Chapter 24

24

Waking from a nice dream about getting a full body massage, the voices in the room and Darcy’s deep rumble tell me something might have gone wrong.

I stretch, letting all of my muscles contract and then releasing them with a long drawn out exhale. It’s nice waking up from a good sleep, even if that sleep was some sort of coma. The voices stop murmuring, and I open my eyes, blinking up at Fox, Romily, and Bellamy for a moment before turning to face Darcy, who’s sitting up with just a sheet wrapped around his waist and his hand in my hair, petting me.

“How ya feelin’?” he asks softly.

I take my body into consideration, and since everything feels great, I shrug. “I’m confused why we have guests, but otherwise I feel like I’ve gotten the best sleep of my life. I sleep pretty well, too, so that’s saying something.” Usually I sleep like the dead. I once slept through a tornado. It was very scary for my parents, but there’s one sound that wakes me up, and we’ve set that to be the tornado alert on my phone. Not that I plan to spend any time in Tornado Alley, but you know, preparation and all that.

Darcy smiles down at me. “That’s good. You passed out on me, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.”

I think back to what happened, and remember…

“Oh yeah. That was weird. Never had that happen before—didn’t even know it could. What was that about?”

“What happened?” Romily asks.

“I came so hard I passed out. It felt like Darcy hit an orgasm button in my spine. I feel good now, though, so it’s not like he broke me.” I move all my limbs and wiggle my toes, just to make sure, then I grimace. “I should not have slept in my prosthetic.”

Darcy and the others glance down at my leg, and Bellamy says, “It’s only been about half an hour since we heard you scream and came to check on you.”

“Oh, well, it’s not a problem then.”

Fox pulls my attention to him. “You’re a Hell dragon, which means you have an incubator inside you. Darcy woke it up, and that’s why you orgasmed so hard you passed out.”

Romily’s eyes widen comically. “You’re going to want to keep an eye on that since Darcy’s probably able to fertilize your eggs, but don’t worry too much, because it’s astronomically difficult for immortals to propagate.”

I look at Darcy, who already has descendants from previous children, and smile. “At least one of us knows what they’re doing if you did get me pregnant.”

“Eggprant,” Romily corrects immediately. “That’s what we’re calling egg-preg.”

“Yer not pregnant,” Darcy assures me, side-eying Romily. “Or eggprant.” He says that like that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. I guarantee the seven thousand plus year old has heard at least one thing more ridiculous.

“Ok, but that’s a possibility in the future?” I confirm.

Darcy nods. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

I think about that, nodding as I consider it. “Cool. That’ll give my parents something to look forward to.”

“Astronomical odds,” Bellamy reminds me seriously.

I shrug at him. “Hope is a powerful motivator. I want to keep my parents alive for as long as possible and dangling that carrot will help.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing—” Darcy starts, but Romily interrupts him.

“I bet it keeps them around until their nineties.”

I nod and point to him. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

Bellamy shakes his head at us. “Since no one is dying, and everyone is healthy, I’m going to the tea room now.”

My stomach growls at the prospect of food, and I swing my legs off the bed, forgetting until I’m already halfway to standing that I’m naked and my pants are around my ankle. “It’s hard getting pants off over the prosthetic,” I explain, sitting back down and pulling my The Incredible Hulk underoos and pants up again.

“The first time Fox and I went at it, he literally ripped our shirts off. We were finding buttons for a week.”

I laugh, because that’s a nice visual. “I don’t have enough clothes that Darcy can rip mine off me if he gets in a mood for it. And once the pants come off, I’m not about to put them back on.”

Darcy runs his hand up my back and squeezes my neck. “I think we’re going to have to fill a closet for you anyway. We can add some tear away clothes for fun. Keeping you naked isn’t gonna be a hardship.”

So we’re doing this long term then. Bet.

On the heels of that giddy relationship advancement comes the image of the ruins of my apartment. “Motherfucker. My apartment. That’s going to be expensive,” I remember, standing to pull my pants and underwear over my ass.

I pat my pockets, check to make sure my phone and wallet are there then glance around for my shirt.

Fox hands it to me. “Darcy is wealthy, he’ll pay for it,” he says, as I pull the shirt on.

I turn to find Darcy pulling his pants on. “Really?”

Darcy narrows his eyes at Fox. “Yes, I planned to pay to replace your ruined things,” he agrees with a growl at Fox. “But I hadn’t mentioned that to anyone yet.”

Fox blinks at him with a blank face, slides his hand into Romily’s, and pulls him toward the door.

“The Foxilys take care of their own,” Romily calls over his shoulder before those two follow the path that Bellamy took out of the room, presumably to go find food.

I sit on the bed again, spreading my legs wide, and open my arms to Darcy.

