Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Piper waved to her client as he headed to the reception desk to pay for his tattoo. Removing her gloves, she let out a long sigh that came from the soul. After a further seven days of she and Levi trying to find their way as platonic anchors, her demon was about ready to scream. It hadn’t initially put up too much of a protest over the ending of the agreement, because it hadn’t expected either him or Piper to hold out for more than a day or two. But they had, and so the entity was unbearably frustrated right now.

Hell, so was Piper.

It shouldn’t be this hard to go back to the way things were in the beginning. She wasn’t a person who struggled to walk away from a relationship that had no future, so ending what had been nothing more than a simple arrangement should be easy. It wasn’t. And fuck if she didn’t miss him.

She still had him in her life, of course, but it wasn’t the same. She’d lost pieces of him. Lost the easiness they’d once had.

More, she’d gotten used to waking up to the warmth of his body or to the touch of his hands and mouth. She’d gotten used to spending her nights with him as they’d settled together in bed—sometimes sleeping, sometimes talking, sometimes watching TV.

She’d also gotten used to coming hard on a daily basis, so her libido was kind of like what the fuck is happening here?

And then there was that godforsaken awkwardness. It often dissipated after they spent several hours together. But each time they first reunited—whether it be of a morning, or when he collected her from work, or whenever he came back to his apartment after venturing out for some reason—the strange vibe returned. And it hadn’t begun to ease in intensity yet.

It would eventually, though. Piper believed that. She had to. The alternative? This crap came between her and Levi little by little. The truth was … it was already starting to.

She now didn’t like how much time they spent together. She didn’t like or feel comfortable living in his home. She didn’t want him touching her in even the most casual sense, because it always reminded her of how he used to touch her. Thankfully, it was rare that he even so much as brushed his arm against hers as they walked.

It had gotten to the point where she sought subtle ways of avoiding being alone with him. She visited her parents, retreated to his guest room often, and spent time with her co-workers who’d uber fast become not only her friends but saviors. Sensing she needed a buffer, they often turned up at Levi’s apartment to see her or they invited her to go here or there with them.

Piper wouldn’t have thought she’d ever regret agreeing to his proposal, because that would be wishing away their time together. But now that there was the uncomfortable gulf between them, she wished she’d listened to her gut and kept things platonic. Whereas she’d once lamented that they would eventually spend much time apart, now she was glad of it. She even looked forward to it. She needed a reprieve from not only the emotional hurt but also the sexual need that gave her no quarter and relentlessly plagued her system. Distance would help with that.

Although it was plain to see that Levi’s attraction to her hadn’t yet passed, he didn’t appear to be going through any of the emotional struggles she was dealing with. He did, however, seem aggravated by the awkwardness they couldn’t quite shift. And so he should be. No one should have to feel ill at ease in their own home.

She suspected he longed for Piper to return to her house so they could have some space, but she hadn’t suggested moving out of his apartment. He’d never go for it—he took the matter of protecting his psi-mate seriously. Her proposal would only lead to a pointless argument, and there was enough tension between them as it was.

Her inner demon was tired of this shit. Tired of Piper hurting, of her missing him, of both she and Levi fighting the sexual chemistry. In the entity’s mind, it was all senseless and they were simply being stubborn. It saw no reason why sex would complicate things. Due to its limited emotional spectrum, it would never worry that it might fall in love with their anchor. It didn’t feel love. Couldn’t.

It could, however, form intense and lifelong attachments to people. At the moment, the entity was possessive of Levi, but there was no attachment. Which was a relief, because at this point in time—with the way things stood—that attachment wouldn’t be platonic, which meant the demon would never accept him having another woman in his life. It would instead expect to have his total commitment, not caring how he felt about it.

Yeah, that would be bad.

Piper didn’t need to wonder if Levi’s demon had accepted the new platonic nature to their dynamics yet. Not when the brands it left on her body hadn’t faded in the slightest. But there was a chance that the entity was on its way to becoming accustomed to the idea. When that eventually happened, it would hit her own demon hard.

