Levi? Wake up.
His mother ran fingers through his fine black hair and kissed his nose as he woke for another day without the sun. They blacked out the windows in the whore house, and Levi was pale. They told him how pale he was, made it sound like something disgusting. But he didn't think it was disgusting. His mother said he looked just like her, and his mother was so beautiful that he couldn't help but be proud.
Levi! Levi, help me!
Isabel got shoved into the back of the convoy and they drove off with her, and Levi had been too afraid to even lift his head to look after her. Him and the rest of the teenagers and little kids were crowded together into the back of that smelly fucking van, zip ties around his wrists, and all he thought was I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I'm sorry Isabel but I don't want to die, I'm a weak piece of shit but I don't want to die.
Levi, help me.
"Levi."
Petra's voice pulled him out of the blackness and back into pain. Glass shards littered his lap; the side of his head felt damp with blood; his vision sloshed back and forth until he finally got it to stop. Levi fumbled at his seat belt, got it off, and slumped forward. He was settled between Erwin and Petra. Both airbags up front had deployed. Petra moaned and tried to undo her belt. Erwin lay against his airbag, too silent for Levi's taste.
He felt like he was trying to move through wet cement. What were they doing in this car? What was so urgent?
Levi did not remember, but the lightning in his brain did.
The hair on his nape stood up. He could feel eyes upon them.
"Get down," he croaked. Petra slumped forward, and Levi kicked open the door to the back seat.
He used it as a shield, slipped out of the car. Shots were fired at him, bullets kicking up the earth before him. He heard two hard slugs hit the trunk, shatter the taillights. He shut his eyes and let instinct guide him.
Between heartbeats, he could feel it: they were reloading.
He sprang up through the shattered window and took aim at the man approaching them, his own gun raised.
Levi shot the asshole three times through the chest, once in the head. The prick went down and didn't get back up. Levi collapsed to his knees and vomited, head feeling like it was melting. He called Erwin's name, got no answer.
"Petra," he croaked. "Call Nile. Now."
Was she still conscious? Fuck, had any of those bullets hit her? If they had, Levi would rip the fucking world apart.
More bullets slammed into the car. Levi leapt into the backseat and tucked into a ball; this was the spray of an automatic weapon, no handgun. Up front, Petra screamed.
Levi would have one shot, he could feel it. Either the gunman died or he did. Petra did.
When the lightning said 'go', he went. Levi aimed through the shattered back window of the car and shot the sundress-wearing housewife wielding the M-16 through the goddamn forehead. The bitch went down. Levi's breath was loud as he crawled out the empty window. He stumbled up the incline, passing the dead bodies. He made it to their car, but it was some standard Audi. No other weapons inside. No one else there, either. No handbag for the woman, no nothing. No possible identification at a glance. Even the car seemed lacking in all personal touch. It smelled pristine, right off the lot.
He'd get the plate numbers, but it probably would do no good. Had Tybur done this? Or was this all the plan of whoever had orchestrated the attack in Rome?
Right now, he had to protect Petra. And Erwin.
But it was only Petra's face that he saw now, her golden visage dancing in his imagination. She couldn't die. He wouldn't let her. He'd be pissed.
He almost fell and rolled back down the incline. His brain was sand, his legs fractured glass. He opened the driver's side door.
"Erwin?"
Levi shoved the man back off the deflating airbag. Erwin's chest moved; he was alive. But his nose had been smashed, blood gushing down his front. He didn't respond to yelling or shaking. He was out cold.
"Is he…?" Petra whispered. She was bloody, too, but didn't seem broken.
"No. What the fuck happened? Why'd we go off the road?"
"I don't know. I think he was trying to get away from them and lost control of the wheel. What are we going to do? Who are they?"
Levi just took her phone and got Nile in two rings. He laid out the situation, had back up in play within seconds. Levi helped Petra out of the car, dragged Erwin out as well. It was a miracle the car hadn't exploded, but the engine could go in a burst of flame any second. They didn't want to roast alive after all this.
Levi kept Petra and Erwin behind the tree, waited in the grass for someone else to come. When he heard a car pulling over, then another, he got ready to open fire.
"Levi." Nile waved, and some of Erwin's security rushed down the hill. Levi let out a deep breath; they were safe now.
He checked Petra, still clinging to Erwin and sobbing. Well, maybe not safe. The three of them had been set up. Someone had planned to take them out.
Someone on the inside.
"Will he wake up?" Levi asked. He sat outside Erwin's room, waiting on some news from the doctor. They'd flown the doc out to the middle of the countryside, to Erwin's hideaway. Fucking remote out here, and under heavy guard 24/7. Maybe they should've stuck with the security detail the whole time.
Except that someone had set them up to die. Until Levi knew who that was, he trusted no one.
"We don't know," Pixis replied. He sipped an espresso, looking even older than usual. They'd all gotten in here about four hours ago, and everyone was exhausted. "He's out of immediate danger, but he's in a coma. That's never good news."
"Mmm." Levi drank his tea. Supposing Erwin never woke up? What then?
I dreamed of him out of the way for me and Petra. I wanted it a little. Now this.
"Don't blame yourself," Pixis said. "It's thanks to you they're alive at all."
"Tch. Dumb luck."
"We both know that isn't true. You're an impressive man."
"Thanks, Dad," Levi grumbled. He eyed the closed door. Petra hadn't left Erwin's side the entire time. She was curled up in an armchair now, having a nap. "Who's in the chain of command now?"
"I've stepped in for the moment."
"Not Nile?"
"Erwin wanted someone in charge who wouldn't become too comfortable in the position." Pixis smirked. "I have no desire to wear the crown; it's why I'm ideal."
"Where's Hange?"
"En route from Amsterdam. She should be here by tonight. She had to oversee TITAN's introduction there. In a city designed for debauchery, adding a new dangerous substance can be a precarious needle to thread."
Fucking Amsterdam.
"Tell her hi for me when she gets in."
"Oh? You're not staying?" Pixis looked baffled.
"Erwin gave me his orders a while back. If he were ever killed or incapacitated, he told me to take Petra out of all this. Hide her away where no one could find us. Not even you, Dot. Sorry."
"I quite understand. He doesn't want you to guard him?"
"Petra matters more to him." Levi swallowed the last of his tea and stood. "I'm gonna get Petra. We're leaving now."
"You haven't been fully cleared by the doctor yet. This is absurd. You should at least wait."
"Erwin was clear in his commands. I need to get her out of here now. I shoulda done it hours ago. We shoulda left the second we dropped Erwin here. But I was too fucking scared to leave before I knew he wasn't gonna die."
Levi had seen Erwin lying there with tubes in his mouth, in his arms. A sleeping Erwin looked smaller than Levi had ever seen him before. Part of Levi wanted to crawl into the bed and lie there, arm around the other man's chest. Safe. Protected and protecting.
Erwin, God damn us both.
"I'm leaving our phones behind. No way to trace us."
"And if I need to get in touch with you?"
"You won't. Only Hange has any idea how to reach me when I go off the grid."
"I don't like this."
"You'll like it less if Erwin wakes up and kills you for interfering with his wife's safety."
That shut Pixis up but good.
Levi got Petra into the car and drove out the side exit, taking the more scenic route back to the main road. He was gonna drive all night, ten or eleven hours, however long it took. He'd stop for gas and a piss, for snacks you could eat in the car, and for nothing else. Petra was still bruised and banged up, moaning from her injuries, but tough. Her discomfort was not more important than her life.
"Where are we going?" she muttered as Levi guided them along the road, eyes fixed straight ahead.
"To get safe."
He checked the rearview again and again, just to be sure that no one was tailing them.
