Page 120 of Blood

“I love you.”

He pushes a tiny inch inside of me, his piercing brushing my folds in a way that has streaks of white dancing across my vision.

“Again,” he urges.

“I. Love. You.”

His hips thrust forward, forcing him a little bit more inside of me.

But it’s not enough. Not even close.

“I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”

With a roar, he pushes completely inside of me, only pausing once to allow me to get used to the intrusion. He hasn’t even started yet, and he’s already on the verge of slashing me to ribbons.

But that’s always been our relationship. From the very first moment we met, he drew me in like a moth to a flame, one look threatening to turn me to nothing but flaky ash. I burn for this man.

I turn to stare at him over my shoulder, needing that connection, needing the reminder that he’s mine, and lust and love flare in his eyes, a corrosive mixture that scalds my skin.

My heart batters my ribs as I push against him, matching him thrust to thrust. And when his fingers lower to play with my clit, I hurtle over that edge, my orgasm scouring away all thoughts, except the pleasure he’s wringing from my body.

Through the window, I watch as Cal comes with a shout of his own, his cock jerking inside of Barret’s mouth.

Barret, who’s been stroking his own cock as Cal fingers his asshole, explodes as well, rivulets of cum spurting across the couch.

And through it all, their gazes remain locked on me.

My heart shatters, every piece cutting up my insides like glass, but it’s the best kind of torture. A beautiful pain.

As Alex’s hips quicken, his breathing turning thready, the true reality of my life washes over me.

I have nine mates who love me, three parents who would walk through Hell to get to me, and some of the best friends a girl could ask for.

What more could any vampire-who-isn’t-really-a-vampire want?

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER

VIOLET

“Can you quit bouncing?” Vin hisses from the left of me, folding his arms over his chest. The movement makes his dark-green shirt bunch around his muscular forearms.

Alex leans forward from the seat behind us, placing one arm on my chair and the other on Vin’s.

“How much sugar did she have this morning?”

“I took away her third chocolate bar,” Frankie replies coolly from the opposite side of Alex.

“Dammit. She had two chocolate bars?” Vin appears pained. “That’s two too many.”

“Hello!” I whisper-hiss, waving my hands in front of his face. “I’m right here. God, why did I think mating with you would make you less of an asshole?”

“I’ll always be an asshole,” Vin retorts with an exasperated eye roll. “That’ll never change.”

Mason, who’s sitting on my other side, places a comforting hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze. A rush of heat migrates from where he touches, spreading through my veins like molten lava. Sometimes, it’s still hard to believe that Mason is truly back, that he isn’t just some illusion that will evaporate with the rise of the sun. It’s true that he spends most of his nights riding with the Wild Hunt, capturing souls and corralling them toward their final resting place, but during the day...he’s here. With me.

With us.

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