I Bite She Sucks, Bloom, Penelope [recommended reading TXT] 📗

blue night shirt, highlighting the hard points of her nipples.

And that was all it took for the next hour to be spent in bed with her, devouring every inch of her soft curves in complete fucking bliss.

If there was another goal or something greater to strive for, I didn’t care.

This.

Just this was all I needed.

48

Sylvie

The vampire world wasn’t governed by food times. It was a strange distinction that didn’t seem important until I’d lived it for a few weeks. It made me realize how much my human life had been dominated by the need to sit down and eat three times per day.

I had to admit I missed it a little, but Riggs kept me tied to that world with his insatiable appetite. The man was a bottomless pit for food, and I found it endearing. In some ways, it was like he ate enough for both of us. At least that was my romanticized way of seeing it.

Once we’d settled in here I managed to get my hands on a fresh collection of books. I’d been thoroughly pleased to find that vampires and werewolves had their own works of fiction that were completely closed off from the human world. There was a whole new world of stories to dive into, and between my time with Riggs, Maisey, and the new friends—yes, actual friends—I was making on campus, my nights were completely full.

I’d admitted to Ana that Riggs and I made a regular thing of me drinking his blood. She hadn’t approved, but she agreed to keep it between us, which meant I didn’t have to keep making up excuses for why I didn’t need to feed on the rotation of humans they brought through Blackridge.

Riggs and I were at a stone table in the grass square overlooked by the towering structure of Blackridge. Lightning bugs fluttered around with fat bottoms glinting on and off between the tall grass and flowers. But there were no birds. No airplanes flying overhead. No rush of cars on a nearby street.

The world of vampires was quieter than anything I’d experienced before. It felt like I’d taken one big step out of civilization and landed in a sort of hidden utopia.

Yes, there were dangers in this world too. There was still The Coven and all the threats it posed. There were even sub-cults I’d since learned about that threatened the world I was building. I’d even been given vague hints that vampires and werewolves weren’t the only supernatural creatures humanity was in the dark about. For some reason, nobody would give me a straight answer on that front—even Riggs. I sensed danger when I asked them, and if it was dangerous, I could count on Riggs to be overprotective about it.

“Are you itching to get to Silverback?” I asked.

Riggs was working on a huge sandwich. He’d arranged for a portion of his pack to stay at Blackridge with us. I was fairly sure the only real reason he’d done it was to retain the services of one of the cooks, who was sending out pack members daily to gather supplies to keep them all happily fed. “They need their Alpha eventually,” Riggs said. “But I’ll make them wait as long as you need.”

I grinned. “I’ll be ready soon. As long as you promise we can come back.”

“Any time. Ana and Vladimir have assured me of it.”

I reached across the table, grabbing his hand. “You might be the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you know that?”

“Considering the state of your life and health when I found you, I don’t know how high a bar you had set for that title.”

I swatted at his hand. “That’s not nice.”

“But,” he said, setting his sandwich down—which was rare. The man hardly ever stopped eating once he started until all the food was gone. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, too. And I’ve lived a long life full of blessings. Nothing has come close to finding you.”

“I sort of found you, actually,” I said. “Remember?” I mimicked throwing a paper airplane.

“Yes. I remember the love letter slash suicide note you wrote and threw out your window. You know, I’ve never asked. Was that for me? Or were you throwing it to someone else?”

I hesitated. “Of course it was for you.”

Riggs smirked. “Liar.” He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “My lovely little liar.”

“My grumpy, hungry, hairy, big, overprotective-”

Riggs cleared his throat.

“My lovely big protector?” I tried.

“Better,” he said.

49

Epilogue - Riggs

* * *

Four Months Later

My wolf was in full control of my body. I’d shifted and was dashing through the woods with the cool evening air in my fur. My Sylvie still slept in Silverback, and this was my time to bond with The Pack. We all ran free through the trees, letting our wolves breathe.

Being in this form was always strange. It felt like being a passenger, which was how I imagined my wolf felt most of the time. Him, with all of his impulse and power, forced to sit back and watch me wait to act on what I wanted and let my cravings pass me by when they weren’t convenient. It was an alien way of life for him, just like his complete disregard for consequences could be for me.

I found my mind wandering while he took us down toward a stream and drank from the crystal clear, cold water. As usual, my thoughts went to Sylvie and something that had been brewing between us for months now.

Werewolves didn’t exactly marry. They bonded and mated. To us, the distinction was important. One was a contract on paper and some flimsy words that half of humans disregarded and tossed aside when it suited them.

A bond was different. A bond was for life. A mate was for life.

Naturally, Sylvie still wanted to get married. She hadn’t said so in exact words, but I knew my Sylvie well enough to pick up on it.