The Demon and the Succubus (33 page)

When Lilith’s soft invite finally came, Amalya forced herself to slowly turn the knob and open the door rather than slam it open.

Levi stood before the queen, his bearing regal and proud even in the still-disheveled and blood-covered clothes. He turned when she entered, his hungry expression raking over her as if to ensure she was all right.

“My queen, I seek an urgent audience.” Amalya bowed and waited for Lilith to acknowledge her further.

“Rise and come forward.”

Amalya breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to face her queen.

Lilith lounged back more comfortably in her chair, her bare feet peeking out from under her long, flowing dress. “You seek an audience to what end? To save this man from his promise that he used to save you and bring you back?”

Amalya wanted to bristle at the unfairness of the deal, or find some loophole that would set Levi free, but she didn’t see one. The deal had been for Levi to be able to come after her for a price to be named later. Lilith had fulfilled her part of the bargain and would now require Levi to fulfill his. “Yes,” she said anyway. “My queen, I wish to purchase the cost of his payment with whatever you would require of me for such a concession.”

Lilith raised her brows. “You love this man?”

Amalya hesitated. Admitting such a thing in front of Lilith was tantamount to admitting an indiscretion. But at the same time, Amalya’s willingness to offer anything needed to relieve Levi of this debt he’d taken on for her did require some explanation. Besides, Lilith wasn’t stupid. The queen tended to know much more than she let on, which was one of the reasons she and her kind had prospered as well as they had within the supernatural realm.

Amalya glanced at Levi and Caldriel’s words rang through her mind.

I should’ve told him while I had the chance
.

Amalya held Levi’s worried dark gaze and forced a small smile. “Despite all my better judgment, I do, my lady.”

Levi’s expression of concern faltered as surprise flashed across his face, quickly hidden behind a mask of nonchalance. He dropped his gaze and turned to face Lilith. “This payment is mine and mine alone, my queen. I took the deal and I’ll pay the consequences. Amalya had no part in this, so should have no say in its payment.”

“Damn it,” she snapped at the man’s high-handed dismissal of her. She’d just told him she loved him and he couldn’t even speak directly to her. She winced as she realized she’d cussed in front of the queen. “My apologies, my lady. This man makes me crazy. He only took on that debt because of my stupid decision to leave. The least he can do is let me pay it.”

“Amalya, be quiet,” Levi warned, “and let me handle this.”

His condescending tone fed all the fear and anger she’d endured over the past several days and she rounded on him as the dam holding back her anger broke. “The hell I will.” She stepped forward and poked her finger into his chest. “I’ve put up with your condescending, chauvinistic bullshit quite long enough. I’m a fully grown woman,
Your fucking Grace
,” she said stealing one of Jethro’s expressions. “And I expect to be treated as such. If we’re comparing life spans and experience, you’re a toddler compared to me, so stop treating me like I don’t know anything. I know that despite my better judgment I’ve gone and fallen in love with you, and God help me, I won’t stand by and see you ruin your life because you tried to save me from my own stupidity.”

“You daft woman. Don’t you realize I wouldn’t have done this for you in the first place if I didn’t love you as well? I can’t live with myself unless I know you’re safe and happy.”

Amalya stumbled back as if he’d slapped her. Levi loved her too? She’d never expected him to return her feelings. And judging from the shock still frozen on his handsome features, he hadn’t expected to tell her in such a way. “What did you say?”

The queen cleared her throat, which had the effect of a cold bucket of water being tossed in Amalya’s face. Heat burned into her cheeks as she realized the scene they’d both just created in front of the queen.

“I can see there are some issues the two of you would still like to discuss. However, I have other things to attend to today. Levi, your payment to me has been purchased by Uriel. He requires your services and assistance, and in light of recent developments with the journals and horsemen, I would like to extend your protection of Amalya indefinitely. Uriel has agreed to that stipulation.”

The information was delivered as an edict and not a question. Levi owed the debt to Lilith, which allowed her to set the terms as she liked. The fact that there was still ambiguity within the terms did nothing to dampen the initial relief Amalya felt, but she remained cautious. “My queen?”

“I suggest you two return to your quarters and rest and recover. Levi, when Uriel summons you, Amalya will accompany you. You are responsible for her continued safety. Any other . . . attachments . . . will be discussed when the current situation plays out.” Lilith rose and turned her back on them.

Thus dismissed, Amalya found herself preceding Levi out of Lilith’s rooms in silence as she slowly tried to digest all the possible nuances of what they’d been told.

“Amalya . . .”
Levi began, not willing to waste another second without talking to her and telling her everything he’d realized.

“Not here.” She grabbed his hand and half dragged him down the hall toward her rooms.

He bristled at the delay, but since their “attachment” still hadn’t been officially approved, he knew they had to continue to publicly act the part of protector and protected. Anything else would require somewhere more private.

When she made it to her room, Levi reached around her to open the door for her, but when he tried the knob, it remained stubbornly locked.

A smug smile pulled at Amalya’s lips. “I haven’t invited you inside yet.” She turned the knob easily and swung the door wide, stepping inside and staring back at him over the threshold.

He started forward, smacking into some type of invisible barrier. Pain radiated up and down his injured arm as well as his nose where he’d taken the brunt of the hit. He stumbled back cursing as he studied the air between them for any telltale sign of what he’d run into. “Amalya, what’s going on?”

