“He’s a thoughtful ki—man.”
A wicked smile stole across her lips. “Oh, he’s a man all right.”
Slater laughed. “Let me see if I have this straight. You two went dancing. Then he took you back for a romantic gift, and convinced you he wanted more?”
She nodded. “Pretty much. The problem is I crave his blood. I’m not talking about hunger, I don’t need to feed. A taste is what I crave—worse than anything.”
“You’ve drank from Others in dire circumstances and didn’t fall to the Shadowstalker’s ways. What makes you think this would be different?”
“I think this is what Armand said happened when he found his bloodbound. He didn’t need her blood, but he needed a taste, and that was enough.”
“Did she ever fall under his spell?”
Victoria shook her head. “No. That’s not the point though. I realize he’s a man, but he’s naive. He hasn’t experienced love.”
His brow arched. “Until Lincoln, have you?”
She shook her head.
“Then what’s the problem, Victoria?”
“What if he finds someone better and can’t let go of me?”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You can’t keep waiting for everything to go wrong in your life.”
She nodded. “I told him about the craving, and his first response was that he was going to have Fallon give him a tattoo.”
“Because you’re it for him. He’s bright. Why can’t you accept that he actually knows what he wants?”
“I don’t deserve him. He’s better than anything I could have dreamed up.”
“Stop right there. You, out of everyone in this town, deserve happiness.”
She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.
“Who told me to go after Jess and explain what I feel?”
“Me,” she muttered.
“And who saved her life, when you could have easily taken it?”
“Me… and Lincoln.” Her head tipped to the side.
“I hadn’t thought of that.” He grinned. “You two are perfect for each other.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now go to him.”
* * * *
Lincoln finally pulled his clothes on and walked back to his house. She needed to talk, probably to Slater. Somehow, he didn’t feel awkward about that. They were close, always had been. Over the years, he knew about their friendship, and other stuff. He’d once overheard a conversation about things he had no business hearing.
He hoped Slater could convince Victoria to accept his love.
Stepping inside, he found his father sitting cross-legged in front of the fire with dozens of letters piled in front of him, open and face down. Tears streamed down his face while he read from one of the many journals.
Lincoln moved in front of Jophiel and took a seat across from him. “You okay?”
Nodding, Jophiel looked up with despair in his eyes. “I missed so much. I failed you, failed your mother.”
Reaching out, he caught his father’s shoulder. “You didn’t fail her. You kept looking. It was bad luck. Nothing more.”
“I should have tried harder.”
“Could something have happened while you were being held by HARP? Could they have done something to prevent you from finding her? They held you for two years.”
Shrugging, he sighed. “Maybe. There’s no telling.”
“I bet I know people who could find answers.”
Jophiel’s brow arched. “No wonder you made your mother so proud.”
“She wanted to keep me from Victoria.” Lincoln sighed and sat down more comfortably. “Kept warning me about how she’d use me. That’s not Victoria.”
“Ethyl only saw the side Victoria shows the world. The woman who never really joins society, and runs from anyone who could show her love.”
He’d seen that too, but he knew there was more under the surface. “Mom always told me not to judge a book by its cover. That what was written on the pages could tell a very different story. She never gave Victoria a chance.”
“She has a fear of vampires and has for centuries. Long ago, she was taken from me by one. The memories never left her.”
“Think she could ever accept my love for Victoria? Even if Victoria hasn’t said the words, I feel it when we’re together.” Lincoln swallowed hard, realizing what he admitted.
“I do. She hadn’t seen the softer side of Victoria. I bet she’s watched the change and I’m sure she’s proud of you.”
“I pray so. I’d hate to disappoint her, but I won’t let Victoria go.”
“Sometimes, you have to find your own path, regardless of what people around you think or say. Even your parents. She knew that.”
“Enough about me. Do the letters help, or make the pain worse?”
“Both, but it’s all right. She shared everything I missed. Your first words, your first steps, cherished memories. I wish I could have seen every moment. She missed you falling in love, but I’m sure she’s watching over you.”
A nervous laugh escaped. “I hope she missed my first time.”
His father chuckled. “Don’t worry about that.”
“I could have healed Mom. She wouldn’t allow me to. Wouldn’t even let me take her pain.”
“I know, son. The journals hinted she was afraid I wouldn’t love her the same way if she were older. It was never about her beauty, but about her soul. She’s a light that brightens my whole world. I miss her every single day.”
“Me too. I wish I hadn’t shut her away like I did while she lingered.”
“You needed to live your life. When I see her again, I’ll make sure she knows how much you love her, but you needed her to let you go so you could become the man you are. She knew she sheltered you too much, but she was afraid to see you hurt.”
Lincoln smiled softly. “She was a great mother.”
“You did the right thing. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” A light danced through Jophiel’s eyes. “How was your date?”
