Page 88 of Two Thousand Shadows

When Leo had Junjie beside him under the umbrella, he wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in close.

“Wo…” he started and stopped to lick his dry lips. Junjie’s brow wrinkled, but his smile never wavered as he looked at Leo. This was harder than he expected. On multiple levels.

“Wo ai ni,”?1 Leo tried again, forcing each sound past the growing tightness in his throat.

Junjie didn’t say anything. His eyes widened to giant saucers, and his lips parted to form a soundless O. The fish food container slipped from dead fingers and hit the ground hard enough to lose its lid. Fish pellets scattered everywhere.

“Yay! Feed the fishes!” Erik shouted.

That worked wonders for snapping their frozen state. Both of them quickly bent to gather up the food faster than Erik could begin tossing it all into the pond.

“Shi-shoot! Did I say it wrong? Or maybe Google Translate had it wrong, and I cursed your grandmother. I knew I shouldn’t trust Google Translate, but I also didn’t trust your clan mates to give me the right phrase.” He was babbling. He knew it, but couldn’t stop. The torrent of words just kept pouring out as the fear and embarrassment mounted in the face of Junjie’s silence.

The vampire stopped his words at last by grabbing his chin and capturing his wayward mouth in a hard kiss. All the terror and awkwardness washed away under the sweet press of those lips.

Junjie pulled away and beamed brilliantly at him. “Say it again,” he whispered.

“Wo ai ni,” he repeated with more confidence this time.

“I love you, too.” Their lips met in another sweet kiss that felt like the vampire had wrapped his arms around his soul.

The kiss didn’t last long, though. A little arm landed on Leo’s shoulder as Erik’s head knocked into the side of his and Junjie’s. “Whoa knee! Whoa knee!” the boy shouted.

Leo’s shoulders shook, and Junjie threw his head back as laughter burst from him. He gathered the giggling two-year-old in his arms and they stood. Leo shifted the umbrella over all three of them as the rain increased, but it didn’t touch any of them in their private haven.

Junjie held Erik balanced on one arm while he tickled Erik’s belly with his free hand. “Yes! We love you, too!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Junjie gasped, and his wide eyes snapped up to Leo.

Grinning so wide his cheeks hurt, Leo leaned in and pressed a kiss to Erik’s cheek. “Yes, we love you.”

When he looked at Junjie, the vampire’s eyes were now watery, and he was rapidly blinking as if fighting to hold in the tears. “No, don’t cry. I know my accent is horrible, but it’ll get better with practice,” he teased as he kissed away one of the tears that escaped.

A choked laugh escaped Junjie. “Idiot,” he mumbled. “I can’t believe you learned that phrase for me.”

“I wish I could say they were the first Chinese words I’d learned, but I’ve been listening to you guys say gege, jiejie, and shixiong for months now. However”—Leo stopped and held up one finger as he smirked—“these were the first words I ever researched and taught myself for you.”

“That is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me in my entire life,” Junjie whispered, appearing as if he were going to cry again.

Leo put his arm around Junjie’s waist and pulled him in close. “I wanted to do this not just to show you how much I love you, but it’s also my way of saying that I want to go with you to China. I want to go wherever you go for the rest of our lives. No more wandering and being useless. You and Erik have become my everything, and my six lives aren’t worth anything without you both in my life.”

“Really?”

He nodded because he suddenly couldn’t talk past the lump in his throat. “Yes. I want to be there for all of Erik’s firsts. I want to teach him how to be the most amazing cat shifter ever. And I want to learn how to be the best mate I can be for you.” He lifted his free hand to brush the back of his fingers across Junjie’s tear-streaked cheek. “You deserve the absolute best in this world, and I want to be the one who makes you smile every night.”

“I love you, Leo St. George. I want you to come home with Erik and me. Join my clan. Be part of my family. You’ll never be alone.”

“Sap,” Leo muttered as he kissed Junjie’s cheek. “You’re turning me into a sap.” And he welcomed it. This was his family. The Zhang clan was his family now, and he was going to destroy anyone who threatened them.

“I can’t wait to show this to everyone.”

Junjie and Leo turned toward the house at the same time to find Moon standing under the roof with his phone pointed at them, clearly recording their not-so-private moment.

“But as much as I don’t want to break this up,” Moon continued, tucking the phone away in his pocket. “Rei just received a message from Ellora. She knows where Trin and his army are going to be tomorrow night.”

Leo’s stomach sank as though he’d swallowed a boulder. Another fight with the fae. Junjie and the rest of the clan were going to be walking into another dangerous situation. And Leo was going to be right there with them to make sure his mate didn’t come to harm.

“Xiao Dan has called a meeting.”

Junjie grunted. “The Variks?”

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