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“Oh. Good to see you,” she whispered.
I laughed. “Ditto.”
“My animals healed him,” Claire reported.
I waved Hopper. “Sure did.”
Erin’s smile was a thing of beauty. Really beautiful, like the rest of her. I found myself staring, because, like the sky, the air, and the rocks, Erin was different from before. Well, the same, but more intense, somehow. Morethere.
That’s when it occurred to me that Erin might not have changed. Maybe it was me. More intense. More here. More alive.
Free,my dragon whispered happily.We’re finally free.
I was. The curtain Angelina had dropped over my soul was gone — and gone for good.
I turned my back to the hilltop where the vampire had met her demise. All that was behind us now. Ahead lay… What, exactly?
My heart pounded as Erin approached.
“You’re really okay?” Erin asked.
I nodded. “Just a little sore.”
Her chest rose as she looked me over, and she nodded briskly. “Good.”
“Good,” I whispered back.
For a moment, we stood perfectly still. Then something in me snapped, and I threw my arms around her.
Because, hell. We’d survived a balloon crash, a warlock, a vampire, and an aerial attack. We’d endured a lightning storm and destiny’s meddling. Why play it cool at a time like this?
Erin melted into my arms and hid her face against my shoulder. Her favorite spot, it seemed.
Mine too.
I held her tightly, with my arms overlapping and my cheek nestled by her hair. I still had Hopper in one hand, but that was okay. He fit too, though his floppy ear tickled my skin.
At some point, Erin pulled back just enough for her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes danced, and primal drums hammered in my soul.
“Uh-oh,” Claire stage-whispered to her animals. “I think they’re going to kiss.”
Erin’s cheeks bunched, and her skin went pink. “Sorry, kiddo. I just have to.”
“Like this?” Claire smooched her teddy bear loudly.
I laughed and held Erin even closer. Close enough for our toes to touch and her chest to press against mine. I closed my eyes, listening to her heartbeat.
“That’s hugging,” Claire pointed out.
Erin’s laugh made her wiggle in my arms. Bliss. Then she nosed her way along my jaw, looked into my eyes, and finally delivered that kiss.
Double bliss.
“Now,that’sa kiss,” Pippa chuckled, joining Claire on the porch.
Yes, it was. Not our first, but the first with my senses switched back on. Well, nearly all. My balance was out of whack, and I nearly keeled over. Or maybe my balance was fine, but the kiss was that good.
So good,my dragon side hummed.
