Petra had made a hideous mistake.
She'd wanted to seduce Levi for several reasons; she'd wanted him because she was attracted to him, she wanted him because it would distress him, and she wanted him because it would devastate Erwin. She'd thought of herself rather like a soldier on a suicide mission. Even if she died, she would take the enemy down with her. But then she'd amended her plans. After hearing Christa's story, Petra had decided not to gamble with her family's lives. Seducing Levi could never be.
And then she'd killed someone, and she'd thought that Erwin was dead. Badly shaken, needing to feel something else besides misery and fear, Petra had finally taken Levi to bed. She'd had her way with him all over the safe house, and would have kept discovering new rooms and positions if her fucking husband hadn't been alive after all. Surprise, Petra. You slept with the bodyguard; you're dead.
Sleeping with Levi had been the mistake of a lifetime.
Erwin pleasured her body when they had sex. He made her come with consummate artistry. But Petra always felt like a vessel or a tool, something designed for his purposes. Any pleasure she received was incidental. A nice bonus.
But with Levi, she had felt alive, truly alive, for the first time. His cock was so perfect, the exact length and width to fit snugly within her, to stretch her in a delicious rather than painful way. He used his body with devastating finesse. Erwin fucking was something powerful, a bull or a rutting stallion. Levi was sleek as well as strong, a panther or something else feral and feline.
His body was addictive. Every inch of him had been sculpted to be beautiful as well as powerful. The hard ridges of his stomach had felt so good beneath her hands, and the thin trail of dark hair that began at his navel and led to his perfect cock was poetry on its own. Then there were the tattoos. In addition to his wings of freedom, a woman's name was printed in elegant lettering over his left pec, Kuchel. Petra had almost felt jealous as she rode Levi and stared down at that name, wondering what woman had been so special as to merit that place of honor.
Petra had imagined she would enjoy sex with Levi. She did not know that she would become an addict in a single afternoon.
And now Erwin was on his way, and the two of them looked dizzy with guilt and fear. There was no way she could keep this secret forever. Her time on this earth was limited.
So was Levi's, which should have given her pleasure. It was the original reason for this plan, after all. But Petra wanted more of him. She wanted him in every position, on every surface of every room in the entire villa. She was insatiable for him and his cock and his hard, arrogant mouth.
She wanted to fuck him again, and now she was going to die without ever getting the chance.
"You cleaned yourself?" Levi croaked.
"Yes." Petra lay upon her side on the couch, dressed and listless. She'd gone back in the shower and scrubbed hard between her legs, hoping to God she'd removed every last bit of semen. She'd been so stupid to let Levi come inside of her, but it had felt so incredible. Thinking of how wonderful it had been to see his face soften, the joyous and weakened emotion as he pumped his seed inside of her made her get wet all over again. Petra buried her face in a pillow. Erwin would kill her.
Levi had blown dry his hair so Erwin didn't wonder why both of them were wet. Petra was too listless to take care of her own. To both of their relief, there were no cum stains on the bed, but it was still soaking wet from their exertions. Levi voted to leave it there; if for some reason Erwin noticed it, they'd say Petra had come out of the shower in hysteria, fallen onto the bed and locked the door and sobbed her heart out. He might believe that. He thought she was weak and frightened, after all.
Now they were both dressed and waiting to see if the axe would fall.
"If you say anything to Erwin…"
"What?" she muttered. "You'll kill me? I'm sure you'll make it faster and easier than he would."
"Tch."
"I don't want to die." She swallowed, her throat tight. "I thought I did, but I don't. I want to live."
She wanted freedom. Real freedom.
"Then that's easy. We both stay quiet."
Of course, what neither of them would acknowledge was the possibility that one would crack. The first to tell Erwin could spin the tale any way they wanted. Petra could claim rape; Levi could claim that she'd tried to seduce him but failed. The one who told might still die, but the one who'd been informed upon definitely would.
Shit. Petra had walked into this strange, entangled relationship between these two men and now she had to pray that fear was enough to silence Levi.
"This can never happen again," he said. "Ever."
"No. It can't."
"You look like you're about to fucking cry."
"You look like you'll vomit."
"He's gonna notice." Levi glared at her. "We can't hide from him. Here's the plan. You're freaked because of the chase and on account of killing someone, okay?"
"And you?"
"I almost got shot in the head. That stressed me out a little. Plus, I didn't know if Erwin was dead or alive for a long while. And I was afraid of what'd happen to me if you died while we were being chased."
"That sounds logical."
"Good. That's because it is."
They both flinched as a harsh buzzer sounded. A light over the door flashed red.
"The front door's opened. It's Erwin," Levi said.
He punched a code into the pad beside the door and opened it as Erwin and Hange appeared out of the dark hallway.
Petra curled her knees to her chest, forcing herself not to whimper in fear. Erwin did not appear mussed up in the slightest. He wore his cool linen suit with consummate ease; not a bit of his blond hair was out of place. He held Levi by the shoulders and spoke to the man a moment.
Then Erwin came to her. He knelt beside the couch.
"My love," he whispered, cupping her face and catching her lips with his. Now that Petra had tasted Levi's lips, she felt even greater revulsion than before. "Are you hurt?"
"N-No."
Petra imagined Erwin pouring kerosene all over her and burning her alive while she screamed. Why the hell had she ever wanted death at his hands? Why was she so stupid?
She put her face in the pillow and sobbed. Her husband stroked her hair.
"It's all right, sweetheart. This is my fault."
"Oi, Erwin, it's mine." Levi sounded sick.
