I blinked back more tears, then reached up and traced the line of his jaw. Sharp. Perfect. Frozen at seventeen for over a century, and he’d continue to look exactly like this long after I was dust. That was the thing, wasn’t it? The thing I tried not to think about too much.
He was going to look seventeen forever. And I wasn’t.
I thought ofHighlander, a movie mom had foisted on me supposedly as entertainment back when I’d first gotten the hots for Jared. She wasn’t wrong to warn me, because the man I’ve fallen for isn’t going to age. But I will. And I know most almost-seventeen-year-olds don’t tend to dwell on mortality, but the whole demon-hunting heritage kind of changes that. And the truth is, that movie will be my future if Jared and I stay together. I’d watch him stay frozen at seventeen while I turned eighteen, twenty-five, forty, sixty.
He’d stay beautiful while I got wrinkles and gray hair and eventually died, leaving him alone again.
“Where’d you go?” Jared asked softly, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.
“Nowhere.” I forced a smile. “Just thinking about how you’ve had time to practice everything. Kissing included.”
“That’s not where you went.”
Damn vampire perception.
He was quiet for a long moment, then he sighed and took my hand. “We don’t have to figure that out tonight.”
“I know.”
“We don’t have to figure it out ever if you don’t want to. We can just...” He trailed off, and for a moment, he looked almost vulnerable. A century-old vampire, uncertain. Because of me.
“Just what?” I asked.
“Just be. For now. For as long as we want.”
I nodded, fighting a fresh wave of tears, because he’d given me the perfect answer. I didn’t want to think about forever right now. I just wanted to think about this. About him.Us.About the way his hands felt on my skin and the way he looked at me like I was something precious, something worth waiting a hundred years for.
“Yeah,” I said. “I like the sound of that.” I bit my lip. “Do you know what else I like?”
A sexy grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Tell me.”
“Kissing.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
This kiss was different from the earlier ones—deeper, more urgent, like we were both trying to outrun something. His hand slid up my back, pulling me closer until there was no space between us, and I tangled my fingers in his hair. It was softer than it looked, thick and dark, and he made a low sound in his throat when I tugged on it that did interesting things to my nervous system.
“Allie,” he murmured against my lips. Warning and wanting, all wrapped up in two syllables.
“I know.” I whispered. “Me, too.”
His body pressed against mine, solid and cool through the thin fabric of our night clothes. My fingers found their way under his shirt again, tracing the muscles of his back—muscles I’d watched in action during countless training sessions, sparring with him until I was breathing hard and he was a little less controlled than usual.
He shuddered—actually shuddered—and I felt a surge of power, liking that I could affect him like this. That I could make a century-old vampire lose his composure.
“You’re dangerous,” he murmured against my collarbone, his lips cool and soft against my heated skin.
“I’m a Demon Hunter. Dangerous is in the job description.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I knew what he meant. And it thrilled me more than it probably should have.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, pulling back to look at me, and there was something raw in his voice that made my chest ache.
“No fair. I can barely see you.”
“Vampire vision.”
