“How’s it going?” Ezra asked, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.

Sitting in front of her laptop, Kayla was finishing up another article for the blog she had started a few months ago, right after she quit WBTV. It had become clear to her that Edgar would never respect her as a journalist, and it was time she took things into her own hands.

With Ezra’s support, the decision to strike out on her own had been easy, and it was already paying off. Her site was getting more hits every day, and she already had partnerships in the works with companies that wanted to advertise on her page.

More important than that, though, she could finally work on something she was really passionate about.

Watching her fingers fly over the keyboard, she still found herself amazed at what a turn her life had taken. Well, technically, this was her afterlife, now, but it was all the same to her.

“I’m almost done,” she replied, keys clacking beneath her fingertips. “I kind of feel like I’m cheating, though. No human can type this fast.”

“So? Those are still your ideas that bring eyes to your blog, not how fast you can type up your articles,” Ezra said, swiveling her around in her chair as soon as she hit post on her newest piece on tax havens.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she smiled up at him, still as taken by his handsome face as she had been when he had first shown up at her door.

They had spent a blissful month together at the apartment after she had taken the plunge and let him turn her, getting wrapped up in each other and loving every second of it. It wasn’t just the honeymoon phase that had prompted that, however.

Kayla was still adjusting to her new strength while subsequently learning to manage her new hunger, so staying away from people until she got that all under control had seemed like a good idea.

She still remembered that time in the beginning when she had tried to do some dishes and ended up shattering every plate she touched. Ezra had been so patient with her, reassuring and kind, sharing stories of his own mishaps so she wouldn’t feel so bad.

But now, she felt like she was really getting the hang of it. Her body felt like her own again, despite the lack of a beating heart. She had been afraid she would feel cold or lifeless, somehow, but those fears had been unfounded.

If anything, she felt more alive than ever. Not really ever getting tired probably played a part in that. Being out in the sun did drain her, but it was nothing a nice little sip of blood couldn’t fix.

That was another thing that had taken some getting used to – her hunger for blood. She didn’t want to feel like a predator, or that she was sucking out someone’s lifeforce, but the hunger she felt for that one thing she needed to survive wiped those thoughts from her head.

It was scary, at first, wanting something so badly while also needing to make sure no one was hurt in the feeding process. That was why she had insisted on cold, bagged-up blood at first. But after she had gone back to that vamp bar she and Ezra had visited once and she had gotten her first taste of a willing donor, everything changed.

Kayla was surprised to discover how much control she had over the whole process. Every human process, from heartbeats to breathing to the blood rushing through their veins was now so loud to her, it was impossible to misread the signs. It was easy to tell if a person was beginning to get uncomfortable or quite the opposite – was enjoying the process.

That made things a lot easier, and she was proud to say no donor had ever left her with a bad experience. Of course, having Ezra by her side for her whole journey into the supernatural world didn’t hurt either.

Her feelings for him had only deepened after that whole ordeal with Robert, and the absolute trust they had built between each other was unshakeable. So when he leaned down, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, she only giggled and let herself be carried away.

“What are you doing?” she asked, as he headed for the bedroom.

“Enough work for today,” he said, patting her ass with his free hand. “Time for play.”

“Don’t forget, we’re supposed to have dinner with Melanie and Andy tonight,” Kayla warned, even though she could already feel heat swirl through her body.

“We can be a little late,” Ezra shrugged, throwing her down on the bed and crawling on top of her.

His eyes glowed as his gaze roamed over her, alight with a familiar desire Kayla loved being the target of.

“We’re always late for everything,” she chided him, even as a smile tugged at her lips.

“Who cares? We have all the time in the world, after all,” he replied, and she couldn’t argue with that.

After all, there are worse ways to spend an eternity than tangled up with the man you love.