“If you’re making lattes,” she sing-songs, “I’ll let you touch my boobs if you share with—oh, shit!Rook?Oh,goddess! I thought you were Auggie!”
We lock eyes, her mouth parted in a gasp, sweatshirt hanging off her shoulders, her perfect breasts bared as the shock of finding me here freezes her on the spot. My heart lodges in my throat, my cock still hard and throbbing as the security footage drones on obliviously, filling the awkward silence with Auggie’s final command…
“I let you haveyourfun,” he rasps. “Now it’s my turn. Andmyfun involves throwing you down and fucking you the way I’ve been dreaming about fucking you every goddamn night since I first saw you in that lacy black dress.”
I watch as the realization dawns, staining her cheeks red. Those big blue-green eyes widen, and a soft gasp rushes through her parted lips. Spinning away from me, she pulls her sweatshirt back on and yanks the zipper all the way up.
But she doesn’t make a move to leave. Not one single step.
“How did you…” she breathes. “Where did you get that video?”
“There are security cameras in the main library room, West.” The admission burns through my chest.
“What?” She turns back to look at me, confusion written plainly on her face. “Since when?”
“I’m so, so sorry. I installed the system to keep an eye on the Codex, and completely forgot to mention it. This is the first I’ve even checked the footage—I wanted to get a full night’s worth to see if there were any patterns in the book’s behavior. I didn’t realize you’d been in here with Auggie last night—I mean, I knew you’d beeninhere, physically speaking, but not in thatspecificphysical and highly intimate sort of way with all the touching and the…” I clear my throat and duck her gaze, desperately willing my cock to go back into hiding.
But she’s not letting me off the hook.
“And?” she presses, hands on her hips. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“No, I… I… I was scanning through the feed and suddenly there you were, in his lap, like…” I feel my cock stiffening again, and I close my eyes, trying to shove those memories out of my skull. “I should’ve turned it off. Immediately. But I kept telling myself just one more second, and before I knew it I was just… You’re just so wild and beautiful and you guys weresooointo each other and I couldn’t stop watching and I know it was a complete and utter violation of your trust, and please, please,pleasetell me what I can do to fix this. Anything. Name it and it’s done.”
She’s still glaring at me—I can feel the heat of her scrutiny raking over my bare chest. Hear the frantic beat of her heart thrumming wildly inside her. Hear the soft, ragged breaths in time with the rise and fall of her shoulders.
Steadying myself, I take a deep breath.
The scent of her desire is potent and unmistakable.
And when I finally find the courage to look her in the eyes again, she’s smiling so big and bright, she’s barely holding back a laugh.
“Are you… laughing at me right now?” I let out a chuckle of my own, grateful for the levity but completely confused. “Seriously? You’re not upset? Or are you one of those people who laughs during moments of heightened emotion, in which case, once again, I’m so sorry for—”
“Has anyone ever told you… You’re rather adorable when you’re rambling and embarrassed?”
Fresh heat rushes to my cheeks, my glasses slipping down my nose. “I… I don’t think I’veeverrambled this much. Or been this embarrassed, for that matter. Not as a mortalora gargoyle.”
“First time for everything, huh?” she teases.
I try to hold my grin, but a wave of hot, fresh guilt washes through my gut, making me wince. She’s taking it all in stride, but still. “West, I… There’s no excuse for what I did. My actions were… I can’t apologize enough. Truly. I’m completely ashamed.”
“Don’t be. It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have any privacy, or worry that I don’t respect you. I promise I do. I’m just a complete and utter creep who—”
“Rook. Honestly?” She pads into the kitchen on soft footfalls, her scent swirling around me. Then, stretching up on her toes to trace her fingertips along my beard, she whispers, “I kind of like it.Reallylike it, actually.”
I swallow hard, my heart thudding, my throat tight. “Really like what?”
“Being watched like that. By you, I mean.” She slides her palms down my chest, fingers hooking into the top of my loincloth, her soft touch stirring my cock to life all over again.
“Westlyn,” I growl, not entirely sure whether it’s a warning or a promise, but her fingers are brushing against my bare skin and she’s so warm and sweet and she’s standing so, so fucking close…
“I know this sounds a little nutty,” she says softly, then laughs. “Well, maybe no more nutty than the fact that gargoyles are real and we’re investigating dark mages and a fae curse and a witch whose father tried to pawn her off to a demon prince, but…” She sighs, warm breath misting across my chest. “I care about you guys. All four of you. Yes, even Draegan, despite his endless crankiness.”
I cup her cheek, damn close to losing myself in her eyes. “We care about you, too, West. You have to know that.”
“Idoknow that. I guess what I’m trying to say is… Rook, I love hanging out with you. I love our chats and study sessions, I love when you teach me about gargoyle and fae lore, and I’d never want to do anything to jeopardize that. But you obviously know I’ve been… intimate with Auggie, and you’ve probably figured out it’s the same way with Jude, and…”
