Page 89 of Immersed
This is so fucked up.But Levi found himself leaning into the touch, his head coming to rest against Asher’s shoulder.
“Everything is so fucked up,”he whispered.“I don’t know what’s right and wrong anymore. Am I s-supposed to save the NPCs? Am I supposed to sacrifice them to get out? How d-do I get out of the hospital? How do I get out of the game?”
“Maybe the point isn’t to get out of here.”
Levi lifted his head to look at him, confusion cutting through the despair.
“Maybe it’s to find something good in all of it,”Asher continued, those mismatched eyes studying Levi’s face with strange intensity.“Something worth staying for.”
Something worth staying for.The words sent a chill up Levi’s spine. Because part of him—a small, treacherous part—understood what Asher meant. The protection, the attention, the twisted care. Itwasmore affection thanhe ever hadin the real world.
But I want to go home.Even if homewasempty and lonely and full of memories that hurt.
“I don’t even know what you are,”Levi whispered.“If I find a way out of the game, what happens to you?”
The question hung in the air between them, loaded with implications neither of them wanted to examine too closely. If Asherwaspart of the game, part of the simulation, then leaving would mean—
Levi opened his mouth to voice the thought, but Asher’s hand cupped his face, fingers tilting his chin up.
Then Asher was kissing him.
It started intense, almost desperate, like Asherwastrying to silence the questions with physical contact. But something shifted. The kisssoftened, became exploratory, as if Asherwastrying to figure out how Levi liked to be kissed.
Oh.Levi’s thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. Asher’s lipswerewarm and careful, moving against his with devastating tenderness. His thumb stroked along Levi’s cheek, then traced the line of his jaw with the same attention he showed during their timed encounter.
Like he’s kissing someone for the first time.The thought drifted through Levi’s mind as Asher’s mouth moved against his with patient exploration.Like he’s learning me.
Despite everything—the blood on their clothes, the murdershejust witnessed, the moral complexity of their twisted relationship—Levi found himself kissing back.
What’s wrong with me?But the question felt distant, unimportant compared to the warmth of Asher’s mouth and the careful way his fingers cradled Levi’s face.
When they finally broke apart, Asher’s face transformed into something radiant.
“You kissed me back that time,”he whispered breathlessly, his voice filled with awe.
Oh God.
He just murdered Tyler and Elliot and Jasper. He’s covered in their blood.
And I kissed him back.
Before Levi could process the implications fully, Asher pulled him into another kiss, this one hungrier, more demanding.
“More,”Asher whispered against his lips.“I need more.”
His hands dropped to Levi’s waist, fingers slipping beneath the hem of his bloodstained shirt. The touchwaselectric against his bare skin, and Levi gasped at the contact.
“Asher—”
“I want to touch all of you,”Asher murmured, his mouth moving to Levi’s neck.“I want to learn every inch.”
His hands pushed higher, thumbs brushing across sensitive skin, and he began pressing Levi backward toward the floor with increasing insistence.
No.Fear spiked through Levi’s chest as he realized how quickly things were escalating. ThiswasAsher losing control, taking what he wanted without asking.
“Wait,”Levi said, pressing his hands against Asher’s chest.“Slow down.”
But Asher’s eyeshadthat familiar hungry gleam, the predatory focus that meant hewasdone waiting, done being careful. His grip tightened, and he leaned more weight into pushing Levi down.
