10
LEVI
“ Y ou did what ?” I spit out my beer. I don’t think hearing it the second time is going to help matters, but she answers anyway.
“I put him in his place,” Sera says with a shrug of her shoulders. Nonchalance isn’t Sera’s strong-suit, but even I’m impressed with the confidence she exudes. She stands in the center of the living room like she owns the place — in all fairness, she does.
I followed her back after the ball this evening, which was cut short after her encounter with the Governor. Unsurprisingly, Luca was waiting outside her house. It seems he had the same idea as I did.
“So you grabbed his dick?” I deadpan, my teeth grinding sharply. My eyes dart between Sera and Giovanni. I don’t even want to ask how she got into that predicament but Giovanni is meant to stop this sort of shit from happening. I don’t like the thought of the Governor’s hands all over Sera, but she’s not mine. I don’t own her.
That doesn’t mean I have to like the situation.
I can already feel the room charging with fierce energy nobody can contain. If it doesn’t diffuse soon, words bound for regret are going to start flying.
“It was his balls,” she defends, pulling her hair up into a messy knot. “At least I think it was his balls. They were really small.”
Luca snorts a laugh, his lips turning up in admiration for our leader. “Looks like Bianchi finally found her balls.”
“You’re not helping,” I grind out, fists bunching. Luca is usually the collected one, the guy who remains stoic and stern, angry under the multiple layers of golden skin. He’s not the joker, I am! Asshole.
Sera offers him a gracious smile before turning her attention onto me. “The guy had it coming, Levi. He thought I was just going to roll over and suck his dick in exchange for immunity. The same immunity he gave my father.”
“You think your father sucked his dick too?” Luca laughs. I don’t know where the hell Luca got his recent sense of humor from, but it’s not helping things. Especially when Sera is laughing at his joke.
My jaw clenches again, my teeth grinding as I fight the urge to punch Luca then pin Sera to the wall and remind her she can’t do shit like that. But I’d be lying. She can do whatever she wants, and Luca seems to admire that she is doing just that.
I want to feel some kind of happiness that he isn’t being a moody asshole like a few days ago, but right now I don’t have the room for that emotion. I’m far too pissed at the entire situation.
Ignoring Luca’s comment, I redirect my anger to the one person who should have prevented anyone from getting their hands on our leader. He’s standing stoically beside his mark, not even batting an eyelid at the arguments ensuing.
“And where were you?”
Sera stands in front of Giovanni, blocking my path. “I told him to stand down.”
“Sera,” I growl. “This is the exact reason Gio was hired!”
“No! He was hired to protect me from harm. From my enemies! The Governor is not an enemy, just a pawn in this stupid game! I had it handled!”
“Listen, Bianchi. I’m on Levi’s side,” Luca says, approaching us both. While I’m grateful for his support, I don’t really give a shit. Sera is the only thing I care about right now and anything could have happened to her.
“I can’t win with you two!” She points a manicured finger at Luca, hand shaking with anger. “ You want me to be a leader!” Then she points the same sharp finger in my direction, “And you want me to be some weak ass cagna stupida !”
“I want you to be safe!” I snap.
“Well, you can’t have it all, Levi! I can’t build a reputation by magic. I have to earn it, I have to fight for it. I have to show those assholes that I am not to be messed with. Just like I did tonight!” Before I know what’s happening, Sera is spinning on her heels and heading upstairs.
The room lapses into silence, an angry chill settling over us. There’s so many thoughts flying around my head, so many possibilities of what could have happened all because Sera’s bodyguard fucked up.
I narrow my eyes on the man who should have broken the Governor’s hands—because that’s what I would have done. He shifts, but it’s not because he’s nervous. I can already tell that his defiance is because of something else.
“I’m sure she had it handled,” Luca mutters beside me.
She probably did, but that’s not an excuse. Giovanni and I need to have words about what his job entails because today he showed he can’t listen to instructions. And for someone less inclined to speak, I thought that would have been an easy task, even for him.
I decide that conversation can wait because I’m still rolling in the aftermath of our argument. Sera thinks being a leader is about showing strength, but it isn’t. She needs to learn to make the right decisions at the right time. That’s why I’m here, to ensure she doesn’t make stupid mistakes. Marching up the stairs towards her room, I make a mental note that from now on, she doesn’t go anywhere without me. Clearly Giovanni can’t be trusted to do the one thing he was hired for. Orders from his leader or not, he fucked up.
I can hear the music playing in Sera’s room as I approach, Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” playing through the speakers. Normally, I would knock on the door, but I’m too pissed off to give a shit .
The door slams against the wall as I barge through, Sera spinning around with wide eyes as she clutches her dress to her chest. “Levi!”
“You’re fucking infuriating, you know that?!”
