Page 103 of Haunt the Mall
Victor's gaze trailed over my face. “You made a spider. For me?”
My breath caught in my chest. It was still scary to admit my feelings, but I was safe in his arms.
“I love you, Victor. You’re my Spider-Man,” I said.
His eyes lit up, and he surged forward with a kiss. Real fingers and spider legs clutched my back. “I love you too, Kat,” he confessed with that sexy, graveled voice of his. His dewy eyelashes brushed my cheek. “Do you believe me?”
“I do.”
I got lost in kissing, hugging, and loving my man. This was better than any on-screen kiss or happily-ever-after. I had a lover I could trust, someone to lean on and care for me, someone I could lend my own strength. We could spend a lifetime sharing all kinds of surprises. I hoped most of them ended in laughter and kisses.
He nuzzled my nose. “So, do you want to bring Jinx here for a sleepover or do we need to head back to feed him?”
God, I loved that he cared about my cat. “A sleepover would be fun, but he doesn’t do super well with new places. Your sister hasn’t approved of either of us staying yet, either. I wouldn’t want her to have to worry about her creations.”
“Ah, yes.” His gaze dipped, then bounced back to my eyes. “Could we keep him sequestered in my room for a bit? Train him?”
“Train a cat?” I laughed and slid off his lap. “Are you still trying to convince us to move in?”
“Perhaps.” That mischievous devil arched his eyebrow.
“Victor—”
“Let me show you the space.” He took my hand and led me up two flights of stairs to a dark blue bedroom with a steepled ceiling. The high, tinted windows had some kind of fake stained-glass finishing.
“This is my private sanctum,” he joked, gesturing to an ensuite bathroom. The towels, comforter, and pillowcases were navy. Come to think of it, the lights in his car and his uniform stripes were blue too.
He tilted his head to catch my eye. “Why are you smiling?”
“I think I got to know a little more about you.” I swung our linked hands and batted my eyelashes. “Is your favorite color blue?”
He nodded, his cheeks flaring pink.
He was so fucking cute, blushing. Everything we’d been through chopped down his guarded façade and let me in.
I could get to know him better, now. Here. In his room. His ‘sanctum.’
I rearranged the pillows so I could sit up against the headboard. “It’s very calming, blue. In fact, I used to—” A fluffy ball with eight legs tumbled out from behind the pillows and stopped my heart. I shrieked and hugged the stuffed animal. “Bitsy.”
I shot Victor a playful reproach. “So, you were sleeping with other women.”
He chuckled and combed his bangs with his fingers. “I’m still trying to figure out what Sam was talking about with all my ‘guests.’ Once in a while, Zero would come in, but she was my sister, and she was usually working.”
“Well, he did mistake my general friendliness as an invitation to stalk, so, maybe he’s not the best judge of relationships,” I said.
“Fair," he said.
I stroked Bitsy for comfort. “There is one thing I wanted to ask you about, though. There was a girl from my store.” Not a friend. “You gave her popcorn.”
“Yes?"
Bile simmered in the back of my throat. “Did you two ever…?”
He recoiled from the idea. “God, no. She was fishing for freebies pretty hardcore though.”
Flirting, I bet.
Victor frowned. “The team said she left a mess. She spilled the small popcorn on the floor, left it there, then tried to talk me into letting her use my membership. She pretended to want to get to know me better. That popcorn was a one-time kindness because of your association, and I let her know that. Plus, I was working. I never flirted, and we were never alone together. She’s hardly one of ‘my girls.’ She was an annoying, average customer.”