“I don’t have to ask you anything. I can do what I want.”
He sighs. “You already want another hard fuck?”
“What?” I snap my head up.
“When you speak that way, I can only assume you want me to bury my cock in your pussy and ride you until you scream.”
“You’re filthy.”
“Yes.” He rolls me to my back and presses kisses to my throat.
“I can work in the lab here.”
“No.” He kisses lower along my collarbones.
“Yes. I can work on the vaccine and the poison. I have what I need. Or, at least I should be able to get it.” I nibble my lower lip. “Honestly, I don’t know. Wyatt said they have materials here, but they’re difficult to find or something. But let’s assume I can get what I need, then I can create both. Well, I can definitely create the poison relatively quickly. The vaccine will take a lot more time.”
“And then what?” He lingers at the peak of my shoulder.
“Then we distribute them.”
“How?”
A shiver courses along my skin. “You’re making it hard to think.”
“Too bad.” His lips leave a trail of heat along the mound of my breast.
“Once created and perfected, the vaccine would be a simple shot. The Saints would have to deliver it to the cities with the largest remaining populations. Herd immunity. Then we can work down to the smaller areas. Wyatt and Evie said Atlanta is holding out. Florida is full of refugees, and Texas and some of the other western states are also holding their own despite the number of people migrating there to escape … you.”
“True. I don’t have the forces to spread out across the country all at once.”
“Good.” I exhale.
“And the poison? Do you intend to wipe us all out?” He returns to my mouth, kissing me deeply.
I wrap my arms around his neck, melting into him despite all the twisting thoughts and plans in my head.
When he lets me come up for air, he strokes my cheek with his thumb. “Well? What’s it to be? Vampire extinction?”
“How can you joke about it?”
“When you’ve lived as long as I have, gallows humor is the only thing that’s still funny.”
I shrug. “You know, before Melody, I would’ve said yes. I would’ve said to do whatever it took to make sure every last vampire was wiped off the planet. But she showed me it doesn’t have to be that way.”
He nods and presses a tender kiss to my neck. “She had that effect on everyone she ever met. Vampires and humans alike. Even on me.”
“I’m sorry.” I run my fingers along his forehead. We never talked about it, not really. Not once my memories returned, but losing Melody had to have just as big of an impact, perhaps evenbigger, on Valen than it did on me. He was like a father of sorts to her. They had a whole history, so many years together that I don’t even know about. God, what I’d give to hear her voice again. “I miss her, you know?”
“I know.” He sighs and settles beside me, cradling me in his arms.
I blink, trying to clear my watery eyes and focus on the now. “I’ve thought about it a lot—what I’d do if I could manufacture the poison at scale.”
“And?”
“And we kill Gregor. We have the poison stores if we need them, but we start out with a surgical strike on Gregor. Let’s assume that’s something we can pull off. What happens then?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “That’s not a possibility. I’m the only one who’d stand a chance of taking him down, and you know why that isn’t an option. So, your scenario?—”
