“Glad I could help.”
He beckoned me closer. “Come to any epiphanies in the wake of being shot?”
The many, carefully worded variations of how I’d like to take things slowly because we’d been through so much, we’d hurt each other so much, and we needed time, crowded my throat.
While I’d swear I wasn’t moving, somehow I drew closer to him. I tried to pull up short, terrified that if we touched, I’d spark, my emotions exploding like lightning.
“Say something.” His quiet words were a plea.
My heart threatened to punch out my ribcage. I never planned on saying it first. Second maybe, somewhere far in the future, when it was a safe, sure bet. Except safe and sure were empty words in the face of this feeling filling me up and the clarity I no longer wanted to hide.
I took a deep breath and ripped the Band-Aid off. “I love you.” I counted off twelve heartbeats before I punched him. “Say something.”
The joy in his smile was so palpable that if I reached out, I could catch hold of it, like a firefly. “I love you, too,” he said.
I swear the ground rocked like gentle waves as I leaned into him. My boat had found its safe harbor, nestled in the scent of oaky amber scotch and chocolate and my name written in his heart.
I pulled out my phone.
Levi tried to grab the cell but I shielded it with my body. “I declare my love and you’re googling something?” he said.
“Yes.”
“You baffle me.”
“Like this is news.” When I found the result of my search, my smile threatened to split my face in half. I showed Levi the screen.
He shrugged. “It’s traffic cam footage.”
“Of…” I prompted.
“House Pacifica. Why?”
I gave a little hop of excitement. “Because it’s gold. Deep pure gold. That building is a giant mood ring of you. You really do love me.”
He did this manly, frowning gruff thing. “I said I did.”
“Yeah, but this is proof.”
“Hmm. Good point.” He took my hand. “Where’s my proof? I mean, I’m a pretty amazing man who’s dazzled you for fifteen years.”
“Dazzled seems a bit excessive. I thought fondly of you for about a month.”
Levi moved his thumb up my wrist, finding some magic point that shot wild heat through my body. “Dazzled. How can I be certain these feelings are real and not a byproduct of your incredible awe being in my presence?”
I punched his shoulder. “You’ve wrecked me totally and absolutely for any other guy, asshole, and I’m completely and utterly in love with you.”
“Ah, insults.” His blue eyes glittered between thick lashes. “Okay, now I buy it.”
“Is it going to be enough though? After everything?”
“Well, you didn’t kill my father, but I almost did after the ambulance took you away.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Ask Rafael about that.” He flexed his hand. “It’ll be enough because after everything we’ve both suffered all these years, we’ll choose to make it enough.”
“Every single day,” I agreed. “Wanna kiss and make it official?”
“Fuck yeah.” His mouth found mine, hot and hungry and demanding.
I rose onto tiptoe, my teeth scraping across his bottom lips, and my hands tangled in his hair.
Levi wedged his thigh between my legs and I whimpered, jerking him closer to me, and arcing my hips against him. He exhaled, then dragged his thumb over my lips.
I sucked it inside, and Levi shuddered.
He removed his glasses, setting them carefully down. “I love you so much.” His words were a promise, anchoring me.
Light-headed, I clasped my hand around the back of his neck and drew his mouth down to mine. Every nerve in my body flared at the overwhelming rightness of it all.
Levi ran his hand achingly slow up my side, dragging my shirt along with it to pull it over my head. My bra followed, pitched into a corner. He bent his head to rasp his teeth along my nipple before sucking it into his mouth.
I tightened my fingers in his hair, letting the strands fall through my fingers.
Levi growled and dragged me over to the sofa, falling back to catch me in his arms. We lay there, tangled up together, kissing and exploring each other’s bodies with a leisurely wonder. He tilted my head back to expose a spot under my ear, kissing it and making me shiver in delight.
Clothes were tossed off and we moved to his bedroom.
“New sheets?” I said lightly.
He curled me to him. “I couldn’t sleep on the other ones. They reminded me of you too much.”