Forcing her thoughts away from the matter, she concentrated on cleaning her station and her equipment. Her last client for the day would be arriving in half an hour, so she’d have time for a coffee break.

“Piper?” Khloë called out.

Looking up from the chair she’d been wiping down, Piper blanked her expression as she spotted Celeste at the reception desk. Oh, Lord.

Its tolerance level ridiculously low, her inner demon hissed out a breath. Like Piper, it had been expecting this ‘visit.’ The only thing that came as a surprise was that it hadn’t happened sooner. But then, Celeste liked to play mind games, so perhaps she’d delayed making a move, hoping to lull Piper into believing the banshee had backed down.

Aware that her co-workers were on alert, Piper crossed to her. “Celeste,” she greeted simply. “What brings you here?”

“Can we talk in private?” the banshee asked.

Since Piper would rather her personal business wasn’t aired in public—particularly in front of clients—she looked at Harper. “Can I use your office?”

“Sure.” The Prime shot Celeste a look of warning that the banshee would be smart to heed. Whether Celeste would or not was another thing altogether.

Piper led her stepsister into the office and then leaned back against the desk, partially propping her butt on the surface. Her inner demon kept its narrowed gaze homed in on the banshee.

“I’ll get right to the point.” Celeste halted a few feet away from her and briefly glanced around the room. “I heard you formed the anchor bond with Levi.”

“You heard correctly.”

Levi’s mind slid against Piper’s, and then his voice poured into her mind. Send Celeste away. She’s not worth your time.

Apparently either Enzo or Dez had given him a heads-up that she was here. Unsurprising.

It’s best to let her purge her system of whatever she wants to say, Piper told him.

“And how are you finding ‘anchor life?’” asked Celeste.

Well that wasn’t a question that Piper cared to truthfully answer. “Why are you here?”

“To laugh, really.”

Piper’s brows snapped together. “Laugh?”

Celeste’s mouth curled into a cruel smile. “Oh yes, things went exactly as I knew they would.”

Levi’s mind touched Piper’s again. You don’t owe it to her to hear her out.

Never said I did, Piper told him as she folded her arms and waited for Celeste to expand.

“It’s no secret that I didn’t want you and Levi to claim each other. Even the very thought of it hurt. And I hated that it hurt … because it forced me to face that he still has too much of a hold over me.”

Piper blinked, surprised Celeste would admit to what she evidently saw as a weakness.

Send her out or I’m coming over, said Levi, the imperious bastard.

Not a fan of that tone, Piper clipped, Don’t fire orders at me, Levi. If I want to talk to someone, I’ll talk to someone.

A soft male curse floated into her mind.

Celeste looked at the floor. “He was right when he accused me of only wanting him back to spite you. Well, partially right. I also wanted to hurt him, and that meant getting him back first. But I saw that he wasn’t going to be up for revisiting the past, and I don’t care to waste my time.”

Funny. She was wasting it now. She had to know that Piper really couldn’t care less what Celeste thought about anything. Then again, Piper had been dancing around her wants and moods for years until recently, so maybe not.

“I didn’t bother appealing for you to reconsider accepting him as your anchor. I knew you wouldn’t. You’ve wanted Levi for a long time, and there was no way you’d hesitate to use the bond to trap him and make it so that he can’t ever leave you.”

Piper’s frown deepened. “That’s not how it went down at all.”

Ignoring that, the banshee continued, “The thing is … the one who was being played was actually you, not him.”

Exhaling an annoyed sigh, Piper scratched her temple. “Celeste, I really need to work—”

“I heard about the agreement you two made.”

Piper tensed. The fuck?

“Someone overheard you mention it to Larkin. Don’t you see that he used your crush to get you to bond with him? Don’t reject the idea, think about it. Levi uses whatever means necessary to get what he wants. He knew he could get close to you using sex, so he proposed that you two share a bed until the bond was formed. It didn’t occur to you that maybe he’d be happy to stop fucking you once you were bonded because he’d only been doing it to get his way? Seriously?”

