by Amanda Perry
“Is your ass okay?” he asks, his voice set at its usual growl.
“What the actual fuck do you think you are doing, Brecken?” Leviathan shouts, pulling Brecken’s attention away from me.
I use the distraction to get to my feet and watch in awe as Leviathan’s dark eyes begin to glow. He stalks toward his brother.
“Do you have a death wish?” he growls. A hint of elongated canine teeth peek through as he snarls at Brecken. He’s ready to attack his own brother for coming near me.
“Levi, I came to apologize to her. Nothing more and nothing less,” Brecken huffs, his tone bored and not at all worried that his brother’s murderous gaze is fixed on him.
Oddly enough, Leviathan’s strange shift from human looking man to demonic shifter isn’t scary to me. When it happened to Brecken, I nearly peed myself. With Levi, I only feel protected and safe.
Leviathan begins to calm down at his brother’s confession and glances from Brecken to me, then back again. Finally coming to some decision, he strides over to me, pausing for a moment when he sees what I’m wearing. I’m not so naive that I don’t understand the look in his eyes when he sees that I’m wearing his clothes. It’s a mix between caveman glee and little boy on Christmas. I have to force my eyes not to roll at him.
Shaking himself out of whatever thoughts he has going on in that handsome head of his, he continues on his path to me and bends his head so that he is somewhat level with me.
“Are you all right talking to him? Would you rather me stay here with you?” he asks, with genuine concern for what I want.
Taking a quick look at Brecken, I see that he appears uncomfortable and awkward standing there pretending not to be listening to us. He doesn’t look angry or menacing in any way and I’m intrigued as to why he’s in here.
“I can talk to him,” I tell Leviathan. “All I have to do is yell if I need you.”
Nodding slowly, Leviathan studies me as if making sure I’m telling the truth about being all right. When he finally sees whatever he’s looking for, he nods once more and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll leave my door open. Just in case you need me for any reason.”
He kissed me. Well, he kissed the top of my head, but that’s still a kiss. When did that become normal? I’m so shocked by his easy show of affection I don’t even realize when he leaves the room and Brecken takes it upon himself to close the door. The sound of the door clicking shut brings me back to the present and I start to fidget as the nerves settle in. The last time I was alone with this guy he tried to kill me. I admit I don’t like the idea of being alone with him now, but I want to know what he has to say.
Running his hands through his hair, Brecken starts to pace the length of the room. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt you earlier,” he begins. “I just lost control. Izzy could have gotten hurt because I was stupid and let her stay here alone. I wanted to find the person who put her in danger and take my anger out on them. At first, I hoped it was some lowlife criminal with a long history of being a horrible person and I could justify making him pay. I guess I had it in my head that’s what you were before I ever knew your name. I was a fucking idiot for not getting all the facts straight, and I get that you hate me, but I’m sorry for hurting you and all the stupid shit I did.”
When he finishes his rant, he doesn’t look at me or let me say a word to him before he’s heading for the door. “Don’t blame Remus for helping me. I sort of tricked him into it and I think he went along with it so I didn’t do anything irreversible.”
As he grabs the handle of the door, I whisper quietly to him. “I don’t hate you, Brecken.”
My words cause him to pause and spin around to stare me down. His eyes are narrowed in confusion and suspicion as he looks me over.
“Of course, you do,” he growls, crossing his muscular arms across his even more muscular chest.
Tilting my head to the side in amusement, I do my best to hide the grin that wants to come out. “I do?”
“Yeah, I kidnapped you, scared the fuck out of you, hurt you...” his voice trails off and he spreads his arms wide in an ‘I give up’ gesture. “The list goes on, so yeah, you hate me.”
Shaking my head, I have to purse my lips for a moment to keep the giggles inside. “I don’t though,” I insist, trying to be as serious as I can. The confused puppy expression on his face is making the task incredibly difficult though.
With a frustrated huff, Brecken puts his hands on his hips and continues to give me the confused puppy look. “Well, why not?”
