“I’m feeling perfectly fine,” Vivienne said to Doctor Brown, the young doctor who had come to discharge her. Three days had passed since she donated her blood to Amber Rose, and she was more than ready to leave the hospital.

Max squeezed her hand. He spent half of his time with her and half with Amber Rose, who was now out of danger and in her own room. Doctor Kalisten hadn’t given the green light to take her home yet, though. The pediatrician wanted to keep the baby under observation until she was sure that Amber Rose could safely leave the hospital. As soon as Vivienne had felt strong enough to leave her bed, she visited the baby girl and spent some time with Max’s parents who had moved into their granddaughter’s room and couldn’t be convinced to go home even for a few hours. Wilson arranged for changes of clothes and meals to appear at regular intervals for the entire family.

Doctor Kalisten tapped on the doorframe and entered. Smiling and rested, the woman looked a decade younger. “Ready to say goodbye to this fine establishment?”

After welcoming the doctor, Max said, “Maybe you should check that she’s one-hundred-percent fine.” Hovering by the bed, he towered over Doctor Brown, making the man nervous.

“I want to go home,” she said, giving Max a raised brow, daring him to say another word on the matter.

Doctor Kalisten raised her hands in front of her. “She’s under Doctor Brown’s care. I’ve just come to say goodbye to Vivienne.”

“I understand your worries, Mr. Prize,” Doctor Brown said, before turning to Vivienne. “Your vitals are fine, but, if anything changes, anything at all, and you don’t feel okay any longer, you come back right away. Okay?”

“Okay,” both Max and Vivienne answered at the same time, making Doctor Kalisten laugh.

Doctor Brown handed Vivienne the discharge papers, which she signed with great haste. “The nurse is bringing the wheelchair around.”

“We don’t need it.” Max cradled her into his strong arms.

“It’s the hospital policy,” the doctor said, moving to the side to let them pass. “Well, have a great day.” He and Doctor Kalisten waved as Max took Vivienne out of the room.

Max laughed, and Vivienne couldn’t help but laugh, too. Carrying her as if she weighed nothing, he walked across the entrance hall amidst the delighted cries from the reporters.

The press had never left the hospital, waiting for a scoop after Max had been cleared of Lauren’s murder. Wilson, Mrs. Lanetti, and Mr. Stamper had worked non-stop to exonerate Max. When Lauren’s autopsy revealed Louise’s DNA all over her corpse, but none of Max’s, it was finally over. As soon as Louise transformed back into her human form after her fight with Max, she was charged and now waited in jail for her trial to start. Alice Weng, the reporter from King Six, was fired for substance abuse, and it turned out she was deeply in Dortmund’s pockets. Facing a scandal that would’ve bankrupted the channel, King Six publicly apologized to Max for the witch hunt against him and donated to a charity of his choice. The money went to Good Intentions.

“There’s no need to fuss over me,” Vivienne said while he tucked her into his car, covering her with a soft blanket he had bought from the hospital gift shop.

“Humor me.” He brushed her nose before walking around to the driver side. “I need to feel helpful,” he said, sitting at the wheel. “Please.” The puppy eyes he gave her would have melted a bar of iron.

“You play dirty.” She leaned in to kiss his fleshy lips, triggering a mad frenzy of flashes.

“Let’s get out of here.” Max eased away from the curb. “I’m dying for some privacy.” He drove out of the hospital, carefully avoiding running over the press that in the last few minutes had swelled to a horde of people, all demanding a piece of them.

“Home, sweet home,” Max said half an hour later as they entered the garage of his high rise.

He refused to let her walk and entered the penthouse carrying her like a newlywed.

She looked nervously looked around. “Put me down. I don’t want my brother or Hugo to see me—”

“I sent them home. It’s just you and me.” Max strolled across the foyer and didn’t stop until he reached his bedroom.

Vivienne couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of his king bed covered in rose petals. The curtains had been drawn, and dozens of candles softly illuminated the room.

“You said you are feeling fine,” Max said, looking at her with his mesmerizing eyes. “But we could just rest if—”

Vivienne shushed him with a kiss before whispering against his lips, “I’m more than fine, and I’ve been waiting to complete our mating ceremony since I woke up in that waiting room.” Her hand slid to his chest, and her fingers played with his shirt buttons.

