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‘No,’ he says, leaning in, his voice low and lethal. ‘But I’m hoping you will let me do things to you that you have only dreamed of.’

His hands travel up my thighs and then the world tilts. He flips me with inhuman speed, seating himself onto the chair and draping me across his lap. His body fills the space as my thighs straddle him.

His hands stay on my thighs, his thumbs brushing slow circles across my skin, deceptively gentle, but there’s nothing soft in his eyes. They’re locked on mine, making liquid heat simmer through my stomach.

‘Is this more comfortable?’ I ask, tracing my fingers down the lines of blood on his chest.

His fingers move to my hips, tightening against my skin.

‘With you on top of me?’ he says, mouth curving. ‘Of course.’

‘And what exactly do you plan to do now?’ I whisper.

He chuckles, low and dark, the sound more dangerous than amused.

‘Oh, my love,’ he murmurs, hands sliding up my thighs. ‘I can’t wait to show you.’

With a vicious tug of his fingers, he rips away my underwear, lifts my hips and slams me down onto his cock. I release a sharp gasp as he fills me, stretching me almost uncomfortably at first. He thrusts hard into me at the same time as his fangs drive into my skin. The moan that escapes me fills the room as I grind against him, fingernails slashing down his shoulder blades.

As I rock my hips back and forth, I hold his gaze, enjoying the way he watches me, like there is nothing else around us and we are the only two people in the world.

Increasing my pace, I circle my hips, grinding deliciously against him, feeling myself inch closer and closer to the release that I’m chasing. He drives up into me, growing more fervent with each thrust. My fingers slip between us as I apply pressure to the most sensitive part of my body.

The delicious combination of both sensations has pleasure coursing through me, my orgasm hitting me in a violent wave, my vision temporarily blurring as I throw my head back. The bond sings through me as Theo releases at the same time, hands in a secure, tight grip on my hips.

I collapse into him, our foreheads pressed together. He combs his fingers through my hair, peppering the side of my face with kisses.

‘I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,’ he murmurs, voice like silk.

I smile, my heart feeling full for the very first time.

‘Good,’ I whisper. ‘Because you’re stuck with me.’

The bass hits so hard it rattles my ribs.

The dance floor is a blur of motion, bodies tangled together, neon lights flickering through the room like lightning. It smells like heat, vodka and temptation. When Theo suggested a night out on the town, I wasn’t sure what everyone’s reactions would be, but they easily agreed.

I need this. We all do.

The war’s over. The hunters are gone. The witches have fallen silent. For the first time since everything shattered, I’m not looking over my shoulder. I’m just dancing with my boyfriend, surrounded by the new people in my life, and it feels so nice.

Theo spins me around, his hands tight around my waist, and I laugh, a too-loud kind of laugh that only happens when you’re a little drunk and a little high on human blood. I can still taste it on my tongue. When Theo directed me to feed on a dancing stranger in the middle of the dance floor, I thought he was crazy, but it felt so natural, and so damn good. They’re still dancing, now in an endorphin-blissed high, looking more relaxed than ever. I don’t feel guilty at all, not now that I know how much fun this can be, and that no one has to get hurt.

He’s grinning too, eyes wild, shirt clinging to him in all the right places, fangs just visible when he leans in close. ‘You look dangerously good tonight.’

Shooting him a flirtatious smile, I twist out of his grip and pull him right back. We crash into each other with a restless intensity. A remix of a popular pop song kicks in and the music feels like it is pulsing underneath my skin.

Tonight, I’m Tara, the vampire. No longer a pawn, or a weapon, or bait. I’m young, and alive, and I have the rest of eternity to make up for lost time.

Theo’s arms snake around my hips, his mouth on my neck, fingers tangled through my hair like he can’t stand even an inch of space between us. The others are somewhere nearby. I spot Raya laughing at the bar, a drink in her hand, under the lights as Hunter leans toward her. Cora is up on the bar dancing, with Kian watching her from a booth, a slow predatory smile tugging up the corner of his mouth.

A sharp-edged little group – family – of survivors and monsters.

Theo’s lips brush my ear, voice low and dark. ‘You’re glowing.’

‘Vampire perk.’

‘No,’ he murmurs. ‘That’s all you.’