Page 33 of Fated to the Gargoyle

I wash the digging and the whole day off in the lake, scrubbing the road dust and the grease-smell from my skin. On the bank I wring the water from my wings and knock the last of the earth from the chest’s iron bands.

Lamplight fills her window when I come over the rooftops, and what I see through the glass stops me on the balcony rail. She’s at her little table in her bonnet, bent over the sewing machine, humming to herself while her foot taps the pedal and my pants take shape under her hands.

She glances up and catches me through the glass, and she smiles quick and glad at the sight of me. I could stand on this rail all night for that alone.

She crosses the room, unlocks the door, and slides it open, stepping aside to wave me through. I duck in with the chest and set it down inside the door.

“I’m almost finished with your pants,” she says, and then she spots what I carried in. “What is that?”

“My brother and I brought some of our treasures to Shadow Wolf Creek,” I tell her, “in hopes of trading them for land.” I flick the latch open with one claw.

She gasps. The chest holds banded stacks of human money, loose rubies and diamonds, and gold coins piled to the lid.

She looks up at me. “Ohhh. So when y’all said treasures, you were not playing.”

“Why did you not rest?” I ask. She has been on her feet all day, and here she is spending what’s left of her night sewing for me.

She rolls her eyes at me. “I just found out I’m fated to a big sexy gargoyle. Sleep can wait.” She waves a hand over the open chest. “You only get stuff like this in fairytales, Soren. I can’t get a man to bring me flowers on a date, but my gargoyle brings me a chest of his finest treasures, and we haven’t even been on a date yet.”

She stares into the chest and doesn’t say anything else, and that worries me. “I have more if it is not enough.”

Her mouth flops open. “MORE? I can practically retire off what’s sitting here.”

I step closer. She doesn’t move an inch. I grin, gather her up against me, and lift her to my eye level.

“These treasures mean nothing to me. I have you. My real treasure.”

She settles her arms around my neck. “Will you stay with me tonight? And tomorrow night?” Her thumb runs along my jaw. “Can we go on a date?”

“A date?” The word sits strange in my mouth.

“Yeah. Show me what gargoyles do.”

“I am stone by day and a hunter by night.” I say it plain and wait for her to flinch. She doesn’t.

“Sounds like a good time to me.” She leans in and kisses my cheek.

I want her, and it is nothing tame. I hold it down, because she’s worn out on her feet and we have every night still to come. Everything about her is a marvel to me, and her heart most of all.

I dip low so she can reach past me and pull the balcony door shut. Then I tuck my wings in tight and carry her down the hall, ducking through her bedroom doorway. I lay her down easy on the bed.

“But I’m not finished with the pants,” she says.

“It does not matter, Treasure.” I lower myself to one knee beside the bed, take one of her feet in my hand, and work my claw gentle along the sole.

Her eyes fall shut, and the sigh that comes out of her is worth more than anything in that chest. “Ahhh. That feels good.”

“I will court you, if courting is what you wish,” I say, keeping my attention on the work in case the offer is a foolish one.

“I’m not asking to be courted.” Her head tips back with a serene little smile. “I just want to get to know you better. Plus, I’m probably not gonna last another night.”

I move to her other foot. “What do you mean?”

“I want to see what’s going on under that loincloth.” She cracks one eye open at me. “Lord, I pray I can handle it.”

I laugh at that, and I keep it quiet for the sake of her neighbors.

She yawns big, tugs her foot out of my hand, and burrows onto her side, comfortable in her pile of covers. “You think of yourself as a monster. Well, I think you’re beautiful.” She fights through another yawn to finish it. “And mine.”