Page 20 of Hell Storm

In my peripheral vision, I noted that he offered only a shallow nod in response. Even when I shifted toward the sink, I could practically feel his stare.

The room went completely silent once I turned the faucet off and sipped. He, too, said nothing.

When Ididfinally manage to brave a look at him, it was difficult to ignore how little he wore. As if his broad chest and unbelievably toned arms weren’t enough to marvel at, there was more. That broad chest tapered to a slender waist, one where thin, silk night pants hung low on his hips, revealing a set of deep indentations at his pelvis.

He was completely waxed and manicured. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he manscaped. After all, despite the extreme masculinity he and the others possessed, Levi always gave off a bit of a prima donna vibe.

We both sipped again, and then both stared some more.

“So … you just happened to be awake, wandering the house in the middle of the night,” he crooned with a faint smile on his lips. “How convenient.”

“Not wandering,” I corrected. “I was thirsty. Besides, what trouble could I have possibly gotten into dressed like this?”

I gestured to the frail nightgown and Levi didn’t hesitate to scan the ensemble, bare feet and all. It wasn’t until the corner of his mouth quirked higher with a devious smile that I remembered with whom I was dealing.

“Oh, trust me. That getup could get you intoplentyoftrouble.”

There was no missing his meaning, and suddenly remembering the thin material that covered me, hiding very little, I folded both arms over my chest.

“Are you always this crass?”

The question didn’t offend him in the least. In fact, he seemed to like that I called him out on his behavior.

“Only when I know I can get away with it.”

Did I give him that impression? That he can get away with saying things like this in my presence?

The long stretch of silence that followed left me feeling uncomfortable, but I appeared to be the only one. Even nearly nude and wearing pants so thin they should’ve never been worn out of his bedroom, he was still confident as ever.

It was during this quiet moment that I noticed something I hadn’t before—the door. It was oddly placed in the far corner of the room. As I deemed this entryway the passage to freedom, I had to suppress a smile.

“I’ve got an idea.” The sound of Levi’s voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

“What sort of idea?”

“What do you say we take our drinks to my room and get better acquainted? After all, tomorrow’s gonna be a big day for the two of us.”

Does he ever sayanythingwithout that sinister grin?

“Better acquainted,” I repeated, certain I knew what that meant. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

A loud laugh burst from his lungs after being accused. “Someone’smind is clearly in the gutter,” he teased. “Who said anything about sex? I merely suggested we retreat to my room to chat.”

Heat flashed up my neck, to my face. He didn’t have me fooled.

“Gonna have to give you a hard pass on that one, but thanks for the invite.”

After turning down his invitation, I set my glass in the sink and spun on my heels, intent on hightailing it straight back upstairs. But …

“What’s the matter, Love. Don’t trust yourself around me?”

A challenge.

I would never tell him he affected me, but it was painfully true. My pounding heart was a dead giveaway. With my back to him, I searched my thoughts for something to break the spell.

This strangely intense, maddening spell.

Being near him infuriated me. Maybe it was because he had this power to control a room without so much as uttering a word. It was his presence, how he sat silently and read whoever was nearby. He always left me with the feeling I’d just been mentally strip-searched, and he knew all my thoughts.

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