"No. It's because of you Petra's alive at all. I didn't think Tybur would go after her in such a blatant fashion."
"So it was Tybur?"
"We don't know that yet," Hange said.
Petra sniffled as Erwin kissed the back of her neck. She dug her fingernails into the cushion.
"From now on, you won't leave my side," Erwin whispered in her ear.
That only made Petra want to cry harder. She heard Levi and Hange discussing next steps, Levi asking what had become of Willy Tybur at the villa. She didn't care about the answers right now. All Petra cared about was being safe. Alone. She wanted Levi and she hated him. She wanted to die and she wanted to live.
Erwin scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the safe house as if she were a new bride crossing the threshold.
"You're so perfect," Erwin growled, staring hungrily at Petra as he took her outside. More of his security detail waited, then hustled them into a town car. "I give you my word, you'll never know a moment's fear like that again. The ugly side of my business has touched you for the last time."
Petra couldn't even speak, she was so numb with fear. They drove home, where Petra learned security had swept every inch of the house and grounds. Nothing and no one suspicious was here. Erwin carried her up to the master bedroom, Petra wishing she could see Levi the whole way.
Erwin laid her upon their bed and kissed her. She felt how insistent his lips were, how hot and searing his kiss upon her throat and then breast.
"Please, I don't want to," Petra whispered.
"I need you, Petra." Erwin sucked at her nipple through the lace of her bra. "I need to lose myself inside of you."
She wanted to fight, to yell at him to stop, but she could not risk inciting his anger right now. She let him undress her, allowed him to pull her onto his lap. She took his obscene length inside her body and bounced, fucking him the way he wanted. With every thick, punishing thrust of his cock, Petra winced and thought of Levi.
Fucking Levi hadn't felt like a chore at all. It had felt like running downhill in the summer, wind in her hair. It had felt like freedom.
She looked upon her husband, at the sheen of sweat upon his skin as she worked him to his pleasure. She would be glued to his side now; even if she'd wanted to sleep with Levi again, they'd never find the opportunity. She wished she'd never slept with Levi, not only because of the danger it had brought her, but also because now she knew what it was to be satisfied.
Erwin could never satisfy her like Levi could. Better never to know what she'd missed.
"You're such a good girl," Erwin hissed. She could feel that his end was near.
"Yes." She bounced harder.
"If anything ever took you from me, I'd die. I'd go insane." His giant hands gripped her about the waist. "I'd kill whoever stole you away from me."
"Yes, Erwin. Yes, sir."
"Yes what?" he growled.
"Yes, Daddy. Yes," Petra whispered like he wanted her to, and he came inside of her immediately. When he'd finished, he laid her upon the bed and ran his hands over her naked body. Petra allowed him, thoughts distant.
"You're the most precious thing I own," he said.
Own. Fuck you.
"Yes," she said.
"Do you think you're pregnant?"
"I don't know. I've never been pregnant before."
"Hmm." He kissed her breasts. "When you do conceive my child, I'll keep you locked away. You'll be safe, sweetheart. Always. Forever."
A tear leaked from the corner of her eye.
"Yes, Erwin."
She shrieked when he yanked her up and laid her across his knee. Petra kicked, struggling, but he was too strong for her. Erwin laid a hand upon her ass, and squeezed.
"What are you doing?" she sobbed. Oh God, he'd figured it out, hadn't he?
"You risked yourself to go back for Levi," he muttered. "You can't risk yourself, ever. Or my child."
"But Levi would have died if I hadn't!" She was panicking hard.
"He's stronger than anyone I've ever known. He would have survived, of that I'm certain. You have a responsibility to keep your body safe for me. You put yourself in danger." He leaned down and hissed into her ear, disturbing the curtain of her hair. "I need to punish you."
"No, you don't! I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I'm sorry!"
Petra wailed as he spanked her, hard. There was a blinding explosion of pain across her bottom, and she stopped fighting. There was nothing she could do now but weep.
Erwin spanked her again and again while Petra lay with her cheek upon the bedspread. After the twentieth blow, he stopped. Her rear tingled with pain. He slid her off his lap and laid her upon the mattress on her belly. His lips kissed the line of her back, the backs of her knees.
"Now you'll remember, won't you? Never do anything to put yourself in danger. Never take risks like that again."
"Yes, Erwin." She wished she could shoot him through his fucking skull.
"That's my good little girl."
He applied some ointment to ease the pain he'd inflicted upon her, speaking soothing words and telling her how he loved her, and all the while Petra wondered if jumping off the balcony would kill her. If she only broke a leg or an arm, she couldn't imagine how he'd punish her then.
He'd become excited during her punishment, and after he'd soothed her pain he spread her legs and fucked her from behind. She barely noticed when he made her come. She wished she could be anywhere else, with anyone else.
Finally, when he finished Erwin allowed her to dress in a satin nightgown and go to sleep. He went to the bathroom to clean himself, then dressed and shut the bedroom door. Petra lay there, still hurting, weeping silent and furious tears.
Even though it was dangerous, she could only think of Levi.
Levi had watched Erwin carry Petra to their bedroom, and the rage and the lust had driven him almost insane. He stalked around the perimeter of the front gardens now, pretending he was doing it to check one last time. Make sure danger had been expelled from paradise.
But no matter what he did or where he went, she followed him. She was naked and in his arms, writhing on his cock. Every other lover he'd ever had was gone, yes, even Erwin. Being inside of her was like drawing breath, he needed it for survival.
She was the only woman he wanted, and the only one he couldn't have.
What the fuck did I do, huh? What'd I do to deserve this shit?