Petra felt like one giant bruise. She woke from fitful snatches of sleep and always found Levi with his eyes dead ahead, his hands gripping the wheel. He was as banged up as she, probably aching all over, but he never stopped for rest. Never asked her to drive a while.
"How long have we been traveling?" she croaked. It was pitch dark outside.
"Almost ten hours. We're nearly there."
"Where's there?"
"The mountains."
"What mountains?"
His silence answered for him: she didn't need to know. The less she knew, the less trouble she could make. Bastard.
Still. He'd never broken, not once. He'd killed those people back there without hesitation. Petra hadn't known how deadly in motion Levi was. She'd seen the threat of him; now she knew why those threats were legitimate.
If he ever found out about Giulia in the spa…
Stay focused. You'll be fine.
Petra tried not to be jumpy as Levi slowed down, turning off the road as they came to a petrol station. There was a small 24/7 convenience store attached.
"We're gonna gas up, then grab essentials." He turned the engine off. "Move quick and stay with me the whole time. Get whatever you need, but don't take too long."
Petra was too stunned and exhausted to argue. He filled the tank, then they hurried into the store. Her vision blurred with tiredness as she filled a basket with crackers, bananas, cereal and tampons. She tossed toilet paper in for good measure; who knew where they were going? Maybe Levi liked camping. Ugh.
She met him at the register. The clerk rang up his purchases: paper towels, toilet paper (yay), canned food, and boxes and boxes of tea. Petra wavered back and forth on her feet. Hopefully she wasn't concussed. No, the doctor had checked her out and said she was fine. Only bruised.
She shouldn't have been moved, though. The doctor also had said that.
But Erwin needed her safe. What if he never woke up?
God, she hoped he never woke up.
Don't even think about any of it. Levi will be able to read you.
"Got everything?" He stared at her purchases.
"Yes."
"Good."
He checked the car and everything around it, then drove along down the road. Almost another hour had passed before they turned onto a smaller road and began to twist through the trees. The headlights lit tree trunks and illuminated the eyes of nocturnal animals. They flashed like warning beacons in the darkness. Petra shivered.
"You cold?"
"I'm tired."
"Well, we're here."
And then, up ahead, Petra saw the house. It emerged out of the wooded area like a shaded secret, the dark around it so oppressive she almost feared when Levi would turn the headlights off. This was a mountain cabin, so off the grid she wasn't sure where the grid even was anymore.
They pulled their small duffel bags from the trunk, then climbed a few steps to the cabin. Levi unlocked the door. He had her wait while he moved through the rooms, inspecting every last detail. He turned on lights as he went, illuminating rooms that looked Spartan but clean. Just like him.
"Is this your house?" she asked when he returned and brought her inside with the shopping.
"It's just a house," he said.
"Is it yours?"
"I guess you could say that."
Home ownership wasn't usually this damn nebulous. Petra wobbled, almost drunk with exhaustion as Levi locked the door. She stood in a receiving hallway, with warm-colored, waxed hardwood floors. The plain white walls bore no artwork of any sort. To Petra's right, she saw a living room with a pair of brown leather couches and a coffee table. No TV. No art. No pictures.
"Bedroom's this way." He took the plastic bags from Petra. "You ought to take a shower and go to bed."
Fine by her. She frowned.
"Where are you sleeping?"
"I don't sleep." His heavy-lidded eyes with the swollen bags beneath them indicated his tiredness.
"Everyone sleeps."
"Sure. But I don't need much."
"You just drove eleven hours straight right after getting in a car wreck."
"I've had worse days."
Petra shook her head slowly. Who the hell was this man? He was spouting macho bullshit, but it wasn't irritating at all. Because he's telling the truth. He's not exaggerating.
Levi guided her down the hall and nudged open another door. The bedroom was Spartan as well, a simple but snug looking queen mattress with a black comforter. In the corner of the room was a rack with rows of dumbbells and weights. He liked to lift in the morning, then.
Levi flicked on a light to the connecting bathroom.
"Run your own bath this time. I'll make sure everything's secure." He looked at her, no trace of humor or humanity in his face. What the hell had this man lived through?
"Fine."
Petra almost sobbed with relief as the hot water soothed her body. The cuts and bruises throbbed as she stood beneath the pounding jets. Levi knew how to pamper himself with a quality bathroom. She'd never seen so many soaps before. He just had them lined up on the sink, in the shower stall. After wrapping a towel around her body, Petra wiped condensation from the mirror, then opened said mirror to find a medicine cabinet. There was a razor, a can of shaving cream, a small first aid kit, and soap. The whole lower shelf was just bars of soap.
What a damn freak.
So why did I get us back in the car? Why?
She'd been so close to being rid of him forever. Why had she—?
Levi knocked. "Oi. Need this?"
Petra clenched her jaw and opened the door. Levi was holding the box of tampons. Petra snatched it from him.
"Thanks," she grumbled, shutting the door in his face. Her mind still felt like a bowl of marbles rattling around in her skull.
I need to go to sleep.
She put the tampons away under the sink. She'd probably need them in a day or two. When she got out of the bathroom, Levi was gone. He'd left a pair of clean boxer briefs and a tee shirt on the bed. Right. Petra liked that option; didn't feel like putting on the slinky satin negligees that constituted her entire sleep wardrobe. This would be more comfortable. Way less suggestive, too.
At least she and Levi were nearly the same size.
She slipped into the make-do pajamas, and was grateful to find he'd bought her a toothbrush. It sat in its plastic cartridge.
He seems like the type who's religious about dental hygiene.
After washing up in the bathroom, Petra staggered to the door. She opened it, yelping when she found Levi lingering in the hallway outside.
"Relax. Go to sleep. You need it." He barely glanced at her. "I've got the watch."
"You're creepy. You know that?" she muttered.
"Yeah. I do."
Petra had no good way of responding to that. She just shut off the lights, crawled under the covers, and was dead to the world in a matter of seconds.
The dreams were bad. She startled awake once or twice, sat up in the dark with her heart pounding. The digital clock on the bedside table said 03:27. Then 05:19. Once she tried to go into the hallway, but found Levi squatting in the darkness like a freak. She screamed, which he didn't appreciate.
"Need something?"
"No. Well, maybe a banana."
He got it for her and handed it over, then returned to sitting and staring at the wall. What a weirdo.
She was too tired to think of sex, too stressed to consider how nice it would be to invite him back into the room with her. Into bed. Or on top of the bed. And Levi didn't seem interested in joining her.
Petra ate the banana, then was surprised by a knock at the door. Levi slid in with one of the plastic bags. He had her throw the peel away, then bustled it off to the kitchen. Even the idea of Petra laying the peel down somewhere had shaken him to the core.
I get to spend God knows how much time like this.
There weren't any phones around. She hadn't seen a computer. Petra bundled the blankets around her, and a thought tugged at her mind. He'd isolated her. Did he…?
He didn't know. He couldn't know.
The exhaustion was stronger than the fear, and Petra went away again.
When she woke next, the sun was bright against the far wall of the bedroom. It had to be more than ten o'clock in the morning. She sat up, wincing at the aches in her body as she stretched.
Her stomach growled as she smelled something. Something kind of delicious.
Petra padded down the hall and through the living room. She heard sounds in the kitchen beyond, and entered to find Levi standing in front of the stove. Flipping pancakes.
She felt like she was losing her mind.
"Hmmmrgh?" Petra rubbed her eyes.
"Morning." He sounded as stoic as ever as he flipped a pancake and slid it onto a plate to join two others. "Get started."
"Hmmmflffhmph."
"Syrup's in the cabinet behind you."
Petra sat down heavily and blinked at her plate of pancakes. This felt like some weird, retro nightmare. Like she and Levi were living the perfect old-fashioned life together in some idyllic home, only Levi was playing house husband and she was…what? Eating pancakes?
