Chapter nine
That fucking woman!
Levi stomped down the hallway, the tenuous grip on his temper getting thinner with every step he took away from her room.
He hadn’t intended to get into an argument with her stubborn ass.
Swear he went in there to come to some kind of compromise with Amaya, but every lucid thought in his head had scattered the moment she’d slipped out of her bathroom.
The towel had barely covered her curvy body, and how the fuck was he not supposed to react to her soft, dewy skin?
Even now, his hands trembled with the need to touch her.
Why did he think having her under his roof would be easy?
Levi prided himself on his calmness and every day with that stone in his possession, he was losing that.
A year ago, a woman with a mouth like Amaya would have turned him off.
But with her, all he could think about was fucking the back of her throat until her attitude sweetened.
“God damnit,” he cursed.
Both Sebastian and Lucas were waiting at the bottom of the stairs to see what he wanted to do for the evening.
His life was now split into two time periods, before the Akachi and after.
Before the Akachi, Levi’s schedule had been written in stone.
Dinner, work and then back home. Sometimes a stop at the club to feed, but for the most part, he was predictable.
After the Akachi, Levi was lucky to remember what he did the day prior. His friends had taken to checking in at the beginning of the night to gauge his moods. That would determine their schedule for the evening.
“You need to be nicer,” Lucas chided when he met him at the bottom of the stairs.
“Nah, shawty tap dancing on my last fucking nerve,” Levi grumbled.
“You did kidnap the girl,” Bas reminded him dryly.
The two of them snickered at his expression.
“When did both of you turn into Captain Save-a-Ho?” Levi snapped.
Bas sighed and shook his head. “Luc, you got him?”
Lucas chuckled. “Yeah, I got his angry ass.”
Bas walked away to go pick up Raven from work and Levi envied his friend the easy relationship he had with his mate. But like Lucas reminded him, he did kidnap Amaya. Instead of heading to the dining room to eat, he headed for the front door.
“Office tonight,” he informed Lucas.
Lucas snorted but informed the rest of the enforcers.
By the time Levi reached the high-rise where he conducted his more legal affairs, he’d managed to calm himself marginally.
Lucas exited the SUV first, his balaclava pulled down.
Once his friend deemed it safe, Levi left the confines of the truck and entered the building with three other Bayi at his back.
He ignored the stares of his staff as he headed for the elevator.
Once he reached the top, Lucas locked the elevator so that no one could enter his floor without their permission.
Entering his executive office at one time had been a source of pride.
He’d worked himself and his childhood friends up from the projects of Black Hollow to an office that overlooked the whole city.
The continuous war with the Buru had cost him, Sebastian, and Lucas their families, but the tragedy had brought the three of them closer together.
They’d gone from fourteen-year-olds robbing for scraps to money they couldn’t spend in two lifetimes. And he was proud of that.
His office was a testament to the feat. The size of a small apartment, the room was the essence of luxury.
From the leather furniture in the sitting area to the mahogany desk he sat behind, all of it screamed money.
Just how he liked it. It was a place where none from the Collective could look down their nose at him or the Bayi in his coven.
Lucas pulled off his balaclava and plopped down on the sofa, kicking his feet up.
“I know you got shit to do,” Levi grumbled.
“I do.” But his friend made no move.
“So go do that shit in your office, Mr. COO.” Levi narrowed his eyes when Lucas didn’t move. “Bas told you to watch me?”
Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know what it is about Amaya, man, but you’re a little more hostile than usual.”
Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Getting mad at his friend for giving him the truth would just prove Sebastian’s point.
Instead of saying anything else, he went behind his desk and booted his computer.
Whether or not he’d be able to concentrate enough to get work done still remained to be seen.
On paper, Levi ran a successful import and export business.
A trucking company and freighter line were a part of that business and the logistics needed his full concentration.
He had Bayi who took care of the more mundane tasks, but a lot still fell onto his plate.
Blocking out his friend’s presence, he forced his mind to concentrate.
He lost track of time, but Lucas standing in front of his desk caught his attention.
“What?”
“Governor’s here.”
Levi frowned. “The fuck does he want?”
He went through the million and one balls in the air to determine which ones would get the attention of Georgia’s governor but was drawing a blank. Wiping a hand down his face, he leaned back in his chair.
“Fuck it. Let him in.”
From the moment the older male approached in his double-breasted suit and a haughty expression, Levi was reminded of what business they had together.
The governor of the fair state of Georgia liked to gamble, and as Levi controlled most of the illegal spots in the city to do so, the governor owed him a lot of money.
Lucas shook his head. ‘He finna piss you off,’ his friend warned.
‘I’m already knowing,’ Levi said, leaning back in his chair. “I assume you came all the way here from the capital building to pay me my money,” he said aloud.
“I need more time,” Kelvin explained.
There was not enough fear in the male’s face for Levi’s liking, which meant the man thought he had something on Levi. Big mistake. He didn’t invite the governor to sit, instead making Kelvin stand in front of his desk.
“Time, huh?”
“I could have your whole operation shut down, you know. They’re calling you ‘The Mad King’ these days. You need me as your ally.”
