Page 26 of Monster Daddies
"Don't think you're off the hook just because you batted your lashes and said the magic word," he calls over his shoulder. "You're still being punished for being reckless with your life."
Avalon squeaks, half-horrified, half-delighted. "What kind of punishment are we talking about here, Daddy Vee?"
"That," he says softly, "depends on how many more times we catch you running through the halls of the house."
She pouts. "But I need to be places. And it's a big house, so if I didn't run it would take meforever."
I brush a strand of wind-tossed hair from her cheek. "Your safety is more important than time management, little one."
She sighs dramatically, then grins up at me. "Fine. But only because I really don't want to piss off the house."
Viraat makes a strangled noise from across the rooftop, but he doesn't argue any further.
I draw her back into my side, wrapping a wing around her as the wind begins to pick up.
"So what have you got planned for us tonight?" I ask, and she wiggles with glee before pulling away slightly so she can look at me again.
"You can eat dinner with me, right?"
Chapter Eleven
Avalon
It's been a week since two sexy gargoyle Daddies started officially courting me.
It's been going swimmingly. Like the best thing in the entire world. I've successfully managed to avoid the talk with Drè about who and what the guys are, and every interaction with the guys—my gargoyles—has been everything I never knew I needed.
But today? Today I feel like a cracked vase being held together with glitter glue and blind hope.
The nursery—mynursery—is almost finished.
Which should feel like a win. I know that. But standing in the middle of the cozy, pastel-splashed room—the fading sunlight streaming through the gauzy curtains, shelves lined with stuffies, the rocking chair I found in the dusty attic store nestled in the corner...
I just feel like a big imposter.
What kind of grown woman builds a nursery for herself? In the house she plans to use as a bed and breakfast?
Which brings me to my next point.
What the heck was I thinking, trying to open a bed and breakfast in a sleepy town nobody visits?
I flop down on the cushioned window seat, burying my face in my hands. The soft feel of Sparrow’s fur rubbing against me, does nothing to calm my fluttering panic, and I burst into uncontrollable tears.
"Little one?"
Jodrick's voice, deep, gruff and warm, echoes just outside the door. I gasp in shock, because he'sthere. A quick peek at the window tells me I've been lost in my tears, my stupid, stupid breakdown for longer than I'd thought.
I jump up after carefully dislodging my cat and run into his arms, and he quickly wraps me in them, holding me close and safe.
"What's going on? Why is our little human crying all alone?"
The words bubble from my mouth, practically falling out, one after the other.
"I'm having an existential meltdown. In a pastel room. That I built tohelpwith my emotional security."
They both blink at me.
"I just..." I push my face into Jodrick's chest as I continue to explain, my words muffled. "What if this doesn't work? What if no one wants to come here? I've sunk every dime into turning this place into a cutesy B&B, but who's going to drive all the way out here for tea and turn-down service?"