"I think my brain got rattled," she said at last. She grunted as she took a bite. Oh fuck, that was good. Petra moaned in pleasure.
"Here." Levi set a teapot on a coaster beside her, along with a cup, a bowl of sugar, and a small pitcher of milk.
"I don't suppose there's any coffee?" Petra asked. He looked like she'd said something vulgar. "Never mind. Tea's good."
Her head continued to pound as she ate and drank, but the pain gradually lessened. Levi was a surprisingly good cook.
"It's nothing," he said when she mentioned that. He sipped his tea; he ate nothing. Maybe he'd already had breakfast. "Just a box of instant pancake mix and some water. I don't keep a lot of food in the house."
"So what do you do when you're up here, then? Live off of tea?"
"No." He sipped again. "I can find food when I need it."
"So what, you hunt? Fish? Forage for berries?"
"Whatever I need to do, I can do."
It was so maddeningly vague it almost scared her. Levi continued to look at her with those hollow eyes as she finished her breakfast and tea.
"Want some more?" he asked.
"No. Thank you. I, um, think I'd like to sit down on the couch. This chair's a little hard." She took up the plates, but he nabbed them.
"I got this. I like doing dishes."
"You're the perfect man," she said. He didn't smile or flush or anything; just stared.
"Go sit down. I'll bring you some more tea."
"I feel like I should be doing something." She wavered in the doorway. "You're letting me have your bed and you're cooking and cleaning. I should help."
"Staying alive's all the help you can give me right now." Levi moved briskly, scrubbing dishes and setting them on a rack next to the sink. "I don't think those people followed us. Whoever they were."
"You think they're the same people who tried to kill us in Rome?"
"I think there's a lot of shit I don't understand going on right now. I don't like that."
Better not to touch too much on this topic of conversation. Petra went to the living room and curled up on the couch. She wouldn't have minded some TV; zoning out to a stupid reality show right now would've relaxed her. Levi came in, put down the tea on a tray, and sat in a chair opposite her with his cup. He held it weird, never touched the handle.
Silence reigned.
"So. I like your house." Petra scanned the surroundings. "It's, um, very clean."
"Yeah. I like it clean."
"How long have you lived here?"
"I don't live here."
"Okay." She rolled her eyes. "How long have you owned this place?"
"Four years. I come here when I get some time off. It's quiet."
"It's pretty." She looked out the window onto the porch, to the sunlight-dappled drive. The car glinted in the sun. There were so many trees crowded around the cabin that odd shadows slanted here and there at all angles. Petra felt like she'd gone to live in a child's storybook. In its own way, this felt like a cozy little cottage where a magic bear lived. Or maybe a happy dwarf.
She glanced at Levi. Or a not so happy dwarf.
If he heard the word dwarf, he'd go ballistic.
"I like this kind of thing," she said. "I like things that are simple and clean. I like forests."
"Yeah? This place nicer than a fuckin' palazzo or a yacht?"
"Yes." She meant it. "I can feel at home here. I already do."
"Nice to know I make it cozy."
"So. What do you do for fun?" She looked around for a computer or a phone. Nothing. No books, either.
"I work out. I make tea. I hike." He shrugged. "I don't think we should go anywhere outside for the moment."
"What if the others need to get in touch with us?"
"Hange knows how."
"Do you have a computer?"
"Why?" He never looked anything other than stoic.
"Weird question. Maybe I'd like to check my email."
"We don't want anyone to have any clue where you are right now. Logins and shit, they can be traced. We're off the grid. No phone. No computer. Nothing."
"So how does Hange get in touch with you?"
"That's not for you to worry about."
Of course not, she just had to sit here and look pretty and say nothing. Petra could feel that dull ache behind her eyes again. She rubbed her temples. Fuck, fuck, she'd had one chance, one goddamn chance and she'd blown it. Why?
Why had she blown her one shot to get away?
"You okay? You look anxious," Levi said.
"Of course I'm anxious. I don't know if my husband is alive or dead," she snapped. Levi's mouth curled into the lightest of grins.
"You care about him then? Sweet."
She had to be careful about this.
"My life is safer with him in it, especially if those freaks are gunning for us," she snapped. She felt his interest waver a bit. She'd scored a point. Good for her. "When can we go home?"
"When I get the all clear."
"How will you get that?"
His eyes narrowed. "I told you. Hange knows how to reach me. Finish your tea, and maybe you ought to go back to bed. You need your rest."
"Maybe you should sleep a while. I need you rested if you're going to protect me."
"Hmm. I guess."
They sat like that for a while. Around one, Levi's eyes finally slid shut and his breathing softened. When Petra slid off the couch, his eyes shot open. Fuck, he was jumpy.
"Relax. I'm going to clear the tea things. Get some rest."
"Hmmf." He did.
Petra did the dishes and looked out the kitchen window onto another crowded stretch of forest. She was still tired, but didn't want to go back to bed. She wanted to know where the hell she was.
Levi had no newspapers, unsurprisingly. The house consisted of this kitchen, the living room, a hall closet, and then the bedroom and bathroom. Petra wandered back to the front door and opened it. She was hit with the soft perfume of alpine air, and a little trill of birdsong. She stood in a sunbeam, letting the light heat her face and her bare feet. She felt peace like she hadn't known since the day she married Erwin.
"Oi."
Levi stood right next to her. He moved like a goddamn cat. Petra jumped and hollered in shock.
"The fuck?" she gasped. Levi shut the door.
"I said don't go outside just now. You deaf or something?"
"Asshole. What am I supposed to do?"
"Check your duffel. I put a couple books in there when the maids were packing up your shit."
She blinked at him. "You what?"
"Those two new ones I saw you reading, the romance-y ones with the girls in ballgowns on the cover. I thought you'd probably wanna finish 'em."
"I… Thank you."
That was strangely considerate of him. He was the weirdest bodyguard she'd ever known. Not like she'd known many.
"Go on. I'm gonna make lunch. You still look weak."
"You couldn't have slept more than an hour."
"I got what I needed."
She didn't argue. Arguing never did her any good. Petra got under the covers and read some more of A Summer with the Earl. She was getting to the good part when Levi brought in a tray with a bowl of soup, some tea, and an apple. She blustered when he served her lunch in bed.
"I should really be helping you."
"It's nothing." Levi started to leave, but Petra said his name.
"Can you stay? I don't like eating alone."
He said nothing, but went and got his own lunch and returned with it. To Petra's surprise and mild delight, he settled himself on the foot of the bed. They stared at each other while they ate in silence.
"You know, this whole thing's kind of surprising," she said, taking a bite of her apple.
"What is?"
"I thought you'd have an apartment in Rome or Paris or something. I thought you'd have lots of elegant modern art on your walls, and a flat screen, and closets filled with fine clothes and weapons. But this?" She glanced around the bare walls of the bedroom. "It seems so…normal."
"I'm a normal guy."
She didn't mean to snort like that. Tea came out of her nose, which hurt. Levi grumbled as he handed her a napkin.
"I'd call you a lot of things, but never normal."
"That's 'cause you don't know me." He didn't sound offended by it, only like he was stating a fact.
"Well. That's true." She pushed the tray aside. "So maybe we could use the time for me to get to know you."
"We've fucked before. I think you know lots about me." His eyes remained half-lidded. His voice never rose.
"Sex doesn't mean you know someone. Not really."
"Sex is just sex."
Petra narrowed her eyes as she studied him. "I don't think you really believe that."
"Again, you think that 'cause you don't know me. And I don't want you to get to know me. So finish your lunch and go back to your book."
"Do you have to be such an asshole all the time?" Her gut twisted. "When you took Marie and me to Rome, you were being nice. Why can't you just be nice more often?"
"I don't get paid to be nice."
And that was it. He took her tray and left the room without another word. Jackass.
