Page 49 of Falling for Lucifer
“You enjoying your birthday?” Lucifer asked after a few minutes.
Ellodie’s eyes popped open, and she smiled. “More than I thought I would, and it’s all thanks to you.”
He kissed her neck and nudged her so she would turn and straddle him. Once she was face to face with him, she nuzzled her nose to his while he spoke. “I love you, Ello. You know that?”
She pecked his lips as her heart swelled. “I know, daddy. I love you so much.”
“Enough to let me put a baby in you?”
She grinned and reached into the back pocket of her jean shorts for her phone. “Yup, but also this.”
She tapped on her phone for a second before showing it to Lucifer. She planned to wait and get the photo printed before presenting it to him, but this moment just felt right.
In the photo, Etta laid on a custom blanket Ellodie had made. She smiled up at the camera with her cute self, and beside her, the blanket read,Will you adopt me, daddy?
Lucifer looked at the photo and then at Ellodie. He repeated that a few times before his thumb and pointer finger pinched the bridge of his nose. He sniffled and dropped his hand. “You for real?”
She looked at him in amusement. “Of course, I am. You’re her father. You feed her and change her shitty diapers. She only calms down for you, and the way she looks at you is exactly how a daughter looks at her daddy. She’s yours and you are hers. I want you to adopt her. Please?”
“You really think you have to ask?” His voice cracked before his lips found hers. They kissed passionately before he pulled away and said, “Marry me.”
Ellodie’s head pulled back slightly as she blinked a few times. She was pretty drunk, so she wanted to make sure she heard him correctly. “Huh?”
He smoothed her hair back and grinned. “Marry me. I don’t have a ring, but we can get one tomorrow. Let’s get married, baby.”
“Are you serious?” she whispered, pressing her forehead into his. “You want me to be your wife?”
“I want you to be my everything. My wife, my best friend, my ride or die, the mother of my children. Say yes, love. That’s all I need to hear.”
Ellodie’s thoughts raced as she closed her eyes to steady her breathing. She loved this man so much. He was her heaven on earth. He was her savior. He was her backbone and her rib. He had proven himself time and time again. He was worthy of whatever he desired. She would follow him to the ends of the galaxy. Nothing could keep them apart, so the answer was clear as day. As she opened her eyes and let them settle on his, peace radiated from her as a smile formed on her lips. “On one condition.”
“Anything.”
“Ask me again tomorrow, in case I forget this.” She laughed because she knew she really was that drunk, but soberness wouldn’t change her response. In any condition she was in, the answer would remain the same.
He chuckled. “I’ll ask you every day for the rest of our lives, even after we’re married, if the answer is yes.”
She beamed as she cupped his cheeks. “Yes, Lu. I’ll marry you.”
The kiss that followed was one that Ellodie wished could last a lifetime.
Eight Years Later . . .
Lucifer did his best to hold his laughter in. He knew if it slipped out, there would be hell to pay. The occasion was actually extremely sad, but the way Hades was carrying on had Lucifer crying tears of laughter and not ones of sadness.
“She was the best dog. My first baby. My dawg, man. My dawg for life,” Hades said, his voice low and somber as he looked down at the tiny box that sat in a hole in the ground in his and Harley’s backyard. The way he spoke reminded Lucifer of how Professor Slughorn spoke at Aragog’s funeral inHarry Potter. That thought caused another bought of chuckles that he disguised behind his handkerchief. Ellodie cut her eyes at him, but he was saved because Harley sniffled. Ellodie immediately wrapped an arm around her best friend. The past eight years had really cultivated a beautiful friendship between the two. Catiand Eris as well, who stood on the other side of Hades with their men.
They were all gathered around, saying their final goodbyes to Pixie. She was old and had died naturally the night before. All the kids were in the theater room, no doubt tearing it up. Etta was for sure the ringleader, and her seven-year-old brother was her right-hand man. Anthony had been conceived on Ellodie’s birthday eight years ago, and their youngest, Talia, was three now, the same age as Harley and Hades’s son, Atlas. That wasn’t even counting all of Eris’s kids and Cati’s kids. All Lucifer could think was,Thank God this shit wasn’t at my house.
“You okay?” Lucifer asked Harley as Hades droned on about Pixie.
She sniffled again and shook her head. Pixie was her baby. She’d gotten her as a puppy before she even knew Hades, so her death really hit differently for her. Lucifer knew she still had to tell the kids about Pixie, and that wouldn’t be an easy conversation. Everyone in Hades’s household loved dogs.
Lucifer’s amusement died down some when his eyes landed on Gotham. He lay right next to the little hole in the ground with his head resting on his paws. He was getting old, too, but the little Yorkie puppy prancing around him kept him young. Bell was her name, and the family had gotten her three months ago. Lucifer thought Harley might have suspected that Pixie would transition soon, and Bell was there to help lift everyone’s spirits when the time came.
Lucifer scooped her up as she tried to run past him. He petted her head a couple of times before handing her to Harley. She smiled through her tears and snuggled Bell to her.
“. . . And she was the best listener. Learned how to follow my lead within twenty-four hours?—”
