Page 134 of Immersed
Asher pulled back, eyes sharp with concern. “You’re crying.”
“Stop,”Levi managed finally, the word choked and desperate. “I can’t—It’s too—
Asher went still, his expression unreadable. For a moment, Levi feared he’d triggered something dangerous, but then Asher shifted, moving to lie beside him rather than over him, one arm draped across Levi’s waist in a hold that was more comforting than restrictive.
“Breathe,” Asher said, his voice gentler than Levi had ever heard it. “Just breathe.”
“I don’t know why I’m—” he began.
“It’s okay,” Asher interrupted, his thumb brushing away a tear from Levi’s cheek. “Your tears make you even more beautiful, Levi.” His touch lingered, tracing the path of another tear down to Levi’s jaw.
He continued the tender stroking, allowing Levi time to regain control, his fingers trailing lightly over Levi’s collarbone and down his arm in slow, soothing patterns that sent faint tingles across his skin. The contrast to Asher’s usual intensity was disorienting, a brief oasis in the storm, and Levi’s sobs gradually ebbed into shaky breaths.
“Do you want to stop?” Asher asked, the question clearly difficult for him to voice, tension coiling in his jaw as if the very idea pained him.
Yes.
No.
I don’t know.
“No,” Levi whispered. “Just... slower.”
“I can do slower,” he said, his fingertips ghosting over Levi’s skin like a whisper. “Tell me what you like.”
“I don’t know what I like,” Levi admitted, embarrassment burning a fresh flush spreading across his face as he averted his eyes.
“Then I’ll show you.” Asher leaned over him once more, his body a warm, looming presence that made Levi’s heart stutter. “And you’ll tell me when something feels good.”
He began again, his touches lighter and unhurried, his palms sliding over Levi’s chest and sides with reverent care, mapping the contours he’d praised earlier. The fear remained, a constant undercurrent, but alongside it grew something else—a warm, liquid sensation pooling low in his abdomen, heavy and insistent, like molten honey seeping through his veins.
Asher worked his way down Levi’s body with methodical patience, pausing whenever tension returned to Levi’s muscles, his fingers kneading gently to coax relaxation. His self-control was impressive, almost unnerving. This was not the same man who strangled Levi in the forest or pinned him to the conference table.
Until suddenly, he was.
The shift came without warning. Asher’s mouth had been tracing the curve of Levi’s hip, lips brushing softly over the smooth skin, when his teeth suddenly sank into the sensitive flesh. The pain was sharp,immediate, radiating outward and pulling a startled cry from Levi’s throat as his body jerked.
Asher’s head snapped up, eyes dark with something primal. A thin smear of blood colored his lower lip.
“You’re bleeding.” His tongue darted out, savoring it like a forbidden nectar.
Fear flashed through Levi as a cold spike that cut through the haze of sensation. This was the real Asher—the predator beneath the facade. The killer who had hunted him through the forest, who had watched the light fade from his eyes with fascination as he strangled him.
“Asher,” Levi whimpered, the name both warning and plea, his voice trembling as he fought the urge to pull away.
Something in Asher’s expression shifted, awareness returning to his eyes like a fog lifting. He blinked and glanced at the bite mark, where a small trickle of blood traced the curve of Levi’s hip, stark against the pale skin.
“I hurt you,” he said, sounding almost surprised, his fingers hovering just above the wound.
“Yes,” Levi confirmed, watching him warily, his body tense.
Asher’s thumb brushed over the mark, smearing the blood in a small arc. “I didn’t mean to.” A pause. “Not that much.”
It was the closest thing to an apology Levi was likely to get. He nodded once, accepting it for what it was, his breath still coming in uneven gasps.
Asher lowered his head again, this time pressing his lips to the wound. “Let me make it better,” he murmured against Levi’s skin, his breath hot and tantalizing.
The careful attention that followed was a study in contrasts. Asher’s tongue traced the bite mark, the blowing cool air over throbbing heathe’d created, lapping away the blood. His lips pressed light kisses along the curve of Levi’s hip, each one like a silent apology.