Petra finished her book an hour or so later and laid down. She planned to close her eyes a moment, since she was still rather tired. When she woke again, the last traces of sunlight were glowing on the bedroom walls, and the bathroom door was shut. Petra listened to the shower, couldn't hear Levi make the slightest noise. No coughs, no humming, nothing. It'd be funny if he were the type to sing in the shower.
She thought again of that time in the shower with him at the safe house, how he'd pumped in and out of her while the hot water cascaded down their naked bodies. Despite everything, she had to fight the urge to get up and take her clothes off, go in there and climb into the shower with him.
The water turned off just then, probably for the best. Petra didn't want his attention on her right now. She snuggled under the blankets and pretended to be asleep as the door opened.
"Oi. You awake?" Levi asked.
She knew that he could tell she was, so she sat up and forgot how to speak.
He stood outlined in the bathroom doorway, steam wafting around him in fragrant tendrils. He was slick with water, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Every inch of his body was perfection. Even though romance novel heroes were never five foot three, she thought he looked the part anyway. He was dense with muscle, a scowl practically chiseled on his slight, beautiful face.
"Um. Good shower?" she said at last.
"Yep. Want some dinner?"
"Sure."
Dinner was a bowl of heated canned ravioli. Levi made an apologetic noise as he delivered the tray.
"I'll get some better food tomorrow."
"It's fine. Thank you. Aren't you eating?"
"I'm okay. I don't eat much." He went to a chest of drawers and yanked one open, pulling out a black tee shirt. He slipped it over his head, shaking out his wet hair as Petra watched him, eating her ravioli. Dinner and a show. "What'd the doctor say? Right after everything."
"Oh. He said I looked fine. No concussion. I'm pretty bruised, but nothing worse than that."
He nodded. "What about the baby?"
"The baby?"
It was like a truck had come out of nowhere and slammed into her. Petra's whole body froze, the fork lifted halfway to her mouth. Levi didn't look at her.
"Thought you said you were pregnant. Thought for sure you'd make a stink about it when I brought you up here." He glanced at her from out the corner of his eye. "I guess everything's fine."
She didn't respond. He left and shut the bedroom door. Petra put down her fork and stood, wobbly on her legs as she rushed to the bathroom.
Something had been nagging at her for a full day, and she finally realized what it was. How much of an idiot she'd been. She took the tampons out from under the sink and sat down on the toilet lid, staring at the box in her hands.
She'd made a fuss about thinking she was pregnant, and then a few hours later she'd bought tampons in front of Levi. He was an observant man; he'd have put two and two together.
He knew that she wasn't pregnant. More importantly, he knew that she knew.
Petra realized with dawning horror that they were truly isolated up here. No phone. No computer. No neighbors. If she tried to run, Levi would chase her. Catch her. Had he brought her up here to kill her?
Calm down, Petra. The worst thing you could do right now would be to panic.
Petra shoved the tampons back under the sink and went to finish her dinner. As she ate mechanically, she thought it through. If he hadn't killed her yet, that must not be what he wanted. At least, not right now. Had he always suspected her, or had his suspicion started when she bought the stupid tampons? Was he planning to torture her to get information? Did he believe she'd had something to do with the attack?
Petra knew one thing: she couldn't give up Marie and the meeting with Giulia. Not because Petra held the women in any great esteem, but because having them as her enemies would be disastrous. Especially as they had proof Petra had betrayed Erwin once. No, she had to keep quiet about them at all costs. Even if Levi killed her, better to be dead at his hands than Marie's. The woman didn't have a conscience. She and Erwin really were a pair.
Think. I can't let him know about the meeting, or my part in the attack. I can't stay quiet about the tampons, though. He's clearly suspicious. I have to play this smart.
Petra had always been a pretty good actress. Back in high school, she'd gotten to play Juliet and Gretchen in Faust. She could make herself cry if she needed to, and right now turning on the tears wasn't hard. She was scared for her life all over again.
None of this would have happened if Erwin had never noticed her when she was sixteen. Maybe if Petra had just been out at the movies that day, or over at Oruo's house, her whole life would be different.
Don't look back. That's how you get killed. You start regretting shit, your life's already halfway done.
Levi had said that once in conversation over chess. Petra shut her eyes and resolved to move forward.
She had an idea, and brought the tray and dishes out to the kitchen. Levi was seated at the kitchen table, tea at hand. He watched her with terrifying patience as Petra went about cleaning up. As she scrubbed the bowl, she allowed tears to build up. She made the valiant effort of trying not to cry.
"You okay?" Levi said at last. Petra wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.
"Sorry. It's just the way you brought up pregnancy…" She sniffed, turned off the water. Turned her face away. "I don't think it'd take a genius to figure out I'm not pregnant."
"Guess not."
"I thought I was." She shrugged. "I'd been getting nauseous in the mornings and then I had that cramp when we were driving. I thought I needed to go to the hospital, but it was just something I ate that didn't agree with me. That must've been it. When we got to the safe house, I used the bathroom and saw I'd started spotting. That always means my period's about to start. So. I wasn't pregnant after all."
"Ah." She heard Levi sip his tea. "You could've just said you weren't pregnant."
"That's what I just did." Damn, she shouldn't have snapped.
"You taking me step by step through everything? Feels like you're trying to fill out the picture. Make it believable."
Shit. Petra had miscalculated, hadn't she? Heart pounding, she looked scornfully at him over her shoulder.
"Well, you were so clearly suspicious in the bedroom that I thought I ought to explain myself."
"You're jumpy."
"I was just in a car accident! People shot at me! I'm sorry I'm not a freak like you and Erwin, someone who doesn't get affected by this."
"Erwin's in a coma right now. Pretty sure that's affected." Levi's voice was pure ice.
"You know what I mean," she muttered. "You shot two people to death and didn't flinch."
"You'd be dead now if I hadn't done that."
"I guess I'm relieved I'm not pregnant." That was honest. "I don't want my child growing up in a world like this, around people like you!"
Petra went to exit, but Levi got out of his chair and blocked the doorway. Shit. Her pulse slowed.
"Better get used to the idea," he said. His eyes were flat and gray. "When Erwin gets better, he'll still want that kid. More than ever, now."
"Yes. And as we know, you'll make sure he gets what he wants." Petra's tears were real now. She shook with rage. "No matter what it costs me."
She rushed past him and returned to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Petra sat on the mattress, her knees tucked to her chest. She heard Levi's footfall outside the door, saw the faint shadow of his presence under the doorway's crack. He didn't enter the room, though. He stood outside, keeping danger away from her.
And keeping her inside.
The next morning, Petra wondered if she ought to arm herself before going out the door. In the bathroom, she turned on the shower and used the noise to cover the sounds of her rummaging through the cabinets and closet. Levi had that first aid kit, and there was a small pair of scissors in it. She'd almost certainly die if he wanted her dead, but you never knew. A surprise jab could be the difference for her between life and death.
After Petra showered and washed up, she zipped open her duffel bag and took out some proper clothes. She frowned at the contents of the bag; it was all fancy and couture selections, as Erwin let her wear nothing else. She glanced at Levi's dresser again. He was so damn small, almost exactly her size. Oh, why not?
She found a pair of cargo shorts and a tee shirt that was too big in the shoulders for her, but at least it was comfortable. She smiled a little as she pulled the shorts up over her hot pink panties, the shirt down over her lacy bra. She slid the scissors into one of her pockets. She looked like one thing on the outside, but carried a secret underneath.
Welcome to her new life.
When Petra entered the kitchen, she was surprised to find Levi frying up some French toast. He had real butter, real bread, real eggs.
"I thought you didn't have fresh food in the house." She sat at the kitchen table, determined to behave as though nothing was wrong.