She backs away from my approach, but she has nowhere to go as I close the distance between us. Her back hits the wall beside her bathroom, her chest heaving as she stares up at me.
“Knowing some fucker had his hands on you…”
I know I’m speaking out of turn. I’ve already realized that the words coming out of my mouth come from a place of jealousy. So far though, my interactions with Serafina have sparked something primal within me. She doesn’t seem to mind, she hasn’t stopped my advances thus far.
“Levi, I?—”
I slam my lips onto hers.
I don’t care what she has to say because right now, I need her to feel this. I need Sera’s kiss, the caress of her tongue. I desire her and the delicate whimpers that escape her pretty little lips.
Capturing her mouth with primal force, I tip her head back. Her mouth opens with a gasp, and I use the moment to slide my tongue past her lips, dragging it against hers. I completely own her with this kiss, which is totally out of character, but Sera has made me like this.
I don’t know when, but somewhere along the way, my attraction to her became more than just admiration. Being my cousin’s best friend was the only thing stopping me from making a move before. Not because he was always around, but because I had more respect for his own damn feelings for her than my own.
With her hands in my hair, I feel her nails dig deep, scratching at my scalp. It’s both painful and deliciously euphoric. I groan against her, feeling everything in that moment. Her lust, my desire. Her submission and my desperation.
Her leg lifts, hooking behind my calf and drawing me closer. There’s nowhere else to go but to fall into her, and fuck do I want to do that. But I can’t.
I pull away, pressing my forehead to hers while our messy breaths collide .
“What was that for?” she pants, running her nails down the back of my neck.
I groan out at the sensation, her touch sparking more than desire in my slacks. “Because… if I didn’t do that, I’d be tearing this room apart.” It’s honest and brutal; frightening, yet she seems to understand.
She runs her nose along mine, smiling and blushing at the same time.”What’s happening?”
I shake my head, a choppy breath falling as I admit, “I don’t know, Bianchi. You’re driving me crazy.”
Raking her nails through my hair, she worries her lip between her teeth. Her bright brown eyes lure me in, her eyelashes fluttering with expectation. But deep in those depths, I can see it; the sadness that surrounds her, the guilt that anchors her. Every time she looks at me, I see those emotions warring with her and I know why.
I’m all too aware of the similarities Enzo and I shared. The eyes, the nose, the jawline and hair. There are very few things that kept us apart in likeness; his tattoos, my carefree attitude. I’m also aware of the pain Sera harbors. Enzo’s death was barely a month ago. Nobody gets over a death in that amount of time, especially with how close the pair were.
It’s that particular thought that steers me away from Sera, earning me a frown. As much as I want this– her– she needs time. I can’t be the one to heal her because she needs to do that herself.
Her uncertain gaze calls to me. It’s silently asking for answers, and with a sigh I give them to her. “I know you miss him.”
She takes a deep breath, her eyes glazing over as tears threaten to spill at the mere mention of her best friend.
“I miss him too, but?—”
Realization widens her eyes and she steps forward, taking my hand. “I do miss him,” she whispers. “Nothing will make that stop.”
I know.
“But why now? Why are we… whatever this is… why now?”
“Are you questioning my intentions?”
She shakes her head, dropping her gaze to the ground. All at once the earlier confidence has disappeared and in its place is doubt. As I take her in, she’s no longer the fierce leader but a timid little girl who has had her heart broken, her soul crushed, all by the people she cared about.
I tip her chin up, meeting her defiant gaze.
“I’m wondering where this is coming from. Six months ago you wouldn’t look twice at me like you are right now.”
“I’ve always cared about you, Bianchi. Ever since the day I met you, there was something about you. But you were Enzo’s. Maybe not in the way he wanted, or you for that matter. But you were always his.”
A single tear rolls down her cheek. “But why now?”
I reach up and capture it with my thumb, tasting the salty sadness on my tongue. “Why not?”
“How does this work?” she says with a frown. “I’m your leader. I like you, but…”
“We do whatever we want. There are no rules, Bianchi.” I press my forehead to hers again, my entire body fighting me to get another taste of those lips. “You make them.”
“I don’t know how to do this, Levi.” She wrings her hands together.
Her words are loud and clear. They hit me right where it hurts when I know it shouldn’t. It’s just the wrong time. I should have seen past my own urges and thought about her. Cazzo. Her last relationship was Luciano and that was seven years ago. He fucked her up royally and even though I know I would treat her better, that’s a different level of trust altogether.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes, but…” her voice carries softly. In any other circumstance it would make me rethink what I’m about to do. She reaches for my hand, but I’m already backing away without giving her the opportunity to make me stay.
“Trust this,” I smile. “Take the time and space. I’m not going anywhere.”
And with that, I spin on my heel and head for the door.
“Levi, wait!”