Page 9 of The Vampire Kingpin
I tilted my head, considering her. She’d stolen from me. As far as I was concerned, I owned her sexy little cat-burglar body now. She was lucky she was still breathing.
But my mind couldn’t help flashing to Amina, who’d also pulled a switchblade on a bigger, more powerful vampire, a man who’d wanted revenge on me. He’d snatched her and abused her for three long nights while I tore Manhattan apart looking for her. Then he’d driven a silver stake through her heart. I’d arrived in time to see her body crumbling to ashes. I’d gone berserk, staking him and every last member of his lair, but nothing could bring Amina back.
“Spider?” Lark’s questioning tones pulled me back to the present.
I inhaled and focused on her again.
I liked Lark’s pluck. She was a…challenge. For the first time in a long time, I felt a spark of excitement for a woman.
Why not negotiate with her? It would be a shame to crush her spirit.
I still intended to take my month, but why not pay her, like I would’ve any other thrall? When the month was finished, at least I’d have the satisfaction of knowing she’d have enough cash to tell Grimclaw to fuck off.
“I don’t need your money,” I said, releasing her. “But I’m open to negotiations. Why don’t you start by returning my dagger?”
“Sure,” she said with a shrug. “Like I said, it wasn’t my idea to steal it in the first place.”
“How’d you know where to find it, anyway?”
“Grim told me.”
“How the fuck did he know?”
“Don’t know. But he said it’d be in the wall safe of your bedroom.”
I frowned. Had someone in my lair passed the intel to Grimclaw? But who? And why? On the other hand, the existence of my safe wasn’t a state secret. It was possible he’d heard about it and guessed that’s where the dagger would be.
Then Lark’s fingers went to the hem of her dress and I forgot everything but her, my mouth literally watering as she drew the skirt up, high enough that I could see she wore sheer black thigh-highs. I swallowed a groan.
She untied a slim bag attached to her inner thigh and held it out to me. “Here.”
I stood, unmoving, watching as her skirt fell back to cover her long, strong thighs. Her gaze lifted to my face, and she stilled at what she saw there.
I took the bag, undoing the strings and drawing out my dagger. As my fingers closed around the familiar, carved ebony handle, a wave of relief swept over me. The dagger wasn’t just my favorite weapon, it was my lucky charm.
In the three decades since Amina had given it to me, things had turned around. Lose it, and a superstitious part of me feared I’d lose everything else, too. I only took it out of my safe for special occasions. Otherwise, I kept it locked up.
I slid the dagger into a thigh holster and took Lark’s face in my hands. Her heart rate kicked up. I drank in its uncertain, aroused beat.
“Open your mouth,” I murmured.
Her throat worked. “Why?”
“Because.” I nipped her plump lower lip. “Before we discuss terms, you have to prove you’re worth whatever I decide to pay.”
At her outraged gasp, I fought back a smile. I tipped her head back with my thumbs, licking the seam of her lips, but her mouth remained firmly closed.
I caressed the underside of her jaw. “Open for me,” I told her sternly.
She shook her head, but her hands came to my chest, stroking me like she couldn’t help herself.
“That’s it,” I encouraged. “Touch me like I’m going to touch you.”
I moved my mouth to the shell of her ear, tracing it with my tongue. She shivered, and I moved on to her ear lobe, sucking and nibbling. She made a small, sexy sound and gripped the back of my head, pulling me closer.
I brought my lips back to hers, nibbling at her lips. They parted, and I murmured, “Good girl. Open for me.”
Her chest shuddered, and with a moan, she sucked my tongue into her mouth.
