Page 103 of Craving Carla

“Of course she does,” I reply smugly. “She’s a daddy’s girl.”

Carla rolls her eyes but helps me pack up my laptop. She slips her hand into mine as we walk back to the cabin, our fingers intertwined. The warmth of her palm against mine feels right, like our hands were designed to fit together.

“Go upstairs,” I tell her when we reach the cabin, and she complies without question, heading up the stairs while I follow behind.

She gasps when she reaches the bedroom. Several boxes wrapped in ribbons sit on the bed, surrounded by beautiful roses. She looks back at me, and I’m leaning against the doorframe with my hands stuffed in my pockets, grinning smugly at her surprise.

“How did you do this?” she asks, looking back at the boxes.

I walk from the doorway and approach her, placing my hands on her waist and leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Open them,” I urge, nudging her toward the bed.

“But how?” she persists. “No one ever wants to come to the patrol cabin because of my children.”

I shrug casually. “Kade and Damon don’t mind.”

She turns back to the largest box, pulling the ribbon free and lifting the lid. She pushes aside the tissue paper and pulls out a beautiful black spaghetti strapped dress. When she checks the tag, her brow furrows.

“It’s the wrong size, baby,” she says, “but thank you for the effort.”

I move my hand down to her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know it’s a size too small. That’s the point.” I pull her closer against me. “I want it to hug all your curves, like a fuck-me dress.”

She blushes, then narrows her eyes at me. “I thought you don’t approve of fuck-me dresses on me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I don’t approve of you wearing fuck-me dresses for assholes like Ackley.” I squeeze her ass again. “I want you to wear it for me.”

I bury my face in her neck, planting a gentle kiss against her claim mark. She moans at the contact, the sound shooting straight to my groin.

“I want to watch your ass move in it during our date,” I whisper, “so when we get home, I can fuck the dress right out of you.”

I take a finger to her chin and tilt her head up, pressing my lips to hers briefly before stepping back. “Open the others.”

She gives me a bright smile and turns excitedly to the remaining boxes. One contains a pair of beautiful heels, similar to the ones I bought her before but nicer, more expensive. The final box holds a small purse with jewelry—a bracelet that looks like diamonds and a necklace with a blue ruby shaped like a spider.

Her lip trembles, eyes welling with tears as she looks at me. “I would have gotten you earrings,” I tell her, “but I noticed your ears aren’t pierced. We’ll take care of that later.”

I approach her and take the necklace from the box, pressing my lips to hers. “Don’t cry, baby. This is supposed to be a happy time.”

“They are happy tears!” she snaps, and I chuckle at her outburst.

“Pull your hair up and turn around,” I instruct. She does, gathering her braid in one hand, and I fasten the necklace around her neck. She turns back around, fingers running over the spider ruby.

“Get dressed,” I tell her. “I’ll be downstairs waiting for you.”

She blushes and heads for the bathroom. As I turn to leave, I catch a glimpse of her pulling her shirt over her head, and I force myself to walk away before I lose all self-control.

Downstairs, I pace the living room floor, thinking about how I’m going to approach her moving into the new home I’m going to have built for her. A palace on a piece of land located just a few miles from the community, fit for a queen. My coven is en route to Wintermoon, our new permanent home, and I’ve got another gift for her when we return—one I’m sure she’ll appreciate,though I’m not certain how she’ll feel about what I did to make sure she received it.

Either way, my mate’s happiness is the most important thing in the world to me. And I’m excited for her to meet her new children, the Medina Shadow Coven. They will honor her, treat her like the true queen she is. And they won’t give her problems about our spider children; they’ve been accustomed to Kemnebi since I started my own coven. He was part of the deal, and every member of my coven that I turned understood that.

I walk over to my laptop and open it, checking my email for any updates from Bobby. I grin when I notice an email from Alexis and open it.

I take it this was your way of declining my date. All is well in love and war, Amari. You’ll be hearing from me soon—a lot sooner than you think.

Best,Alexis

I chuckle and close the email. Then I open Bobby’s message and start downloading the attached data, but I don’t look at it. I’ll examine it later. I smile when I see another email about the sale of some of my properties that I need to sign off on. I don’t need them anymore—I’m not leaving Wintermoon, not without my woman and children. And if Carla and our spider children can’t be accepted in the outside world, then this is where I’ll stay.

Carla comes down about thirty minutes later, the sound of her heels clicking against the wood steps. I immediately close my laptop and stand, adjusting my suit. My breath catches when she comes into view. She’s stunning, the dress fitting her exactly as I’d hoped—her curves spilling out of the tiny fabric, her fingers tugging at the hem as she tries to pull it down.