Page 86 of The Vampire Kingpin
And it scared him, but then, it scared me a little, too. The vulnerability went both ways.
Neither of us had brought up the M-word yet, but I’d bet that drawer full of cash that both of us were thinking about it. We were mates. The bond had already started to form. You don’t sense another supernatural’s emotions without it.
Now, I realized that he was trying to make a big gesture—that even the thought of losing me terrified him.
Wonder spilled into me like a cascade of fireworks. “Thank you.” I interlinked my fingers around the back of his neck. “But you’re crazy if you think I’d leave. I have a home and friends and you. You’re stuck with me, Spider-Dude. And that drawer is the sweetest, most generous thing anyone has ever done for me. I don’t need it, but that you thought of it means everything.”
“I mean it.” He slapped my bottom. “That money is yours to use however or whenever you want. And if you need more, just ask—or hell, take it. You’re my queen, baby. Anything I have is yours.” His dark eyes warmed, his expression so, so tender. “I love you, Lark.”
I dug my teeth into my lower lip. It was the first time he’d said it aloud. “I love you even more,” I managed to say around the lump obstructing my voice.
“That’s not possible,” he returned. His long fingers speared into my hair, tipping my head back. His teeth scraped down my throat, sending a hot thrill over my skin. “So that’s settled. We should plan our mating ritual—Yule would be a good night, I think. Zayne can help.”
I blinked, laughter bubbling up in me. “Did you just ask me to accept your mate bond?”
“No, baby.” He nipped me beneath my jaw. “I told you.”
I moaned and angled my head to the side, giving him better access. “I…don’t think that’s how it works,” I managed to say.
“It does for us. Now stop teasing. You feel it. You know you do.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Because we haven’t said it out loud. We need to speak the words in front of witnesses.”
I pulled back so I could see his expression. “What about Amina?”
“She was never my mate,” he said without hesitation. “Now that I have you, I know the difference. I loved Amina, but she wasn’t my mate. You’re it for me, thief.”
My heart squeezed. He meant it. I felt his love and need wrapping around me like an extra pair of arms.
“You’re it for me, too.” I kissed him hard. “And Yule sounds like the perfect night to make things formal.”
“Mm.” He palmed my butt through my leggings. “Have I told you about this fantasy I have?”
“What’s that?”
He walked me backward until the top of my thighs hit his desk. “You’re a thrall and I’m your master.”
I giggled. “That’s a fantasy?”
“Quiet, woman. All I want to hear out of you is ‘Yes, sir.’”
“Oh, that kind of fantasy.”
He turned me around and bent me over the desk, shoving the bowl of diamonds out of the way. His hand landed on my ass. “Did I say you could talk?”
“Why do I always end up bent over the furniture?”
Another swat. “Because it makes you hot.”
The heat between my legs proved his point. “Fair,” I admitted.
He smacked me again. “Sir.”
My inner thighs constricted. “Sir,” I hurried to say.
“Good girl,” he praised, and I smiled at the desk.
