Chapter 86
LEVI
She didn’t usually use such harsh language. That much was obvious. I could see it—the way she bit her tongue, her eyes blazing with a storm of fury, frustration, and fierce defiance. And God help me, I found it insanely arousing. That fire. That rawness. Now, more than ever, I wanted her to lose it. Completely.
And she was teetering on the edge.
Her hand was still trembling from the slap she’d landed just moments ago. My cheek stung, but I didn’t care. I wanted to feel everything she gave me.
Then, without warning, she raised her hand to slap me again—but this time, I caught her wrist mid-air. My fingers wrapped around her delicate skin, firm enough to stop her, gentle enough not to hurt her. She squirmed, but I didn’t let go. Instead, I pulled her against me—flush, chest to chest—our breaths colliding in a space that had suddenly turned molten.
Her eyes widened. The rage didn’t leave—it simply shifted, twisted into something darker. Something deeper. Desire—fierce and unfamiliar. The kind that felt like recognition. As if her body knew mine. As if my touch wasn’t new to her, but remembered—craved.
She stared at me like I was the source of every emotion she’d locked away.
I was still reeling from her presence, from the heat curling low in my gut. Jenna’s betrayal was a blur now, a distant memory eclipsed by the storm this woman stirred in me.
“I didn’t deserve the first slap,” I said, my voice calm, edged in steel. “And I sure as hell won’t tolerate a second.”
She flinched—not from fear, but surprise. She stepped back, her expression twisting into something unreadable. Her face—a contradiction of innocence and wrath. Wide, tear-filled eyes. Soft bow lips drawn tight with emotion.
She froze. But that anger? It still simmered.
“I didn’t make you lose your job, lady.”
“You brought misery the moment you walked in last week!” she snapped, voice raw. “Why did you come?”
“Because it’s a free world,” I said, keeping my tone measured. “And I left. I left when I saw you were too proud to apologize.”
“Apologize?” she spat. “You motherfucker!”
I didn’t even blink. “You won’t use that language with me again,” I said evenly, my gaze holding hers captive. “I won’t have that. And you will apologize.”
She let out a bitter laugh—sharp, humorless. It echoed in the silence like shattering glass.
“You think you can make me? You don’t even know who you’re dealing with. I have no reason to be sorry.”
Her voice cracked. Her posture wavered.
“I lost my job tonight,” she whispered. “By tomorrow, I’ll have nowhere to sleep. No roof, no money. And you think this is the time to play power games?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. And just like that, the dam broke. All the strength she’d clung to collapsed in a flood of grief and fury. Guilt gnawed at me, even if I knew I hadn’t caused this.
“I’m not the one who got you fired,” I said quietly.
“Then who?” she asked brokenly. Her hand trembled at her side, tugging at the waistband of her too-tight trousers, as if her own skin was suffocating her.
“I don’t know what you’re going through,” I said carefully. “But I can help. I could offer you a job. Right now. So you won’t be on the streets tomorrow.”
Her spine stiffened, pride flaring hot and fast across her features.
“I’m not interested in your job. F—”
The curse hovered at the edge of her lips, but it never landed. She stopped herself, the word caught in her throat like something bitter. She must’ve seen something in my eyes. A warning—cold and sharp. A promise.
That if she finished that word, I’d make her regret it.
She fell silent. Her jaw clenched. Her fists curled at her sides. But she didn’t say it.
Obedient.
And God help me, that obedience stirred something deep and dangerous in me. A shadow I thought I’d buried long ago. Something possessive. Dark. A hunger I hadn’t fed in over a year—because I swore I was done.
But in that moment, watching her bite back that word, standing proud even in her defeat, I felt it rising again.
Maybe, I thought—almost ashamed of myself—maybe after all this time, I could finally find the perfect submissive. Someone who pushed back. Someone who burned and bowed in the same breath.
No.
No, no, no.
Levi, you’re done with that life.
You’re done with women.
And yet…
My gaze flicked over her—those trembling hands, that defiant chin, those lips trembling between fury and restraint. I could practically feel the weight of her pride crashing against her desperation as tears kept falling from her eyes.
“Suit yourself,” I said, stepping back. “But if you don’t want to sleep on a sidewalk tonight, you might want to reconsider.”
She turned on her heel and walked away without another word. I didn’t stop her.
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