Levet (Guardians of Eternity #9.5)(4)

As much as she might love Elijah, it was always fun to poke a few holes in his massive arrogance and at the same time reestablish the boundaries that he continually tried to smash through.

Besides, she found that she enjoyed Levet’s companionship.

She didn’t feel threatened by his light flirtations. A rare and wonderful sensation after she’d been brutalized while held captive by the slavers. In fact, he was the only male beyond Elijah she’d ever invited into her home.

“This is your apartment?” Levet asked as he took a seat at the dining table and watched her put the kettle on to boil.

She pulled two cups from the cabinet and grabbed a plate of cookies.

“Elijah is kind enough to allow me to stay here.”

“No.” The rich male voice stroked over her like the finest satin. It didn’t matter how many years she’d known Elijah, his voice always made her shiver. Well . . . her and every other woman in Paris, she wryly acknowledged. “Elijah grudgingly allows you to stay here because you’ve refused the number of other homes I’ve offered you,” he continued, as he prowled across the floor to gently tuck a curl behind her ear.

It was an ongoing fight.

Elijah insisted that she belonged in his lair near the Champs-Élysées.

Valla refused to give up her independence. It was bad enough he’d emphatically demanded that she live in one of his numerous properties.

“I won’t take advantage of your generosity.”

His hand cupped her cheek, his gaze smoldering with a frustration that filled the air with a sharp chill.

“Valla.”

The touch of his lean fingers against her face sent an ache of long-suppressed hunger shivering through her body. Only this delectable, sexy, aggravatingly stubborn vampire could stir the desires she’d thought dead forever.

“There’s no need for you to stay, Elijah,” she murmured in husky tones. “I know you must be busy.”

His brows furrowed, his eyes darkening as he easily sensed her reaction to his touch.

“You think I’ll leave you alone with a strange demon?”

“The choice isn’t yours,” she reminded him. Gently.

“Dammit, Valla.”

She heaved a sigh. It would be so easy to give in to his demands.

She would be protected, cosseted, her every need and desire fulfilled.

Just like a favorite pet.

“We’ve been through this before,” she reminded him, an edge of steel in her voice. “You’re my friend, not my keeper. If you can’t distinguish between the two, then I’ll have to leave Paris.”

With a growl, he swooped his head down and kissed her.

Just like that.

Caught off-guard, her lips parted in helpless need, her entire world tilting on its axis. Elijah had always treated her like a fragile doll. Not a flesh-and-blood woman.

Now she quivered beneath the blazing pleasure that exploded through her quivering body.

“This is what I want,” he rasped against her lips, his fingers stroking down the tender curve of her neck before he kissed her again.

This time she was prepared for the combustible heat that stole her breath and made her stomach clench with a surge of excitement.

Oh . . . yes.

Her lashes fluttered downward as the desire flowed through her, as heady and intoxicating as the finest French champagne.

“Elijah—” she breathed, not certain what she needed, but knowing only he could satisfy the restless ache that burned deep inside her.

Then, the shrill whistle of the pot had her pulling back with a confused blush.

Still seated at the table, Levet awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Maybe I should leave?”

“Yes,” Elijah agreed, his dark gaze smoldering with a dangerous hunger.

“No,” she hastily countered, acutely aware that if she had been alone with Elijah she would have already ripped off his Gucci suit and had her wicked way with him. Not the best way to convince the crazily possessive man that she wanted to maintain her independence. She held the dark gaze. “Please, Elijah.”

His jaw tightened, but clearly sensing now was not the time to press her, he gave a grudging nod of his head.

“I’ll make sure you weren’t followed. But I’ll return.” He sent Levet a warning glare. “Soon.”

Valla busied herself making the tea as Elijah turned to leave the apartment, taking with him the frosty disapproval and pulsing power.

She breathed a faint sigh of relief, carrying the tray to the table and taking a seat.

“A little on the possessive side, is he?” the tiny gargoyle asked.

She shrugged, sipping the tea with an odd sense of disorientation.

Something had changed.

She just wasn’t sure what.

“He feels responsible for me,” she murmured absently.

Levet snorted, reaching for a cookie. “Responsibility isn’t the only thing he feels.”

Heat stained her cheeks. “Maybe not. He is a male, after all, but—”

“But what?”

Her fingers lifted to trace the scars that marred her cheek.

“After I escaped from the slavers I just wanted to crawl away somewhere and hide.” She shivered at the painful memories. “I don’t even remember how I made my way to France, but I was floating down the Seine on a rapidly sinking boat when Elijah found me and took me to his lair.”