Page 17 of The Vampire Kingpin
Don’t get used to it. People like you don’t stay in one place—and men like him aren’t safe.
I slid out from under the covers.
First things first. I retrieved my blade from his wall safe, telling myself I was only taking back what was mine to begin with.
I glanced at the blade, then at Spider. The comforter had slipped down, baring his neck and one powerful shoulder. Even in sleep, he looked dangerous, a lion at rest.
But he was a lion with an Achille’s heel, because I could stake him and slip out of the Cavern in the shadows.
My gaze flicked to my palm. The gash was barely visible, and I felt better than I should’ve after a silver cut that deep. I licked my lips, recalling Spider’s rich, masculine taste, his power obvious in how rapidly his blood had healed me.
He’d done that for me when he didn’t have to. He could’ve let me suffer—I’d deserved it for breaking into his lair in the first place. But instead, he—an alpha vampire—had allowed a low-in-the-hierarchy dhampir to drink from him.
Confusion balled in my stomach. What was the dude’s game?
I didn’t understand him, and that bothered me.
Whatever happened, I was done with my cousin. I was never going back. I was sick of being jerked around and treated like a servant, not a full-fledged member of his lair.
I’d known for a while that I had to get out, but Grim had kept me on a tight financial leash, taking whatever I stole as payment. Room and board, he called it, even though I brought in thousands each month.
When I’d balked, he’d let Troll search me. The prick had put his beefy hands all over me until I’d been forced to cut him. He would’ve beat me if Grim hadn’t intervened out of some belated cousinly feeling. After that, I handed the jewels over without argument. I couldn’t afford to get kicked out of Grim’s lair. The only safe place for me was the Underworld.
My parents had had money, but I didn’t dare try to access it. Jared Darkman would be watching their accounts. My only assets were a pair of ruby earrings and a matching necklace—all I’d had with me when I’d left Vegas.
So why not agree to be Spider’s thrall? It’s not like sex with him would be a hardship.
I wouldn’t do it for free, of course. The man had money. He could pay me.
And then I’d be out of here.
A tendril of uneasiness slithered up my spine.
It might not be that easy.
I shrugged the uneasy feeling off and headed into Spider’s bathroom for another shower. This time I washed my hair, shaved my legs with his razor, and helped myself to another shirt—an expensive silk button-up. I rolled on the thigh-highs and stepped into my low black boots. The blade went into a sheath on the inside of my left boot.
Only then did I venture into the large cavern to scare up something to eat. A couple of women and a man were seated at the kitchen table, eating bacon and eggs. They stilled mid-bite and turned in unison to stare at me.
I froze, recognizing the guards I’d sneaked past—the man, a loose-limbed, curly-haired, golden-skinned dude, and the shorter woman, a lean redhead with a pixie cut and freckles. Like me, they were dhampirs, but the other woman was human. The emotions leaking from her—dislike and suspicion—gave her away.
“Hey.” I pulled up an easy, I’m-harmless smile. “I’m Lark.”
“We know,” the dude replied, his sharp brown eyes sweeping over me in a quick, assessing look.
“Right.” Of course, Spider would’ve told them about me.
He indicated the platter in front of him. “You hungry?”
I forced my tense shoulders to ease. Stay smooth, my dad would’ve said. Never show the cracks.
“Starving,” I admitted with a self-deprecating grin.
The redhead pointed a thumb at her chest. “I’m Zayne. That’s Jacko.” She tipped her head at the curly-haired dude. “Plates are in the cabinet by the coffee pot.”
“Thanks.” I got out a plate and silverware, helped myself to a mug of coffee and sat at the table, leaving a seat between me and the other, taller woman.
She eyed me from beneath a straight black fringe. “I’m DeeDee.”
