9. ~Levi~

9

~Levi~

"A bit cheesy, isn't it?"

"It's a ballad, Lev."

"It's supposed to be an edgy rock ballad," I countered.

Colt snatched the piece of paper back from me with the lyrics he'd shown me for the song he was going to be working on with my girl. "You gave me two days to pull a song out of my ass, a song that was never supposed to exist. It'll have to do."

"Seems like it."

He slapped my bare chest. "Don't be a shit."

I chuckled. "My bad, you know I like teasing you, cupcake."

"You're not the only one," he said, pressing his hand to my pecs. "You've been working out. In the gym downstairs?"

"Nah, working out in a gym is Mason's thing. It's the street fighting. And woodworking, somewhat."

"Mmm," he said, sliding his palm down over my abs.

He lingered on my gunshot scar to the left, teasing it with his thumb, before continuing down to the waistband of my black pants.

I snatched his hand before he reached the target of his interest. "Uh uh. It's not hard for you."

"I didn't expect it to be. It is hella interesting, though. That's how much you're into this girl? Sporting a hard-on for her before she even gets here tonight?"

"You know how the anticipation of a scheme coming together gets me off."

"Seems more than that. Seems all about her." He eased his hand from mine, but not without giving it a kiss. "I can see why."

I tensed. "What?"

"She's got a real powerful aura about her."

Him and his aura shit.

"I'd say yellow with the confidence and peace in herself that I felt from her, combined with green with the kind and loving heart of hers that I picked up on. But there's also some black, because I was sensing a blockade—walls she's put up to protect herself from something, or because of something."

All right, he was pretty damn good. "You got all that from briefly talking to her to invite her here?"

"To coerce her here for you was more like it. And it wasn't exactly that brief. It was fascinating talking with her. She hides it behind that bubbly and bright Barbie-like personality she puts out there around campus and town, but there's a harder edge just below the surface. I was only able to bring out sparks of it, but it was there all right. It's gotta be what's got you drawn to her. Although, if that's the case, Mason isn't exactly gonna be on board. Having that from her and the vicious edge in you coming together could be explosive, in the worst ways for Mason, causing a fuck load of chaos."

I lifted a shoulder.

Let them both think what they wanted. Their theories on why I was drawn to Brianna Walker were just pieces of the overall big picture. It was so much more than that.

But until I was able to get through to her and pull her close, I wasn't ready for either of them to know the truth. It would only complicate matters and likely create more barriers in my path. After years of waiting for the time to be right to do this, to approach her like this, there was no way I was willing to risk more complications or possibly deterrents from them getting in my way.

So I did all I could do in this particular moment.

I redirected. "You're circling around it, but it sounds like you've taken a liking to her."

"And if I have?"

"We don't share women. Not like that at least. You and Mason have your threesomes once in a while, but that's all superficial."

"What if we did share?"

I shifted my weight and folded my arms across my chest. "You're serious?"

"Why not? You know I'm not set in my ways, I like branching out, exploring new avenues and passions. And you know I'm not gonna step on you, because I like you leading the way with other things. I'll just follow your lead with this like I do with everything else. Plus, if we bring Mason in on this, it could really help him to finally relinquish that insane control that's slowly killing him. It could help him to let loose like he's needed for a long time."

"I hear what you're saying, brother," I said, laying my hand on his shoulder. "But she's not just a girl to me. There's more here, more I can't get into yet."

"We'll see how it pans out then, take it slow."

"You do realize that she's an actual person? Not a doll to be played with?"

" I do, but the fact you seem to is shocking to say the least, Lev. It's not your usual way of doing things. You've always been a hit-it-and-quit-it type. Those fight bunnies were just warm holes for you to get off with."

"I don't think I was ever that crass about it."

"Debatable. But either way, seeing as though you seem to be showing genuine care toward this girl, I'm gonna help you out in any way I can."

"You are?"

"Damn straight, brother. I'm retracting my initial worry about this. I've never seen you like this before. And as long as you can tone down the vicious and Hellraiser side of you, this could actually be really good for you. It'll take some of the worry when it comes to you off Mason too, which I'm all for."

"Well, thanks. I really appreciate it."

He stepped close again and fingered my vibrant red and black all-seeing eye tattoo on my left shoulder. "You know, she's got a necklace like this?"

Oh, I was well fucking aware. "She does?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? The coincidence of it?"

"Uncanny."

He frowned. "You knew, didn't you? Is that why you stripped down to this shirtless state, rather than actually getting dressed for her arrival? You wanted her to see that the two of you have this in common?"

"Anything I can do to ease her skittish state."

"Damn, that's really sweet of you. Especially for you."

Sweet. It was far from that. "Well, contrary to popular belief—Mason's included—I am actually human and I can demonstrate that once in a while too."

He laid his hand on my shoulder. "I know you can. And I'm really glad you're back here with us." He cupped my cheek and emphasized earnestly, "Really glad, Lev."