“Because there’s really no reason to hate you,” I tell him truthfully with a shrug.
He snorts in disbelief and cocks an eyebrow at me. “How do you figure?” He seems genuinely intrigued now.
Deciding that I should get comfy for this, I plop down at the end of the bed and pull my feet up under me. “You were protecting your girlfriend or wife or… whatever she is to you. You were worried about her even after the incident. I get that,” I tell him, looking down at my lap. “Family is important, Brecken. I can understand the need to protect them with everything you have. I don’t blame you for that. You were just doing what you felt was right.”
The room is full of silence for a moment as the two of us get lost in our thoughts. I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but my thoughts are on my parents and how much I wish I could have saved them somehow, what I would give up for that chance.
Coming out of the dark thoughts that were starting to form in my head, I peer up at Brecken and bring his attention back to me. “So no, I do not hate you and I forgive you for what you did.”
Brecken seems at a loss for words for a full minute before he finally starts to chuckle at me. “You are a strange little gem, aren’t you?”
I lift an eyebrow at him. “Little gem?”
“Yeah, because your name is Julianne, Jewels, Gems...” he continues to explain until I wave my hand for him to stop.
“I get it, thanks,” I huff, glaring at him.
He simply laughs again and opens the door. “Good night, Little Gem.”
“Good night... Breckie!” I shout when he shuts the door. I hear his footsteps pause for a second before picking up again and disappearing down the hall.
Once I’m sure I’ll have no more visitors, I give up on finding the perfect place for the pillows and just pile them on the chair in the corner of the room. Hopefully, that’s good enough because I can’t be bothered to care anymore. I’m simply too tired.
Finally crawling into bed for the night, I’m happy that my body is too tired to stay awake. I fall into a deep sleep within moments of my head hitting the pillow.
13
The following morning, I blink my eyes open and glance at the clock sitting on the bedside table. With a frustrated huff, I note that it’s only eight in the morning. I got about six hours of sleep and it wasn’t nearly enough. The light filters through the curtains and into my eyes relentlessly.
Knowing I’m never going to be able to get back to sleep, I throw the covers off and pull myself out of the bed. I want to keep the room looking nice, so I take the time to make the bed and arrange the pillows on top of it. With one last glance around the room, I’m satisfied it looks about the same as it did before I used it.
I poke my head out of the room and see the hallway is empty. Running to the bathroom, I quickly take care of business and brush my hair and teeth. When I’m finished, I take a look at my clothes and realize I’m going to have to show myself in Leviathan’s clothing since my only outfit is really dirty and there’s no way I’m putting it back on before I can wash it.
With a resigned sigh, I softly make my way down the stairs and look around the entryway. I could probably leave and head home right now if I wanted to. There’s no one paying attention to me and I’m standing right by the front door. Something is keeping me from leaving though. I don’t know what it is, but I feel safer here than I have anywhere since my parents died. I don’t want to give up that feeling just yet.
Pushing aside the strange feelings this family of mythical creatures is stirring inside me, I slowly make my way to the kitchen. As I near the entryway, I hear low voices talking but I can’t quite make out who it is. Just as I’m about to round the corner, I feel the air shift behind me and I spin around to see what happened.
Brecken is standing directly behind me and his eyes show extreme surprise when I spin around to face him. “How did you know I was behind you?” he asks, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.
This is not the Brecken I have come to know over the last few days. He seems so different suddenly. Maybe this is the real Brecken and the whole scary and angry guy is just for show.
Realizing he asked me a question, I shrug my shoulders. “I felt the air shift behind me.”
“You felt the air shift?” he asks, saying each word slowly as his eyes narrow at me in suspicion. “I call bull shit. How did you really know?”
Raising an eyebrow in challenge, I decide to test out this new Brecken and see if he really is a nice guy. “Want to bet?”
His mouth pops open in shock and he chuckles slightly. “Yeah, I do. There is no way a little human could ‘feel air shift’ when it comes to our kind. We’re made to get around without being noticed by humans.” He uses his fingers to put air quotes over feel air shift.
