Devil Inside (14 page)

Something about the guy from the bar continued to nag at her.  She could imagine--if the Turba were as bad as Levi claimed, that he would want to make her pay for blowing him off.  But he claimed to have known her from somewhere.  At the time she had thought it was just a pick up line.  But was it?  She struggled to remember his features clearly.  She didn’t know if it was just her brain trying to make sense of everything but he did seem vaguely familiar.  She had probably just seen him in the bar before.  Trying to remember was making her head hurt, so she tried to let it go for now.

Harley stopped pacing and looked at Levi again.  He was still standing but no longer watching her.  He was staring into the fire again.  He seemed transfixed by the flames that cast shadows upon his face.  He rested his chin in one hand and propped his elbow in his other hand.  The look was contemplative and intense.  It caused Harley’s stomach to tingle.  Even with everything that she knew about him now she still found him devastatingly handsome—if not more so.  Knowing that he wasn’t really human didn’t bother her.  He still seemed human.  He was still the kind person that made her feel comfortable.  She just understood now why he was so standoffish and wary.  But she didn’t see him as a monster.  When she chuckled softly he turned away from the flames.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m just wondering if all the vampire porn I’ve read has prepared me for this.  I just can’t believe that I believe all of this…and that I’m considering becoming Nocte,” Harley explained shaking her head.

Levi gave one of his rare, genuine laughs.  He rubbed his face with both hands and slowly returned to his seat on the couch.  Despite the tension in his jaw and eyes he assumed a relaxed posture again.  Harley remained standing—taking her turn in staring into the darkness outside the window.  The night looked different now.  It wasn’t just a time when the world slept anymore.  She saw it as a whole other world now.  One that was exciting and dangerous and Levi was offering to bring her into this world.  Something new occurred to her.

It wasn’t jealousy that made her ask, it was simple curiosity. 
Well OK, maybe a little jealousy,
she admitted to herself.  “How many other people have you brought into the Praesidio?”

When he didn’t answer after few moments of staring quietly into the fire, she almost asked again thinking he hadn’t heard her.  Still not looking at her, he finally answered.  “None.”

Harley wasn’t sure what to think about that.  In 90-some odd years he hadn’t brought anyone else into the Praesidio.  The fact that he was offering this to her both scared her and flattered her.  “Then why ME?  I’m no one special”

Levi finally looked at her, holding her gaze steadily.  “Because you are strong.  You have a lot of self-control—when you want to have it,” he laughed.  “Because I think you deserve a chance to have your revenge.  And really, what favor would I be doing if I didn’t?  You deserve the right—the ability—the chance—to protect yourself.

As to why I never brought anyone else in?”  Levi was thoughtful for a few moments.  “I just never felt compelled to.  Honestly, I think…I think I was supposed to be here when this happened.  I think you were meant to be Nocte.”

Harley was stunned.  “Meant how?  You mean like fate?  Or divine intervention?”

“Not really.  Not like that,” Levi answered, brushing off the religious implications.  “Sometimes the Nocte seem to have a plan and influence our actions without us even realizing it.  Nothing overt, but when I was deciding where to go next I was trying to decide between Ohio and Kentucky.  I went with Kentucky.  Maybe my Nocte pushed me in this direction,” he shrugged

Harley wasn’t as concerned by this as maybe she should have been.  It didn’t seem all that unusual.  People believed that they were influenced by a “higher” power every day.  Who’s to say if that power comes from above or from inside?

“Regardless,” Levi finished.  “I think you have the strength to bond with a Nocte. “

As a human she wouldn’t be able to adequately defend herself—or her friends—they could all be dead soon.  What was her other option?  Relying on Levi to protect them?  She felt her hackles rise over that.  He hadn’t exactly offered and she wasn’t going to ask—or allow it either.  She wouldn’t ever be OK with not being able to take care of herself.

