Alexei.” “I’m very happy with you too, kotyonok.” Alexei reached up to brush a strand of hair from Jay’s rosy cheek. “I didn’t have a real childhood. Your adulthood was stolen from you. Do you think together you and I could make one complete person?” Jay pressed his cheek into Alexei’s palm. “Except I’m not a person.” “You are.” Alexei frowned, confused at Jay’s self-assessment. “You mean because you have a”—what had Jay called it?—“a beastie inside you?” Jay nodded solemnly against Alexei’s hand. Alexei let out a slow breath. “You’re a person, Jay. A vampire person, maybe. But still a
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