Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
The drink burns a fizzy path down my throat into the emptiness in my gut, spreading warmth behind it. Delicious. The sweet tang of citrus and something floral fills my mouth and a spike of dizziness hits before I settle on my seat and fan myself.
Grayson shifts forward with an elbow leaning on the bar. “You like it?”
“You know me too well. It’s perfect.” I set the glass down and reach for him. “Like drinking sunshine.”
“It better be. The bartender said it’s called Summer Day. I thought you’d appreciate it.”
He twines our fingers together, linking us in an undeniable way. And the knots in my chest, the ones that grow and twine whenever we’re apart, finally settle.
“What about you? Not drinking tonight?” I ask.
“I figured I’d get you tipsy and see if I can entice you into some fun later,” he answers with a wink.
I smirk. “You really think you need to do anything?”
He chuckles and drags me to my feet. “Honestly, I want a clear head for my first exam on Monday. I’m too nervous to drink.”
“You know, most people have the opposite problem. They drink because they’re nervous.”
But not my guy.
“Alcohol doesn’t make me a better artist, especially if I combine it with anxiety,” Grayson insists.
Bass throbs through the speakers around Club Mera, a constant throb I feel in my bones. My wolf perks up at the change of energy in the air and then soothes again with Grayson’s smile.
“I know you want to dance,” he says.
“You want to show off your own moves. You aren’t fooling anyone.”
He has fantastic moves, if I do say so myself. Now that I’ve gotten to see them in action, I understand what made him so powerful on the football field. Despite his size, Grayson is light on his feet.
Confidence lights his limbs no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s running or dancing or—
My cheeks blush.
He drags me close until I settle against his chest with his leg nestling between mine and notching us together. “My moves are only as good as my partner and you know it. I happen to have the best one.”
The blush steals down my neck stays there.
The music is right and our bodies flow together like they were made for each other.
In a way, they are.
I grab Grayson by the neck, my arms loose and our heartbeats match time with each other and the bass.
A year ago, none of this would have seemed possible.
It was a different life and a different me, so far removed from the person I am now that they’re beyond comparison.
I’d been shackled to a life built on duty and survival and sacrifice instead of real happiness. Judging from the expression on Grayson’s face, he is having similar thoughts.
He grabs my hand and pulls it to his mouth, brushing his lips against my knuckles. I sink into the sensation of the kiss.
When his lips press to mine, I melt.
His grin pulls wide.
Last year it would have been so unexpected my heart would have stuttered.
His posture is softer now, easier and less rigid. No more slumping or tensing or waiting for the worst to happen.
“You look fantastic tonight, baby.”
I love it when he calls me pet names. I love how warm it makes me feel and how it emboldens me to do whatever I want, to be whoever I want.
I pull my hand free and reach for him, brushing it across the jut of his chin and up to his hair. The strands are soft, long enough on top to curl, and feel like velvet on the shaved sides.
His pupils blow wide. “You want to put on a show on the dance floor, keep doing what you’re doing,” he says, low enough for only me to make out.
I glance around the room at the hundreds of other people here to see the band play later and sigh, forcing myself to calm. Urging my wolf to stay in her place before we do make a scene.
Just being near Grayson does it to me. The pulse between my legs is undeniable and when I glance up to meet his eyes, his smile is wicked.
I rise on the tips of my toes to kiss him. His expression shutters and his lips move against mine, just a man and a woman enjoying a night out.
Desired. Happy.
I almost wish I could keep kissing him and damn the consequences, but I know where it leads and if we get too rowdy, the vamps will have something to say about it.
Already Lacey and Colt prowl the outskirts of the room, keeping an eye on their club to make sure no one gets out of line and we all have fun.
Aimee and RJ with their boyfriends visit at one of the private tables and, if I listen closely enough, their laughter is another layer to the melody in the air of the place.
We deserve this. All of us.
“You’re right.” I steal another kiss and relish the way Grayson moans. His hand drops to caress my ass before he palms my hips instead. “I’m sorry. I won’t touch you anymore. It’s probably better if I do what the teachers say and keep my hands to myself.”
“You, apologizing for teasing me. I never thought I’d see the day.”
The flush spreads over the rest of me and his eyes narrow.
“What’s the matter, Mandi?”
I blink up at him, heart racing. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve got the worry line right between your eyes. Here.” He draws a finger along the path of the groove in my skin. “What are you worrying about tonight?”
“Nothing.”
“Little liar.”
He cradles me closer and I relax into him, breathing in his familiar scent of woodsmoke and clean forest. The last knots in my chest relax. They’ve always been there, a fear of the unknown, a worry for what will happen and where I’ll fit in the world.
Grayson is right, I’m a liar.
I’m working on it.
“Maybe I’m worried about us starting classes soon,” I toss out. “You’re not the only one who’s nervous.”
He hears me despite the thrumming music. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll be together. At least you don’t have to start the semester with an exam in art history.”
We took a year off to recuperate.
Grayson was able to defer his scholarship while we both adjusted to a new normal. I wasn’t sure if he’d want to do it together or not, despite everything we admitted to each other.
Luckily for me, he did.
We were able to make our own path forward, regardless of what other people wanted for us.
Freedom is intoxicating. And terrifying.
At least we’re both willing to make sure we do what we can for each other. Good days, bad days, every day in between. We choose our path. And so far, we’ve chosen each other.
“It’s going to be fine,” he assures me. “You’ll do so well. We both will.”
Colt actually helped us find a cute little apartment on the top floor of someone’s house, a place to share while we got used to classes just a few blocks over from campus. Our luck held even further when I got accepted to state, too.
A little magic helped.
And with our full moon plan in place, my gut told me we had a really good chance of making something of ourselves.
Grayson would have room to paint.
And I’d be able to figure out what I want, what I like, while we live the life we’ve dreamed of for so long. The view from the front window of the apartment gets all kinds of natural light in the afternoon.
So I’d turn my face to the sun.
“Come on, you two. I’ve got a fresh round of drinks at the table and RJ wants to make a toast.” Lacey materializes at my elbow, rolling her eyes. “You know how insufferable she is when she gets her mind set on something.”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” Grayson says before I have a chance to reply.
I lift my face to him. “Any reason for the delay?”
“The best reason.”
He dips his lips down to mine again. The kiss stretches and turns us into a tangle of limbs and lips and tongue. I lose myself in it, his scent, his touch, our wolves falling into place within ourselves and with each other.
THE END