Epilogue
Two Years Later
CHEV
I CURSE, ANNOYED with the size of the small buttons on my new camera. I hate these fucking things, and I bring the device closer to my face to get a better look at the settings.
Vanessa steps into the room, and she leans against the doorway as she watches me struggle to set up my camera and tripod. She doesn’t make a sound, but I can tell she’s laughing at me. She finds my inability to “properly” use technology entertaining, but I don’t see the humor.
It took me weeks to convince Silas to help me pick this camera out. He’s not pleased with my reasoning behind wanting one, but he isn’t putting up much of an argument.
He knows it’s useless.
Gray’s one hundred and fiftieth birthday is a big deal, and my present will be the one he likes the most. I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and even though Gray isn’t my favorite demon, I’ve decided that I like him enough.
“What’re you doing?” Vanessa asks, stepping farther into the bedroom.
She’s wearing her leathers, and I appreciatively scan her form as she rubs her belly and attempts to balance a mug of tea on top of it. Our twins have made her extra-large, and she’s found that leathers are most comfortable to wear in her extended state.
Although a small part of me is convinced she’s wearing them to try to weaken my resolve. She knows I’m annoyed by her desire to name one of our babies Birdie, and she thinks me seeing her in leathers will lessen my resolve to fight.
She’s right, and I’m unhappy about it.
Vanessa’s attention flickers between me and my camera, and I turn back to the device with a low hum.
“I’m taking sexy photos of myself,” I say. My present is going to outshine everybody else’s. “For Gray’s birthday.”
I continue messing with the camera settings, trying to remember what Silas showed me. He’s good with these things, and I wish I had paid more attention.
“Sexy photos?” Vanessa asks.
I nod, smiling as I secure the camera on the tripod.
Vanessa watches, silently judging as I get into position. I lift my leather skirt until it sits high on my waist, exposing the mate and animal markings on my upper thigh. The camera makes clicking noises as it counts down, and I smile when the warning flash goes off.
The moment the photo is taken, I run to my tripod to see how it turned out.
Vanessa clears her throat. “Is that what you think is sexy?”
Excuse me?I don’t like what she’s insinuating, and I cross my arms over my chest with a quiet huff. I know what sexy is.
“Gray likes my thighs,” I argue.
Vanessa raises a brow and takes a sip of her tea. She’s mocking me, and I frown as I glance at the photo I just took. I thought I looked good, but now she’s got me questioning it.
“What would you recommend?” I ask.
Vanessa redresses in modest clothing before grabbing the camera and tripod.
“Follow me,” she says.
She bundles everything under her arm before making her way outside. I was purposefully doing this inside so my people wouldn’t see, and my cheeks turn a bright shade of red as Vanessa storms through the woods with the camera equipment.
A few shifters cast us curious glances, but I ignore them.
Vanessa leads me to the pile of wood I’ve been working on splitting these past few days and sets the camera up to face it.
“Chop the wood,” she orders.
I suck my cheeks into my mouth, unsure how this is sexy, before grabbing my axe and splitting a few logs. Vanessa takes photos of me, near-constant giggles slipping from her lips before she decides she’s got a good one.
I drop my axe and rush to her side. “I want to see.”
She shakes her head, the evil woman, and begins walking away. I follow, silently noting that she thinks me chopping wood is sexy.
I’m looking forward to seeing what else excites her.
Vanessa leads me to the nearest lake and sits on a large rock on the bank.
“Take off your leathers,” she orders.
I hesitate, unsure what she’s thinking, before stripping. Vanessa eyes me, and I shift my weight from foot to foot as I await further instruction. We’re alone right now, but I can’t guarantee that’ll last.
I’m sure anyone who stumbles in the area and spots us will be quick to turn around, though.
“Go stand by the water and face away from me,” Vanessa says.
I frown. “That doesn’t sound very sexy.”
I’ve put a lot of work into Gray’s present, and I want it to be good. It took hours to convince Silas to take me to the store and help me pick a camera. He was annoyed when I told him why I wanted it, but he couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me it wasn’t the perfect present for Gray.
The incubus is a whore, and whores love sexy pictures of shifters.
Vanessa points to the water. “I know what I’m doing, Chev.”
Well, who am I to argue with that? I walk into the lake until my feet are submerged. The sun shines on the left side of my body, and I hurry to cover myself when I realize the sun’s position casts a shadow of my penis onto the water.
I’m giving Gray sexy photos, not porn.
Vanessa giggles, and I can’t help but laugh as I peer back at her. She’s still taking photos of me, her smile so wide, I can’t help but stare. My mate is so fucking beautiful.
“Remove your hand,” she says.
My jaw drops, and I stare at her in disbelief as I remove my hand from myself. Is this her intention? To take photos of me while my penis, or at least the shadow of it, is exposed?
I shake my head and turn back around, letting Vanessa have her fun.
Gray will not be receiving any photos of my penis.