“In that case, we should break these in.” I crawled onto his mattress, cocking a finger at him.
He lay down on his side. “Touch me,” he said, guiding my hand down.
My nipples hardened, feeling his hard cock, and I moaned into the hollow of his neck.
“That sound. It undoes me.” He slid a finger inside me, rubbing my clit with his thumb.
We gazed into each other’s eyes, a delicious spiral winding tighter and brighter inside me, as Levi played with my sensitive flesh.
He grew even harder in my hand.
“Fuuuuck.” He rolled on top of me and I luxuriated in the press of his warm skin.
I sucked in a breath, dizzy with need.
Levi laughed, low and dangerous, and reached for a condom.
I stopped him. “I’m clean. I’ve been tested and there hasn’t been anyone since you. You?” My pulse fluttered in the base of my throat. I wanted nothing between us.
“Same.” He caught my lips for one more breath-stealing kiss, before thrusting inside me.
A quiver shot through me and I gripped his shoulders to draw him to me more tightly.
Our lovemaking was lazy, filled with messy kisses and soft endearments that danced like clouds around our heads. The moon beamed down a benediction of our love while the waves outside the window graced us with a gentle melody.
The spark between us grew hotter, until it erupted in a glorious flame of desire.
“Faster,” I whispered.
Levi stood up at the edge of the mattress, sliding me across the bed until my ass bumped into his thighs.
I laughed. “Suave.”
“Give me a second, woman. Geez, already busting my balls.” He pulled my legs up so my feet rested on his shoulders.
“Still busting—oh. Yes. That.”
He grinned at me, his teeth flashing white in the velvety darkness of the room, and placed my hand on my clit.
I touched myself as he thrust into me again and that was it. I shattered, crying out Levi’s name.
He came right after me, clasping my head in his hands and kissing me sweetly, before rolling off.
Deliciously limp, I brushed his hair out of his eyes. “We both acquired new scars these past couple of months.”
Levi traced the new one on my thigh. “A very smart woman once told me that scars aren’t weakness, they’re strength. They prove we survived.”
“Wow. That does sound like an incredibly wise person,” I said. He tickled me and I laughed, swatting at his hands. “I hope you kept her around.”
“It was kind of touch and go. First, I masterminded the most pathetic break-up in the history of mankind.” He drew lazily on my skin, and I pressed closer to him.
“Was this a ‘reverse psychology, absence makes the heart grow fonder’ kind of deal?” I said.
“It was more a ‘too stupid to realize what I was throwing away’ scenario. But the joke was on me.”
My heart swelled at his admission of how he’d messed up. “How so?”
“I missed her.” Levi pressed his forehead to mine. “I couldn’t go a single night without seeking you out. You know how many times I drove past my parents’ place hoping to see you parked there?” He paused. “You can admit to the same thing, seeing as this is a safe space where we’ve declared our love.”
I sh
rugged. “I could, but I was there casing the joint.” My voice rose in a shriek as Levi raspberried my stomach. “Ack. Fine. Yes. It was the same for me.”
Levi propped his bent arm under his head. “Good thing we both smartened up. You do stay the night now, right?”
“Yeah, love.” I sat up.
“I’m getting mixed messages here.”
I kissed him again because he was there and he was mine. “I’m going to clean up and get water. I’ll be right back.”
I stood in my boyfriend’s kitchen, letting the water run cold and marveling at how far I’d come. I was no longer the Girl Who Lived, I was the woman who had everything to live for. My life was far richer than I could ever have imagined.
I was happy.
“Ash?”
I jerked from the sink, flicking Levi with droplets.
He laughed, brushing off his naked chest. “All good?” He wrapped his arms around me.
I leaned against him. “Never better.” I had my drink and held out a hand. “Take me back to bed, Leviticus.”
He scooped me up into his arms and into our future.
Once upon a time there was a gangly boy with blue eyes and an angry girl with a cane. One hid his scars, the other flaunted them to the world. And when they grew up, they played in the darkness, monsters capable of great damage themselves.
