Chapter fifteen
What am I doing?
It was a question Amaya asked herself every night when she crawled into the comfortable bed Levi had provided for her.
Thoughts of escape had long faded as she got used to the luxury surrounding her and her mother.
Had that always been a part of his plan?
To make her complacent in the gilded prison in which she was trapped?
It had been a week since they’d gone out and the king had made no moves on her. He’d barely acknowledged her, as a matter of fact. There were no more invitations to dine with him and he’d stopped dropping by her room.
Sad to say…she missed it.
That night in the club, he’d taken off his mask and shown her the monster underneath and still, she missed him.
His show of power should’ve scared her straight, but these past few days of his silence had left her with nothing but time to think.
And instead of fear for the awesome breadth of his power, Amaya felt emboldened.
At any point he could’ve pushed past all her objections, ignored her lack of consent, and taken what he wanted from her.
But Levi didn’t do that.
He was moving at her pace. It made her feel secure when everything and everyone around her would probably tell her that she had no right to feel that way.
Restless, Amaya kicked the blanket from her body and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at the clock and cursed. It was barely four. She had to be at work in a few hours, yet tonight, sleep had eluded her.
Giving up the pretense altogether, she left the bed and her room.
The compound was quiet around her, the stillness making her feel as though she were alone in the house.
As she neared the bottom of the stairs, the noise increased as the enforcers from Levi’s personal army moved around downstairs.
She followed it to the dining room she’d been avoiding since she’d been kidnapped.
Her eyes widened with surprise as she observed the men eating dinner? Breakfast? It was the end of their day, either could apply. They stood as they noticed her and she waved them back into their seats.
“I don’t mean to intrude,” she told them softly, tucking her robe tighter around her body.
Her nerves fluttered under their curious eyes.
Sweeping a look around the table, she tried to convince herself that it wasn’t disappointment deflating her chest. Of course, he wasn’t there.
She would’ve felt his energy had he been.
The male she recognized as Lucas stared at her, a small smirk on his lips.
“He’s not here.”
She nodded, her cheeks burning, and hastened her steps to the kitchen and her original destination.
Tea was her plan. Not that she thought it would help her sleep.
But she was up, and it would give her something to do other than brood in her room.
Amaya’s heart thumped as Sebastian entered the kitchen from the patio door.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said softly.
“That’s okay. I was just going to make tea.”
Why did she feel the need to explain her presence? Sucking her teeth in irritation at herself, she headed for the cabinets to see what they had. Sebastian said nothing, but he moved around her and silently showed her where everything she would need was. She nodded her thanks, avoiding his gaze.
Gods, she was jittery.
His presence still loomed close, pausing her movements. She looked up and found him studying her much the way Lucas had.
“Yes?”
“Levi is in a…mood. It would be best if you avoid him.” His deep voice filled the kitchen with its quiet rumble.
She dropped the kettle onto the stovetop and sighed. “You act like I want to be in this mess.”
Even as she said the words, guilt niggled at her. Amaya could admit that she needled at Levi, but what else was she supposed to do? Sit quietly while he controlled her life? Irritation made her skin hot.
Prodded by his silence, she closed her eyes and gathered her temper under control. “Fine, Sebastian.”
He said nothing else, but she didn’t breathe easy until his presence left the kitchen.
She went through the motions of making her tea, her mind a jumbled mess.
As though drawn by an invisible thread, her gaze strayed to the patio beyond the doors.
The king lazed in one of the pool loungers, his body tightly coiled despite his pose.
She hadn’t even realized they had a pool.
She shook her head. Staying in her room was just silly at this point. If she was going to be a prisoner, the least she could do was enjoy the amenities.
Chuckling to herself at the silly thought, Amaya poured a generous portion of honey into her tea, her gaze unerringly straying to Levi.
Through the panes of glass, she could see the contemplative look on his face.
He was still dressed for work except the dark burgundy shirt he wore was opened at the throat, the tie loosened down to his chest. His suit jacket was slung over the back of the lounger where he lay.