“Sorry,” she said with a guilty smile. “Only the queen can enter everyone’s quarters without permission. All others need to be invited and can have that permission revoked at the will of the rooms’ assigned occupant at any time.”

Levi frowned as he tried to work out what point Amalya was trying to make. “You don’t want me to come in?” He tried not to think about all the other things she might not want by extension.

She huffed out an amused breath as she faced him. “For once, will you stop thinking you know everything and pay attention?” Her words were teasing, which flustered him even more. “Ever since you walked into my bathroom back at Sinner’s Redemption, you’ve made decisions for me, assumed you knew best, and even though I think you’ve come to learn that I can take care of myself in a lot of situations, you still act like you’re living in Victorian England when it comes to how you treat women.”

“Amalya, I—”

“Stop.” She sliced the air in front of her with her hand. “Just be quiet for once and listen to me. If I invite you inside, I want to do it willingly.”

He had the distinct impression she was speaking about more than just inviting him inside her quarters.

“I want to have the choice and thus the responsibility for anything that comes as a result of that choice.” She stared into his gaze, her expression pleading for him to understand. “I want you to trust me enough to know what’s best for me and to allow me to make my own decisions.”

He thought back to all the decisions he’d made for her and winced as he realized that the majority of the time she would’ve made better choices for them than he had. He’d assumed he always knew better and had made not only circumstances much harder for them both but also hadn’t given Amalya credit for being the smart, capable woman he knew her to be. He cringed as he realized this was just another example of how he’d been an arrogant ass.

Her intense gray gaze burned through him and he sighed. “I can’t promise to change overnight. But I will do my best. I want you to invite me inside willingly because you know I love you, and you’re willing to let me be a part of your life no matter what happens in the future.”

A long silence stretched between them as she studied him. Levi’s stomach knotted as he waited for her answer. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she turned him away. It had taken him so long to realize that his place was by her side, he hoped it wasn’t too late.

What felt like an eternity later, a smile curved Amalya’s lips. “Come in, Levi. I’ve been waiting for you.”

He let out the breath he’d been holding as relief and anticipation flooded his system. He stepped slowly forward, reaching out with his good arm to gently cup Amalya’s cheek and feather his thumb over her silky soft skin. “Thank you.” He knew she would take his whispered words as more than just gratitude for inviting him into her room.

She was his salvation from a lonely life spent in pursuit of nothing. She made him a better man, and he wanted to spend every waking moment he could with her, no matter if the world self-destructed around them. “I love you, Amalya. No strings, no stipulations, just me telling you you’ve captured my heart.”

She reached up and traced gentle fingers over his stubbled jaw, the slight touch sending gooseflesh rushing over him and warmth growing inside his chest. “I know you do, Levi. I love you too.”

“Despite your better judgment?” he teased, parroting her words inside Lilith’s chambers. He’d been shocked when she’d said those words, but now that he was past the first spurt of surprise, they humbled him. He vowed to spend the rest of his life trying to be worthy of such an emotion from such a woman as the one who stood before him.

Her smile widened and she stood on tiptoes to brush her lips over his. “Definitely against my better judgment, but since I was the one who left the safety of the lair to follow you, I think my better judgment is impaired when it comes to you.”

He laughed against her lips and captured her close with his good arm. “Thank God.” He leaned down to meet her kiss, and she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him like she had back at the farmhouse—as if she were trying to brand him as hers.

Levi growled low in his throat as his cock hardened and blood rushed through his veins. It had been too long since he’d touched her. He needed to be inside her, to lose himself in the sweet heat of her surrounding him.

He let himself bask in the warmth of her soft curves against him, her hungry mouth against his, and the wondrous sensation of her fingers running through his hair.

Levi slowly walked her backward toward the bed as a wave of dizziness stole through him making him stumble. He probably needed to eat and sleep, but all that could wait until after he’d left Amalya boneless and satisfied. Right now there was only her.

She pulled back with a laugh. “Careful of that arm.” She turned him around until the backs of his legs hit the bed and then she gently undid the button and zipper on his trousers sliding them down his legs until the fabric bunched around his ankles. The cool air from the room hit his skin and he felt exposed and at a disadvantage standing in his silk boxer shorts as she raked her hungry gaze over him.

“Let me.” She grinned up at him as she sank down to her knees in front of him. She laid her small hand over his cock and arousal slammed him in the gut like a sledgehammer.

He sucked in a breath and prayed for strength. This woman had a way of stripping away all his control and she hadn’t even touched him skin to skin yet. When she leaned forward and laved a hot wet line over the silk, he stiffened.

“Relax, Levi. Let me pleasure you.”

Those simple words sent fire shooting through his veins and he had to swallow hard to maintain any semblance of his composure.

As she nibbled and stroked him through the boxer shorts, he allowed his eyes to slip closed and he threaded his fingers through her thick, silky hair. The honey gold strands were warm against his skin and he had a sudden vivid image of all that hair sliding over his skin, taunting him, teasing him.

A strangled sound escaped from his throat before he could stop it and Amalya’s throaty laugh told him she was enjoying every second of her erotic torture.

She fished her fingers up through the leg of his boxers to gently cup his balls, and the first hot bead of pre-come leaked out to be absorbed by the silk that still separated Amalya’s seeking mouth from his cock.

“Mmm. I can taste you.”

Those dark words burned through him and combined with the erotic sensation of the warm, welcoming heat of her mouth teasing him through the cloth barrier, he had to fight hard not to come.