Page 26 of The Crownless King
Her heart thundered, filling her ears with its staccato. It was hard to breathe in the charged air between them. Swirling chaos ignited the magic within her and Amaya’s knees weakened.
“You live because I will it, because I desire it. The minute that changes is the moment you take your last breath. You might wanna be nice to a brother.” He hissed and let her go.
She dropped to the floor, her legs unable to support her. He watched her, a flame in his eyes.
“I ain’t got but so much patience, shawty. Remember that shit next time you trying to pop off. Lock it,” he told the guard at her door, and she rushed up right before it slammed shut on her.
She slapped the door.
Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut!
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.”
