Wide-eyed, terrified, and completely sober, I asked him, “How do I know he won’t kill me now?”
“He promised me he wouldn’t. And he never breaks his promises. Because of Vonderlust. Because it exists among men, both undead and the living. Because it is real, and he knows it is real. He’s never questioned Vonderlust.”
“Vonderlust,” I whispered.
“Yes, Vonderlust,” he whispered in return. “Another mortal man like yourself will enter Lord Hyde’s life. He’ll make him immortal. He’ll find a third lover. He’ll find Vonderlust again. He truly will. He knows this.”
“Like us,” I said to Von Shelly.
“Like us,” he repeated, and our mouths met, and we kissed.
Our Vonderlust.
* * * *
We didn’t make mad, passionate love on my sofa. No. It didn’t happen that way. Instead, I stopped kissing him, pul
