“He went farther into the shadows to exchange his pants for the leather breeches. Too bad. When he emerged again, he looked pretty good even though it wasn’t his style. And he was lucky there were no tights, after all. He tilted his head.'You like it.''Shut up.' I blushed. I hated vampire extrasensory perception. It wasn’t fair that he could hear my heartbeat or smell my skin or what ever.'Girls are so weird.'Kieran snorted. 'No kidding.''Please, you two were fighting ten minutes ago, and now you’re the best of friends?' I said witheringly. 'Guys are weird.”

“The best part of the ceremony was after Shy kissed his bride, and when we were done, he didn't let go. So I stood in his arms, my thumb stroking his jaw, my eyes gazing up at him. the world had melted away, so I didn't hear the hoots and hollers of friends and family. I only heard what he muttered in a voice that was weirdly raw but unbelievable beautiful: "Like I'm the only man on the planet." In that minute, he was but then again, for me, really, when it came down to it, he always had been.”

“His thumb went back and forth over the satin, as if he were rubbing her hip as he had when they’d been together, and he moved his leg over so that it was on top of the skirting.It wasn’t the same, though. There was no body underneath, and the fabric smelled like lemons, not her skin. And he was, after all, alone in this room that was not theirs.“God, I miss you,” he said in a voice that cracked. “Every night. Every day…”

“V looked into his best friend’s eyes and realized… yeah, Butch wasn’t going to judge him. They were cool no matter what.With a curse, V rubbed the center of his chest and blinked. He never cried but he felt as if he could at this moment.Butch nodded as if he knew exactly what was doing. “Like I said, my man, it’s whatever. You and me? Same as always, no matter who you screw. Although… if you’re into sheep, that would be tough. Don’t know if I could handle that.”V had to smile. “I don’t do farm animals.”“Can’t stand hay in your leathers?”“Or wool in my teeth.”

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked as I sat down at the table not really big enough for two. Liam grabbed my bag and tossed it onto the table. “First we unpack, and then I expect to see you on your knees.” After the exchange with Diaz my brain automatically went somewhere very, very bad. “W-w-what?” I could feel the blush stretching over every inch of my body. Seriously, I think my feet were even embarrassed and angry. “I’m not… I won’t…” I knew the moment Liam realized what I was thinking because his face also shot up in flames. “No! Not… That.” He looked as though he was having some sort of episode, like maybe an aneurysm. “You were supposed to get down on your knees and beg me for forgiveness because you were wrong about the pizza guy. I don’t want… I mean, I wasn’t asking you to--” I held up a hand. “Please don’t say it. I think we’ve both been traumatized enough.”

“I’ll be your family now,” he says.“I love you,” I say.I said that once, before I went to Erudite headquarters, but he was asleep then. I don’t know why I didn’t say it when he could hear it. Maybe I was afraid to trust him with something so personal as my devotion. Or afraid that I did not know what it was to love someone. But now I think the scary thing was not saying it before it was almost too late. Not saying it before it was almost too late for me.I am his, and he is mine, and it has been that way all along.He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response.He frowns at me. “Say it again.”“Tobias,” I say, “I love you.”His skin is slippery with water and he smells like sweat and my shirt sticks to his arms when he slides them around me. He presses his face to my neck and kisses me right above the collarbone, kisses my cheek, kisses my lips.“I love you, too,” he says.”