CHAPTER 30LeviAurelia
Levi
Levi stirred as the morning sunlight filtered through sheer curtains, streaking gold across the bed and his bare skin. He blinked against the brightness, a low groan rumbling in his throat as he rolled over.
This wasn’t his bed.
The realization hit fast, pulling him fully awake.
He sat up in a rush, eyes scanning the unfamiliar surroundings until they landed on the still, glassy waters of the lagoon beyond the window.
Aurelia’s room…in her home.
His wife’s home.
The word still sat oddly on his tongue, even inside his thoughts, and was equal parts thrilling and disorienting.
Flashes of last night rolled into his mind. Her mouth on his, her body wrapped around him, the way she had whispered that she wanted him. Every memory pulled tight across his chest like a cord wound with heat and vulnerability.
But the bed was empty and cold on her side.
Where was she?
He ran a hand across the sheets where she had been, fingers brushing over the faintest imprint left behind. The pang of disappointment was unexpected and sharp.
Leaning over the edge, he spotted his overnight bag perched neatly on the bench near the window.
She must’ve brought it in after he passed out.
He hadn’t slept that deeply in years, effectively dead to the world, wrapped in the weight of exhaustion…
and something comforting he hadn’t been ready to name.
He muttered a quiet thanks into the stillness of the room, grabbed the bag, and pulled on a pair of sweats over his briefs. Modesty wasn’t exactly the priority, but tracking down his wife while naked wasn’t the kind of first morning impression he wanted to make.
On his way to the bathroom, he caught his reflection in the mirror.
It was a disaster.
His hair was sticking up at gravity-defying angles. A rough shadow of stubble dusted his jaw. But there was something else in the mirror that attracted his attention. His eyes looked rested.
Peaceful, even.
He couldn’t remember the last time they looked like that.
He ran a hand through his wild hair with minimal success and shrugged. This was the real him. She might as well get used to the morning version of her husband.
Striding toward the hallway, Levi padded softly down the floorboards, listening for any sign of her.
He was a man on a mission to find his wife.
Aurelia
Aurelia slipped quietly out of bed before dawn, moving with practiced care as she pulled on soft pajamas, careful not to wake Levi.
She paused at the foot of the bed, her gaze lingering on the sweeping tattoo across his back of a large, intricately scrolled tree that stretched across his shoulders and spine.
At first glance, he didn’t seem like the type to have ink, let alone something that bold. But it suited him in a way that made her attention linger…and her thoughts stray somewhere far less innocent.
She needed to stop imagining crawling back under the covers and waking her new husband in ways that had nothing to do with sleep.
With a sigh, she slipped out of the room, only to return a minute later to quietly place his overnight bag by the door. Then, retreating to the kitchen, she focused her energy on something safer, though less satisfying…like breakfast.
Now, she stood at the stove, lost in a swirl of sizzling bacon and pancake batter, as she replayed last night’s memories.
Her heart was still fluttering, though she tried to ignore it.
Everything about last night had been different.
She had shared her body, read the moment, and taken control before, but not like this. This wasn’t the usual blur of desire and detachment. It was something quieter, deeper, and far more disarming, and she didn’t know what to make of it.
They were strangers, yes, but they had also woken up legally married. That truth clung to her chest like a storm cloud refusing to break. She pushed those thoughts away, focusing her attention on the pancakes. But images from last night and of his back this morning kept infiltrating her thoughts.
There was something about him…something that whispered he would be the one to undo her, piece by piece.
On the other hand, she had slept through the night for once without any nightmares or tossing and turning. Waking up refreshed was a small miracle she credited only to exhaustion…and not to the man who had held her like she was something sacred.
As the bacon finished crisping in the pan, she absently picked up her phone. A casual curiosity became a black hole of discovery as she typed Levi Lockwood into her browser…and then promptly forgot how to breathe.
His face was everywhere, and his name was attached to article after article. The amount of information about him was never-ending.
Neuronix CEO.
Youngest founder to lead a multibillion-dollar company.
Tabloid mentions.
Financial reports.
Charitable endowments.
She had not realized the full weight of what he meant when he said he was a CEO. And now, the truth stared back at her from a glowing screen—her husband was Levi Lockwood, one of the most powerful men and eligible bachelor, in Joia City…possibly the continent.
And he was currently asleep bare-assed in her bed.
Aurelia didn’t know how to interpret any of it, so she zeroed in on what she could control, which wasn’t burning breakfast.
With food almost on the table, Aurelia was so deep in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Levi’s approach.
