“I see you like things sweet,” Bryant said, barely audible above the voices around us. I looked over and he had a hungry look in his eyes, and it wasn’t for more dessert. I turned toward Levi, but he hadn’t heard. Was he seriously hitting on me again?

I could feel Bryant’s eyes still on me. “I like dessert, yes. What girl doesn’t?”

I didn’t wait for his response before I scooted closer to Levi. Levi felt me shift. “Is everything okay?”

Either I was showing my emotions more than I thought, or Levi really knew me. I hoped it was the first. “Everything’s fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” I certainly wasn’t going to cause a scene at the party. I’d try to keep my distance from Bryant though.

After dessert was cleared away, Levi touched my arm. “You ready?”

“Where do we go for the meeting?”

“You can’t guess?”

“Wait, is it at the hotel?”

“Of course.” He took my hand. Hailey was talking to the guy next to her, who I recognized as the bouncer from Bruno’s, but Levi interrupted. “You coming, Hailey?”

“I’ll meet you there.” She smiled, so I just waved.

I let Levi lead me out with a hand on my back. The valet pulled his car around as soon as we reached the front.

Levi opened my door for me, closing it before going around to his side.

“So what did you think of dinner?” He turned on the radio to some rock station, adjusting the volume to a barely audible level that made me wonder why he bothered with it at all.

“It was really good.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“No.”

He took his eyes off the road to look at me. “I love your honesty, Al, but I need to know.”

“I’ll tell you after the meeting.” I knew he wouldn’t give up, but I didn’t want to rile him up before something important.

“Back at my place?” He smiled sheepishly.

“You do realize I’m not coming over, right?”

He let out a deep breath. “Unfortunately, I’m painfully aware. I figured that out when you stopped after one glass of wine.”

“Very perceptive.”

“I’m always perceptive when it comes to you.”

Not always. He’d totally missed Bryant coming on to me.

He pulled up out front of the hotel in a spot that seemed to have been left open for him. I walked in, relieved that Billy, my friend who worked as a bell boy, wasn’t there. I hadn’t been back since school started, but I’d spent the whole summer working at the hotel my dad owned. My friend, Alex, was working at the bar, and he just shook his head when he saw me walk in with Levi. I waved, pretending I didn’t notice his disapproval.

We walked over to the elevators, and I followed Levi in. I waited as he pushed the button for the basement, inserting a key card that allowed us to go to a floor of the building that didn’t officially exist. Knowing we were about to enter pitch blackness, I grabbed on to Levi’s hand. He’d be able to see perfectly. Levi squeezed my hand as the doors opened, and we walked out into the blackness.

Chapter Six

So much had changed since the last time I’d walked down the marble floored hallway of the basement. Now I knew Levi was a prince, and that I’d become some sort of princess. I was glad to have his large, strong hand wrapped around mine as we walked into the chambers. It made the entrance at least a little less intimidating.

Owen and Jared both stood up as we walked in. We’d barely taken two steps into the room when they met up with us.

Levi turned to me. “I have to sit with my dad, so you don’t mind sitting with them, do you?”

I was okay as long as he wasn’t leaving me alone. “No, it’s fine. Hopefully Hailey will get here soon.”

“Aw, missing me already, roomie?” Hailey joined us.

“I miss you every time we’re apart.”

“The feeling’s mutual, babe. Completely mutual.” She linked arms with mine, and I waved goodbye to Levi as we followed Jared and Owen over to a couple of stone seats that were part of a circular pattern with multiple levels of stadium seating.

The chamber was cold and the bare skin of my legs against the cool stone wasn’t ideal. “Next time, we’re wearing pants.”

Hailey laughed. “Agreed.”

I looked around for Levi, but I couldn’t find him. Jared leaned over to talk to me. “He’s going to enter with his dad.”

“So it’s different from the ball then? Because shouldn’t Allie be with him?” Hailey turned to Jared.

“It’s completely different. This is business.”

“Ball?” I asked.

“Yeah, there’s an annual ball each winter.”

“Oh.”

“Trust me, you’ll hear all about it. I’m sure Helen’s already planning your dress.” Hailey crossed her legs.

“My dress?”

“Of course.”

I decided to ask the question on my mind even if I got made fun of for it. “Does Levi usually just bring random dates?”

Jared laughed. “You jealous, Allie?”

“No, just curious.”

“He always went alone. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for him to bring someone other than his mate,” Hailey explained.

I tried to ignore the flood of relief I felt. “Oh, cool.”

“Levi’s going to love that you were jealous.” Owen tried to stretch out his long legs. In addition to being cold, the stone seats were cramped.

I crossed my arms, half out of annoyance and half from the cold. “Come on, I was just curious.”

Jared arched an eyebrow. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Whatever.”

The room grew quiet and everyone stood up. I followed their lead, looking toward the doorway. A procession of men filed in. Then Levi came in, followed by his father. They took seats in the center of the room. As soon as they were seated, everyone else sat too. “Levi usually sits behind him,” Jared whispered.

“What’s changed?”

He pointed at me. “You.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Taking you as his mate let his dad know he was ready. He’s letting him transition into leadership. Levi is now his senior advisor. He’ll eventually take over, of course.”

“Levi never told me that.”