“You’re thanking me for this so-called gift, but I have to confess… If I’d been myself when you’d asked, I wouldn’t have changed you—not for all the pleading and logic in the world, no matter how badly I wanted to support you.”
“Irrelevant. If you hadn’t changed me, you wouldn’t be yourself.”
He flashed a smile, but it faded before it even reached his eyes. “Being a vampire… Yes, you’re stronger. Faster. Immortal. But this fate isn’t—”
“This has nothing to do with fate, Darius Beaumont.” Now I was getting pissed. “This was a choice.Mychoice. And your choice was to support me, just like you’ve always done.”
Darius nodded, but said nothing.
“How much have we lost?” I asked. “How much has been completely outside of our control? From the moment Sophie died, we’ve taken hit after hit. For every win, we’ve got more losses and setbacks than I can count.”
“Like I said, Gray. I get your reasons. I just wish there’d been another way that didn’t involve risking your soul.”
“We’re about to turn the tide. All of us. The odds we’re facing? That doesn’t happen without big risks.”
“I know all of this, love. There’s no need to rehash. You’re a vampire now—there’s no going back.” He closed his eyes and shook his head, and I feared this would turn into a bigger argument. But when he opened his eyes and looked at me again, his gaze was warm and clear, full of love and appreciation. “But your mine, love. Andthat’ssomething I would never change, no matter which form you’ve taken.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and the last of my anger evaporated.
“Finally, something we agree on,” I said.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t want to argue with you. Not about this or anything else.”
“Hmm,” I teased. “So whatdoyou want to do with me?”
“For starters…” He rolled on top of me, hard and ready, his eyes darkening with pure desire. “This feels about right.”
“More than right,” I whispered, and he sank inside of me, deeper and deeper as my body welcomed his touch. I wasn’t as sensitive as I’d been earlier, but despite the hawthorn, I could still feel every inch of him.
But just before he whipped me into another white-hot frenzy, a heard of beasts crashed through the front door and up the stairs, carrying with them the scent of two demons, a wolf shifter, and—most importantly—my dinner.
“It’s them,” I announced, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. My stomach tumbled with fresh hunger, my mouth watering.
“Bloody hell,” Darius grumbled. Then, loud enough so they’d hear him, “Brilliant timing, you gits.”
“We’ve got maybe thirty seconds before they get all their boots off and come crashing through the bedroom door,” I said.
Darius shot me a wicked grin, sliding inside me again, faster this time. “Then I guess we’d better hurry.”
Five
GRAY
I was still seeing stars from the insane rapid-fire orgasm Darius had just delivered when the guys barged in, spilling through the door in a wild tumble of arms and legs and takeout bags, Sparkle and Sunshine right on their heels.
Asher took one look at the vampire lying on top of me and laughed. “Did I call it, or did I call it?”
“Dios mio.” Emilio shook his head, a grin lighting up his face. “We told you tocheckon her, notclimbon her.”
“Huh. I could’veswornyou said climb.” Darius, who still hadn’t bothered to extricate himself from between my thighs, shook his head, feigning confusion. “Must be your accent.”
Asher was still cracking up. “Must be you’re an insatiable sandbagger who offered to keep watch tonight just so you could get our girl alone and steal her vampire virginity.”
“I assure you, Mr. O’Keefe,” Darius said, finally climbing off the bed and covering me with the sheet, giving me a covert wink as he did. My vampire was completely naked, totally unfazed as he turned to face the firing squad. “Nothing was stolen in this room tonight, save for our privacy.”
“Privacy, huh?” Asher scanned him head to toe. “I can see you’re pretty concerned about that.”
“Victim-blaming will get you nowhere.” Darius gave Asher a playful smack on the cheek, then finally located his pants, taking his time picking them up off the floor while I enjoyed the view.
