“God, you’re so tight,” he gasps, the desperation in his voice making my heart race. “I can’t—”
“Just—please—more,” I urge, desperate for him to lose himself in me, to lose control.
With a low growl, he breaks, his release flooding inside me, warmth spreading through my core. “I love you,” he breathes, still moving as he rides out his high.
There’s a rush inside me, and his cum tingles as he fucks it deeper into me.
“I love you, so much,” he groans, still rolling my clit as he quakes.
I yelp, my system flooded with too many endorphins, and we both collapse against each other. Lost in pleasure, he stays inside me until he goes limp.
As he slides out, I can feel the pleasant tingle of his cum as it drips out of me.
Andri rolls to the side, breaths coming in sharp and uneven. I wrap my arm around him and snuggle close.
“Still scared?” I whisper.
“Never, not with you.”
Epilogue
TWO MONTHS LATER
Daphne
Snowsprinklesaroundthenew town history center as I step out. I brush some flakes from my eyelids as I look for Andri’s truck.
Inside, Barnaby and his wife Maisie are arguing over a social media strategy for the new venture. Her idea involves a whole marketing plan that would focus on the charm of the small town, while his idea is not to have one at all. When they say opposites attract, it’s really true for those two.
Finally, I see the white vehicle coming my way, headlights bright in the early dusk. He steps out with that boyish half smile that turns my insides to mush and warms the mate mark under my scarf. He opens my door, and before I can sit down, he kisses me, placing his own hand over the bite. He must feel it too.
A soft comfort blossoms through us both.
“How’s the history center coming?” he asks as he closes my door.
When he gets in on his own side, I reply, “Great. I mean, I did lose an argument over whether or not it was helpful to have a ‘restricted’ section to our photographs. Mostly, I think it’s a place where Barnaby can put things he’s embarrassed about. In particular, there’s the time he thought he’d stumbled upon dinosaur bones, only to find out when he called a bunch of paleontologists in for a dig that it was just a deer. Who’d have thought a vampire would be so damn sensitive?” I laugh.
“Well, he’s had a lot of time to make mistakes, I suppose. Cut him some slack. Honestly, I’m surprised you’re able to find the time to do all of this with your graduation coming up so soon.” He chuckles, low and warm.
And he’s right. Ihavebeen running myself ragged—juggling the final touches at the history center, cramming in my last credit hour before I can finally hold that degree in my hands. It’s a mid-year commencement, sure, but if this past year has taught me anything, it’s that everything unfolds on its own timeline. And I’m not rushing a single second of this life I’ve built with Andri. Not anymore.
That’s when I see it: a box wrapped in crisp paper, crowned with a bold red bow, sitting innocently between us like it’s been waiting for its cue.
“What’s this?” I ask, blinking at it. This isn’t a gifting kind of day—unless I’ve forgotten something catastrophic. A flicker of worry must cross my face, because his whole posture softens.
“Consider it an early graduation present,” he says, voice dropping into something smooth and deliberate. “Go on. Open it.”
I pull the lid off the box and look inside.
White leather with a flash of glinting metal is nested in red tissue paper. The most perfect pair of ice skates sits inside.
“Oh,” I say as I look into the box.
“I know they’re new, but I promise you’ll have plenty of time to give them a history of their own. I may have convinced an instructor to come to Hallow’s Cove for some one-on-one lessons if you’re interested.” The way he’s rushing the words out, I realize that I’m going to need to explain my disappointment a bit sooner than I thought.
“I love them, so much…but we might have to wait a bit to break them in…”
I open my mouth, wanting to tell him my big news, but I suddenly get nervous. I know through our bond he can feel it.
