Page 136 of Immersed
Asher shed his own clothes quickly, never taking his eyes from Levi’s face, holding him captive as if daring him to look away. The shirt came first, peeled off in one fluid motion, revealing the lean planes of his chest and abdomen—muscles shifting under pale skin like coiled springs, marked by a tapestry of scars that spoke of violence survived and inflicted. Levi couldn’t help but stare as Asher’s body was revealed inch by inch, the pants following, sliding down to expose powerful thighs and the hard evidence of his arousal. He’d felt Asher’s strength before—pinning him down, strangling him, protecting him—but seeing the physical reality of it was different.
Asher was beautiful in the way dangerous things often are—he was a weapon in the shape of a man, honed for a singular purpose. And right now, that purpose was Levi.
“You’re staring,” Asher said.
Heat flooded Levi’s face, burning from his cheeks down his neck, embarrassment mingling with the lingering ache. “I didn’t expect...” He gestured vaguely, unable to articulate exactly what he hadn’t expected—the raw power, the scarred beauty, the way it made his cock twitch and leak on his stomach.
“Do you like what you see?” Asher asked, the question teasing but with an undercurrent of genuine curiosity, as if Levi’s answer actually mattered to him.
“Yes. You’re...” Beautiful. Terrifying. Perfect. He couldn’t choose which word to voice, the admission hanging heavy in the air, making him feel even more vulnerable. “Stunning.”
Asher lit up with a brilliant smile as he moved to position himself between Levi’s legs. His hands slid up Levi’s thighs, spreading them wider, his thumbs tracing the sensitive inner skin. “And you... you’re breathtaking like this, spread out for me. Your body, so soft, so willingly mine... Tell me you want this,” Asher said, voice tight with restraint, his body hovering, poised, the tip of him pressing against Levi’s entrance. “That you want me.”
Levi swallowed hard, emotion clogging his throat—a storm of fear, need, and surrender choking him. “I want this,” he whispered, holding his breath. “I want you.”
The words broke whatever remaining control Asher had been maintaining. He surged forward, claiming Levi’s mouth in a bruising kiss as he pushed inside in one smooth, relentless motion, the slick heat of him breaching and filling in a single, overwhelming thrust.
Pain flared, sharp and immediate, a white-hot lightning strike that tore through Levi’s body, radiating from his core outward in searing waves. He screamed against Asher’s lips, the sound swallowed by the kiss, muffled into a desperate, guttural noise that vibrated in his chest. His back arched violently off the bed, body trying to escape theintrusion, muscles clenching in futile resistance against the impossible fullness that felt like being split apart. Tears sprang to his eyes, spilling over before he could blink them back, hot tracks carving down his cheeks as his vision blurred.
“Too much,” he gasped when Asher broke the kiss. He could feel his heartbeat everywhere—in his chest, his throat, his temples, and most intensely where Asher had breached him, each pulse sending a fresh wave of discomfort through his overwhelmed nervous system. “Can’t—please—too big—”
His fingers spasmed against Asher’s shoulders, caught between pushing him away and pulling him closer, as if his body couldn’t decide which would hurt less.
“I know,” Asher panted, pressing his forehead against Levi’s. “It won’t forever. Trust me.”
“I told you,” Levi said through gritted teeth, his voice strained and trembling. “I don’t trust you.”
Asher’s laugh was strained but genuine, a rough sound that vibrated through their joined bodies. “Then trust your body,” he suggested, shifting his hips in a careful, experimental movement, the slight drag sending sparks of pleasure rippling through the pain. “It knows what it wants. See how it clings to me? You’re perfect—tight, hot, made for this. For me.”
The small motion sent a confusing mixture of sensations through Levi—pain still, yes, a lingering burn that made him wince, but it was threaded with a faint undercurrent of pleasure teasing at the edges of the agony.
Asher must have seen the change in his expression—the subtle widening of eyes, the parted lips—because his next movement was more deliberate, angled differently, a slow withdrawal and thrust that brushed against that sensitive spot inside. This time, the sensationthat followed was unquestionably pleasure—bright and unexpected, cutting through the haze like a spark igniting, drawing a startled sound from Levi’s throat, half-moan, half-gasp, his body arching toward it.
“There,” Asher said as he repeated the motion, building a careful rhythm. “See? I promised I’d make it good.”
Asher seemed to have an uncanny ability to hit his prostate over and over, transforming the burning ache into a deep, throbbing pleasure that spread like wildfire through Levi’s core. His hands moved from Asher’s shoulders to his back, nails scoring lines across the smooth skin, digging in with desperate need rather than just pain, leaving red trails that mirrored the chaos inside him.
The slight pain seemed to trigger something in Asher, his rhythm faltering, becoming rougher, less controlled, thrusts deepening with abandon. His grip on Levi’s hips tightened, fingers digging into flesh hard enough to leave bruises, the pressure a vice that sent fresh spikes of agony radiating through Levi’s thighs and abdomen.
“Mine,” he groaned. “You’re finally mine. So perfectly, completely mine.”
The increased intensity brought pain surging back alongside the pleasure, creating a confusing tangle of sensation that Levi couldn’t separate—sharp burns mingling with electric bliss, leaving him dizzy and overwhelmed. A sound escaped him—half pleasure, half protest, a strangled moan that echoed his inner turmoil—as Asher’s movements grew rougher, the pace erratic and too demanding.
“Stop,” Levi gasped as fear clawed up his throat. “You’re hurting me.”
For a terrifying moment, Asher didn’t seem to hear him, lost in his own pleasure, his hips snapping forward with unrestrained force.
He’s going to break me.
“Asher!” Levi’s voice sharpened with genuine fear. “Stop!” His hands pushed at Asher’s chest.
The command penetrated whatever haze had claimed him. Asher froze, blinking rapidly as awareness returned to his expression, his breath coming in heavy pants. He looked down at his hands, seemingly surprised by the bruising grip he had on Levi’s hips, the skin already blooming with purple marks under his fingers.
He loosened his hold, smoothing his palms over the skin in a soothing gesture, as if to erase them. “I’m sorry,” he said with a strained upward inflection, as if the phrase was foreign on his tongue. “I got... carried away. You feel too good, Levi—your tightness, your reactions... it’s intoxicating.”
The apology was so unexpected that Levi could only stare, his chest heaving as the pain ebbed. Asher’s brow furrowed in genuine concern, hands continuing their gentle stroking along Levi’s sides, thumbs circling over the abused skin as he remained still inside him.
“Did I hurt you too much?” he asked when Levi didn’t respond, his eyes searching Levi’s face with an intensity that bordered on desperation, as if fearing he’d broken something precious.