Piper’s stomach bottomed out. No, she hadn’t considered that at all. Until right now.

“But he didn’t merely sleep with you, did he? He made the kind of mark on you that’s hard to scrub away.” A faraway look entered Celeste’s eyes. “The thing with Levi is that he knows how to make a woman feel owned,” she added, a sad note to her voice. “So then it’s such a shock to the body and mind when he drops you.”

Her scalp prickling, Piper swallowed. As much as she despised it, she could relate to what her stepsister had said.

“He’s so intense with women in the beginning,” Celeste continued. “Bombs them with attention. Drinks in their attention. Makes himself a part of their everyday life so that they can’t picture one that doesn’t include him.”

Piper recalled telling Larkin that she’d gotten so used to having Levi around all the time that she couldn’t imagine not seeing him each and every day. The harpy’s response drifted to her …

“He made sure you got used to it. He wanted you to feel like you couldn’t imagine not having him around. He’s sneaky that way.”

“He doesn’t demand exclusivity of women,” Celeste went on. “He doesn’t need to. They can’t picture having another man touch them. I used to lie to him that I was sleeping with other guys, because I wanted him to care. He didn’t. Some perverse part of him gets a kick out of knowing that whoever fucks a woman he owns will fall short; that he is all they can think about. And that’s exactly how it goes. I mean, truly, would you want another man to touch you?”

The thought alone made Piper’s skin crawl.

Clearly sensing that, Celeste nodded. “He ensured you couldn’t stomach the idea. Don’t beat yourself up about it, though. You’re not alone. It’s what he does to women. He burrows deep under their skin. Once he’s sure they feel utterly owned, his interest begins to fade.”

Pausing, Celeste took a step closer, her lips pursed. “It’s kind of like a kid being so excited to finally have a toy they wanted. But once they own it, once the novelty of playing with it has worn off, it just becomes yet another toy in the box. They don’t appreciate it anymore, they’re more interested in what they can buy next.”

Piper wished she could snort at that, but it made her think of his collection of unusual sculptures and paintings. Whenever she asked about their history, he could never remember. He would just shrug, indifferent. There was no appreciation in his eyes when he looked at them.

“Maybe something unique might be a little more valued,” began Celeste, “but it’ll simply be put on a shelf rather than in the toy box. The kid might look at and even touch the unique item on the shelf from time to time, but it’s still just a toy at the end of the day.

“In toy terms, you’re a limited edition, Piper. A collector’s item. One he’ll shelve, dust, keep clean, and never give away. But you’ll still only ever be one of his many possessions.”

Her arms still folded, Piper flexed her fingers. Her inner demon rolled its eyes, not particularly seeing the problem with being thought of as a possession. But then, it was just as bad for collecting people.

“God help you if you meet a man you want to date. Levi won’t make that easy for you. He won’t like others touching or taking his collector’s item from his shelf. Nu-uh. Like he said to me … he looks at you and sees his anchor. He doesn’t see Piper. No. He doesn’t see who you are but what you are.”

It took a lot for Piper not to wince, because that felt a little too close to the truth.

“Oh, and you’re wrong if you think he’ll let you return to your house. He’ll want you living somewhere in his building so he can monitor your day-to-day activities. Next he’ll buy you a car, because he’ll want you to drive something he bought you—essentially marking his territory. He’ll seek to have a firm hold over your world.”

No, he wouldn’t go that far. He’d always watch over Piper, but he wouldn’t try to take the reins. Even if only because he knew it wouldn’t work.

Celeste sniffed. “I could have warned you about all this earlier, but you wouldn’t have listened to me.” She slanted her head. “You’re telling yourself that I’ve got it all wrong; that Levi wouldn’t use sex as a tool.”