Max’s reaction was immediate. Still holding her in his arms, he dove for the bed, landing on its center as he kept her on top of him. At the impact, hundreds of petals flew in the air, showering them in flowers a moment later.

“Are you sure?” Max asked, taking her chin in his hand.

She could feel his galloping heartbeats against her chest, and her heart synchronized with his. “I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you.”

“You despised me.” He smiled, his hand tracing the contour of her face as he rolled both of them so that they faced each other.

“True.” She shivered when he trailed the curve of her neck. “But still, I couldn’t help it. You’re too sexy for your own good.”

“You drove me crazy the moment you entered this apartment.” His teeth playfully nibbled her earlobe, sending shivers all over her. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to drag you over my knees to spank you or to take you against the wall.”

His words triggered her senses as much as his touch that had now lowered to the swell of her breasts. His fingers inched inside her top, lowering it and the bra underneath at the same time. Her nipples peaked when he expertly teased them.

She squirmed, her hand lowering to his jeans, but he stopped her.

“Not yet. I intend to take it slow and make love to you for the next three days.” He brought her hand back to his chest.

“Three days?” Feeling naughty, she lowered her hand again.

Max laughed against her breast. “At least.” He playfully bit her nipple, making her gasp and moan. “I’ll have to punish you if you don’t behave.”

Her fingers found the buttons of his fly, and she worked one free. “What kind of punishment?” She popped a second button free and brushed the length of him, still restrained by the sturdy fabric and struggling against it.

“Spanking, lots of it.” He pushed against her, hard and warm.

“What else?” With one flick of her finger, she freed his manhood which sprang into her hand.

Instead of answering, he took possession of her mouth and devoured her, his hands roaming all over her body, opening pants and lowering them around her ankles before removing them altogether. He tore her bra in two and flung it over the bed, where her equally torn panties joined it a moment later. Everywhere his hands touched, he marked her, making her want more.

As she stroked and caressed his hard length, he finally reached for the apex of her legs. Vivienne was ready for him and opened her legs to give him access, but he tortured her with soft brushes, skimming her feverish flesh without entering her. He licked and bit her nipples, lavishing her breasts with his free hand, stoking the fire of her passion to impossible heights.

Soon, she couldn’t take it any longer and moved on top to straddle him. He gave her a naughty smile before wrestling her underneath him. Grabbing both her hands by her wrists, he brought them over her head and pinned them against the mattress. With his other hand, he pinched her nipple hard and followed with a small kiss and a soft lick. The juxtaposition of rough and sweet sent her over the edge.

Pleasure built between her legs, and she moaned, arching her throat, and pushing her breasts against his chest. With a groan, Max placed his hardness against her wet core and thrust into her, finally uniting them.

The sensation of him, large and hot, stretching her channel as he filled her, sent tears to her eyes.

Max immediately stopped. “Vivienne, my love. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He started to ease out of her, but she pressed her hand against his back, keeping him in place.

“Don’t you dare.” She tilted her head for him to kiss her. “These are tears of joy,” she said, letting him wipe them away with his lips. “You, inside me, it feels perfect.” Rocking against him, she showed him how she wanted it.

“My love,” he whispered, thrusting harder in answer to her silent demands. “My soulmate.”

Her channel tightened against him, and she raised her mouth to his shoulder. Max leaned lower, placing his skin against her lips.

“With this bite, I bind myself to you,” she whispered around her elongating fangs. “Forever.”

He thrust into her deeper, and she bit into his flesh, marking him in the way of the wolf as he had marked her in the way of the dragon a few days earlier. Pain and pleasure mixed, and they came apart together, spiraling out of control in a blissful haze.

They rode the ecstasy of their releases, kissing with the desperation of the first and last love until limbs grew heavy and breathing became frantic. Still, they kept drawing from the other as much pleasure as their hands and tongues could coax while his thrusts slowed down.

Finally spent, they lay basking in the aftermath of their mating, and Vivienne let her pent-up emotions out and cried in his strong embrace.

“I love you,” she said when she could talk again.

“I love you,” Max said back, kissing her softly.