Page 31 of The Vampire Kingpin
She scrunched her nose at me. “You heard Zayne—I played fair. I can’t help it if they’re willing to bet against someone they’ve never seen shoot a ball.”
“Then we don’t have a problem. They’re big boys and girls. They lose money to you, that’s their funeral. But if you wanna make friends, you might let them win once in a while.”
“I suppose so—and I did promise to give Monster some pointers. But what does it matter? I won’t be here long enough to make friends.”
Discomfort moved through my chest. I didn’t want to think about how limited our time together was. Three days ago, thirty nights had seemed like plenty to get her out of my system, but now I wasn’t so sure.
“You could stay,” I heard myself say. “After the month is over.”
“As your thrall?”
“As a member of my lair.”
“Really?” She blinked up at me. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
I frowned. I’d figured she’d jump at the chance to join my lair. “Say yes. You have skills,” I added. “We could use a woman like you.”
“Right.” Her eyes shuttered. “Look, I really appreciate the offer. I mean, you don’t even know me.”
That was true, and it wasn’t like me to be so impulsive. On the other hand, if I wanted to keep her out of Grimclaw’s clutches—and I’d meant every word I’d said to him—why not offer her a place in my lair? And I could certainly use a woman with Lark’s skills.
Yeah, right. You want her for her ‘skills.’
I could almost hear Amina’s dry tones.
The woman who’d been staked when I’d misread a situation, pushed a rival alpha too far.
The woman I’d vowed would always come first.
Up until now, that had been easy. No one else had ever come close.
But I didn’t want to think about that now. Not with Lark’s small, perfect breasts pressed against my chest, her beautiful face inches from mine. I kissed her to shut us both up, gratified at how her fingers dug into my shirt as she opened her mouth to me.
I deepened the kiss, sliding my tongue over hers, nibbling at her lips.
She twined a leg around my thigh, urging her center against my aching ridge of flesh. I tore my mouth from hers, moving it to just beneath her jaw. I latched onto the tender skin, sucking hard enough to leave a mark.
When I raised my head, I informed her, “I’m gonna bend you over my chair, just like you were over the pool table.”
She huffed a laugh. “You liked that, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.” I smacked her ass. “You don’t wanna know what I was thinking.”
“No? Try me.” She waggled her dark brows at me.
My mouth twitched up. I couldn’t help it. She was a wild card, continually surprising me. When I expected her to back down, she amped things up, making me smile. And fuck me, but I liked it.
“I wanted to bend you over the pool table right in front of everyone. Pull down your pants. Wrap your hair around my fist.” Sliding the hair tie from her ponytail, I sank my fingers into her satin locks. “Like this.”
Her eyelids drooped. Her lips parted. “I?—”
“You wanna know why?” I asked against the side of her neck.
The smooth muscles of her throat moved. “Why?”
“So I can control you as I ride you. So you know exactly who’s making you come.”
“I’ll know,” she said with an eager hum that sent an answering vibration into my chest. She worked her hands beneath my shirt, smoothing them up my rib cage, then scraping her nails down my nipples to my navel in a shock of pleasure/pain. My dick swelled, threatening to bust out of my pants.
