"Because…" He opened his mouth and closed it. "Because I wanted to do something nice for you."
She sighed, staring at him, torn between melting and crow-biting his forehead. "I appreciate that, I really do. But I can't accept this from you." She put her hands together in a little prayer, "Please take it all back and use my card to buy what was on the list."
His jaw clenched, and he reached down and ripped the tape off the tower box, taking a wide strip of the label and the picture on the box off with it. "Nope."
She knew it couldn't be returned once opened, and the store would definitely consider it opened now. "Then at least let me pay you back."
"Nope." He turned and did the same thing with the chair box.
“Why the hell not?”
He stepped up close to her, until she could see the anger in his eyes. “You said to get you what you need. This is what you need. Am I wrong?”
“I need some activities, some distractions. I need to not owe you money,” she replied softly.
"It's not my money, and you don’t owe it." He backed off, continuing to unpack the bags.
Horror made her brace a hand against the wall. "Whose is it?"
"It came from the joint pool." His eyes, brighter than usual, flashed to hers. "And the other soldiers agreed it was a good idea."
“What the hell, Levi?” Oh, crap. So now it wasn't just him she owed—it was all of them.
As if he read her mind, he said, "You don't owe any of us. It's simply so you can start to get your life back to normal."
Brooke threw her hands up. Back to normal? What was ‘normal’? It couldn't be finding out about elemental powers and being stalked and surviving a fire and house arrest with an insanely hot soldier with super powers and…
He rubbed his jaw, and then looked at her, his eyes darker with apology. "As much as you can anyways. We know things are hard to deal with right now."
She took a deep breath, and then another. Gulping for sanity, for the strength to control her emotions.
“I don’t know a thing about insurance. But this way, if they don’t pay you what they owe, you have a couple less things you have to replace yourself.”
He was right of course. She’d have more money to get her life back in order if she didn’t have to buy a computer and a desk and a chair and… what was this? A pencil holder? With pink zebra stripes.
She clutched it to her chest. Why did it have to be zebra stripes? It was exactly what she would have chosen for herself.
Maybe… maybe this was what she needed. Something she could dive into that was more substantial than a crossword puzzle. But god, she hated that she hadn’t gotten it herself.
"Thank you." She tried not to make it sound as grudging as she felt. She probably didn’t succeed. "Can I at least help set it up?"
From her angle above him, she saw the corner of Levi's mouth tic up. "Yeah, because I can put it together, but I have no idea how to get it working."
Brooke smiled and tried to shove every other thought away. "Okay. Let me get you a screwdriver.”
When everything was said and done with the install, Brooke sat in her new office chair at her new, spacious desk, and had to resist the urge to pet her new computer. And ergonomic keyboard. And her curved, ultra-wide LED monitor.
Shiny.
The newspaper didn't have equipment like this. Small town meant small budget, and computer equipment that was at least a decade old.
It was beautiful and amazing and thoughtful and she still wanted to take it back right now. The worst part was that she had no right to feel this way. It was an incredibly nice gift, and she just needed to be grateful and shut up.
She just couldn't help feeling that now she owed a debt. And Levi was only one of the soldiers; she couldn't reciprocate for him with her limited funds, let alone all of them. She groaned and laid her head on the desk.
The whole point of having a job and working hard was so she could have her own money. Buy her own necessities, her own treats. Never have to owe or depend on anyone else for anything.
A gift like this just felt like… pressure. She had a need to balance the books whether it was expected or not.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She could either be and act grateful and use it, or she could be ungrateful and use it. Because both she and the computer knew she was definitely going to use it.
Her heart raced to think about what this computer was capable of in the graphics department. No freezing when she opened too big of a file. No waiting for it to think after each brush stroke. No need to go for a half hour walk while something rendered.
She couldn’t wait.
It would also be a huge relief to have something to focus on other than the tension assaulting her from all directions. The idea of the Chaolt coming for her was scary, but after so many days of being on a razor edge of expectation and nothing happening, she'd kind of gone numb to that. Now her biggest stressors were Levi's hot body, and her nightmares. In that order. And sometimes both at once.
That first night, when he'd run into her room wearing nothing but boxers and blades, her mouth had already been dry from fear. It had stayed dry from his arms and abs and happy trail. And he’d come back every night since then, every time she woke with a terror she could only vaguely remember. Strangely, as independent as she liked to think she was, she still didn't send him away. She always let him stay on the foot of her bed until she fell back to sleep. Sometimes she even thought of inviting him in.
He put on shorts and a t-shirt before coming to her now, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it. At all hours of the day. She really had nothing better to do.
Until now.
Chin on the desk, she looked at the screen. Ninety-two percent. She doubted that even this shiny beast of a computer could distract her from those tempting thoughts entirely, but at least she could keep busy during the daylight hours.
Busy doing… something. Hmm.
She could call Debbie.
Holding her breath, she picked up the phone. She could tell Debbie what files to put in Cloud storage and she could grab them, make the bank ad, and send it back. She could do that for all the ads, every single one, until she was able to go back to the office. Debbie was desperate enough that Brooke was sure she’d let her telecommute.
