Page 31 of The Crownless King
“There. I can feel him better now.”
Amaya didn’t know what to say to that. Instead of speaking, she rocked the swing softly.
“Mating with a Bayi could be so dangerous,” Anita said out of the blue.
“Why would you say that, mom?” Her heart sped its rhythm.
“I see the way he looks at you, Maymay.”
Her mother hadn’t called her that in years.
“The longing that male has for you…it won’t be long before one of you gives in. I worry for the consequences.”
Amaya snorted. “I have no intention of falling for the vampire who kidnapped us.”
Especially not when he kept locking her in her room.
The asshole.
She and her mother sat outside for an hour before she called it a night. Her mother gave a little resistance, but she followed Amaya in. There was a maid waiting at the door of Anita’s room. Amaya wanted to question the woman, but no matter how much she spoke to the young female who brought her food to her, the woman would never talk back.
Amaya entered her room and rolled her shoulders. It had been a long day. She should take a shower and call it a night, except…
A restless buzz skimmed over her skin and had her headed to the window that separated her room from the outside. She opened it and stepped closer, leaning against the pane, spying Levi walking through the woods towards the mansion. As though he could feel the pull of her gaze, he looked up. Her breath caught, and surely she was imagining the hunger she could sense from him. He was too far away to see her face clearly and yet his eyes met hers and burned with need.
‘Come to me.’
His words echoed through her mind, strong and deep. Her body took an involuntary step forward to answer his call. Was it true? Did Levi keep her in some bizarre way to claim her? The blood bond that she’d willingly entered to save her family was betraying her. Even with the distance between them, her body was tuning itself to him. She wrapped her hands around the window pane to stop their trembling.
‘Come, baby doll,’he coaxed again.
She wanted to deny him, ignore the yearning in his voice, but it was impossible. She could blame it on the bond but…that didn’t feel like the answer. The power in his voice rippled across her mind, reinforcing his order, and nothing seemed to matter to her but answering it. Before she could fully register what she was doing, Amaya was halfway down the stairs to answer his call.
Impulsive.
Foolish.
It was both those things, yet she continued her way to the exit of the mansion. In the time it took to make it outside, she’d had plenty of time to change her mind, to consider her impulsive actions, but his magic pushed through all of that. At the door, Amaya took a deep breath and reentered the humid night again, this time walking towards a male who had already disrupted her life.
“What are you doing, Amaya?” she whispered to herself as she closed the distance between them.
Before she could answer herself, she was already a few feet away from where the king was waiting. The fire in his eyes sent answering heat through her body. It was the first time she saw him in anything other than black. The violet blue loungewear was loose on his body, though the thin shirt clung to the muscles of his chest. The pants hung off his trim waist, a sliver of stomach showing as he lifted his hand to beckon her forward. Her eyes dropped below his waist, and she swallowed. This was a horrible idea, but even that thought didn’t stop her steps.
By the time she reached Levi, his expression was greedy…reverent. She flushed under his scrutiny and her power flared inanswer to his nearness. The chaos magic that surrounded him was heady and called to hers like nothing she’d ever experienced.
“Your escape attempts have tapered off.”
She sucked her teeth. “My mother’s life is worth more to me than my freedom and I couldn’t risk you making good on your threats.”
She studied his face for any type of insight into his thinking. There was a small tic of a grimace at her words, but it lasted barely a millisecond. Had she not been watching, she would’ve missed it.
“I wouldn’t have let you go if that is the answer you’re searching my face for.”
She shivered; he was telling the truth. She should be up in the safety of her room. Playing with this man could be dangerous. With no idea how to break the tense silence that had descended over them, Amaya clamped her mouth shut.
Levi hummed. “Let’s walk, baby doll.”
She didn’t answer, but her hand was passive as he grabbed it with his own.