Levi seemed to read her mind.  “I have no intention of letting the Burners hurt you—or anyone else.  But I can’t always be there.”  He was silent for a moment before continuing carefully.  “If you do accept the bond, you have to know…we won’t always be able to be together then either.  Part of my job—my responsibility—is to travel.  I have to be on the road a lot.  And as a Nocte, you’ll be assigned to a specific area.”

Harley’s first reaction was annoyance.  “Do you honestly think I would be doing this to be with you?”  Levi braced himself to respond but Harley continued before he could.  “Look, I like you.  I care about you.  But I’m not in love with you.  I’m not considering this—giving up my life—for YOU.”

Levi looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be offended or relived.  “Well…OK…that’s good,” he said finally with a small smile that might just have seemed to be a little proud.

Harley began pacing again.  Neither of them spoke for a while.  “You said I would be assigned to a specific area?”  Levi nodded.  “Who decides that?  And where would it be?”

“You would end up wherever there was a need.  The General usually offers a few areas where there is a need—if there is more than one.  You would probably get to decide between them.”

“The General?”

“Yes.  Each country that has a Praesidio presence has at least one general.  The Eastern U.S. general is Nya.”

“Oh.”  Harley didn’t know what else to say.  She had lots of other questions but she felt her headache growing.  The more she thought about everything, the more she tried to understand it—the worse her head hurt.  She needed to stop thinking for a while.  She had been pacing the room slowly while Levi sat staring at the small fire in front of him, but she had grown tired of pacing.  She had finally walked out the questions that had been rattling around inside her brain.

Done pacing, Harley stopped and stood silently in front of Levi between him on the couch and the coffee table.  She stopped chewing on her cuticles and took a deep breath.  “I need more time to think about this.”

“I would be worried if you didn’t,” he replied evenly, looking up at her.  Harley looked at him reclined on the couch.  She was surprised to feel the flutter in her stomach that made her shiver.  Her brain tried to force her body to concentrate on the important things right now.  But her body had seemingly decided it wanted to feel good for a while instead.  It was apparently tired of stress, anxiety and sadness.  She had spent the past 24 hours angry, terrified and confused and needed something to distract her from how bad she felt. 

Her thoughts must have shone on her face because Levi’s hand reached out and grabbed the waistband of her jeans.  She gasped as her pulled her roughly onto the couch with him.  She managed to straddle him surprisingly graceful, instead of simply falling into his lap.  She gripped his shoulders as he pulled her face to his.  He began the kiss but she finished it.  He held onto her hair as he nibbled at her lips and the hunger behind the kiss took her breath away.  She grabbed handfuls of his shirt and held him as tightly to her as he held her.  He only ended the kiss so that he could pull her shirt over her head as she struggled to get his off at the same time. Frantically, they tore at each other and Harley found herself on her back pulling Levi on top of her.  The sex wasn’t just for physical enjoyment it was a release of pent up frustration.  It was a catharsis.

Levi unbuttoned Harley’s jeans and she helped him by kicking them off.  As he unbuttoned his own pants Harley pushed his hands away to do it herself.  Levi didn’t stop her and used the opportunity to unzip her sports bra.  He brushed the bra aside and rubbed his face against her chest.  The rough scraping of his whiskers raised goose pimples over her skin and she moaned with the pleasure of the sensation.  She didn’t bother to pull his pants all the way off, not wanting to push him far enough away to make the action possible.   Instead, she freed him as much as necessary and ran her hand along him gently teasing a shudder from him as she did so.  

Finally, she guided him into herself and he growled against her ear sending shivers up her spine.  He thrust himself inside and she met him eagerly.  She wrapped her legs around his waist tried hard to not dig her nails into his back.  After she remembered that it didn’t really matter if she did or not, she stopped holding back.  She wasn’t sure how hard she clawed him, but he hissed as her nails dug in.  He pulled away enough to look at her and she saw that his eyes had dilated again.  She smiled at him wickedly and he responded by biting her neck.  He didn’t use the fangs that she has seen earlier because he wasn’t trying to break the skin.  Instead of hurting, the bite heightened the pleasure that coursed through Harley’s body.  It was the sharp edge to the bite that brought out the soft edge of pleasure in contrast.  Experiencing the highs of both pain and pleasure sent chills over her again and she began to feel the blissful tension thrumming though out her body.

