Page 27 of Knotty Bargain (Monster Holidays #3)

CHAPTER 27

CORDELIA

“ W hat were you thinking?” Levi’s deep voice reverberates through the cavernous space as he guides me into a room. “You could have gotten hurt. You could have died. A thousand horrible things could have happened.” He slams the door shut behind him, then pinches the bridge of his nose. “If a demon had touched you, I’d have to dismember and gut them. Would you have liked that?”

I chew on my bottom lip, finding worried Levi too amusing. “No.”

“No?” He glares at me. “Are you sure? Because you did walk into Hell like you were walking into the Witch’s Brew.”

“You found me as soon as I arrived.” I don’t know how he did it, but he instantly knew I was in hell. Krampus’s portal led me into a massive hallway in what had to be a palace. Not a minute after that, Levi burst through the doors, screaming his head out.

Levi drops onto a massive armchair, releasing a sigh. “You really drive me crazy.”

I lift my head, studying the place we walked in. It looks like a study of sorts. The obsidian walls are etched with softly glowing runes, towering bookcases are stuffed with ancient tomes, and a massive mahogany desk is piled high with scrolls and parchment. The air hangs heavy with the scent of leather and that scratch in the nose that I’ve come to associate with magic.

“Is this where you work?” I ask him, trying to sound casual.

“Cordelia. You put yourself at risk,” he growls, his eyes flashing. “There are places in here that could eat you alive. You’d have disappeared and it would take forever for me to find you.”

I shrink back, heart pounding. “I didn’t know what else to do. The way we ended things... I hated it. And then, I had no way of contacting you.” Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Leviathan's stern expression softens. With a sigh, he reaches out, offering a hand. I take it and he tugs me closer, between his knees. He’s still taller than me, even when he’s sitting. He cups my face, his thumb brushing away an errant tear. “Lia, I was worried sick. If anything happened to you...” He shakes his head, unable to finish the thought. “I can’t even think about it.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, leaning into his touch. “For what I said before, for pushing you away. I... I’ve been so afraid of falling in love. My whole life, I’ve been betrayed and abandoned over and over. I was a coward.”

“No, I was a coward,” Leviathan interrupts. “Love has always seemed like a liability, a weakness. But with you...” He takes a shuddering breath. “I’m in love with you, Cordelia. Irrevocably, undeniably. And I’m so sorry for keeping secrets, for not being fully honest with you. I never meant to hurt you.” He traces my cheekbones, my lips. “I lied about the binding because I wanted to stay close to you. I lied about coming back because I didn’t want to leave your side. And at first, I thought it could never work. But now... Now I can’t stop thinking about what we had.”

Was Sylvia right all along? My heart soars. Tears sting my eyes. He’s in love with me !

Before I can respond, he leans down and captures my lipswith his. I melt against him, savoring the intoxicating scent of smoke and spice that clings to his skin. His tongue teases the seam of my mouth and I grant him entrance, moaning softly as he explores me. As he kisses me like he missed me.

I kiss him back. I put everything into that kiss. My apologies, my love, my fears. I cling to him and he holds me back with all four of his arms.

We finally break apart, chests heaving. “I love you too, Levi,” I murmur. “So much that it terrifies me. But I don’t want to run from it anymore.”

Leviathan grins, his fangs glinting in the flickering candlelight. “It was never fake for me, Lia. Never a ruse or a ploy. From the moment I first saw you, I was lost.”

He kisses me again, slower this time, a promise of forever sealed against my lips. As we part, a thought occurs to me. “Should we make a new contract, then?” I ask breathlessly. “Something binding, now that things have changed between us?”

Leviathan chuckles, the sound dark and sensual. “Oh my love,” he purrs, “real lovers don’t need a contract. You already own my heart, body, and soul.” His onyx eyes blaze with desire and adoration.

“So, what now?” I ask, snuggling into his chest. “Do you think hell ran smoothly in your absence?”

Leviathan’s expression darkens, but only for an instant. “No. It was irresponsible of me to stay away that long, and now I have to deal with the consequences.” He traces my lips with his finger. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I can’t stay away from you.”

“Really?” I ask, incredulous. “You’re willing to leave your realm, your responsibilities?”

“For you, Lia? In a heartbeat.” He smiles, his eyes full of love. “I have to get these things organized, and then maybe we can do six months in each place. Or meeting on weekends or something.”

I nod, looking around at his study. “Maybe I can help you. Where’s your computer?”

“Computer?” He arches an eyebrow.

“Mm.” I smile. “Maybe you do need a data engineer, after all. But first.” I throw a leg over his chair, straddling him. Two of his hands curl around my waist, pulling me closer, while the other two fondle my ass. “I have been reading a monster romance book.”

His eyes darken. “Have you now?”

