“You can feel it, too,” Cody says, tracing the bite mark. His touch is tender. Worshipful.
“It’s astounding.” Simon is light yet solid, free yet bound. There shouldn’t be any empathic element, yet he can’t tell where his happiness ends and Cody’s begins. Simon reaches to cover Cody’s hand, pressing it into the bite. The bleeding has stopped, but the wound won’t close until Simon sleeps. “Better than I imagined.”
“Sorry about the scar,” Cody says, not sounding sorry at all.
“I want the scar.” Simon lifts on his toes to loop his arms around Cody’s shoulders. “Nobody’s left a mark on me in over four hundred years. How do you feel about that?”
“Nobody else ever will,” Cody promises—easy, possessive, unafraid.
Simon already senses the changes in his mate. Stability from the mating bond. Strength from the shadow-gift.Cody won’t have to shy from the sun, and he won’t drink blood to survive. He’ll just live as long as Simon lives.
Thankfully Cody likes the bratty thing. Simon intends to be a handful for eternity.
“Excellent.” Simon pulls Cody down for a soft, bloody kiss. “Now, I need to sleep. It’s almost dawn, and I’m quite elderly.”
“All right, Grandpa,” Cody says, the bastard. The gorgeous bastard. He sweeps Simon off his feet before he can complain about the nickname. Then Cody hesitates. “Uh, the coffin looks a little cramped, so…”
“Your bedroom,” Simon commands, settling his head against Cody’s shoulder. The guest room is still underground, and Simon trusts Cody to protect him during the day.
At least until they order a bigger coffin.
Epilogue
Six Moons Later
Giant wolves make perfect backrests. Simon settles comfortably on the picnic blanket, supported by Cody’s fluffy bulk. The waning moon paints their lawn in ethereal silver. Like a mural, and the finishing touch is laughter.
It’s an odd sort of picnic. Only a few participants have actually eaten from the basket—Cody before he transformed, and the excitable humans Kimiko brought as snacks. The humans currently wander the garden under Andrea’s cranky supervision, while Simon, Cody, and Kimiko lounge on the blanket.
Kimiko isn’t dressed for a picnic, but she carries herself resplendently as ever. Tonight’s corset is laced tight enough to be troublesome if she actually needed to breathe. Her red feather boa sparkles in the moonlight.
“Aren’t you worried about fleas?” Kimiko asks, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s very sexy when he gives me fleas,” Simon lies, immediately and confidently. “We have a routine. First, we strip completely naked. Second, we sensually pick them off each—”
You’re an idiot, Cody says in his head.
“He says I’m an idiot,” Simon conveys dutifully. He’s the only one who can hear Cody, thanks to the mating bond. It’s only polite to include Kimiko in the conversation.
“You’re right and you should say it.” For all Kimiko’s snark, she shows Cody the respect of addressing him directly. She reserves the friendly taunting for Simon. “Over a century of friendship, and this is the first time you’ve invited me to your house.”
“I’ve only had this house for thirty years!” Simon protests.
Kimiko stares balefully above the feathers. “Thirty. Years.”
That’s longer than I’ve been alive,Cody adds unhelpfully.
Great. They’re ganging up on him. Simon elbows Cody in the ribs. Gently. “Stop making me feel ancient.”
“Ugh, cute couple telepathy.” Kimiko feigns a shudder. “This is going to be insufferable.”
Oh. Simon’s lips curl in an involuntary smile. He and Cody can also gang up on her. There are perks to the mating bond.
Simon has always held friendship at a distance. Relationships are built of boundaries, favors, and debts. If even his sire could leave him for decades, how could Simon trust a friend without obligation?
But as long as he has someone to come home to, venturing out doesn’t feel so frightening. Kimiko doesn’t owe him any more favors, and maybe fostering more friendships is worth the risk.
“Any plans for tomorrow night?” Kimiko asks.