"I went down to the store. It's only a few miles away." He slid the plate in front of her. Petra almost laughed in disbelief when he set a bowl of sliced, fresh strawberries before her as well. When she took a bite, she almost moaned in orgasmic bliss.
"This is delicious," she said as he placed a teapot in front of her and took his own seat.
"I like cooking." He shrugged and sipped his tea. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Oi. Those are my clothes."
"All of mine are too formal." Honestly, his clothes smelled amazing. They had a fresh scent of soap and pine about them. He probably spent money on bespoke detergent or something; he seemed like the type. There was also the distinct, masculine scent of his that clung to the shirt. It was like musk, black tea, and hard white soap.
"Well. Ask next time," he grumbled. They sat in silence a while, and Petra began to suspect he might have bought her line about the pregnancy. She chewed and kept thinking. She wanted a better idea of where the hell they were, and a good lay of the land so she had some idea of where she was going if she had to run.
"So. You drove to the store?" She swallowed some tea. "I guess that means you think we're safe. Since you left me alone and everything."
"I think we're okay, yeah. For now."
"I'm getting a little tired of staying inside all day. Can I go for a hike?"
"Not alone."
"I figured. I meant do you want to go on a hike with me?"
He was so still as he considered his response. He was like the little whirling disc that appeared when your computer froze. You could just see the program running through his mind.
"Sure. Fine," he said.
After they cleaned up the dishes, Petra went and put her gym shoes on. At least she had informal footwear. Levi checked the perimeter of the house before they left. He slung a small backpack onto his shoulder and told her to stay alongside him.
They turned right and headed along a dirt path into the trees. After a short while, they started up an incline, and Petra began working up a sweat. She didn't mind, though. She was free and alone—except for Levi—in the open air. The trill of birdsong lifted her spirits, and she began to hum.
"You like the woods," Levi said. What an observation.
"When I was little we used to spend a couple weeks in the summer in a mountain rental cabin. My best friends Oruo and Nifa usually came with us. We had this little lake near the cabin with our own private dock. I miss it so much."
She unexpectedly got choked up.
"Where are Oruo and Nifa now?"
"They just finished up university. Oruo's at home while he figures things out. Nifa went to Vienna."
Her voice failed as she started to tear up. Petra turned her face away, too proud to cry in front of him.
"Sorry you missed out on all that," he muttered to her surprise. "University and what not."
"Back in Greece you told me I was being a brat when I said I wished I could've gone. Women like me should be happy a rich man wants to fuck her and marry her, isn't that right?"
The bile rose in her throat again. To her ever-growing shock, Levi winced.
"I…I was pissed at you for all the shopping," he muttered. "I know things've been tough for you. Tougher than I thought they'd be, so… Yeah. Guess I'm sorry."
The apology was so unforced that Petra felt a strange surge of warmth towards him. She cleared her throat and squashed that feeling.
"Want to see something?" he asked.
What if he wants to take me to a ravine and push me down to my death? She still didn't fully trust him.
"Sure." Petra slid her hand in her pocket and gripped the scissors.
They walked another ten minutes until Petra heard the sound of running water up ahead. The sound grew louder, until it became a roar. They crested the hill and looked down a short incline into a grotto.
"Oh!" Petra put her hand over her heart, too delighted to be afraid now. They'd come upon a waterfall about twelve feet high. The frothing water kicked up a rainbow spray as it tumbled into the grotto. The water was alpine clear, and Petra skidded down the slope. Even though it was childish, she hopped around and tugged her socks and shoes off before sitting on the edge of a rock and soaking her feet. It was frigid as ice, and she shivered joyfully.
"Thought you'd like it." Levi stood on the incline above her, hands on his hips.
"I love the water." She kicked one foot out of the spring, smiling as droplets arced winking like jewels through the air. She studied the waterfall, the pleasant roar filling her ears. It felt so peaceful now, with no Erwin or Marie around. No one to pretend for.
Except Levi, of course, but in a way he didn't count.
Petra slid off the rock and picked her way around the edge of the water. She stood beside the fall itself, noticed a bit of a cave behind the spray.
"Look!" she cried. Her voice echoed surprisingly loudly. Petra laughed as 'ook, ook' came back to her. She whistled, starting low and then whipping up high. The echo whistled back to her. After over a month of low grade agitation whenever she was awake, this was heaven itself. She felt like a kid again. "Hello, my name is Petra Ral," she said, and her echo repeated it back to her. Petra made herself sound like a newscaster on TV. "In other news, it's a lovely summer's day," she said. The echo repeated back to her. "Levi Ackerman made French toast for breakfast; what will be for lunch? Tune in next time to find out."
"You're so fucking weird," Levi said. He'd moved to stand right next to her, and his lower, sharper voice echoed like a slap against the rock walls.
Petra shrieked her surprise. Levi winced at the explosive sound.
"Fuck, kid. You're jumpy."
"Yeah, I wonder why?" Petra rolled her eyes and strolled away, slipping her hand into her pocket and around the scissors again. Just in case.
"That was funny," Levi said, stopping her. "You do a good impression of, like, a news guy."
"Can you do an impression?" she asked, turning around. He regarded her with heavy-lidded contempt.
"Tch. I look like an entertainer?"
"It doesn't have to be a good impression. What about accents? Can you do an English accent?"
He stared at her, unblinking. Weirdo.
"Come on. Please?" She fluttered her eyelashes in an over the top manner.
"Women," Levi muttered. Jerk. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Hullo, I am English."
It sounded absolutely the same as his everyday speaking voice. Petra bent over laughing so hard she nearly sat in the water. Levi sneered, the tips of his ears tingeing a little bit pink. Aw, had she hurt the lethal killer's feelings? Petra giggled.
"That's it. We're going back," he said, tromping around towards her. Petra stepped out into the water until she was up to her calves. When he got nearer, she splashed him. Levi yelped, the sound so high-pitched Petra laughed until she cried. "Oi! Brat! Out of the water, now."
"Are there any assassins lurking around this waterfall?" Petra looked around in an over the top way. "Maybe there are some bears with guns just waiting to shoot us."
"There aren't any bears around here." He scowled. "And even if there were, they wouldn't have guns."
She laughed and splashed him again, two big splashes of water that made him flinch and curse.
"So they'd have swords?"
"Stop it. Get out of the water!"
"You have to come get me." All the pent up energy had needed somewhere to go. Petra had never wanted to laugh this much in her whole life. Levi shook his head slowly, pressing his mouth in a firm line.
"You wanna act like a brat, I'll treat you like a brat."
"No dessert? Early bedtime?" Petra stuck out her tongue, reveling in being juvenile. "You have to catch me first." She splashed him hard again, several times.
"That's it," Levi growled. He stomped into the water, not bothering to take his shoes off. "Get your ass over here."
Petra shrieked and ran away, sloshing through the water and doing a sluggish job of it. Levi caught her easily. When he grabbed her arm and yanked her away, she flung herself onto him and they both went down into the water. Petra's clothes felt heavy at once, and the cold stung her eyes. She accidentally sucked some water up her nose, and coughed and spluttered. Levi sat there, wiping his soaked hair out of his eyes.
"It's fucking freezing," he snarled.
Petra responded by splashing him hard. He sat there, shoulders hunched around his ears, and spat a line of water. Petra thought that the funniest damn thing she ever saw, and leaned back laughing. She kicked and kicked, reveling in the feeling of freedom. Of nature.
This was the life she wanted. No fancy clothes, no expensive dinners, just a hiking trail and a cabin.
And Levi.
What? No, not him. He's the only thing that keeps this moment from being perfect.
"Come on." He stood and yanked her to her feet. Their clothes clung to their bodies, rivulets of water running down their legs. "This is bullshit."