As the install progress got closer to 100%, she felt a thrill of freedom and independence returning.
It would take her mind off things and allow her to make some income again too. She could even take on a few freelance jobs with all this spare time, if she needed. When the time came, maybe she could pay the soldiers back.
Just the possibility of it was enough to turn her mood around. She was still independent dammit. Still capable.
Dependent on Levi for information, maybe. For safety, definitely. But she was still her own person and would not give that up. Would not crumple, like her mom had.
There were still things she could do, and by golly, she was going to do them. And all of that was possible thanks to this gift.
She really needed to thank him. But, later. After. For now…
She dialed Debbie’s number, breathless around a center of calm relief.
Time to get back to work.
Levi’s shift was over and Ajax was out there somewhere, keeping an eye on things. Intense hunger and restlessness, and the fact that Brooke wasn't watching with him, drove him away from the TV.
He’d ordered take-out for her when it was clear she wasn't coming out to make herself a meal any time soon. Though he'd probably get that exasperated look for ordering for her, just like the one she gave him when he brought in the computer.
And yet she was still holed up in her room, working. His lips twisted in a wry smile as he bit into an energy bar.
Guess she liked the computer after all. Not that you'd know it by her initial reaction.
In his mind, there wasn't anything wrong with helping out someone who had their life turned upside down, first by a fire and then by
finding out some things were not what they seemed.
And she didn't even know everything yet.
He'd mindlessly chewed through to his third nutrition bar when all his senses went on high alert.
Swiftly he pulled a blade and ran to the window, peering through the crack in the blinds, looking for the threat.
He slowed his breathing, trying to detect even the slightest increase in the buzzing in his head, so he would have some warning as the enemy drew closer.
It was there, but… no stronger, no louder.
In the silence between his pounding heartbeats, he heard it. A little whimpering cry. A cry of pain, and fear.
He strode to Brooke's bedroom and pushed open the door.
In the light spilling in from the hallway, he could see that she had fallen asleep at her desk. Her arm cradled her head, but her fingers twitched as she cried out again. He sheathed his blade as he stepped across the threshold, not wanting to startle her. Kneeling by her chair, he brushed his hand over her hair. "Brooke, wake up. It's okay, you're dreaming. Wake up."
She turned her head toward him, bleary eyes peaking through a tangle of her hair. He pushed it back from her forehead. "Levi?"
He tried to give her a comforting smile. "You fell asleep at your desk. You were dreaming— "
With a cry, she launched herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He breathed in her scent— pomegranates and cotton candy— and ran his hand slowly down her hair from the crown of her head to her back. And again. "Nightmare again?"
She just nodded, taking a shuddering breath. It feathered across his neck when she released it, and he closed his eyes briefly at the hot, sweet touch.
He stroked her hair again as he fought the reaction of his body. "Do you want to talk about it?" He didn't think she would, but she leaned back slowly, leaving her arms looped around his neck.
"I don't always remember it. Or all of it." Her eyes were dark and troubled as her gaze met his. "I dream of the fire." Her fingers started playing in the short hair at his nape as she turned to stare off to the side. "At least at first."
He swallowed at her subconscious touch, doing his best to ignore it and listen.
"Sometimes… I'm the guy who died in the fire. And I'm burning." Her brow wrinkled, and she shuddered. "Sometimes I'm myself, stuck in the stairwell. Only the fire is surrounding me this time, and I can't escape… and you're not there to rescue me." She turned back to him, eyes softening. “Like you were the first time."
Her fingers twirled, rubbing tiny circles across his skin. And with her gaze so soft and her face so close, her arms around him, he had the sudden urge to kiss her.
The stupid, inappropriate, completely ridiculous urge.
"When I wake up, I don't really remember details, you know? It's all fuzzy, but I wake up so scared." She puffed out a little breath.
He could see it in her eyes, the echo of the trauma she'd been through, and the toll re-living it every night was taking on her. She looked exhausted.
"I'm sorry, Brooke. What can I do for you?" He held his breath as he brushed her hair behind her ear, wondering if she would pull back from his touch now that she was more awake.
She didn't, and he met her eyes.
"Will you stay with me while I go back to sleep?"
"Are you sure? You want to eat something first? You missed dinner."
She took a deep breath. "No. Honestly, I'm so tired that I'm not hungry. Just want to sleep."
He stood, grabbing her hands as they fell away from his neck. "Come on," he said, pulling her toward the bed. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."
She resisted him a little bit as he walked toward it, but she didn't let go. "I need to get into my pajamas."
"OK. I'll wait." He let go of her hands and sat at the foot of her bed.
She was silent a moment, her look unreadable. "Okay." And she smiled at him.
It was just a shadow of her real smile, a hint of it, but he still felt it like sparks across his skin.
When she came out of the bathroom in her t-shirt and tiny shorts, he had to consciously avoid looking at her long, smooth legs. It was hard not to, and she had to notice his quick glances. If she did, she didn't say anything. She just crawled under the covers in the middle of her bed and lay down, her head on her hand. Eyes open.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, prepared to spend several minutes fighting his attraction to her until she fell asleep. Not thinking about how he wanted to kiss her when her arms had been around his neck. Not thinking of those long legs. Definitely not thinking of them wrapped around his waist.