Well, he had killed and tortured a fuck ton of people, so maybe he knew the answer.
"Levi."
Erwin appeared on the path before him, almost like he'd appeared like a damn ghost. Levi was jumpier than usual, and about shit his pants.
"Fuck. Erwin."
The taller man sauntered towards him. The moonlight deepened his eyes into pools of shadow, highlighted his immaculate cheekbones. The faintest lines of age revealed themselves at the corners of his eyes.
Levi was certain Erwin could read the fear in him. He couldn't keep this secret. He was going to die.
"I never got a chance to properly thank you for today," Erwin said.
When I fucked your wife? Don't mention it.
Levi almost broke into hysterical laughter. This was too fucking intense.
"Just doing my job."
"Petra is more than a job. You know that. She's my life now." Erwin sounded so tight, so strained when he spoke of that woman. "I can't bear to have her out of my sight, even."
"Yeah. Got it." He couldn't do this. "Least we're staying around the villa a while. Oi, what the hell happened today? Hange didn't fill me in. Too busy with other bullshit."
"Tybur had just left with his detail when I received your call. My men started to give chase, but they were in a crowded area by then. It was too risky. But it doesn't matter; I'm leaning towards the idea that it wasn't him."
Levi frowned. "Who the hell was it, then? The police? The FBI or something else insane?"
"I don't know who it was. I only know that they seemed to want Petra. It's common knowledge that she's my wife; they must have wanted to get at me through her."
"Mmm." Levi felt dizzy. If Tybur was gunning for Erwin while someone else tried maneuvering from behind, they needed back up. Bad. "What's the play?"
"I've called Nile to come. He's up in Switzerland at the moment, some insipid family vacation, but he'll make the time."
Nile Dok, head of Erwin's 'foreign affairs' to be polite about it. Levi didn't like the guy. Didn't trust a man who couldn't grow a full beard.
"In the meantime?"
"We do as we always have. You protect Petra, thereby protecting me." Erwin took him by the shoulders. When they were close like this, the man seemed to fill the sky itself. Erwin Smith blocked out the world. "You certainly redeemed yourself for Mykonos today."
Levi thought of Petra riding his dick and forced himself not to wince.
"Like I said. It's my job."
"Yes." Erwin cupped Levi's jaw, his large fingers playing upon the smaller man's cheek. Normally, Erwin's touch was everything in the world that Levi needed. Everything he desired.
But now he could only think of these hands touching Petra. His Petra, Levi's Petra.
Do you want to get your ass burned alive?
"I have to ask something," Erwin whispered.
Levi tensed when he felt the lightest press of Erwin's fingers around his throat. Erwin wasn't squeezing. Not yet. They both knew Levi could kick his ass if he needed to, but if he tried he'd never make it out of this villa alive.
"What is it?"
"You were alone with Petra in that safe house for a long time. It took hours for us to make certain the city around you had been cleared." Erwin's eyes bored into Levi's face. "What did you do?"
Levi forced his heart not to beat faster. Erwin would feel the pulse in his neck.
"She watched TV. I tried calling you and Hange. I made her some shitty canned ravioli, then she took a shower. Had a sobbing fit after, locked the door on me. I was almost ready to break the thing down when she calmed herself and came out. Couldn't even get her to dry her hair. She just wanted to curl up on the sofa and wait. So we did."
"Is that everything?"
The press of his fingers grew more intense. Levi must not flinch. He must not appear guilty.
"Yeah. What are you asking me, Erwin?"
The larger man wrapped both hands around Levi's face, held him tight.
"Did you touch her?" Erwin growled.
Any other person would have panicked, and that would've sealed their fate. Levi had gotten close to danger since the day he was born. He knew what it was like to have danger's teeth lightly touching the skin over your jugular. He did not panic.
Instead, he grabbed Erwin's face and kissed him.
They'd put him in a room. The blood was still on him, his own mixed with that fucker's that he killed.
They couldn't take that away from him, at least. Even when they pulled him apart, he'd have one kill notched into his heart that he could be proud of.
Levi wiggled one of his front teeth with his tongue. Fucking thing was loose.
He heard voices in the hall outside. Tried to rise, but they'd bound him good and tight. As the door opened, he shut his eyes and thought about how he'd see his mother soon, if there was a God. And if there wasn't, at least Levi would be free from this cruel world.
"Hello," a voice said. He didn't speak Russian, and definitely was not Dmitri. Levi looked up in shock to find a tall, handsome blond man standing over him.
Levi rarely got excited, but his cock jumped a little at the sight of so much beauty. The tall, gorgeous man knelt before Levi and gently took the gag from his mouth. Levi spit as it left. He studied this new man, nostrils flaring as if to take his scent like a dog.
"Who are you?" he growled. Levi only spoke German well, had a smattering of English and Russian. Fortunately, this other guy spoke German, too.
"My name is Erwin Smith." Hard to place the accent. Possibly one of those Nordic fucks. "And you are?"
"Levi. Just Levi."
"Levi, then. Dmitri tells me you killed his brother."
"Bitch had it coming."
"I'm sure he did." Erwin Smith's eyes glinted with interest. "It's hard to get past a detail of Circle thugs to stab a man to death. Very hard."
"I got angry."
"Very angry, it seems." Erwin tilted his head a minute, then stood and towered over Levi again. Levi couldn't help how his eyes landed on the man's crotch, which he was almost level with. Most of the time, sex made Levi want to throw up. The thrill of desire was nice, even as he squashed it in a heartbeat. "I'm going to give you a choice, Levi."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. I've discussed it with Dmitri. He didn't take kindly to my plan, but I can be, ah, persuasive." Erwin Smith took out a linen handkerchief, knelt again, and wiped Levi's face. The blood was drying, and he fucking hated being dirty. "I can either leave you here to the Circle's tender mercies. Or."
