Epilogue
Quentin’s fingers shook as he struggled to attach the cufflink. Maybe he should’ve fought more against becoming Jaks’s consort, but at this point, everyone had already assigned him the job, and he’d do anything to stay with Jaks.
He would never wish for a different lover, despite the complications of being with a vampire leader.
Jaks’s clan would always come first. It was like being a parent for a group of kids that never grew up and left home.
“Thinking of me?” Jaks wrapped his arms around Quentin from behind, setting his chin on the top of Quentin’s head.
Quentin sank into his lover’s embrace for a second before turning in his arms. “Are you certain you want to commit to me?”
“We are already committed, darling. No takebacks.” Jaks’s stern expression had Quentin giving him a quick, reassuring kiss.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant in front of everyone. There are a lot of people who are going to think you could do better.”
“Then they are idiots. Even those who don’t appreciate me bonding with a human will be easily persuaded once they learn you are fae.”
“They are going to think you’re keeping me for a snack,” Quentin complained.
“A gorgeous snack.” Jaks tapped Quentin’s nose. “Since when do you care about other people’s opinions?”
Quentin shrugged. “I don’t, not really. I just don’t want to spend the rest of my life being undermined by petty vampires.”
“You won’t. Once you are officially my consort, the fuss will die down. Their instincts will make them want to protect you as a vulnerable member of the clan.”
“All right.” He still wasn’t entirely on board with becoming an official consort, but he could tell it meant a lot to Jaks. “But I’m still keeping my house,” he said just to be contrary; they both knew he couldn’t sell it.
“You could rent it out for the use of the ley lines,” Jaks suggested.
Quentin opened his mouth to protest, but found he couldn’t. “I could probably charge quite a bit for that.” He’d put two-thirds of the money in his mother’s account and keep the rest. It could be a tidy nest egg.
“You could. We can go over your options after the party.”
“Tomorrow,” he said firmly. “I plan to tire you out tonight. You, sir, have never taken me dancing.”
Jaks smirked. “I haven’t, have I. Luckily, I can take care of that lapse tonight.”
Quentin slid on his suit jacket and did a little spin. “How do I look?”
“Ravishing. You will look even better in my bed tonight. If anyone lays a hand on you, feel free to blast them.”
“What, you aren’t going to protect me?” Quentin batted his eyelashes outrageously.
“You don’t need my help, love, and you told me you are against my methods of taking care of things.” Jaks bared a fang.
“Hmm, true.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
Jaks laughed. “You aren’t prepping for war; this is a party. A party for you.”
“For us, and it is a sort of war. The largest battles are waged in the political arena, and those council members are planning to attend.”
“You leave them to me. You just enjoy your day. We are only going to do this once unless you agree to let me renew it every century.”
Quentin patted Jaks’s chest. “We’ll see how this one goes.”
Jaks stepped to the side and offered his arm. “Ready?”
Quentin tucked his hand around the crook of Jaks’s arm. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You didn’t bring any of your orbs, did you?”
“Of course, you never know when you might need one.” Quentin patted his jacket pocket.
“Not the fire ones, right?”
Quentin grinned. “No promises.”
Smiling, Jaks escorted Quentin to the ceremony that would seal their union in the eyes of the clan.