Page 60

Epilogue

Janna

“I swear to you,if you don’t stop moving around…”

“I’m not moving,” he insisted, shifting in his chair.

“You did it again, damn it!”

“I didn’t!”

“Oh, screw it already!” I tossed the charcoal aside and got up to stretch. “This is a waste of time. You’ve got the jitters today or something. What’s with you?”

“Sorry if I’m not in the mood to play statue today,” he grumbled as he got up and stretched his long legs before pacing the length of the loft I used as studio space.

“Maybe it’s time for me to find a new model,” I muttered.

“Maybe it is. Why don’t you ask Troy to do it for you?” he asked, referring to Isobel’s Nightwarden.

I raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Not a bad idea. He’s an excellent physical specimen. The perfect artist’s model.”

Vale’s deep-throated growl reverberated through the room. “Watch it.”

“You suggested it. I wonder how much he’d be willing to take off for me…”

“I’m serious.”

“It was your idea! And it was a good one.” I burst out laughing as he tackled me to the floor. “Okay, okay! I give up!”

He pinned me by my wrists and smiled in triumph. “You won’t ask Mr. Adonis to take it all off for you?”

“I won’t ask Troy to pose for me. I won’t, I promise.”

He attacked my neck, kissing and nipping as I giggled helplessly.

“Hey, it’s not like you model naked, anyway.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you turning any artistic corners,” he snorted, moving further south with his kisses.

I closed my eyes and let him light me up from the inside out, the way he had been doing for the eight months we had been living together in Isobel’s barn. More like a guest house, and roughly ten times the size of my old apartment. At least.

It gave us plenty of room for ourselves and lots of privacy when it mattered. We tended to keep to ourselves, in case the neighbors got curious. Not that her neighbors lived close enough to care, but we didn’t want to take chances.

All the more reason for us to spend time the way we were just then—working, playing, loving each other.

* * *

Later,as I pulled my clothes back on, I giggled softly. “We have a habit of doing that.”

“What? Having sex?” he laughed as he zipped his jeans.

“No. I mean, yes. But getting carried away at random times. That’s what I meant.” I stayed on the floor, propped up on my elbows. “Will it always be this way, do you think?”

“I hope so, or else the rest of eternity will get pretty damn boring,” he chuckled, running his hands through his hair to settle it down. When he saw my frown, he grew serious. “This is something you’re really worried about, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. I guess so. I mean, you’ve been a vampire for hundreds of years. The concept of eternity is a lot fresher for me than it is for you.” I would be twenty-six forever. Forever and ever. I would see the world change drastically while I never changed at all. If I slept anymore, it would keep me up at night.

He knelt next to me. “I can’t see myself ever getting tired of you, or of us. If that’s what you’re worried about.”