him, not the way you love me.”
A lump formed in my throat, and a heavy feeling settled in my chest because it was still there. My feelings for him were muted against my connection to Serath but not dead. Being around him, seeing him, letting him touch me…all bad.
I jerked my head, tugging my chin from his grip. “I didn’t take you for the kind of guy who can’t take no for an answer.”
He stood taller, looking down his nose at me. “I know you, Cam. I know when you’re lying to me, and back in Old Town I let it slide, but not here. You’re hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is.”
Damn his insight. “I’m not hiding anything, but if it helps you to believe that me not wanting to be with you is all due to some secret, then go ahead. Whatever helps you to get over me. ButIam over you. I love Curi. I’m happy. Just…let me be.”
He let out a rough bark of laughter. “Pretty lies from your pretty mouth.”
I forced my lips into a thin smile. “Delusional doesn’t suit you.” I began to walk away. “I’ll see you in class.”
He caught up to me in two strides. “I promised the elite I’d walk you to the observatory, and unlike some people, I don’t break my promises.”
“I didn’t promise you anything, Levi.”
“No…I guess you didn’t.”
