Page 47 of The Crownless King
Their eyes met, and he watched the progression of her emotions as she debated his request. He saw the moment she fell back onto teasing to break up the intensity between them.
“Is that how you ask, King?” She licked her lips.
Levi tugged on her shirt until her head lowered and their mouths aligned. He took the kiss he wanted, unwilling to wait on her answer. Sucking on her bottom lip, he slid his tongue inside. Lowering her body to his legs, Amaya perched on the edge of his lap and sighed into his mouth. His hands caressed her waist, bracing her and deepening the kiss, his need consuming him. It was impossible not to lose himself in the kiss. Cradling her head, he devoured her mouth.
A moment later, Amaya’s hand went to his chest and she pulled back.
“I need to go,” she said softly, scrambling from his lap.
Levi allowed her to go, fighting to keep the hunger inside of him corralled. He watched the way her hips swayed as she headed to the door, his body an inferno. She left the room without another word and the moment the door closed behind her, the shadows of his mind crept in and wiped away that euphoria. He sighed in frustration. Yes, it was time for him to deal with the Akachi stone. But more importantly, it was time to stop being passive about his mating. He wanted Amaya, and he was done waiting on her timing.
Chapter seventeen
Concentrating on work was hard. The kiss with Levi was circling her brain in an endless loop. It was different from any of their other kisses. In this one, she was a willing participant. They’d shared a kiss the night they’d walked together, but that was different. Levi had been angry, trying to shut her up, but this one…
Her body was flushed with heat and it had nothing to do with the magic flowing through her as she worked. She’d made so many simple mistakes today that she gave up and took her lunch early. She could feel the phantom touch of his lips on hers, and even his grip in her hair. She shivered at the hard slam of need that hit her as she sat down in front of her locker. She shouldn’t have let him kiss her. It was inviting trouble and temptation. Every day under his roof it was getting harder to resist the king.
Their teasing was becoming second nature to her. There was no longer any real bite to Amaya’s sarcastic quips. Half the time she did it to see that small smirk that graced his lush lips. She was in so much trouble.
“Amaya.”
Malik’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. She gave him a small smile. He stood in the doorway of the dressing room.
“Ms. Sophia wants to see you in her office.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. What did the director of the Archive want with her? She hurriedly stripped from the clean suit and hung it up for use after lunch. She walked up to Malik.
“Did she say what she wanted?”
Malik shook his head and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “She didn’t seem like it was bad, though.”
Though her heart was still thundering, his words helped. She nodded and headed towards the fourth floor where Ms. Sophia kept her office. Smiling at her assistant, she was waved to go back. Amaya knocked to announce her presence and opened the door at Sophia’s prodding.
The office was small, but the elegant space was filled to the brim with books. The windows in the room were narrow and lined the top of bookshelves behind the desk. They let in just enough light to make the place cozy, but not enough to ruin any of the ancient texts that Ms. Sophia liked to surround herself with. Amaya was sure the director could have access to a bigger office, but it was indicative of the kind of person Sophia was.
“You wanted to see me?” Amaya stopped just inside the door, not wanting to intrude in the space.
Ms. Sophia stood, a warm smile on her face. The woman looked like a librarian plucked right out of novel. She wore a brown plaid dress, cinched at her waist with a thick leather belt. The skirt swept the floor while the square-neck top of the dress demurely caressed the collar of her neck. A large pair of glasses adorned her angular, beautiful face.
“Yes, have a seat.” She waved to the chair in front of her glass desk.
Amaya sat and looked around. Anxious energy had her stomach fluttering.
“Relax, Amaya.” Sophia settled in her chair and leaned forward, her elbows on the desk.
The older woman studied her. Amaya fought not to squirm under her attention. Sophia was the director of this Archive and head director for all of the others across the South. The only thing she required of those under her was that they did their jobs as outlined. Amaya didn’t understand how being called into her office could be anything but serious.
Sophia’s eyes softened and she sighed. “There are rumors that you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble.”
“Me?” Amaya pointed at her chest. “What kind of trouble?”
“It’s going around that you’re being kept against your will by King Levi.”
Amaya swallowed and forced her racing heart to slow down. “Not against my will.”
At least not technically. And certainly not now. As everyone kept pointing out to her, she’d willing given herself to the king. Sure, her uncle’s life was in the balance, but a month under Levi’s roof and for some reason, it felt unfair to categorize her stay as ‘against her will’. Sophia studied her before sitting back in her chair.
“Your uncle has told the elders of your compound otherwise,” Sophia said.
