Six months later

Vivian suppressed a groan as she watched Rhys straining to hold the massive beam in place for the barn. It was mere hours before dawn and her husband had just finished a long shift laboring for her Uncle, repairing a ship that he hardly ever chartered. Uncle Aldric had kept to his word to make Rhys pay for his crimes. He worked Vivian’s new husband like a dog.

However, no matter what menial or laborious tasks Aldric put him through, Rhys constantly smiled as if each chore was a reward. His cheer drove her uncle mad, a constant reminder that no matter what he did, Rhys had gotten everything he wanted after all, the return of his family’s farm, safety for Emily and the children, legitimacy, and marriage to the woman he loved.

The only times her uncle had abandoned his hostility towards Rhys was for the night he Changed Vivian, and her wedding night.

Rhys had held her tenderly as he’d plunged his fangs into her neck, with uncle standing near, watching the proceedings with visible worry. Vivian had felt pure bliss at Rhys’s bite, then ecstasy when he’d brought his bleeding wrist to her mouth and she drank of his rich power.

She ran her tongue along her new fangs and shivered, remembering how painful it was when they’d grown. Both her uncle and Rhys had held her hands and whispered comforting words as she’d writhed in agony. After the pain had come the thirst, which was thankfully assuaged by an unknown man that Uncle brought in.

Her first taste of human blood had been nearly as heavenly as Rhys’s. Thank God that her uncle had stopped her before she took too much and killed the poor man. And oh, how fierce her hunger had been for the first few nights. If not for Rhys and Aldric at her side, she may not have been able to avoid the temptation to sink her teeth into every human who came near her. The first days had been awkward as well, joining her Rhys and her uncle in the very dungeon in which he’d imprisoned Rhys.

She knew that wasn’t where uncle normally slept. He’d just wanted to further torture Rhys before the wedding, making the three of them bed down in the same chamber so she and Rhys couldn’t make love.

Thankfully, that torment was brief. Uncle Aldric had sent for a special license, which arrived three nights after her transformation, and he immediately summoned a vicar. They’d been wed in a small ceremony at Thornton Manor with only Madame Renarde, Lord Thornton, and his second in command, Bonnie, as witnesses.

Aldric then let the servants spread the word that Vivian’s disappearance had been a trip to Gretna Green. The gossip spread throughout Blackpool and now no one ever called on them.

True to Uncle Aldric’s prediction, Vivian’s father had disowned her after receiving word that she’d eloped with a penniless commoner.

Vivian was quite happy with that outcome, for it gave her more time with Rhys, and to adjust to her new life as a vampire. Once married, Aldric allowed them to move to a house he owned that was only a few miles from Berwyn Farm.

Rhys hadn’t been given an official position of employment yet, as Aldric seemed to be enjoying himself with assigning any and every grueling job he could think of. Vivian had a feeling that it would be a few years before Uncle forgave Rhys for abducting her and accepted him as family.

But no amount of icy glares and onerous tasks could dampen Rhys’s happiness. Especially now that the farm was being restored, partially with Rhys’s own hands. Vivian and Madame Renarde spent much time with Emily and the children, which was a blessing as well as a curse. Emily treated Vivian like a sister, something both women had longed for all their lives. And Vivian fell in love with Jacob and Alice. Playing and reading with the cheerful scamps made her sometimes wish she and Rhys could have children of their own.

Alas, that could never be. And in a few years, she and Rhys would have to leave the family, before it was seen that they did not age. Their only consolation was that when they returned, there would be a new generation to care for.

Leaving Madame Renarde would be difficult as well, but Vivian was comforted to see that her companion had taken to Emily quickly. While Vivian and Rhys slept during the day, Madame Renarde acted as a sort of nanny to Jacob and Alice, teaching them their letters as well as French. She spent more time at the farmhouse than at Vivian and Rhys’s home these days.

Rhys broke of Vivian’s reverie as the beam he’d lifted dropped into place with a ground-shaking thud.

“You’ll wake your cousin and children!” she admonished.

Rhys jumped down from the scaffolding with a triumphant grin and landed on his feet beside her. “That was the last one for tonight.” He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her as if they’d been apart for days instead of hours. “Now I wish to return to my honeymoon.”

Vivian laughed. “I know it was cruel of Uncle not to give us a few nights in peace after the wedding, but that was months ago. You do not need to keep calling every moment we spend together a honeymoon.”

“But it still feels like one,” he said as he carried her home in a preternatural burst of speed. He adjusted his grip around her waist to open the door of their small house and carry her over the threshold like he did every night. “Does it not feel like a honeymoon to you anymore?”

Vivian entwined her fingers around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. “It will if you take me to bed again.”

He carried her downstairs and laid her on the bed that was much more comfortable than the cots they’d shared. “I love you, Vivian.”

She reached up and caressed his silken hair. “I’ll never tire of you saying that.”

Rhys chuckled and kissed her neck. “Good, because I will say it for eternity.”