Page 85 of His Eternal Temptation

Rowan shivered. “You do?”

“Yes. Holy Hell. You want this so much.” Lane flipped them, Rowan’s pliant body yielding to his touch. “Let me give it to you.”

Rowan nodded, tilting his head to the side. “Bite me. It won’t hurt. Please, Lane. Claim me.”

Lane nipped his skin, sensing Rowan’s desperate longing grow. Lane’s heart strangled, and he bit, breaking skin, and drank.

Rowan groaned. “I feel you, too, Lane.” He tangled a hand in Lane’s hair, his hips bucking wildly. “You’ve got me.”

You’re mine, Lane thought with fierce determination.

Rowan whimpered, his release erupting between them. Even though Lane’s body was sated, pleasure overwhelmed him, and he gasped. Rowan’s pleasure coursed through Lane’s body as if they were one, the shared sensation dancing along Lane’s nerves until they were both spent.

As pleasure faded, the sense of connection remained. They were bonded, more closely than vampire and sire, more intimately than anything Lane would have dreamed a reserved man such as Rowan would allow, and nothing had ever felt so right.

EPILOGUE

ROWAN

Six months later.

Bite Night was already underway by the time Rowan and Lane arrived on the fifth floor. Rowan hadn’t meant to be fashionably late, but they were his parties, so he forgave himself.

“I’m glad I decided to hire help for the shop,” Lane was saying as they headed along the hall. “Being open a couple days a week isn’t enough.”

Lane had rented a small storefront near Nico’s apothecary shop, where he’d been selling portable spells for the last few months. Lane’s apartment was nearby, and Rowan enjoyed spending time there. He hadn’t realized how much he needed a little distance from work.

His coven was his life. His proudest achievement. But when things were settled, when no one was attacking or causing trouble, it was refreshing to get out, broaden his horizons, and experience the casual side of the magic world.

Lane’s pleasure at his shop’s success radiated through their bond. Their connection was strongest when they were near, most potent when they were intimate, but even at a distance, Rowan sensed Lane’s presence within his soul.

He’d never dreamed he’d have a partner he trusted, one he loved so deeply and was loved by in return. Someone who accepted his need for reassurance and praise beyond play, and strove to understand how it played into him as a whole. And here Lane was, being all those things and more.

“Have you decided who to hire?” Rowan asked.

Lane paused outside the entrance to Bite Night. “Nico recommended a young witch, a relative of one of his neighbors. She’ll be a great fit, and wants to learn to create portable spells herself.”

“An apprentice.”

Lane laughed. “Guess so. But I’ll leave all that for Monday. I’m ready to unwind.” He smirked, and Rowan’s blood heated. Lust burned along their connection, fire igniting from both ends.

Lane held the door for him. “After you, mate.”

He stepped inside and was greeted by familiar low lighting and the murmur of voices.

A heavy black and gold curtain blocked the main room, creating an entryway where Hunter lounged at his usual post. “I was beginning to wonder if you two would show.”

“We’re not that late,” Lane said.

Hunter shrugged. “There’s a big group tonight. Think you’re the last to arrive.”

He oversaw bite nights, a master of ceremonies of sorts. Everyone in attendance was vetted by the coven, but Hunter had taken over inducting new participants once they were approved, going over rules, and providing a neutral presence for everyone’s comfort and safety.

Rowan and Lane disappeared into the curtained-off changing room, leaving Hunter to his official role.

“I can’t believe I let Onyx talk me into this,” Rowan said as they shed their clothes.

“Really? I think you were dying for him to talk you into it.” Lane was right, and his teasing smile said he was well aware. “Why haven’t you ever danced at Bite Night before?”