I stroked his fingers on me. "Right back at you, cupcake."

The sound of the doorbell downstairs by the lobby had us both pulling back.

He adjusted his silky shirt—this time a tiger print number—along with his leather pants, then told me, "The show is on. Here goes nothing."

Thankfully, Mason was occupied elsewhere at some sort of get together with a group of his law buddies who were working on this semester's big project—or case. I hadn't bothered to get the details because my main focus had been this evening and making sure he wouldn't be here to get in my way and especially not to get the chance to figure out what my fascination with Brianna was all about.

I couldn't have that.

He'd find a way to put a stop to it before I even got anywhere with her.

As Colt headed on out of my bedroom, I hung back and sucked in a centering breath, fighting to tamper down the electric anticipation coursing through me with Brianna Walker about to enter our home, with me so close to having it out with her and doing what I'd needed to for so fucking long—pulling her close to me, fucking well binding her to me forevermore.

Just a little while longer.

All I needed to do was wait for Colt to get her into a calm and relaxed state where her walls weren't up and where she wasn't defensive.

I walked out to the landing and peered over the railing as she stepped into the house with Colt speaking words I couldn't hear from this far out.

Her silky black hair was pulled back into a bouncy ponytail that swung from side to side whenever she moved her head and, in this case, scanned the immediate area of the mansion trying to take it all in.

She had that pastel-pink three-quarter-length coat on over a white tank with butterflies lining the bust, dipping low enough to highlight her perky breasts as well as the necklace of hers that was a blue version of my tattoo. It gave way to a gray mini-skirt. The heels of her knee-high boots that matched her coat clacked on the black marble floor.

But, despite all of that being a fuck of a lot to take in, it was her eyes that drew my attention the most.

Those enchanting whiskey pools.

They were what I'd remembered the most about her.

What I'd seen staring back at me all those years ago, what I'd seen staring through me in my dreams and nightmares alike since.

I forced myself to push away from the railing and tracking her movements and guarded interaction with Colt, and then I made my way into my bedroom to fire up the surveillance I had in the recording studio—and wherever else she ended up venturing to while she was here in my home.

"I've been standing in the shadows/ Willing the blackness to pull me in/ A place where nobody else knows/ I'm barely holding on, barely surviving."

Colt's powerhouse vocals rang out, that rough grittiness out in full force with that signature growl along for the ride, and giving him that special edge he'd worked hard to develop and capitalize on over the years.

I'd heard it thousands of times and not just with his live performances, but through him singing around the house, belting out pieces of songs he'd been working on over and over, but it still impressed me.

I thought nothing could top that until another voice joined in on the chorus wrapping around his.

"It was easier not to open my eyes/ It was easier not to feel a thing/ Until you/ You came into my life like a hurricane/ You eased away the pain."

Soft and delicate, yet also somehow notably powerful with a stirring and melancholic feel.

Brianna's voice.

It pulled me out of the moment, off mission, as it rolled through me.

The way it sounded combined with Colt's was out of this world.

The idea of the duet had begun as a farce, as a means to an end— my end. But hearing this now, there was absolutely no way it could remain purely as that.

It needed to be the real thing.

It wasn't just the sound either.

No, it was the look on her face, the raw emotion all over her. An odd mixture of vulnerability and ferocity she was somehow able to achieve and communicate all at once.

I was abruptly snapped out of my reverie when she faltered, then stopped singing altogether, stepping back from the mic with a curse.

Colt lifted his headphones off, the corner of his mouth turning up as he told her, "You didn't trust yourself to hit that note. You could've done it, you've got the range."

"Maybe," she said, pulling her headphones off too and stepping away. "Let's take a break. I need some water."

"Sure thing. You hungry too?"

"I could go for a snack. Do you have chocolate chip cookies?"

"Cookies, huh? Yeah, we've got a load to choose from. Mason's got a thing for snacking."

"Great," she said, leaning against the wall and folding her arms across her chest, looking a world away from the confident, caught-in-the-passionate-moment demeanor she'd had a moment ago.

It was pretty much how she had been when he'd first walked her in there. All nervous and out of her element, on edge, even. But a little while after they'd gotten started, all of that had fallen away and she'd come out of her shell.

And in those moments I'd gotten a glimpse of that fireball I remembered.

The one who haunted my dreams.

"You all right?" Colt asked, noticing right away.

When she just gave a slight nod, he told her, "The fact you can't read sheet music and just picked up the melody from me playing it once, then being able to run with it… it's majorly impressive."

"I'm good with patterns."

"Patterns?"

"Yeah, putting bits and pieces together into a whole. Kind of like coding, programming an app and that sort of thing."

I started. Interesting way of looking at it.

"Well, that's fucking awesome," he told her, brimming with excitement. He strolled across the room to her with all that swagger of his. "So, why the long face? Looking so out of sorts? You should be on a high after that performance. I know I am. Singing with you was something else, cutie."

