Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2) (19 page)

Levi leaned against the vanity watching
me. “I’d pay you a thousand dollars to drop that towel right
now.”

“
Only a thousand? I thought
I’d be worth more.”

“
Oh, you’re priceless,
love. I was just talking about a peek. I already know how gorgeous
your body is, but I wouldn’t mind a refresher image to work
from.”

“
To work from?”

He grinned wickedly.

“
Ugh.”

“
Would you rather I think
about someone else? You haven’t exactly left me with any
choice.”

“
Your fault, not
mine.”

“
But you’re the one who can
do something about that.” His hands clenched the countertop like he
was afraid that if he let go he wouldn’t be able to control
himself.

“
It’s not like I don’t want
you too.” I regretted the words as soon as they left my
mouth.

“
Then drop the towel, Al. I
promise I’ll make it well worth your while.”

I pulled the towel tighter around me.
“Can you please keep your mind off sex for a minute? I almost died,
and one of my best friends is in the hospital. I’m going to find
something to wear.” I didn’t need to turn around to know he was
following.

“
How about these?” he
asked, picking out a pair of red, lacy panties.

“
Didn’t your mom buy all of
this?” I hoped the mention of his mom would cool things
off.

“
Not the stuff in this
drawer.” I tensed, as I felt his lips on my neck.

“
Levi.”

“
Shh.”

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling
of his lips more than I should have. I opened my eyes and pulled
away. “So that means there’s more appropriate stuff in another
drawer.” I looked in the next drawer, pulling out a more practical
pink pair. I also found a cami and shorts PJ set.

“
You’re going to wear these
for me one day.” He picked up the lacy pair again. He came closer,
his lips inches from mine. “Just so I can take them off of
you.”

I shivered. “So I’m going to go
change.” I hurried back to the bathroom before he could tempt me
anymore.

Dressed, I walked out of the bathroom,
not surprised to see Levi reclining on the bed. He was wearing only
a pair of boxers. I made my gaze return to his face. He caught
where I’d been looking and grinned. “It looks like I’m not the only
one looking for a refresher. I could remove the shorts if you’d
like.”

I ignored his comment. “Why aren’t
there couches in here? Why bother with the dining table and chairs,
but nothing more comfortable?”

“
What could be more
comfortable than a bed?”

“
Fine.” I sat down
cross-legged next to him. “Talk.”

“
You ordering me around
now?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay then.” He shifted,
putting his hands behind his head. “It was Martin. We’re sure of
it.”

“
How are you so
sure?”

“
A scout saw him leaving
right before the fire, and they found some other evidence at his
apartment.”

“
So now what?”

“
We keep you safe until we
catch him. It won’t be long. Jett Florence is already on his
trail.”

I shifted, moving further onto the bed.
“You don’t expect me to stay here until then, do you? I need to see
Tiffany.”

“
Of course, you’re staying.
Tiffany is fine. They’ll probably be sending her home
tomorrow.”

I was glad she was okay, but that
didn’t help the guilt. I thought staying in New Orleans would
protect the people I loved, but all it did was endanger
others.

I tried to push those thoughts away so
I could focus on the present situation. “Where are you going to
sleep?”

“
Right here.” He patted the
bed beside him.

“
I thought I was sleeping
here.”

“
You are. We aren’t
supposed to need separate beds.”

“
You really think I’m going
to sleep in the same bed as you?”

“
We slept together after
the meeting.”

“
On the couch.”

“
What’s the difference?
We’ll just be more comfortable this way. It’s convenient there’s no
couch, isn’t it?”

“
Convenient? Wait a
minute.”

I hopped off of the bed, and walked
over to a space on the other side of the room with another plush
rug. I bent down and, sure enough, there were some barely visible
marks from where a sofa had recently stood. “You have to be
kidding. You had the couch removed, didn’t you?”

He smiled and shrugged. “It may have
needed cleaning.”

“
Cleaning? When was it last
used?”

“
I sat on it once or twice,
I think.”

“
You’re
unbelievable.”

“
I know.” He
smirked.

“
That’s not a compliment.
And you’re sleeping on the floor.”

He shook his head. “No way.”

“
You could have had the
couch, but you moved it.”

“
No.” He actually looked
flustered.

I crossed my arms. “Then I’m
leaving.”

“
You go and try
it.”

I walked over to the door and tried to
pull it open. It wouldn’t budge. I knocked on it, but no one
answered.

“
We’re locked in until
morning, love. Security precaution.”

“
What if there is an
emergency?”

“
Theoretically, I might
have the strength to get us out…”

“
Then do it.”

“
I’m too tired. That fire
exhausted me.” He moved so he could throw back the covers and slip
in. “You ready for bed?”

“
Get out of that
bed!”

“
I’m too tired. Do me a
favor and turn off your lamp when you decide to join
me.”

“
Arrgh.” I marched into the
bathroom and slammed the door. When I came out, he was still in
bed. I went over and shook him, he pretended to sleep.

“
Get out!”

There was no way I was sleeping on the
floor. That was his job. With a sigh of frustration, I climbed into
the bed and turned off the light.

As soon as I laid down, his arms came
around me.

“
I thought you were
sleeping.”

“
Your proximity woke me
up.”

“
You better behave
yourself.” I wished I meant it.

“
What does behaving myself
involve?” he whispered.

