Page 132 of Immersed
45
Rated E for Explicit
Levigaspedawakeonsomething soft and warm, his fingers curling into plush fabric beneath him. His body felt weightless after the crushing violence of their last death, his limbs sinking into the softness that cradled him.
Am I on a bed?
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room, unfamiliar details emerged from the shadows. Crown molding traced the edges of a high ceiling. A fireplace stood against one wall, small flames dancing behind an ornate grate.
This wasn’t a hospital room but private quarters. Luxurious ones.
Movement in the corner drew his attention. A figure rose from an armchair, silhouetted against the dim firelight.
“You’re awake.”Asher’s voice was softer than usual, pitched low as if he might startle Levi.
Levi pushed himself upright.“Where are we?”
“Faine’s private suite, I think.”Asher moved closer, his features gradually becoming visible.“The building reset us here. Almost like it’s giving us...”He paused, searching for the right words.“A moment of peace before the end.”
Levi’s hand rose to his throat, his fingertips finding the now-familiar bruise that had survived another death, another reset. The mark Asher left on him in the conference room. The pressure against the tender skin sent a confusing wave of comfort through him.
Asher tracked the movement with hungry eyes.“You’re touching it.My mark.”
“It shouldn’t still be here,”Levi muttered, dropping his hand as if caught doing something shameful.“Nothing else carries over that way.”
Levi looked around, taking in more details of their surroundings. A door in the corner stood partially open, revealing glimpses of a marble-tiled bathroom. Medical supplies were arranged neatly on a side table. A crystal decanter of amber liquid sat beside two glasses, untouched for decades but preserved.
It was as if the building prepared this space specifically for them.
“I kept my promise,”Asher said, drawing Levi’s attention back to him.“I found you again.”
Levi’s mouth felt dry.“I know.”
Asher remained unnervingly still, not approaching further. Not yet. His restraint was palpable, a physical force pressing against the air between them.
“I remember what I said. After the third key.”
“So do I.”
Levi rose from the bed, his legs unsteady beneath him. He expected to be grabbed the moment he stood, but Asher remained rooted in place, watching him with an almost painful intensity.
“You’re waiting,”Levi realized aloud,“for me to come to you.”
He gave a slight nod, the barest movement.“I’ve taken enough,”Asher said, the words clearly difficult for him.“This time, you choose.”
It was manipulation, Levi knew. A calculated move to make him complicit in whatever happened next. And yet, as he took one step forward, then another, he couldn’t deny the truth in it: he was choosing this, and he had been choosing it in increments across multiple deaths and resets. He wanted Asher, but he was still scared of him, of himself, of the desire he couldn’t fight anymore.
He stopped just out of reach.“I’ve never—”The words caught in his throat, embarrassment flooding his face with heat.“I don’t know what to do to start.”
“I know.I’ve been waiting to teach you.”
The declaration sent a shiver down Levi’s spine.“This is fucked up,”he said quietly.“You know that, right? Whatever this is between us, it’s not healthy.”
“Does that matter anymore?”Asher asked, taking his first step forward, closing the distance between them to mere inches.“In this place? After everything?”
“I guess not.”
“Then say it,”Asher demanded, still not touching him.“Say what you want.”
