Page 39 of Gyft

The lock opens with a loud click, but I still don’t make a move to swing the door open. Not yet. And he’s respectful enough not to turn the handle on his end.

“You hurt me, Gyft,” I whisper through the closed door, still using it as a shield.

“I hurt too. I hurt so bad without you.” His voice isn’t loud, I shouldn’t be able to hear him so clearly, but I do. It’s like he’s right there with me, breathing the same air.

I kind of wonder what Yvette will do if I let him in, but I don’t have to worry. When I do open the door, Minniel stands about ten feet behind my ex-husband.

Who looks rough. White freelig hangs limp around his hunched shoulders, his eyes are ringed with dark circles, and his glorious, silvery scaled skin has lost its luster.

But even with all that, he straightens when he sees me, his dull eyes come to life, and he focuses like he never wants to tear his eyes away again. And even though I’m not paying much attention to anyone but Gyft, I see how Minniel has zeroed in on Yvette, how he moves to the side of the cottage where there’s a glass sliding patio door, how she floats over to the door also, as if by unspoken agreement. They reach each other at the same time, but I lose focus on them as I study Gyft.

What can I say now that we’re face to face? I can’t say how are you, that much is obvious. I can’t say what do you want, he’ll answer with: you.

“I need you,” he says simply.

“You need my blood,” I say. I know all the vampire rules from old Earth Halloween stories. “You bit me once and now you need it to keep healthy. Like that first night in the forest when you drank the beast monster’s. I’m perfectly willing to offer my neck. We could even keep it platonic—”

His snort is loud, too loud.

“I need you because you’re more than my bride.” He holds up a hand at my protest, my reminder that we’re divorced. “My mate. You’re my one true mate, Livvie.”

I shake my head.

“Has the mark healed?” he asks.

There’s a reason why I’m wearing a high collar. No, his fangs are still scarred on my throat, like the vampire I once accused him of being. The constant hickey from when he first told me he loved me. It never faded.

“It hasn’t,” he says. “Even though you’re human. You know why? Because it’s the mateship bite. It included my venom. It makes us compatible in every way. Everyone in H’liyio acknowledged our mating. I meant to tell you what it meant but I was blindsided by the divorce going through.”

“The divorce you forgot about,” I say numbly. “And the stealing of our shuttle. That was what you wanted all along.”

“You’re a baby planet, Olivia. That shuttle will make you a target just like the first contact did. Our superiors knew from day one that we needed to get that system and see how it worked. I didn’t have a choice about that. And yes, I requested the divorce. I’m sorry, my love. I only wanted it before I met you. Once I found you in the woods, I was lost.”

Somehow he’s moved closer, so close I can feel the warmth of his skin where he’s hunched up against me, his face near my hair as hebreathes me in. And I want nothing more than to sink into his arms, to rub my cheek against the scales on his chest. Maybe, just maybe... well, I can’t bear not to touch him, so I snake one arm around his waist.

“You’ll want to get remarried?” I ask.

“Yes. Anything.”

“You’ll want me to move in with you? To the castle?”

“Yes. We’ll keep this house—your cottage—near your escape town of H’liyio.”

“What about Yvette?” I ask, eyes narrowed.

“We’ll keep her. She can stay at the castle, or stay here. Come and go, just like us. Same time, different times. Whatever you both want.”

“And you’re fine with being newly... mated and having someone else in our house?”

“Of course. You’re my mate, Livvie. Nothing less. You’ll have everything you ever want.”

“Would you be willing to play Santa for the event that Yvette and I will put on? Even if everyone is scandalized with the red?”

There’s a slight pause before he answers. “If you would like me to, then, yes, I will play this. Santa.”

“You’ll wear red?” Because this is a new planet. We can probably have Santa wear blue. But that will be a surprise for later.

“If you like.”

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