I gauged Pearl, who was running around frantically. “Pearl, can you stand still for a sec?”

She shot me a poisonous glance, but stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“We don’t have time to dye our hair, so can you make us all,” I paused, peering around at the four of us, trying to gauge the best color, “brunettes, like Coms? And make our cubs appear like,” I bit my lip, “poodles?”

She stared at me for a long moment before beginning to whisper, her eyes glowing. She snapped her finger at the cubs, which quickly appeared as poodles, still with their own coloring, and with another snap of her fingers we all had boring brown hair.

I smiled. “Perfect.”

Jack picked up a piece of his hair and stared at it with disdain. “This is disgusting.”

“If anyone saw you with your blue hair, they would shoot you instantly,” I reminded him, going back to throwing items into my duffle. “And everyone try not to look so damn hot. Your good looks give you away.” A thought, and a glance at Pearl. “Can you manage some really ugly glasses?”

Another snap of her fingers and she had four pairs of horn-rimmed spectacles in her hand.

“Ugh, those are horrible,” I said with a smile, grabbing the feminine white ones. “They’re perfect. I wore glasses like these in the Com schools.” I put them on. “How do I look?”

“Like a sexy woman trying to look ugly,” Ezra muttered, waving a hand at my dress. “You’re seriously not wearing that outside the cave, are you? Every Com male is going to take notice and try to jump you.” His eyes flashed, his muscles bulging as he stuffed clothes into his duffle.

“Look who’s talking,” I mumbled, placing my hands on my hips, my gaze roaming up and down his frame. Yeah, every damn Com or Mys woman alive would f**k him in a heartbeat.

He picked at his thermal shirt with irritation. “This is not,” a flicked finger at my dress, “that.”

Jack snickered, tossing his bag over his shoulder. “We gotta go.” He took the pair of black glasses, putting them on before picking up West. “Our fifteen minutes are almost up.”

Ezra grabbed the pair of silver glasses, clearly aggravated. “We’ll meet you outside.”

Pearl put on her green glasses, transforming her into an Amazonian library goddess with her brown hair. “Uh-huh. You two don’t have—”

Ezra cut her off, growling, “I said, we’ll meet you outside.”

Pearl muttered a curse as Jack hustled her and Buttercup out of our bedroom, who barely gave her a chance to grab her own bag.

Ezra was suddenly in front of me, lifting my chin gently. “Are you sure you want this?” His eyes darted back and forth between mine. “I’ve had a few weeks to think this through. You only decided yesterday you wanted it. Maybe you need more time?”

Staring hard at his chin, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to tell him otherwise, my heart pounded erratically, but I went for it. “Ezra, I’m in love with you. I know I want to be with you.” I placed a trembling hand on his chest. “I want you to be mine. And I want to be yours.”

I didn’t hear anything for a moment…and then, I felt dizzy when I did. Ezra’s heartbeat jumped, and then took off in a wild frenzy. His grip tightened on my chin, and he shook it a smidge. “Look at me, sweetheart.” I did. And met intense green. “You’re in love with me?”

My chin quivered, my heart flew. I felt weak in the knees. “I’m very much in love with you.”

His voice was guttural. “Promise?”

I nodded, lifted my hands to cup his cheeks and pull his face down closer to mine. “I promise.”

His jaw clenched. “I first knew I was in love with you that night in the storage closet.” He paused, his eyes holding mine. There was an almost vulnerable cast to them that he couldn’t quite hide. “I’ve been waiting for you to catch up with me, but the whole while I was still afraid of the risks that come with a relationship without magic.” He paused. “I still am afraid of the risks.”

And yeah, like a girl, my eyes were a little watery and a few tears spilled, my heart soaring higher than the clouds. It was a good thing I had stored that bottle of wine in my closet and we didn’t drink it. I was definitely going to cherish the damn thing as a keepsake. “You’re in love with me, huh?”

He nodded once, his face fierce even though his eyes were still showing that vulnerable cast.

“I think I know what comes after risk,” I murmured softly as he brushed the tears off my cheeks. Going on tiptoe, I kissed his thinned lips until they softened slightly. “Do you want to know what it is?”

Again, he nodded once, rigidly.

Biting his bottom lip softly, I whispered, “It’s trust, Ezra. Trust that the person you love won’t hurt you with unkindness and disrespect. Trust that the person won’t crush your heart with infidelity. Trust that, in the end, your partner will love you just as much as you love them, because there will be problems in life that threaten to tear you apart. It’s simply trust.”

Ezra gently pulled me closer, our bodies flush against one another, and his arm wrapped around my waist as he gripped a handful of my hair with his hand, keeping my head tilted back. “Trust is amazingly slippery to capture.” His forehead fell against mine, his eyes almost glowing they shone so bright. “But who better to have trust and respect for than someone you already love, someone who you would never want to hurt and who wouldn’t want to hurt you.” His nose brushed mine. “A best friend.”

My grin just wouldn’t die. “Exactly.”

Ezra’s chest expanded heavily, and he nodded, our foreheads rubbing. “We can do this.”

“Hell yes, we can.” I laughed, pulling his lips against mine. “Now, kiss me.”

He chuckled, his lips curling against mine and rumbling, “Say please.”

I gently nipped his bottom lip, and then added, “Please?”

His Vampire growled.

My snicker deepened as I nipped his lip again. “Please…baby?” His Vampire was awfully picky.

That was what it took for him to press harder against my lips, his mouth demanding open-mouthed attention. My own hands went to his hair, not caring if I mussed it, grabbing handfuls and holding him just as close as he was me. His scent enveloped my senses, spiced and heated, his taste just as delicious as our tongues gliding against each other’s.




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