Imogen hadn’t said a word during their flight away from the warehouse, but she reached for Gunner’s hand as soon as the wheels of the car were in motion. Blaine had offered to drive them home, so they could be alone after her rescue. After speeding all the way to their destination, he maneuvered the car into Gunner’s garage and waited for them to get out.

“Thanks for the ride, man.”

“Yeah, thanks, Blaine.”

“Glad to help. Talk to you two later.”

As Blaine drove away, Gunner closed the garage door and then carried Imogen into their home, up to their room. The moment her feet hit the floor, she ripped the shirts she was clad in from her body and threw them onto the floor.

“I need a shower to get this stench off me.”

“Right this way.” Gunner led her to the bathroom, recalling his need to wash the scent of the prison from his skin, too. “Take all the time you need, Imogen. Feel free to use my robe once you’re done.”

“Thank you.”

Gunner left her alone, and then he heard the rain from the showerhead. The door opened and closed, as she stepped in under it.

While Imogen was busy in there, Gunner ran down to the wine cellar and brought up a few bottles. He grabbed two glasses out of the kitchen cabinet and took them and the wine and set them on the nightstand. Then he rushed into one of the other bathrooms and showered.

As he was standing in his closet, getting dressed, he heard the water shut off, and then the patter of her feet on the granite tiles filtered through the air.

A couple of minutes later, she stepped into the bedroom wearing his robe, and he smiled at the sight of her. The hem fell to the floor, and the sleeves were too long for her body, so she scrunched them up to her elbows.

“I feel so much better now. And this...” She hugged herself. “...is like I’m wrapped in your arms.”

“I’d love to hold you, baby,” Gunner replied, reaching out for her.

She approached him, lacing her fingers in his, and he pulled her tightly to him.

“This is what I’ve needed ever since they took me from you. That, and a soft mattress.”

“Then, let me give you both.”

Gunner lifted her and placed her in the center of the bed. He crawled in beside her and urged her into his arms again, holding her close. Imogen placed her leg over his and melded herself against him, and they lay there together in the dark and quiet room.

Breaking the silence, Gunner said, “I’m so sorry about what happened, Imogen.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m just grateful that you found me when you did.”

“Are you in pain? Do you need more of my blood?”

A beat passed before she answered, “Yes.”

His fangs dropped in an instant, and Imogen put her hand on the wrist that he’d raised to his mouth and said, “No, not like that.”

“What, then, baby?”

Laying his hand on her arm, he rubbed it softly, as he thought that their being together must’ve satisfied the Thirst for the moment, because he wasn’t feeling the urge to drink with the madness he had experienced while she was away from him. It remained, but as a slow current rather than a rushing river.

Turning her face up to look at him, she said, “The entire time I was in that prison, I kept thinking about our lives together, how wonderful it was gonna be, how much I was gonna lose if Terrance won. My mantra to try to get through it all was that the universe wouldn’t bring us together, only to allow us to be ripped apart. Using that, I fought with everything I had to keep myself going.” Her eyes went to slits, and her voice took on a hard tone. “He was not gonna break me.”

“That’s right, because you’re a strong woman.”

Her softness returned, as she said, “And… you came to me in my dreams, Gunner.”

“I did?”

“Yes. And you told me not to give up, that you were coming for me. You held me.” She licked her lips, before speaking once more. “I believe that was the Thirst, taking on your form in my psyche, giving me comfort. I don’t know. Maybe that’s me sounding crazy again.”

“Not at all. I’m glad that the Thirst was gentle with you.”

“Oh, Gunner. How bad was it for you while I was gone? I was worried about—”

“I’d suffer it again as many times as I had to if, in the end, I’d be with you.”

“I don’t want you to hurt anymore.”

As they gazed at each other, Gunner gave thanks in his heart for the woman in his arms. As he drew her closer, their lips joined, and in that moment, he felt a peace that he hadn’t experienced in his life as a human or as a vampire.

Imogen clutched him to her, and then her fingers travelled down the front of his bare chest, to his pajama bottoms. She ran her hands underneath the material, grasping his cock.

“I want the mating bite, Gunner. Seal us together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I was beating myself up for not completing it when we were intimate the first time. I was thinking that if we’d done it then, maybe it would’ve linked us together somehow.”

Gunner leaned over her, and she turned flat on her back pushing his pajamas down his hips.

Nuzzling his nose against her neck, he murmured into her ear, “I’m learning that anything’s possible. You’re my miracle, Imogen.”

“And you’re mine.”

With soft touches, Gunner made reverent love to her, worshipping her with each press of his lips to hers and every undulation of his hips, driving his length inside her.

Imogen’s moans grew, and she called his name, “Gunner!”

“It’s time, baby!” he said, just before his fangs punched out of his gums.

“Yes! Now! Please!”

As her orgasm crested, he sank them into her flesh, and her essence flowed over his tongue and down his throat. Then he felt her bite on his shoulder.

In his mind, he saw the silhouettes of two people backlit by red. They approached each other with even and steady steps and raised their hands, linking them together. Once they were toe to toe, they embraced, and the distance between them diminished until he couldn’t tell them apart.

“Gunner,” Imogen sighed, leaning her head back onto the pillow. “Did you see that?”

“We’ve been made one.”

“It was so beautiful. Does that mean it’s over?”

Sinking into her heat again, he said, “For the Thirst, yeah. But, baby, this is just our beginning.”