Chapter eleven
Amaya’s palm was soft against his, and Levi reveled in the feeling of their hands touching.
It was the first touch from his mate that he hadn’t had to coerce from her.
‘Be nicer to her’ were Lucas’s words to him.
He could start there, but he was at a loss of how to bridge the tension between them.
He’d said…and done some things that he wasn’t sure she would forgive him for.
Her very freedom was at his whim. That wasn’t something he imagined she’d just get over.
Honestly, he was surprised that she’d answered his call.
She’d resisted their blood bond every other instance before, so he hadn’t expected this time to be any different.
His gaze traced the tight black jumpsuit she wore.
It was molded to her curves, showing off the soft curve of her stomach.
There were no sleeves, just tiny straps that held it up, barely containing her breasts.
Fuck, she was beautiful. He averted his eyes to gather himself under control.
He finally broke the silence. “How was work?”
She scoffed. “Is this what we gon’ do? Just pretend like you aren’t holding me hostage?”
“Maya,” he warned her.
She sighed. “I just promised Raven that I would watch my mouth around you. I don’t know what it is about you that irritates me so.”
He couldn’t help the smile that tilted his lips. “Have you tried filtering?”
“I know you ain’t talking.”
He shook his head. “You right. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to censor the way I talk to people.”
“My mom seems to think you’re nice, so clearly you can do it with her. Although I don’t know why I expect different since you did kidnap me.”
“Woman, God damnit, if you say ‘kidnap’ one mo’ fucking time, I’ma lose my shit!” he snapped and stopped walking.
“Oh, so now I can’t even speak the truth? News flash, you kidnapped me, ass—”
He cut off her words and gripped her chin in his hands, slamming his lips against hers.
The kiss he took from her was hard, impatient, and it didn’t take long for her to return it.
Her mouth opened and his tongue swept inside, his second taste of her clenching his stomach with lust and hunger.
Gentling his touch on her chin, he used his other hand to cup her face, tilting his head to get a better angle.
She followed his lead, her body going pliant, softening.
He finally pulled back and laid his forehead against hers.
“I’ll give you more than whatever you could dream to ask for if you just give me a chance, Maya.”
He was close to begging, and instead of getting mad at the thought of that, his mind settled. It could be the result of him being so close to her, perhaps her magic. Either way, a calmness he’d not felt in months overtook his body.
“But you can’t give me my freedom?”
“I can’t give you that. The beast that lives inside me now won’t allow it.” He slid his cheek against hers, inhaling her scent. “I’ll burn all this shit down behind you, baby doll. But living without you is not an option. If I have to lock you up for your own safety, then that’s what it is.”
She stepped back. Her eyes were in turmoil, the battle between her heart and mind fully exposed.
“This can’t happen,” she said softly.
“Says who?” He closed the distance between them, needing the touch of her magic.
“Says every text ever written about supernaturals. Bayi and Chawi are not allowed to mate, most especially chaos witches. We would be hunted down and killed or worse, cursed. Do you know how much danger that would put my mother in?”
That was part of her appeal to him. Even in the midst of danger, his baby doll’s worry was for her mother. He understood the selflessness that went into being responsible for others. They were kindred in that way.
Still, Levi scoffed at her worry. “It’s been decades since I’ve followed someone else’s rules.”
Amaya sighed. “This isn’t a good idea, Levi. And since you…”
He growled, “If you say that word…”
She gave him a shaky smile. “I can admit that I put myself in my current predicament if you can admit that this would be a bad idea.”
He sucked his teeth. He would never let those words leave the confines of his mouth.
Instead of answering, he grabbed her hand again and tugged.
She had to work in the morning and needed sleep, but he wanted time with her where they weren’t arguing.
Amaya sighed but didn’t take her hand back. He would count it as progress.
“Levi,” she started.
“No, baby doll. I don’t want to hear it.”
“You kind of make it impossible to be nice to you.”
He snorted but didn’t say anything. The night air clung to his skin and hunger beat at him, but he didn’t want to ruin the peaceful quiet between them.
So he walked deeper into the compound where trees surrounded them and the cabins of his men were long behind him.
Where not even the light from the houses reached.
He frowned and shuddered as she pulled her magic back, drawing it into herself.
It left him bereft of the peace her presence brought and all at once, her mind was shut off from him.
Around the edges of his thoughts, confusion and frustration churned, waiting on the smallest show of weakness from him to take over.
It was exhausting.
It made him regret that he’d tried tussling with the power of the Akachi piece. He, who prided himself on control, was now utterly helpless in face of the chaos magic that came from the stone.
“Have you finally decided to kill me, King?” Her voice broke into those morose thoughts.
“Damn it, Amaya,” he breathed out impatiently.
