to terms with. I’m sure your husband will have no difficulties helping you on your quest to accept your perfection.”
With that, my father disappeared in a flash of fiery orange light.
“Huh. They normally poof off in silver or gold.”
“That they do. Are you ready to come out from under the table now?”
I considered it, nodded, and handed over my plate before rejoining him at the table to deal with the endless line of those wanting to wish us well.
As I didn’t want to destroy my wedding dress picking a fight with a gorgon, I changed into a pair of jeans and a black top. Black tended to hide the stains better, especially when covered with pet fur. Anyone who thought I’d resist the furry charms of Sunny, Blizzard, and Avalanche counted as crazy, and I only wanted specific crazy people in my life. As the rescued ocelot kitten needed the most care and attention to questionably count as domesticated, she got the lion’s share of my attention, although the puppies didn’t seem to mind.
Their new toys helped with that.
To make sure I wasn’t late for my date with Quinn’s grandfather and have enough of a fight to please the unicorn in me, Quinn grabbed me by my waist and dragged me out of the suite while the angel watching over our pets gently took my ocelot from me.
“Cruel,” I whined, and as my husband enjoyed when I put up a fight, I grabbed hold of the door frame and made him show off his muscles.
He chuckled, pulled until I lost my hold, and hauled me towards the elevator. “I’m the cruelest of men, taking you from your puppies and kitten so you can pick a fight with my grandfather. You’ll just have to punish me later.”
“Think the hotel will let me do any demonstrations as a fire-breathing badass? Cindercorns are so much better than gorgons.” As my husband was wise, he kept me out of range of anything I might use to put up a fight. I giggled, tried to dig in my heels, and enjoyed making him work for his victory.
“I’m going to let you have that, as I’ve experienced what it’s like to be you—almost. I’ll admit, playing with fire is quite enjoyable, although I’m somewhat saddened napalm doesn’t function like pixie dust for me.”
“Those hangovers are the worst.”
“They’re easily resolved. I just have to make sure you drink enough water afterwards. Your napalm rations will come with plenty of liquids afterwards. You’ll be okay.” Quinn pressed the down button, maintaining his vice-like grip while pinning me to his side. “I am thinking I’ll condition you to accept you’re also Police Chief Quinn through the careful rationing of napalm. I already refused to allow them to call you Police Chief Gardener. You’re mine.”
I loved when my husband became possessive, although I missed when he growled Gardener at me. As it was our second wedding day and nobody lurked nearby to catch me, I asked, “But will you call me Gardener when I’ve been really bad?”
“Call? Or do you mean growl or snarl it at you? There are other options, including purr.”
Yes, my husband could purr, and I loved it. He also hissed nicely, especially when he shifted to his gorgon-incubus doohickey form. “Growl, snarl, purr, and hiss are all good options. Call is so tame compared to those.”
“In private, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
He really would. “Talk, talk, talk,” I complained, sighing when the elevator door opened. To my amazement, no one was inside. “That might be a first.”
“Well, we’re on the upper floor and there’s entertainment to be had in the canals. I’m betting the hotel is about to make good money off you and my grandfather, and I can’t even blame them for monetizing your little scuffle.” He dragged me inside and hit the button for the first floor. “Your goal is to headlock him and braid his snakes without getting bruised in the process.”
“He’ll probably just stand there while I crawl all over him attempting to knock him down and put him in a headlock. I’ve learned how gorgons operate. Unless I’m a cindercorn, I probably won’t be able to budge him. But I’ll just climb him, put him in a headlock that way, and braid his snakes together while he explains why it’s a bad idea to do what I’m doing. Then he’ll probably bite me a few times. Somebody mentioned testing my immunities while pregnant was good for the babies. As