Fierce Enchantment (11 page)

There was no other option.

Levi rubbed his temples, trying to force his headache to go away. Of course, now that he wasn’t in Lynn’s presence, it would be easy. He could already feel some of the tension in his shoulders fading. That damn woman was determined to keep him on edge—and not the sweet, sweet edge Faith kept him on.

He’d dropped off the girls at Lynn’s place and was forced to listen to her sickly sweet taunts and then her screeching when she didn’t get what she wanted. He knew Lynn was up to something. He just had no idea what it was. The woman had a conniving streak—though he hadn’t known it until after he’d said his vows.

God knew how he stayed married to her for as long as he had.

Now, he was in front of Faith’s place and ready to see her again so they could figure out this tricky path they were on. While part of him wanted to take things slow and let her find her way, another part of him wanted to slam her against the wall and fuck her until they were both panting on the floor.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his pants so he didn’t end up with zipper marks on his cock. With Faith, he wasn’t sure which one she’d prefer at the moment, but he had a feeling he’d have to wait on the slamming-against-walls thing. She probably wouldn’t appreciate it considering they’d literally just met.

Okay, not
just
. It had been three weeks since he’d shown her around the wizard realm, and they’d spent at least a few minutes—and most days many more—with one another. They hadn’t kissed or even talked about the future of their relationship. They’d just…been. He’d actually enjoyed it. He liked learning who this new woman in his life was, and he wanted to know more. She was just so…unpredictable. So unlike himself that he wanted to see how she would fit against him and in his life.

“So, are you going to just stand out there and confuse the neighbors, or were you going to knock on the door?”

Faith stood in the open doorway, leaning against the doorframe. Her arms were crossed over her chest and one eyebrow was raised. However, it wasn’t the snark that worried him. No, it was the dark circles under her eyes and the fact that, though she tried to hide it, he knew her arms were shaking.

He stepped closer, one arm out. She didn’t pull away, but leaned toward him so he could hold her against his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, running his hands over her hair and back. She just sighed, burrowing her face into his chest. Okay, something was
really
wrong.

She let him lead her back into her home and closed the door behind them, waving his hand in front of it to ensure the wards were closed as well. The day after he’d left her to go to the Conclave, he came back and added the wards, and taught her how to use them, even if she was mundane—as in non-magical. Faith was anything but truly mundane when it came to her personality. The fact that it was
her
house allowed her to enter and leave when she pleased, as well as verbally allow others into her home. Anyone who tried to get in without permission from her or Levi was in for a rude surprise.

“Talk to me, Faith,” he whispered then pulled her back so he could cup her face. She blinked up at him, pain in her eyes.

“I don’t feel so good.” She shuddered before she let out a breath. She rolled her shoulders back then met his gaze. “Well, I didn’t, but now I feel a little better. I don’t really understand it. Maybe I have a cold or something?”

He felt the strain on their mating bond—the mating bond he’d forced rather than allowed to come the natural way. It might have been the only way to save her life at the time, but now he had a feeling it was the root of her problems.

This wasn’t going to end well.

He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone. “I don’t think it’s a cold, Faith.”

“Then what is it? Because if it’s what I think it is, then I’m going to get angry because that wasn’t supposed to happen to me. Not when everything happened out of order.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then led Faith to the couch. When she sat down, her body rigid, he wanted to shout at the gods—or rather the former members of the Conclave—for putting them in this situation.

“I think the bond is hurting you, Faith.” He cursed at the betrayal in her eyes. “I’m not saying
I’m
hurting you. I’m saying that the way we bonded might have kept you alive when it was needed, but now that the bond isn’t”—he searched for the right word—“fully realized, it’s reacting in a similar fashion as it did with your friends.”

Faith cursed under her breath and slid her hand from his. He hadn’t even realized she was still holding on to him. He wanted her touch back but knew this wasn’t the time to get greedy, not when she’d have to make a decision much faster than she’d planned on.

“I had hoped it wasn’t that,” she said finally.

