Page 98 of Immersed
“Exactly.”Levi nodded, keeping his voice steady.“This is a strategic opportunity we’ve neverhadbefore. We can explore, map everything before the mechanisms activate.”
Asherwasn’tlistening. His eyes roamed Levi’s face with uncomfortable intensity.“No onehasever sacrificed themselves for me before,”he said. His palm lifted slowly toward Levi’s face.“No onehasever valued me more than themselves.”
Levi took a deliberate step back.“We don’t have time for this.”
Something dangerous flickered in Asher’s eyes—the rage threatening to return. His outstretched hand curled into a fist.“You owe me,”he said.“After what you did—dying, trying to leave me alone—you owe me.”
Levi recognized the precipice theywereon. Asher could snap back into hostility at any moment. The otherswerejust outside, equipment needed unpacking, precious daylightwaswasting—and none of that would matter if Asher lost control again.
“A timer,”Levi said abruptly, the solution crystallizing.“Like before.”
Asher’s head tilted.“How long?”
“Five minutes,”Levi offered, knowing it would be rejected.
“Ten.”
“Six,”Levi said, backing up until his shoulders hit the wall.
Asher’s palms pressed against the wall on either side of Levi’s head, caging him in.“Eight.”
“Seven,”Levi said firmly. He pulled out his phone, his hands shaking as he started the timer again.“Seven minutes. That’s it.”
A smile spread across Asher’s face, the last traces of rage dissolving.“Seven,”he agreed, voice dropping to a purr.“Starting now.”
His touch traced the bruising already forming on Levi’s throat—his own handiwork from moments before.“I’m sorry about this,”he muttered. “Iwasjust so...”His fingertips skimmed the tender skin.“The thought of you choosing to leave me againwasunbearable.”
The contactwascool against Levi’s heated skin, raising goosebumps in its wake. Asher watched each reaction with hungry attention as his other hand moved to cradle Levi’s jaw with unexpectedtenderness.
“You saved me,”he whispered, awe returning to his voice.“You sacrificed yourself for me. I need to show you what that means to me.”
Their lips met, and this time the kisswasn’trough.
Levi remained passive, enduring rather than participating, mentally calculating how much of the seven minutes remained.
Asher pulled back slightly, eyes searching Levi’s face.“Kiss me back,”he whispered, a command wrapped in vulnerability.“Please.”
“The timer’s running,”Levi reminded him, a weak deflection.
“And I get to choose how we spend it.”Asher’s thumb brushed Levi’s lower lip.“Kiss me like you want to. Like you choose me.”
The manipulationwastransparent, but effective. Levi knew that continued resistance might trigger Asher’s anger again. And beneath that pragmatic concern lurked the treacherous part of him that wondered what it would be like to surrender, just for these few minutes.
To feel something other than terror and pain.
When Levi’s lips parted, Asher made a sound of triumph deep in his throat. His hands slid under Levi’s shirt, gripping his waist with just enough force to make Levi gasp. Asher swallowed the sound hungrily.
“Say my name,”he pleaded, hands skimming lower.
“Asher,”Levi said, hating how the name emerged breathless.
A smile of savage satisfaction crossed Asher’s face.“The timer’s already running,”he said, voice low and urgent.“And I remember how quickly five minutes went last time.”
Before Levi could respond, Asher gripped his shoulders, pushing him down to the floor with surprising care. The concretewascold through Levi’s clothes as Asher knelt over him, straddling his hips.
“Kiss me back this time,”Asher demanded, leaning down to capture Levi’s mouth again.“Properly.”
When Levi hesitated, Asher caught his lower lip between his teeth, applying just enough pressure to border on pain.“I saved your life too, you know. All those times I could have killed you and didn’t.”
