Page 73 of Queen of Spades

“Listen, I know you probably think Ranger and I are close, but he was always my boss. He doesn’t tell me shit about his plans. He barks orders, and my job has always been to follow them.”

“That’s why you spent the last three years looking for me.” My cheeks heat.

I don’t even know why.

I don’t have anything to be ashamed about.

Well, other than shooting him.

“What do I smell like to you, Sparrow?” His low, gravelly tone sends a shiver down my spine.

He asked me that once before.

It was a whole lot of years ago, but I still remember the look on his face as he caged me into the wall, growling the question in my ear. At that moment, I swore the look on his face was attraction.

I don’t answer, much like I didn’t back then, but instead of stomping off like he did three years ago, he moves his hands to my hips and pulls me into his lap.

I’m in the same pajama dress I fell asleep in, but no underclothes. Once my heat gets close, I don’t bother while I’m sleeping, because they’re always uncomfortable. They magically seem to become too tight, or itchy, and sometimes they make me too hot.

My nipples tighten painfully as my hands land on his strong chest. His scent hits my system differently than any alpha I’ve ever smelled. It’s a huge part of the reason I hated him for treating me like a little kid.

“I’ll tell you how you smell to me,” he growls, yanking me closer with a hand on my lower back. “You smell like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’ve met scent matches before and barely blinked.” His nose dances up the column of my neck, flicking his tongue over Grady’s bondmark. “I get close to you, and my entire body gets a buzzed feeling that I normally hate because I can’t handle being impaired.”

My jaw falls open.

“Do you know what a soul match is?” he asks, pulling back to stare into my eyes as he repositions his hands on my ass.

“No.”

“It’s basically an old wives’ tale. My grandfather used to tell me it’s how he knew my grandma was special.” He laughs. “I didn’t pay much credence to it. He always said she smelled electric to him. Like the weather right before a lightning storm, it was a magnetic connection he had never felt before nor since.”

“Whoa,” I whisper, studying his blown pupils. That’s insane because I’ve never been able to describe his scent in words, but after hearing that description, it clicks.

“You always hear how rare scent matches are, but soul matches?” His head shakes as his huge hands palm my ass. “It’s fine. I know I sound crazy. I’m sure the rest of the world doesn’t believe they exist, but?—”

“It doesn’t sound crazy to me at all.” The description makes perfect sense. The main thing I’m confused about is him. “You’ve always acted like you wanted nothing to do with me.”

“You were barely legal back then,” Kane growls, squeezing my ass. “It would have been a total asshole move to acknowledge how beautiful you are. It’s not just that pretty face of yours or the fantastic tits, either. It’s the way you used to listen to Eddie ramble the same story for the third time that week and pretend to be excited when he got to the punchline or the climax.”

My eyes burn as I laugh, shaking my head. Eddie really did have a shit memory when it came to telling the same stories over and over again.

“God, I miss that old man.” My nose draws me forward, and the next thing I know, my face is buried in Kane’s throat.

“Yeah,” Kane agrees.

My entire body pulses with warmth as I breathe him in. He’s right. There’s some deeper compatibility than even that link with Ward or Grady, but it doesn’t mean I would ever leave them behind.

Hell, I really don’t know where Kane and I stand.

“Don’t think this snuggle is going to get you out of going over my knee one day soon.” He chuckles. “But I appreciate the apology, and I accept it, if you care.”

I nod against his neck as my fingers dance over his pec. He stretches back against the headboard, and a ragged purr starts in his chest. I purposely avoid looking at his scar, but my free hand slides down, running over it.

I’m pretty sure I owe him the chance to spank the hell out of me. I focus on the vibration of his purr as a yawn escapes. It doesn’t take long for my eyes to get heavy, and I fall asleep on Kane.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Kane

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