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Moon was coming home.
Moon was coming home.
Moon was coming home…to stay.
“Ah-Cheng, you’ve got to say something. At least blink. You’re scaring me,” Moon joked, but the laughter falling from his lips didn’t touch the worry in his amber eyes.
“You’re coming home with me,” Chen whispered.
“Of course I am. Did you think I would stay here after you returned to China with Yichen?”
He could only shake his head, his thoughts a scattered mess. “I-I don’t know what I thought. I dreamed that maybe after we spent more time together, that I could convince you to return with me. Dreamed that if I showed you my home, you would fall in love with it and wish to stay.”
“Chen Bo Cheng, you idiot.” Moon’s hand shot out and caught the back of Chen’s neck, pulling him in close so that their foreheads collided. “I fell in love with you. There is nowhere in this world you can go that I won’t follow.” He released Chen’s neck and straightened as he held up his left hand with his pinky extended. “Don’t forget, I bound our souls together. You’re stuck with me in this world and the next.”
Chen launched himself at Moon, slamming into him, and knocking them onto the floor with a loud thump. Moon left out a breathless “Oof!” followed by a cackle.
“I love you, insane witch vampire creature. You’ve turned my life upside down since I first set eyes on you,” Chen said as he placed kisses all over Moon’s lips, cheeks, nose, and eyes. “You are mine. Always mine.”
“And you are mine. I dare anyone to claim my mate. I’ll pull all the blood out of their body and use it to fill a swimming pool.”
Chen groaned. “Ridiculous. I think it’s enough that you threatened the king of the underworld to prove your devotion to me.” He rolled them so they were lying facing each other on their sides between the sofa and the table. “But you’re planning to sell your house? That was the home your parents spent their lives in. You told me of all the work they put into it. Do you really wish to let it go?”
“That’s the thing. That house was made for a family, not some bachelor rattling around alone. I appreciate the time I lived there and the memories that were made in that home, but it’s time for me to move on to the next stage of my life.”
Moon’s words were better than any dream he might have clung to. Chen reached up and lightly traced his fingers along Moon’s cheek and the hard line of his jaw. He memorized every curve, the sparkle in his bright eyes, and the eager grin parting his lips in the most wonderful smile. He wanted to remember everything about this moment for the rest of his existence.
“Whether we are here or across the ocean, we move forward in life together,” Chen said.
“Listen to you. Who knew you could be such a sweet talker?” Moon teased.
Chen leaned in and bumped the tip of his nose against Moon’s. “I might have learned a few things from you.”
“Just you wait, Ah-Cheng. I’ve got all kinds of crazy stuff to teach you. A thousand years together isn’t nearly enough time.”
He captured Moon’s lips in a kiss that was mostly smiles and laughter.
Bring it on, my mate. I can’t wait.
Epilogue
WU YICHEN
Don’t think about it.
Don’t think about it.
Everything is going to be fine.
I’ll keep it down this time.
Repeating the mantra over and over again did nothing to stop the frantic pounding of his heart.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Yichen sank his fangs into the man’s neck, unerringly hitting a rich vein of blood that gushed into his mouth and poured into his throat. He would not think about the taste. He would not think about the smell or the feel of this creature in his arms. There would be no thought at all in his brain.
Just drink enough to get by, and then release him.
After three swallows, his stomach churned. A lump was forming in his throat like the life-giving blood was already clotting up and becoming stuck.
He lifted his fangs from his victim and slid his tongue along the sweaty flesh. Even that was turning his stomach. He had to get away. Fresh air. He needed some damn fresh air.
Leaving the unconscious human slumped on the ground with his back leaning against a tree, Yichen turned and briskly walked away, trying to put as much distance from the man and himself. The park was empty at this hour and half of the little lamps were out, providing ample shadows for him to slip into.
Barely more than a dozen meters from where he’d left the blood donor, Yichen stumbled forward, catching himself on a tree as his stomach fiercely knotted. All the blood he’d drank from the human came up, splattering on the grass and tree roots. His entire body spasmed over and over again as it tried to purge every wretched drop of that foul substance.
