Page 38 of The Crownless King
‘Your shield is down.’He probed at her mind slowly, bracing for her rejection.
‘Since I don’t know where we’re going, I need all my senses,’she told him wryly.
He sensed that she was hiding the full truth from him, but with his first touch of her mind in days, he would take what he could. Carefully, so as to not make her defensive, he filtered through her thoughts. There was no fear in her, just a quiet curiosity that gave him hope.
Amaya turned a surprised look to him when she took in their location.
“Business meeting?”
“I conduct business all over this city, baby doll,” he told her as he exited the car.
He reached in to help her, his thumb caressing the skin of her wrist. She was so goddamned beautiful. Sebastian, Lucas, and two of his other enforcers surrounded them as they turned towards the club entrance. There was a line wrapped around the building and murmurs started the moment he stepped from the car. Securing dark shades over his eyes, he ignored them, playing the part that he’d willingly signed up for.
Levi stood out so that his men could stay in the shadows. While all the attention was on him, King of the Bayi, his men could do the work of making sure his vampires were always atthe top of the food chain. There were times when it aggravated him. Like now, when he had to make an appearance for the sake of being seen. Camera flashes were going off with photographers were yelling his name for attention, and he ignored it all as part of his role. With his hand on Amaya’s back, he guided them into the club. Levi would’ve skipped this shit altogether, but the young vampire had been requesting to meet with him for months. He hoped having Amaya at his side would keep him calm.
But with the way his mate’s mouth was set up, he prayed he made it through the whole meeting without they themselves fighting. At his side, she looked and smelled like a million bucks, and it was taking everything within him to keep his hands up at her waist. He had a feeling that Amaya would cuss him clean the fuck out if he touched her in the way he wanted to.
Still, he couldn’t resist sliding a possessive hand down her ass. There were entirely too many motherfuckers looking at her. She gave him a warning look.
“Sorry, baby doll, but you look downright edible in this shit.”
A small hum was her answer. Sebastian led them through the building and Levi actively blocked out the lust floating in the air. The club Bas owned was a popular place for vampires to find feeders. He himself had been a regular. For the most part, he preferred to feed in privacy, but there were times where the thrill of being in public appealed to him. They skirted the dancing couples on the way to the back room. He noted the way Amaya’s eyes darted around the place, taking in everything.
“If you’d like, we can stay after our meeting.”
She shook her head and shuddered. “No sense in tempting fate,” she said under her breath, though he’d heard her.
He suppressed his smile. That was a good sign. Was she becoming more amenable to the thought of them together? Time would tell. As they reached the back, a waitress from VIP came over to greet them.
“King Levi. Will you be at your usual booth?”
“Nah, love. We got business to handle.” Levi returned her smile.
“If you change your mind, I can make sure I serve you tonight.” The female’s smile was wide, her eyes filled with lust.
Amaya’s irritation was instant and traveled down their tentative bond.‘Send that skinny bitch on before you piss me off. She looks like she wants to follow us home.’
‘Home, babydoll? I like the sound of that,’he taunted his little witch.
She growled and gave him a glare that did the opposite of what she thought it would. He wanted to cancel this whole meeting and find out what else her mouth could do. That must have slipped down their link because her look darkened.
‘Not even in your dreams.’
The rough sound of his laugh escaped him as he dismissed the hostess. Was it bad that he was starting to love sparring with his baby doll?
He wiped his face clear as Bas and Lucas entered the room before him. The meeting was with a young coven leader and he and Sebastian had debated for a few hours whether or notit was safe to meet with them. Not that either of them had fear about the meeting. Levi didn’t want it to seem as though he was accessible to just any fucking body. In the end, after checking into the youngblood’s background, curiosity had won out. It only took moments before Lucas waved him in.
“On your toes, baby doll,” Levi murmured to Amaya.
She nodded and gripped his hand as they entered. The male stood at their entrance.
It was the same young Bayi that Levi had seen earlier in his rise to power. The male nodded at him in greeting. Bas and Lucas spread their men out and gave the okay for Levi and Amaya to sit.
“Your Highness,” the male started, and Levi hid his surprise.
The last time he’d seen this male, the kid had threatened to kill him because Levi had killed his father. He’d found out that the older vampire was selling out his fellow Bayi to the Buru in the area and that shit wouldn’t fly with him. Levi had been methodical in his takeover of Georgia and the small town had been hours away from Black Hollow. Really no consequence to Levi, but allowing the Buru even the smallest foothold would be detrimental to them all.
Levi had refused to fight the young vampire at the time, instead instructing the kid to come find him when he was old enough and still wanted revenge.
