Page 45 of Inevitably Yves

“Hadrian without a doubt, because he is the thing that separated me from you. Marcello, in some ways, saved me. I don’t hate him as much as I hate what I made him.” Yves sighs, then forces a smile to his face. “Tell me more about your life.”

I nod, leaning in to kiss his calf. “Well, I was a wanderer. What I was seeking is obvious to me now, but it wasn’t until just a day ago. You were looking for love to fill the hole left by my absence, and I was doing the same. The problem though…” I chuckle. “No one came even close to how you make me feel.”

“So you fucked a lot of people? That doesn’t make you bad.”

I shift my gaze to the big full moon outside to avoid his piercing eyes. “I made no attempt to hide or control my beast. I killed often. Overindulged. I was untethered from a coven, from a maker, anyone to guide me. I borrowed a little from every vampire I met, but very few had any sort of ethics or moral code. Your vampires here surprise me.”

“New Onyx is unusual. I’ve spent years keeping us under the radar. Not all American vampires are like us.”

“That’s why the council wanted Lair here. It would be chaos anywhere else.”

Yves nods. “Yes. There was a place on the West Coast that had to be forcibly shut down. Too many bodies to explain.”

“How do you do it? How do you keep your impulses at bay?”

“Die a little,” he whispers. “I think I’ve died a little every day since you left. When nothing made it feel better, order and control were the best substitutes. I created Veil Protection, a murder for hire firm to help my brothers with their urges, and I suppose I live through them in some ways.”

“You don’t kill yourself?”

“Rarely, and not for many years. We had an incident a while back with some confused rogue vampires that I helped to put down, but the daily work, no.” He drags his tongue over the sharp tips of his fangs. “But you’ve awakened my beast. I have a taste for blood again. Fresh blood.”

“Hadrian’s blood.” I rise to my knees, scooting between his legs. “And then what will we do, my beloved? Rule the world?”

Yves’s expression softens as he cups my chin. “We can do anything we want, and we will, together.”

“Is there a place for me in New Onyx? In your world?”

“My Dami, don’t you see? My world is your world. I don’t have to ever look for anything again now that you’re back.”

“I haven’t known a home since Hadrian sent me away. I desperately want to be here with you for all of time. Tell me I can stay and love you and be worthy of you.”

Still rubbing my chin, he nods. “I wouldn’t let you leave.” Yves leans closer. “I know you’re still holding back your past, and that’s okay. When you’re ready to tell me, I’ll be ready to hear it.”

Chagrined, I nod. “How did I think I could hide from you?”

“I love you, Damiano. I have always loved you. There’s nothing you could have done or been that would change that, but no rush. I promise we have time.”

“Hadrian be damned?”

“Hadrian can fuck himself.” His voice turns cold and dark, sending shivers of desire through me.

“Your anger isn’t supposed to be sexy, but damn, you wear it well.”

He smiles, leaning back slightly. “Promise me when this is over, we can go somewhere just the two of us and…”

“And what?”

“Make all the love we missed out on.”

I clutch his hand to my chest. “On my eternal soul, I promise.”

FIFTEEN

Yves

Morning comes far slower than I want. Not that I need to wait for the sun to take action, but if Hadrian’s preferences are the same as they were, he works at night. He was adamant about staying in the shadows, giving rise to the lore that daylight is impossible.

Impossible? No.

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