Chapter 20 #2
He smiled and then flew towards the ocean before doubling back and landing on the roof of a large house that hadn’t been far from the Cathedral. In fact, I could still hear people laughing and the strains of music from the beach.
He took my hand and led me towards the large doors of the broad roof patio, and down stairs until we reached another large wooden door. “This is a wedding present for you,” he said, glancing at me furtively.
I knocked on the door. “It’s very solid. Oak. It will be very good for defense. Much better than stained glass. Thank you.”
He shook his head and opened the door, leading me into the prettiest library I’d ever seen.
It was filled with old books, new books, and all others in between.
In a corner was a stove with a teapot on it and canisters of hot chocolate.
On the table next to the most comfortable looking chair I’d ever seen was a stack of glasses.
“So you can read. I had Ever give me all the prescriptions you could possibly need. If it’s not there, we’ll go see him as soon as possible.”
I stared at the library, the hot chocolate, and the cozy chair with all the glasses, then turned to smile up at him. “And you only got one chair so I have to sit on your lap all the time. Brilliant.”
He blinked at me. “Oh. There’s only one chair. I didn’t think of getting one for me, but of course I need somewhere to sit while I watch you read like a psycho goblin.”
I caught his face, gazing into his eyes while I felt this love rushing through me like a river of overflowing happiness. “Like I said, genius. Gavriel, your present is lovely. If only I had something as delightful to give you.”
He shook his head, frowning. “The only thing I want is right here, standing in front of me.”
I nodded and pulled my card out from inside the front of my dress. “Exactly. Here is a card to access all the money I’ve been collecting for the last hundred years or so.”
He scowled. “That’s not what I want or need.”
I hesitated, then straightened my shoulders.
“But your streak of goblin must be slightly intrigued to have married an heiress. I looked into it. Ever Storm is a legend, but he’s also quite poor.
Your family…” I gestured at the library, which wasn’t as enormous as it could have been, because then it wouldn’t be perfectly cozy, but it was still clearly the best quality.
He pulled me close, eyes burning into mine. “This house is mine, not my family’s. I spent years making very good money running mercenary armies until Team Leader decided to make me a reaper. My streak of goblin doesn’t want your money.”
“No?”
“No.” He smoothed his hand down my spine, sending a wave of sensation along with it.
“What does your goblin want?” I asked breathlessly.
He gave me a sharp smile, picked me up, and bit my chin. It almost hurt, but mostly filled me with shivers. “That’s all,” he said, putting me down and stepping away, hands behind his back like a soldier.
“You think a library for a chin-bite is a good trade?”
He nodded. “For me it’s the best trade I could imagine.”
I stepped close and tangled our fingers together while I looked up at him. “That’s good to know that we’re on equal footing, so when I ask you for a favor, you’ll ask me for one in return.”
His eyes gleamed. “You’d like a favor? Whatever it is, it’s done.”
I rose up on my tiptoes and brushed his nose with mine. “I need you to help me out of this dress. It’s so itchy. If I don’t get out of it in the next five minutes, I think I’m going to die. I don’t suppose there’s a bedroom or some other room with more comfortable clothing in this house.”
He blinked at me, then picked me up and carried me away in a rush that made me laugh, trying to catch my breath.
“Yes. I’m going to cut you out of it with my knives,” he growled.
“Or you could use your sickle. They’re incredibly useful blades.” I snickered because if there was something less useful than a sickle, I didn’t know what it was. “Also, you can’t cut it off me because I’m going to exchange it at Change Your Stripes for a whole new wardrobe.”
He stopped walking for a moment, staring down at me like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “So lucky I’ve married an heiress who’s so good at pinching pennies.”
“Of course you are. I might be able to get you a good deal while I’m there. You could use another reinforced vest.”
“Of course I could. And your new wardrobe would be…”
“Spelled for defense. She actually does very good work on defense gear.”
He kissed me, slow, sweet, his lips playing mine until my head was dizzy and my thoughts all floated away.
When he pulled away, he gave me a sneaky smile and kept walking resolutely down the hall from my library.
“And while we’re in Singsong, you’ll probably help Shane out with that job he wants you to do. ”
“Of course. Just because I’m not personally killing people doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do it properly, and most importantly, not get the people I love killed in the process.”
“Defense. It’s a good leaf. I approve. As long as we have a room that locks and a bed that fits two. Every night I’m going to sleep with you.”
“And every morning I’ll wake up with you.”
He whispered in my ear, sending a shiver up my spine. “Except that tonight, the odds are very good that you aren’t going to wake up in the morning, because you’ll be keeping me awake all night.”
I smiled and pressed my head against his beating heart. “I can live with those odds.”
“You can live. But alive or dead, you’re my miracle. From the first moment, I loved your soul. To the last moment. And all the moments in between, I always will.”
He studied me with burning eyes and then leaned forward, slowly, slowly, and kissed me until time stopped and started again along with my beating heart.
The End