Epilogue
Bellis sat on the back patio outside his office with his feet propped up on the fire pit. It felt a little strange to be in jeans, hiking boots, and a T-shirt after years of nothing but tactical gear and BDU’s. Strange, but nice.
A huge grin claimed his face as he watched Sam. She wore ass hugging soft denim with calf-high, black hiking boots and a thick black sweater. Her teeth gleamed as she laughed and drew her arm back before throwing the stick she held as far as she could out in the yard. With a loud bark, Vega—their new German shepherd—shot off to retrieve the stick. In his new skin, it’d been no hardship for Bellis to go to town to get Sam’s gift. He’d wanted her to have something to connect with--besides just him--so she could know just how much her heart was capable of. He’d been unsure what to get her. Jewelry seemed too insignificant, flowers were nearly laughable, and his Sam didn’t care for sweets. She’d told him she was already sweet enough. When he’d stumbled upon a pet adoption clinic at the local farmer’s market, his decision was made. There’d been lots of puppies and kittens, but the mature, pure white German shepherd had instantly drawn his attention. Something told him that Sam would prefer an adult dog over a puppy, and he’d been right. Since the day he’d brought Vega home, the dog and Sam had been inseparable. Honestly, he was a little jealous of the mutt.
It had taken her two days to come up with a name, and when Bellis suggested Ghost because of the dog’s coloring, Sam’s reply had been instantaneous. “No,” she’d said, bending to look the tall beast in the eye. “No more ghosts. I want him to know we see him.” She’d leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the animal’s, whispering, “I see you.” In that moment, Bellis couldn’t have loved her more. Well…maybe except for this moment.
Vega brought the stick back to Sam and as she clapped excitedly Bellis watched her, wondering if he’d ever stop being amazed at how fucking beautiful she was. He thought she’d despise him for her newly-adopted black skin. He’d hated it so much when it was his, but Sam didn’t even seem to notice. Several times, he’d watched her when she didn’t know he was looking. Each time she’d been in front of the mirror, fixing her hair, brushing her teeth, or washing her face, he’d watched, scenting her so closely for even a hint of sadness, regret, or disdain when she saw her own reflection, but there was nothing. Finally, curiosity had won out and he’d asked her why she didn’t hate the color like he had. Her reply had been simple. “I fell in love with this skin. It’s part of you, and now it’s a part of me. Hating it would be like hating my own heart.” Her words had left him floored and a little ashamed. He’d hated that part of him for so long, and now here was Sam, new to being different and not giving one single shit about it. It made sense now. To him, she was the most beautiful thing on the whole fucking planet no matter how she looked, and if ever there was a time his coloring came back he knew that, because of her and the way she accepted her appearance, he’d have the courage to do the same. Courage is exactly what it took, and Sam was the most courageous person he knew. She was the most everything he knew, strong, beautiful, smart, giving, willful.
Vega charged toward her, stick between his teeth, and Sam clapped excitedly before bending to fight the dog for the stick. Straightening, she turned to him. “Bellis, you wanna play with us?”
He casually lifted a hand and rested his forefinger under his lips as he watched her with a grin. “Hell no. I’m having fun just watching.”
She smiled at him, one of those smiles that he breathed for, the ones where her eyes lit up and her white teeth peeked through. It was the smile that told him he’d said or done something right, that told him she was truly happy.
She chucked the stick deep into a copse of trees and Vega lunged after it. Done with the sport, Sam dusted her hands on the thighs of her jeans and slowly made her way across the yard and up the wooden stairs. There was an open chair, but she straddled his legs and he opened his arms to accept her as she settled onto his lap, his hands curling over her hips. He loved it when she did that, came to him freely. It hadn’t happened at first, but she was starting to come around and he absolutely fucking adored it.
“Any word from Tyce on the mission?”
Sticking to what they both knew best, Bellis—after discussion and approval from Sam—had offered up their services to Tyce and Tyce alone. Fuck Monroe!
He’d hoped to give Sam a life of peace and solitude nestled away up on his mountain, but she’d quickly rejected that idea. He couldn’t blame her. To be honest, they were both too good at what they did to let their skills go to waste. Besides, even though Sam had given Monroe the location of the Megalya’s main facility, the Dominant had yet to make his move, which meant the Megalya weren’t fully defeated, not yet anyway, and the real traitor at StoneCrow was still on the loose. StoneCrow was no longer their concern, but Skin Walker lives were and while Bellis refused to let Monroe anywhere near Sam ever again, she’d insisted on helping Tyce with as much as she could.
