Epilogue
Ella
Almost one year later…
“If I see another paintbrush, I’m setting it on fire,” I declared, plopping my butt down on the cardboard box full of books.
Axel laughed. “But you said you wanted blue walls that feel like the summer sky.”
“I know, I know. But now my arms feel like wet noodles.” I lifted my arms up, then dropped them dramatically.
“That’s the price of summer sky.”
I groaned.
After months of sanding, rewiring, and retiling, we’d finally managed to turn the house Axel’s parents had left for him into something we could call our own. The final step had been the painting, and we’d just put the final layer on the kitchen walls.
He’d let me choose all the colors and hadn’t even balked when I suggested bright ones, like the sky blue in the kitchen, or dark ones, like the deep forest green in the master bedroom.
I’d started this process with an excess of energy a few days ago, but was running on fumes now. I just wanted to finally move into my new home.
After our visit with my family last Christmas, Axel had taken some time off to join me in Chicago for the New Year.
At first, the plan had been for me to go visit every weekend until my lease was up.
But Monday came every week, and I’d never want to go back to the city.
So just four measly weeks into that routine, I’d made the big leap and moved all my stuff over.
Axel was ecstatic. And so was Mom.
We soon found that I needed a more private space to teach my online classes, especially since he also wrote his reports in the same area, so he’d set up a partition for me.
But that kind of cut into the cozy charm of the cabin.
Until one day, he asked if I’d like to renovate his parents' old place with him and move in there.
Technically, he could do all of his work just as well from there as he could from inside the cabin.
Cue ultimate chaos for the next few months as we juggled major renovations, work, and everything else life had to throw at us.
Axel might not have known what to do with my car, but he sure knew his way around power tools.
I’d never known a handyman was such a turn-on.
And now we were nearly done. It felt big, like we were taking another big step forward together.
“Let’s go for dinner,” I suggested, taking a look around. “We’ve done enough today.”
“Soon,” he said. “I’ve got one more thing to do.”
“It better not involve more painting.”
“No, it’s out in the garden. Come on.” He guided me out to the back.
His dad had been an avid gardener, and despite the lack of care over the years, the bones of the garden had survived, the perennials growing strong, albeit alongside a lot of weeds. But I’d seen that before. It was the oversized swing that had me gasping.
“You didn’t!” I’d wanted a porch swing, but none of the ones we’d looked at were big enough to fit Axel’s large frame. This one had to be custom-made.
“Surprise.”
I immediately climbed into it.
The second surprise almost had me falling right off again, because there Axel was, on his knees in front of the swing, holding a little velvet box. I sat there in stunned silence, staring at the diamond cluster in the box. It looked a lot like a snowflake, reminding me of the day we met.
Technically, we were already mates, which was more than getting married. But we’d talked about making it legal a few times. I just didn’t know he planned on doing it so soon.
“Will you marry me, my love?”
I nodded so fast it made me dizzy. “Yes, Axel. A million times yes!”
He placed the glittering ring on my finger, then pulled me off the swing and into his arms, where I belonged.
“Now there’s only one thing left to do.”
“What?” I asked.
“Christen every room.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Challenge accepted.”
THE END
Looking for more Possessive Monsters? Check out the book that started it all! Enjoy this excerpt from Rock Hard Gargoyle.
I put my foot down on the accelerator and floored it through the intersection the moment the light turned green. I needed to get to that wedding now.
Several months ago, a short, curvy lady with a pert nose and a pixie cut had walked into my made-to-order dress shop looking for a rush wedding dress of a special variety.
It needed to be fireproof, or at the very least, fire-resistant.
When I took the order, I hadn’t realized that I’d be making the wedding gown for the most talked-about wedding of the decade: the first high-profile monster-human wedding since The Wall had lifted a few years ago.
The groom in question? An honest-to-goodness fire-breathing dragon. Hence the requirement for flame-proof fabrics.
This was why I was breaking every traffic law known to man to get to the venue.
The dress? The bride had it. But the special cloak covered in gems from the dragon’s personal hoard?
The one for the very important but private ceremony at the end of the night?
The one that had taken me a full fortnight to make, painstakingly hand-sewing every gem to the fireproof velvet I’d commissioned? That cloak? On my passenger seat.
They’d sent someone to pick it up earlier, and I’d put the vitally important garment in a white box with her name on it on the entryway table.
The courier had come and gone, and I’d thought everything was done.
I’d sat my ass down on my couch, in my tiny apartment above my workshop, with a tub of Ben I was going to make it.
I was so focused on that door that I didn’t notice the massive security guard stepping in front of it until it was too late.
I barreled straight into the most muscular chest I’d ever felt.
Oomph!
Holy crap! What the hell was this guy made of? Stone? Giant arms wrapped around me. Nope; not stone. This guy was way too warm to be made of stone.
I looked up, up, and up, until steely gray eyes met mine. Something inhuman flashed within them. He was hidden behind a glamour, most likely so he wouldn’t scare any of the human guests. I was looking at a monster.
“I didn’t expect trouble to run right into my arms.” The guard grinned down at me with a set of perfect teeth that looked just a tad bit too sharp to be human. “You’re lucky I happen to like trouble.”
The illusion he wore worked well, allowing just the slightest bit of the original to show through. I wondered what type of monster he was.
Oops, I’d been staring at him with my mouth open like an idiot. What did he ask me again? I shook off the shock. “Excuse me, but I need to get this to the bride asap.”
“Your invite?” He looked me up and down.
In my blush-pink sweatpants and a simple t-shirt—I loved creating works of art, but I also enjoyed being comfortable—I was completely out of place compared to the wedding guests.
“Oh no! I’m not here for the wedding.” I shoved the box between us. “I need to get this to the bride. It’s the cloak.”
“That’s not going to work, woman. It’s a good getup, but you can’t fool me. I bet you’re from the media. They’re plenty pissed we didn’t let anyone in.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Your jig is up. Now get out of here.”
“What? No! This is really her cloak. I hand-sewed the gems on myself. At least call her bridesmaid and ask.”
He eyed the box like it was a bomb. “I handed her the box with the cloak myself earlier today. I don’t know what’s in there, but you’re lying.
“No, you didn’t,” I said through gritted teeth. “That brown shipping box is full of trims and notions. The courier took the wrong package from the table. This—” I shoved the box at him again “—is the right box.”
He looked as if he’d heard that excuse before. “Listen; I have a job, one I take very seriously. I won’t hesitate to remove you from the premises by force.”
“No, you listen,” I said, jabbing the fingers of my free hand into his way-too-wide chest. I wasn’t going to let anyone, massive monster or otherwise, fuck up my career.
“I’m staying here until you get this box to Carly, and I’m not leaving one millisecond before.
” I stomped my foot down as punctuation.
“You are teeny tiny. I could just pick you up and—” He made a gesture as if he were tossing a ball through a hoop.
I was short, but I wasn’t exactly someone you’d call teeny tiny. I had a few dozen extra pounds on my frame, making me look even shorter and squatter, especially when I was in sweatpants and a tee.
“Don’t think I wouldn’t toss you just because you’re cute.” He sent me a devilish grin that went straight to my belly.