Page 64 of Mafie Kings

“She tastes like fucking honeydew, Brother.”

“She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever had.” I confess, a smirk pulling at my face. The jealousy I expected to hit full force turns to intrigue.

I wonder what she sounded like for him. Did she moan? Did her breath hitch for him? Did she need to bite her hand until it bled to keep in just how good he made her feel? Or did she let it all go? Did he get hard watching her? Did he wish he was fucking her?

I look over at my friend, who’s now sitting on my bed; a man I’ve known my whole life. A man I’ve always felt close to, but when things got too close, we would run away from each other. He would sleep at the office for weeks to avoid me, and I would lock myself in my room with my computers. Even going so far as to not eat for two days because I was too afraid of what I would do around him.

Except now, with Evie, it’s different. I don’t want to run away. And maybe, just maybe, Damien won’t either.

Chapter 32

Alexi had a stupid outfit sent to my room for Monday. A fucking pink dress with white ballet flats. I almost threw up at the sight of it, but it was stretchy with room in the arms and body. I didn’t feel like I was suffocating, but I also wasn’t comfortable until I was able to finally change that evening.

The next week flies by quickly. Alexi seems to have decided to step down from his throne of orders and punishments. He’s always on his phone and anytime I walk into a room, he finds a reason to leave. My nerves are on edge, thinking about the things I need to do, and the information I need to get for my uncle. Classes have been stressful, and the bugs I placed in my marks room haven’t panned out much more.

Damien has been his normal, sarcastic self, and he is very touchy-feely lately. He hasn’t gone as far as to hold my hand, but he will drape his arm around me when we walk to class together, or pull me into his lap at lunch, and he’s always brushing his leg against mine in class. I was worried things would be awkward with him after what happened in the gym, but oddly enough I find myself able to relax every time he’s near me.

Then there’s Lev. I’ve noticed him watching me. He’s always just around the corner or right out of my line of sight. He helps me a lot in class, especially with poisons and chemical compounds. Chemistry has never been my strong suit, although I do love that I am learning new ways to take down my marks that could be portrayed as accidents.

Lev has also joined me on my early morning runs, no matter if they are at three in the morning or five, he always comes out and throws on his shoes as soon as I open my door. He came running into my room the other night when I woke up screaming. He didn’t say anything, though. Once he saw I was okay, he nodded and then left, closing the door behind him. As soon as I recovered, I was heading to the gym and he was right behind me.

I head back to the suite after the last class of the day to settle in for the weekend. I spot Lev just around the corner when I enter the building. I’m done with this little cat-and-mouse game giving me anxiety.

If he thinks I'm hiding something, he just needs to ask. I mean, if he asks I won’t tell him the truth… but he should at least just ask.

I'm worried Alexi sent him to keep an eye on me. If they’re the ones that stole my file, they must have questions about who I am. I have two directives here. One, get all the info I can on my mark so my uncle can take them down, and I can finally kill the man who stole my parents from me. Two, learn all the things I need to know so that one day I can take over my uncle's organization.

Except, all I can seem to focus on other than class work, is Lev and Damien. I’m growing oddly attached to them, and that’s never happened to me before. Damien makes me laugh and keeps things light. I almost forget about life outside the room we occupy when I’m with him, and that's fucking dangerous. Lev’s constant willingness to help me in any of our classes is one of the main reasons I’m doing so well. He makes learning as simple as breathing, and it’s addicting.

I turn around and walk directly to his little hiding spot. As I get closer, his eyes widen like he’s the one that’s been caught.

“Is there a reason you’ve been following me all week, Ghost?” His nickname quite fitting for his actions lately.

“Who says I’ve been following you?” he asks, the corner of his mouth ticking up.

Not wanting to play his little game, I cross my arms over my chest and lift an eyebrow at him. “Did Alexi tell you to spy on me?”

“Alexi? Why would he want me to spy on you?” His eyebrows pinch together and a sense of relief calms my racing thoughts. The shock in Lev’s eyes tells me he hasn’t been under orders. However, if he isn’t under Alexi’s thumb, my assumption might seem odd. I quickly try to relax and pretend I wasn't sweating all week about this issue.

“Why else?” I ask. “So that he can enjoy making a show out of punishing me. Or maybe so he has an excuse to take advantage of me again. I can think of a lot of reasons,” I say with a shrug.

We walk to the suite together when Lev finally opens up. “I wasn’t spying on you. I was trying to make sure you were safe,” he confesses quietly.

I stop in my tracks, making him stop and look back at me before moving his eyes to the ground. “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?” I ask him, slightly frustrated that he and Damien feel like they have to come to my rescue in some way. Especially after they both did nothing when Alexi pushed me to my knees.

“I believe you’re fully capable of taking care of yourself,” he replies. “But I also want you to know you don’t have to face the world alone.”

“Why would you think I wasn’t safe?” I don’t want to touch on how that statement gave me butterflies. I can’t remember a time when someone who wasn’t my uncle or Havoc wanted to be there for me.

“Damien told me about what Bryce tried to do.” My jaw clenches remembering that asshole's hands on me, but I let him continue. “I looked into him and he isn’t a good guy. I don’t think you’re the first person he’s done that to.” His hand wraps around the back of his neck as he stands there like he doesn't know what else to say.

Slowly, I walk to him, starting to understand his intention. He doesn’t think I’m a damsel in distress, he just doesn’t want me to have to fight alone. “You wanted to make sure he didn’t try to come back after me?” I ask softly.

He nods his head slowly before finally looking me in the eyes. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me. Or any of us for that matter. But I want you to know I won’t tolerate anyone forcing anything on you. I’m sorry I left the situation with Alexi. For some reason, my first reaction when I get uncomfortable or feel like I can’t control a situation is to run away.” He lets out a big breath, almost like a weight is dropping from his shoulders with that admission.

I stand there in shock that he’s even apologizing, much less letting me see into a part of who he is. “But I don’t want to be that person anymore. So, could we start over?” he asks with a pained expression on his face.

I feel like a fish out of water. My mouth opens to respond before it closes again. Lev takes the opportunity to step close to me until our bodies are hardly an inch apart. He takes my face in one of his hands, looking down at me with a tornado of emotions in his eyes. “Do you think you could forgive me, Lucky Charm?”

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