Page 83 of Midnight Queen

“Are you telling him thank you again?” she asks against my back. Even without seeing her face, I can hear the soft smile in her voice. While things have changed, she’s as observant as always. Nothing gets past her now.

Raising my hands, I weave my fingers through hers and hold them against my sternum. “Something like that.”Thank youwill never be a strong enough sentiment for Ira. “Figured I’d have one last conversation with him before we leave for New York.”

Admittedly, I wasn’t completely sure about spreading his ashes in the garden when Quincey first suggested it, but now I know it was absolutely the best place for him to be. He was never as content as he was when he was tending to his garden.

Quincey, keeping her arms around my torso, twists her body so she can move to my side. “That’s ridiculous, Silas. Just because you won’t be here inthisgarden doesn’t mean you won’t still be able to talk to him when you want.” Tilting her head, she pins me with her eyes. Just like her warmth, the softness in her eyes hasn’t left. “You’ll carry him with you wherever you go. Plus, I was planning on taking a cutting of these roses with us. I figured we could plant more at the new house.”

‘House’is putting it mildly. I’ve found another sprawling estate in upstate New York that’s far enough away from other houses to ensure our privacy. The updating and modifications that are needed for vampire residents are being completed in the next month, but in the meantime, we’ll live in the penthouse I’ve owned in the city for many years. New York has always been a city I’ve had business in, but it’s never been one I’ve lived in for long stretches of time. I’m looking forward to the change.

After the events at the church, Bria has taken a hiatus in her business dealings, and for the time being, has left me the rights to her docks. It’s a region I haven’t had the chance to conquer to its full extent and this opportunity she’s giving me is one I intend to profit heavily from.

“I think that’s a great idea.”

She smiles at me once before her nose scrunches up in distaste. “You need to change—you smell like smoke.” For most, the hardest part of becoming a vampire is the bloodlust, but not Quincey. It’s been the enhanced sense of smell. The scents she used to enjoy as a human now are too strong for her. Almost immediately, she went through my colognes and body washes, throwing away the ones that made her pull the same face she has now. “Don’t pack this suit with the rest of your clothes, you don’t want them all to smell.”

In all my years, I’ve never seen someone adapt to being a vampire as fast as she did. I worried about keeping her contained away from humans for some time, but within the first two weeks, she was spending time with Lucy and Duke without a problem.

“Might be easier if I just threw it away,” I offer, partially teasing, but the humor seems to have been lost on her. “What’s going through that head of yours?”

My hands wrap around her shoulders, and I force her to stand in front of me.

Every time I look at her now, I’m overwhelmed with so much gratitude that she made it through. There was a period I really thought I was too late, and not enough of my blood had made it into her system. After removing her lifeless body from the floor of St. Sin, I took her home, and I paced at the end of the bed where she lay. And as much as I wanted her to wake up, I dreaded it in the same breath. I was afraid she would not wake up the Quincey I know and love.

When her eyes finally did open and she looked at me with the same level of emotion she always has, I knew her humanity was intact. The amount of relief I felt took me to my fucking knees, and that’s where I stayed until she wrapped her newly strengthen limbs around me in a tight—borderline painful—hug.

There was a learning curve at the beginning where she adapted to her new body. While there are many things that have remained the same, like her eyes and her soul, similar to every person who’s turned, she experienced a few physical changes as well.

Her hair is longer and silkier. It also appears to have lightened a few shades—something I didn’t think was possible. The golden glow to her skin is no more and is now perfectly porcelain, just like mine. There isn’t a single flaw in her complexion. The freckles that sat across the bridge of her nose and upper cheekbones are gone, but so are the scars she acquired during her human years. This means the Xs Gideon carved into her chest were completely erased from existence. She swore she was okay with them, but I know she felt some reprieve to not have to carry those around as a reminder.

“Did you burn Cecily’s things because of me?” I hadn’t discussed my plans with Quincey, and I wasn’t sure if she’d seen me carry the items out of the house, but of course she knew what I was doing. “I just want to make sure you know I wouldneverask you to do something like that.”

I take her face in my hands. “I know you’d never ask me to, my love.” Knowing her, without having to be asked, she’d offer to help me get the items ready for transport. She’s that generous and understanding. “It was just time. I can’t let the objects from the past hold me back when I have a beautiful future with you in front of me.”

True to her nature, she’s not wearing any shoes, and she has to lean up on her bare tippy-toes to press a chaste kiss to my mouth. “Lifetimes,” she says against my lips. “We have lifetimes.”

Lifetimes.

I was prepared to face those endless years alone, but now I’ll never be alone again. For the rest of my infinite days, I will have her by my side.

“That we do.” I thought I wanted six more years with her as a human, but there’s a peace in knowing our eternity has already started. “I’m looking forward to each second.”

“Me too.” She pulls away with a sly smile on her face. “You’re probably not going to look forward to the next couple hours though…”

My brows pull in confusion. “And why’s that?”

Her eyes roll. “Silas, you can’t put thisgiantring on my finger and expect them to not want to celebrate with us.” Quincey waves her left hand around and the rather large emerald-cut diamond glints in the moonlight. Call it old-fashioned, but of course I wanted to marry the woman I will share a bed with the rest of my life.

She attempts to teasingly back away from me in the house's direction, but I snag her fingers before she can get too far. I pull her to me and trap her in my arms. “What if I wanted you all to myself tonight?”

Her perfect white teeth bite into her bottom lip. “I’d say you can have your wicked way with me when they leave.”

“I’m not a patient man, Quincey.”

“I know,” she breathes, her pupils dilating. “But try to be, for me. I want to spend time with everyone before we leave.”

“Quincey, it’s not like you won’t ever see them again. Duke will visit New York frequently to keep me up to date on things here, and Lucy and Della have already booked multiple flights for the coming year.”

“I know this, but when is the next time we’ll all be in the same room with each other?”

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