Passion. Ecstasy. All the things I’ve ever read about and more, coming to life inside my body.
When we are both spent, and cleaned of all the blood, we exit the shower and I attempt to find him clothes that will fit his frame. He ends up in sweatpants that land just below his knees, and a pink "Readers Do it Standing Up" shirt that we sold as a fundraiser for the library during Romance Novels week. I find something cotton and comfortable to wear as well, because I’m not ready to say goodbye while naked.
Once we are both dressed, I slide the ring off my finger and hand it back to him.
"Thank you," I say sincerely. "For everything."
He frowns. "Is this what you really want? I thought . . ."
"I know you had to marry me, but you don’t have to stay married, right? There’s no rule about that?"
He cocks his head. "Do you think I only married you to follow the stupid council bylaws?"
It’s my turn to cock my head. "Didn’t you?"
"For a smart woman, you are a bit dense at times. You have stolen my heart and soul, if such things exist for a creature like me. I’m yours. Forever. If you’ll have me."
I wait for him to burst into laughter. For him to tell me it’s all a joke. But I can see the truth in his eyes, and my heart breaks open, flooding my eyes with tears of joy as I throw myself into his arms.
Sebastian calls someone to handle the mess in the house. We return to The Black Lotus since the hunters are still tracking down the rest of the Rendali brothers’ crew, and my house is uninhabitable.
I ask him about the other hunters, and he tells me they are all fine. Steven’s goons didn’t “eat them” as he claimed, and for that, I am grateful.
That night we sleep long and deeply, and when morning arrives with breakfast in bed, I feel my life turning into something entirely unexpected and new.
"What do we do now?" I ask.
"I’d say we should take a honeymoon," he says. "That would be the proper human thing to do."
I smile over my goblet of blood in agreement. "But where to go?"
He grins. "I fancy a visit to my creator, Prince Ace. What do you think? Want to see a whole new world?"
I can barely contain my enthusiasm. "I’m ready when you are!"
And so, our adventures begin. Oh, the libraries I will see. The books I will read. The lives I will live. And all with this man beside me.
THE END
About the Author
Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife entertainment duo Lux and Dmytry KarpovKinrade. Together, they write award-winning, USAT bestselling books, make music, write screenplays and direct movies -- all the things.
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They live in wine country with their three offspring who have crazy creative genius oozing out of them, one dog who thinks he's a cat and six cats who all think they rule the world (spoiler alert: they do).
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Also by Karpov Kinrade
For more in the Vampire Girl Universe, check out the following series and books:
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Vampire Girl, the original series
Amazon series link: https://amzn.to/2n0oD1Y
Vampire Girl (Book 1)
Midnight Star (Book 2)
Silver Flame (Book 3)
Moonlight Prince (Book 4)
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First Hunter (A new spin off series)
Amazon series link: https://amzn.to/2IGBGkZ
First Hunter (Book 1)
Unseen Lord (on preorder, Book 2)
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Of Dreams and Dragons
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/2IDXRIB
Swag
A Landry Family Series Short Story
Adriana Locke
A Landry Family Series Short Story featuring Lincoln Landry.
Copyright ? 2018 by Adriana Locke All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
One
“Don’t act like you aren’t impressed.” I toss the golf club into the back of the cart like hitting a hole in one is something I do every day. It isn’t. It could be. I am Lincoln Landry, after all.
My three brothers scoff. They make their way across the green, each mumbling something under their breath.
“What?” I goad, breathing in a lungful of sweet, summer air. “I’m even impressed with myself for that one.”
Ford shoots me a look. “I’m not acting when I say this,” he says, climbing into the driver’s seat, “but I’m not impressed.”
“How was that excellent display of athleticism not impressive?” I pretend to swing a club in slow motion. “If I would’ve been swinging for real, that would’ve been a hole in one too.”
“Shut up and get in the cart, Linc.” Barrett laughs, smacking my shoulder as he walks by.
“Come on, Barrett. It was a Hole. In. One. How many times have you shot one of those?” I reconsider my angle. “Don’t answer that. You were a politician. All you did was golf.”
“It’s more than you do these days,” Graham grumbles as he takes the front passenger’s seat and grabs a water bottle.
I climb in behind Ford. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It means nothing,” Graham replies.
“I’m just saying it wouldn’t kill any of you to acknowledge my successes. I mean . . . how hard is it to get a little, ‘Wow, great shot, Lincoln’?” I shrug. “Shouldn’t be that complicated.”
Ford twists in his seat and removes his sunglasses. “You do realize you shot your hole in one on a practice green at the Farm, right? Maybe if it had been a real course, we’d pat you on the back.”
He has a point, but I’m not going to acknowledge it. Instead, I lift my water bottle out of the cup holder and take a sip. My brothers carry on chiding me, taking Ford’s stupid point and running with it. I’ve always liked him the least.
“That’s bullshit,” I say after a particularly dumb comment from Ford. I point at him. “You ran a 5K last weekend and everyone went on and on about how great that was.”
He doesn’t bat an eyelash. “Um, I did it in under fifteen minutes. That is great.”
“Not my point,” I continue. “No one was pointing out that it wasn’t a marathon. They took your achievement, however unimpressive it may have been,” I say, ignoring his chuckle, “and celebrated it. If I recall correctly, my wife and I sent you flowers.”
“And they were lovely,” he teases. “Should I send you flowers for your hole in one today? Is that what this is about?”
Graham sighs. “Can we go now?”
“No,” I say, getting comfortable. “When’s the last time you ran a 5K, G?”
“Don’t drag me into this. You two can go at it all you want, but can we do it on the way back to the house? I have a meeting in thirty minutes.”
“It’s Sunday.” Barrett points out. “Take a day off, G.”
Graham looks at our oldest brother. “It’s about the property your wife wants to buy for the new house.”
Barrett whips his head back to Ford. “Let’s get on with it.”
Ford hits the accelerator, and we’re thrown backward in our seats. He takes a hard right turn that earns a slew of profanities from Barrett. Ford just laughs.
We rip across the freshly mowed grass at full speed. Across the field and down the little knoll, the sunlight ripples off the pond where my brothers, sisters, and I learned to swim.
“I’d say that shot was only about fifty yards,” Ford notes, slowing the golf cart. “It wasn’t far.”
“I’d say less than that,” Barrett chimes in.
“No one asked you.” I scoff. “And that was way more than fifty yards.”
Ford swerves the cart around a dip in the lawn and goes airborne for a split second. Graham sighs. We take a quick right around a jut of trees, and then the farmhouse comes into view.