Page 174 of His Darkest Desire

“Lies.”

“You wound me, my wife.”

Emily chuckled, stood on her toes, and kissed his lips. “But I loved you for it anyway. You’re such a wonderful father and grandfather.”

The cottage was barely big enough to accommodate Kinsley’s parents, sister, and aunt, but they filled it with such love that the lack of space never mattered. Kinsley wished everyone didn’t live so far apart, but that only made her cherish these times of togetherness all the more. And this would be the first Christmas they all shared with Vex and Hope.

The baby let out a little squeal.

Kinsley knelt, the skirt of her purple dress pooling around her, and held her arms out to her daughter with a big smile. “Come to mommy!”

Hope, who’d grown so much in the past couple months, gave Kinsley a gummy grin and rocked back and forth on her hands and knees with her bum in the air. It was only a matter of time before she would get the hang of crawling, and Kinsley knew there would be no stopping her then.

She didn’t even want to think about the inevitable day when her little girl learned how to fly.

“So is it official?” Cecelia asked as she sat down on the sofa, crossing her leg. She sipped her tea.

“Yep.” Kinsley picked her daughter up and stood. “The cottage is mine now. Gordon and Lucy were ready to part with it. Taking care of two properties was getting to be too much for them, especially considering this one is so far out of the way.”

“And they knew you’d give the place the love it needs.”

The little cottage had served as a home for Vex and Kinsley after Hope’s birth. Though he’d been able to cross over from the ritual chamber in his realm, he hadn’t been able to do the same with the fairy ring. It simply couldn’t channel the ley lines’ magic well enough to open the way.

So, Vex had erected a new stone circle around the fairy ring to solidify the link between worlds. Even with his magic, it had taken him weeks to shape the stones, carve the runes, enchant them, and set them in place.

Yet even once they were able to return to Vex’s realm, they’d decided to keep this cottage. Being so close to the stone circle, it allowed Kinsley easy access to means of communication with her family, and it was the perfect place to host them when they visited. It also ensured that no strangers would take residence there. Though Vex’s illusions kept the stone circle shrouded, there was always a chance of it being discovered by someone wandering the woods. It was safest to keep people away.

But this world… It was not for Vex and their daughter. It might have been a long, long time ago, but it had changed too much to accommodate them.

They’d taken trips to nearby towns, and they’d even gone to Inverness once—always after sunset, and always with Vex and Hope disguised as humans by his magic. There had been unmasked wonder on Vex’s face as he beheld the modern world.

He’d spoken of using magic to transport them to other parts of the Earth using existing portals. Apparently, such magic was much easier when traveling within the boundaries of a plane than when trying to cross between them. They’d decided to wait a while before attempting such journeys, allowing Vex time to research potential portal locations and Hope time to grow a little more.

The first place they planned to go, at Vex’s insistence, was Kinsley’s parents’ house.

But no matter where they eventually journeyed, they could not escape the truth. This world would never let them openly be themselves. Not even Kinsley, who would remain young while everyone around her aged.

Their home was in Vex’s in-between realm. In their own little world.

Where they’d been so, so happy.

Hope curled one of her fists in Kinsley hair. Kinsley smiled and touched her forehead to her daughter’s.

Maddy plopped down beside Cecelia, whose eyes flared as she shifted her mug to keep the tea from spilling.

“Maybe I should move here. It’s pretty and peaceful.” Maddy wiggled her eyebrows at Kinsley with a grin. “And who knows? Maybe I’ll find my own goblin king someday.”

Kinsley chuckled. “I think they might be in short supply.”

Madison stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “Not fair.”

Cecelia patted her niece’s knee. “There, there. We can’t all have otherworldly partners, love.”

Pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, Maddy sighed dramatically and slouched back. “That means I must make do with old, boring human men.”

Aiden cleared his throat.

Smiling, Emily hugged him. “Not you, dear.” She reached up and tugged on his short bread. “Getting a little old, maybe, but never boring.”

---