He didn’t frown, didn’t move away, didn’t show any of the pain her words sent through him. He knew she wasn’t happy at the turn of events that had led him to her, but the thought that she didn’t want him in her life at all? That hurt more than it should have. He’d never done anything just for himself, and now that he actually wanted to? It seemed she might not want it after all.

“Shit. That’s not what I meant, Levi,” Faith said, gripping his hand. “This has nothing to do with you.”

He raised a brow. “Honey, it has
everything
to do with me.”

“Don’t call me honey,” she scolded, but he knew it was only because she was scared. A scared Faith was a dangerous Faith.

“I’ll eventually find a pet name you actually like.” Maybe once she turned into her other self.

“Or, you know, you could just call me Faith.” She narrowed her eyes. “And we’re off track. What I meant was that the fact I didn’t want this illness or whatever’s wrong with me to be part of the bond has nothing to do with you. Yeah, you’re the one who made the bond with me when I couldn’t agree to it, but I don’t blame you for that. Not anymore.”

He froze, not understanding fully what she was saying. “You don’t?”

“No. How could I? You saved my life. And yes, it took my choice away, and I was pissed for a while, but holding on to that rage when it’s hurting me and you in the process would be stupid and nearsighted. So no, I don’t blame you anymore for saving my life. But I also didn’t want to think that the weakness that comes and goes has anything to do with our bond.”

He squeezed her hand, giving her the time she needed to fully explain what she meant. “I’m glad you don’t blame me anymore. That’s not the best way to start whatever it is we have.”
Such eloquence
.

Faith smiled then winced. “Yeah, see? That’s the problem. We’ve been tiptoeing around the whole future thing because we needed time, and now, I guess I’m out of time.”

This was where it was getting tricky. “I think so, Faith. You’re reacting like the girls did before when they’d met their true halves but hadn’t completed the mating. Their bodies reacted violently to cement the bond. It doesn’t happen with anyone else in our world but you seven it seems. I honestly thought we’d get around that since we
do
have a bond.”

“But the bond wasn’t made the same way as the others.” Faith snorted. “I guess my body
really
wants to have sex with you.”

His cock perked up at the thought, but Levi raised a brow, trying to appear calm. He didn’t want Faith to see what he really wanted was to press her down on the couch, strip off her pants, and lick that sweet cream between her legs. He had more control than that.

Barely.

“Just your body?” he asked.

“No, not just my body. Of course I want you, Levi. You’re fucking sexy as hell, and you’re a nice guy.”

“You don’t have to say the last part as if you ate something sour,” he said dryly.

“I’m not a nice girl. You know that.”

“I know you think that. You’re not as much of a bitch as you want people to believe.” With any other woman, he wouldn’t have said that, but this was Faith. She was…different. She was…his. He hoped soon the latter would be in truth.

She blinked at him.

“I’m also not the nice guy you think I am.”

“Levi.”

“No really. You saw me fight on the battlefield.”

She grinned then. “Yeah, you’re a badass when you fight. But every other time? You’re considerate and willing to allow others to take point so you don’t start a fight.”

Was she seriously complaining over that? “Okay, first, I am considerate because I don’t like to piss people off when I don’t have to. Second, I’m considerate of you and your friends more than I am of others because I like you, Faith, and fuck, you’re my mate, so I don’t want to piss you off at every turn. As for others taking point? The only times you’ve seen me is when I’m trying to court you or when I’m trying not to crowd you. Watch me at the Conclave or dealing with my daughters when they refuse to clean their room,
then
we can talk.”

Faith smiled full-out then. “Your girls keep their rooms clean.”

“You’ve only seen them
after
I get on them for being little princess terrors. We’ve been trying to make a good impression.”

“Even Juliana?”

He grimaced. “She’ll warm up to you.”

Faith snorted again. “Sure she will. As soon as Lynn does.”

He ground his teeth at the mention of his ex-wife. “Lynn is their mother, but that’s it. She’s a bitch, Faith. You aren’t. There’s a difference between being headstrong and being a conniving woman who only cares about herself.”

“Very true. And I guess you
aren’t
as sweet and innocent as I thought.”

