Page 70 of Forged in Twilight: The Complete Series

EPILOGUE

Settling down felt pretty damn good, he decided much later that night.

For the first time in longer than he wanted to think about, Sam didn’t have the urge to take the elevator up to the rooftop, spread his white wings behind him, and take off into the night. The itch to play do-gooder, to push the vestiges of his dark nature to the side as he acted as some unwitting soul’s guardian angel… it had finally been scratched.

And not just because Polly loved digging her nails into his skin, clawing his shoulders as he took her limber body again and again. Already his human soulmate was showing some sign of increased strength as his soul intertwined with hers, turning her into an immortal just like him. And now that the virgin Death had finally been deflowered when it came to penetrative sex, his seed finding its home inside of his soulmate, he looked forward to taking her whenever she welcomed him.

Which, now that they were fully bonded, was more often than he felt he deserved—not like he was going to tell her that. She found it charming that she made him come as fast as he had their first time, inviting him to take her again as soon as he was ready. Thankfully, as a faction being, his recovery time was much faster than his human soulmate expected which led them to spend a very blissful couple of hours mating each other before she finally admitted she needed a small break.

Sam would give her everything she asked for, including that.

Though there were countless things they had to take care of now that Polly had agreed to stay with him permanently, Sam didn’t feel like leaving the Twilight Sphere hotel just yet. The room that had been his since the 1950s finally felt like home when her blonde curls were spilled across his pillow, her clothes mingling with his on the bedroom floor.

After their last round, Polly had pulled on one of the hotel’s bathrobes that he’d had sent up for her. He’d already learned from those amazing few weeks together that his impish soulmate didn’t mind walking around naked—something that had him going hard for her again when she bent down to gather her singed shirt—but when she asked if she could take a breather out on his—their—balcony, Sam insisted on the robe.

Polly was his for life now. As much as he wanted to show her off to the whole of Sin City, he was a bonded faction male. The guardian angel would end up proving some of his lingering angel of death tendencies if anyone else laid eyes on his mate. The same went for him; his body, like his soul, belonged only to her. So he wrapped her in the robe, then tugged his discarded pants over his swollen shaft, and led her out to the balcony.

Polly pressed her palms to the banister, rising up on her tiptoes to look out over the twinkling lights, the bright neons, the hustle and bustle of a city that never slept. Her curls rustled gently in the slight breeze, her luscious ass brushing up against his erection as she leaned forward on the balls of her feet.

“Oh, Sam,” she breathed out. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Yes,” he murmured in agreement. “You are.”

With a giggle, Polly fell back against Sam. “We’re already a done deal, handsome, but that was smooth. Keep going and maybe there’s another BJ in it for you.” Another giggle. “From the way I felt your dick jerk against me, I’m thinking you like that idea.”

“I do. Very much. But I’m not angling to have your mouth on me again. I mean it, Pol. Even if you weren’t my soulmate, you’d be it for me. Fate couldn’t have chosen a better woman to have this life-long bachelor settle down with. Tonight is just the start of our forever, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”

Reaching behind her, Polly grabbed his hands, pulling them so that his arms were wrapping around her, bringing them even closer. “You’re settling down with me, but I hope you realize that, once a thief, always a thief, even if my new mate is filthy fucking rich. I’m gonna need my guardian angel watching my back.”

“Good. Because he’s not going anywhere.”

As Sam completely circled her waist, the fingers on his right hand landed lightly on his thigh. So content in holding his soulmate close, it took him a second to notice there was a lump hanging low in his pocket. Shifting his left hand, he probed inside of his pocket, muttering a surprised oath when his fingers brushed against the power surging off of the metal object tucked deep inside.

He held it up so that, beneath the moonlight, he could get a better look at the glittering, golden key in his hand.

The talisman.

How could he have forgotten about it?

Well… quite easily, actually. After he managed to bring Polly back to the hotel, spilling his guts out to his soulmate and, to his eternal surprise, discovering that she was falling for him, too, Sam’s focus had been on claiming her before she came to her senses and changed her mind. She had the talisman, and even though she was a thief, she was on his side. He trusted her implicitly.

So why did he have it now?

“Pol?”

“Yeah?”

He twisted the key in front of her to draw her attention to it.

“Oh. That. Well, I can plant objects as easily as I can steal them,” she said cheekily, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Figured if anything happened to me, it was safe with you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” he vowed, nuzzling the top of her curls with his chin. “Now while I’m around.”

“See, Ace? Earnest confessions like that are what get you laid. Good thing I can tell you’re primed and ready to go.”

Even though it was maybe fifteen feet away, the bed seemed like it was on the other side of a chasm. “With you, I always am.”

“I know. I love that about you,” she said. “Almost as much as I love you.”

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