When she spun around, proudly holding a fresh stack of pancakes, she let out a startled cry…and the plate pitched, sending the pancakes soaring.
One hit Levi right in the face. The rest scattered on the floor. Time stood still.
Aurelia became a statue, afraid to move or even breath as she prayed for a hole to appear in her floor and swallow her whole.
Levi then slowly peeled the pancake off his eye, holding it between two fingers and examining it like a small, flour-based crime had been committed.
“I expected this morning to be somewhat awkward after last night,” he deadpanned, “but not for this reason.”
Aurelia was mortified. Why do these things happen to me?
She cleared her throat, mouth suddenly desert-dry, and managed to say, “In some cultures, it’s tradition for a wife to slap her husband with breakfast foods after a perfectly adequate ravishing.”
Levi threw his head back in a roar of laughter, and the sound was so warm, so real, that it made her heart ache in the best way. Her eyes widened in surprise.
She didn't make jokes, not like that at least.
She certainly didn’t flirt either.
But something about Levi kept her mouth running, and for once, it didn’t feel like something she needed to apologize for.
“I’m usually up early in the morning,” she said quickly, the words tumbling out in a rush. “You looked exhausted, so I didn’t want to wake you. I figured I’d start breakfast while you slept…”
Levi gave her a lazy smile and leaned back against the counter, shirtless, with his gray sweatpants hanging low enough to make it hard to think.
The tendrils of ink peeking over his shoulders were more noticeable.
She swallowed back the urge to better acquaint herself with each line with more than just her eyes.
Noticing her shift in mood, he pushed off the counter and closed the space between them. They were close enough for her to see the specks of gold in his eyes. He took her hand, lifting it to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss into her palm.
Did it just get hotter in here? Aurelia couldn’t stop staring at his mouth.
“I appreciate the effort,” he said, voice low, sincere, and laced with something more dangerous. “But please don’t feel like you have to wait on me. I would have gotten my ass up to help you…even if it meant a much higher risk of a kitchen fire.”
The idea of a kitchen fire snapped her out of the trance that had overtaken her. Aurelia grinned despite herself. Estrella might be chaotic, but she knew what she was doing. Levi in the morning, rumpled and shirtless, was dangerously charming.
“I prefer my kitchen as it is…not on fire.” She pointed to a plate of surviving pancakes on the counter. A mound of crispy bacon waited beside them.
He stared at the pancakes, visibly distressed, and slowly picked one up. Levi took a bite, tried to chew and swallow it, and failed to hide a grimace as he forced it down.
She frowned. “Do they taste bad?” she asked, scanning the instructions on the box, worried she screwed them up.
“No, they came out perfectly fine,” he said, valiantly forcing down another bite.
She narrowed her eyes. “Then why do you look like you’re being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment?”
“...Because I don’t like pancakes?” He answered with one cautious eye open, clearly expecting a fight.
She stared at him in disbelief. “Who doesn’t like pancakes? Is it all breakfast sweets or just that?”
“I like waffles…” She opened her mouth to argue, but Levi cut her off. “…and no, they are not the same as pancakes.” Levi crossed his arms defiantly with a petulant scowl.
“It’s literally the same batter.”
“Incorrect,” he said flatly. “This batter is only appropriate for waffles.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious. We even ask during interviews at Neuronix what they prefer. If someone says ‘pancakes,’ they’re bumped to the bottom of the list.Waffles are the only correct answer.”
Her jaw dropped. “That’s no way to conduct business!”
“The only exception would be if they say pancakes are acceptable only when used like bread in a breakfast sandwich. Then they’re hired on the spot. Otherwise, pancakes are banned.”
She gawked at him. “Do you at least like bacon?Please tell me you like bacon,” she pleaded.
Levi gave a dramatic sigh. “Of course I like bacon, I’m a man, damn it. But…” his eyes danced as he popped a few crispy pieces in his mouth, “…crispy bacon is an atrocity. The sound of the crunch alone makes me cringe.”
“An atrocity you don’t seem to mind right now.” Aurelia crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Because it’s bacon. Only serial killers would say no to eating bacon.” He winked. “Plus, my wife made it. I’m obligated to eat it even with the pancakes.”
Aurelia eyed him skeptically. “I assume you drink your coffee black, too.”
He playfully cocked his head. “Does my wife prefer her sugar and cream with a splash of coffee?”
She pointed a spatula at him. “Let me guess…you also think pasta shapes taste different.”
He froze. “Each shape holds the sauce differently—of course they taste different!”
Aurelia raised both eyebrows high in a silent challenge.
Levi sighed ruefully. “My wife is a food tyrant.”