Page 70 of Incubus Vampire Slayer

I exhale and try to relax my face—but not because I agree with him.

“And what if I really mean it when I say I’m happy to just be with you?”

“Then I’m dead glad to hear it. All I’m saying is you don’t need to turn away from other possibilities. You don’t need to wall off this part of yourself at all anymore.”

“The incubus part, you mean.” I’m frowning again.

“The part that has so much love to give—and experience. As long as you’re happy and safe, I promise you, I’ll have all I need.”

I drop my hand into my side pocket to feel thin lines of engraving over a shallow dome of metal. They remind me of a cage.

“Even trapped in a torture box of a watch?”

He removes my hand from the pocket and places it between his own.

“Listen to me, love. If I’m with my wonderful, brave, unstoppable Alvin, I’ll never feel trapped. We found out how to free me, and I’m not interested—because I’m exactly where I need to be.”

He’s leaning in, close and achingly sincere, and his words spark a swell of joy in my chest. I squeeze his soft fingers without even thinking about it. I don’t care how I look tothe three randoms with their bright roller bags now making their way past me into the nearby hotel lobby. I hold Collin’s gaze and do all I can to let my emotions show clearly on my face. I want him to know how much I care about him.

“Well, I feel the same. Look, sure, I do like Rafa. And if I think I need to do any exploring or free-range sex-demon grazing or whatever, I promise, I’ll let you know. But you’re the first boyfriend I’ve ever had. Every moment with you feels like discovering a whole new world. And the only thing I want right now is to find out where you’re going to take us on our date tonight.”

Collin grins. “Well, that’s grand, then—because I’ve decided it’s time to take you back home.”

The wave-like hills beneath us are covered with large carpets of lavender-colored flowers that ripple in a warm, gentle breeze. The sunset above echoes their soft purple, and it’s framed by fluffy clouds, edged with pink and pale yellow. Clusters of sheep dot the landscape like little brown and gray cotton balls, and at this distance, their plaintive bleats are soothing. The sweet-pea-sized yellow flowers in the bushes around us fill the air with vanilla, and underneath it, I inhale fresh salt air carried in from the sea. Collin and I are tucked between the shallow peaks of two large hills, and his back rests against a pillar-like stone carved with weathered runes. I’m resting snugly against him in the evening cool, and he’s wrapped both his arms and most of his woolen cloak around us both,surrounding me with his warmth and his woodsmoke scent.

It’s definitely a vibe.

“This is beautiful,” I say.

Collin breathes in the fragrance of the air and takes in the landscape. “I’ve no memories from before the watch, but whenever I try to think of where I came from, this is the image that comes to me. I’ve never been able to experience it as anything real before now, but with you, anything is possible.”

He pulls me in tighter, and I feel his breath against the back of my neck. We haven’t had any sexy times since before he got taken from me. I was still recovering from the god-tier magic over the last week, so the most we’ve done is cuddle a little bit on my couch. But after seeing Emma today, after training with Ms. Stryker, even after talking to Rafa, things feel more settled somehow—and my guy is being as adorably charming as ever. When our eyes meet, I lean in and kiss him deeply. Again and again.

We’ve been sharing mead from a wooden cup. The ancient drink starts out honey-sweet before finishing with the tartness of infused blackberries. I was surprised it was so fizzy when I had my first sip. Its tang is on his tongue, and I let myself savor it.

Of course, we aren’t really in ancient Ireland right now. Less than an hour ago, I changed into Mom’s porn PJs and crawled under the covers in my bedroom, before Collin brought us here. Now, I’m wearing the same woolen clothing he is—a green tunic with leather belt and shoes. Soft light-gray pants. It’s a little itchy in places, but it’s also cozy and warm. It makes me feel closer to him.

He’s brought me into his world, so I know, on some level, this is all a dream. But over the last several days, I’ve learned to appreciate dreams. Big dreams I never thought would come true, like the one I had about helping people with my magic. And smaller, more intimate dreams, like finding someone who could actually love me.

Dreams Collin has made real.

“What are you thinking, Alvin?” My sweet magical boyfriend has come up for air. He strokes my cheek with the side of his thumb.

“Just about how perfect this is. And how lucky I am that someone like you wants to be with me.”

The diffuse evening light makes his blond curls glow. “We both have a lot to be grateful for. And there are loads more class things I can show you! I’ve always wanted to experience Tokyo DisneySea. A rake of humans have been there, so I’ll be able to recreate it down to the studs: the food, the rides—even the mad crowds!”

I laugh. “All right. Well, I’ll look forward to that.” I roll myself around completely so I can slide him down to the lush, sweet grass in front of the stone. So I can bring my body fully on top of his. “But for now, I just want to make this one perfect date last for as long as I can.”

A spark of mischief flashes in his eyes as his fingernails stroke their way up the curve of my butt. “Is that so? I might be a bit curious myself how long you can last.Thistime.”

Feigning outrage, I cry out “Rude!” and playfully grab his wrists, one after the other, and lock them by his ears with both hands.

I narrow my eyes and try to look deadly serious. “But… challenge accepted.”

He grins wickedly in response, right before I suck on his neck. And he makes such awesomely cute little moans and whimpers, I can’t help but cover him in marks. Sometimes it’s fun to overwhelm another guy with desire—at least this way. If you really like him.

When it seems like he can’t stand the teasing anymore, we tug free of our coarse wool garments and press close again, skin against skin, cock against cock, rolling and edging on the yielding grass, each determined to outlast the other. Playful and full of love.

It turns out the elf was right when he first blackmailed me—I was never going to get to choose a human life. And that means there are big challenges ahead. Meeting a scary fae queen. Building a friendship with a Monster Hunter. Making peace with my evil and now terrifyingly protective mother. Trying to understand this power inside me that keeps wanting to blow up the planet. At some point, I will need to wake up and deal with all of that.

But right here, right now, Collin and I are living our happiest dream together. And if this is what it means to be paranormal, then I honestly wouldn’t trade it for anything else.