Negative.

Negative.

Negative.

That was the most beautiful word in the English language today.

The nurse—who had become a friend over the past few stress-filled weeks—had laughed when I’d thrown my arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. Then she’d reminded me that I still needed to stay on the meds for the duration of the prescription, and I’d assured her that I knew.

But…negative. Negative…

That was what I’d needed to hear.

Not knowing had been hell. Jacen and I had been living like monks, or rather a monk and a nun. Granted, he’d told me it wasn’t necessary, but I wasn’t taking that risk. Not with him. He meant too much to me.

So we’d cuddled. And talked. And taken cold showers.

While all that had probably been good for our relationship, I was more than ready to get back to the physical.

Now, with the needed words printed on a piece of paper, I was beyond eager to get home. After Jacen’s time at the hotel had run out, he’d moved into my apartment with me. Neither of us pretended that it was ‘just until he found somewhere.’ We were living together, and if anyone thought that was too fast, they could either talk to us about it or butt the hell out.

By the time I reached the door, my hands were shaking with need. I entered quietly, not wanting to wake Jacen. At least not that way. I stripped off my clothes in the living room and headed into the bedroom, completely naked.

I crawled up the bed, the cotton sheets soft against my skin. I had a condom wrapper between my teeth, and every inch of my body was throbbing with need. Jacen was awake before I managed to get the sheet off, and I found myself on my back only a few seconds later.

The condom went flying, and I glared at him.

“I don’t need that.” His mouth crushed down on mine.

I pulled back a minute later, gasping for air. “You should use it,” I reminded him. “Just in case—”

“Nope.” He kissed his way down my neck as he pushed his knee between my thighs. “No more waiting. I need to be inside you and I refuse to have anything between us.”

He lightly bit the side of my breast and I gasped, my hands on his shoulders pulling and pushing. His cock was hot and hard against the inside of my leg and I knew I should refuse to go any further until he got that condom, but if I was being completely honest with myself, I didn’t want anything between us either.

“I love you,” he said, his expression serious. “I’ll get the condom if you–”

I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my hands behind his neck. “No. Now.”

His face lit up, and he slid inside with one smooth stroke. My eyelids fluttered and my toes curled as time stood still.

My eyes locked with his and I could see everything in those dark depths. “I love you.”

He covered my mouth with his as we moved together, skin against skin, friction in all the right places. This was a dance I’d done before, but at the same time, a dance I’d never done before. Nothing I’d experienced in the past could come close to what this was like.

I came first, an explosion of color and light that sent pleasure rushing through every cell, across every nerve. And then he was there with me, saying my name as he pulsed inside me. And I knew he was right.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

“Who are you supposed to be?”

Kaleb studied my costume, the frown on his face saying that he didn’t entirely approve of the filmy white gown I was wearing at tonight’s party.

Too fucking bad.

It’d been four months since the incident with Daytin, and my relationship with my brother was better than it had been, but not all the tension between us had disappeared. We were still working on it though. Piety had been fiercely in my corner, and that helped. She’d all but dragged me back to the clinic and demanded I not let my idiot brother run me off.

It had also helped that Daytin had confessed that a maintenance worker had convinced her to try to break into the clinic. Piety had been pretty smug about that, making Kaleb feel like shit for not believing in me until he’d apologized. More than once.

And then she’d kept after me until I’d met with someone about changing my major. She was the reason I was now studying art therapy.

“She’s Christine,” Jacen said, flourishing his cape.

“Ah,” Kaleb said. “Phantom of the Opera.”

“You know,” Jacen said as came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m surprised you all let Astra borrow Jeremiah.”

“She’s not borrowing him,” Kaleb corrected.

“Yes, she is.” Piety approached, looking absolutely radiant in a sleek gold column and a simple black mask. Kaleb wore all black and a gold mask. They’d said they were night and day—it made sense to me.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, was Flounder. Flounder…to Astra’s Ariel from and Dash’s Prince Eric. He was toddling around, making everybody who saw him smile.

He’d also been the one to present Astra with an engagement ring a few minutes ago. I was surprised Dash had trusted the baby with the ornate box. Granted, he’d only walked four feet to give it to his ‘Auntie Tra,’ but the kid had once almost swallowed an acorn, so it had been a risk.

We’d all known it was her engagement party, even Astra, but the cuteness of the gesture had been over the moon.

“How are your classes going, Jacen?” Piety asked.

I slid my boyfriend a look, smothering a smile. She’d been working on him, too. Piety was a wonder that way. Kaleb had hit the jackpot with her.

“They’re going…well.” He smiled, looking pleased with himself.

She’d convinced him that his love for sports was deeper than just the game, and he was now working on a degree in sports therapy. He’d work on the body and I’d work on the soul.

I’d already been practicing some art therapy with Daytin. Unofficially, of course. She had a real therapist she saw regularly and was doing amazingly well.

She was also pregnant.

That had been the thing that had really made her decide to change. She’d been with a friend of Jacen’s when she’d taken the test, and seeing that positive result had changed everything. She’d gone back into rehab, completed the program, and done every single thing the counselors had told her she needed to do.

We helped each other stay clean now.

After a few minutes, my brother and sister-in-law wandered off, and I turned to my boyfriend and held out a hand.

“You want to dance?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

He led me out onto the dance floor and pulled me into his arms.

“You look happy,” he murmured into my ear.

“I am.” For the first time in a long time, maybe forever, I felt happy. “You’re looking pretty pleased yourself there, big guy.”

“Maybe that’s because I’m dancing with the most beautiful woman at the ball.”

I grinned at him. “I love you.”

“Love you back, Camry.”

Then he kissed me, and I laid my head on his chest, knowing this was just the beginning of our story.