“Perfect. She finally let me in. Now I need to find a way to erase the lingering doubts.”
“I have faith in you.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll make some calls and see what we can find out about something blocking you from feeling Mom.”
Lincoln’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen.
“Go ahead. You don’t need to take care of me.”
“Even if she wants me to come over?”
“If she asks you to stay the rest of the night, do it.”
Nodding, Lincoln stood up and walked outside again. “Hello, Victoria.”
“I want to ask you something but I need to preface it with a warning.”
“Does it involve staying the night with you?”
“Yes. Listen first. Please.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I die at dawn. My body will be a corpse. Slater always hated waking up to my cold body. I wouldn’t blame you for declining, or even freaking out when you realize I’m dead next to you.”
“Give me a chance, Victoria. I did my research. I already knew to expect that. Cold or not, you’re still you, and I want to be with you.”
“Then come over. Falling asleep in your arms sounds like heaven.”
“I wish I’d be there for you to wake up, but I have to work tomorrow.”
“There will be other opportunities. I promise.”
Chapter 17
Lincoln lay awake, running his fingers through Victoria’s silken hair. He’d never realized how empty he’d been before. With her he felt full, at peace.
Smiling she traced a finger up his side. “Lincoln, you need to sleep. You’re going to be tired in the morning if you don’t.”
He shrugged. “Worth it. I don’t want to miss a moment with you.”
She laughed softly. “You’ll change your mind when you wake up and realize I’m not the
warm, inviting woman next to you now.”
“You’re looking at it all wrong. You don’t change. Your temperature does. You’ll still be with me.”
Her eyes hooded. “I hope you feel that way in the morning.”
“New rule, Vic. No more thinking for me. I’m a man who is quite capable of coming to my own conclusions. Don’t assume I’m going to draw the same ones as the men who came before.” He winced, not wanting to think about those men.
She caught his face and kissed him hard. “You’re right. You keep showing me the man you are. A thousand times better than any of them. It’s hard to remember anything but the hurtful things they said.”
“I’ll help you forget.” He rolled her to her back and moved between her legs. Then he swallowed. “This isn’t too much, is it?”
Victoria grinned, reaching between them to take hold of his hard length. “Oh no, I can take everything you have, anytime you want to give it.”
“I can’t get enough of you,” he admitted. “Doubt I ever could.”
“We have forever.”
He pushed into her as he dropped his mouth to hers. The kiss was passionate. Her hands explored his body, sending even more sensation through him.
She pushed him to his back and sat up. The view she made took his breath away as she started to ride. Ivory silk over lush curves he was allowed to touch. Eager to explore more of her, he started with his palms on her thighs before gliding his hands up her body to cup her full breasts.
“Never enough,” he moaned, his hips rocking into hers at the slow pace she’d set. The pleasure was heady, rippling through him, drawing him closer until he finally spilled with her coming around him.
She collapsed on his chest, and he wrapped her in his arms.
“Lincoln,” she murmured, “you asked before if it was always like this. Never before has sex been like it is with you, not ever. This is so much more.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her skin. “That means you’ll keep me?”
“As long as you’ll allow.”
He kissed her, wishing he could take away whatever made her doubt. His new mission was to figure out how to do that. A yawn escaped his lips.
She trailed her fingers into his hair and snuggled against him. “Sleep, please. I don’t want you to be a zombie tomorrow.”
* * * *
Lincoln woke to the sound of his alarm. Victoria was still curled around him, warm and snoring softly. Reaching behind him, he grabbed his phone to make sure he had it set for the right time.
Eight A.M.
A smile pulled at his lips. He wasn’t sure why she was still alive, but he had a feeling it was a good sign. He pressed a kiss to her head, and slipped from her arms. Finding stationary on her desk, he quickly wrote a note.
Lovely Victoria,
I woke to a very warm woman snuggled into me with the most adorable snore. I’ll take that as a sign what we share is strong and meant to be. In fact, I plan to swing by A Good Book to see if they have anything to explain this welcome phenomenon.
If I didn’t have to work today, I would stay and hold you.
Until this evening, my Love,
Lincoln
With a sigh, he pulled his clothes on to head back home. He had several things on his to-do list for today.
* * * *
Hadraniel gave Jophiel a long look before speaking. “Your son is exactly what Victoria has always needed. I hope we can stop Jones this time.”
Nodding, Jophiel replied, “You and me both. Think we can track them down?”
“Preston is helping. If you can tell him what to look for, I believe he can find Jones and Mena.”
A shudder rocked through Jophiel. The woman had tortured him, repeatedly, when she failed to arouse him. Her goal had been to milk his semen to impregnate as many as she could. He wasn’t sure that would even work. Nephilim were rare, and without love he’d never heard of one being conceived. That didn’t stop HARP from trying.
Two long years, and he had the scars to prove it. They were still fading, and he wasn’t sure they would ever completely heal.