Petra couldn't stop herself from admiring how his wet shirt clung to every sculpted inch of his torso. And she got the feeling he was eyeing her own body, the way her breasts stood out beneath her clothes, the beaded points of her nipples.
Once again, Petra felt that raging, almost frenzied hunger for him. She could feel him staring at her breasts, then her mouth.
"We're going back," he said.
Walking back to the cabin was less fun than frolicking in the water had been. Petra shivered as they made their way back inside. Levi locked the door and glared at her, still dripping on the hardwood floor.
"Shower. Now. I'm gonna mop this up before it leaves a waterstain."
"You're such a grandpa." Petra hurried away, still giggling as she listened to him swear at her. The shower was nice, though she kept waiting and watching to see if Levi would come in and join her. That spot between her legs pulsed with the thought of it, with the memory of him standing in the water with his clothes plastered to him like that.
Her mouth became dry. She shut off the water, toweled herself, and exited to find that Levi had left a pair of sweatpants for her along with a sweatshirt. Petra smirked. She put on another pair of lace panties and the sweatshirt, but no pants. The sweatshirt was a little big on her, surprisingly, and came to the middle of her thighs.
Petra wandered into the living room. Levi's hair was still wet, but he'd changed. He looked up at her to speak, then fell silent. His eyes tracked down her mostly naked body.
"This is pretty big." She shrugged, the sweatshirt slipping a bit off one of her shoulders. Petra curled up on the opposite couch and assessed him. "The sweatshirt, I mean."
"It's Erwin's."
That made her like it a little less. Petra rubbed her arms.
"Right. The boyfriend sweater. I get it."
"Yeah. Guess that's what it is." He leaned back and crossed an ankle over his knee.
"Do you bring Erwin here often?"
"Couple of times. It's not really his scene."
"Are you both still having sex now we're married?" Petra amazed herself with how cool she sounded.
"I don't fuck often. I only need it a few times a year," he replied. Petra bit her lip; it seemed like the few times they'd had sex had been passionate, and constant. How long could they both go with no distractions or reasons to stop?
"I mean, have you stopped being romantic with him altogether now he's married?"
"No. That's not what he wants." Levi stared her in the eyes. "It's not what I want, either. I love him."
Petra's gut cramped. She told herself it wasn't jealousy.
"So I'm the mistress as well as the wife? Lucky me."
"It's not like that. You have one side of Erwin. I got the other."
"Okay. I'm fine with sharing."
"That hurt your feelings?" He gave a slightly nasty smile. "Knowing he isn't gonna shackle his dick to you forever?"
"I guess I think it's a little unfair he can fuck anything he wants and I can't."
"You could get pregnant. Different risks."
"But even if I was pregnant with his baby and couldn't get pregnant with anyone else's, I still couldn't fuck who I wanted. Right?"
"Right." His gaze was frigid. "Men and women fill different roles in his world. At least, husbands and wives do."
"You don't agree with that. Do you?"
He inhaled sharply, thought about it. "I think it's pretty fucking dumb to say what people can and can't do based on things they can't control. If that makes sense." He canted his head to the left. "So we're clear, that's not an invitation to fool around. You're still his wife; we can't touch."
"We've touched a few times."
"Not anymore. You're a sweet piece of ass, but you're not worth the hassle."
"Don't worry." She flicked her gaze up and down him, making sure she didn't seem hurt. "I've had better."
His nostrils flared, but he said nothing. Guess she'd wounded his pride.
"I'm going to make dinner." She stood and sauntered towards the kitchen. "What have you got to work with?"
"Not much." He didn't get up to help her.
Petra found pasta, olive oil, fresh basil and tomatoes. She improvised with what she had, adding salt and pepper to her endeavor. Levi looked impressed when he entered the kitchen. She placed the pasta bowl in the center of the table, and had set out dishes and utensils as well.
"Do you have any wine? I don't think tea goes with pasta."
"Tea goes with everything." But he left the room while Petra grabbed some napkins. When he returned a minute later, he was holding a bottle of Chianti. Petra frowned.
"Where'd that come from?"
"Wine cellar."
She hadn't seen a wine cellar, but decided not to ask. Levi plunked down a couple of glasses and poured the wine. They settled down to eat, and he made a noise of slight surprise.
"Not bad, considering we don't have much." He took another forkful.
"You're so generous with your compliments," she drawled. Petra sipped the wine. It wasn't the fine hundred-year-old bottles Erwin favored. It was regular wine from the market. She preferred the taste to the fancier vintages. "I like cooking, too. I'm never going to be some great chef, but it relaxes me."
"Yeah. That's good."
They ate the rest of the meal in silence. Petra took another glass of wine, and felt much more relaxed by the end. A little voice in her head whispered to be careful, that he might kill her while she was tipsy and more defenseless than usual. But then again, Levi Ackerman could kill her with one little finger. If she was going to die, she ought to die smiling.
"I wonder if Erwin's going to wake up," she muttered, swirling the dregs of her wine around.
"Guess we'll find out." Levi stared at the wall.
"What if he doesn't? What happens to me then?"
"He'll wake up."
"That's not what I asked."
"You'd like that, huh?" His eyes tracked to her face, held her. Petra felt hair bristle along her nape.
"I just want to know what happens to me." She spoke softly.
"If he dies, you'll inherit a chunk of his fortune. I don't know how much. You'll be free to go, unless you're pregnant with his kid. Then it gets more complicated." Levi leaned nearer to her. "If there's any chance you had a hand in his death, though? I'll kill you."
Petra wanted to scream, but did not. She wanted to ask outright if he thought she'd had anything to do with the accident, but that was suicide.
"I guess that makes sense." She made sure to sound serious but casual.
"Good." Levi took up the plates and went to the sink. "I'll wash up. You cooked."
He was the most egalitarian murderer she'd ever met. That thought made Petra giggle. Levi glared at her over his shoulder.
"Hey, can we play a game?" Petra poured herself some more wine. Why the fuck not?
"I don't have any board games."
"What about charades? We can play charades."
"I don't play charades."
Petra made a face. "Okay. Then I'll play charades and you guess the answers. Sound good?"
He sighed heavily. "Fine."
After the dishes, she made him sit on the sofa in the living room while she stood before him, hands on her hips, and tried to think of a good choice. Finally, she made up her mind.
"Okay." She started cranking an invisible movie camera next to her face.
"What the ever loving fuck are you doing?" he asked.
"It's part of the game! I'm showing you that the category is a film," she snapped.
"Just say film."
"That's not how the game works!" She huffed.
"Okay, fine. It's a film," he said. Petra held up four fingers, and he frowned. "Four? That's the title of a movie?"
"It means the title has four words in it!" Petra took a deep swallow of wine just to get through this annoying shit. Levi rolled his eyes. "Okay." She held up one finger.
"Let me guess. First word?"
She flashed him a thumbs up and kept going. Petra put out her hands like she was holding something. Then she startled, like she'd heard a noise behind her. She turned, and when she looked back gaped, swiping through the air. Indicating that what had been there had now vanished.
"Magic trick," Levi said.
"It's one word!"
"Magic. Trick."
Petra shook her head to both. Levi kept repeating magic and trick in different tones, like that would unlock the spell or something.
"Magic is not the word! Neither is trick!" Petra was ready to start pulling her hair out. "You're doing this on purpose."
"I thought you weren't allowed to talk in this game," he grumbled. "That's the one thing I like about it." Petra flipped him off. "Is that the second word?"
She screamed in frustration. Petra waved her hands and held up four fingers.
"Fourth word," he said. At least he'd figured out that much.
Petra spun around and around, puffing out her cheeks. She flailed her arms through the air and flung herself against the wall, then rolled along it and rushed over to another wall. She pretended to get blown here and there, before falling to the ground. She sat up, looked expectantly at Levi.
