Reaper (Dark in You 8)

It had gotten to the point where she sought subtle ways of avoiding being alone with him. She visited her parents, retreated to his guest room often, and spent time with her co-workers who’d uber fast become not only her friends but saviors. Sensing she needed a buffer, they often turned up at Levi’s apartment to see her or they invited her to go here or there with them.

Piper wouldn’t have thought she’d ever regret agreeing to his proposal, because that would be wishing away their time together. But now that there was the uncomfortable gulf between them, she wished she’d listened to her gut and kept things platonic. Whereas she’d once lamented that they would eventually spend much time apart, now she was glad of it. She even looked forward to it. She needed a reprieve from not only the emotional hurt but also the sexual need that gave her no quarter and relentlessly plagued her system. Distance would help with that.

Although it was plain to see that Levi’s attraction to her hadn’t yet passed, he didn’t appear to be going through any of the emotional struggles she was dealing with. He did, however, seem aggravated by the awkwardness they couldn’t quite shift. And so he should be. No one should have to feel ill at ease in their own home.

She suspected he longed for Piper to return to her house so they could have some space, but she hadn’t suggested moving out of his apartment. He’d never go for it—he took the matter of protecting his psi-mate seriously. Her proposal would only lead to a pointless argument, and there was enough tension between them as it was.

Her inner demon was tired of this shit. Tired of Piper hurting, of her missing him, of both she and Levi fighting the sexual chemistry. In the entity’s mind, it was all senseless and they were simply being stubborn. It saw no reason why sex would complicate things. Due to its limited emotional spectrum, it would never worry that it might fall in love with their anchor. It didn’t feel love. Couldn’t.

It could, however, form intense and lifelong attachments to people. At the moment, the entity was possessive of Levi, but there was no attachment. Which was a relief, because at this point in time—with the way things stood—that attachment wouldn’t be platonic, which meant the demon would never accept him having another woman in his life. It would instead expect to have his total commitment, not caring how he felt about it.

Yeah, that would be bad.

Piper didn’t need to wonder if Levi’s demon had accepted the new platonic nature to their dynamics yet. Not when the brands it left on her body hadn’t faded in the slightest. But there was a chance that the entity was on its way to becoming accustomed to the idea. When that eventually happened, it would hit her own demon hard.

Forcing her thoughts away from the matter, she concentrated on cleaning her station and her equipment. Her last client for the day would be arriving in half an hour, so she’d have time for a coffee break.

“Piper?” Khloë called out.

Looking up from the chair she’d been wiping down, Piper blanked her expression as she spotted Celeste at the reception desk. Oh, Lord.

Its tolerance level ridiculously low, her inner demon hissed out a breath. Like Piper, it had been expecting this ‘visit.’ The only thing that came as a surprise was that it hadn’t happened sooner. But then, Celeste liked to play mind games, so perhaps she’d delayed making a move, hoping to lull Piper into believing the banshee had backed down.

Aware that her co-workers were on alert, Piper crossed to her. “Celeste,” she greeted simply. “What brings you here?”

“Can we talk in private?” the banshee asked.

Since Piper would rather her personal business wasn’t aired in public—particularly in front of clients—she looked at Harper. “Can I use your office?”

“Sure.” The Prime shot Celeste a look of warning that the banshee would be smart to heed. Whether Celeste would or not was another thing altogether.

Piper led her stepsister into the office and then leaned back against the desk, partially propping her butt on the surface. Her inner demon kept its narrowed gaze homed in on the banshee.

“I’ll get right to the point.” Celeste halted a few feet away from her and briefly glanced around the room. “I heard you formed the anchor bond with Levi.”

“You heard correctly.”

Levi’s mind slid against Piper’s, and then his voice poured into her mind. Send Celeste away. She’s not worth your time.

Apparently either Enzo or Dez had given him a heads-up that she was here. Unsurprising.

It’s best to let her purge her system of whatever she wants to say, Piper told him.

“And how are you finding ‘anchor life?’” asked Celeste.

Well that wasn’t a question that Piper cared to truthfully answer. “Why are you here?”