His chains jingle as he comes to me, standing as close as possible. “You’re really going to replace my shit? You don’t have to. I don’t think I could pay you back, but my MawMaw likes to buy me things, and she’s probably going to insist on it when I tell her what happened, so if you really want to, I’d appreciate it if you split it with her. She tells me that buying me things is how she says she loves me.”

Darcy’s brown eyes soften, and he pecks a kiss to my lips. “Yer perfect, Peach. I told you before, but I gotta say it again: yer perfect.”

“A boy could get used to how you make him feel about himself,” I sigh, leaning in close to rest my head on his shoulder. He hugs me, and I hug his tiny little body back, wrapping my arms all the way around him until my hands are almost touching again. “Thank you.”

Darcy kisses my hair. “You’re gonna need a new place to live, and I was thinking mine has plenty of space.”

“Really?” That’s a really nice offer. “I’d be a solid roommate. I can’t do much in the way of cooking, but I keep my space tidy.”

“I have cleaners and a house manager.”

“I can’t afford to rent a place like that.”

“I’m not offering to split the mortgage, Peach. I own it outright and all I pay is taxes. I want you there for the pleasure of your company.”

I lift my head, fluttery happiness flitting around my chest at his offer. “Really?”

Darcy nods. “There’s only one small matter. The neighbors are truly annoying.”

Annoying for Darcy probably doesn’t equate to actually annoying. He seems like the type to not want to interact with his neighbors at all. “How about if I take over dealing with them?”

Darcy’s dark chuckle runs through me like a base line at a metal concert. “I’m sure they’ll be delighted.”

I grin, kiss him again, and push him toward the door. “Let’s get lunch before I get hangry.”

He holds my hand the entire walk to the tea room, where a few more people have joined us for lunch. Besides the Foxilys, four more exceedingly hot men are in attendance.

“Hello,” I greet them, holding out a hand to the blue one, who’s closest to me.

His long hair is blue, his gray eyes look like a winter sky, and he shakes my hand as Romily’s disembodied voice introduces him. “This is Tag, Fox’s elf father.”

“Nice to meet you,” I tell him, and he repeats the sentiment back to me.

A man who looks like a marvel superhero is next. “This is Fox’s human father, Bear.”

“I thought you’d be a Chris,” I admit, since he looks like any of the many Chris actors making movies.

Bear’s chiseled jaw drops. “Who have you been talking to? Did Annette put you up to this?”

Romily’s laughing rings out. “No one said anything to him.”

I shake my head. “Sorry, sir. No one told me anything, but I didn’t mean to offend. You just look like a Chris. I promise I’ll call you Bear.”

Bear makes a noise of disgust, points at Romily, and then stalks back to the chair he’s chosen for himself.

A large man with a dad-bod and Fabio hair offers me a hand next with a chuckle. “Don’t mind my husband. He’s been considering calling himself Chris when we change our names. I’m Amos, Fox’s demon father. It’s always nice to meet another Hellion.”

His hand is warm and firm, and he reminds me of a cinnamon bun for some reason. “It’s a pleasure.”

He releases my hand only to squeeze my shoulder. “I heard Adam ripped your osseointegrated implant out. If you have all the pieces, I can probably reintegrate it. My magic aligns with the transmutation and restoration disciplines. I can probably restore your leg to its previous condition if you’d like.”

The other man in the room, a huge, beefy guy with black hair, joins us as Amos is talking, resting his hand on both our shoulders as well, and giving me a little static electric shock. “I can help too. My magic can feed Amos’s in the case of complex spell work, and this sounds like it’s going to be an intricate weave.”

Amos nods, leaning over to peck the man’s cheek. “Thank you, darling.” He smiles at me. “This is Dakota, Fox’s thunderbird parent.”

Dakota’s gaze travels from my head to my feet along a laconic path. Before he can say anything, I remember who these men are. “The Patervulpises,” I recall, grinning. “I’ve been promised an orgy with you after my hookup with Darcy,” I tease. I have no intention of doing that, and I’m pretty sure I’m not in a hookup anymore. Hmm, that might be something Darcy and I need to talk about. New parameters and all.

Darcy’s arm wraps around my waist. “I think we can admit we’ve gone beyond a hookup,” he mutters, “and you’re not fucking them while I’m living in your ass, and since you’re moving in with me, I fully intend to keep you filled for the foreseeable future.”

I kiss the top of his head as a wide smile spreads across my face and the Patervulpises stare at Darcy like they’ve never seen guyliner before. “Raincheck, then. I do want you to try to fix my leg, though. I think we have all the pieces.”

Amos and Dakota both blink out of their stares and return their attention to me. “Of course,” they agree in unison.

“Cool. Thank you. I really hope it works. When do you think we can do it?”

Amos takes a deep breath, looking around and nodding to himself. “After we eat.”

My heart flutters with the same excitement I had when I went in for the surgery that gave me my leg. “Let’s eat, then.”