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Adriel laughed. “Regulate your body temperature.”

Her head cocked in confusion. “We can do that?”

Her soft, melodic laughter danced across the breeze. “Yes, silly.”

“How?”

“Concentrate on your blood flow. Feel it beating through your heart. Then send a mental command outward to your skin.”

Juniper did as she said and gasped as a warm surge of heat pushed through her body from her chest to her limbs. “Whoa.” She waded into the water and laughed. This hybrid vampire thing definitely had its perks.

The air was thick with the intoxicating scent of salt and jasmine, mingling with the earthy musk of the surrounding olive groves. Adriel swam toward her, a goddess under the moon's ethereal glow. Her green eyes shimmered as she pulled her into her arms. The luminescent backdrop cast sparkles like diamonds floating on every ripple against her skin.

It was hard to believe she was hers. “You’re stunning.”

A soft blush darkened Adriel’s ivory cheeks. “Can you believe we’re here?”

“No.” Juniper scoffed. “But I’ll take it.”

Adriel’s hands closed about her hips and tugged her closer so their legs could entwine underwater. Engulfed in her warmth, she no longer needed to escape the night chill.

Slick fingers danced over heated flesh as they caressed each other under the surface. “Did you have a nice time with Lilias?”

“Mm-hmm.” Adriel’s fingers gently traced up her arm. “As grateful as I am to have my parentsback, I’m more interested in this right now.” Her touch trailed lower.

Juniper tightened her legs around her waist. “I see.” She kissed her slowly, the sensation of Adriel’s mouth on hers a pleasure she’d never tire of. “I’ve missed this.” Arms wreathed around her neck, she glanced down at their entwined bodies.

Adriel caressed her throat. “You have me now—forever, if you want.”

“I want all of it. All of you,” she rasped, scraping her teeth along her throat. “This moment and a thousand more. I want your mind, your body, and your heart, Ade. I want forever with you.”

She drew back and studied her in the silence. The gentle lap of waves against the rocks contrasted with the steady beat of her racing pulse. Crystals clung to the alcove ceiling in a canopy of sparkles that glistened in the reflection of the water and the world outside ceased to exist.

“I can’t imagine what that looks like,” Adriel confessed. “I want forever too. But it’s been so long since I’ve allowed myself to dream, I can hardly picture that sort of happiness.”

“We’ll figure it out together.”

There were no rules here like the ones of The Order. They were free to live as they wanted and love who they wanted. Juniper loved Adriel. She’d do anything to show her how much. “We could…marry.”

She looked startled by the suggestion, butthen her mouth curved with the most genuine smile. “Is that possible?”

“There are others out there like us—well, sort of. There are other female couples.”

“I didn’t know.” She looked away but couldn’t stop smiling. “The elders say?—”

“Who cares what the elders say? Are we really going to give those guys any more authority than they’ve already taken? The elders aren’t living in the modern world, baby. But we are.”

Adriel looked up, her grin impossible to hide. “The modern world. Imagine that—Iam becoming a modern female!”

“That’s you. You get to decide how you want to live, dress, act… It’s all you, baby.”

She surged forward and pressed her lips to Juniper’s, the velvet water lapping around them.

Juniper forked her fingers through her hair and took command of the kiss. As her touch traveled over her thighs and between her legs, Adriel’s soft, erotic cries were swallowed by the night breeze.

Carnal need coursed through her veins. She wanted her on a primal level, deeper than ever before. She needed to possess every inch of her being. Drawing from the ancient energy hidden in the grotto, she charged her touch to enhance the sensation, and Adriel gasped.

“What are you doing?”