Sins of the Innocent - Jamie McGuire Page 0,47
disgusted.
“Are you her boyfriend?”
Levi began to answer but then thought better of it, waiting for me.
“No. He’s not, but—”
“Awesome.” Jordan pulled out his phone. “Maybe I could get your number?”
“Get the hell out of here,” Levi said through his teeth.
I looked to Morgan. He had stopped sweating, and his color was almost back to normal.
“Feeling better?” I asked.
“Yes. Much,” Morgan said.
“Great. Let’s go.” I turned to Levi. “Ready?”
Levi didn’t take his eyes off Jordan. “I don’t see why we should rush. Jordan was just leaving.”
“I’ll go when I’m good and ready, if you don’t mind,” Jordan said.
“I think I saw a lamppost outside. Would you like to meet it?” Levi said.
I stood up. “Okay! We’re leaving. Get up, Morgan.”
Morgan stood, and I grabbed Levi’s shirt in my fist and pulled him with me. Once I got them both down the street and to the car, I let Levi go.
“Is it weird that I like it when you manhandle me?” he asked.
I made a face. “Grow up.”
“I don’t like him.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “I told him no. Twice.”
“Actually, you gave him two excuses. That’s not a no.”
I rolled my eyes and unlocked the car. Morgan ducked into the passenger seat.
“What was in the water?” I asked.
“I told you. Ice.”
“Then why did he start to feel better once he started drinking it?”
Levi sighed, irritated. “He didn’t. He started to feel better when I forced away whatever was trying to shell him.”
“Shell him?” I said, alarmed.
“Didn’t you feel the concentration?”
“Yes. I assumed it was you.”
“It wasn’t. It was coming from Morgan.”
“How is that possible?”
“He’s being weakened.”
“A demon is making him sick?”
“More than one—unless it’s extremely powerful.” Levi glanced down at the car, shifting his weight. “It only happens to him when he’s around you, Eden. They’re going to use him to get to you.”
I shook my head. “How do you know?”
“Because it’s a loophole to the rules. And it’s what I was going to do before I knew you were you.” Shame darkened his eyes.
I closed my eyes. I knew I was a target. I was so worried about Morgan staying away from Levi. I should have kept him away from me. “How do we make it stop?”
“When you see him, it has to be at the house with your grandmother, or I have to be present to keep them away.”
I thought about his words and then nodded. “He’s moving away soon. Then he’ll be okay, right?”
“I think so.”
I sighed and looked up at the sky. “I put everyone close to me in danger.”
“No,” Levi said. “They do. This is Hell’s doing, make no mistake.”
“This has to stop,” I said.
“Agreed.”
“And you have to tone down the jealousy. I wasn’t going to go out with him.”
Levi exhaled, his eyes narrowing as he decided how to respond. “You don’t remember us like I do.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. If you did, things would be different.”
“Different how?”
He shifted his weight, cupped my jaw, and then leaned down. His mouth pressed against mine, and my backside leaned against the door as my head fell back. Levi left a trail of tiny kisses from the corner of my lips to the skin just behind my ear and back again.
My fingers dug into his back, pulling him closer. When his tongue entered my mouth, I let out a quiet hum, making his hands more eager.
I pulled away, trying to catch my breath. Levi was breathing hard, too.
“Different like that.”
“We can do more of that,” I said, feeling a bit dazed.
A slow smile crept across his face, and then he pecked my cheek before walking a few steps backward. “Get Morgan home soon,” he said. Then he disappeared around a corner.
I sat in the Audi, tucking my hair behind my ears and then touching my lips, trying to hold back a ridiculous grin from erupting.
“Are you in love with him yet?”
“I’m not sure. How do you know?” I asked, hoping for something insightful.
Morgan frowned. “Why would you ask me?”
I chuckled and started the car, hurrying to get Morgan home, safely away from me.
Sweat poured down my face as the summer sun penetrated my ball cap. I walked across the courtyard to Claire, who was standing in the shade with the garden hose.
I pulled my tank top over my head, let the cap fall to the cement, and bent at the waist, letting Claire douse me with ice-cold water. Grandmother and Mom were walking in and out of the house, decorating tables and getting ready for a small family party.
“Where’s