“Whatever you say, Breckie,” I chuckle and turn my back on him when he starts to glare at me.
“I’m not amused by that stupid name, Little Gem,” he growls, sounding a bit more like the old Brecken.
I can’t help but giggle at his face when I glance over my shoulder as I walk toward the kitchen. “Is the big bad Breckie pouting?” I ask before my brain can catch up enough to prevent me from saying my thoughts aloud.
Someone in the kitchen starts choking and coughing and Brecken starts to turn an ugly shade of purple as he glares at me. For some odd reason I’m not afraid of him anymore, even though he looks menacing. He takes a step toward me and I take off running, squealing like a little kid. I see Leviathan and Remus are in the kitchen watching this interaction and I go with my best option, hiding behind Leviathan.
“Save me!” I cry, trying to get a hold on my giggles. “Big bad Breckie is mad.”
Leviathan looks over his shoulder at me and lifts one perfect eyebrow. His arms are crossed over his chest as he stands in front of me.
“Breckie?” he asks, his lips twitching in amusement.
I simply nod as I peek out from behind Leviathan to see Brecken standing in front of him huffing and puffing. “You will pay for that, little gem,” he growls, shaking his head and stomping to the fridge.
“Phew!” I breathe, plopping into a chair at the kitchen island. “Dodged that grouchy bullet.”
“What in the world is happening in here?” Mary asks, walking into the room. “I heard you squealing, Julianne. Is everything all right?”
I nod and blush a bit at her concern. “I was just being silly, I’m sorry,” I mutter, suddenly feeling stupid for acting like a little kid. I hardly know these people and now they probably think I’m an immature child.
A hand unexpectedly appearing on my chin causes me to flinch back in surprise. I didn’t used to flinch at the unpredicted touch of another person, but my aunt and her stupid friends have rewired my automatic reactions. I don’t think before closing my eyes tight and pulling my head away.
The hand drops quickly and I hear a sharp intake of breath. “Julianne? Look at me, Love,” Leviathan whispers. His voice tells me he is right in front of me and my eyes pop open to look at him.
He searches my face for a moment, looking for something, but I have no idea what. Finally, I shift uncomfortably and he sighs in frustration.
“You are more than welcome to be ‘silly’ and laugh here, Julianne,” Levi assures me, his voice soft and understanding. He strokes my cheek gently with his hand as he speaks. “This family has forgotten what it’s like to have fun. Maybe we have just been waiting for you to remind us.”
I blush at his words and look down to hide my goofy smile. Luckily Remus saves me from having to respond.
“Who wants breakfast?” he shouts, though I wonder if that is truly necessary. Shouldn’t they have super hearing or something?
Before I can ask, my stomach rumbles and Leviathan grins at me. “I think Julianne could use a really good breakfast. What do you have in mind, Rem?”
“Bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, and orange juice,” Remus rattles off as he walks around the kitchen, pulling ingredients out.
“That sure is a lot of food,” I mumble, watching Remus with wide eyes.
“We actually eat a lot of human food, Julianne.” Abe’s voice comes from behind me and I spin around to see him coming into the kitchen. “I never did answer your question yesterday. We love food in this house, though we can’t survive on only that.”
My face pales and I swallow hard. All traces of joking from moments ago now gone. “You need b-blood too, don’t you?” I stutter, not really wanting the answer.
Mary nods her head and looks a bit sad. This puts me on edge. Why would she look sad about it unless...?
“Do you kill people?” I ask, my heart picks up speed at the thought. The room is silent for a few seconds too long. I dart to my feet, ready to make a run for it. I’m suddenly second guessing my feelings of safety and security with this family.
“Julianne, we have not harmed humans in a very long time,” Leviathan assures me, appearing extremely guilty.
“But you have before?” I ask, my voice ringing with the fear I feel.
With a sad sigh, he nods his head. “We have all had slip ups here and there. It has been a very long time though. Over a hundred years.”