Vanessa continues to giggle as she takes her photos of me, and after a few seconds, I reach down and begin to stroke myself. If she’s going to have her fun, I’m going to, too.
The camera snapping continues, and I take great pleasure in listening to her breathing deepen with each movement of my hand. She likes this.
“Turn to the side,” she says.
I happily do so, turning just enough that my side profile and the length of my shaft are exposed to the camera.
It turns me on to know I please my mate, and she continues to take her naughty photos until I cum. The snaps increase as I finish in my hand, and I take a moment to catch my breath before making my way to Vanessa.
“Gray’s going to love these,” she whispers, her voice hitching as I take the camera from her.
I set it aside before dropping to my knees and spreading her thighs.
I’m going to delete those photos the second we’re done here.
__________
Aziel hands me another drink, and I try not to look too annoyed as I sip it.
“Only fifteen minutes left,” he says, patting me on the shoulder.
I huff. Vanessa had our babies three weeks ago, but she demanded I leave the house to celebrate Gray’s birthday. I don’t want to be here, a fact I’ve been quite forthcoming about, but I know she’ll kill me if I return home before the two-hour minimum she gave me.
Gray has babies of his own, so I know he understands my urge to be with them. He wouldn’t care if I didn’t come tonight.
I glance at the clock as Aziel takes a seat on my right. He’s been a great host tonight, but Gray did not make it easy for him. The incubus invited about twenty more people than the fifteen he initially said were coming, and poor Aziel had to scramble at the last minute to procure enough food and alcohol.
I can only imagine the earful Gray’s going to be getting tomorrow.
“Gray!” I shout.
Aziel gives me a sideways glance as I wave over his incubus. I conveniently forgot to tell him about my present, and I have a feeling Silas will be furious to learn I didn’t exactly stick to my original idea.
It’s Vanessa’s fault.
She gave me all kinds of sweet compliments as we looked over the photos of me pleasuring myself, and I have to admit I looked strong. I’m going to give Gray ten minutes to look at them. Then I’ll take them away.
Gray excuses himself from the group he’s talking with and saunters over. He takes a seat on Aziel’s lap, and I hand over the package of printed images I’ve been worrying between my hands all night.
“Happy birthday,” I say, thrusting them against his chest.
Gray looks confused, his eyebrows furrowed as he accepts them. Aziel cranes his neck to watch as Gray rips open the package, and they both grow entirely still as the first image is revealed.
“Chev.” Aziel sighs.
Gray clutches the images to his chest.
“You naughty bear,” he teases, flipping through them.
Aziel clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and looks away, uninterested in seeing my penis.
I can tell when Gray gets to the part where I turned to the side and exposed more than just my shadow. He’s practically vibrating with excitement, and I lean back in my chair with a smile.
I knew he’d like my present the most.
“I want them back in ten minutes,” I say.
Gray turns to Aziel, his eyes wide, and Aziel huffs before patting the side of Gray’s thigh. Gray’s gone in an instant, materializing next to Charlie a second later. He bounces from foot to foot as he whispers in her ear, and she cuts me a sharp glare before nodding and returning to her conversation.
Gray then does the same thing with Silas before vanishing from the room altogether. I don’t want to know what he’s doing.
“You know he’s going to expect this from you every half-century birthday, right?” Aziel asks.
I shrug. “I’ll be old by the next half-century. He won’t want them.”
Aziel turns away. He doesn’t like the reminder that my life isn’t as long as his, and his jaw clenches as he stares at the wall beside my head. It’s simply the truth, and I raise my knuckles and press them to his temple so he remembers he’s my dearest friend.
He does the same to me, and I wait exactly eleven minutes before standing and brushing my hands down my leathers.
“Gray isn’t going to be giving me those images back, is he?” I ask.
Aziel stifles a laugh and shakes his head. “You gave an incubus intimate photos of a mated shifter’s dick. He’s going to hoard them like they’re fucking treasure.”
I shift my weight from foot to foot.
“Don’t let him show anybody,” I say.
Aziel nods. “Gray would never do that.”
He better not. I’ll know if he does, and I’ll crush him.
I glance at the clock once more, anxious to return home. I have less than five minutes left, and I finish my drink and wait impatiently for my two hours to be up. I’m ready to be with my babies.
Birdie’s colicky, and even though Echo is helping Vanessa while I’m gone, I’m sure my baby’s been a lot to handle these past few hours. Vanessa’s a very capable mother, one of the best I’ve ever seen, but a screaming baby is enough to drive anybody to madness.
Orson sleeps like a log. My boy is quite content with his schedule of eating, sleeping, and pooping, and I know he’s been good for Vanessa.
“It’s been two hours,” I say, holding out my arm the moment the minute hits.
I could use the portal, but Aziel is quicker.
The wrath doesn’t hesitate to grab my wrist, and I squeeze my eyes shut as the party noises vanish and the sound of a crying baby fills my ears. It’s heaven, and I beam as I release Aziel and rush to my mate.
This has been the worst two hours of my life, and I’m never leaving home again.
* * *