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And so does Lucien.

I feel them both at the same time, and all I can think as I breathlessly come down from my climax is that next time I want to see them both at the same time.

After, we float.

“That was...” Kim starts.

“I know.”

“And he really…?”

“He really.” I wiggle my eyebrows and my toes at the same time, lying on my back, water all around me.

Under the surface, the shadows drift around my legs like ribbons.

Kim holds my hand, reminding me of those cute pictures of otters who hold on to one another so they don’t drift apart when they sleep.

I never want to drift apart from him.

Or from Lucien.

And I refuse to believe that anything Nix could offer me would feel more powerful than this.

15

Nix

PRESENT DAY

Ifind the fact that I’ve repurposed a church as my lair rather pleasing. Cliched, maybe. But Lucien always told me I had a flair for theatrics.

This particular church has been empty for over a year and is far enough from Lucien’s mansion that he can’t sense the darkness pooling beneath it. It is drafty, dark and has a delightful crypt beneath it which reminds me of the family crypt at Thornfield Manor. Even though it’s been centuries since I set foot in the place.

When I descend the stone steps into the crypt, my footsteps echo off the damp walls. At my side, Cerberus nudges me for a fuss. He might look scary, but he’s a puppy at heart and the only kind of canine I can actually stand, despite having to pretend I’m a werewolf sympathiser to get them on side.

In the belly of the crypt, it is silent except for the grunts and groans coming from two FHB powered vamps who are fucking in the corner.

Usually, I’d watch for a while. But I have bigger things to deal with tonight.

Cerberus is already heading for the far wall. He finds our new pet confusing; vampire but not vampire. Because it smells wrong and it looks wrong.

“Good evening, Steven.” I pull up a wooden stool and sit down opposite him. He looks up with his one eye and makes a gurgling noise in the back of his throat as he pulls against his chains.

When I found him, he was way past the usual death window for turning and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do it successfully. But some of Darius’ black magick helped with that.

In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a creature as grotesque as Steven. Obviously, that’s more Lucien’s fault than mine, but my method of bringing him back to ‘life’ didn’t help matters.

It was lucky, really, that I discovered what Lucien had done to him. No, not luck.

Fate.

I’d had my men watching Lucien for a while, which in turn meant watching Luna. They saw Lucien take Steven from his house and take him back to the mansion.

I waited, and waited, and eventually the demon hunter showed up. Went inside, came out with a body bag and buried it in the family graveyard.

I had my men dig him up, and seeing what Lucien had done to Steven on behalf of his favourite blonde human was the proof I needed that Luna was who I’d been looking for. And that Lucien’s feelings for her went far beyond what he was willing to admit to himself.

I pull out a dark wooden box and set it down on the floor between Steven and me. It stinks of rotten blood and flesh but it makes him salivate.