Page 88 of Eternally Yours

Closing my eyes, I expunged all my worries—even if just for these borrowed moments of peace and whisperedI love youto the vampire I never expected, but who was now eternally mine.

Epilogue

Loren

Walking out onto the third-story balcony, I tilted my face to the brilliant summer sun and let its rays warm my skin. There was a time when I was afraid I’d never be able to do this, enjoy the days and sunshine, or even step out of hiding in fear of being ambushed by the Iron Guard.

It’d been five years since the incident, and to my relief, no one had come after us across the ocean. According to Nic’s contacts, after the death of Dr. Thorpe, the Order went into hiding. No one knew what they were up to, but we made sure to keep a pulse on the situation in case they came looking for me.

We’d expected retaliation from Nic’s family and Ellie’s, but after the butchery at the union, the DeLorenzo’s waged war on the Guerra’s and their feud had consumed the coven. So far, we’d been able to stay under their radar.

Now, Nic and I were living in Valencia, Spain, in a beautiful luxury villa by the beach. Staring out onto the aqua blue waters and white sand beaches like I did every morning during my morning coffee, I marveled that this was my life. For eternity. Or at least until I got bored of it. Nic promised me we could move the moment I felt bored, but how could I with a view like this?

Hands slid across my middle, and warmth spread across my back. Nic’s distinctly masculine scent enveloped me, and like it always did when we were close, a pleasant hum rushed through our bond that filled me to the brim. His breath tickled my neck as he leaned in close.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked, pressing kisses along the line of my jugular. A shiver raced through me. He always knew how to get me going, ever since I’d first woken up in his bed after the change. Five years hadn’t changed a damn thing.

I put down my mug on the small table, smiling. It was the same routine we’ve done every day, one I still looked forward to.

“I’ve seen better,” I teased and twisted into his embrace to face him. As always, he was as strikingly gorgeous as the day we met. No—actually, he was even more so with his hair swept away from his face, giving him an air of authority and regal class. A tempting sight. He was already dressed, his crisp white shirt open at the neck and rolled up at the elbows showed his sun-kissed skin from the new power my blood granted. It made the green in his eyes really shine.

The strange mixture of the vampire and wolf-creature genetics made me able to walk in the day, and since Nic was my mate, he got to share in that perk, too. Of course, he had to continue to take blood from me once in a while to sustain the sun tolerance, but I had no problem offering it. Especially during sex. And it was nice enjoying our days just as much as our nights together. It made me almost feel… normal again. As normal as someone like me could feel, anyway.

Being there with him was truly paradise. Sure, there were times I missed my old life. My friends. My nursing career and my patients, but it was hard to dwell on those things when I’d gained so much more.

As if reading my thoughts, Nic pressed his lips against mine for a passionate, knee-weakening kiss. Expectedly, it made my pulse dash off to the races. When he finally pulled away, I rubbed my lips together, savoring the tingling sensation that lingered.

“You know it’s taking everything in me to not force you back through those doors, throw you on the bed, and have my way with you right now, right?” Nic muttered gently as his mouth hovered close to mine.

His words alone sent delicious shivers right to my toes. “Well, what’s stopping you? Because it sure as hell isn’t me.”

He brushed his lips against mine again, but paused. “You know we’re supposed to be meeting with the doctors.”

Oh shit. That was today. I’d almost forgotten.

Excitement flooding me, I scooted around him and rushed toward the door.

“Loren, wait,” Nicholas called.

I glanced at him from over my shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Aren’t you going to put on some clothes? You don’t want to give your poor father a heart attack. He’s finally healthy again.”

I peered down at my silk robe and bare feet. “Oops. You’re right.”

Hurrying to the closet, I pulled out a blush pink blouse and white slacks. Professional enough for our meeting, but appropriate for the warm weather outside. Nic’s laughter rumbled behind me as I stripped off the robe, threw on the clothes, and swept my hair up into a ponytail.

“Better?” I asked, spinning in a small turn.

“I’d prefer you naked.”

Any other day I would’ve said something witty and dropped my clothes to the floor, but today was too important. Today we were going to meet with some of the best doctors in the World Health Organization to talk about using my blood to cure common diseases, such as diabetes and possibly cancer. Of course, they wouldn’t know it was from my blood. After years of work and oodles of money, Nic and I were able to isolate some of my genes, at least the healing aspect of it, and successfully use it to make people healthier.

No one would know the genes came from me specifically, but after receiving a large donation from ananonymoussource, it was expected they’d be able to duplicate the genes and distribute the medicine to anyone who needed it.

Like my father.

Not long after we’d come to Spain, Nic had surprised me by having my father brought overseas and a team of doctors and nurses tend to his illnesses. It’d been the reason I’d come up with the idea to use my specialized hybrid genes for something good. And once the medicine was perfected, he’d been one of the first treated.

---