Page 9

Lewis

Agargoyle. A tall, sexy gargoyle. That was who the fates had gifted me. I was trying my best to remain calm on the outside, but inside, I was a mess. I was screaming my head off, I was jumping up and down in excitement, and yes, I was ready to climb this sexy man like the tree he was. Well, not actually. But he was tall like one. Well, a short one. But he was tall. And that was exactly what I’d hoped for when it came to my mate. And for him to be kind. I already knew that Vaughn would have gone through an extensive background check as an enforcer, so I was almost positive that I didn’t have anything to worry about.

Vaughn tugged on my hand, leading me to the right, and I followed, wondering which place was his. I was upset with myself for not realizing my mate was so close sooner. He glanced down at me and smiled, which did things to my body that I didn’t know were possible. From a smile?

“You look as if you were going to say something.”

I nodded. “I was going to ask you how long you’ve been an enforcer.”

Vaughn’s smile widened. “I’ve actually just gone over my second anniversary with the enforcers. I arrived in early November two years ago.”

Two years. He’d been here two whole years, and I’d been here for a little over a year. Why hadn’t we met before now?

“What’s wrong?” Vaughn asked. I noticed we’d stopped walking, and when I looked up, I saw that we were standing at a front door.

“Is this your place?”

Vaughn tilted his head. “It is for now. If we claim each other, we will have to move. I guess I could move into your place, but there is mated enforcer housing not far from here, but I would imagine you know that.” I nodded. “That wasn’t what was bothering you though.” Vaughn gently lifted my chin. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Yeah, I was just upset because you’ve been here two years, and I’ve been here over a year already. We’ve been so close to each other, and yet we’ve never run into one another. How is that possible?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps we weren’t ready to meet yet,” Vaughn said, taking a step and gently tugging on my hand again. He opened the door, and I entered after he gestured for me to do so. I stood just inside the doorway and smiled. It was warm in here. Not that it was hot or anything, but it was pleasant. “Let me take your coat? I can hang it in the closet.”

I turned around, and there it was, just like what was in the fae enforcers’ places. “Do all of these have the same floor plan?” I asked as I handed over my coat. I had pulled off my mittens and stuffed them into the pockets, along with my hat.

“As far as I know, they’re similar. They’re mirrored though. Everest lives on the other side of this wall, and once you get inside, his kitchen is against mine, and the two smaller bedrooms are next to my two. Then it repeats, so my bedroom is next to the two bedrooms on the other side.”

“So they’re the same,” I said. Vaughn looked a little confused. “I’ve been in Evan’s place. And Lukan’s. And Felix’s.”

Vaughn scowled. “Why?”

“Because we hang out sometimes. They rotate who is going to host for the get-together, and then we hang out there. I join sometimes, but most of the time not, because I’m the only omega, and they all act like they need to protect me for whatever reason. That can get annoying.” I sighed. “Most of the time, once I leave the bakery, I go home and don’t do much of anything,” I told him. “Sometimes I read, sometimes I try to watch television. I like to do crossword puzzles. And Beau gave me this table, and there are some games on it, but that’s pretty much my day. I meant it when I said I was sort of dull.”

“I don’t think you’re boring at all. In fact, I think you’re fascinating.” Vaughn gestured into the house. “Would you care to come in and talk?”

I grinned. “I would like that.”

I tried not to look like I was checking out the place, but I absolutely was. Subtle wasn’t really my thing, apparently, because when I looked back up at Vaughn, he smiled. I wanted to melt right there. “I like to read,” he said.

I nodded. “I can see that. You have a lot of bookshelves.” That was the thing that stood out the most. The entire left wall was nothing but bookcases, and there were a whole lot of books on them. “Have you read them all?” I asked as I walked over toward them and leaned close. I put my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t be inclined to touch. Some of them looked to be quite old.

“At some point, yes. I’ve already told you I’m old and boring.”

“Just how old are we talking about? I’m twenty-three. Which I know has to be a lot younger than you. Are you nearing a hundred?” I asked, curious now that he’d mentioned being old more than once.

Vaughn laughed again. “I passed a hundred a couple of centuries ago, little one.”

I scowled, my mind working overtime trying to figure that out. “How old do gargoyles get to be?”

“Before we were all granted immortality, it wasn’t uncommon for us to live to be a millennium.”

I blinked up at my mate. “How old are you, then?”

“Three hundred eighty-three at my last celebration.”

I’d worked around the council for a while now, and I knew some of the others were older than most. But the other gargoyles, the twins, I was certain they weren’t nearly this old. Vaughn wasn’t kidding when he said he was old.

“Either my age is an issue, or you’re trying to figure something out.”