Page 71 of Immersed
“We need to find the others,”Levi said, desperate to change the subject, to focus on anything other than what had just happened.
“Do we?”Asher smiled.“I rather like having you to myself.”
The honesty in his voice was chilling. He really didn’t care about the NPCs or see them as anything more than obstacles to whatever twisted relationship he was trying to build.
“They’re people,”Levi said. “They could be lost down here and in danger too.”
“They don’t matter,”Asher replied with casual certainty.“But if pretending they do makes you feel better, then we’ll find them.”
Pretending they matter.The dismissive tone made something cold settle in Levi’s stomach. This was what Asher really thought—that everything and everyone was expendable except for his obsession.
“Let’s go,”Levi said, moving toward the door.
“Levi.”Asher’s voice stopped him.“What we just shared—”
“We didn’t share anything.”The words came out higher than intended, edged with panic.
“I think we did.”He moved closer and reached out, not quite making contact.“I think you’re starting to understand what I can give you.”
Like violation was a gift. Like forcing pleasure from his unwilling body was some kind of generous act.
“All I understand is that you’re a predator who can’t respect boundaries.”
Asher’s expression flickered—not with anger, but with something that looked almost like hurt.“I’m trying to follow your rules. But you make it so difficult.”
“By existing? By breathing? What am I doing that’s so fucking difficult?”
“By being perfect,”Asher said quietly.“By being everything I never knew I wanted.”
The sincerity in his voice was somehow worse than outright threats. This wasn’t calculated manipulation—this was an authentic feeling, twisted beyond recognition but real nonetheless.
He actually believes this.Asher thought what they had was special, that what he did was an act of affection.
“We’re leaving,”Levi said, reaching for the door handle.
“Of course.”Asher moved to follow him, but there was something in his posture—a satisfied relaxation, like a cat that caught its prey.“But Levi?”
“What?”
“This changes things between us. You felt it too.”
Levi’s hand stilled on the door handle. Because underneath all the shame and anger, there was a horrible kernel of truth in Asher’s words. He felt something—not just physical pleasure, but a moment of connection. Safety, even, in those strong arms.
Stockholm syndrome,he told himself.Trauma bonding. It doesn’t mean anything.
But his body still tingled where Asher caressed him, and part of him—a small, treacherous part—wanted to feel it again.
“It doesn’t change anything,”he said, but his voice lacked conviction.
Asher’s smile was soft and knowing.“We’ll see.”
They slipped out of the boiler room and back into the maintenance corridors. The creatures were gone, leaving only faint traces of their passage—smears of something dark on the floors and walls, scratches where metal scraped against stone.
The emergency lighting flickered weakly overhead, casting their shadows long and distorted. In the distance, they could hear the building’s mechanical systems humming with purpose, but no voices calling for help.
Where is everyone?The silence was unnerving after so much chaos.
“This way,”Asher said, choosing a corridor that led upward.