"Or?"
"Or," Erwin said, "you can come and work for me."
Erwin kissed him back, and Levi had to fight the tears that threatened to emerge. Fuck, he wasn't a crying bitch, but it killed him that he'd hurt the only man he'd ever loved and Erwin didn't even know it.
All for a piece of ass. The pinkest, sweetest piece he'd ever had, but he'd forsaken brotherhood for that. To hell with love, with sex, brotherhood ran deeper than anything else.
Their kiss finally ended. Levi kept a hold on the collar of Erwin's shirt.
"Look what she's doing to you," he snapped. "Erwin! Wake the hell up."
No one else alive could speak as Levi had to Erwin Smith and live. No one else could see Erwin Smith almost embarrassed.
"It's not an absurd question."
"For me it is. You know me! I barely manage to fuck people I like. The ginger brat's my charge, not my pal. I'll keep her safe for you. I keep her for you, not myself." He shoved away from Erwin, who let him go. "Trust me, I'd be too fucking happy to give this babysitting gig to someone else. I want to be near you. Where the action is." Levi curled his lip. "Where you need me to be."
Erwin shook his head.
"Forgive me." He sounded fucking chastened. "I don't know what I was thinking."
"You got yourself a pretty little bride and you want to keep her snatch all to yourself. Fair. But don't get so cuntstruck you start doubting me, dammit! If we've really got Tybur and some other random organization targeting us, you need a team you can trust. If you don't trust me, then fuck off! How many years I gotta prove myself to you?"
He was almost shaking with rage. Or fear.
"Levi, I'm sorry." Erwin kissed his lips, pressed his forehead to Levi's. In this man's embrace, Levi felt safe. It was the only safety he knew. "You're right. I'm obsessed with her."
"That's fine. You should be. But don't try that shit with me! Okay? You start to doubt me, this'll all crumble real fast."
"Yes. Yes." Erwin sighed. "You're correct. My doubt has nothing to do with you. It's with her; Petra tried to run once."
"She ran from me, not you."
"I want her to run to me," Erwin growled. He clutched Levi's shoulders; man had brutal grip strength. "I want her to want me so much that it kills her. I want her to feel what she's done to me!"
"Want some advice?" Levi meant this, for the girl's sake. "She's not gonna open up if she's scared of you."
"And she is?" Only Levi could tell Erwin the truth.
"Among other things, yeah. I can tell. In the city today, she wanted to eat pizza and ice cream and do touristy shit. She's a basic girl; don't spice up her life too fast."
Erwin laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He kissed Levi again, a kiss of lust as well as gratitude. But Levi could not find it in himself to get horny just now. Fortunately, Erwin didn't seem to want to move in that direction. He kissed Levi's forehead.
"She is my pearl," he whispered. "But you, Levi, are my diamond in the rough. Thank you."
"Just doing my job." Both men chuckled.
"Your job will get a tad easier for the next few days. I'll be keeping my own close watch on Petra. And don't worry." Erwin sighed. "I won't make such an absurd mistake again."
Levi kind of wanted to jump in front of a train.
"You better not, Eyebrows."
Erwin laughed again, but Levi didn't know if he had any more laughter in him.
By the end of the third day, Petra was starting to finally relax. Levi didn't seem inclined to talk, and Erwin's suspicion had evaporated. She swam in the pool in the mornings, feeling Erwin watching her greedily. After a breakfast of healthy oats, greens, and whatever juices worked well for conception, she had some gym time with Levi. The man was, unsurprisingly, a punishing fitness instructor. He told her that he wanted her to have some muscle on her.
Erwin liked toned girls. Petra got the feeling Levi did, too.
Though when he barked at her to run faster or do another couple reps, she forgot wanting to sleep with him and fantasized about killing him. Much safer.
Erwin was surprised when Petra asked to borrow books from his library. True, they weren't the sorts of things she normally wanted to read, but she needed to do something that wasn't eating, exercising, or fucking her husband. Erwin allowed her to read an English translation of the Decameron by Boccaccio. Set during a medieval plague, it followed a group of young men and women as they left diseased Florence and hung around in an old villa, telling stories, playing music, and generally being carefree and happy. All the while, plague and death raged outside the walls.
She could relate. In Erwin's villa, time stopped. It seemed the summer days would never end.
In addition to reading, Petra decided to learn chess. Erwin had a beautiful board in the villa's front parlor. The board itself was a tabletop made of polished granite, with white and black marble pieces. Levi, to Petra's surprise, knew the basics. They played together.
"Who you wanna be?" he grumbled.
"White." Petra started lining up her pieces while Levi grunted.
"Figures." He sorted his black pieces, and they started the game. It was apparent very quickly that his knowledge of chess was haphazard at best. When she asked him how many moves and in what direction a bishop could take versus a knight, he hemmed and hawed and finally told her to make shit up. So she did.
"I remember that the king's kind of useless," she said. She touched the white marble figure with the spiky crown atop its head. "Everyone else dies just to protect him, but he doesn't do much himself."
"That's the nice thing about being king. One of the few perks." Levi took one of her pawns.
"Only a few?"
"When you're king, everyone's gunning for you. You gotta look over your shoulder the rest of your life."
"I suppose." Petra used her knight to capture Levi's rook. He cursed.
"That's not the way you do it!"
"I thought you didn't know how many spaces everyone moved?"
