Page 13 of The Vampire Kingpin (The Vampire Syndicate #7)

Lark

M y belly fluttered.

That was the last thing I’d expected Spider to say. I’d figured he’d turn his head and say he had to get going. Or that he was up for another round.

“I’m thinking about you.”

And it wasn’t just the words, it was the way he’d said it, kind of…tenderly. Like thinking about me made him happy.

“Lark?” he asked, his eyes crinkling at the edges, and I realized I was staring at him, mouth ajar.

I snapped my mouth closed and turned my head because I couldn’t think . He made me stupid.

What was his deal, anyway?

When he’d caught me playing pools with the guys, he’d gone all alpha vampire on me. Monster had taken one look at his face and backed away, muttering, “Uh-oh.”

Uneasiness had tripped up my spine, but I’d lined up my next shot like I couldn’t feel Spider’s eyes boring into me. So what if he was king down here and so far dominant to me, we weren’t even in the same building, let alone on the same level?

I would not be intimidated. I was his thrall, not his blood slave.

But he didn’t seem to care I made some money off his people so long as I played fair.

And I had—played fair, that is. I mean, I could’ve cheated, but where was the fun in that?

Somewhere on the other side, Mom and Dad were shaking their heads, muttering I’d gone soft.

But I liked Spider’s people. They’d been nice to me, damn it.

And now here Spider was, eyeing me like I was the most interesting person in the world. He’d even invited me to join his lair.

I could not figure him out, and it made me edgy, and yet, I also…wanted.

He rolled onto his side and brushed my hair back from my temple. “What’s goin’ on in that mind of yours?”

My throat clogged. I felt bashful, like a thirteen-year-old around her first crush.

Me. The woman who’d never met a man she couldn’t handle.

But I wasn’t used to this degree of attention—not when I was being myself. When I was playing a part, sure. But not when I was Lark .

Even Troll hadn’t looked at me like that. He’d only wanted my body. Spider stared at me like he was trying to see into my brain.

I had to force myself not to squirm on the mattress.

Deflect, deflect.

It was instinct to hide myself. That’s what I’d been taught, and the reason I’d survived the past six months.

Instead, I heard myself ask, all breathy and feminine, “Thinking about me how?”

He propped his head on his hand, hard-muscled and beautiful. The man could cut glass with those biceps. “For one thing, I’m wondering how you ended up with Grimclaw.”

Oh. So this was about Grim. Inside, the hopeful, excited fluttering wobbled to a halt.

“He’s my cousin.”

“I know. But you had nowhere else to go?”

“Sad, huh?” I made a comic face to hide the fact that it was sad.

He didn’t smile. “Yeah. The man isn’t fit to be alpha of himself, let alone a lair.”

I turned my head so I was looking up at the ceiling. “I know that now. But I didn’t have a lot of choices, you know?”

“Because he wasn’t affiliated with a syndicate?”

Yes . But that was too close to the truth, so I prevaricated. “Why would that matter?”

“You don’t belong down here—anyone can see that. People like you, they’re usually on the run from some syndicate.”

I made a noncommittal sound.

Even Grimclaw didn’t know Jared Darkman was hunting me. He knew I’d had to leave Nevada in a hurry, but he thought it was a heist gone wrong. The story fit what he knew about me and my parents.

The truth? My parents tried to con the spoiled heir of the Las Vegas primus.

Jared had staked them. Me? He had a different fate in mind.

I swallowed noisily.

“Lark?” Spider touched my cheek. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I tensed, my instincts screaming a warning.

Time to shut this down.

I couldn’t trust anyone. I couldn’t involve anyone.

Good sex—even if it had been earth-shattering, brain-melting sex—didn’t mean tossing my caution out the window.

I lifted a brow. “Excuse me, but why is this your business?”

“Hey.” He picked up my hand and kissed it. Without my meaning to, my fingers closed on his like a lifeline. “I don’t give two fucks who you’re hiding from, but if you want me to give someone a beatdown, just say the word.”

I blinked rapidly. Damn . Way to hit me in the feels.

I’d been on my own for so long. Grimclaw didn’t count; I only trusted him so far.

“Who says I’m hiding from anyone?”

Spider sighed. “Lark…”

I grimaced. “Sorry.”

He waited, and somehow, I found myself telling him more. He needed to know. In case Jared Darkman found me. Or if I suddenly disappeared…

“Fine. You’re right. I am hiding from someone—and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Oh, baby.” He gathered me in his arms.