I nod. “Yeah. And the monster had a knot, just like you.”

Levi swallows. “So?”

“So... Wouldn’t you like it... You know...” My face goes hot. Am I really about to ask this? “Wouldn’t you want to knot me?”

Before I say anything else, Leviathan lifts me effortlessly. My legs dangle around his waist, then he lays me down upon the thick rug in front of his bookshelf. I sink into it. Wow, this is a thick rug.

“I’m taking this as a yes .” I say, chuckling with nerves.

With a roar, Levi grabs onto my hips and kisses me. He drapes his hot body over mine, needy and hot. His tongue dives into my mouth, claiming me desperately. He grinds his hard cock against my thigh.

“I want you forever, Cordelia Dallimore,” he growls against my mouth, his eyes smoldering with desire. “In every way possible.” He moves his hips, and a moan spills past my lips. “I want your body, your heart, and your soul. I want to make you my mate and keep you with me forever.”

With a snap of his fingers, our clothes disappear. I gasp, the warmth of the fire touching my exposed skin.

“Levi!” I cry out, grinning.

His teeth latch onto my pulse. There’s a hand on my tit, another in my hair. A third on my thigh, pushing it down. The fourth traces circles too close to my pussy, but not close enough.

“Sorry,” he whispers against the hollow of my throat. “I missed you so fucking much and you go on and say you want my knot. Fucking hell. I need it. I need to knot you right now.”

“Okay,” I reply, breathless, and then he’s claiming my mouth again.

Levi lowers between my legs, two hands spreading my knees, the other two pinching my nipples. I moan, arching off the rug. Pleasure sets every nerve-ending on fire. He latches onto my clit without wasting a second.

His talented tongue works me into an orgasm so fast it blows my mind. He doesn’t stop. Levi keeps lashing at my sensitive clit as he slowly inserts one finger, then a second. My hips move by themselves, bucking, begging for more. He inserts a third as I come apart again.

Levi rises on top of me, his face contorted in agony. “I need your pussy around me, love,” he says, breathless, my slick on his chin.

“Fuck me. Take me,” I plead.

With a growl of primal need, Leviathan enters me in one smooth, breathtaking motion. I gasp, my body stretching around his girth, electrical pleasure coursing through my veins. He’s right: this is where I belong.

“Gods, Lia,” he moans, kissing a trail down my neck as he begins to move, his hips grinding against mine. “You feel so good, so damn perfect.”

“Oh, Levi,” I moan, arching my back, meeting his every thrust with my own desperate need. I run my hands down his chest and up his arms, then I scratch down his back. “Don’t ever stop. I-I can’t... I...”

The world explodes around me as I come apart again. My toes curl. I can’t take it anymore. My nerves burn. Everywhere. I’m sensitive everywhere and he hasn’t even put his knot in me.

“Fuck, you come so good around me,” he says, his eyes on my face. “Think you can take it?”

I nod. “Please. Please.”

Levi pins my hips down with two hands. He wraps his third hand around my wrists, putting my hands over my head. I stretch with him, my breasts bouncing with his rocking. With his fourth hand, he works on my clit.

And I had no idea I could come again, but lust coils tight between my hips.

“ Oh .”

“Yes, love. That’s it.”

I climb toward a massive orgasm. I can feel it everywhere, down to my very toes. Clenching my jaw, I slam my eyes shut, focusing on the pleasure.

That’s when Levi pushes his knot into me. As I’m teetering on the edge.

It’s indescribable. The pain mixes with bliss. Discomfort and utter pleasure. He stretches me too far, and then my orgasm makes my muscles clench around him further. I cry out with the sudden invasion. Too big. He’s too big. And then I’m coming apart, squeezing his knot, and pure ecstasy runs through my veins like the purest drug.

“Oh, fucking hel—“ Levi starts, then cuts off, a deep, gravel-like grunt rising from his throat and transforming into a roar. He shakes against me, then comes. He pours himself inside me, hot and thick, and I drop off the edge once more.

I blank. There’s nothing. For a second, I think I’m dead.

Slowly, my consciousness comes back. We’re still frozen in the very same position. My leg has started to cramp. My pussy clenches with aftershocks. Levi is still inside me—hard, so hard, and so big it’s growing uncomfortable. Strangely, I don’t feel any of his come spilling down my inner thighs.

When I look down between us, my lower abdomen is...

“Holy shit, what the fuck?” I cry out.

He pulls back, glancing between us. He relaxes over me again. “Yeah,” he says, his voice rasping as if he had been screaming. “The knot is a seal. It makes sense. The come has nowhere to go.”

“I look, like, five months pregnant.”

He makes a pleased sound. “Yeah. Yeah, you do.” Levi smiles and there’s such a loving look on his face that I can’t help but hope.

For a family of our own. For a future where we create our own story.