I choke on air at his confession. “How old are you, exactly?” I ask, eyes wide.
“I was born in 1753,” he mumbles, running a hand through his hair. “My parents were born in the 1500’s.”
My head starts to spin with all the questions swirling around in it. “I think you should start at the beginning,” I say, looking from one person to the next. “I need answers.”
14
Levi rests his hand on my back and sparks zip through my veins. My eyes dart to his and he gives me a knowing look. He must feel it too. That or he heard my heart pick up speed the second his hand landed on me.
The rest of the table disappears from my mind, along with the subject of the Black family. The only thing I’m able to focus on is Levi and his half smile directed at me. I lean closer to him unconsciously. The urge to kiss him nearly overwhelms me. Butterflies flutter in my stomach when his eyes lower to my mouth. Without thinking about my actions my tongue darts out to wet my bottom lip and Levi draws in a sharp breath.
“Julianne.” His voice is breathy and low, full of heat.
Rather than answer him I lick my lips again. I liked his reaction so much the first time I want to see it again. He doesn’t disappoint. Only this time, instead of a gasp I’m rewarded with a deep growl. The fingers of the hand on my back dig into my skin. The added pressure causes the sparks from before to intensify and I have to bite my lip to keep in my own gasp.
When Leviathan leans into me, I expect to get the kiss I so desperately want from him. Instead, he leans farther to the side and rests his cheek against mine. “I know what you want, love.” He speaks low into my ear and my eyes flutter closed at how sexy he sounds. “I know, because I want it too. I want you, badly.”
“I need you,” I hear myself admit. I barely recognize my own voice. It’s all breathy and needy.
Levi turns his face into my hair and inhales deeply. “I can promise you, Julianne, you’ll have me very soon. It kills me to say this, but I don’t think this is the best time or place though.”
His confession snaps me out of my fog and back to the present where it most definitely isn’t just me and Levi. His entire family tries to act like they’re ignoring us, but they caught the entire exchange between the two of us. A new kind of
fire ignites throughout my body. This time it isn’t from wanting to crawl all over Levi. Instead, it’s from wanting to crawl under a rock and die.
How the heck did I completely forget his family was sitting around the table with us? I lost myself so completely I nearly jumped him without caring who was watching. I barely know this man, yet I find myself craving him with every fiber of my being.
Even now, in my mortified state, I take solace in his presence by shrinking into him as if he’ll protect me from my embarrassment. He doesn’t disappoint.
His hand slides from my lower back, around my hip and pulls me closer to him. “Let’s gather in the family room to discuss our history with Julianne.”
As soon as the suggestion is made, the rest of the table jumps up with inhuman speed and rushes to the living area. I drop my head into my hands and groan. “What is wrong with me?”
Levi brushes my hair off my shoulder. “Julianne, look at me, please.”
His tone is gentle and coaxing. I obey without hesitation. He smirks when I poke out my lip in a dramatic pout. “It happens to us all, love. When the bond first happens, it’s intense and almost uncontrollable. The fact we haven’t locked ourselves in the bedroom is nothing short of a miracle.”
My chest tightens sadly, but I feign a brave face. “That makes more sense now. We only have these feelings for each other because of a magical bond.”
“No,” Levi shakes his head firmly. “I was drawn to you the first time I saw you. Especially after you likened my name to a sea monster.”
A surprised giggle escapes and grows into full blown laughter when Levi gives me a cheesy grin. “I have to admit, I was drawn to you also. Despite your likeness to a sea monster.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says with a chuckle. “Shall we follow my family before they come searching for us?”
I eagerly nod, ready to get the answers I need. After being ushered into the family room, I watch as Remus and Brecken sit in the chairs, pulling their mates on their laps. Mary and Abe take the love seat and Joseph and Vivian sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. I wonder why they sat so far away from everyone. There is plenty of room on the couch that Leviathan and I are currently sitting on. Before I can ask if something is wrong, Abe starts talking.