Actually, Piper wasn’t thinking that at all. She knew how ruthless he could be, especially when it came to going after what he wanted. He’d admitted it to her several times, completely unrepentant.

“I’m not claiming he’s a bad person, Piper. Just that he’s a collector. He likes for things to belong to him. But they don’t hold his interest for long. So many of the women in his past were hurt by his withdrawal, just as I’ll bet you’re hurting right now. The worst of it is … if he was to kiss you, you wouldn’t push him away. You’ll always be waiting for him to pick you back up off that shelf and play with you. Unless you face now what others have found so hard to confront—you’re not as important to him as you think you are. Oh, you’re important as his anchor. But if you weren’t his psi-mate, he’d have walked away by now … if he’d have even gotten involved with you in the first place.”

A hard knock came at the office door.

Celeste threw it a haughty look before settling her gaze back on Piper. “Don’t worry, I’m leaving. You know, part of me pities you. Like I said, he still has some hold over me. But I can stay away from him. I don’t have him constantly in my orbit making demands of me. But you? You can’t say the same. You’ll never be able to say the same. He won’t ever let you go, Piper. He won’t ever loosen his grip on you. And anytime he feels you straining to get a little bit of distance from him, he’ll do what it takes to stop you—even if it means occasionally having sex with you to lead you to temporarily believe that you two could be more than just anchors. So good luck trying to live a life that isn’t dominated by Levi. You’re going to need all the luck you can get.”

Celeste spun on her heel and crossed to the door. Whipping it open, she paused at the sight of Devon and Khloë—both of whom were probably eavesdropping, going by the almighty scowls on their faces. Once Celeste skirted around them and left, the two females hurried into the office.

Piper blew out a breath. “You heard all that, huh?”

“We wanted to be sure she wasn’t yelling at or threatening you,” said Devon. “If Harper and Raini weren’t busy with clients, they’d have been lingering at the door too. And they’d be just as livid as I am right now. Just to give you a heads-up, Enzo said that Levi’s on his way here.”

“Great,” Piper mumbled.

“Don’t listen to the things that bitch spouted,” advised Khloë. “She’s full of shit at the best of times.”

Unfolding her arms, Piper gripped the edges of the desk behind her. “As much as I hate to say it, she made some good points just now. Levi is a collector. He can get under your skin. And he will do what it takes to get what he wants.”

“There were plenty of truths in what she said,” Khloë allowed, “but she twisted them.”

Devon nodded. “He didn’t use sex to get close to you and win you over so he could make you accept the bond. He wouldn’t do that.”

Probably not, but … “I do feel collected, though. I can’t count the amount of times he and his demon have made a point of stating I belong to them.”

“As their anchor, you kind of do in a sense,” Devon gently pointed out.

Well, yeah. “But they say it a lot.”

Devon laid a hand on Piper’s arm. “You’re not a simple commodity to Levi.”

“I know. But outside of being his psi-mate, I’m not important to him. Not that it really matters either way. I can’t have him in my life in more than an anchor capacity. I’ve accepted that. But I hate that Celeste is right—I do feel owned, I do feel sickened by the thought of another guy touching me, and I probably wouldn’t reject Levi if he made a pass at me.”

“I’d like to think that—” Devon cut off, cocking her head. “The bell above the door just chimed. That’s probably him.”

Piper hadn’t heard the bell, but she didn’t have hellcat enhanced senses. “I don’t want him to see that she got to me. He’ll demand to know what she said, and I’d rather not get into it.”

“Okay,” said Khloë, “so then we stroll out of the office, casual as you please, while having an everyday conversation.”

His nerves rubbed raw with anger, Levi prowled into the studio just as Piper, Devon, and Khloë walked out of the office, chatting about … wolf spiders?

He studied his anchor. No injuries or ruffled clothing, so it was unlikely that a fight had occurred. Her expression … he couldn’t quite read it.

