Page 134

EPILOGUE

Blake

B lake woke slowly, blinking against the morning light streaming through their apartment’s curtains. He clutched the warm bundle in his arms tighter, fingers dancing along the smooth skin of Cass’s stomach, no pajamas on either of them to get in the way.

“Tickles,” Cass murmured, clearly still half-asleep himself. He generally stayed up many hours later than Blake, his vampire body not needing as much sleep, but he loved to climb into bed in the last few hours and claim what he did need so they could both wake up together.

It suited Blake well—he’d grown used to falling asleep to the soft sounds of Cass typing on his laptop, or the quiet turn of pages when he was reading. And he liked that Cass was still as slow to wake as ever, despite his many other vampire changes.

“Happy graduation day,” Blake whispered.

They’d be in different ceremonies, unfortunately—Cass with his biology department and Blake with the business school. But then there would be dinner with Blake’s family and Cass’s grandfather to celebrate.

Speaking of food—

“You should eat before we go, hm?” Blake asked, pressing a kiss to the back of Cass’s neck.

Cass had kept feeding on Blake, although he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do it weekly, afraid to take too much. Every other week, he went hunting, and Blake would go with him, staying close by in case Cass ran into any trouble.

Watching his back.

“Mm,” Cass mumbled sleepily, turning to face him, his hair rumpled from sleep. “Hello.”

Blake grinned at him. “Hi, baby. How do you want me?”

That seemed to wake Cass up fully, a glint forming in his blue eyes that Blake had come to think of as his inner vampire peeping out. Cass rose on an elbow, using his other arm to push Blake onto his back. “Just like this, I think.”

He climbed up to straddle Blake’s hips, his pert, naked ass settling on top of Blake’s morning wood. Cass smiled almost shyly as he felt it. “You want to…?”

“Yeah,” Blake said eagerly, reaching into the bedside table for lube.

Being fed on by Cass was always hot no matter what—the spike of pleasure from the bite, the intimacy of giving him exactly what he needed—but it was even better when they fucked at the same time. Which Blake supposed they did more often than not.

Blake got to work opening Cass up while Cass nosed along his neck, humming happily as he breathed Blake in. Ever since he’d turned, it was like he was addicted to Blake’s scent, often rubbing his whole face into Blake’s chest or the crook of Blake’s shoulder when he wanted to calm himself down.

It didn’t take long before Cass was ready for him, still relatively soft and open from their marathon session the night before.

“What first, baby?” Blake asked.

Cass shook his head, his nose brushing against Blake’s shoulder. “All at once.”

Of course. Blake’s perfect, greedy boyfriend.

Cass wasted no time, biting into the crook of Blake’s neck with his fangs as he lowered himself onto Blake’s cock, growling in that adorable way he sometimes did when a feed was especially satisfying.

Blake let the pleasure wash over him, rocking his hips lazily, listening to the sounds of Cass drinking from him, his perfect baby vampire, his favorite person in the world.

He’d thought he’d known the joys of living with Cass already, but nothing before could have compared to the past year and a half together: stealing kisses throughout the day, wrapping around each other every night, taking pleasure in each other’s bodies countless times.

And this—this lazy, contented morning sex, all soft grunts and groans, Cass grinding on top of him, licking the bite closed as Blake stroked him without hurry.

They both finished on a sigh, and Cass lowered himself to cover Blake completely, or as completely as his small frame was capable.

Blake pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “You want to shower first, baby?”

“Mmph,” Cass answered, which was probably as close to a yes as Blake was going to get from his sexed-out vampire.

Cass eventually stumbled out of the bed, and as soon as he heard the sounds of the shower running, Blake hopped out, hurrying to set up. He dug his gift out from the back of his nightstand, setting it on the kitchen table next to the flowers he’d hidden in the cabinet the day before.

He stole a kiss from a flushed, damp Cass on the way to his own shower, one he couldn’t help but rush his way through. He tossed his clothes on as quickly as he could, and when he came out of the bedroom, there was Cass, holding the empty gift box in one hand, a ring in the other.

Blake wasn’t any sort of jewelry connoisseur, but he was pretty sure he’d chosen well, especially seeing it in Cass’s hands. It was a plain silver, with etchings of leaves around it. It would suit him. Masculine but…pretty.

“What’s this?” Cass asked, his voice breathy.

“A promise. That I’m ready.” Blake stepped closer, enfolding Cass’s hands in his own. “You’re not just my roommate or my boyfriend. You’re the love of my life, and I’m not growing old without you. I want you to turn me this summer, after we move to Phoenix.”

Cass looked stunned, his eyes searching Blake’s face. “But…your family?”

“We’ll tell them eventually, when we have to. There’s no vampire law of secrecy, right? They’ll understand. You’re my person. My mate .”

“Mate,” Cass repeated, and there was a lower rumble in his voice, the one he sometimes got when his face changed.

“What do you say, baby?” Blake slid the ring onto Cass’s finger. “Make me yours?”

The stunned expression left Cass’s face, and then he was smiling at Blake like he’d never seen, his cheeks flushed with happiness. “Yes! And I’ll help you with the transition. I’ll take such good care of you.”

Blake pressed his forehead to Cass’s. “You’ve got my back, huh?”

“Always,” Cass whispered.

Blake believed him. What else were roomies for?