Her perfect body milked my orgasm, and in a rush, I was flung over that edge into oblivion. I thickened even more inside her, bottoming out in her tight core and nudging her cervix as I sunk in so very deep.

It was pure bliss, and I flooded her until overflowing as I emptied my spend in torrents of sensation. I felt like I was floating. No, flying, and I never wanted to come down from the experience.

My heart was fucking soaring, and I gripped onto Emory with everything I had, riding this out until we were both gasping and exhausted, her arms wrapped around my neck and showing no signs of letting go.

After a moment, I leaned back, and a burst of emotion struck me, undeniable and pure.

“I love you, Emory. And I haven’t done that shit since my mother. Not really. Not like this.”

She smiled, her eyes going glassy. “I love you too, Vlad. And I understand, really. I won’t leave you.”

“You better fucking not. I need you.” I rested my forehead against hers. “You saved me, Emory. You saved every bit of me—body and soul.”

“I promise to take care of them. Always.”

I looked up at her again, taking her face in my hands.

“Always.”

Epilogue - Emory

A few months later

The room was quiet as I lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Vlad should be back home soon, and I was struggling against a familiar anxiety. I didn’t like when he went out on “missions” like this, but it was his work. There was no stopping that.

I knew they’d upped the security protocol after what happened when Vlad got shot, though, and even more at the house since the Italians had taken me. There was a fancy new fingerprint scanner on the front door, a generator for backup power, and new deadbolts on every door, including the bedrooms.

As I sighed, the deadbolt on our door clicked over, and I sat up.

Vlad entered, looking a little worse for wear, and I smiled up at him. “Rough exit?”

He grinned, kicking off his shoes and tossing his bag to the side. Vlad crossed the room to the bed, crawling in with me and pulling me into his arms.

“A bit. Nothing we couldn’t handle, though.”

I curled into him, breathing in his scent, sweaty for sure but still comforting because it belonged to him.

“Well, good. I missed you. I like it when you come back home.”

Lifting my chin so that he could kiss me, Vlad hummed against my lips before meeting my eyes.

“Me too.” He kissed me again and then pulled me under his arm as he lay on his back. “Fuck, I’m so tired.”

Closing my eyes, I remembered how late it was the last time I looked at the clock. Vlad used to insist that I try and get some rest on nights like this, but he’d quickly realized that it wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t sleeping until he was home safe.

“Well, sleep is waiting. And you have an early appointment, so I imagine you should get at least a few hours.”

“Hmm, I almost forgot.”

Vlad went stiff next to me, and I could tell he was still finding it difficult to talk to someone about his past. I’d recommended my mentor, Dr. Kate Hamilton, and she was a pro, but Vlad had a hard time speaking in front of new people regardless.

“It’s good that you keep going. And Kate won’t pressure you, you know that.”

He nodded, dropping his mouth to the top of my head. I could feel his breath warming my skin and ruffling my hair.

“I know. It’s just…”

He didn’t finish, and I took the opportunity to help because I felt I knew what he was trying to say.