Page 29 of Lessons with the Mothman (Monster Smash Agency)

CHAPTER 29

Victoria

In all my worries about my family's reaction to Elias and vice versa—that they would make it uncomfortably obvious that they'd never spent time around any other species, that Elias would find them banal and petty, that if they found out about his oh so prestigious fae pedigree, they'd relish it like he was some kind of European royalty—I'd never considered the reality.

That they would fawn over him, and Elias would love it.

I lifted Emma's mocktail into her reaching hand as she crossed to me from the dance floor, panting and smiling brilliantly. She and Brett had made a deal to curb their own alcohol consumption for the night, and Elias and I were in charge of keeping glasses in their hands before any of Brett's finance bro friends could start a chant for shots.

"Mom and Aunt Jen are monopolizing your boyfriend," Emma said, nodding her head to where my mother was indeed holding court with family and friends, her arm linked through Elias's.

"He's thriving under the attention," I said, waving a hand.

Emma raised her eyebrows at me as she sipped her drink.

I laughed, reading her too easily. Which was wonderful. We'd spent a lot more time together in the past few months, and even had a double date with Brett and Elias which, while slightly forced in its amicability, hadn't been as awkward as I'd feared. I had my sister back, and she was incandescently happy.

"I don't mind, actually," I said, surprised to find it was the truth. I shrugged, glancing back across the room to find Elias watching me. "It suits him, and it keeps Mom's spotlight off me. It's better they all get along than not, anyway."

Emma nodded, smug married smirk curving up. "That's very long-term thinking of you."

I blushed but didn't argue.

As much as Elias enjoyed the preening praise from my mother, he did tend to grow bored with her quickly, and he turned a cold shoulder on her if she picked at me in front of him. My father, however, had entirely won Elias over. Their mutually quiet habits, love of antiques, and business acumen made them easy companions, and the three of us had recently gained the upper hand against my mother, spending New Year's with just immediate family and partners rather than hosting another one of my mother's socialite parties.

I'd been open to the idea of a relationship with Elias, then I'd accepted that I was in one, and yes, lately I was thinking of it in more of a potential future sense than just a pleasantly present situation. We made each other happy, and not by squashing ourselves into perfect traditional romantic boxes.

"Do you think Mom knows?" Emma whispered in my ear.

It took me a moment to realize what she meant and then I laughed, shaking my head. "She'd never even consider it. Don't worry. I see Dad heading her way now. Your escape is nearly here."

"She'll never forgive me," Emma breathed.

I snorted. "Don't fall for that. She'll be fine. Elias already has a half dozen speeches ready to fool her into thinking it's charmingly romantic."

Speaking of Elias he'd made his escape and was walking toward us, Brett at his side. It was strange to see them together. The high school football quarterback turned investment firm partner, something like my first love and first heartbreak, although they were faded versions in my memory now. And at his side, casting his all-American good guy looks into washed out shadows, was Elias. My enigmatic mothman who owned a slightly less abandoned mansion—now that it was serving as the venue for Rafe's bi-monthly dinner club and an occasional event space—and a wildly popular cocktail lounge, and who consulted with a sex work agency for fun .

I might've spared Brett a glance, a smile. Emma loved him after all, in a way I never could, and he loved her in return, every bit as much as I would've demanded for her sake. But Elias's gaze had me in its grip, the depth and darkness as potent now as it had been that disgustingly hot day we'd met.

"Our cue," Elias said as the obnoxiously loud and thumping dance music shifted abruptly into a tender classic, an old Ella Fitzgerald number my parents sometimes danced to in the kitchen—the sweetest memory I had of them from growing up.

"Don't forget to turn your phone off," I said to Emma.

Dad was leading Mom out to the floor, her giggle and smile only for him for once.

"Ready?" I heard Brett murmur to Emma.

"I've been waiting all day," she answered.

And then Elias and I took each other's hand and hurried to the dance floor, his arm hooking around my back, spinning us as his wings spread open, catching a few gasps from nearby guests. My skirt flared around my legs as we turned, and I caught the flash of my mother's smile, her laugh, and then a quick peek at Emma and Brett, easing around the edge of the room toward the exit.

They had a plane to catch, a flight to the Maldives to start a honeymoon a day earlier than my mother would've preferred. It was the most selfish choice Emma had made for the entirety of the wedding planning, and I was outrageously proud of her.

"We don't have to linger in their place, do we?" Elias asked, murmuring the words in my ear.

I shook my head, leaning back in the frame of his arms, his wings blocking the view of the door my sister was fleeing through.