The governor’s false bravado pissed him off and since he couldn’t take his anger out on Amaya, this male was the next best thing. Levi left his chair and walked around his desk, sitting on the edge.
“That’s the route you wanna go with this?”
“I’m… I’m just saying this relationship is mutually beneficial. I allow you to run your businesses with no obstruction from law enforcement.”
He caught the governor’s gaze and pushed his power into the male, taking satisfaction when Kelvin’s gaze went slack. Levi beckoned him closer, the governor’s steps choppy since his movement was all involuntary. Through the male’s panicked gaze, Levi felt him fighting through his power, which…
Foolish.
He brought the male closer, making him fall to his knees in front of him. Growing out a claw, Levi gripped the governor’s throat tighter, releasing Kelvin from his thrall. Fear had the man’s breathing rapid and his pulse elevated. Levi took pleasure in his terror.
“You run this state because I allow it, not the other way around. Don’t ever forget that shit.” Levi pressed his nail into the male’s skin, hunger rising at the blood sliding slowly down Kelvin’s neck.
“I don’t have the money,” the governor whispered.
Levi growled in irritation. It wasn’t like he needed the money. And truthfully, the governor owing him was worth more. But the very fact that Kelvin had swaggered his trifling ass into his office made Levi want to prove a point.
‘You can’t kill the governor in the office,’ was Lucas’s bored warning.
Levi smirked with his fangs extended, making Kelvin pale. ‘I can do what the fuck I want,’ he reminded his friend.
Lucas snorted. ‘Fine, but I don’t want to hear shit when they send the police to harass you for months about it.’
Levi sighed because Lucas was right. They wouldn’t arrest him, but the ensuing trouble wouldn’t be worth it. He had bigger plans either way. He released the male and stepped back around his desk.
“You have two days.”
“And then?”
“And then I take it from your life insurance policy.” Sitting down, Levi studied the trembling male. “Or…”
“Just name it,” Kelvin said quickly.
“For now, I have two freighters stuck in customs at the dock in Monterrey. I want my shit able to be unloaded, without inspection, in the next couple of hours.”
Even with his many attempts, Levi hadn’t found a way to get through the border mage family that ran the docks. They gave him hell every chance they could and short of outright killing their elder, Lucian, Levi was stuck bending to their whims.
Kelvin stood and nodded. “I’ll get it done.”
Satisfied that at least one of the problems on his desk was handled, Levi dismissed the male.
“Think it will work?” Lucas asked.
Levi shrugged. “Even if it doesn’t, it keeps me from having to deal with Lucian. I have my hands full with the witch at our house.”
“Speaking of…” Lucas started.
“We were not speaking of her.” Levi shut that conversation down. He wasn’t ready to discuss Amaya. Until he knew what the fuck he could do to get his mate to give him the time of day, there was nothing to talk about.
Levi rolled his shoulders and stretched his feet out in front of him. Dawn was slowly overtaking the night and any minute now, the shutters would close over the window and his only exit.
He needed to leave.
Yet, he continued his vigil, staring at the beautiful woman splayed out on the bed.
Her hair was wrapped up, the blankets that covered her shoved down to her waist. Her tank top was twisted around her torso, the skin of her soft belly exposed.
Amaya looked decadent…sensual. The sharp edge of hunger stabbed into him and Levi licked his lips.
This woman had him completely enthralled.
How much of it was due to the stone in his possession?
He reached out to the only person he could ask that question to.
‘Bas.’
‘Man, you bet’ not be watching that girl sleep,’ was his friend’s immediate response to his call.
‘How do I know it’s not just the Akachi talking?’
Sebastian sighed, taking a moment before he spoke.
‘Peace. In her presence, even though your dick is hard and everything is urging you to bite, all you feel is peace. When you’re not with her, she’s not only on your mind, but her comfort and needs are foremost in your thoughts.
If you can’t get shawty out your mind, then… ’
‘Move all their shit out that house,’ he ordered his friend.
Bas sucked his teeth. ‘You heard my words and you still finna bogart that woman.’
‘I won’t let her go.’
‘Levi, possessing her—’
‘It’s not just that.’ He cut off his friend. ‘I heard you. You see how they were living. I want to make her life easier. Even if I have to go around her.’
He wanted to fuck Amaya and gorge himself on her, but Bas was right.
His uppermost thoughts were of her comfort.
From his conversations with her mother, he knew they lived a hard life.
He wanted to ease that. A part of him knew that living with him wouldn’t be easy for her.
The madness of the Akachi won more days than it lost, and Levi was inviting her into a life of chaos.
Who better to handle it than a chaos Chawi?
She was his destiny. He would stake his life on it.
He yearned to give Amaya softness, but life had ground that out of him. There was no room for it in his world.
For her, he would try.
His best friend was quiet, but Levi could feel him still in his mind, probing his thoughts around Amaya. Instead of offering more advice, Bas sighed.
‘Get out that girl room,’ his friend ordered.
Levi chuckled quietly and stood, heading for the window Amaya had forgotten to ward with her magic.
He only had a few minutes before the shutters descended and locked him inside.
He didn’t want to imagine what the witch would do if she caught him in her room.
Turning his head to take one final look, Levi left the way he’d come in.