Page 65 of B Negative

Twenty-Two

He wrappedme in his arms, in his scent, his power, in him.

And I couldn’t have been happier.

Like we were the only two people on the bridge. In the world.

He nuzzled the top of my head, breathing me in. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed you, Eden.”

I breathed in his warm, spicy, perfect scent, buried my hands in the cool fabric of his suit jacket, and told myself everything was going to work out.

It had to.

Because I couldn’t be away from this man.

When we finally broke our embrace, and I was safely ensconced in the passenger seat of his Mercedes, he executed a perfect three-point-turn and headed back to the cove.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“First, I thought we’d just drive for a bit,” he said.

“Sounds good to me,” I said, unable to keep my eyes from his profile.

The lights of oncoming cars painted his features in alternating stark light and shadows. Angel one moment, demon the next.

He took my hand in his as we wound through the streets of my city. “I said it over the phone, but I think it bears repeating. I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you. I should have come to you. Should have told you what my plan was, even if you hadn’t agreed to it. I should have realized we could have figured out another way. A better way. Together.”

I swallowed the ball of emotions forming in my throat. “Thank you, Julian. That’s all I wanted in this.”

We drove by the compound, passed my studio and the bar, to the center of the city, home to the biggest park in the cove. City Park was the best place in the whole city for people watching, nature gazing, and duck feeding. It also happened to have lots of private hedged-in gazebo areas made for intimate gatherings. Julian parked and led me to one such private grassy hill where he had a blanket and a basket waiting for us.

“This is very unexpected,” I said.

“Unexpected? Why?” he asked as he spread out the blanket and motioned for me to sit.

“I guess I just never really saw you as having much of a romantic side.”

Julian’s eyes bulged slightly as he pulled out container after container from the basket. “You don’t see me as romantic?” he asked, uncorking a bottle of champagne.

“I mean, look, mate shit is weird, right? Like, objectively, that stuff is strange, especially to a vampire like me who doesn’t really know what’s going on. But throughout the experience, I witnessed you being a leader, a king, and fucking phenomenal in the…”

Julian’s sparkling gaze caught mine as I stretched out the sentiment.

“Phenomenal in the where, Eden?” he teased, voice rasping against my senses in the best possible way.

“Kitchen, obviously. I mean, you can really cook.”

He lifted an eyebrow at me. “Cook?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Mmm. I’ll show you cook,” he rumbled, handing me a glass of champagne.

“No, but I’m serious. We had to rush through everything to make sure it was done before the incursion. We don’t have to do that anymore. We have time to actually fall in love with each other. Not just each other’s blood or scent or whatever the mate bond drives us to do. Each other.”

Julian took in my words as he nibbled on a triangle of cheese. “I think I’m going to enjoy falling in love with you again, Eden.”

Again.

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