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This is luxury, too, having her here with me, having this time.

“Thank you,” I murmur, catching her lips in a quick kiss.

“Gross,” a voice from behind us says, and I turn my head to grin at Nora as she walks over with a tray of appetizers. “The newly mated bliss still hasn’t worn off?”

“Absolutely not,” Kenna says, taking one and popping it into her mouth.

“As if you’re one to talk,” I say, pulling Kenna even closer. “When that kraken of yours is still entirely moony eyed over you.”

Speak of the kraken… a pair of arms wrap around Nora from behind, and Elias rests his chin on her shoulder. They’re just as disgustingly happy as my mate and I.

I meet Elias’s eyes for a moment as Kenna and Nora share a laugh, and the soft knowing in his deep blue gaze just adds to all of that sappy ache. Who would have thought, all those centuries ago, that this is where we’d end up?

“Is Holly going to make it?” I ask Nora, clearing my throat to dislodge some of the unexpected tightness there.

Nora shakes her head. “Not this year. She’s on a hiking trip, of all things. Winter backpacking.”

Kenna glances to the soft snow falling outside and shivers a little. “She’s a braver woman than I am.”

We move into the dining room a few minutes later and sit down to eat. The entire meal is loud and merry, with enough laughter to fill the room all the way to the rafters.

“Are you happy?” I ask my mate, leaning in close and speaking softly enough so only she can hear.

A smile like sunshine breaks across her face, and she lets out a contented little hum in the back of her throat before nodding.

“Good,” I tell her, tasting that smile with a brief kiss. “And don’t forget, I’ve got one more surprise for you at home.”

“How could I forget?” Kenna glances meaningfully toward the door. “How soon do you think we can leave without being rude?”

“Patience, ember,” I chide her, leaning in to place another kiss in the spot I know will drive her wild, right over the claiming mark on her neck. I stifle a grin at the needy little noise that lodges itself in her throat.

“It might be the holidays,” Kenna whispers, breathless, “but don’t think that means I won’t get revenge on you for teasing me like this.”

To prove her point, she drops a hand beneath the table and grips my thigh, sinking her nails in a little to let me know she means business.

“I wouldn’t expect anything different, my mate.”

Kenna

I’m so damn ready for whatever this surprise is.

Ewan’s been teasing me with it for weeks, secretive as hell about whatever he’s been doing in one of our spare bedrooms. It’s been a strictly no-Kenna zone while he’s worked on it, and it’s been driving me out of my mind.

Still flushed and full and happy from our evening at Elias and Nora’s place, I step into my dragon’s embrace as we take the elevator up to the penthouse. It’s late, the city is quiet, and soft snow falls outside as the glass-walled elevator carries us up.

The city lights sparkle so far below, and as we step into our home a sense of soul-deep peace moves through me. I’m still more than ready for my surprise, but as Ewan leads me inside I find I’m not so impatient for it anymore.

This, right here—these quiet moments and the soft glow of joy that’s settled over us—is more than enough for me.

It’s been that way for the last six months, and at times it’s still hard to believe all this peace and happiness is ours.

Ewan still hasn’t quite decided what it is he’s going to do with his time now that he’s not at the Bureau. However, between providing any support Cleo needs while she transitions into the Director position, taking a more active role volunteering with the Paranormal Advancement Society, and even doing some light contract work with Morgan-Blair, he’s kept himself busy enough.

Him not having a 9-5 to rush off to every day also means we’ve gotten to spend a ton more time together than we would otherwise, and I’m not complaining about that for a single moment.

It hasn’t been perfect. I’m still a mess and he’s still stubborn as hell sometimes, but falling into this new life together hasn’t stopped feeling like it was always meant to be. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that for as long as we have together, we’ll never stop challenging each other, never stop driving each other up the wall, and never lose that spark that makes usus, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taking my hand, Ewan leads me down the hallway to the spare bedroom. When we get close, he moves behind me and puts his hands over my eyes, body pressed up against mine as we walk toward the door.