Page 42 of The Vampire Kingpin

I hung the leather jacket on a peg, but before I could return to the bedroom, Spider spoke from behind me, his voice deep and a little rough. “Lark?”

A hot shiver went over my skin. “What?” I asked without turning around.

His hands closed on my shoulders. “Would you wear that dress for me?” he asked against the side of my neck.

“Tonight?”

“No. I mean out. To the Midnight Masquerade.”

Oh, gods. He was gutting me here.

The Kral’s Midnight Masquerade was a big freaking deal in the vampire world. The Kral Syndicate—the syndicate who ruled most of the East Coast from New York on south—didn’t let just anyone come, either.

“You have an invite?” I stalled.

“Mm-hm.” He nuzzled my ear. “You know the Kral brothers?”

“Yeah. I mean, I haven’t met them, but I know of them.” The Dark Angels, as the three brothers were known, were famous in both the human and vampire worlds. The fact that all three were serious eye-candy didn’t hurt.

“The middle brother is a friend of mine—Zaq.”

“What?” I craned my neck to look at him. “You serious?”

“I did him a favor a couple of years back, and now he has his dad paying me to police the Underworld.” Spider smirked. “Easiest money I ever made.”

“That must’ve been some favor.”

“It was. Saved the dude’s ass—he would’ve been pushing up daisies without my help, and he made sure Karoly knew it. Plus, Zaq hires us as backup security when he needs a couple of extra men.”

I blinked. Spider and Zaq must be really, really good friends because I’d never heard of a syndicate prince hiring Underworld people as security.

“Zaq’s okay for a rich mofo,” Spider added. “You’d like him and his mate. She’s some long-lost syndicate princess, but she didn’t grow up rich like he did. Woman’s a certified badass.”

His affection for Zaq and his mate came through in his voice. I found myself wanting to go to the Midnight Masquerade just to see Spider in that world. I’d wager he was pretty badass himself, as in I’m the coolest dude here and I don’t even have to try.

“So?” He skated his lips down the side of my neck. “Wanna come to the Masquerade with me? And don’t give me that you-don’t-dance crap.” He slapped my ass. “I told you what happens if you lie to me.”

“Sorry.” I pouted, but underneath, I didn’t mind that he’d called me on the untruth.

“So you’ll come?”

“I—”

Red flags were waving like a parade of danger signs. For one thing, I needed to pull back from Spider, pull back from this wanting. And two, there was my Jared Darkman problem.

Spider turned me around. Now I had to meet his eyes, the deep, chocolatey brown sucking me in.

“What?” he asked. “Tell me.”

“I’m sorry, but—” My gaze slid from his. “I just can’t, okay?”

11

Spider

An hour later, I rolled off Lark. She cuddled up to me, a hand on my chest.

Now that the edge was off, I couldn’t get the conditions that she’d been living in out of my mind. Toying with her hair—the same hair I’d pulled as she’d screamed out her last climax—I asked, “You think any more about staying permanently?”