Cutie?

"I need to see him."

"Lev?"

"Yes."

My breath caught in my throat.

Was it really finally happening?

She was actually asking to see me, so desperate to, in fact, that it was causing this noticeable reaction in her?

"Drawing it out is impacting my concentration. That's why I didn't hit that note."

"Well, I did promise you a shot. But like I said, when Lev is laser-focused like this, getting him to step back is next to impossible, so I can't guarantee the outcome you're hoping for."

I narrowed my eyes. She wanted me to back off? That was the deal he'd struck with her? He'd told me he'd offered to get her friend some major exposure for her fashion designs. He'd most definitely omitted this part of their deal.

"That's fine," she told him. "I'll handle it from here."

A dark look flitted across her face.

It was very brief, but also very noticeable.

It didn't just soften the blow of her intent to shut me down, it also had my dick reacting in an almost violent way.

That was what had been missing from her during my observations and her activities here that I'd been keeping an eye on for the last year.

And now I had confirmation that it was still there, still a part of her.

Nice.

"Damn, that's some eerie confidence you've got going there. Fucking hot, to be honest."

She rolled her eyes. "Is this you trying to delay so you can figure out how to go back on what you promised?"

"No, cutie," he said, drawing close and literally breathing her in. It had my fingers clenching into fists. "Just calling it like it is. Credit where credit is due." He reached out and played with a strand of her hair and twirled it around his finger. "You know, blowing him off may not be the best way to go. It'll just antagonize him. Letting it play out is your better option. Go along for the ride. And, believe me, it will be a hell of a ride at that. You'd be missing out on an experience you'll never forget. Lev doesn't do things half way. He'll give you his all."

She stared at him for a moment and it really looked like she was considering easing up with her fight.

But then she blinked and batted his hand away from her hair. "Do you really think I was fool enough to believe it was merely a random coincidence that you invited me here to record this duet? The coincidence of Levi crashing into my path wasn't lost on me for a moment. You brought me here to lull me into a calm state so Levi could then use it to his advantage. You're working together."

I saw Colt looking stumped that she'd figured all of that out, that she'd apparently played him at his own game.

Fortunately, he managed to get it together and recover quickly. "That's quite the theory. And if it's to be believed, why did you agree to come here?"

"To minimize the collateral damage when I cut this weirdness off at its knees before it can go any further. I'm not stupid. I know about Hex and the brutality and damage it brought to Stonewell when it was operational, when the three of you were at your most malicious and dangerous. I'm also aware that Levi was the driving force behind that sadistic side of it, while you were just along for the ride, and Mason was trying to control and reel things in."

"Interesting deductions, cutie. The thing is, all that is from an outside perspective. Things aren't always what they seem. I wasn't just along for the ride. I can be a vicious fucker when I'm in that zone. And on the flip side, Lev can be the most easygoing fucker around. Unless he's provoked. That's when he becomes the bane of your existence."

"Advice duly noted."

"Good." He stepped back. "Now, I'll go get you that water and some chocolate chip cookies." He gestured at the seating area off to the side of the studio, a white wraparound couch complete with a couple of matching oversized chairs. "Take a beat and chill before we get back down to it."

With that, he walked out.

I shut my laptop screen, closing down my real-time view inside the room, then stepped away from my desk, absorbing everything that had been spoken between them.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that several minutes went by without me even realizing it, and then Colt was bursting into my room with a plate of chocolate chip cookies balanced on one hand as he clutched a bottle of water in the other.

"All softened up and ready for you, brother," he told me with a sly wink.

"Nicely done," I said, taking the plate and bottle from him. "Although, keeping from me that part of your deal with her included giving her the opportunity to blow me off leaves a lot to be desired."

"Please. It was for your own good. If I'd told you beforehand, before I'd brought her here, you would've done something extreme and ill-advised and it could've fucked everything up."

He knew me well.

"Point noted." I kissed his cheek. "Good work."

Before I could pull away, he grasped my bare shoulder and licked the scar down the left side of my throat, the stud in his tongue rolling over it. "Just helping you get in the zone, Lev," he said with a smirk as he eased away.

Sure that was all it was.

I returned his smirk. "Much appreciated."

As I headed past him, he called out, "Don't scare her off. That duet is on for real now."

"No promises."

"Lev."

I lifted my shoulder. "It depends how she reacts."

"Aren't you the master of determining how others react—always in your favor?"

"Not this time. Not with her."

"Actually, yeah, I'm getting that. Her responses to different provocations are difficult to determine and anticipate. Woman's more complicated than she seems on the surface with that whole bubbly Barbie thing she's got going on."

"Sure is."

He didn't know the half of it.

Hell, he didn't know a mere fraction of it.

There was a whole lot more than met the eye with Brianna Walker.

And I couldn't wait to immerse myself in it all, in everything that she was.

Be ready for me, Wildflower, because I'm not backing down.