“Show’s over. Everyone goes back inside. That’s an order,” Anderson barks.
Enforcement, in both human and vampire forms, emerge from the vehicles. Our master crowds our thoughts, backing up my order. Our hive minds having no choice but to obey.
Once satisfied the vampires have returned to their homes, Camille strolls to the back of her car. She lifts a bag marked with a big red bullseye. Hugging it to her body, she climbs the steps to my landing.
She’s so close, and I can practically taste her as my body begs me to claim what’s mine.
I push a tentative smile on my face. “You found me.”
She lifts her finger to her lips, nibbling on the skin as she used to when she was nervous.
Her blue eyes catch the porchlight as she hugs herself. “It wasn’t hard to do after I found the message you carved into our tree. I knew you were close. Then I remembered the construction truck. I figured, the PDU isn’t letting their soldiers roam freely until after the Other Kind rights bill passes.”
She’s smart, caught up on policy, and I’m sure Tricia’s keeping her informed. “What I did to you was wrong,” I say boldly. “I’m a royal ass.”
“You’re not royal, but you were Ben, my protector, as always.”
I scout the military she’s brought with her, at least twenty well-armed men. “You don’t need protecting.”
“I don’t, but I do need you. No matter if you think I’d be fine without you, I’m not. Losing you is like losing myself. Call it codependent, messy, twisted, a sad state. I don’t care. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved since the first time I watched you catch the football and make the game-winning touchdown.”
I recall the scene—the ball arches high, sailing toward me, the leather landing between my open hands. I pump my legs, crossing the goal line and making the touchdown. The crowd roars, but I stumble over my own two feet when I catch Camille staring straight at me, waving her pompoms high in the air. “You were supposed to be cheering for the other team. Your squad members didn’t approve.”
She flips her ponytail. “I couldn’t help my response. I was as attracted to your looks as I was your skill, your absolute control, how your team members respected your tenacity and grace. Even when you fumbled the earlier play, they still put their trust in you.”
That time also reminds me of redemption. Of rising and beating the odds, like I’m doing now and have done. If she’ll give me another chance. “How could I resist your pretty blue eyes scoping me out for the entire game? Not a chance. Every time I looked, there you were—your pretty smile all for me. I knew I had to have you, but I’m this now. I’ve pledged to serve Riley as a vampire soldier and a member of his guard. I’ll still have military missions that will call me away. I can’t promise the world we live in will be easy for you, as you’re married to a vampire and a soldier. I can’t promise we’ll be accepted anywhere, even here on site.”
Her warm palm lands on my cheek. “Nothing worth fighting for is easy. But we’ll find a way to make us work. It’s how we started, both on opposing teams. Our differences didn’t stop us then. It won’t stop me now. There’s just one issue.”
I catch the flick of her eyes, landing on my mouth before she glances away. Deciding right on the spot, I’m not hiding who I am, I swallow hard. “I haven’t fed on anyone else since that night in prison. Riley’s working with scientists, and I’ve entered a program in hopes of testing synthetic blood, but it’s a long way off.”
Her eyes widen, and she leans up, pressing her lips to mine. “I won’t have anyone else feeding you except me, which is why I’ve bought these.”
From her bag, she slides out a package of black silk sheets, which I scrutinize suspiciously. “Black?”
“They didn’t have red. I want to be your sole blood donor, but offering doesn’t mean I want to see blood every time you feed. In all honesty, I may well have to serve you by lying down rather than sitting upright, if you don’t mind.”
I barely notice as the guards disappear, driving back the way they came, leaving Camille and me alone. “You sure about this? About loving me, about the blood?”
“You were my first, you’ll be my last, and I’ve never been surer of anything. I want you now, here, forever. The question I need to ask is, will you have me? Will you take me home with you?”
I gather her up, a joyful squeal bursting from her lips as I rush us inside, locking the door behind us. I haven’t noticed before, but the kitchen table, the place settings for two, the dual recliners, the matching bath towels, the queen-sized bed, and every minuscule aspect of my life includes her, my beautiful Camille, and will forever.
And then, after….
I don’t worry about her heightened anticipation or fear as I lay her down beside me, growing hard and ready. My incisors pierce my gums, elongating.
Reaching up, she teases each one of my fangs with her tongue, humming against my lips. She stretches her neck, presenting herself to me. “I’m your wife, your lover, and you’re my vampire uncaged. Make me yours all over again.”
Her breaths fan my neck in quickened pants, her heart pulses against my chest as she snakes a long leg up to my thigh, pinning our bodies. She kisses my mouth, deepening the kiss as she spears my hair with her fingers before breaking away. “White sheets, huh?”
A moment before I take her virgin vein, I whisper, “Don’t worry, I won’t waste a drop.”
The End
The story continues with Vampire by Bite, book 2 in the Faeted Vampire Series.
Better yet, read from the beginning with Vampire by Blood,