“
You understood the other
night.”

“
But that was the couch,
this is a bed. You’ve already explained how they’re inherently
different.”

“
Are you trying to annoy
me?”

“
No, I’m trying to seduce
you, but whatever works.”

“
Seduce me? There are far
better ways to do that.”

“
Are there? I’m listening.”
He brushed his lips against my cheek.

“
Try being sweet and
romantic.”

“
Doesn’t locking you in a
soundproof room count as romantic?”

“
No.”

“
Darn, I knew I should have
popped open some champagne.”

“
Champagne? You actually
have that?”

“
No,
I
don’t, but
we
do. This is our room, sweetheart.
Maybe we can open some tomorrow night.”

“
Tomorrow night? I’m going
to need it if I’m locked in here with you again.”

“
You will be if we don’t
catch Martin. It’s the safest way.”

“
You’ll tell me the truth,
right? If you catch him?”

“
What are you suggesting?”
He slipped a hand under my tank, running his fingers over my
stomach. “Are you implying I’d willingly mislead you in order to
get you in bed again?”

“
That’s exactly what I’m
suggesting.”

“
Then it’s a good thing you
admitted to wanting me too.”

I pushed his hand away, and smoothed
down my top. “It’s not happening.”

“
Come on, you’re not
fooling me.”

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
You know I can see you
perfectly, right?”

I guess I was more obvious than I
thought.

“
Good night, Levi.” I
rolled over.

“
I’m not ready to say
goodnight.” He moved behind me, his arms wrapped around my
waist.

“
You were ready to fall
asleep earlier.”

“
You woke me
up.”

He was close enough to me that I knew
exactly what he meant. “It’s not happening,” I repeated.

“
What can I do to change
your mind?”

“
Nothing. Go to
sleep.”

“
You’re no fun.”

“
I guess not.” I closed my
eyes, hating how much my body warred with me to turn
around.

“
Fine, but we’re at least
sleeping comfortably.”

“
This isn’t
comfortable?”

“
It is, but I like this
better.” He moved onto his back, positioning me so that I was
leaning my head on his chest. He pulled my arm over him. “I like to
sleep on my back, and I like your head leaning on me. You
comfortable?”

“
Yeah,” I admitted. “I’m
good.”

“
Goodnight, Al.” He used
his other hand to run his fingers over the bare skin of my back
that was revealed by my tank.

“
Good night.”

I had just about fallen asleep when I
heard him whisper, “I love you.”

“
I love you, too,” I
whispered so softly that even with his super hearing he couldn’t
hear—at least I didn’t think so.

Chapter Fifteen

Levi wasn’t in bed when I woke up. I
touched the empty space next to me, shocked he’d leave me alone. I
got up and dug out more clothing from the armoire—settling on a
t-shirt and jeans. I definitely wasn’t putting on my ripped flapper
dress. I grabbed a pile of clothes in case Hailey and Anne needed
them too. I peeked into the bathroom, but Levi wasn’t there
either.

I banged on the door, hoping someone
would open up. I didn’t hear anything. “Hello? Is anyone out
there?”

I didn’t get a response, and I felt my
frustration rising. I wasn’t okay with being locked in a room
anymore. I banged again. “Hello?”

I was just about to freak out when the
door swung open. I expected Levi to be standing on the other
side—but it was Bryant.

“
Hello, Princess.” It was
exactly what Jared called me, but the way Bryant said it sounded
different, more demeaning. Maybe it was also because he seemed so
much older, especially wearing a dress shirt and slacks. I felt
like a kid next to him.

“
Hi, Bryant. Where’s Levi?”
I regretted my decision to keep Bryant’s behavior from
Levi.

“
He’s with the king. I’m
supposed to take you home.”

“
Are Owen and Jared busy?”
Levi rarely trusted me with anyone but them.

“
Yeah, they’re
busy.”

“
Okay. Have you seen my
friends?”

He nodded. “They already
left.”

“
Hailey and Anne
left?”

“
Uh huh, they left hours
ago.”

“
Oh. Well, I’m sure I can
just get myself home then. Or I can wait for Levi.” I took a step
back.

“
He’s going to be
awhile.”

I didn’t particularly want to get a
ride from Bryant, but I was definitely ready to get out of there. I
wanted to see my friends, and I needed to check on Tiffany. “Have
you heard any more about my friend who got hurt?”

“
I heard she’s fine. She
looked worse than she was.”

“
Okay good.”

“
You ready?”

“
Sure.” I followed him out
of the room.

We passed a few people I didn’t
recognize as we headed to the elevator. I tried to ignore the wave
of disappointment I felt when I didn’t see Levi as we headed out of
the lobby and onto the street.

I got into the passenger seat of
Bryant’s gray Lexus.

“
How did you get roped into
taking me?” I fished out a stick of Chap Stick from my purse. I
still couldn’t believe it had survived the fire.

“
I volunteered.”

“
You volunteered to
babysit?”

He grinned. “Babysitting implies
watching a kid. You’re no kid.”

“
Still, I figure there
would be other jobs you’d rather be doing. Aren’t you supposed to
be looking for Martin?” That’s when it hit me. Why would Levi be
okay with me leaving if Martin was still out there. “Wait, did you
guys catch him?”

Bryant pulled out onto the road. “He’s
taken care of.”