Page 17 of The Vampire Kingpin (The Vampire Syndicate #7)

Lark

S pider licked the wounds he’d made in my neck closed and withdrew from me, rolling onto his back. The room was silent except for our pounding hearts.

I felt him eyeing me. I braced myself for more questions, but instead, he picked up my hand and kissed it, then rose from the bed with that easy grace he had. A few seconds later, the shower came on.

I sat up in his bed, covers pulled to my chest.

A shudder went over me. I’d been so close to giving into him, telling him the whole story and naming Jared Darkman as the reason I was in hiding.

Dammit, Lark. He’s getting to you.

He made me want things, and I couldn’t let that happen.

My gaze settled on the duffel bag. Why had he gone and done such a nice thing? He was confusing me, dammit. I could take whatever he threw at me in bed. Hell, I loved it.

But this was starting to feel like more—a relationship. Which he didn’t want any more than me, right?

But I do. I do want it.

I dropped my head into my hands and dug my palms into my eyes.

You’re so fucked, Lark.

I drew a breath, then threw off the covers and went into the bathroom.

Spider had pulled his locks into a high man-bun to keep them dry and was soaping his underarms. His head snapped up, tracking my movements as I put my own hair up in a ponytail and stepped into the shower, closing the door behind me.

Hot water rained around us. He rubbed the soap over the taut ridges and grooves of his abs, giving me a lazy smile.

My gaze tracked a stream of tiny bubbles, following their path down the deep cut bisecting his lower torso to where they disappeared into the black nest of hair around his rapidly hardening dick.

He returned the soap to its holder and circled his soapy fingers around himself, running them to the tip and back to the root in a leisurely squeeze.

With an effort, I brought my gaze back to his face. His brown eyes were hot and knowing, but I sensed a barrier between us, a barrier that was as much my fault as his.

This thing between us had to end. It wasn’t safe for either of us for me to stay too long—that hadn’t changed.

And Spider wasn’t offering me forever anyway. If Amina had truly been his mate, then he never would.

I swallowed what felt like shards of glass. If only I’d met him first…

But before I left, I wanted that night out with Spider that he’d dangled before me like a glittering necklace. One special night with my gorgeous, badass Underworld kingpin.

Yeah, Jared was an issue, but the syndicates tended to stick to their own except for strategic alliances, and the Darkmans and the Krals had never entered into an alliance.

Plus, it’s the Midnight Masquerade , dammit.

I wanted to go with him so bad, and a masquerade meant masks, right? I’d just have to make sure mine stayed on. Jared would be looking for a blonde, and I’d gone back to my natural black the night after I left Vegas.

“I’ll go,” I said, moving closer.

He stopped stroking himself and lifted an eyebrow. “To the Masquerade?”

I put a hand on his arm, breathing in his clean, male scent. My heart turned over at how familiar that smell had become—the hint of coconut, the maleness of it.

“Yes. If the invite still stands, that is.”

His brows drew together. I felt his questions, pressing against my skin. But all he said was, “All right.”

I rose on my toes, and taking his face in my hands, kissed him. One deep, soul-kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t say, even to myself, into it.

He stiffened, then brought a hand to my ass, urging me against him. But when I dropped back to my heels, he let me go.

I reached for the soap and started to wash myself. “I need a new dress, though.”

“What’s the matter with the gold dress?”

“I can’t wear it.” Not after I’d worn it to a party at the Darkman’s over-the-top Vegas mansion.

Spider was frowning now, so I added, “Too many memories,” which was also true. “My mom bought it for me. I was wearing it the night they…” I rolled my lips in and shrugged.

Spider wrapped a long arm around me, pulling me to him. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll buy you a new dress, okay, baby?”

Baby . I bit my lip, knowing that meant he wasn’t angry at me anymore.

And despite everything I’d told myself, that emotion-bomb went off in me again. This time it was more like an expanding balloon, lifting me in its wake.

“I can buy it for myself,” I said. “That wasn’t a hint.” I’d amassed a decent amount of cash playing pool with his crew, although sometimes I suspected Monster, at least, was letting me win because he’d guessed how much I needed the money.

Spider touched his forehead to mine. “I wanna do it, okay? A gift.”

“Yeah?” My smile came from deep inside. “Then, alright. And thank you. When is the Masquerade, anyway?”

“November twenty-ninth. And Lark?” He caught my lower lip between his teeth, then released it. “If I buy the dress, I get to pick it out.”

My inner thighs squeezed together at the way he said it. Half-promise, half-threat.

I slid my hands up his chest, teasing his nipples with my thumbs. “Should I be worried?”

“Probably,” he said against my mouth. “But you’re gonna let me do it anyway.”