"Spastic," he said, frowning. "Dance. Murder. Attack. Ghost. Bomb."
"Bomb?" Petra leapt to her feet, this close to kicking something. "What about that looked like a bomb?"
"So it's not a bomb?"
"It's wind!" She'd had more than enough, both of wine and of trying to get this through his thick skull. "It's Gone with the Wind, okay? I was getting blown around by the wind! Son of a bitch!" She collapsed to the floor and sat there, swallowing the last of her wine. Petra then laid on her back and glared at the ceiling. "Gone with the Spastic. Ugh! That's such a rude word, anyway! Gone with the Bomb. Ugh! Stupid!"
Then she heard something impossible.
She heard Levi Ackerman…laughing.
Petra sat up and watched Levi press himself against the back of the couch, his hands across his stomach. His whole body shook with laughter; his eyes were squeezed shut, and his mouth was open wide enough to show his molars. He shook with the laughter, even snorted a couple times.
Petra blinked, more than a little drunk. "Um."
"Sorry, just… Fuck. You're flinging yourself all over the damn room and it's wind." He wiped one of his eyes, still chuckling. "Damn it. You're hilarious."
Petra pouted, then clapped her hand over her face when she snorted with her own laughter. She laughed until her stomach hurt, until she couldn't breathe. She almost spilled the wine when she poured herself another glass. Of course, if she had he would've stopped laughing and cleaned it up at once.
"I got a better idea." Levi got his breath back. "What if I tell you what to act out, and you just try to do it?"
"Why don't you have a turn?"
"I'm not as funny as you." It sounded like a compliment.
"Well. Fine."
He gave her Batman, and Petra tried to wing around like a bat. Wobbling drunkenly made the whole thing even more ridiculous, and Levi ended up slumping off the couch onto the floor, laughing so hard his face was bright red. That made Petra collapse onto a sofa, giggling until she couldn't breathe. When he suggested Pirates of the Caribbean, Petra placed one hand over her eye as an eyepatch and hopped around on one leg—the other one was gone, obviously. She made silent 'arrr' sounds and that was the absolute limit for him. Levi jammed a pillow over his face and screamed into it a couple of times, then wiped his cheeks as the tears fell down them.
"We gotta stop," he rasped. "I can't remember last time I laughed that hard."
"Me neither." Petra giggled, curling up on the couch with a glass of wine. "I like seeing you laugh. I'm sorry you don't do it more often."
"Eh. Guess that's what makes it special, yeah?"
Well, she could understand that. For a while they sat there, the talk easier between them now. They didn't talk about much; just favorite movies, favorite cities. Petra told him about how she'd always wanted to go to Paris one day, and Levi admitted that it was nice. The hours went past, and soon it was almost midnight.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Petra asked. The wine had made her bold, and she couldn't help her interest in the answer.
"No. Erwin's closest I ever got to a real relationship." He stared thoughtfully at the coffee table, anything to avoid meeting her eyes.
"Do you prefer men or women?"
"I don't prefer anyone. I don't like anyone," he growled.
"Except Erwin."
"Yeah." He worked his jaw. "And you, too." It was a silent, silken admission. "Guess you're all right."
The way he said it caused a certain heat to bloom all throughout her body. Petra bit her lower lip, studying him. She noticed how he made an effort not to look at her.
Petra stood up. She could have done this for many reasons—maybe she was doing it for many different reasons. To scratch an itch; to keep him from thinking too much about any involvement she might have had in the accident. But as she tugged the sweatshirt up over her head, she knew that the main reason she was doing this was because she wanted to do it. Because the wine had taken the edge off her fear, and even if he killed her now she wouldn't be scared of death or of him.
She did this because she wanted him. Badly. And she had for a long, long time.
Levi's mouth fell open as she approached him in her pair of baby pink lace panties and nothing else. Petra pressed a hand to his chest and straddled him on the couch. She lowered herself to sit in his lap, and could already feel the throbbing pulse of his cock aligned with the damp core of her underwear. She shifted her hips a couple of times, reveling in the soft gasps she drew from him.
"What about this?" Her lips barely moved as she took his hands and placed them on her breasts. Levi squeezed them on impulse, and rubbed his thumbs in slow, gentle circles around her nipples. Petra tilted her head back, letting his breath and then his mouth touch the skin of her throat. "You like this?"
"I think you know I do," he growled. Petra hoisted herself off his lap, and as he watched with rapt attention she slid her panties down, letting them drop to hang about her thighs.
"I want to watch you taste me," she whispered. The wine made her blood feel warm, her body feel soft and tender with longing. She rolled off of Levi, kicked the panties away with a flick of her foot. He moved on instinct, getting off the sofa and kneeling before her as Petra spread her thighs, displaying herself for his approval. For his tongue.
Levi grunted like an animal as he spread her thighs further, his hands caressing the softness of her inner knee and leg. He kept his eyes fixated on her cunt, his nostrils flaring as if taking in her scent. Then he parted her with his thumbs, leaned near, and licked her in one sweet, hot line from her opening to her clit.
Petra whispered his name, the pleasure already cresting.
"You like that?" he growled.
"More. Please."
"So polite." He kissed her there, and Petra shuddered as his tongue inched inside of her body. She gasped as he thrust his tongue in and out, in and out before lapping at her clit again. Already, the heat was flooding her limbs and the heaviness was centering itself between her legs. She called his name as Levi continued to stroke and circle her bud with the tip of his tongue. "You taste so sweet," he breathed.
Petra came with a breathy sigh, shuddering as she gripped his fine black hair and rode out her pleasure on his tongue. When she'd spent herself, Petra collapsed against the back of the couch. Levi stood, pulling his own shirt over his head before joining her. He pressed her down, lay on top of her. He stared into her eyes, the blue gray depths of his own pinning her down as surely as his body did. He moved against her, his still-clothed erection nudging against the blissfully tender opening of her body. Petra cried out in pleasure as he kissed her right breast, sucked the nipple.
"I been wanting to do this since that night in the closet," he rasped.
"I need you. Levi."
She screamed in pleasure as he took a fistful of her hair and pulled hard. Petra felt herself laid helpless and soft beneath the steel of his body.
"You're mine tonight." He bit the shell of her ear, and Petra's whole body lit up with orgasmic bliss. "You do what I say. What I want."
With Erwin, it was a test of endurance. With Levi, the notion of total submission only made Petra want to cry with ecstasy.
"Yes, sir," she breathed.
Levi lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her on her stomach, then shucked off his pants and got on the mattress. Petra's mouth watered as he turned on the light and she saw the sculpted planes of his body, the ridges of his abs. Those tattooed wings flexed along with his well-muscled arms, and the sight of his turgid erection never failed to satisfy her. Petra gasped when he gripped her hair and pressed her facedown into the bed.
"You acted like a brat at the waterfall today," he growled. "What do I do to brats?"
"Spank them?" Her pussy was so wet, so throbbing with need. When Levi slapped her ass, she screamed out her coming climax. He spanked her again and again, the bright slap of pain mellowing into warmth and comfort from one instant to the next. "Yes, sir. Please punish me. Don't let me get off easy," she groaned.
"Like this?"
He spanked her harder, telling her that he was going to fuck her until she was sore. Until she was raw. That he had to make sure she never disobeyed him ever again.
If this had been Erwin, Petra would have held her breath and waited for it to be over. But for Levi? She would happily let Levi chain her up, play with her until she was in pain and breathless. She wanted to do everything with him.
She cooed in anticipation as he opened the bedside drawer and ripped a condom's foil packet. As he fitted the rubber around himself, Petra smirked up at him.
"So. Condoms? You bring a lot of sexual conquests up here, then?"
