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it.
Dance With the Devil 99
Chapter Eleven
Tomorrow s the big day.
Yep. Archer sounded nervous as he moved behind the bar
mixing drinks. It s the last night of my curse, and tomorrow is your
big ride.
Don t worry about me, Archer. Have you talked to Pathos?
Archer shook his head as he counted out change. I haven t seen
him since that night behind the bar. His hands shook, and he looked
paler than usual, even in the dim light of the bar. What if I messed
up, Levi? What if I m stuck like this? I m out of time now.
Glancing around the bar to make sure they weren t being watched,
Levi reached over and pinched Archer s ass. Stop worrying. We ll
figure it out, no matter what happens. You re mine now, so just deal
with it.
The smile that spread over Archer s face was worth its weight in
gold. You just have an answer for everything, don t you?
Naw, I just don t feel the need to worry everything into the
ground like you. I mean it, baby. I m keeping you no matter what
happens, so don t let it get you down.
He didn t think he d succeeded in reassuring his lover, but until
they were away from prying eyes and curious ears, there wasn t much
more he could do about it. He d been honest, though. No matter what
happened, Archer Neilson belonged to him. The man had blown in
out of nowhere, shaken up Levi s life, and wiggled his way right into
his heart. Hell, he couldn t even remember what life had been like
before Archer showed up in his parking lot.
100 Gabrielle Evans
Thinking of the first night they met still had the ability to send
Levi s blood pressure skyrocketing in a matter of seconds. The
Cooper boys hadn t been back in his bar since the incident, but Luke s
cover-up of the whole thing still set his teeth on edge. He d briefly
thought about going to the county sheriff, but that would just open a
new can of worms that they didn t need to deal with. There was no
doubt in his mind the backlash would come back to bite him in the
ass.
As long as the Coopers stayed off his property and away from his
lover, Levi would find a way to deal with it. He didn t want trouble,
but he wasn t impressed with Luke Rivera s brand of justice, either.
What are you thinking so hard about?
Jerking out of his daze, Levi gave Archer a genuine smile and
shook his head. Nothin . We re going to make this work. He
wouldn t be satisfied with any other result.
Surprisingly, I believe you. It s nice to know I m wanted.
It was more than just want, but Levi would keep that close to his
chest until the time was right. With Archer worried about what the
morning would bring, that time definitely wasn t now.
Things would work themselves out soon enough, though.
* * * *
Archer tensed, scared to open his eyes when he felt the sun
warming his face the next morning. His thirty days were up, but he
still didn t know his fate. Had he passed his test? What would happen
now? Would everything go back to how it was before he d met Levi?
Would the man even still remember him?
It is too damn early for so much seriousness.
Archer s breath rushed out on a whoosh, leaving him light-headed
and a little giddy. Levi was still in bed with him, so that had to be a
good sign. Right? Rolling over quickly, he climbed up his lover s
Dance With the Devil 101
chest and cupped his whiskered cheeks in both hands as he beamed
down at him like an idiot.
Who am I? What s my name?
Darlin , I m too tired for kinky right now. Go back to sleep, and
I ll try again when we wake up.
Archer laughed, bending from the hips and mashing his mouth to
Levi s. You know who I am!
Of course I know who you are. Babe, you re actin damn strange
this morning.
It s day thirty-one, Levi! I m free!
This got his sleepy-eyed lover s attention. Levi s brown eyes
popped open, and he sat up so quickly that he almost threw Archer
from his lap. Scrambling to stay seated, Archer laughed the entire
time. Technically, he didn t know if his curse had been lifted, but
Levi still wanted him, and that was all that mattered. Well, he thought
the cowboy still wanted him.
How do you feel?
Levi frowned and cocked his head to the side. I should be askin
you that.
No, no. How do you feel about me?
You want a confession of love right now?
Archer rolled his eyes and snorted. While he wouldn t be opposed
to it, it wasn t what he d meant. Do you feel any differently than you
did yesterday? I mean, did you just want me because of the curse?
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and held his breath for the
answer. It wasn t until that moment that he realized how important it
was to him.
No, I don t feel the same as I did yesterday. Levi paused and
smirked. Archer thought his heart was going to fall out of his butt. He
started to crawl down from Levi s lap, but the man held him in place
by his hips and pecked at his mouth. Every day I want you a little
more, baby. Today s not different.
102 Gabrielle Evans
Yes! Archer whooped in victory, tackling his lover back to the
mattress and peppering kisses all over his face. Does that mean I can
stay?
That s somethin we need to talk about, Levi said seriously.
This ain t Dallas, baby. People here aren t going to be accepting of
us here. We ll have to hide how we feel about each other when we re
outside the house. Can you live with that?
Archer wanted to agree immediately, but he wasn t sure he could.
He wanted to be able to kiss Levi when he wanted to, hold hands with
him while they walked down the street, or offer comfort without
worrying that they d get their asses kicked for the gesture.
Would it be worth hiding who he was to be with the big man?
Could he be happy with just loving Levi inside the safety of their
home? How far would they have to take the lie? He wasn t about to
let his man go parading around with women just keep up the charade.
I didn t think so. To his surprise, Levi was still smiling when he
said it. Is that apartment in Dallas big enough for two?
Archer shook his head before he realized what he was doing.
You have the bar, this house, your land. You love it here. Why
would you want to give all that up and move to Dallas?
I don t rightly care where we live as long as the we part is
involved. We can go up to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, maybe head east to
Little Rock. Anywhere you want to go where I can sneak kisses if I
feel the urge.
Too fast. Everything was moving too fast. Levi was just going to
give up his life to run away and settle down with Archer? Why
would you do something like that?
Levi seemed to catch on to his lack of enthusiasm, because his
face fell, and he went very still. Running a hand through his short,
dark hair, he seemed to be searching for something to say. In the end,
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