"I don't think you go three down, two across. It's the other way."
"Should we ask Erwin?" Petra grinned when Levi swore again. Her husband, naturally, was a gifted chess player. He and Pixis liked to have games whenever the man came over. Pixis told Petra that Erwin was one of the few players on earth who could beat him.
"Whatever. Not like this game's real, anyway."
"No." Petra's eye fell upon her queen, a slightly smaller version of the king. "I suppose one thing I like is that the queen's the most powerful piece on the board."
"Yep. Very feminist and shit." Levi nabbed her bishop. Bastard.
"Why the queen, though? Why not the knight?"
"Fuck if I know. You like the knight?"
"Of course." Petra touched the horse's head. "I'd rather have a knight than a king."
"That so." Levi stared at the board, calculating his next move. He calculated hard.
"Knights go into battle. They're brave. Kings sit around their castle and don't risk anything."
"Knights only have a job because of the king," Levi growled. "Without the king, knights would be dead or worse. So would the queen."
She felt the chill of his words.
"If the queen didn't have to defend the king, who knows what she'd be doing?"
"If you're gonna talk all game long, we can do something else. Chess is the thinking man's game. Tch. I should've let Hange teach you instead."
They played until it came to a stalemate. They had no idea how, with only a few limited pawns and their kings, they were supposed to take each other out.
"That was fun," Petra said as they neatened the board.
"It wasn't, but nice of you to pretend." Levi seemed in a fouler mood than usual. Petra held the white queen and touched her fingertip to the pointed crown. The piece looked enormous in her small hand.
"When do you think we'll be allowed to go out again?" she asked quietly.
"Not anytime soon."
"When we can, we should go do more sightseeing. Maybe Erwin would let us drive out to the countryside."
"He'd be going with us." Levi gazed at her, his pale blue eyes a half-lidded warning. "I don't think leaving you with only one person unprotected is a smart idea."
If only Petra knew how he felt. If he wanted more, the way she did. If he needed more.
Even though it was idiotic and dangerous, she wanted him. Still.
She sat opposite him at breakfast or lunch on the terrace, sipping iced lemonade and eating sandwiches. She watched him opposite the tennis net. When Erwin escorted her to a private dinner—he loved to dine with her in the evenings, watch as she sampled his wine and wore the jewels he'd given her—Petra would catch Levi's eyes once before leaving on Erwin's arm.
Those were the moments when she knew. When she felt the passion of his eyes. He still burned for her.
If they weren't careful, they'd burn together.
A few days later, Nile Dok arrived and, to her surprise, the man brought his wife with him.
Marie Dok was a beautiful woman in her early forties, a touch older than Erwin. She was tall and statuesque, with blond hair perfectly coiffed. She smelled of Chanel and wore Versace. When Marie and Erwin met, for a brief moment Petra could sense that some history existed between them. It was in the coldness; you could only be that cold where you'd been hot before.
"How long have you known the Doks?" Petra asked her husband as they dressed for dinner. She let the maids help her into a peach satin dress, made to drape and tie in elaborate folds and pleats. She looked contemporary and agelessly Grecian at the same time. Erwin fixed his tie and collar, glaring at himself in the mirror.
"Since I was a young man. Nile and I worked for the Reiss family back in the day."
"And Mrs. Dok?"
"An acquaintance. She eventually married Nile." Erwin turned to Petra and kissed her. She let him. "She and I had an affair; I can see you've guessed as much."
"Do you still have feelings for her?" Oh, please say yes. But Erwin only chuckled and kissed her deeper.
"She can't compare to you. You have everything she lacks: youth, sweetness, natural submission. Marie was a pleasant distraction. Now you, on the other hand, I require distraction from." He kissed her neck and Petra allowed his caresses, watching herself with a resigned eye in the mirror as the maids hastily left and Erwin sat her upon the edge of the bed. He was excited, and within ten thrusts had finished. Petra knew how to neaten herself quickly now; she reapplied lipstick, pushed stray hairs into place.
"Coming?" he asked at the door.
"Down in a minute. I need to perfect my mascara."
He sounded pleased by that thought, pleased by her preoccupation with making herself beautiful. Alone, Petra gazed at her reflection. She had never looked more beautiful; she had never been more miserable.
The door whispered open, but it was not Erwin.
"Boss wants you downstairs," Levi said. He came up behind her, watching her in the mirror as she watched him.
"I know. I need a minute."
"You already took two. You don't want him to ask again."
"No." She had to move strategically. As the queen, Petra looked like she had the most freedom; in reality, she was the most exposed to attack. She stood and smoothed the bottom of her gown. "How do I look?"
"You don't need me to tell you."
Indeed. The simmering approval was apparent in every line of his body. Petra imagined lying back on that big, soft bed with Levi and indulging in every filthy, erotic thing she'd ever wanted to do.
"If I faked a headache later on, do you think he'd mind if I left?" she asked quietly.
"Yep. Take some Tylenol and keep your ass down there as long as he wants."
Erwin's wants were what became reality. Petra was losing touch with what she herself did or didn't want, how she did or didn't feel. There was only one certainty left in her life. Levi Ackerman.
She was certain she'd die if she didn't have him again, certain that she'd die if she did.
Levi wasn't the type you looked to for conversation at dinner, which was damn lucky. He wanted to stare at Petra and couldn't, so he stared at his dinner and his undrunk glass of wine and his half-drunk glass of iced tea instead. He was a man of habit. He liked what he liked.
He liked her too much.
