Page 54 of Light Magic

I knew I would.

“Just remember you’re the one who didn’t want to know,” he said, his voice low as he stood from the bed and walked into the closet.

I reached for my clothes on the floor and started putting them back on. Why did I feel like a bitch right now? Wasn’t I doing him a favor? He was the one with the cold heart who didn’t want to get involved. He was the one who had said we could keep this casual.

In ten seconds, he would come out of the closet with that charming grin of his, call me sweetheart, and carry on as if nothing had happened.

I was zipping up my boots when I remembered something. “Levi? When I called you when the lion shifters were attacking me, you said it wasn’t a suitable time to talk. You were in the middle of something.”

He came out of the closet, wearing navy slacks and a white button-up shirt. I stared for a few seconds, wondering how the hell he managed to look like he was always coming out of a magazine cover photoshoot.

“Yes,” he said, not charming as I thought he would be by now.

“Don’t you have to go back to whatever that was? I mean, it sounded important, but you left it behind.”

For me.

“My demons took care of it.”

“Ah.” I nodded. “That makes sense.”

We finished getting ready in tense silence, and I almost took back what I said. Almost. Obviously, I didn’t want him to leave, but I didn’t want to be the thing that held him back either.

Determined to be strong, I walked out the door and turned to wait for him.

Levi walked out but pointed the other way. “I’m going to stop by my bedroom. I’ll meet you in the library later.”

“Oh. Sure.”

He nodded once, then whirled on his heels and walked away. I looked at his retreating back until he turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

I had tried to protect my heart, and this was probably him protecting his. The bond affected him, though I was sure he had much better control over it than I did.

It was okay.

Actually, this was how it was supposed to be. We had been spending too much time together, sleeping in the same bed, touching after having sex. That only strengthened the bond.

And hurt us more.

I inhaled deeply, wishing I could breathe in courage and strength, and marched to the dining room for breakfast.

14

Breakfast was delicious, but for some reason, it still sat heavy on my stomach. Maggie, Trent, and Belinda were there with me, and they were as chipper as always, chattering about how the sword would soon be ready, and they couldn’t wait to see it.

I couldn’t wait either.

After breakfast, Belinda took Trent to do some chores, but the little boy promised to come soon to see the sword, and Maggie and I headed to the library.

There, Abbie stood beside the long tables, passing along lessons to Gwen and Britt. Lacey was reading a book about dragon eggs.

I glanced around, but I already knew Levi wasn’t here.

A pang cut through my chest.

No, I wouldn’t feel sad or disappointed. He said he would meet me here later, which meant it could be in an hour or five. He was nothing to me. Just a hot body to have fun with.

That was the tenth time I told myself that this morning.

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