“Arran, yes. Arran, please. Arran, more.”
When my next orgasm hits, Arran follows me over the edge and into oblivion, my name on his lips as his hips stutter and he spills into me, over and over again.
Breathing hard, Arran falls down next to me and pulls me into his arms.
“Audrey… you’re… amazing…”
“Right back at you, stud,” I reply with a tap to his chest, needing that tiny wall between us that the familiar nickname brings.
Everything that happened tonight was more than my heart could wish for, and if I don’t put a little distance between us again, then I’m going to be in trouble.
The danger of falling in love with Arran is becoming real, but mostly the danger of having my heart broken when it’s time to say goodbye is the part that truly scares me.
Though, as the first streaks of golden sunlight creep into the room, Arran pulls the dark drapes around the bed and, despite what my brain is telling me, I don’t leave.
Instead, I fall asleep in Arran’s bed, in his arms, more content than I’ve ever been.
Chapter 17
Arran
Waking up with Audrey splayed across my chest while the sun’s rays dance across my stone floors feels like a dream I’ve never been brave enough to consider. Yet, here I am, holding her in my arms while I peek at the sunlight through the small gap between the bed’s velvet drapes.
I’ve grown so accustomed to the dark that having this moment happen in daylight feels like a monumental shift in the timeline of my immortality.
I stare down at the beautiful creature nestled against me—at her wicked mouth that always fascinates me, at the dark lashes fanned across her rosy cheeks, at the messy dark hair thanks to my fingers—and feel happier than I have since I’ve called this castle home.
As I gently caress Audrey’s naked back, I mentally relive last night, the conversations, the admissions, the sex. Everything just seemed to flow into each other in the most natural way, like the way she fits in my arms right now.
I wish I can keep her. Anita too.
Checking that Audrey’s truly asleep, I strategically extricate myself from her embrace and draw the curtains around the bed again. I apply a fresh layer of vampire sunscreen, throw on my kilt and shirt, then tiptoe to her wing to collect Anita.
“Hi, baby girl,” I say softly as I open Audrey’s bedroom door.
The pup bounds over to me on her short little legs, her big ears flopping happily as I kneel down to gather her into my arms.
“You were such a good girl all night, weren’t you?” I whisper as she licks my chin, happy little yips punctuating the action.
I quickly glance inside the room to check that Anita still has enough food and water and that everything looks to be in its right place, then head down the stairs with her.
“Let’s get you outside for some fresh air and exercise,” I say when I latch the front door behind me, still taking extra care not to wake Audrey.
I set little Anita down, watching her sniff her way around the grass, then, I simply close my eyes and let the sun warm my skin.
Over the past two to three years, things have been changing in Starry Hill, more so than they’ve done in a long time. Our community has grown, become closer, and continuously tries to find new ways to help each other. Creatures have found love, babies have been born, all while I watch from the edge of darkness.
I’ve grown so used to living on the outskirts of society that I let everything happen around me, never getting too involved, never dreaming along with them, always guarding myself a little too closely.
But now I feel ready to changewiththis island. I’m ready to embrace the day, the community, and, if Audrey allows, her too.
I have no idea how it would work between us, but I can’t let Audrey go. I can’t let her walk out of my life and go back to Cape Easton without at least knowing how much she’s come to mean to me, how much she’s affected me, and how much I want to keep her.
At the sound of new approaching footsteps, I open my eyes to see Bodin tracking down the cobbled path, carrying both Orion and Calliope in some kind of twin sling across his chest.
The big orc spots me too and waves his hand in greeting before moving closer.
“Does Audrey have you on dog duty?” Bodin asks, pointing his chin toward Anita now digging a hole underneath the rose bushes. He keeps his voice hushed, most likely not to disturb the sleeping babies.
