Page 121 of Aching for His Discretion

He looked smug, happy that he got this reaction out of me, happy I was crying and doing my best not to sob as he berated me with lies and accusations.

We stood in silence for a moment before we heard slow footsteps from behind me. I wanted to turn to see who it could be, but the voice immediately calmed my nerves and slowed my erratic heartbeat.

“Tesoro?” Levi said, and I turned around to see him standing like my knight in shining armor as always. He held a hand out to me, and I walked over to be comforted in his embrace as I wiped my tears. He placed a kiss in my hair, and I took in a few deep breaths of his scent as I did my best to calm down.

He pushed a fallen hair out of my face and kissed my tear-stained cheek softly before resting his forehead against mine. I didn’t even care that Jacob was watching our interaction. I simply felt thankful that I was with Levi at this moment.

“Are you okay?” he asked sincerely, and I nodded softly. He hummed in response, and I fell into his touch as he caressed my cheek with his thumb softly.

“Here we fucking go,” Jacob said through the silence.

Levi didn’t flinch.“Would you like me to take care of this for you, Tesoro?”heasked, and my heart skipped a beat as I looked up at him cautiously. A quick flashback in my head reminded me of a time he said the same words about the private investigator, Theo.

“Theo... he’s been following me, and he threatened me with losing my career, my life. He knows that I know, and he wantsme to confess...” I said shakily, and Levi stayed silent for a moment as if he was contemplating his next few words.

“Tesoro…” he said after a few moments, and I hummed in response as I wiped the tears that were still falling.

“Do you want me to take care of it?”

It felt oddly familiar… this interaction between us—and I felt at a loss for words. Before, I was more hesitant. I was afraid of what he could do, what he was capable of, and the lengths he would go to protect me. All of it frightened me. I didn’t know how to handle it, how to handle him, how to handle his love.

But now, I appreciate his love. I appreciated his concern and his protectiveness. I appreciated his dedication to me, so much that I felt like a hypocrite for what I’d put him through.When he asked me the same question years ago… I was scared and afraid. Today…

I continued looking into his eyes as he waited patiently for my answer.

…I feel safe in his arms.

“Yes,” was all I whispered in response as I gave him my trust. I let him do what he did best and what made me essentially fall in love with him: protect me.

He kept his eye contact with me, and in a split second, he pulled something from his waist, and a silenced gunshot filled the air, followed by the sound of Jacob’s scream of pain as he fell to the ground.

Levi gazed into my eyes… waiting for my reaction.

I remained the same: appreciative, grateful to him, and absolutely in love with the man he was.

He kissed my lips briefly before pulling away for a moment as he walked over to Jacob slowly. Against my better judgment, I turned to see Jacob lying on the floor, clutching his leg in pain and agony. Levi crouched down and sighed heavily as he made eye contact with Jacob’s rage-filled eyes.

“You should definitely go to the hospital for that injury. It seems serious,” Levi advised, and Jacob looked up at him, pain-filled tears in his eyes.

“You fucking psychopath...” Jacob seethed.

Levi tilted his head to the side momentarily before scoffing,“If only you knew.”

He stood and turned toward me. He placed his hand out for me to grab and slowly slid mine into his as I looked down at them. He gradually walked me to the car, and I bit my lip.

“Are we going to be in trouble?” I asked him softly as we approached his car.

He shook his head. “He won’t say anything…”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

He leaned down slightly to be eye level. “I just know, Tesoro.He should be lucky he got off with a warning for disrespecting you the way he did,” he muttered frustratedly, and I placed a small kiss on his lips as a thank-you for sticking up for me.

Did I want Jacob to get hurt? Not at all. But just like when Theo wanted to control my life, I didn’t want to give Jacob room to try.

I didn’t want to give him the impression that he could control my life with made-up lies and whatever jealous thoughts he had against Levi and me.

Using Levi to scare him may not have been entirely practical, but nothing about him or our relationship was practical or ordinary, and I was slowly beginning to accept that.

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