Page 50 of Unmasked

“Can we still kiss though?”

My stomach actually flutters. “Definitely.”

“Now?”

I lean towards him with a smile. “Now.”

Rising to his knees, Eli presses himself into me, wrapping his arms around my neck. “How did you learn to kiss like that?”

I search his eyes, letting the truth spill from my lips. “Desire taught me. I simply gave in to my yearning to taste your lips and let it guide me.”

“You’re not just sexy, but romantic as fuck too. Be careful, Michel. You might teach me how to fall in love.”

His words stun me. “The idea of you loving me is beyond my wildest dreams.”

“Who knows where this might take us. Maybe… after all these years, we were meant to find each other again.”

“I’d like to believe that.”

“Me too.”

He presses our lips together. I love how his body seems to melt into mine. He fully trusts that I’ll hold on to him, and he’s not wrong. I would never let him go. As I explore his mouth once again, my mind is in chaos. I’m so close to everything I ever wanted. I just have to figure out how to tell him what I am without scaring the shit out of him. He’s always understood me, even when no one else could, but can he understand this?

After a languorous kiss, Eli pulls back slightly. He smiles with blown pupils and damp lips, dragging his tongue across them as if capturing my taste for later.

“I should probably go to bed now before I beg you to join me.”

The urge to claim him is so strong a shiver runs through me. “Trust me. It’s very difficult to hold back, but I learned one thing well. Sometimes the best thing is waiting. It’s so much sweeter then.”

Eli smiles, pulling himself up. “Give the kittens some love. They missed you.”

“Good night, Eli.”

“Night, Michel.”

I watch him walk away, glancing back at me before he disappears down the hallway. Then I fall backward, kicking my legs and silently screaming with glee. Eli Julius wants me! I’d swear I was dreaming if my reaction to his kiss wasn’t so visceral.

For so many years, I wondered what it would be like to hold him, kiss him, feel his skin against mine, and oh my fuck, it was far better than anything I could have conjured up on my own. I could reach the clouds right now.

I look down to see Leia and Napoleon wrestling on my lap while the others bat at toys and Mina watches on like the good mama she is. My rebuilt life is slowly coming together in ways I only dreamed of. All I have to do is execute my plans for Garrett, and somehow tell the love of my life that I’m a vampire.

Should be easy.

* * *

The next morning, as I sit in the living room playing with the cats, Eli shuffles out of his bedroom. He’s dressed in sleep pants and nothing else, his dark hair a mess. He doesn’t notice me right away, seemingly focused on getting to the coffee.

With my sensitive hearing, I hear him clink around the kitchen until he moans softly, slurping hot coffee I prepared earlier. When he comes back out, he stops, focusing on me and smiling.

“Morning,” he says.

“Hey. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. Great in fact. You?”

“Decently.”

Eli plops down on the couch. “I’m gonna start planning the masquerade ball today.”

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