I leaned forward, capturing her nipple in my mouth as I drove deeper, harder. She cried out again, her cunt squeezing my cock as she came apart in my arms. I followed her over the edge, my own release tearing through me violently.
And when it was over, Luna collapsed on top of me, her heart pounding in time with mine. I held her, my eyes burning, so many things spinning around inside of me I felt like I would fall off the edge of the world if she wasn't there for me to hang onto.
The curtain swung back, and a large form appeared in the opening, lights flashing behind him. "Hour's up," he told me.
Pulling the small pistol from the concealed holster on my calf, I pointed it at his face. "Get out."
But he wouldn't leave without checking on Luna, and for that, I decided I would aim for his knee and not put a bullet through his skull.
"Luna?"
"I'm all right," she told him. "We're good."
When he didn't see any signs that she was lying, he said, "Call me if you need me." Then he let the curtain fall closed.
With the barrel of the pistol, I brushed her long, dark hair back over her shoulder. There were still so many things left unsaid between us, but we would have a lifetime to talk.
"You're coming home with me," I told her.
"I know," she whispered.
Laying the gun on the cushion beside me, I took her face between my hands and pulled her down for my kiss.
EPILOGUE
Tristan
Fear is my new normal. The only recognized emotion that ebbs and flows inside me at all times.
Luna refuses to see Veda’s therapist, and I'm glad. I don't want her to go. If she did, they might make her realize how truly fucked up this relationship is. Then she'd leave me.
And that's what I fear the most now.
But sometimes, when the memories get to be too much for both of us, she joins me in my cell. A place where we can hide from the world and all its cruelties.
We rarely speak, and when we do it's in whispers so the demons hovering around us won't hear. We just lay in each other’s arms until they fade away enough for us to rejoin life.And when Luna's demons overwhelm her, I invite them inside of me to play with mine. I can handle the darkness. I can handle whatever I need to if it will keep her in the light and allow her to smile.
But now she has shadows in her eyes from Gino—similar, if not as layered, as the ones that haunt my own. We're both damaged, broken in ways that can never be fully healed. But somehow, our jagged pieces fit together to form a whole. And when we're together, we don't have to hide the sharp edges.
Her brother, Logan, came back to Austin with us. It took some convincing from his sister, but eventually, he gave in to her. I helped him find a new apartment and get back into school. Luna tells me he'll be a good nurse, and we can always use someone with medical skills in the family.
He comes to check on his sister quite often, which I don't mind. I prefer to have someone with her who values her life as much as I do when I can't be with her. And she prefers it, too, otherwise I would insist she stay in the cell where she'll be safe until I got back. But she doesn't like to be alone in the cell.
When Iamhere, he doesn't stay very long. But before he leaves, he stares at me with distrust in his eyes, and I know the only thing keeping him from challenging my claim on his sister is the fact that he knows I wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he tried to come between us.
Luna is a part of me now, as I am of her. The bond between us so deep, so visceral, that I can scarcely imagine existing without her. She's become the air I breathe, the blood that courses through my veins. And if anyone dared to try to rip us apart, I don't know that either of us would survive the wound it would leave.
She ismine.
And I am hers.
I shift slightly, careful not to wake her. It's late, and we're in my bed. She's sprawled across my scarred body, the way she prefers to fall asleep. It's still hard for me to be still when she's touching so much of me, and yet I crave the feel of her skin on mine more than anything else in the world. But I don't like her so exposed, and I roll to the side, tucking her beneath me. She slides her arm around my waist and her leg between mine and she buries her face into my scarred skin, sighing contentedly.
Something swells inside my chest until I fear I won't be able to breathe, and for a moment, I just hold her.
Unable to help myself, I press a kiss to Luna's temple and she stirs slightly, mumbling something in her sleep. I tighten my arms around her, silently vowing to protect her from anything and everything that might try to take her from me or hurt her in any way.
In this life, in this world, that's the closest thing to love I can offer. And for now, it will have to be enough.
