by Zahra Stone
“He’s lost his memory. He turned up here, well, not here, not at the clinic. On the dock. We found him on the dock, wandering, dazed, and confused. He was carrying Nibbler under one arm and another cat under the other, and he was lost.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. That’s just it; he didn’t know what he was doing here. He knows his name but nothing else. He doesn’t know how he got here. He didn’t recognize us.”
Chapter Twenty
Flinging open the door to Del’s old cottage, I sucked in a breath at the sight of Levi standing at the kitchen sink. He turned and stared at me, then shook his head.
“Look, I know I’m new to Fury Island, but honestly, you people need to learn some manners. Knock first and then wait. Don’t just barge in.”
Nibbler and Mr. Meow wound around my legs, meowing, and I bent to pat them. I’d missed my furry felines.
“They like you,” he noted, standing with his arms folded across his chest.
“You don’t know me?” I asked, my eyes drinking in the sight of him, wanting to rush into his arms and hold him close.
“Should I?” There was that brow arch that I loved.
“Yeah, you should. We’re mates.”
“Mates? As in…friends?” He cocked his head, and I bit back a groan. I’d never expected him not to know me, not to remember. Damn you, Lilith, and your stupid tricks.
“No. Mates as in fated mates. Lovers.”
“Oh.” His eyes roamed over me, and a bloom of red spread across his cheeks. “Look, I’m really sorry, you’re really…pretty…to look at but…I don’t know you. You’re a stranger to me, and you’re telling me we’re…what? Married?”
“In a sense.”
“Look, lady, we’re either married, or we’re not.” He waved his ring finger at me. “And I’m not wearing a ring, so I’d say not.”
“My name is Lucy, and we’re bound. There’s a tattoo on the back of your shoulder. That’s my mark. I bound you to me.”
He looked at me with wide eyes, then turned his back, busying himself at the sink. I heard him mutter “psycho” under his breath and sighed. This wasn’t going well. I’d barged in and had naively expected that as soon as he laid eyes on me, he’d remember, he’d know who I was. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. I needed another approach, fast.
“Levi Forrester. I met you in your tarot reading shop, The Black Hat, in Shadow Falls. You helped me return a soul stealer to his own dimension.” I paused, wondering how much I should tell him that he had, in fact, been dragged into the Soul Stealers dimension, and it had taken me more time than I’d have liked to rescue him. I decided to leave that bit out.
“This,” I kneeled, and Mr. Meow head-butted my hand, “is your cat, Mr. Meow. Initially, he had no fur because you were allergic. But I healed you and fixed him.” I picked up Nibbler and buried my face in her fur, “And this is my kitten, Nibbler. I rescued her here on Fury Island and brought her home with me.”
“You healed me? Are you a doctor?”
“Nope.” My breath puffed out in frustration. This reminded me of the time in the cemetery in Shadow Falls when Dacian and I had fought. My brothers had wiped his memory; he had no recollection of me at all other than to think I was an evil monster who had to be stopped. I then had a proverbial light bulb moment. I’d kissed Dacian to push my memories into him. I’d do the same with Levi and hope to god it worked.
“You said home…” Levi watched as I rose and slowly walked toward him. “We live together?”
I nodded. “We do.” I stopped inches from him and ran my palm across his chest. So hot. My lips curled into a smile when he didn’t stop me, didn’t move away.
“Do you feel that?” I whispered, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt and sliding my hand in to rest against his flesh. The skin upon skin contact sparked a fire in my veins.
“I feel…” His voice was hoarse. Confused. I saw it in his eyes, the desire burning there, along with the chaos of his current situation.
“It feels good, doesn’t it?” I breathed, removing my hand and tugging my shirt over my head, tossing it on the floor behind. My bra followed.
“Er, Lucy, I don’t think…”
I cut him off. “Don’t think! Just feel. Feel our connection. The chemistry between us. Just feel.” I jerked his shirt open the rest of the way, the remaining buttons flinging off and scattering across the floor, fodder for Nibbler and Mr. Meow, who pounced upon them with glee.
Sliding both palms up his chest, over his shoulders, and around his neck, I pressed myself against him, bit back my groan as my blood thundered through my veins, and my skin tingled where we touched. It felt so, so good. His hands moved up of their own volition and wrapped around me, exploring my back as he adjusted to the feel of our bodies pressed together so intimately.
Then I tugged his head down, smiling when he let me, knew he was as helpless as I to resist. My want for him burned. Soon, I knew the fire would be all-consuming, that I’d have no control—I never did it when it came to him—but for now, I had to take it slow. Don’t spook him.
His mouth hovered over mine, his eyes blazed with want and need, yet I didn’t kiss him. I let our breaths mingle in that space until I couldn’t stand it, and I bridged the gap. Standing on tiptoe, I pressed my lips against his, and he groaned, the sound vibrating through me from head to toe. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as his tongue swept into my mouth, dueling with mine. I wanted him so badly I could have cried, but my brain was screaming Slowly! Take it slowly! Don’t scare him away!
His hands got busy then, cupping my head, tilting me to just the right angle to plunder my mouth, tangling in my hair and tugging before sliding through the strands to wrap around my neck, his thumbs meeting beneath my chin. I was vulnerable but knew this man would not harm me whether he remembered me or not. I had nothing to fear. His fingers lingered on my throat for a second, stroking the skin there before sliding down to cup my shoulders. I couldn’t contain the shiver as he explored with exquisite gentleness, familiarizing himself.
“You know me,” I groaned, sucking in a breath.
“It seems I do,” he ground out, his mouth replacing his hands at my neck, licking, sucking, biting until I was a trembling mess in his arms. It was torturous, going slow, but it was divine torture. Everything around us faded. All that existed was him and me.
As I gazed deep into the dark pits of his eyes, I could see the battle going on, desire, confusion, and something else. I froze in panic. It had worked with Dacian, and he wasn’t bound to me. Surely it couldn’t fail with this man I loved with all my heart, my soul mate. Lilith couldn’t win, not now when I was so close to happiness.
“Levi?” tentatively murmuring his name, the hope in my voice evident.
“Lucy?” He was back. I felt the change in him, knew he’d returned to me, that our connection was too strong to withhold any spell Lilith had placed on him.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, cupping his face, kissing him. “It’s okay. Lilith tried to take you from me, but we’re okay.”
“We’re okay,” he repeated, looking a little stunned. “How did I …? Did you…? What happened?”
“Later,” I said. “Right now, I’d like to finish what we started, if that’s okay with you?”
He chuckled. “I love you.” He wrapped his arms around me, sending a message. We were one.
“I love you, too,” I gasped, overcome by emotion. “Always and forever.”
And if fireworks lit up the sky over Fury Island to mark our union, good. For everything was as it should be. Levi was back in my arms, the key was safe, and Hell hadn’t fallen. All was right with my world. For now, anyway.
THE END
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About Zahra
Aussie author Zahra Stone writes funny, sometimes snarky, but always action-packed, urban fantasy stories. Her characters are courageous and daring and afraid of nothing. Unlike Zahra, who is scared of moths, snakes, sharks, running out of coffee, and extended power outages.
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