Chapter 57

Levi.

I took a breath, the silence of the room thick with a tension I could no longer ignore. Despite the composure I tried to maintain, my heart hammered against my ribs, a rhythmic echo of the desire that had been simmering beneath the surface for weeks.

As I looked at Kenya, standing there with her hair slightly tousled and her eyes reflecting the soft glow of the Manhattan skyline, the air between us seemed to vibrate. The barrier I had built around my heart was crumbling, piece by piece.

"Take me again," she whispered. The words weren't a command, but a plea—a call for connection that mirrored the hunger in my own soul.

I stilled, watching her with a mixture of surprise and profound longing. For a moment, my voice failed me. I searched her gaze, finding a playfulness there that I hadn't expected.

“But...” she started, pulling back from my reach, her expression turning mischievous. “You’ll have to catch me first.”

She turned and ran toward the grand staircase. I couldn't help but let out a short, genuine laugh—a sound that felt foreign yet welcome in this house. I followed her, the chase adding a layer of exhilarating energy to the night. We raced toward the master suite, a room that had felt more like a museum than a sanctuary until this very moment.

I caught her just inside the door. We stood there, breathless, the city lights filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. As our gazes locked, the playfulness shifted into something far more intense. The atmosphere became heavy, charged with a magnetic pull that was impossible to resist.

I stepped toward her, my presence towering but my touch intended to be reverent. I reached for the pins in her hair, slowly undoing them until her dark, wavy locks cascaded over her shoulders. I allowed my fingers to linger against her scalp, feeling her lean into the touch.

“Your hair is beautiful,” I murmured, my voice dropping to a low, husky register. “I’ve never seen it quite like this.”

She let out a soft sound, a purr of contentment that triggered a protective, possessive instinct deep within me. I leaned down, my lips grazing the sensitive skin of her neck. Every contact felt like a spark in a tinderbox.

Kenya responded with a fervor that matched my own. We moved toward the bed, the world outside our door ceasing to exist. The connection between us was no longer just physical; it was a desperate attempt to find solid ground in the midst of the secrets that threatened to drown us.

“Kenya, are you sure?” I asked, my voice strained with the effort of maintaining some semblance of restraint. I searched her emerald-green eyes, looking for hesitation and finding only a fierce, undeniable hunger.

She didn't use words to answer. Instead, she drew me closer, her touch an invitation I had no power to refuse. As we came together, it felt like a dance—volatile, unhinged, and breathtakingly beautiful. The rhythm we found was ancient and undeniable, a symphony of whispered promises and shared heat.

In the height of our passion, a dark, intrusive thought clawed at the back of my mind: What if she finds out the truth about her father?

The fear flickered for a second, a cold shadow in the midst of the flames. I looked into Kenya’s eyes, seeing the raw intensity there, and it terrified me. My addiction to her essence was becoming my greatest vulnerability. I never wanted to hurt her; the mere thought of her discovering the darkness I carried was enough to shatter the peace I found in her arms.

But tonight, the truth stayed in the shadows. We were two souls lost in a storm of our own making, finding release in the shared rhythm of our hearts.

Eventually, the fire burned down to glowing embers. I listened to the steady, even sound of Kenya’s breathing as she fell asleep, her head resting peacefully against my chest. I stayed awake for a long time, caressing her hair and watching the way the moonlight played across her skin.

For the first time in years, I felt a semblance of content. As I finally allowed sleep to take me, I held her tighter, as if I could shield her from the very secrets I knew would eventually come for us both.