“Yes. My love.”

A smile formed on his lips. “My queen.”

He stood and lifted her into his arms. Her hands laced behind his neck, and she brought her lips back to his to kiss him. Finally, he could let himself go. He’d told her everything, and she’d forgiven him. Nothing stood in their way now, nothing but their clothes.

Cain knew that Wesley was still standing guard outside the door of the queen’s suite, ready to alert him should any trouble arise. But he hoped no immediate trouble would ensue to give him a chance to make the next few hours with Faye a lasting memory. It would be the start of their lives together. The beginning of eternity.

He laid her down on the bed, simultaneously ridding himself of his shoes, before slipping hers off her delicate feet and dropping them to the floor.

“I need you,” Faye murmured and reached for him, pulling him on top of her.

“So eager,” he whispered back.

“I’ve waited for you for so long.”

Cain brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “I’ll never again make you wait for anything. I promise. From now on, you’ll always come first.”

“But your kingdom—”

He put his finger over her lips. “My kingdom isn’t half as important as my love for you.”

She smiled up at him. “You have changed. A year ago the needs of the kingdom were more important to you than anything else.”

“I must have been a fool.” Cain lowered his lips to hers and took possession of her mouth, wanting to show her what he felt for her, how she got under his skin.

Her mouth was yielding, inviting his invasion and welcoming him with firm strokes of her tongue against his and the strong press of her lips against his mouth. Her hands cupped the back of his head as if she wanted to make sure that he didn’t withdraw ever again.

Finally he could explore her without regret, without guilt about the lies he’d told her. Only the truth existed between them now, and it made being in her arms so much more perfect.

“I love you,” Cain murmured between taking a breath and capturing her lips again for a deeper kiss, drowning out whatever reply she had for him.

No words were necessary now, because he could feel the depth of her devotion to him in the way her body pressed against him, the way her hips ground against his pelvis, asking silently to make her his. Just like her tongue danced with him in a mating dance as old as time itself.

Faye tasted like a rainbow after a long downpour. The scent of her skin filled his nostrils and drove a spear of anticipation through the core of his body. He was already aflame. Her kiss alone could do that to him, turn him into a man who could think of only one thing: making the woman in his arms his forever. In that instant, he reveled in the fact that he was an immortal being, a vampire, for whom the words I’ll love you forever really meant forever. And he counted himself lucky to have found Faye, to have saved her, so that she could save him in turn.

Even if he never gained his memory back, it didn’t matter anymore, because he had Faye back. She was his memory, his life. Nothing else mattered.

Slowly, with gentle movements, Cain started to peel away layer after layer of her clothing, first her T-shirt, then her jeans. Then he allowed her to do the same to him, to strip him of his shirt and his pants. He stopped her when she reached for his boxer briefs.

“Not yet.” He didn’t want to rush this, and though his cock was already tenting the front of his boxer briefs, he wasn’t ready to let the beast out of the cage. He wanted to savor this moment.

“Didn’t you just promise never to make me wait again?” Faye coaxed.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, I’m not going to make you wait, just myself. I will shower you with pleasure this instant.”

Faye slid her hand onto his nape and pulled him back down to her. “I like the sound of that.”

He brushed his lips against hers in a feather light touch, while farther down, he moved into the “v” of her thighs, his groin resting against her pelvis. Even through the fabric of their underwear, he could feel how wet she was, how ready for him.

Cain inhaled, taking the tantalizing scent of her arousal deep into his lungs. His gaze wandered from her face down to her neck, where he saw her vein pulse as if to lure him to her. Soon, he’d drive his fangs into that very spot and take her blood to form an unbreakable bond with her.

Without haste, he hooked his thumb underneath one strap of her bra and slid it off her shoulder. He did the same with the other one, then pushed the cups down, away from her breasts, exposing her rosy peaks to his view. Rock-hard, they greeted him. He dipped his head and sucked one pert nipple into his mouth, swiping his tongue over it.