Page 33 of The Crownless King
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’targuing. 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?”
