“February ninth.”
“Is that, like, when you werebornborn, or when you were turned? Is that what it’s called? Turned, right?”
“That’s my actual birthday. I don’t celebrate the day I was turned.”
“Ezra, I’ve got to be honest.” Declan pulls his legs up onto the bench and he sits cross-legged so he can look at me. “You’re really fucking broody. I get the whole vampire aesthetic, but you’ve got to relax a little.”
“It’s difficult for me to believe that you’re so okay with what’s happening.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He jumps up and spins in a circle with his arms in the air. He drops his head back and stares at the sky and I know from experience he can still make out every single star and galaxy up there. He spins and spins, then comes to a stop and drops to his knees at my feet. He’s smiling up at me so wide, with all these straight white teeth and his bright blue eyes, and I thread my fingers together behind his neck and box him in between my legs.
“I didn’t have anything before I met you,” he whispers. “And you’ve given me the entire world, Ezra. How do you not see that?”
“That’s not how it feels to me.”
“Well, you’re wrong then.” He stands up and takes me with him and he laughs, pulling me into his arms. He hums a song that I know I’ve heard, but can’t place, and he stretches our arms out and starts to waltz me around the fountain.
“You know how to dance?” I ask, forcing my muscles to relax and to let him lead.
“I said I was an orphan, not that I had no class.”
He spins us around, humming out a one-two-three count as we go and he doesn’t stop until I’ve completely lost myself in him. Under the stars, in his eyes, in his embrace. Maybe I haven’t done such a horrible thing by turning him and making him mine. Maybe this is all going to be okay.
We dance until the moon is directly above us, and Declan finally dips me down and kisses me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s trying to woo me.
“I am,” he says, then his eyes widen in mock horror. “Sorry, I know I’m not supposed to listen in. I just wonder where you go sometimes when you get quiet like that.”
“Why do you think I need wooing?”
“Because I want you to enjoy being with me.” He presses our chests together and rests his head on my shoulder. Declan slides his arms around my neck and starts us swaying that way now. It’s far from proper, but I’ve seen people dance like this at the clubs. I don’t quite understand it. Like a moving hug, but it makes him happy, and so…
“I do,” I promise him. “So very much.”
“What happens if you decide you don’t want to be with me anymore?” Declan asks me softly. His voice shakes a little, and I slip my arms around his waist and hold him close.
“Not an option.”
“Seriously,” he says, “am I just on my own then?”
“Seriously not an option,” I clarify. “I can’t send you away.”
“What if I don’t want to be with you, though?” He leans in closer.
“Then you can go.”
“But you can’t?”
I shake my head and tighten my arms around him. “Either of us can sever the bond, but I don’t thinkIcould leave you.”
Declan makes a thoughtful sound and then he kisses the side of my neck. I feel his teeth, sharp and damp against my skin, and I will my erection to wane. There’s something perfect about this moment and I don’t want to jeopardize it with an ill-timed boner.
“I like when you get hard for me,” he whispers. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”
“Ever is a long time, Declan.”
“Mmmn. Let’s not worry about any of that right now, okay? The future is a long way away and I’m happy with you here. Like this.”
He tells me I smell like home