"It would be entirely unwise of us to linger," I said, smiling.

Without Emma on hand, my mother's focus would turn to me, and that was bad enough without the added temptation of wedding talk.

"Then let's make our own escape as soon as the song finishes," Elias suggested.

"Not now? I think Emma and Brett are safely away."

"Not yet," Elias said, holding me tighter. "I want this dance with you."

Elias's groan licked into my mouth, vibrating in my throat, the ragged edge matching his uneven pace inside me. I tried to match his thrusts, whining, rubbing myself against him. I was tensing, clawing my fingers along his back like it might drag me further to the edge, even as the edge kept inching away.

Elias said I fought my orgasm, but I swear I was only fighting for one.

"Oh, Victoria," he moaned, head thrown back. His hand braced against the headboard, hips shifting against mine, deeper and harder, snapping. "Look at me."

My eyes flew open, and I hadn't even realized I'd been squeezing them shut. I opened my mouth to say that I couldn't get there, I wanted to, but it had been a long day with the wedding, and some of my mother's comments were stuck on a loop in my head, and it was late and he should just?—

Elias's gaze swallowed mine, his brow tightening. "God, you're so beautiful," he gasped. "Oh fuck, Victoria, I'm going to— You feel so good?—"

He just wanted to see me. That was all he needed.

Suddenly, my heart burst, cascading warmth and an unbearable shattering sensation that made me want to weep. I wrapped my arms around his back as Elias's mouth fell open, a deep shout of elation exploding out of him as he stiffened, burying himself deep inside of me.

"I love you," I said, the words bursting out of me as I knot my legs around his hips.

Elias bellowed, shock and then sudden overwhelming ecstasy of his own relief stealing over his features, tearing away his strength, sending him collapsing down against me, pinning me clumsily to the mattress.

He groaned again, bucking, and managed to lift himself just enough to nuzzle his jaw against my temple. "Say it again."

"I love you," I said. It was just a whisper, but repeating the words made some of the fragile, sharp bits in my chest seam back together. I pressed my face into his throat, and there were tears after all, pooling in the hollows above my cheeks. "I love you."

Elias shuddered and let out a small laugh, a light, relieved sound. He hadn't said the words yet, not since our argument months ago, but I didn't have a moment of doubt. He loved me too. Our vow of "not yet" was old now, every day having chipped away at my defenses, his habitual solitude erased with every conversation and touch. Dinner parties and books read side by side and the slow, urgent hours of learning each other's and our own bodies all over again.

Elias's hands stroked my sides, and he eased back until his face could hover over mine, eyes lined at the corners with his smile.

"You love me," he said.

I laughed and nodded. "I do."

"Because I'll finish without you?" he teased.

I grinned and arched for a kiss, humming against his lips, prompting him for a little more attention with a circling of my hips, still holding the tip of him inside of me.

"I love you too, Victoria," he rasped, brushing my hair back from my face, greedily studying me once more. His smile brightened, and he mouthed the words, "I love you."

Maybe he'd just realized too. He'd been hunting for love when we'd met. Perhaps it had surprised him once it arrived.

"What do you think?" I asked.

He blinked, and I knew he understood my question. "Mmm. I see the appeal. It's…wonderful, actually."

"It is nice, isn't it?" I asked, closing my eyes for a moment just to enjoy the heat and softness and ache of the emotion. I loved Elias in all his unraveling mystery, his curiosity, his ageless superiority that he was still learning was actually fallible after all.

"Victoria, darling," Elias called, the hands on my sides moving to my breast, one wandering down my middle to tease at where we were still joined, then up to my clit. I tensed and then reminded myself not to brace, opening my eyes to his once more. "Are you tired, my love?"

I was exhausted, actually. Exhausted and elated and giddy and sated and needy and relaxed.

"Why do you ask?" I asked, even though I could guess.

He wet his lips, sitting up slightly and staring down at me, drinking me in one inch at a time.

"Well, you're still quite wet," Elias said slowly.

I nodded. "Some of that is you, but yes, I am," I said, and I rocked into his fingers, my eyes hooding as the warmth of affection became something a little more potent and pressing.

"And I'm rather parched," he continued, grinning. "Would you mind terribly if I helped myself?"

I sighed, desire tingling down my spine, and spread my legs so wide I could almost hook my heels over either edge of the bed. Elias's cock slipped out of me, followed quickly by his release and my glossy arousal.

"Take your time," I offered with a inviting wiggle of my hips.

Elias chuckled, the sound dark and delicious. "You may regret saying that," he muttered.

I doubted it.