Page 69 of Monsters in the Dark

“Again.”

“I love you, Declan.”

He dropped his forehead on mine, and I could feel how much this was taking out of him. With our clashing personalities, this relationship was going to take a toll on both of us, and I was okay with that as long as Declan respected my boundaries, and this cabin and Cian’s resting place were two boundaries that he couldn’t ever cross.

“Baby, I’m not trying to steal your memories or rob you of the one place that you call home,” he said, and he sounded serious enough to almost believe. “It’s just dangerous out here, and I don’t want you out here unless I know that you’re completely protected.”

“You’ve seen the cellar,” I reminded him. “I’m plenty protected.”

Declan straightened to his full height as he gave me a terse nod. “Fine,” he said. “You can have the cabin if I can have everything else.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that you will listen to me when I give you an order,” he answered. “Everything that I will ever do from now on will be to make sure that you’re safe, Keavy. So, even if you don’t agree with me, no more fighting. You get the cabin, but I get everything else. That’s the deal.”

“I can’t agree to that,” I replied honestly. “Not when you lead the life that you do.”

Declan scowled as he took a step back. “Meaning?”

I straightened to my full five-foot-four, then said, “If the day ever comes where I have to rescue you, then I’m going to do it, Declan. I’ll light up the entire world to save you from the enemy if I have to.”

He let out a low groan, but it didn’t sound aggressive. “Jesus Christ, Keavy.”

“I might not have ever been in love before, but I know what it means to be in love, Declan,” I went on. “It means that we save each other if the occasion ever calls for it.”

After a few seconds of silence, Declan finally said, “Fine. You can have the cabin, but it’ll be the only place that belongs to you only, Keavy. It’ll be the only place that I won’t intrude unless I have to.”

I gave him a terse nod. “Thank you.”

“I have no idea what I’m going to do with you, baby,” he sighed softly. “However, I do know that I’ll never let you go. Understand that, Keavy. I will never let you go.”

I nodded before saying, “We should probably get back inside. Desmond really needs to get his wound looked at.”

“Well, if nothing else, you’ll always have an interesting story to tell about how you met two of my brothers,” he remarked teasingly.

“Yeah, Thanksgiving should be a hoot,” I replied drolly.

Getting serious again, Declan said, “Tell me that you love me again.”

“I love you, Declan.”

“Okay,” he replied. “Then the rest of it will work itself out.”

“That’s not a very good plan,” I pointed out.

“Well, it’s the only one that I’ve got at the moment,” he huffed.

“Then I guess it’ll have to work,” I replied quietly.

“Over my dead body will it not,” he swore, and it was hard not to believe him.

Epilogue

Declan – (One Month Later)~

“I missed my period.”

I stopped preparing dinner, then turned to look at Keavy standing near the kitchen table, her green eyes wide and looking worried. A full month later, I was still trying to convince her to marry me, but her little announcement just upped the stakes, and she no longer had a choice.

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