Ancient Guardians: The Uninvited (25 page)

Levi didn’t answer her; instead, his countenance grew dark as he studied her. She started to demand a response from him but before she could, her emotions took a wild turn again. At first her head felt as if it would explode, and then almost as quickly as the pain hit her, it left, and she found herself overwhelmed by Levi’s presence.

What is wrong with me?
She thought as she battled her emotions. It felt as though something were controlling her. No matter how hard she fought she couldn’t resist it. A strong desire came over her to have him kiss her deeply and powerfully; then other thoughts began consuming her. They were so great that she couldn’t think about anything but wanting him.

Levi stared at her indifferently as she sauntered over to where he stood. She reached up, bringing both arms around his neck, drawing his face down onto hers. He didn’t embrace her in response, and when his lips touched hers, they were motionless. She had to get him to give in, so she must apologize.

She stepped back and allowed tears to fill her eyes. “Levi, I’m so sorry. I’m such a horrible person.”

“Reece, you should rest. We can work this out tomorrow. I’ll have Henry escort you to your room.”

Tears ran down her cheeks, “Right now I must to be with you.” She said as she reached for his face.

Levi’s eyes closed as he inhaled deeply.

“Kiss me, Levi,” she said in a seductive tone.

Levi opened his eyes and stared down into hers. He wasn’t saying no, so once again she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body tightly into his. Levi didn’t fight her, and he fulfilled her aching desire by placing his lips lightly on hers. Without hesitation, she deepened their kiss, and Levi accepted.

She hungered for more as though she had never kissed him before. She ran her hands along his sturdy sides.
He’s unimaginably perfect.
A strange voice sounded in her head. Reece sensed the awkwardness of the situation, but she was powerless against the force taking over her. So lost was she in the sensations of everything she was feeling and wanting, she couldn’t understand why Levi’s hands gripped hers firmly and he stepped away from her.

Reece grew infuriated, but resisted the urge to laugh when he brought his fingers to his bottom lip to examine the trace of blood on it.

Did I just bite his lip?
she thought in humor. “Looks like the brave Pemdai warrior isn’t so tough after all, eh?” she said with a dark laugh.

Her humor was replaced when Levi stared at her in disbelief. “I think you should go.” Levi’s eyes were fierce. “I have no idea what is happening with you, Reece. Something is not right; you are not acting like yourself.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You know what, Levi? It doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. Forget it. I’m trying to make things work out between us, and apparently kissing you was a bad idea.” She whirled around and stomped to the door.

She opened it and turned back to him before walking out. “Make sure you have the carriage ready for me to leave tomorrow.”

With that she spun on her heel in a fury, and stormed through the corridor and down the steps to her room.

L
evi was motionless, and his were eyes fixed on the door that Reece slammed on her way out of his room. After weeks of enduring her aggressive mood swings and her constant irritation with him, Levi had finally reached his breaking point.

He began unbuttoning his shirt as he walked into his closet. He shrugged the shirt off, gathered it up, and threw it forcefully against the wall. It was obvious that he needed to unwind. He quickly changed into a pair of shorts, pulled on a dark robe, and left his room. He strode briskly through the servants’ passageways down to one of the large pool rooms in the palace.

He wasted no time removing his robe and plunging head first into the crisp water. His chest barely grazed the bottom of the pool before he swam back up to the surface. Once above water, he swam vigorously through the crystal clear water, letting each lap he made calm his tense nerves.

What was happening between him and Reece? How did it come to this? No matter how aggressively he swam through the water, it could not erase the strange feelings of the last kiss they shared. For the first time ever in Reece’s presence, Levi had no desire to kiss her. This was not the woman he fell in love with. Something had changed drastically, and Levi was losing her.

With these thoughts resurfacing, Levi felt all of his energy draining. He finished a final lap, and held onto the side of the pool. He placed both elbows upon the stone surface, and smoothed his hair back with his hands. The thought of losing Reece sent a violent pain through him. Regardless of her behavior, he loved her so greatly, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. What had he done to cause her such bitterness? After all of the years he guarded her on Earth, she had never acted like this toward anyone. Maybe honoring her request and giving her this time away would bring her back to him somehow.

The next morning, Levi reported to the training facility as part of his morning routine. His agitation was still present, but not as intense as the previous evening. The men began their rigorous drills, and Levi let it serve as therapy. After finally pinning Harrison to the ground, Harrison laughed when Levi let him up. Levi’s eyes widened has Harrison brushed the blood away from his cheek.

“That was excellent!” Harrison said, as he clapped Levi on his shoulder.

Levi sighed. “Forgive me; I didn’t intend to make contact with you.” Levi was disillusioned that he’d injured Harrison in their training. Yes, the Guardians’ training was extremely aggressive, but the men were skilled enough to not cause each other injury.

Harrison grinned. “It was nothing, and you will teach me that new move!” He arched his eyebrow at Levi. “I think Reece needs to irritate you a little more often.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I am not upset with her; I am merely confused by her behavior.”

“Well, what do you expect? It appears her new best friend is Simone, it’s pretty obvious—”

“Harrison!” Levi snapped, cutting him off. “Do not compare Reece to that woman.” He reached down for his towel, and wiped the sweat from his face. “You’ve known Reece long enough to understand this is not like her. Something else is wrong.”