“Yeah,” Bellis answered. “He says his team can handle this one. Says our skill set won’t be needed.” He slid his hands lower, cupping her ass as he cocked his head. “Guess we’re still on vacation. I wonder how we’ll occupy ourselves?”
Sam smiled knowingly. “I’ve got a few ideas.”
“Oh yeah?”
Her hands spread across his chest and then slid up to his shoulders as she leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. Her hips flared with the action and the erection he’d been sporting while watching her in the yard stiffened uncomfortably. He groaned and rolled his hips against hers as he bit at her bottom lip, but she jerked back and laughed when Vega raced up from the yard, dropped the stick onto the porch, and jumped up to lick at their faces profusely.
“If I knew that every time I kissed you he’d be jealous, I’d have gotten you a turtle.”
Sam laughed, and the sound filled Bellis’ heart with sunshine. Reaching out she grabbed Vega and pulled him in for a hug, kissing the top of his head. “Don’t say that, you’ll hurt his feelings.”
“His feelings?” Bellis thrust his hips upward, the hard bar of his erection rubbing against her and drawing a startled gasp from Sam. “What about my feelings?”
Turning to him, Sam leaned forward and nipped his lips as she whispered, “Now who’s jealous?”
When she tried to pull back, he grabbed her and held her to him. “You’re goddamn right I’m jealous, Princess. You’re mine, and I don’t share.”
The neon-blue in her eyes suddenly went dark. Ah, he knew that look. Shoving off his chest, Sam leaned back and pulled her shirt over her head. Accustomed to not wearing underwear under her old suit, Sam still didn’t care for it, and that was fine with him. His light colored hand slid against her black skin, up her waist and over her ribs to rest just below her breast. She made his skin look so beautiful, and a pang of sadness tore through him as he realized he missed it. After all those years of loathing his skin, it had taken Sam to show him how beautiful it truly was and now, miracle of all miracles, he actually missed the thing he’d hated the most about himself. Sam did that, his little magic maker.
When he was in his black skin, he’d always felt like no one ever saw him, but being in this skin was worse. At StoneCrow other Walkers brushed past him, bumped into him, and had no qualms about approaching him, trying to shake his hand, or clapping him on the back like they were actually friends or some shit. He didn’t like it. Before, they’d treated him with near reverence. Now, he was just another Skin Walker. The Skin Walker mated to the Demon they called him, and it pissed him off at first because he didn’t want their words wounding Sam. But, like she always did, she’d surprised him as she’d laughed out loud when he’d warned her. She called the other Walkers ‘dumb boys’ and said that, if they thought skin determined whether someone was a demon or not, then they had a lot to learn. She was absolutely right, because she was no demon. She was a fucking Angel, his Angel. In his eyes, she was all the light, beauty, and grace in his world. Looking at her body he couldn’t help but tell her for the hundredth time, “You’re beautiful, Samantha.”
She grinned and opened her mouth to respond, but he stopped her.
“No.” His brows speared down as he looked up at her intently. “I want you to really hear me. I’m not talking about just the physical you. Yes, you are the most breathtaking female in the world, but I mean inside too.”
Sam’s smile faltered.
“Inside and out, you are just so fucking amazing that I’m humbled to call you mine.” One of his hands lifted to curl around her neck. “I don’t deserve you. Do you know that?”
She shook her head. “You deserve happiness, Bellis. We both do.” Her smile came back as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, whispering at his ear, “Let’s gift it to each other.”
Fuck yeah! He’d remembered her words, spoken what felt like so long ago. “I pray to God for happiness, but I’m ashamed to ask for it.” And yet here she was, finally giving herself a chance at what she hadn’t thought she deserved. Strong Angel, best Angel. She deserved all the happiness in the world and he was going to spend the rest of his days proving that to her. By the Gods, she was perfect, and whatever in the hell he’d done to deserve her, he’d never know, but he’d be eternally grateful.