As she came Harley’s back arched against Levi’s chest and she cried out throwing her head back.  Levi soon followed her growling into her neck.  Neither of them moved for a while.  They lay where they collapsed recovering from the torrent of physical release they had just shared.  Harley was trying to catch her breath but Levi didn’t seem to be all that winded. 
Well that makes sense now,
Harley smiled to herself.  Her muscles still shuddered slightly and she could feel sweat beneath her back.  She basked in the afterglow, enjoying every tired muscle and drop of sweat.  Levi’s hand was still grasping her hair and she allowed herself a weak moment to turn into it.  She placed her face against his fist and as she did so he opened his hand and cupped her cheek.  She only allowed herself a brief moment before she turned away again.  Harley had built up enough endorphins to counteract the rawness of her anger and sadness for a while.  When she pulled away Levi finally unburied his face and stared down at her.   His eyes had returned to normal again and he was giving her his half smile.

She pulled him down by the back of his neck and kissed him again before squirming out from underneath him.  They both climbed from the couch and began to get dressed again.  They didn’t say anything but they didn’t need to.  When they were together it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable and nothing was missing between them that needed to be filled in by talking about it.  They both knew where they stood and what they both needed from each other.  They made each other feel good and that was what they needed at the moment. 

The combination of the warm fire and the physical exertion left Harley sweaty and stuffy.  “I’m going to go outside and get some air,” she said with a small smile.

Levi only hesitated slightly, “Keep an eye out.  If you see or hear ANYTHING unusual just yell for me.  I need to make some phone calls.”

“OK,” Harley agreed.  Stepping onto the porch, Harley was embraced by the cool night air.  It was cool enough that she should have put a jacket on, but she wanted to feel the coolness against her skin.  She sat on the steps and looked up at the night sky.  Outside the city the stars were so much more visible.  It reminded her of being a little girl.  Whenever her parents would fight she would escape outside and sit in the dog house with Digger, the mutt she had as a child.  They would watch the stars together and she would make up stories about queens from outer space to drown out the sounds of her parents fighting.  That dog had been more than a pet.  He had been a brother, a friend and a guardian.  No one could have come near her, or laid a hand on her, whenever Digger was around.  Thinking about her parents and her beloved dog brought back painful memories.

She remembered how much it hurt when her father had taken Digger away.  He had been part pitbull and someone had offered her father money for him as a baiter dog in fights.  She had screamed and cried until she threw up but her father had only pushed her away and ignored her crying.  She felt like crying that hard again whenever she thought about losing her best friend for a second time.  But just as when she was a child, she knew it wouldn’t do any good for her to give into the misery she felt. 

Unlike when she was a child, she could fight back now though.  She could avenge her friend this time.  She couldn’t change what had happened, but she could make sure that it happened to as few people as she could.  She already knew what her answer to Levi was going to be.  She had considered all that she had to lose and all that she had to gain.  The opportunity to fight back for those who couldn’t fight for themselves and to maybe someday avenge Jamie’s death was just too tempting to ignore.  She was confident that she would regret not doing it more than she would regret doing it.  She still had a few questions, but she wanted to let them go for a while.  The sun would be up soon and she was exhausted and again she just wanted to sleep right now and think later.

Harley went back inside the cabin, locking the door behind her.  Levi was sitting at the dining table spinning his phone on the table in front of him.  He raised an eyebrow at her as she walked towards him.  She placed herself behind his chair and gripped his shoulders, massaging them firmly.  He wrapped his arms behind his head and around her waist.

“What it is like being a part of the Praesidio?” she asked finally.

He answered slowly, “Working for the Praesidio is…fine.  There are some that are hard to work with.  Some are a little crazy,” he chuckled at that.  “But for the most part everyone understands why they are there and we all work together to make it happen.”