Harrison sighed. “She’ll get over it soon enough.”

“I do hope you are correct.”

They turned to follow the other Guardians out of the training unit. “Samuel has a pretty complicated assignment for us today; are you up for it?” Harrison said enthusiastically.

“Pennsylvania again?” Levi said with a soft laugh. “Let Samuel know that once I’ve seen Reece off, we’ll leave for Earth.”

It was nearing daybreak when Levi headed to the courtyard to arrange Reece and Simone’s transportation to Samuel’s estate. On his way through the dimly lit corridors, he encountered Jasmeen.

“Master Levi, Reece is still asleep. Forgive me if I’m out of line by saying this, but I am concerned for her being alone in Simone’s company.”

“She will hardly be alone, and Reece may be aggravated about this, but the Imperial Guards have been instructed not to let her out of their sight. They will be guarding her heavily, and Samuel is returning to the estate to ensure her safety as well.”

“That is relieving to hear,” she replied.

“If you’ll excuse me, I must finish making my preparations for her departure.”

“Very well, sir,” Jasmeen said, and offered him a short curtsy.

With a nod, Levi turned and walked through the corridor, down to the courtyard where he encountered Samuel as he was preparing to leave.

Levi walked over and shook his commanding officer’s hand, “Sir, I am indebted to you for returning to your estate in order to ensure Reece’s safety.”

Samuel nodded, “Think nothing of it, Levi. I regret to admit that I do not trust my own daughter alone with Miss Bryant.” He hoisted himself up onto his horse and looked down at Levi, “Vincent will be in charge and will be reporting to me in my absence.”

“Very well, sir.” Levi answered as Samuel directed his horse to leave the courtyard.

By late morning, Reece and Simone made their way out to where Levi was finalizing their transportation arrangements with the guards at her carriage. Levi looked up and noticed Reece. Seeing her prepared to leave the palace sent a wave of despair through him. All he wanted was to have her in his arms, to see her smile at him again, and to hear her laugh. He was dismayed that she was leaving, but he wouldn’t interfere with her wishes.

As soon as the women descended the steps into the courtyard, Levi dismissed the footman in order to have one last opportunity to feel the softness of Reece’s delicate hand in his. Simone led the way, and Levi managed to repress his hatred of the woman long enough to offer his hand to help her into the carriage. He avoided any eye contact with her, and once Simone was seated, he turned with some anxiety to offer his hand to Reece.

Surprisingly, she didn’t decline his hand, but instead placed it carefully into his. Her tender touch burned against his skin, and his heart beat erratically as he assisted her. He resisted the urge to grip his hand tightly around hers and beg her not to leave him, but he had to let her go. When she accepted his help into the carriage, she never smiled or made eye contact with him.

Levi was distraught as he stared at Reece in the carriage. He exhaled in defeat when the driver called out to the horses. Levi stood and watched as the carriage left rapidly. He ran his hand through his hair, straining to keep his thoughts straight.
Just give her time,
he told himself.

“I give her two days at most before she comes screaming back to the palace,” Harrison called out, as he hopped down the steps to where Levi stood.

“Only time will tell.”

Harrison clapped Levi on the shoulder. “Javian has our horses ready, and I am ready to get out of here.”

Levi nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Levi did his best to throw himself fully into assignments on Earth, but it wasn’t helping. Even with Harrison’s light-hearted personality, Levi found no reprieve. There was no word of Reece wishing to return to the palace, and he began to turn numb to everything around him.

After a few short days serving on Earth, Levi requested leave. He was unable to be effective in his duties in such a distracted state of mind. It had been a week since Reece’s departure, and Levi became increasingly despondent. He isolated himself from everyone, wishing to be left alone. He sat in a chair, staring out of his window and recalling the cherished times he shared with Reece.

“Upon my word, cousin, you look frightful. Is this what it has all come to?” Harrison said as he entered Levi’s sitting room unexpectedly.

“I do not understand what you are trying to imply.” Levi answered curtly.

“Oh, I believe you know exactly what my implications are. First you demand a leave of absence, and then you fail to attend the meeting Samuel returned to the palace for this morning? I believed you would have been interested to know about the progress Queen Galleta has made with the Armedite priestess. Apparently nothing interests you these days.”

Levi looked up at him. “I had forgotten about the meeting, forgive me. Well, what kind of progress has Galleta made?”

Harrison sat in a chair across from Levi. “I must say I am impressed that I have your attention. Unfortunately, there has been no progress because the priestess will not cooperate with Galleta at all. Galleta seems to believe there is more to this woman than she’s letting on. She’s certainly unlike any individual we’ve encountered.”

The memory of Levi’s encounter with the Armedite priestess and how she altered his mind resurfaced, and it irritated him more. “Whether or not Galleta reaches her mind, she’s not a threat so long as she remains imprisoned here in Pemdas.” He sat up some. “And if this woman chooses not to cooperate, she is deciding her own fate, and that is not my problem.”

“True.” Harrison answered with a smile. “Oh! You’ll appreciate this new information; Samuel has been informed that Michael is Lucas’ new commanding officer,” he said with a laugh. “Imagine that! Michael leading the Armedite’s army.”