Page 21 of Monster Daddies

---

She's sweet, kind, generous and naive to the point it's painful to observe.

She's impossible.

Infuriating.

And absolutely radiant.

I look at her, this bright little thing curled up like she belongs between two ancient monsters, and something deep inside me shifts.

Not the mate bond. That's been tugging at me since the moment I realized what she was.

No, this is worse.

This isneed.

Not just for her body, though every part of me aches for it. But I need to hear her laughter. To have her light shine down on me. To just be in her presence.

"You're not afraid of us? How we can hurt you?" I ask, my voice low, gritty.

Her gaze meets mine, steady and unflinching. "You'd never hurt me," she says with such conviction I almost believe her.

Almost.

I can't speak. There's a tightness in my throat I've never experienced before. And a war waging inside me. Do I push and convince this sweet creature that we're very, very bad for her, or do I take what she can give me, for however long that might be?

Before I can make a choice either way, Jodrick interrupts my thoughts.

"Now, it's growing late, and from what I've gathered, little girls need loads of sleep."

The groan that escapes from that small creature almost rivals my own.

For the first time in what has to be decades, I laugh.

Chapter Nine

Avalon

I wake up with a smile on my face and a flutter in my chest.

For a moment, I just lie there, Sparrow tucked up against me, while I stare up at the ceiling and let the warmth from last night wrap around me like the fluffiest blanket in the world. Those kisses. The growls. Their looks, the ones that just seared into my very soul.

And then I remember what I said.

I giggle. Like, full-on squeaky, wiggle-under-the-covers giggle.

Can I stop calling you my fairy godmothers and just go with Daddy?

Iactuallysaid that.

And the best part?

They didn't freak out.

To be fair, I didn't freak out about the whole turn to stone during the day thing, but they still didn't pull away.

They didn't look at me like I was weird, broken, or too much. I'd only ever gotten that from Daddy Drè.

I press my palms to my flushed cheeks, giddy.

---