“Relax, I’m joking,” she told him.
“How are you managing to shield me from your thoughts?”
A teasing light entered her eyes. “Is that rare?”
They came to a clearing where a natural pond demarcated the end of their property.
The path around it was worn from where he’d spent nights pacing and planning.
It was a spot where his men knew to leave him alone with his thoughts.
He settled onto the bench that had appeared one day, likely left by Sebastian or Lucas.
Even when he didn’t want their help, his friends were always looking out for him.
These days, with the chaos from the Akachi piece riding him, Levi didn’t pace.
He sat on this bench and fought the intrusive thoughts that waylaid him when he was awake.
Amaya sat next to him, tucking a leg underneath her. “This place is peaceful. How far are we from the house?”
“Had I approached you differently, how do you think this would’ve gone?” He turned to study her face, ignoring her other question.
She looked surprised and intrigued, her bottom lip tucking into her mouth as she thought about his question. He wished he could peer into her mind to get even the smallest hint of the way it worked.
“I honestly don’t know,” she finally answered.
“We’ve been told to be wary of vampires our whole life.
Even though my mom and I didn’t live on a compound, the rules she grew up with still applied.
No clubs, no afterhours spots where an innocent Chawi could possibly run into a vampire.
I don’t relish the thought of the Chawi elders hunting me down because I’ve ignored their decree. ”
“You didn’t grow up on a compound?”
“Answer my question first,” she demanded.
“Which?” He played ignorant.
“Not being able to access my mind seems to offend you. Is it rare that you can’t?”
He shuffled uncomfortably. How did he tell his mate that with his power, he regularly — with or without consent — probed the thoughts of the people around him?
He considered it defense and normally had no remorse for it.
But with her… He feared her judgment, so instead of telling her all that, he answered her question simply.
“Once I take blood from a person, I usually have unrestricted access to them.”
She shivered and looked away from him. “My mom…the chaos magic inside of her is eating away at her mind and eventually her body. She taught me early to shield myself from my power when I’m not using it.”
He hummed. “So, you shield to protect yourself and not necessarily to keep me from your mind?”
“It’s both,” she admitted with a shrug. “I already gave in to you, but it doesn’t mean you get to have all of me.”
And didn’t that exasperate him? Because he wanted all of her. He wanted to own every aspect of Amaya, from her luscious body to every corner of her mind.
“Where do we go from here?”
She turned to face him. “What do you want from me, King?”
He shook his head. “You can’t help yourself.”
She chuckled. “You can talk to people any type of way, but you can’t take it when I do the same to you?”
“Only you could make the title sound so mocking.”
She shoved him gently. “You gave me a nickname, I did the same. Now answer my question and quit stalling.”
Levi lifted her from the bench and into his lap, refusing to admit to her that the name had grown on him.
The feel of her soft curves on his legs was nearly his undoing.
The hungry growl he released was entirely involuntary.
He lifted her chin to stare into her eyes.
He wanted to tell her that he just wanted her.
That his spirit craved her and sought her out as the balance between monster and man.
Watching Amaya’s face let him know that she wouldn’t take well to that response. So, he tamped down on the truth and gave her a simple answer.
“For now, I want us on good terms. Can we at least call a truce?”
He used his other hand to trace the curve of her shoulder. Amaya shivered, goosebumps raising on her skin. Levi wanted to nuzzle in the hollow of her neck, but he wanted her answer more, and he had a feeling that if he lowered his eyes, she would deny him that.
Her eyebrows bunched. “What does that entail?”
His thumb traced her bottom lip. “I’ll take you not cussing me out every time you see me to start.”
The smile on her face made his dick hard, but that was neither here nor there. Her body relaxed in his arms. Unable to resist any longer, Levi dipped his head, rubbing his cheek against hers. He sighed, inhaling her floral scent and closing his eyes.
“I can do a truce. But I want more freedom. I’m done being trapped in your mansion under your thumb.”
He lifted his head and scoffed. “At which point were you under my thumb? You won’t even have dinner with me.”
Amaya raised a trembling hand to cup his cheek, the seriousness of her gaze sobering him. “I want to be able to move freely. See my cousins. Hell, make stops in between here and work, small shit I took for granted.”
“Fine.” He agreed easily; he would give her anything, except her escape.
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Are you setting me up?”
“God almighty, girl,” he grumbled.
She laughed. “Okay, small truce.”
“The guard stays because letting your uncle go means he could get you into some more shit. Which, by the way, I never do. If it gets out that I’m getting soft…”
“Relax, King. I can’t imagine anyone calling you soft and living to tell the tale.”
Tucking his face into her neck, he shivered as her scent filled his body with comfort. He would take any concession from her that he could get, if only to be able to access this slice of peace she gave him.