Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 136791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
It's fucking perfection. She's perfection.
"What did you say to Titan?" she asks me a little while later, snuggling up on my chest and yawning. She gets tired easily since Kaleo shot her. The doctor said that will improve eventually, but it's going to take some time for her body to heal completely.
I rub my hands up and down her back, just reveling in the peace flowing through me. It's been so long since I felt like this. I honestly didn't think I could ever feel this all-consuming lightness again. But with each passing day, it grows a little bit stronger and lasts a little bit longer.
"I asked for his permission to marry you," I tell her, not holding anything back. "And I told him that if he sent me a sign, I'd spend the rest of my life loving you like you deserve."
"Cade," she whispers, her voice soft and sweet.
"I also asked him not to show up in the bedroom in the middle of the night to give me that sign," I mumble. "Ghosts freak me the fuck out."
Her little body shakes against mine as she laughs at me.
"I'm serious. I always kept Ma Lucia's house spotless because I didn't want her ghost showing up to kick my ass. Gangbangers, I can do, but I don't do ghosts. Fuck that shit."
"You're so ridiculous," she says, still laughing at me.
"I also told him that he could rest easy because I was going to be here to take care of you from now on," I whisper in her ear, stealing her laughter. "And I told him and your mom that both of us are going to be okay."
"We are going to be okay," she whispers after a moment. "I've never wanted anything more than I want to wake up in fifty years with you by my side and realize we made an incredible life for ourselves despite all the sadness and pain we went through. And I know it will be an incredible life, Cade. If you're with me, how could it not be?"
"Fuck." I bury my face in her hair as my heart pulses and then melts at her words. I love this girl like crazy. No one else, and I do mean no one, makes me feel like I'm the king of the fucking world like she does with a few whispered words.
I may be one of the things that goes bump in the night, but I'm not a monster. I'm her Grover, and she's my light in the darkness. She always has been and always will be.
"I love you, little monster," I whisper to her.
"I love you too, Cade."
Those sweet words whispered from her perfect lips chase me into sleep. For the first time in a long time, I don't dream of blood and pain. I dream of the future I thought was lost to me so long ago.
Epilogue
Cade
Three Years Later
"Okay, kid," I growl, watching the little blond warily from across the room. "We can play this one of two ways. You can come with me quietly, or I can chase you down. Either way, you're coming with me."
The boy throws his head back and laughs.
"The hard way it is," I sigh, not surprised.
At sixteen months, Titan James Kincaid, TJ for short, isn't afraid of much.
Tossing my weapons—his clothes and shoes—down on the changing table, I lunge for him.
He squeals and darts forward as fast as his chubby little legs will carry him. Laughter rings out all around us as I chase after him down the hall, scooping him up before he can get too far.
"Daddy!" he yells and wiggles like a little eel in my arms.
I press my face into his soft stomach and blow raspberries, making him scream with laughter and wriggle harder. He grabs my hair, tugging on it. I swear, his mom taught him to do that shit. I melt like a fucking Popsicle every damn time he reaches those fat little fingers out and grabs my hair.
"You're not getting out of it, TJ," I tell him anyway, hefting him over my shoulder and carrying him back into the nursery. "You gotta get dressed."
"No," he whines, his little lip poking out into a pout when I plop him down on the changing table.
That melts me, too, but I don't let him see my weakness. If I do, I'll never be able to get him dressed again. I'm not sure what he has against clothes, but he strips them off at every available opportunity. Doesn't matter where we are. If he's left unsupervised for more than two seconds, he's naked. I'm pretty sure he gets that shit from his mom because she's always running around in tiny little shorts and tank tops that cover nothing.
"Sorry, buddy," I murmur to him, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. Swear to God, he smells like sugar. He definitely gets that from his mom, along with his blond hair and emerald eyes. He's January made over, though I think he's probably going to get his size from me. He's already taller than most of the kids in his daycare. He's also got my dimples, which he flashes at his mom all the time. Which is why I'm the one who has to wrestle him into clothes every day. He flashes those dimples at her, and it's all over with.