Page 120 of The Kiss Of Death
“Kay invited me over for the holidays, and my dad told me not to come home if I’m still… into men.” Sylas gulped, faking a smile. “Anyway, we should be the ones asking you what you’ll be doing this holiday.”
I turned to Yasmine, who frowned. “Oh, he was talking about you! I’m just going to be with Tara and all of my siblings, fighting for who got the most presents while Tara terrorizes all of us. So things got pretty serious with Levi, huh?”
On the track, Tara, already in her fencing uniform, came to a halt when she spotted us by the door. She raised her sword, pointing it directly at Yasmine. “Do you think you have enough spare time to waste? You’re on scholarship, remember.” She then pointed it at Sylas. “You’re gay, and I don’t give a fuck. I’ll still put you out of your misery in fencing.” Then it was my turn. “And you, maybe you’re as perverted as him after all; you hide your true nature well.”
Our gazes darted between each other, our mouths slightly agape. That was Tara in all her splendor. Without another word to us, she stormed off to her next victim, leaving us in stunned silence.
“What did she mean by that?”
“About you and Levi, we all saw the picture.” Sylas chuckled as if it was the hottest gossip on campus. “I guess your father is aware you’re dating him.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Picture? What picture?”
“On Instagram,” Yasmine chimed in. “You collaborated with his post.”
I furrowed my brows and quickly grabbed my phone. I scrolled frantically through my Instagram feed, my heart racing as I searched for the damning post, and oh my…
“What?” I screamed.
The picture was the one of Levi and me kissing heavily at the Tactician party. My breath caught in my throat, my hands trembling. It was all there: me sitting on his lap, his possessive arm encircling me, his lips devouring mine, his finger tilting my chin up. It was dirty. Messy. Provocative.
It was a collaboration post with me that I had apparently already accepted, with the caption “Mine.” My eyes widened. Levi had no more than five pictures altogether—he was a ghost. Why did he fucking do that?
“I’m screwed,” I said, my voice already breaking. “What if my father sees this? He’ll go insane thinking I did this on purpose to piss him off! I’m so screwed!”
“He’ll definitely kill you. Your father is even more conservative than mine.” Sylas’s comment was so not helpful. “But, at least, I’m sure he knew before that. My father must have told him the minute he disinherited his son.”
Yes, but he didn’t know the boyfriend in question was Levi Delombre.
“It’s just a kiss, and he’s like your official boyfriend, so that’s cool.” Yasmine tried to be positive, stroking my arm softly. “I mean, we’re in a generation when you have to beg for a guy to unfollow girls and to post a picture with you—at least he did it.”
“Nice picture,” Amelia commented casually as she passed by, heading straight for the lockers.
I buried my face in my hand. This was a disaster. “I should delete this.”
“I don’t advise you to do that,” Levi, my unsummoned boyfriend, said from behind me.
I turned around. He wore his long black coat tailored to perfection, accentuating his tall frame. Beneath the coat, he sported his Tactician uniform, which he paired with black leather gloves. He always had a deadly elegance, yet he also looked like he had just buried a corpse in the woods.
His stormy eyes locked onto mine, and before I could protest, he leaned in and claimed my lips, his cold mouth closing on mine.
I slapped his shoulder, pushing him away. “I’m mad at you. You can’t kiss me like that!”
“Alright, I’m off to find a target.” Yas clasped her hands, pointing toward the exit. “Preferably not a person. Catch you later!”
“Yeah, I’m off to practice with… Tara,” Sylas echoed her departure, and with that, they both stormed off.
Levi tilted his head to the side. “So I assume you didn’t like my romantic statement?”
“No,” I shrieked. “I look so… You’re kissing me like I’m…” I struggled to articulate my thoughts, gesturing with my hands in frustration.
“You look beautiful, and I’m kissing you like you’re mine. I don’t see what the problem is here. We’re official, aren’t we?”
“I can’t do whatever the fuck I want like you, Levi! I don’t want people to believe I’m your whore. My dad is going to be pissed. I have a reputation to—”
“You’re my equal, Dalia.” His thunderous eyes pierced into mine. “If anyone thinks that of you, I’ll ruin their lives. Are you embarrassed?”
He advanced a step, his fingers brushing my cheek in a soft touch. But his eyes—his eyes were stormy, his jaw clenching with barely concealed tension.
