Page 62 of Villainous Kingpin

“I have something for you,” Bas announced, interrupting my thoughts.

“Really?” I asked excitedly, straightening up. I loved surprises. “What is it?”

He grinned. “It’s a birthday present.”

I blinked. “But my birthday is not for another few days.”

“Do you want to wait?” he teased. “Or you could get it now and tell me if you don’t like it so I can buy you something you like.”

A giddy smile I couldn’t contain curved my lips. He leaned over and opened the drawer of his little coffee table. A handgun laid in it and a small box he pulled out and handed to me. Uncle never kept a gun in the living room.

“Happy birthday, principessa.” I twisted it in my hands, wondering what it was. “Open it,” he demanded, his palm resting on my hip.

I lifted the lid and my breath stilled as I stared at the beautiful necklace holding a pendant. It was a skull that matched his tattoo. I traced the delicate gold with my finger.

“It’s the kingpin pendant,” he murmured. “So no matter where you are, if someone hurts you, they’ll know whose wrath they’ll earn. Priest, Dante, Emory, and I carry the tattoo.”

I remembered the tattoo. I traced over it back in Philly. It’d be impossible to forget something that fascinated me and everything about this man interested me.

I took it out of the box carefully. “I love it,” I whispered softly. “It’s part of you.”

Bas lifted me, setting me on his lap, then helped me put on the necklace. Once clasped, his mouth brushed over the back of my neck and goosebumps rose on my skin.

“Bas,” I whispered as I tilted my head to allow him better access.

“Hmmm?”

“I’ll stay with you,” I said and he stilled, his breath ghosting over my skin. Someone might have accused me of making a decision on the fly but it felt so damn right. “Here in New York. I won’t go back to California.”

I held my breath with anticipation while my heart thumped wildly under my ribcage.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

He grabbed my nape, threaded his fingers into my hair and then buried his face in my neck. The masculine noise of satisfaction he made vibrated deep in my stomach and the tightness in my chest loosened.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “That makes me so fucking happy.” His arm wrapped around my waist and he shifted me around on his lap so I’d face him. “Come to Chicago with me,” he rasped against my throat. “Tomorrow.”

I nodded, every cell in my body humming with love and such intense longing, it made my heart flutter.

“I’ll always follow,” I promised in a breathless whisper, repeating his own words back.

I placed my palms against his chest, his heat seeping into me. God, to love someone so much could be thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

I trailed my hands over his vest and my fingers trembled as I unbuttoned one button, then the next. With each button loose, my heart thundered harder and my pulse raced faster.

I closed the distance between us, lingering a breath away, his form unmoving. As if he waited for something. Then I closed the distance. He kissed me with such passion that I couldn’t keep my eyes open and every thought left me.

Our kissing quickly turned frantic. A dam broke, leaving in its wake an unhinged desire. I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging him closer. I needed his skin on mine.

“Bas, please,” I begged.

His hands grabbed my ass and lifted me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.

He bit my bottom lip, gently but enough to sting and I moaned into his mouth. I could feel his desire blazing and clashing with mine. I had no idea how we found ourselves in the bathroom, my back pressed against the cool tile, cooling my scorched skin.

I opened my eyes to find his gaze on me, drinking me in. His dark gaze blazed with fire, an inferno in its depths.