She should take Sebastian’s advice and leave him be, and yet, as she bit her lip, her thoughts were reckless, impulsive.
“What am I thinking?” she muttered as she headed outside.
From the moment the door opened, Levi’s eyes tracked her.
With every step she took towards him, his predatory gaze scraped across her nerve endings, igniting both wariness and heat.
The wild feverish look in his eyes gave her an idea of what was happening.
Battling the Akachi was overtaking the king.
Instinctively, her magic reached out to him, soothing the jagged edges of his power as she settled in the chair beside him.
“You should leave, baby doll.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I’m not fit for company.”
Despite the desperate plea, Levi’s power and presence did not diminish.
If anything, the vulnerability stripped the ego that usually concealed the man beneath that power.
It left him bare, exposed…and that made her feel…
safer? Her eyes raked over his form. He was so gorgeous, it was unfair really.
His dark copper skin gleamed under the recessed lights of the pool.
She wanted to run her touch over his smooth, chiseled face.
Her hands flinched as though she could feel the roughness of his close-cut beard.
Memories of the other night invaded her thoughts and her breath hitched. A part of her so desperately wanted to recreate the images he’d thrust into her mind.
Damn it, she was getting sidetracked.
“What are you sulking about?” She gripped her mug tightly to hide her trembling hands.
Common sense told her to go back inside, but somehow, she couldn’t override her instinct to stay. Prodding him in his current state was not smart, but the other alternative was to reach out and pull him into her arms in an effort to soothe him and that was infinitely more dangerous to Amaya.
He narrowed his eyes at her question. “I figured after the other night, you would be too smart to taunt me,” he said in answer.
She shrugged with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “Bad night at work?”
“And if I said it was?”
What did she say to that? She fell back on flippant, much more comfortable there with him.
“What do you do anyway?”
“Kill people.”
Her stomach dropped along with her jaw.
Levi scoffed. “Isn’t that what you think of me?”
She rolled her eyes and released the breath making her chest hurt.
She turned to face him full-on and he didn’t have so much as a smirk on his face.
Amaya sipped her tea and debated what she wanted to say to him.
He shifted on the lounger in clear agitation before sighing.
Her magic reached out to him without any input from her, soothing him, and long moments later, his shoulders relaxed.
He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the lounger.
She thought he wouldn’t say anything else to her and she debated whether or not she should leave him, but his eyes opened and he pinned her with a look.
“Did you sleep well?”
She tucked her leg underneath her. “Well enough. My mother is settling here and I don’t know how to feel about that.”
Where had that come from?
“She’s more lucid here,” she continued, the words tumbling out.
Her mind was still wary around him, but it seemed her body had already gotten comfortable with Levi. Maybe her heart as well? Either way, she clamped her mouth closed, careful to keep her thoughts to herself.
He nodded. “I enjoy our dinner talks.”
She frowned. “You talk to my mother?”
“If you would leave your room more, you would know that I’m an exceptional host.”
She scoffed, fighting a smile. She refused to find him charming.
“What do you talk about?”
“You nosy, ain’t it?”
She gasped, affronted. “Excuse me for trying to make conversation with your grumpy ass.”
“You’re the reason I’m grumpy.”
“What the fuck did I do to you?” she asked, sitting straighter.
“Your very presence pisses me off!”
That hurt her feelings more than she was willing to let on. “You could let me go. I didn’t ask you to keep me here.”
He sat forward, his face inches from hers. “Don’t you think if I could let you go I would?!” Rage and something like helpless desperation covered his face. “I can’t sleep or feed or fucking concentrate with you under my roof, but to let you go would destroy me.”
She didn’t…how… Gods, did he truly mean that?
The silence between them was weighted and pressed down on her until it felt as though she was trying to breathe underwater.
“Levi,” she finally managed.
“Go, Amaya.”
Just him saying her name and not the nickname she’d become accustomed to shook her out of the stupor and had her darting inside the house because…
what did she say to him? To that? She didn’t take a full breath until she reached her room.
She closed the door and leaned against it, her heart rate galloping.
So much information to process, she didn’t even know where to start.