The stories they were in began, changed, and ended over time, but the two of them still stood.
When they finally stepped into the light, what they saw wasn’t monstrous, it was fierce and beautiful, so they made a choice.
Each other.
The monster support group was no more. But the girl still got biscotti whenever she wanted them.
Thank you for reading REVENGE & RAPTURE.
In the mood for more funny, sexy urban fantasy? Check out THE UNLIKEABLE DEMON HUNTER.
The biggest threat an all-male brotherhood of demon hunters face isn’t any demonic foe. It’s a foul-mouthed, romance-impaired heroine who’s gonna show these boys a thing or two about how to really slay a monster…
When Nava half-drunkenly interrupts her twin brother's induction ceremony into a secret supernatural society, she doesn’t expect to accidentally torch his life-long dream and steal his destiny.
Horrified she’s now expected to take his place, Nava is faced with something she never wanted: a purpose.
The society isn’t cool with a woman in their ranks and teams her with a surly but smoking hot ex-rock star to keep her in line. Too bad he’s exactly what Nava's always wanted: the perfect bad boy fling with no strings attached. A hook-up with him is as dangerous as the vengeful demon out for blood–her brother’s.
And Nava’s the only one who can save him.
Odds of survival: meh.
Odds of a good time before she bites it: much better.
The Unlikeable Demon Hunter is a fast-paced urban fantasy series that readers describe as "fun, funny, and unapologetically raunchy... a clever guilty pleasure at its best." If you like snarky kickass heroines, a maverick mythology, and red-hot romance, then grab it today!
This series is complete at six books plus a companion novel.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE UNLIKEABLE DEMON HUNTER NOW >
Every time a reader leaves a review, an author gets ... a glass of wine. (You thought I was going to say “wings,” didn’t you? We’re authors, not angels, but you’ll get heavenly karma for your good deed.) Please leave yours on your favorite book site, especially Amazon.
Turn the page for an excerpt from The Unlikeable Demon Hunter…
Excerpt from The Unlikeable Demon Hunter
Mornings after sucked.
Walks of shame were a necessary evil, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed shimmying back into the same trollop togs twice. I picked glitter out of my hair, then straightened my sequined top. I was officially decommissioning it. Multiple washings never quite managed to remove the lingering aura of bad decisions I made while wearing party clothes. My philosophy? Cross my fingers and hope for the most bang for the bucks spent later on new outfits.
The surly cabbie evil-eyed me to hurry up.
I complied, rooting around in my clutch for some crumpled bills before handing them over and stumbling out of the taxi onto the sidewalk.
Fresh air was a godsend after the stale bitter coffee smell I’d been trapped with during the ride. I pressed a finger to my temple, a persistent dull throb stabbing me behind my eyeballs. My residual feel good haze clashed big-time with the glaring sun screaming at me to wake up, and the buzz of a neighbor’s lawnmower cutting through the Sunday morning quiet didn’t help matters. Best get inside.
Smoothing out my mini skirt, I readied myself for my tame-my-happy-slut-self-to-boring-PG-rating body check when a wave of dizziness crashed through me. Whoa. I brought my gaze back to horizon level, swallowing hard. That sea-sickness technique was doing dick-all so I rummaged in my bag for my ginger chews.
No puking in the bushes, I chided myself, letting the spicy smooth and sweet candy fight my nausea. My mother would toss my bubble ass out if I defiled her precious rhodos.
Again.
The rise and fall of my chest as I took a few deep breaths spotlit a slight problem. My spangly blouse was missing two buttons. And I was missing a bra. Hook-up Dude had been worth the loss of a pair of socks, maybe a bargain bin thong. But the latest in purple push-up technology? No. I allowed myself a second to mourn. It had been a good and loyal bra.
The sex, on the other hand? Total crap. The girls, who were normally perky C cups, seemed a bit subdued. I couldn’t blame them. What’s-his-name had started out with all the promise of a wild stallion gallop, but he’d ended up more of a gentle trot. I didn’t know if the fault lay with the jockey or the ride, but it had been a long time since I’d seen a finish line.