Without another word, he dropped his feet from the fire pit and gripped Sam’s ass in both hands before standing. He’d taken her in every room in the house, and even out on the patio a few times, but there was something about having his woman in his bed that just made the world right. Sam preferred it too, though she’d never said it, he could just tell.
In their room, it took seconds for them both to get naked and between the sheets where he pulled Sam on top of him. The crisp cool linen was a stark contrast to the heat of Sam’s smooth skin. He couldn’t stop touching her, never could, and he wished for the millionth time since he met Sam that he could stay right here, like this, forever.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs spread around his body, her wet pussy pressing against him as her mouth suckled gently at his own. This was bliss, a heaven he didn’t know existed. He couldn’t wait, and she was ready too. He slid into Sam and she arched back, rising up off his chest to ride him. This was his favorite position for two reasons. One, because he could watch his beautiful Sam and two, because she got to be in control, which was important to him. So much had been taken from her that it was important he let her do the taking…well, sometimes. Most times he was so out of his mind with lust and the need to be pummeling inside her that his inner beasts couldn’t be restrained. Like this though, right now when his heart was feeling all mushy, he could deny Sam nothing. If she wanted control then she was welcome to it.
Her hips jerked faster and those sexy fucking sounds she made spilled from her lips as she let her head fall back. As happened more often than not, Bellis was holding himself back from coming. Hell, sometimes just the sight of her was enough to incite eruption, but he always held back until his Angel was satisfied. It was exquisite torture.
Sam’s body bowed forward and Bellis was struggling now to keep from flipping her over and taking control. The need to fill her with his seed was paramount and she was so damn close he could practically taste it on the air. His Sam was different though, she had different tastes in the bedroom and he didn’t fault her for that. Jenny still hadn’t figured out what the Megalya had done to Sam, and until she did, Bellis was going to do whatever he had to do to keep his Angel happy.
“Now,” she breathed, as she smashed her breasts against his chest, his hips thrusting to meet hers. Her tone was more urgent when she cried, “Now, Bellis, please!”
He loved how she said his name so freely now when they made love. It had taken her a while, but now each time she said his name, he felt proud. He was proud she acknowledged that she was with him, proud that she no longer kept her eyes shut, but looked right at him. She knew she was his.
Leaning down, Bellis sank his sharp incisors into Sam’s throat where she’d canted her head to give him access. Most often during sex she drank from him, but sometimes she liked it the other way around. It didn’t put him off in the least. In fact, he was becoming a little addicted to Sam’s blood, and he knew that soon he’d have to have Jenny check on that. It could be part of the exchange they’d gone through, or it could be just his own desire to taste her like she so favored tasting him. Right now though, he didn’t give a fuck. All he cared about was getting his fix.
When his teeth locked in and he drew the first tug, Sam’s body tensed and she cried out as her orgasm tore through her. It drew his own, and then he was pulsing his release deep inside of her tight pussy as she spasmed around the thick length of him while he continued to drink deeply. She tasted so good, felt so damn good, he could die right now and die happy. But, that wasn’t going to be their story. No, he wanted a lifetime with Sam, not just the few months they’d already shared.
After several more tugs on her throat, and when he’d finally emptied himself into her slowly relaxing body, he pulled his teeth free and lapped at her throat.
Sam made that happy little noise that only he knew she could make and curled against his chest where she kissed his collar bone. She loved to be held after they made love, and that was fine with him, because he loved holding her.
She murmured drowsily, “When we wake up, you’re going to barbecue some tenderloin while I make potato salad.”
“Mmhmm,” he agreed. While with the Megalya Sam had been forced to eat what they ate, which had been raw meat. Her little excursion to Apex had been the first time in years that she’d eaten real food, and now that something had changed in both of them, she could actually be sustained for great lengths of time on actual food instead of blood. He’d been cooking for her and had shown her how to look up recipes on the internet, and since then she’d turned into quite the food connoisseur. He adored the fact that she loved to eat and loved to experiment in the kitchen. It was something they did together, and made him realize what he’d been missing for all those years of microwaving crappy TV dinners. Sam did that. She made everything in his life better.
He pressed his lips to her temple and squeezed her shoulders before sliding out from under her. “Let me get you cleaned up.” He made it a habit of cleaning her up after they made love, knowing the sticky seed coating her inner thighs couldn’t be comfortable. Sam moaned a soft, “Mmm.”