Faint lines of strain marked her face, but he couldn’t figure out their source. Anger? Impatience? Confusion? He truly couldn’t tell, nor could he decipher the emotion that flickered in her gaze for the briefest moment when she looked at him.

Halting in front of her, he demanded, “You okay?”

She shrugged. “I’m fine.”

No, she wasn’t. Not really. But it would be shitty of him to push her for an honest answer right here in front of God and everyone.

He wanted so badly to reach out and palm the side of her neck, or rub her upper arm, or give her nape a comforting little squeeze. Something. Anything. But he didn’t trust that he’d be easily able to step back. He was more likely to eat up her space, snatch a fistful of her hair, and take her mouth.

He balled up his hands. “Did Celeste threaten you?”

“No. She wasn’t here to bitch at me for forming the bond with you either, before you ask.”

He was about to ask that. “Then what did she want?”

“To do what she often does: annoy me for her own entertainment. She probably also hoped to provoke me into an argument so she could run back to Whitney and Joe with little tales.”

He growled. “I warned her not to use you as her punchbag anymore.”

“You had to know she was unlikely to heed your warning for long.”

Aware that Devon and Khloë still flanked Piper, their postures protective, he cast them both a questioning look. They floundered under his scrutiny, gave him breezy smiles that didn’t quite meet their eyes, and then melted away.

“You didn’t need to come here,” Piper said to him, a note of irritation in her tone.

Feeling unwelcome, he bristled. “I told you I would if you didn’t get rid of her.”

“And I told you I can talk to whoever I want. Celeste is not a threat to me. Nor is she someone I can forever avoid and ignore, because she’s family. It was better to hear her out and get it over with, so I did.”

Maybe, but … “She had no right to come to your place of work.”

“Well it’s not like she could have turned up at your apartment to see me, is it? You wouldn’t have let her into the complex.”

Too fucking right he wouldn’t have.

“It left her no choice but to seek me out elsewhere, so that was what she did.” Piper let out a subtle sigh, and her composed expression cracked. The lines on her face deepened. That undefinable emotion flashed in her eyes yet again. Her mouth set into a flat line. But then her armor slammed back into place, and it was like the crack had never happened.

His brow furrowing in concern, Levi took a step closer, not liking how she stiffened. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Don’t say ‘nothing.’ Something is swirling around up there, and it’s upsetting you. I don’t like it.”

“My head is fine. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”

It had been a long fucking week. A week of craving her, missing her, trying to adjust to their new situation. He was failing massively at the latter.

His body, wound tight with unmet needs and far too desperate for her, seemed more acutely affected by her presence than ever before. The slightest thing made his blood heat—a hint of her scent, a flash of her dimples, the sway of her hips, the curving of her mouth. And knowing she wore his demon’s brands beneath those clothes only made the whole thing harder. He was pretty sure the entity had counted on that when it marked her. The little shit found Levi’s struggles amusing.

His demon had by no means given up on trying to make Levi’s control snap. It constantly sent him mental snapshots—some sexually explicit memories, some of Piper with faceless men. As such, a swirling brew of frustration, anger, and need sat in the pit of Levi’s stomach. And now motherfucking Celeste had evidently gotten into Piper’s head somehow, and God only knew what play that bitch had made.

“What did Celeste say that’s messing with you right now?”

“Nothing in particular. Don’t get all worked up about her visit. She’s not worth the emotional energy.”

“True enough. And you’re good at not letting her get to you. But she’s currently up there in your head, toying with your thoughts. How she wormed her way in, I can’t imagine. Tell me what she said, Piper. Let me help you shove her back out of your mind.”

Piper swallowed. “She didn’t say anything worth repeating. Anyway, I have another client coming in soon, I can’t afford to sit around chatting.”

He opened his mouth to speak again, but then Knox’s psyche bumped his.

I have good news and bad news, said the Prime. The bad news is that our killer struck again. The good news is that he didn’t kill his victim this time … though I have no fucking clue why.