I snuggled into what was rapidly becoming my safe place, my nose in the spot between his neck and shoulder.

A big, powerful hand stroked my back. “You know I’m on your side, right? Somebody tries to fuck with you, they’re gonna have to go through me first.”

“Sure.”

I didn’t believe him, but I appreciated that he’d said it. But when Jared Darkman finally caught up to me, the Vegas Syndicate would bring a world of pain down on Spider if he tried to help me.

He shook my shoulder. “Dammit, Lark. I mean it.”

I rubbed my cheek against his dark stubble, taking his scent onto my skin like a cat. Something to remember in the years to come when this month with him was in the rearview mirror. “Drop it. Please?”

His chest heaved but he fell silent.

I rolled my lips into my mouth. Time to lighten things up.

Pulling out of his arms, I rolled onto my side, head on my palm. “Now I’ve got a question for you.”

“Anything,” he answered.

“What's green, fuzzy, and would hurt if it fell on you out of a tree?”

His thick brows drew together in confusion. “I dunno. What?”

I grinned, even though it wasn’t that funny and I felt anything but happy. “A pool table.”

He blinked, then gave a reluctant smile. “Hah. Now I have a question for you—three questions, actually.”

I eyed him warily. “Yeah?”

“I wanna know three things about you. Not something that’s a secret,” he added when I started to shake my head. “Start with your favorite dessert.”

“Oh.” I relaxed. “Then I’m gonna go with a classic—chocolate chip cookies. Right after they come out of the oven, all warm and gooey.”

His mouth curved. “That was my go-to when I was a little dude. My mama made the best cookies in Brooklyn.”

“She’s gone now?”

“Yeah, she passed a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

He dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “She wasn’t happy when I was turned, especially because I did it partly for her—so I could buy her a nice house, send her on a trip to Hawaii.

She was a teacher, but she got hurt and had to go out on disability, and she had no savings. And she always wanted to see Hawaii.”

“Did she go?”

“Yep.” His expression warmed, his love for his mom clear. “Took me a couple of years to get the cash together, and then another year to convince her to take it. But she did.”

I tried and failed to picture anyone refusing Spider for over a year. “Yeah? She sounds like some woman.”

“She was. I miss her every day.”

“I’m sorry,” I said softly.

He heaved a breath. “She wouldn’t let me turn her. Said she didn’t wanna live that long. Anyway. What tunes get you hyped?”

“That’s easy—anything I can dance to. But hip-hop’s my go-to.”

“Same,” he said. “And salsa.”

“Salsa, huh? Bet you have some good moves.”

“You bet your sweet ass I do.”

“Modest, too.”

His eyes creased at the corners, and in my chest, a dozen butterflies flapped crazily. I couldn’t tell if I was happy or scared, but maybe that was because it was both.

“Last question,” he said. “Where did you learn to play pool like that? Monster and Jacko don’t lose to many people.”

“I told you, I was home-schooled. Dad wanted me to have a skill I could fall back on if I needed to, and Mom was all about the geometry and physics applications.”

“Huh.” He eyed me. “They sound pretty interesting.”

Grief twisted through me. But beneath the sorrow, anger simmered.

“They were,” I said, throat tight.

“So they’re gone?”

“Yeah.” Before he could ask more, I said, “That’s three—now it’s my turn. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Nowhere,” he replied promptly. “I’m right where I want to be.”

“Oh, you’re good at this.”

He touched my face. “I mean it.”

His deep-brown eyes had warmed, his expression soft, open…as if he really, really liked me. The room around us faded, the sounds in the Cavern outside muted. It was just us, wrapped in a cocoon of wordless understanding.

Inside me, those butterflies took flight. A burst of longing hit me, so hard my heart actually hurt.

I couldn’t stay with him for much longer. It was too risky.

I’d already stayed in New York for longer than I should’ve. Frankly, I was surprised I’d evaded Jared this long, but my gamble had paid off—he must’ve figured I’d never go to ground in the Underworld. The classy syndicate lady I’d pretended to be wouldn’t have survived down here a week.

“Maybe,” I said, “I could hang around another month. If that’s okay?”

“Of course.” Spider cupped my cheek, and I got the feeling he heard more than what I’d said. “But if you change your mind about joining my lair permanently, the offer stands.”

I turned my head, pressing my lips to his callused palm, wishing with all my heart I could take him up on his offer. But it was only a matter of time before Jared found me, and the longer I stayed in one place, the easier I made it for him.

So all I said was, “Thank you.”