When he'd walked into that bedroom and saw her swathed in that peachy satin, when he knew that Erwin had just had her, he'd wanted to rip the gown to pieces. He'd wanted to fuck her from behind, both of them staring in the mirror, him grunting like an animal.
Petra, like him, wasn't expected to talk at this table. They were seated opposite each other. She ate slowly and dutifully, and would look up and smile when Erwin mentioned her name. She had asked Marie about her children, and Switzerland. She had stuck to the feminine topics expected of her.
Levi could feel her chomping at the bit, frustration boiling over.
"I don't know why everyone insists on vacationing on Capri this time of year." Marie dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. She was a damn fine looking woman; even Levi could tell. The way she and Erwin studiously avoided looking at each other, the way her dweeb of a husband clung to her side like a grateful barnacle, it all painted a very stupid picture. "It's the 'exotic' locale favored by the petit bourgeois. Especially Anacapri. A playground for the uncouth."
"It was once the Emperor Tiberius's playground," Erwin said, sipping his wine. "A man given to all manner of decadent perversions."
"Man after my own heart," Levi grunted at his veal. Everyone else at the table laughed politely.
"I always wanted to visit," Petra offered.
"Everything has its season, my dear. You'll become accustomed to the right way of doing things all too quickly."
Levi didn't like this Marie bitch on principle, since she'd broken things off with Erwin to marry Nile for some fucking reason. But if she was turning up her nose at Petra, Levi was gonna have to break off something of his own.
"Where are you from again, Petra?" Nile asked, dweebily polite as ever. Hard to believe Erwin trusted this man with his entire northern operation. Then again, Nile was good with numbers and decent at getting people to do what they were told.
While Petra talked about her little Austrian hometown, Levi looked out across the darkened expanse of the lawn. You couldn't see the security detail out there, waiting in the dark, waiting behind every cypress tree. Just like you didn't see the three guns and two knives Levi had managed to hide on himself. This place was made out to look decorous and charming; one wrong move and it turned feral fast.
Levi could scarcely taste the food as he listened to this Dok woman chatter on.
"As soon as you're expecting, you must let me take you to my obstetrician. He's the best man in Vienna."
"That's a long way to go for a doctor's visit, isn't it?" Petra giggled nervously. She was adopting camouflage of her own, the naïve and sweetly blank trophy wife. Levi admired her a bit. The kid was finally learning how to play the game.
"When it comes to pregnancy, you can never take too many precautions." Marie shuddered dramatically. "My oldest girl was born premature, and that wouldn't have happened if I'd found a truly reputable doctor to oversee gestation. When it comes to children, money is no object. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy peace of mind. And you can't have happiness without peace of mind."
"Too true." Nile slipped an arm in adoration around his wife. What a schmuck.
"Real shame for the women too broke to pay for a good baby doctor, then." Levi drank the wine if only to take the edge off this fucking conversation. "My own mother shat me out in a whorehouse. Apparently they thought I was dead a minute, since I didn't make a sound. Had to slap me around to get me to cry."
Sometimes he wished that they hadn't successfully revived him.
"That's too tragic," Marie said, sounding like she meant 'that's too annoying.'
"Maybe with a fancy doctor she could've had an easier delivery. Maybe she wouldn't have died of some stupid infection anybody can treat these days if they catch it in time."
Levi could feel Erwin watching him with interest, perhaps a little appreciation.
"Life is too tragic, don't you think?" Marie asked Petra, then spoke to Levi without waiting for a reply. "That's the hard thing about the world, isn't it? Nothing is fair."
"Yeah, I guess so. For animals, yeah. Survival of the fittest and all that shit." Levi glowered at the blond, complacent woman. "But we're more than animals, aren't we? That's what they say in church and what not. If we got some of that divine shit mixed into us, doesn't that mean we should try to be better than nature."
"What an original question, Mr. Ackerman," Marie said bloodlessly.
"No it's not. It's a question every kid who grows up broke and abused asks at some point." Levi polished off the wine. There. Now he felt good.
"I agree," Petra said.
God, the way she looked at him now. It lasted all of two seconds, but it was like basking in the sun for those two seconds. She regarded him with surprise. With, fuck it, with actual tenderness.
It was gone immediately, but it had been there. Levi prayed Erwin had not seen it.
"You agree with what, darling?" Erwin asked.
"Well. Um." Both Petra and Levi were punching above their level tonight. Erwin and Marie had gone to places like Harvard and Oxford and the Sorbonne, and Nile could at least keep up with them. It made Levi feel aligned with the little redhead in a way.
"What an argument you've made." Marie chuckled. Fuck that bitch.
Petra frowned. "I agree with Mr. Ackerman. People will use whatever they can to keep other people in their place. Sometimes they use religion, and sometimes they use the excuse that people are just animals. People can excuse anything if it'll keep them comfortable."
Levi almost toasted her for that. It was an ungainly point, like his, but like his it felt based in something true. Not like this Marie bitch.
"Your wife is feisty, Erwin." Marie barely smiled. "I approve."
"Oh, she's just learning to cut her teeth in society."
But Erwin did not seem angry at Levi or Petra in the slightest. They'd mouthed off to his guest, hadn't they? In the alligator-intuition of his mind, Levi knew it was because Erwin saw it as Levi and Petra teaming up against Marie. He believed this was them favoring Erwin, siding with him implicitly. Petra was 'jealous' of her husband's past with Mrs. Dok; Erwin saw it as a cat fight.
Fuck, smart people were crazy as shit.
The Doks and Erwin discussed music theory and wine and the 'gaucheness' of much of the Uffizi gallery's new Renaissance exhibition. Levi wanted to fall asleep, and it looked like Petra did, too.
