By the intensity of his look, he was assessing her as she neared. His unnerving way of reading her condition left her a little more uncertain than she'd been with him. The distance between them seemed to be both too far and too close, and she stopped several feet away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Good enough," she replied.

The quiet between them was awkward.

He cleared his throat. "I'm happy you called."

"Well, I kind of needed a ride," she said, starting to smile. "I feel like I need a vacation."

"To where?"

"Some place warm. By the ocean. With a private beach."

Jonny's eyes gleamed. "I know just the place."

"I might need my own room," she mused mischievously.

"Fuck no."

Her body flushed with warmth from the inside out and she almost laughed at the giddiness soaring through her. Unable to take the distance between them anymore, Ashley set down Cat and flung her arms around Jonny.

He hugged her to him hard and sighed into her hair. "Are you ready to come home?"

"You're, like, four years late to the party."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise," he whispered.

"You're sure this time?" she asked and leaned her head back to see his face.

Jonny cupped the side of her face. "Are you sure you want the Black God in your life?"

"This may come as a surprise, but I don't actually hate you."

He laughed, a pleasantly warm sound from a man who rarely smiled. "I kinda figured that out," he teased. "I'm sure, Ashley." He grew more serious. "I've spent too long trying not to love you. I want to spend the rest of our lives showing you how much I care about you."

Speechless at the sentiment, Ashley felt tears sting her eyes.

He rested his forehead against hers, and she breathed his scent in deeply. "Thank you," he murmured.

"For what?" she asked.

"For being strong enough to love me despite what I am. For reminding me what it means to fight for something and someone."

She melted against him with a sigh. "I love you, too, Jonny. Freaky Black God powers, fangs and all." She winked. "Like I said. The vampire thing is kind of a turn on."

Nuzzling her head aside, he nipped at her neck before sinking his fangs into her. He sipped rather than drank before withdrawing from her neck. "Just had to make sure you're up for what I have in mind," he murmured.

"Which is …"

He grinned wickedly. "Why don't we go find out?"

Ashley laughed, unable to recall when she'd last been this happy.




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