His smile was dark with satisfaction. “Soon,” he promised, tugging me into his lap. “Very soon.”
I woke to the scent of coffee and something sweet baking. The sheets beside me were empty but still warm. I stretched, savoring the lingering ache in my muscles from the night before.
“Look who’s finally awake,” Kronos said from the doorway, a steaming mug in one hand and something tucked under his arm. The morning light caught his hair, turning it to burnished copper as he approached.
I made an unintelligible noise and reached out with grabby hands. “Nngh. Coffee.”
His low chuckle vibrated through the room as he handed over the mug. I wrapped my fingers around it like it contained the elixir of life, breathing in the steam before taking a desperate sip. The caffeine hit my system, bringing my brain back online.
He sat on the edge of the bed, watching me with amusement as I gulped down half the mug before coming up for air.
“I got you something,” he said, a note in his voice I’d never heard before—softer, less certain.
From behind his back, he produced a plush bunny with cream-colored fur so soft it looked unreal. Floppy ears framed a stitched face with a gentle expression, and around its neck was a tiny purple silk ribbon—the exact shade of the rope he’d first used on me.
“Seriously?” I groaned, but couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my lips. “You’re never letting this bunny thing go, are you?”
“Never,” he confirmed, placing it in my lap with surprising gentleness. His eyes tracked my reaction, silver irises catching the morning light.
I ran my fingers over the impossibly soft fur, something unfamiliar tightening in my chest. The sensation was almost uncomfortable—not pain exactly, but an ache that made it hard to swallow. No one had given me something so pointlessly sweet since I was a kid. It was stupid and sentimental and exactly the sort of thing I would have mocked before him.
“Thank you,” I said under my breath, fingers still tracing the bunny’s ears. I couldn’t look at him. “It’s...I like it.”
His smile transformed his entire face, softening the predatory lines into something that made my stomach flip. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead, lingering there. I closed my eyes, breathing in the scent of him.
“Do I need to worry about competition?” he asked, pulling back to eye the plushie with mock suspicion.
I clutched the bunny to my chest, surprised by how protective I already felt. “Maybe. This one doesn’t steal all the covers.”
His laugh vibrated through the mattress as he pulled me against his chest, bunny and all.
Later, when Kronos had left for a meeting with a client, I carefully placed the bunny on ‘my’ side of the bed. I told myself it was just to keep it out of the way, but that didn’t explain why I found myself back in the bedroom an hour later, absently stroking its soft ears while I read through work emails.
Or why, the next morning when I had to return to my apartment for fresh clothes, I caught myself reaching for the stupid thing. I’d never admit it to Kronos, but each time I came home, I looked for that splash of cream-colored fur against my sheets, and something in me settled at the sight of it—like some part of him now belonged in my space.
Chapter Thirteen
Glass Deep
Leather & Lace looked nothing like the seedy adult shops that used to pepper the red-light district. The Victorian storefront was all elegant carved wood and frosted glass, display windows arranged with silk robes and crystal bottles that caught the afternoon light. Still, my feet refused to move from the sidewalk.
“Breathe,” Kronos murmured, his hand warm at the small of my back. “It’s just a store.”
“A very expensive store,” I said, eyeing the hand-tooled leather pieces in the window. As a craftsman, I could tell the quality—and the probable price tag. “And a very...specific kind of store.”
His smile held that predatory edge I was learning to crave. “Consider it a birthday present. Anything you want.” His lips brushed my ear. “Tonight, we’ll put it to good use.”
My skin prickled at his words, remembering how his hands had felt in my shower two weeks ago, how he’d dropped to his knees and taken me apart with ruthless precision. Since the pottery night, something had shifted between us. The texts we’d exchanged this morning were full of promises about making my birthday memorable. However, walking into a high-end sex shop, picking something out...It was mortifying.
“What if someone sees me?” I whispered, though the street was quiet. Old habits died hard—the need to be discrete, to keep my proclivities hidden.
Kronos laughed, his breath warm against my neck. “Half the city’s supernatural population shops here. Including some very prominent names who’d rather not have their preferences known. Why do you think the windows are frosted?”
As if to prove his point, the door opened and a woman who could only be a vampire glided out, carrying a discreet black shopping bag. She nodded to Kronos with clear recognition before disappearing into a waiting car.
“See? Perfectly respectable.” His hand slid lower on my back, fingers brushing just above the waistband of my jeans in a way that made my breath catch. “Besides, I want to watch you choose. I’d love to see what catches your eye.”
The bell above the door chimed as we entered. The interior was even more elegant than the windows suggested—dark wood shelving, plush carpets, and intimate lighting that made everything feel private and luxurious. The air held the rich scent of leather and something spicy, almost like incense but subtler. Soft classical music played just below conversation level, creating a cocoon of privacy around each display.“¡Ay, Dios!”I muttered under my breath as I took in the displays.