Padding into the bathroom, he grabbed a soft wash cloth and blasted on the water, tucking his fingers beneath the flow and waiting for the temperature to warm. When it was hot enough for his Sam, he rinsed the cloth and shut off the water before padding back to the bed.
Sam rolled her head to the side and her beautiful eyes blinked open to look at him.
Content, Bellis heart gave a start when Sam sat bolt upright. “Oh, my God!”
At Sam’s exclamation he slammed to a halt, alert and ready to protect his Angel. “What?” He scanned the room finding nothing amiss, but still Sam sat up in bed holding the sheet to her chest as she stared at him with rounded eyes.
Quickly, she kicked free of the sheets and hurried toward him, her urgency spiking his adrenaline. “What, Sam? What’s wrong?”
When she got near enough, he pulled her into the protection of his arms and looked over her head to search the room again.
“Bellis! Look!”
Pulling back, he looked down at her, but her hands were reaching for his face and she was trying to move him. He didn’t budge.
“Look in the mirror!”
Swallowing, he looked over his shoulder to his reflection in the mirror over the sink and froze.
Bellis’ eyes locked on his own image and he blinked. then blinked again as if his eyes were betraying him. In an instant, his eyes narrowed and his hands released Sam so he could turn and step closer. Sam’s hand settled on his back as she followed.
Holy shit! There in the glass, he saw it. Thinking it might just be a shadow or a play of the light, he took a few more steps until his hips hit the counter in front of the sink where he leaned forward. It wasn’t a trick.
His heart clenched like he’d just run into an old friend he hadn’t seen in forever. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the slash of inky black that colored the skin from his forehead, bisecting one eye, which was now his old glossy black with a pinpoint of neon-blue. The black slash of skin cut across his cheek and streaked down the column of his throat. His heart constricted with delight to see that the color thickened across his chest and tapered to a point at one hip.
Sam stepped from behind him and stared at his reflection in the mirror. When he turned to face her, she tiptoed and grabbed his face, beaming a watery smile. “There’s my demon.” She pulled him down for a kiss as his hands gripped her tiny waist and his head lowered, strong arms pulling her into his body.
He kissed her deeply, so fucking relieved that his old self was coming back.
Sam broke the kiss and pulled back to beam up at him. “Look,” she breathed, and he followed her eyes to look over his shoulder. The color was seeping into his skin there too, in a lightning bolt of ebony. Turning his attention back to Sam, he pulled the sheet she held clutched around her body from her grip to look down at her body. The front of her was still pure black, but when he spun her, a satisfied grin took his lips. A streak of pale skin slashed down from between her shoulder blades to her ass.
“Your skin is coming back,” he told her reverently.
She shrugged. “I’d keep yours forever if I could.”
Swallowing against the emotion clogging his throat, he spun her to face him as his brows speared down. “It doesn’t bother you? That I’ll be a demon again? That my coloring is coming back?”
Sam’s brows snapped into a frown as she admonished, “I fell in love with the man in this skin. Don’t you say that shit to me.” Her frown faltered though, and there was a flash of doubt as she asked, “Does it bother you?” She looked down at her body and made to back up a step, but he caught her and pulled her into him, his thick erection caught between their bodies.
He rolled his hips. “Does it feel like it bothers me?”
Canting her head, she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. “I’ll love you no matter how you look, Bellis. You can look like a marble cake and you’d still have my heart.”
Lifting a hand, he turned her so her back was to the mirror. He traced his finger down her pale skin and Sam looked over her shoulder to see. “Would you really keep my skin forever if you could?” he asked.
Sam’s eyes lifted to his in the mirror. “I would.”
Bellis didn’t smile when he vowed, “Good. Because I’m keeping you forever.” Bending, he scooped Sam up into his arms and stalked toward the bed. “Now let’s get you some sleep so I can get you fed.” He set a knee on the bed and gently lowered Sam, laying her on the bed before he climbed up beside her and covered them both. Sam curled against him, warming not just his body but his soul. Unable to stop the words, he brushed his lips against her hair and murmured, “Sleep now, Angel. Know that, when you wake, I’m always going to be right here.”
Quietly she asked, “Always?”
“Always.”