"Did she run out of questions?" he asks, holding out his hand for me.
"Never," I say, laughing quietly as I cross the nursery, linking our fingers together.
He brings them to his lips, brushing a kiss across my knuckles.
"She asked why we don't have parents. And then she decided Sloth is in heaven with them, sleeping at their house."
Dimitri smiles, kissing my fingers again. "He's definitely sleeping at someone's house."
"Yeah," I whisper, smiling. And then I glance around. Diz and Rosy are both curled up on the rug, and Shaman is still in the living room. He prefers to sleep in there. I don't think he'll be with us much longer. He's slowing down. But he's happy. He's had a home and love and family. It's all I ever wanted for any of them.
"Where are Quack and Rabbit?" I ask.
"Probably fighting over my pillow," Dimitri mutters.
I bite my lip, fighting a smile. He's been trying to kick them out of the bed for five years, but he's not very good at it. As soon as they cry to sleep with us, they end up in the bed, hogging his pillow. He pretends to be annoyed, but he also installed stairs for them. He spoils them, just like he spoils me.
Our lives are magical because of him. He led us out of the woods, not just to safety, but to a future brighter than any of us could have imagined. There may be shadows in our lives, but his light keeps them at bay. It always has.
Right after Ella was born, Delilah was sentenced to federal prison for multiple counts of attempted murder, felony murder, and drug trafficking. She'll spend the rest of her life behind bars where she belongs. My father's company was gutted, but Jude Despora was able to save the rest of his assets. I didn't lose everything, but there was no saving the company. I don't know what happened to the cartel, and I don't ask. But I know they caused more trouble for a little while and then vanished from our lives like a storm passing.
I know Dimitri, Constantine, and Dante were responsible for that, but I don’t need the details. They won't change the way I feel about my husband or my faith in the kind of man he is. He may do bad things, but that doesn't make him evil. I know evil. I stared it in the face and survived it five years ago.
It'll never touch my life again because my husband stands in the dark, using himself as a shield to hold it at bay. What he does, he does for the people he loves. That's enough for me.
He will always be enough for me.
And I know I'll always be enough for him, too. We shine brightest together.
"You know," I say, running my hand across Flynn's tiny, adorable head. He's going to look just like his daddy some day. I hope he gets his heart too. "We could always kick them out of the bed for a little while and make another one of these."
Dimitri shoots up from the rocking chair so fast I stumble back a step, laughing. His obsidian eyes meet mine, already hot with wicked intent.
"You're speaking my favorite language, Magic," he growls.
"Mine too," I whisper.
He grins, a wholly wicked, unrepentant smile that sets my soul on fire. "Let me get him settled. You go deliver the news to Quack and Rabbit."
"Dimitri Arakas," I gasp. "Did you just swindle me into kicking them out of the bed for you?"
He leans down, putting his lips next to my ear. "Do you want me to choke on my cock tonight or not, little one?"
I don't argue anymore. I scurry from the nursery to kick Quack and Rabbit out of the bed, Dimitri's soft laughter chasing me.