Page 32 of Bumpy, the Gargoyle Slayer

“Thanks. And please call me Bunny. The table will look better once the sandwiches are loaded onto it. Plus, the dried flowers and gold flakes need to be added. Other than that…”

“You can go take a shower and get ready. You’ve got about an hour before Alain flies back.”

“You sure you shouldn’t pick him up?”

“He said to stay with you. Besides, lots of cloud cover today. He can fly high enough to avoid detection.”

The thought gives me a shiver. His magick, born of Good, is just too attractive to me.

There’s a little flutter that runs through the kitchen, but I pay it no mind as I place my last radish on the tray. I’m stepping back to look at my work when I run into a stone wall.

Fire rushes through me as arms surround me, dragging me up against a protuberance that can only mean a dick is ready for action. Doesn’t matter. I’d know the gargoyle in the dark, on another planet. There’s his cathedral scent, for one, and the gentle but firm way he touches me, for another. But mostly, it’s the feel of his energy. I can’t explain it any better than that.

Nothing in my training prepared me for wanting a monster like this. Vampires can seduce a mind. Gargoyles can apparently seduce a soul.

I inhale a long scent of him before rotating and looking up. “Hey, boyfriend.”

“What are you doing in the kitchen, Bumps? I thought you’d be getting prepared for the party. I bought you a new dress and left it… what’s this?” He notices the display behind me.

A nervous flutter flips up into my chest and makes my heart beat too fast. “Um, surprise?”

His eyes focus as he takes in the entire five feet of empty bowls, cheeses, veggies, fruits, meats, and flowers. “Did you make this?”

“It’s nearly done. The sandwiches are in the refrigerator. I couldn’t figure out what to get you, and you looked pretty interested in the grazing boards when we watched the videos, and I’ve got gilding and pretty dried flowers, too, edible ones, and… yeah. Happy birthday?”

He looks a little stunned, to be honest. A few seconds tick by before he says, “You’re making me a grazing board for my birthday?”

“Yeah.” Heat spreads up to my forehead. “I mean, what do you get a billionaire that’s a thousand years old, right? I just thought…”

“More like eight-hundred,” he murmurs, interrupting me, but still taking in the table. Finally, his gaze meets mine. His eyes are all shiny. “I’m so touched, Bumps. I can’t even… no one’s ever made me anything before. I love it.”

“You do? Really?” All of me melts under the warmth of his gaze. My hand traces up his abs. So sexy, even after a whole day spent in his office. “Anyway, happy birthday. I thought—well, I planned on showing you later.”

“During the party?”

I shrug. “I thought… well, I kind of planned on convincing you to slip away from your other guests for an hour once it gets boring.” I’ve come to discover that billionaire parties are exciting for the first forty-five minutes. After that, it’s all financial chatter, who knows what about whom, and looking down noses at those less fortunate. “It’s weird, right?”

It is. It’s weird to make a pretend gargoyle billionaire boyfriend a grazing board for his birthday… and to use it to maybe seduce him, if everything goes right.

“It’s unusual, but… did you make these saucisson florets yourself? With the wine glass, like in the videos?” He unleashes his arms from around me and walks the three steps to the table to examine everything more closely. “And these are radish flowers?”

“I’m going to gild them, too.”

A throat gruffly clears behind us. Jean-Luc says, “She spent her last dollars buying the products, boss, even though I told her you would have gladly footed the bill.”

“It wouldn’t be a birthday gift if you paid for it yourself.” Damn blush. Heat is blistering my face. “And I couldn’t have done it without Jean-Luc. He’s a full participant in the gift.”

“Not, but thanks,” Jean-Luc mumbles, turning red.

But the look Alain sends me is so filled with fire that it’s no wonder I’m burning. “This is the most wonderful present anyone has ever given me. You are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. I lo…” He stalls, his throat moving. “I love it.”

I think he was going to say that he loves me. Elation sings through me. I force it down. Not yet. It’s too soon. We won’t work. I can’t really date a monster.

Damn it, I love him.

In the next moment, he swings me up into his arms, lifting me high enough that our lips land on one level. And he kisses me in a long, slow melding. I cup his beautiful face in my palms, not caring if I smear his makeup. This is our first kiss in front of others, and every sigh that echoes around the room touches me down to my soul.

It feels so right. How can it be wrong?