Page 16 of Loved By the Gargoyle

He must’ve read whatever it was I tried hard to hide, because Xavir leaned forward, his hair curtaining us into our own, private little world. The tip of his pointed nose touched mine, and I was sure he could feel the flush blooming over my skin.

“Do you want me to steal you away, my little flower?” he purred.

Purred.

The sound actually rumbled from his chest and made me flush in more places than one.

“I’m just confused is all.”

“Hmm.” He touched the tip of his nose to mine and then pulled back just as quickly. “Nazzar stole his wife, but he later found Qanek and I and warned us that it was against human custom to steal your bride. That it was a thing for the sick and the depraved.”

Well, then.

I guess I was sick and depraved, because the idea of being stolen away by him in the middle of the night excited me.

“Yeah, that’s true, I guess.” Why did I sound so damn disappointed? Get a grip, Mia.

Xavir smirked knowingly, almost as if he could read my thoughts.

“I heeded my brother’s advice, stalking and observing through the shadows for a woman who would catch my eye. And then I saw you, and it was as though the world itself stopped breathing so that you would become the main focal point. The world stopped to observe as you opened your case and took that instrument to your shoulder and played. And the world listened–I listened, Mia. It was in your song that I was ensnared, and I knew I never wanted to be released from your hold. I wanted you. You. Only you, for you kept me hypnotized from the moment I heard and saw you.

“There is no music in hell, but I recognized heaven in the melody your fingertips created from the very first moment. What–” Xavir’s eyes widened. “What is this, my little flower?” His clawed finger came up, catching a tear as it fell from my eyes.

I had been crying the entire speech, my heart caught in my throat, preventing words from coming out. He’d watched me; for a while, he had watched me. He’d heard me. He’d fallen for my music, for me. And these words he was gifting me with were words I’d only ever dreamt of receiving. I never thought I’d get them. I never thought I’d find someone who would feel so strongly.

“They’re called tears.”

“I know them.” The slashing lines of his brows pulled together with displeasure. “Have my words caused you pain?”

I quickly shook my head, knowing I probably looked a mess. “No, it’s just… The words are so sweet and I’m moved by them, so much that I’m crying tears of happiness.”

Xavir made a noise before leaning forward. That gray-black, forked tongue slowly darted out, and I flinched before relaxing as he caught the tears at the tip, licking them slowly away. The wet warmth made my skin tingle.

When he finished, he leaned back and cupped my face with his palms. The graze of his sharp claws was dangerous, but he treated me gently, so gently that I wasn’t even afraid.

“I wanted to steal you away right then,” he whispered softly. “I wanted to take you away to the Underworld and mate you until we lost all sense of time. But Nazzar warned me of stealing you away. He said you would resent me, be frightened of me. So I knew I would prove my devotion to you first. I would ensure you loved me, only me, the way that I loved you, so that you would come to me of your own free will.”

I sniffled. “So why didn’t you talk to me?”

At my question, his body shifted, tensing before answering. “I am filled with cowardice. Nazzar gave us many warnings, and I lost myself in them and grew afraid. I have seen the males in this world, and I am nothing like them. I am ugly to behold and you are so beautiful. I was afraid you would not want me as I am, and so I aimed to conquer your heart with my words, so that maybe it might not matter that I appear as this.” His clawed hand lifted, hovering over half of his beautiful, monstrous face. He sighed and the sound was sad. “Then you wanted to meet, and I grew frightened of what you would think–”

“I’m not shallow,” I interrupted. “It hurts that you believed I’d think less of you because of your appearance.”

His brow furrowed, like he was putting together puzzle pieces in his head. “Shallow?” he asked, finally.

“It means being superficial. Someone who has no depth to them and only cares about trivial things and not what really matters.” I reached out and cupped his cheeks. “I don’t care about your appearance, Xavir. If you would have told me from the beginning, I would have told you that I fell in love with you via your letters. The best part of my day was always receiving your notes. I got to know you through them, and I felt a little less lonely myself.”

He sucked in a breath, and that fire in his chest only grew brighter. “Say it again,” he whispered in a low growl.

“What?”

“That you fell in love with me.”

There was a desperation to his words and shining in the marble depths of his eyes. I struggled to read what expressions he wore because even though his face was mostly human, there were differences between us.

He didn’t have eyebrows, but cut lines of stone. His teeth were sharp, his lips thin, his tongue forked. I could only guess what expressions he wore, and even then, I would have to ask. But there was no mistaking the hope shining down on me.

I understood it all too well.