She caught his eye across the candlelight, the fragrant evening soft around her. She was a piece of art herself, this one, creamy complexioned and amber eyed.
Levi held his breath as he felt her foot bump against his. An exploratory mission. She ghosted her foot along his calf, all without looking as though she were moving at all.
It was a ballsy move, a suicidal one, even.
Levi was hard instantly.
He wanted that honeyed mouth on his again, the creamy mounds of her breasts filling his hands. He wanted to be inside of her so goddamn bad.
It'd been only a fucking week since that night at the safe house, and Levi could already feel himself losing a grip on the ledge of his life. They'd escaped Erwin's notice once by sheer goddamn luck. They'd never be so fortunate again.
But the whole world was reflected in those bright eyes of hers. The secret to eternal bliss lay hidden between her legs.
He had to get out of here.
Mercifully, Erwin decided that dinner was finished. He allowed the servers to clear, then suggested that the ladies take some coffee in the music room while he and Nile discussed 'business.' Yeah, no shop talk during dinner. Erwin wasn't sexist in the strictly old fashioned way; after all, Hange was one of his two most trusted lieutenants. But he had a bigass line drawn between women of business and wives. He didn't see they could be the same.
Maybe in some sick way he was right, but Levi didn't love it. He'd grown up in the worst places on earth. Men and women both could be assassins or angels; he'd learned that the hard way.
Levi started to follow Erwin and Nile, but Erwin stopped him.
"We'll be heavily attended. I need you to protect the ladies. Just in case."
Yeah. Of course. The ladies were butterflies in a bell jar, after all. They needed their handler.
The music room had a grand piano, tiled floor, glass doors that opened onto the south lawn, and another frescoed ceiling. This one was what Marie called a trompe l'oeil, a trick of the eye. It looked like the people in the painting were gazing down at Petra. A bunch of creatures sat in a circle, their legs dangling as they peered down at the onlookers below. Some of them were wicked looking, with furred legs and hooves and horns.
"One of Andrea Mantegna's," Marie said, sipping her espresso. "Another of Erwin's secret treasures. The more famous ceiling of his is in the ducal palace of Mantua. Only that ceiling depicts angels, a much more appropriate subject for the fifteenth century."
"Where'd Erwin get this?" Petra felt numb thinking how much money Erwin must have spent creating the perfect environment for himself. He was a man who demanded perfection.
"A lesser Medici's summer home. It's inspired by Roman mythology, naturally. Only the most lascivious of the old demi gods. Erwin does enjoy his tasteful eroticism." Marie smirked. "You'd be amazed how he's able to find all these buried gems and outbid literal governments to procure them."
"I don't think I'd be amazed at all," Petra said quietly. The goat-men looked down at her like they wanted to tear off her dress. She looked away.
Petra didn't like to drink coffee in the evenings, and was having herbal tea instead, along with a crystal bowl of berries and cream. The summer wind sighed through the door and ruffled her skirt, and Marie's as well. The woman wore a crisp white dress, the lines as clean and strong as she seemed.
Levi hung in the corner of the room and watched them.
"I find you rather fascinating, my dear," Marie said. "Erwin never struck me as the marrying kind."
"He wants a family now." Petra drank her tea, wishing the evening would end.
"Yes, but he could just get you pregnant and leave you in a country house somewhere. He takes you everywhere. He spoils you."
I'm his perfect little pet.
"He's a wonderful husband," she lied. She swore Levi stiffened a bit.
"How did you manage to snare him?" Marie seemed like she wanted a good gossip. Ugh.
"He asked my father when I was sixteen to let him marry me one day. My father said yes."
"You must have been so excited." The woman watched like a hawk. One wrong movement and Petra knew the talons would emerge.
"I was overwhelmed, honestly. A little scared, too. But now I've never been happier."
"How sweet."
Petra still felt like a mouse. She was going to be prey always to women like these. She couldn't match Marie in intelligence or experience. Right now, playing the naïve little girl worked because of her age and the way she'd grown up, but in ten years she'd need to be a player in her own right. She knew she couldn't outmaneuver people like Marie.
The world around her had teeth wherever she turned. Petra wanted to cry.
"Where is the bathroom? I need to touch up my make up," Marie said, rising gracefully. "Petra, would you like to join me?"
I'd rather slit my own throat.
"Oh, I'm enjoying the breeze. It's only down the hall and to the right." Petra gave a fake smile and sagged in her chair as Marie finally left. She stuck a big spoonful of berries and cream in her mouth; it was hard for her to have an appetite when they were appraising her all the time.
"Oi. That Marie." Levi strolled over and stood next to her chair, causing Petra to break out in gooseflesh. "What a bitch."
Petra giggled. "Oh, what? You mean you don't know how gauche Anacapri is?" Petra asked in the snootiest voice she could think of. Levi chuckled. When he seemed pleased, her whole body grew warm.
"I don't get people like her."
"Me neither," she said. Petra hesitated, then spoke again. "At dinner, you said you were born in—"
"We don't need to know each other's lives. Don't you think?" He was fast and brusque.
"I'm just curious."
"Be a little less curious. It'll save us both some shit."
Sometimes, like at dinner, it felt like it was only Levi and she alone on a deserted island. Other times, like right now, it felt like he was the only person on earth she could not reach.
"You don't have to be so fucking pissy."
"We got a good thing going right now." Levi watched out the open doors. "We're in the clear. Don't fuck it up."
"I could say the same to you." A lump formed in her throat. All she wanted was to hold him, to feel him. It made her an idiot, sure, but it was what she craved.
