“You know what? That sounds like a great idea.” I slip my hands to his waist. “Rule number one. We kiss. A lot.”
“Agreed.” Vlad leans in and brushes his lips over mine, the caress sweet and gentle. There’s a hint of fang against my lower lip, but the feel of it fills me with a tight, needy anticipation. “I know what rule number two is, too.”
“Oh?” I lift my face, hoping he’ll kiss me again.
“Me telling you that I love you, too. After each time we kiss.”
I like the sound of that.
Epilogue
Vlad
Four Months Later
It feels strange to step out of the tiny pod that’s been our home for months now and onto the open docks of Cassa II. It’s full dark currently, the skies above littered with stars and swirling nebula. There’s a ring around the moon that can be seen clearly from here, and the moonlight is bright enough that Dana should be able to see well enough with her bad human eyes. A cold breeze ruffles my now-long hair, and I pull my hood over my face, shocked at the scent in the night air. It smells like . . . water. Ice water.
And everything is so open.
I look to Dana, moving instinctively closer to my mate to protect her. All of this openness makes me uneasy. “Are you all right?”
She just tilts her head back and breathes in deep, the tip of her nose bright pink with cold. The expensive vase is cradled in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. “Never been better. You okay?”
I nod.
“Great, then follow me.” Dana takes my hand in hers, and, our cold fingers entwined, we head toward a large male approaching with a datapad in hand. He’s wearing a dock uniform, a light strapped to his helmet. He’s no alien race I’ve ever seen before, but the look on his face isn’t unfriendly. He’s the one we’ve been talking to for a week now, arranging the bribes so we can get a homesteading stake here on Cassa II. Dana’s been wrangling everything from afar, and her expression is confident as she strides forward. I’ve got the bag of credits and valuables slung over my shoulder; just in case things go wrong, they’ll have to fight me to get them.
“Dana and Vlad?” the male asks.
“That’s us,” Dana replies. “You Vargis?”
He nods and glances around, then holds a pair of hard electronic chips, each the size of one of Dana’s freckles, out to us. “These are your implants. They’ll have your identities and your request for a land stake to the north of here, just as we agreed.” The man pauses. “It’s cold here, and this far north, it’s dark a lot more than it’s sunny.”
“We like the dark,” Dana says firmly.
“Good,” Vargis says. “Insert those at the tip of your forefinger, and let’s get you checked in. You brought the funds?”
I gesture at the sack over my shoulder. Dana holds up the vase, letting the blanket fall away.
The man’s eyes glitter with greed, and something tells me we aren’t the first—and won’t be the last—to work the same sort of deal. “Then let’s get you settled.”
Dana just looks up at me, her eyes shining. “Welcome home, Vlad.”
Home. I think for a moment, and then lean down and rub my nose against my mate’s cold one. “I’ve been home since the moment I met you.”
She mouths, I love you, and I kiss her because those are the rules.
Acknowledgments
A big thank-you to Maria Gomez for including me on this project and not flinching when I said I could write a space vampire. Another big thank-you to Lindsey Faber for the fantastic notes, and the rest of the Amazon Publishing team. I find this all hugely exciting.
Another quick thank-you to Holly Root, who is awesome and sauce rolled into one, and my daily writing crew—Lea, Ella, and Kati—who never tell me my ideas are weird (even when they’re about space vampires).
One last thank-you to the readers who continue to devour my strange, cheery little stories. I love you all and you make dreams come true. You can’t see it, but I’m making a heart with my hands right now.
Other titles by Ruby Dixon
With Berkley/Ace (Penguin Random House)
Royal Artifactual Guild
Bull Moon Rising
By the Horns
Ice Planet Barbarians (Special Print Edition)
Ice Planet Barbarians
Barbarian Alien
Barbarian Lover
Barbarian Mine
Barbarian’s Prize
Barbarian’s Mate
Barbarian’s Touch
Barbarian’s Taming
Barbarian’s Heart
Barbarian’s Hope
With W by Wattpad
Bound to the Shadow Prince
Available in Kindle Unlimited
The Ice Planet Barbarians Series
Ice Planet Barbarians
Barbarian Alien
Barbarian Lover
Barbarian Mine
Ice Planet Holiday (novella)
Barbarian’s Prize
Barbarian’s Mate
Having the Barbarian’s Baby (novella)
Ice Ice Babies (novella)
Barbarian’s Touch
Calm (novella)
Barbarian’s Taming
Aftershocks (novella)
Barbarian’s Heart
Barbarian’s Hope
Barbarian’s Choice
Barbarian’s Redemption
Barbarian’s Lady
Barbarian’s Rescue
Barbarian’s Tease
The Barbarian Before Christmas (novella)
Barbarian’s Beloved
Barbarian’s Valentine (novella)
Barbarian’s Seduction
Barbarian’s Treasure
Barbarian’s Bride
Barbarian’s Treat (novella)
The Icehome Series
Lauren’s Barbarian
Veronica’s Dragon
Willa’s Beast
Gail’s Family (novella)
Angie’s Gladiator
Hannah’s Hero
Devi’s Distraction
Nadine’s Champion
Callie’s Catastrophe
Penny’s Protector
Mari’s Mistake