by Lisa Marie
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, reaching a groggy hand up to trace his cheek.
He nuzzled her palm briefly, his eyes drifting closed to savor her touch, fear that this might be the last time she’d allow it very real in his mind. “No need to be sorry, baby. I’m sorry. I failed you.”
“How?” Eve’s auburn-gold eyebrows drew together, marring her smooth forehead.
With a deep breath, Ash prepared himself for the worst and started to explain what had happened after she managed to wrench free from Sebastian.
“Wow,” she said when he was done, a soft smile playing over her lips. “Remind me not to get killed the next time, so I don’t miss out on all the fun.”
“What?” he said, wondering if he had heard her correctly. She chuckled and managed to push up a little to kiss him. “Did you hear what I said? What I did?”
“Yes, I heard you. And I knew what you were doing.” A brief vision of opening her eyes as she drank from his wrist rose up in his mind.
“You don’t mind that you’ve lost the sun?” he asked her, his face tense and drawn as he waited for her answer.
A tender smile curved her lips, making her eyes sparkle with unshed tears. “I would have minded more if I lost you,” she whispered, her words soothing his battered emotions.
“God, Eve. I love you so much,” Ash breathed before he could stop himself. Not that he would have. He loved her and she needed to know.
“Well, that’s good. ‘Cause, I love you, too.” Her smile widened at the shocked, happy look that crossed his face. She giggled when he let out a cry and swooped in to take her lips in a searing kiss.
They clung together, savoring the feel of each other for a long time, just touching and kissing. When Ash nuzzled the bandage over her throat, she whimpered, sadness filling her eyes.
“It’s okay, baby. The claim was never broken,” he assured, kissing away the wetness clinging to her lashes.
“Are you sure?”
“He never challenged it. He just tried to turn it into something dirty. That will never happen.”
Eve looked deeply into the icy blue eyes she had come to love so much and relished the love she felt from him in return. She didn’t quite know what to feel about being a vampire, or this odd new hunger building inside of her, but she knew that with him it would be all right.
“Where’s Brie?” she asked after a few minutes, pushing thoughts of Sebastian aside like one would do old garbage. He was gone, they were fine. Now it was time for family.
“At the hospital. Mark’s getting released tonight.”
Eve nodded, wondering what was going on between her sister and the demon hunter, and if even the two of them knew. “Flora’s all right?”
“Yeah. She’s been at Seth’s trying to help him reset the spells and such, so he can have his sanctuary back.”
“I need to thank him, for helping us.”
Ash chuckled a little at that. “I think we need to leave him alone for a while. Not sure he’s going to forgive us any time soon.”
Eve laughed, right before a low growl erupted from her. Unsure of whether to be embarrassed or terrified, she raised questioning eyes to Ash. “Well, that was odd,” she said with a nervous giggle.
“You need to feed,” he told her, letting it sink in a minute before sliding from her arms to get the bag Seth had delivered.
He pulled out a Styrofoam cup and took off the lid, dipping a finger in the blood to check the temperature before taking it back to the bed. Eve pushed to a sitting position and grimaced at the cup before reaching out to take it. She closed her eyes as she brought it to her lips, expecting to get sick as the coppery smell hit her nostrils. Instead, a sigh of pleasure escaped her and she eagerly drank down the thick liquid, the exquisiteness of the blood surprising her. When she was done, she licked her lips, gathering each lingering drop.
Embarrassment slammed into her when she looked at Ash and realized that he had been watching her. “Sorry,” she said meekly, handing the cup back to him.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he assured, taking it and tossing it into the trash. When his eyes lifted to hers, a wave of tenderness hit her so hard she thought she might cry again. She was really getting tired of crying.
“I love you,” she told him, her unbeating heart expanding at the look of awe that softened his features.
“I love you.”
They stared at each other, letting it sink in that they were indeed here and that this was really happening. In all of his hundred plus years, Ash had never dreamed that he would be lucky enough to find a woman he could love so completely. And now he had and she loved him, too. Wonders never ceased.
“You know,” Eve said, breaking the easy silence between them. Her eyes glittered mischievously as she looked at him, and she traced a finger along the coverlet. “Does this mean I can claim you, too?”
Desire and love flared hot in his eyes, taking her breath away. “God yes.”
Her husky laugh filled the air as he pulled her to him, and proceeded to show her just how pleasurable being a vampire could be.
The End
About the Author:
Lisa Marie lives in Maryland with her husband, two kids, mom and assorted animals. Lisa worked for two years in an online writing community, honing her skills until she felt confident enough to try her hand at getting published. When she’s not writing or working at her day job, Lisa likes to read, play video games and has an unapologetic addiction to CSI.
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