"Me? I'm not the one playing footsie under Erwin's goddamn nose," he hissed. "You can get yourself killed. Leave me out of it."
Petra slammed the bowl down on the side table.
"Fine."
She got up and marched straight out the doors, into the summer night. Erwin's men were all over the grounds right now; they'd look after her.
"Get your ass back here!" Levi grabbed her arm, and Petra twisted away.
"Go to hell!"
"You crazy fucking bitch," he snarled. "Erwin's got the right idea. You could use a good spanking."
When Levi said it with that feral light in his eyes, Petra became instantly wet. She also wanted to punch him.
"Fine." She took a step back. "Go ahead."
"The fuck are you talking about?"
"Spank me. Discipline me." She wiped away her tears. "It's what you want, isn't it?"
"You got no idea what I want to do to you." He scarcely breathed the words. He was so near to her. His body was so inviting, his mouth so frustrating.
"All right." She licked her lips. "I'll go back inside."
Petra walked into the music room, which was still empty. There were two doors, one leading to the main hallway, the other she did not know where.
Petra opened the unknown door on impulse and went through.
It was a storage closet. Not a lot was placed there, besides a few wooden folding chairs and a stack of cardboard boxes. Petra flipped on the light and felt Levi at her back.
"What are you doing now?" he said.
Her cunt was throbbing; she needed this. Petra stepped deeper into the closet, turned around, and lifted the bottom of her dress. Levi staring, she tugged off her underwear and shook it off her stiletto-ed foot. Then she leaned against the wall, a smoldering challenge in her eyes, and put her cunt on display for him.
Levi stepped inside and shut the door, locked it quick.
"You're insane," he mouthed. Didn't dare speak aloud. He was right, she was more than insane.
But so was he.
He came over to her and pushed her against the wall, spread her legs. His fingers stroked the curls over her mound, but he didn't finger her. Instead, without making a sound, Levi unzipped his pants and took out his cock.
It was hard again, and when Petra touched it she shivered at the steel and silk of him. She guided him, positioned him between her legs. In her high heels, she was a couple inches taller, which made it easy for him to enter and fuck her.
Petra's eyes rolled back as he sank inside of her. They couldn't make a noise. Not a sound. Their eyes stayed wedded to each other as he slid his body in and then out of her, again and again. He couldn't even go fast, as that would make too much noise. Petra bit her lower lip as he went in and out, in and out again. She looked down, able to see very clearly as his cock was buried inside her body. She watched the length of him slide out, slippery and wet from her body, before shoving back in. Her pussy lips were split, the angry, shining red of his member plundering her.
Petra mouthed his name as the beautiful pressure built. It was even more satisfying to start to come as he made slow, intoxicating love to her. Levi's eyes were half-lidded, his teeth bared as he canted his hips in the right way, at the perfect angle.
Petra rippled around him as the pleasure overtook her, head tilted back and mouth open in a silent scream. Levi shivered, only just refusing to come inside of her. Petra pushed him out of her and, in one fluid motion, sank to her knees and took his cock into her mouth. She tasted the musk of her body, then drank deeply as he spent. She sucked him until he was dry, swallowed every bit that he gave her. She loved the feeling of his cock in her mouth, pulsating on her tongue.
It was almost perversely funny, him checking her in fast silence to ascertain that none of him had 'spilled' anywhere visible. Petra had taken all of him, though. There was nothing to see. Hurrying, she stepped back into her underwear. The whole process couldn't have been more than two minutes long. It was the opposite of what she wanted, which was hours of sensual delights with this man. But he'd made her come again, and it was like the beast inside of her had been satisfied.
For now.
She only prayed that Marie had not come back inside, and was weak with relief when they cracked the door and saw she had not. Petra and Levi flipped off the lights and slipped back into the music room. She took a seat next to the wall, still out of sight of anyone who might watch through the open doorway. Levi stood beside her, his placid mask of neutrality back.
That had been phenomenally stupid. Insane. Reckless.
But she needed him again. And again.
Life wasn't worth living if she couldn't fuck him. Levi looked more at ease than he had in an entire week.
She could still feel the damp stretch of how and where he'd fucked her. Fucking Levi was like being cleansed. She was pure again for Erwin's next desecration of her body.
Marie reentered and didn't notice anything amiss. Petra and the woman chatted a while, until Nile returned a half hour later and told her they ought to go upstairs and call the girls. He and Marie would be staying at the villa, naturally, while they were in Rome. Erwin liked having all his commanders stationed in the fortress.
"I guess we'll say good night, then." Marie kissed Petra on both cheeks. Erwin entered, kissed Petra on the back of her neck. She forced herself to smile. Levi slunk out of the room ahead of them, quiet as a shadow.
She didn't need to ask him if he wanted to fuck her again. She knew he did.
Erwin and Nile spoke in secret near the doorway once more, as Marie realized she'd left her compact on the coffee table.
"Thank you for a lovely evening, again," she told Petra. "You make a wonderful couple, truly."
"Thank you."
Marie snapped open the compact and eyed herself in the mirror as she applied a quick dab of powder.
"You and Levi, that is."
She whispered the fatal words before snapping the compact shut, blowing Petra an air kiss, and slinking out of the room. Marie looked at Erwin once, smiling like a cat with the cream. Erwin didn't notice. Nile followed his wife, and Erwin came over to embrace Petra.
"Sweetheart? What's wrong?"
Petra was shivering. She couldn't feel her hands or toes; she would never be warm again.
"I think the night air's a little cold," she whispered.