"Levi?" Her voice was quiet and soft, almost a whisper.
"Yeah?"
"Could you lie down beside me?"
He swallowed thickly, eying the curve of her bottom under the covers. Could he? Without embarrassing himself or her? "Sure." He unlaced his boots and set them on the floor.
She shimmied over, making room for him on the bed. He lay down carefully, a precise gap between every point of their bodies, his arm down his thigh. In the darkness with her, her scent surrounding him and her warm body mere inches away, fighting his attraction to her was nearly impossible.
And yet there was another feeling too, a feeling of calm. Comfort, maybe. Peace, just like that first walk he'd taken with her.
His powers were so quiet for once that it felt unnatural. He'd gotten used to always guarding against them, always waiting for the moment they would flare out of his control. Right now was like sweet relief from a stinging wound or a nagging headache.
His eyelids fluttered, his relaxation so complete that he could even fall asleep beside the one person that filled him with a different kind of fire.
"Levi…"
He snapped to awareness as Brooke shifted, rolling over. They lay facing each other. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about earlier. I acted very ungrateful about the computer, and I regret it."
"It's okay."
Her eyes dropped and her hand came up and curled over the one on his thigh. "No, it's not. I'm bad at accepting gifts, and I know it. But this gift, the computer… I called my boss and finished the work she needed me for earlier. And she’s going to let me continue to telecommute. It's allowed me to have some of my independence back. And that is a very great gift. So… thank you."
He allowed his fingers to slowly curl over hers, his thumb to stroke the smooth skin on the back of her hand. To wish… "You're welcome."
Her head moved forward as she got comfortable, and as if she were a magnet, she drew him in. His lips touched her forehead before he even realized he'd moved.
She froze for a moment, her hand tightening around his, and he groaned internally, closing his eyes. Damn it, when would he ever get it right with her? She needed comfort and protection, not to feel like he was going to jump on her—
He felt the barest of touches on his lips and his eyes flew open. He looked down at her, her face close and tilted up to him. Lips parted, eyes warm. Naively offering.
And he should have gotten up, left. Gone back to his own room. He should have said no or pushed her away. But she'd been under his skin since that very first time they met, and he just wanted to see what a woman who smelled like pomegranates and cotton candy would taste like. What Brooke would taste like. He leaned forward, breaching the distance between them, and pressed his lips to hers.
For all his physical and Elemental strength, when she opened for him, he was powerless to resist another taste. Letting go of her hand, he threaded his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Sweet, so sweet. Sweeter in reality than he imagined it would be.
Her arms came up around his neck, her fingers once again threading through his hair.
Kissing her was like getting under the cool shower spray after a particularly hard and sweaty workout. A sensation so good that it made his scalp tingle. And when her tongue met his in a wet, soft glide, the tingle spread down his body, centering in his groin
.
He groaned, both hating and loving his body's reaction to her. Hating, because it definitely complicated things. Loving, because… damn. It was so good, this other kind of fire. Did she feel it too?
His fingers tightened in her hair, wanting to bring her closer, wanting more. Her hands clenched in his hair in reaction, and her tongue brushed his in a warm and tender stroke.
Hell yeah, she was definitely feeling it.
Her hands pushed up the back of his shirt, gripping his muscles, and he took that as a sign. Slowly, carefully, he moved one hand under the front of her t-shirt, stroking her soft skin. Even when she arched toward him, he resisted going up higher, resting his hand on the soft warm skin of her side instead. He was determined not to mess this up.
But then one of her small hands left his skin and grabbed his, dragging it upwards to her breast. She made a hungry whimper as he stroked her soft warm flesh, her nipple pebbling against his palm.
She nibbled his lip as her hand stroked his abdomen, and he held his breath as she went lower. One gentle brush of her fingertips over his fly was enough to make him sweat. He grabbed her hand in his, threading their fingers as he dove in to kiss her again, to drink from those sweet lips. But she was a thirst he couldn’t satisfy. He had to have more. He put a hand on either side of her head and held her still so he could taste her, tease her. Inflame her, the way she did him.
Chapter Eleven
Fireworks. Now she knew what they meant by seeing fireworks. With every touch and every kiss of Levi's, a little bubble of pleasure would explode inside her.
She couldn't say exactly what had made her make a move tonight. Gratitude, maybe, for the computer, his protection and for late nights spent on the end of her bed until she fell asleep. Or perhaps curiosity and the desire to see if his kiss would fulfill all the promises his heated looks in her direction made. And oh yes, they did. Maybe there was a little fear, too. The need to wipe out the fear her dreams gave her with a good dose of feeling alive.
Whatever it had been, she was glad. If kissing was like chocolate, then kissing Levi was like… hot chocolate. The really rich kind, which was more melted chocolate than milk. Warm and intense and sweet and—oh god—so good.
Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1) Page 11
