Romancing the Banshee
Page 6
Belief was all he had.
It had been the longest month of his life. Everything that had seemed so important before Aisling seemed trivial and pointless without her. She made his life vital and worth living, and now that she was gone, he went through his days like the corpse he should’ve become when she sounded her death call.
But maybe it was time to give up hope. How could such a deep wound ever heal when he rubbed the salt of his futile dreams into it on an hourly basis?
Sighing, he shed his clothes and tossed them on the floor. After tugging on his pajama bottoms, he crawled into his unmade bed and shut off the lamp on the bedside table.
He stared up at the ceiling, reliving every second of the night of the storm, when he’d picked Aisling up in his arms and carried her to his bed.
At least he had his memories.
Something scratched at his window. Ignoring it, he turned to his side, giving his pillow a sharp right hook in the process.
The scratching grew louder, demanding his attention. Annoyed, Declan sat up in bed and opened his bleary eyes. “What the hell?”
A familiar whirlwind of white mist formed and passed through the window, materializing into the face he’d longed to see more than anything in this world… or any other world, for that matter.
———
“Declan.” Aisling rushed to the bed, reaching his side just as he stood up.
“Oh, God.” He pulled her into his arms, locking her in an embrace from which she couldn’t escape if she wanted to… which she didn’t. Not ever. “Don’t tell me you’ve come to try to kill me again.”
She shook her head, feeling tears form in her eyes. “Never. It wouldn’t work if I tried, remember?”
“If you’ve come back to me, it had better be to stay this time.” He clutched her upper arms, pushing her away so he could look into her eyes. “Because I’m not ever letting you go.”
“I’m here as long as you want me.” She ran her fingers through his dark hair, trying to convince herself that he was real, that this moment was real and not another dream she’d wake from in despair.
“I want you forever.” He kissed her, hard and breathless. “You’re going to marry me and stay right here until I finally die of non-banshee related causes.”
She blinked back tears of pure unadulterated joy. “There’s a lot I have to tell you. I found out some things while I was back in the fairy realm.”
“We have the rest of my natural life and your unnatural existence to talk about that.” He bent down and picked her up in one fell swoop. “All I want right now is to make love to my future wife.”
“Wait.” She put her hand on his chest. “There’s something else.”
He stopped in his trek for the bed. “This sounds serious.”
Aisling swallowed back a sudden surge of panic. “It is.” She took a deep breath for courage. “How do you feel about getting a bigger apartment?”
Surprise registered on his face. “Why would we need one?”
She gave him a shaky smile. “We’ll need another bedroom soon.”
He shook his head, uncomprehending.
“In about eight months.” She counted to ten, waiting for her words to sink in.
He let out a yell that could rival her finest banshee call and spun her around in the air. “I’m going to be a dad!”
Relief flooded her. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a tiny garment. “What do you think of this for her first dress?”
He took one look at the outfit, a baby-sized replica of Aisling’s banshee dress, and laughed. “I think it’s perfect for her. She can wear it home from the hospital.”
“Midwife,” she corrected him, bursting into a giggle when he laid her down on the bed and began unlacing her corset in a frenzy.
“Right.” He nodded, pulling off his pajama bottoms and tossing them aside, laying down to embrace her. “She can wear it home from the midwife.”
And eight months later, that’s exactly what little Maeve Connor Mahoney did.
The End
Alecia Monaco
Alecia Monaco has been writing since she dictated her first story at the age of three. Now she happily writes paranormal and erotic romance while living in Houston with her family and pets. She loves to hear from readers and they can email her at AleciaMonaco@aol.com, or visit her site at http://www.aleciamonaco.com.