“I wonder if we can determine what broke my bond to Ethyl? It’s the one thing I can think of that would suppress my ability to find her.”
Hadraniel shrugged. “I’ve been looking into it, but I don’t have answers yet, Jo. You said your son was going to look into a few resources?”
“Honestly though, what would he be able to find that we couldn’t?”
“Not everyone trusts the divine,” Hadraniel pointed out. “Perhaps there is something documented we wouldn’t be privy to. It doesn’t hurt for him to try.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t. Though I’ll admit I don’t have much hope he’ll find an answer.”
“Have faith. There’s always a reason things happen the way they do.” Hadraniel patted him on the back.
Lincoln walked through the door with a grin plastered on his face. He looked up with a raised brow. “Hey, hope you weren’t waiting on me.”
“No. You’re here in time for breakfast though.”
“I need a shower first. I’ll be right out, but I won’t have long. I have a couple things to look into before work.” He zipped through the living room, back to the bathroom.
“Doesn’t seem as shy today,” Hadraniel offered.
Jophiel nodded. “I think she might be his soul companion.”
“She’s very lucky then. Maybe she’ll finally realize she isn’t damned.”
“Has a vampire ever been a soul companion before?”
“Never a Shadowstalker, but the last vampire I heard of gained the ability to walk in the sun. I’m not sure she’ll be able to, but it’s a possibility.”
* * * *
Mom would have given him a lecture if she knew where he stayed the night before. Jophiel clearly knew and wasn’t even fazed. Why did his angel father accept it, but not his human mother? Maybe it really was strictly the vampire issue.
Freshly showered, Lincoln hurried to dress. He wanted to find answers soon. Jophiel and Hadraniel were still at the counter, eating and chatting. The topic changed as soon as he came out.
“What were you talking about?”
“How much happier you seem now,” Jophiel answered.
His brows cranked down. “I’m sorry, but what would you know about how happy I was before?”
“Your mother’s journals. She wrote about how you were always missing something.”
“Missing someone,” Lincoln answered. “I have her now.”
“And it shows,” Hadraniel replied.
Lincoln moved to grab breakfast from the counter. “Thank you.”
Hadraniel leaned in. “Anything weird about waking up next to a vampire?”
Lincoln laughed softly, shaking his head. “No. Well, maybe. She warned me she would be a cold corpse, but she was warm, and very much alive. Even snoring.”
Hadraniel grinned, his head bobbing. “That’s what I thought.”
“What does it mean?”
“She’s your soul companion. Something angels sometimes find. The other half of their soul. Much as Ethyl is to Jophiel.”
Lincoln turned to his father. “Please, promise me you’ll explain that to me later.”
“Of course. In fact, we plan to catch up with you at In 2 Deep,” Jophiel promised.
Hadraniel nodded. “Yup. We have a couple things to check up on ourselves.”
“See you then.”
Chapter 18
Lincoln parked outside Inktastic and walked in. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he moved to the counter where Fallon sat sketching something.
“Hey, Fallon. Think you could fit me in sometime today? Before sunset? I’m sure Jess would let me out early.”
Her scarlet brow arched. “Think you could go in late?”
He nodded, pulling his phone out to dial Jess. “How late?”
“Hang on. What are you looking for?”
A soft smile lift
ed his lips. “Sun and moon, one piece. Black and white.”
“Who gave you this idea?”
“I did. Victoria’s my moon, I hope to be her sun.”
She bit her lip, studying him. After a moment, she grinned. “You finally got her to give you a chance?”
He nodded. “Am I going to have to convince you to do a tattoo symbolizing what I feel?”
“You already have, Lincoln. You’re not a man to make rash decisions, and I can see the confidence on your face. I’ll do it. Give me ten minutes to draw something. Call Jess.”
He nodded. “I need to run across the street to talk to whoever is over at A Good Book. Be back in a few.”
“Sounds good.”
Stepping outside, he dialed Jess as he crossed the street.
“Hey, Lincoln. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I need to be late today. I’m going—”
“Need the day off? Or just a few hours?”
“Um, that easy?” he asked in shock.
“You’ve never called in sick, and you’ve never asked for a day off. If you need the time, take it. I can cover for you.”
“Let me ask Fallon how long this should take and I’ll text you an approximate time.”
“Fallon?”
Lincoln scoffed, “You didn’t see this happening in one of your visions?”
“I did,” she admitted, “but assumed it would take longer to get to this point.”
“We’re there.”
“I’ll see you when you get here,” she answered immediately. “Talk to you later.”
“Later, Jess.”
He entered A Good Book and found Liz and Robert leaning against the counter, talking quietly.
“Hey, you two. Do you have any books on angels and their soul companions? Specifically, what could prevent the angel from finding their companion again?”
Robert looked to Liz, then back to Lincoln. “This is for Jophiel?”
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