"I bought these at the store yesterday." He sneered as he flipped her onto her back, spread her legs. "I knew I wasn't gonna be able to keep from fucking your brains out."
"Don't wait another second." Her cunt pulsated at the thought of his cock. "Ride me hard. Ride me all night."
"Fuck, Petra. Fuck."
He plunged inside of her then, filling her to the very hilt. Petra gave short, gasping breaths in time with his thrusts. They had all the time they wanted now, and all the privacy, but he didn't make slow love to her. He fucked like someone could walk in on them at any moment. His teeth bared like an animal, Levi pounded in and out of her body. Petra's ass was still tingling from his punishment, a sensation that only heightened her feeling of arousal.
"Levi!" She screamed his name and wailed incoherently as she came the first time with him inside her. He picked up his pace, slipping her legs around his shoulders and folding her almost in half. He grunted as he lowered himself on her, driving harder than ever before. He snarled and swore in her ear as he rode her.
"You're the nicest piece of ass I ever had," he hissed.
"I love when you fuck me." She leaned back and closed her eyes as she felt him strike her all the way at her cervix. Normally it would be painful, but this just felt like he'd claimed her fully. Petra arched her spine and groaned as he made her come again. The sensitivity in her body was reaching almost painful levels. "Yes, sir. Make me yours."
"You little slut." He threw off her legs, got onto his own knees, then tugged her against him. Petra was impaled upon his cock and gazed up at him as he slammed into her again, then again, and then yet again. His teeth were gritted, and he made soft, firm sounds of exertion as he pounded inside of her body. When he finally tipped his head back to the ceiling and cried out his release, Petra felt his latex-sheathed cock twitch inside of her.
The orgasm left her wrung out and sore, and she lay there gasping with her eyes closed as Levi collapsed on top of her. After a few minutes he pulled out. She cracked one eye open and watched him saunter into the bathroom, his tight, perfect ass a study in living sculpture. She heard him peel off the condom, then listened to him wash in the sink. When he returned, his erection was flagging and his pale skin was blotchy at his throat and across his chest. He ran a hand through his hair, now a bit stringy from the sweat.
"More," she whispered.
"You're a fucking nympho." He knelt upon the mattress and crawled over to her.
"And I thought you said you didn't like to fuck." Petra scooted down until she was eye level with his hardening dick. She licked and then started sucking it, while Levi moaned and ran fingers through her hair.
"You make me hard just by looking at me," he rasped. "You got any idea what it's like to wake up every day knowing you're in my bed, knowing I can't touch you?"
"You can touch me." She kissed up the rock wall of his stomach, licked his nipple. "You can touch all of me. Everything you want, as much as you want." Bold, she said, "Erwin doesn't get all that."
"Lies." He sneered down at her. "He gets everything."
"He takes everything." Petra lay back on the bed, put a hand between her legs. "I give everything to you. It's not the same."
Levi's eyes glimmered as he watched her play with herself. Petra moaned his name over and over as she rubbed at her clit, starting to make herself come again. When Levi grabbed her wrists and held them above her head, she grinned.
Levi tugged her, dragging Petra down the bed until he was lying on his side facing her feet, and she mirrored his position. Softly, Petra leaned nearer and kissed the tip of his cock, relishing his groans as she sucked the head languidly before taking him deeper into her mouth. Levi held her close, parting her folds and licking her over and over, tasting her as deeply as she tasted him. Petra shivered as he made her come, then almost purred in triumph as he exploded in her mouth. She swallowed his cum, then lay staring up at the bedroom ceiling with the most satisfied grin on her face.
Levi nabbed a pack of condoms from the dresser drawer, then hoisted her to her feet before laying her over his shoulder. As Petra giggled helplessly, he carried her like a piece of equipment back into the living room.
Levi made her get on her hands and knees on the couch, then ripped a foil packet and slipped another condom on. As he plunged into her from behind, Petra moaned at how deep she could take him. Her eyes watered as he moved, his thrusts punishingly hard as he grabbed her hair and yanked it. The more he pulled her hair, the deeper he went, the more she moaned and even yowled like a cat in heat.
"Quiet, you little slut," he hissed. Petra wept tears of ecstasy; she ground her ass against him, feeling his dick strike the very limit of her body. Levi snarled, telling her to be good and obey him, but she knew he wanted her to thrust against him. Eventually he got off the couch, stood her up, and bent her over so he could plunder her as fast and as hard as possible.
"It's so good," she gasped, loving the unyielding firmness of his body.
"You're the perfect height." He started making rocking motions with his hips, his dick rubbing some swollen, secret place deep in her body. "Never felt so good inside a woman before."
"I want you to fuck me till I die. Oh."
She came so hard that she burst into tears, and Levi threw her to the ground and fell on top of her. He kissed between her shoulder blades, rubbed her ass where he'd struck her earlier. Petra lay in a tangle of sweaty limbs and throbbing, tender spots that she'd never known she had before tonight.
"I'm addicted to this." He cupped her breast in his hand, squeezed her nipple until the world was lit up with electricity. "I've wanted you so fucking bad."
"You don't have to stop this time." She leaned up and kissed him hard on the mouth. "I meant it; you can have me all night. As long and as hard as you want."
"Trust me, brat. This isn't the end." He nibbled her jaw. "I'm just catching my breath."
Five minutes later, they put the coffee table to good, athletic use. And all through the early morning hours, as Petra rode him, as he rode her, as he kissed and sucked every erogenous spot on her body, she thought how she didn't mind so much being Erwin's bride. After all, Erwin had brought Levi into her life. Maybe she hated Levi, but hate had nothing to do with this. She doubted any man she loved could give her half as much pleasure as this man she despised.
He lay in her arms as the sky outside turned gray, the light of the sun almost upon them. She'd only fallen asleep forty minutes ago; Levi couldn't believe how hard he'd been, and how long. She was something, this one.
Quietly, still naked, he got out of bed and knelt on the floor. He felt beneath the mattress, removing the bundle quietly. The gun was already loaded, safety off, everything. He stood and looked down at the naked, sleeping woman.
He'd never liked having sex before, but this woman? She made every orgasm feel like fucking gold. He couldn't stop touching her. He understood now why Erwin had gone so fucking mental over her.
Erwin.
Erwin was lying in a coma now because of this woman. Levi knew it. Didn't know how, didn't know the details, but he knew it was Petra's fault. When she'd bought those fucking tampons, it'd sealed her fate. He didn't know why she'd pretended to be pregnant, but he knew it had something to do with all this.
He'd brought her to this place to kill her. Erwin would forgive him in time, if Erwin ever woke up.
Levi lifted the gun, aimed for the head. A quick shot, she'd never even know she was gone. Clean up wouldn't be difficult; Levi had everything he needed in the basement. The one she'd never found. The one she'd never find unless he wanted her to see it. Which he didn't.
Goodbye, Petra. You gave me the ride of my life. Consider this returning the favor.
After all, if Erwin awoke and Levi told the boss his suspicions, Petra would be lucky to die the way the Reiss family had. Best to let her go in peace. Yeah.
It was a kinder death than many received in this world.
Levi's hand shook just a bit, and he had to get himself under control. This was stupid; he had a duty. No more games, no more bullshit. Just click, bang, bury.
He wished he could fuck her one last time…
Would he ever get the taste of her out of his mouth? Would he ever want the scent of her skin to wash off of his? Normally he'd want nothing more than to be clean of her. Even after fucking Erwin, Levi wanted to get back to his own scent as fast as possible. But this? If he could've bottled Petra's scent, he would.
One flick of the finger, and he never needed to feel this pain ever again. She'd be in his past. No regrets. Dead and gone.
The girl shifted in her sleep, her glorious red-orange hair rumpled on the pillow.
"Levi," she whispered. She smiled.
Levi took a breath and put his finger on the trigger.