Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

him and stepped hastily into his jeans. He couldn’t help taking the time to look at her, wet and disheveled and looking very much as if she’d been thoroughly made love to. He padded barefoot into the bedroom and checked his weapons.
    Rikki followed him to the bedroom door and stood regarding him with amusement, absently toweling herself off. “Only my sisters come visit me,”
    she pointed out. “I think you’re safe.”
    “I prefer to be certain,” he replied, flashing a small, reassuring smile.
    She might be amused by his safety precautions, but they were ingrained in him and he would never be completely free of his training.
    Survival was part of the reason he had grabbed at her with both hands, committing fully almost before he even realized what he was doing. Survival was at the very core of who he was, and Rikki represented existence for what had been left of the original Lev Prakenskii. That man had slowly been consumed by the phantom that slipped through the world unnoticed, assuming new identities, shedding his skin and his identity at the drop of a hat. She had no real concept of his world and the danger that came from accepting him into her life, but he also knew, even if she had fully recognized the risks, she would accept them.
    “You’re distracting me,” he pointed out, stepping close to her, one hand cupping her bare breast, as he leaned down to capture her mouth with his.
    He loved the feel of her skin, baby soft, silky smooth. The way she shivered at his touch. The way she tasted. Everything. All of her. He kissed his way to her ear, nibbling, pressing butterfly kisses over her chin and neck and back to her delicate earlobe. “I could eat you up, Rikki.”
    Her nipple hardened into his palm and he transferred his attention to her breast, rolling and tugging and then bending to draw the silky flesh into 241

    his mouth. She cradled his head to her, holding him, the tremors rocking her, the small little whimpers enveloping him in her music. He pressed his forehead against hers and inhaled, taking her feminine fragrance into his lungs.
    “You’re so beautiful, Rikki.”
    “Actually, I’m pretty thin,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t have a lot of curves.”
    He couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t fishing for compliments, she meant it literally. He’d not only meant her outside, but her inside as well.
    “You have enough for me. And we’ll work on the thin part. I’m a good cook. You just have to learn to eat something other than peanut butter.” He pulled away from her before he was lost again. “You’re also a terrible distraction.”
    He caressed her bare bottom as he slipped past and made his way to the kitchen. The drive teed and went into a circle. Rikki, as well as her family, always used the parking at the back. There was more room and the drive circled right back to the main road. He didn’t turn on lights, but waited in the gathering darkness as a car he recognized as Blythe’s made its way to park beside Rikki’s truck. She sat for a moment, staring at the house, obviously disturbed by something, before she opened her door and got out.
    As soon as he saw that she was alone and bringing dinner, he went out to help her.
    “Blythe, good to see you,” he greeted, taking the containers from her.
    “I really can cook now. I do appreciate all of you keeping me from starving to death, but we’re going shopping tomorrow and I’ll cook. We’ll do a little trial and error, and see if we can find other things Rikki can comfortably eat.”
    Blythe followed him up the stairs to the porch, but stopped at the door.
    “You have to go slow with her, Levi.”
    He nodded. “I’m learning that. It’s a good journey though. Come on in.”
    Blythe shook her head. “I don’t know how she manages to accept you in her house, but she gets very distressed when we all come in. She barely held it together when we had to enter the house the other day.”
    “But not because of her autism,” Lev said. “She’s afraid for you. If you don’t stop that now, it’s going to become part of her routine and she’ll lose the ability to have guests in her home. That’s too limiting for her. Her home is her safe haven. Her refuge. She has to be comfortable with her family in it. Come in and just act natural.”
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    Blythe moistened her lips nervously, but she stepped into the kitchen, looking at him with speculative eyes. Lev knew his hair was damp and his shirt open. She