Since I couldn’t keep examining my tits on the front walk with Mrs. Jepson side-eyeing me from behind her living room curtains, I thrust my chin up and clacked a staccato rhythm toward my front door on those mini torture chambers that had seemed such a good idea yesterday.
Every step made our precisely manicured lawn undulate. I clamped my lips shut, willing the ginger chews to kick in while fumbling my key into the lock. Dad had screwed up the measurements on our striking cedar and stained glass front door and, being a touch too big for the frame, it needed to be shouldered open.
I crashed into the door like a linebacker. Once I’d extricated myself and my keys from the lock, I brushed myself off, and stepped inside. Our house itself was comfortably upper middle class but not huge, since my parents preferred to spend money on trips and books instead of the overpriced real estate found here in Vancouver. A quick glance to my left showed that the TV room was empty. I crossed my fingers that Mom and Dad were out at their squash game, my main reason for picking this specific time to sneak back in.
Really, a twenty-year-old shouldn’t have had to sneak. But then again, a twenty-year-old probably should have kept her last menial job for longer than two weeks, so I wasn’t in a position to argue rights.
I kicked off my shoes, sighing in delight at the feel of cool tile under my bare feet as I padded through the house to our homey kitchen. No one was in there either. Someone, probably Mom, had tacked the envelope with my final–and only–pay stub from the call center that I’d left lying around onto our small “miscellaneous” cork board. The gleaming quartz counters were now free of their usual clutter of papers, books, and latest gourmet food find. That meant company. Come to think of it, I did hear someone in the living room.
A study in tasteful shades of white, the large formal room was off-limits unless we had special guests. Mom had set that rule when my twin brother Ari and I were little tornados running around the place and while there was no longer a baby gate barring our way, conditioning and several memorable scoldings kept us out.
Hmmm. Could Ari be entertaining an actual human boy? Le gasp.
I beelined for the back of the house, past the row of identic
ally framed family photos hanging in a neat grid, my head cocked. Listening for more voices, but all was quiet. Maybe I’d been wrong? I hoped not. Both finding my brother with a crush–blackmail dirt–and helping myself to the liquor cabinet were positive prospects. What better way to lose that hangover headache than get drunk again? Oh, the joys of being Canadian with socialized health care and legal drinking age of nineteen. After a year (officially) honing that skill, I imbibed at an Olympic level.
The red wine on the modular coffee table gleamed in a shaft of sunlight like its position had been ordained by the gods. I snatched up the crystal decanter, sloshing the liquid into the glass conveniently placed next to it. Once in a while, a girl could actually catch a break.
I fanned myself with one hand. The myriad of lit candles seemed a bit much for Ari’s romantic encounter, but wine drinking trumped curiosity so I chugged the booze back. My entire body cheered as the cloyingly-sweet alcohol hit my system, though I hoped it wasn’t Manischewitz because hangovers on that were a bitch. I’d slugged back half the contents when I saw my mom on the far side of the room clutch her throat, eyes wide with horror. Not her usual, “you need an intervention” horror. No, her expression indicated I’d reached a whole new level of fuck-up.
“Nava Liron Katz,” she gasped in full name outrage.
My cheeks still bulging with wine, I properly scoped out the room. Mom? Check. Dad? Check. Ari? Check. Rabbi Abrams, here to perform the ceremony to induct my brother as the latest member in the Brotherhood of David, the chosen demon hunters?
Check.
I spit the wine back into what I now realized was a silver chalice and handed it to the elderly bearded rabbi. “Carry on,” I told him. Then I threw up on his shoes.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE UNLIKEABLE DEMON HUNTER NOW >
Become a Wilde One
If you enjoyed this book and want to be first in the know about bonus content, reveals, and exclusive giveaways, become a Wilde One by joining my newsletter: http://www.deborahwilde.com/subscribe
Revenge & Rapture: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 4) Page 30