Levi growled then leaned forward, moving his hand so it rested lightly over her neck. “Never mistake me for sweet and innocent, Faith-of-mine.”

She smiled then. “I like that.”

“Me holding you like this or calling you Faith-of-mine?”

“Both.”

“Good.” He growled again before crushing his mouth to hers. She gasped, and he took advantage of her parted lips. He swiped his tongue along hers, loving her sweet, spicy taste. She moaned but didn’t push away. Instead, she wrapped her hand around his wrist, keeping his hold on her neck. 

He deepened the kiss, practically pushing her all the way back until she lay on the couch, her other hand gripping his shoulder, her fingers digging into his muscle.

When he pulled away, his chest heaved, and his body shook. He wanted her. He
craved
her. But they had to get one thing straight first.

“I want you, Faith. I want you because you’re you, not because something quirked in our minds when we saw each other across the battlefield. I want you because you’re sexy as fuck, you are strong, you take care of your own, and because I want to see you naked and writhing under me when I fuck you hard.”

Faith’s mouth dropped. “You’re a dirty talker? Seriously? Oh, my God, I’m one lucky bitch.” She smiled and stood up, pulling him with her. “All you just said, reverse it. I want you, Levi, because you’re sexy, and because you’re you. The thing is…”

“The thing is, you don’t want to want me and complete the mating because you feel you have to,” he finished for her. “I get it, Faith. I really do.” He cupped her face once more, loving the way she didn’t pull away. “But what happens tonight or any night from now on is because
we
want it to, not because you feel you need to.”

“But if I don’t complete the bond, I could die, right?” she asked. “That doesn’t seem like a choice.”

He cursed. “I’ll find another way if you’re not ready. We went about the start differently than the others, so we might have a chance to finish it differently as well. But, Faith? I’ll still want you. No matter what. I like you. I want to be with you.” It wasn’t a declaration of love, but neither of them was ready for that. Not even close.

“I don’t want to have to rely on someone, Levi. Don’t you get that? Once we’re officially bonded like this, then that’s it. I’m your mate, and we’re stuck in a future we might not have wanted.”

Levi let out a growl and pulled away. “Is that what you really think mating is? Something to be disdained? To run away from? Because that’s not it, and you know it. I get that you’re scared, but don’t throw that at me. I’m not going to leave you if it gets too hard. I wouldn’t be here with you if I didn’t feel a connection beyond the magic between us. I wouldn’t have bonded with you in the first place if I hadn’t felt there could be a future.”

“You didn’t even know me then!”

“I know!” he shouted. “And shouldn’t that tell you something? Hell, Faith. No matter what happens with us, we’re going to be connected, but mating isn’t about bringing the other person down. It’s about finding a way to work together and know that there will always be another person there.”

“And what if I fuck up? What if I force you to leave me because you can’t handle it anymore?”

Fuck, there was something seriously wrong in Faith’s previous relationships if this was how she felt when she got a hint of commitment. Shouting and trying to tell her that things would be okay wasn’t going to work. He was going to have to show her.

They’d both have to take a leap of faith.

“If you fuck up, then we’ll deal. If I fuck up, then we’ll deal. Mating is all about not running away at the first sign of trouble. You’re stronger than that, and we both know it. And me? I’m a hell of a lot stronger than you’re giving me credit for.”

“Then what, we’ll have sex to save my life and the world, and call it a day?”

Levi froze. The laugh started in his belly then took over his body, and before long, he had to wipe the tears from his face. He glanced at Faith, who had her hands on her hips, but her mouth twitched.

“It’s not that funny, Levi,” she insisted, though he could hear the laughter in her words.

“Honey.”

“Stop calling me honey.”

“Baby?”

“Nope.”

“Snookums?”

“Fuck you.”

“Soon, I hope.” He grinned when she rolled her eyes. “See? Nothing is all that bad. Now as for having sex to save the world, I don’t believe things are that dire, though I haven’t checked with Dante and the rest of the crew. So, for all I know, the other realms are going crazy and sex might just be the answer.”