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“Elliana.” A male’s voice called out to me, and I froze midway through feeding Gingernuts. Had I heard right?
Gingernuts headbutted me to finish preparing his meal, so I placed his filled plate on the floor.
“Elliana, you in there?”
I jolted upright and hurried through the kitchen until my back spasmed, then I slowed down. In the main room, I approached the window and glanced down to see Gage with his hands in his pockets staring up at me as if he were here for a date. And it took everything I had not to let him in without an explanation first.
“What are you doing here? I told you to never come here.” Giddiness flooded me at seeing him, at the idea that I might avoid being alone, might distract myself. Of course, I should have known he would come searching for me after I’d left Brawl without saying farewell to him, considering I’d told him I’d needed Dustin for a job.
He shrugged. “I had to see you. Want me to come up there?” He wasn’t wearing his bouncer black clothes, but brown pants, boots, and a short-sleeved top. His muscles were on display beneath the open vest he wore, along with a gold chain that sparkled in the moon’s light.
“No! I’m coming down.” I didn’t need him to see how fucked up my life was—the busted furniture, my extremely hairy cat. Gage should have been a spy because he noticed too much and asked a million questions whenever I met him. Like the bruises I hid under my clothes.
In haste, I darted to the bedroom and grabbed several gold coins from the pouch I’d dropped last night near the bed. I stuffed them into my pocket and reached for my dagger on the bedside table. If Gage wanted company, I’d take it. Because I couldn’t bear to be alone, and drowning my sorrows with a drink and a gorgeous man was better than facing the reality of never getting rid of the gargoyle and having basically killed a man.
I swallowed the thickness in my throat, hating the desperation to curl up and vanish from the world.
“Wow, so this is where you live? I expected something grander.” Gage’s voice filled the tower.
I jostled around as he climbed in through the window, shuddering that he hadn’t listened to my request. While at the same time, I was burning up with embarrassment that he’d seen my prison. Would he think less of me?
He studied the paintings I’d created on the walls, the rugs I’d bought at markets to brighten up the place, and the translucent fabrics I’d hung from the cobblestone ceiling in billowing waves. Anything to make the place resemble a home.
I stepped out of the shadows of the bedroom and his eyes fixed on me, widening to round discs.
“What happened to you?” He seized my arms and brought me into the light of the burning candle on the table. “Who did this to you? Was it Dustin? Fucking bastard. I’ll murder him. I warned you about him.” His voice boomed.
I shivered, and when a tear escaped the corner of my eye, I turned away.
Gage drew me closer, our bodies plastered together. “Elliana, what the hell happened?” His tone deepened, and this was why I hadn’t told him about my gargoyle before. He’d fly off the handle and jump to fix problems. And damn, I loved that protectiveness in him, but that was why I had to keep him safe from himself. I couldn’t bear to see him become the gargoyle like Dustin had. Sweat drenched my skin, and the thumping of my heart vibrated in my head. I curled my hands into fists, and my words raced out loud. “Gage, just leave it. Dustin didn’t hurt me.” I pulled myself from his grasp and headed toward my bed, rubbing my eyes, hating that I couldn’t control my emotions.
“What isthat?”
I turned to find him staring down at my cat.
“My pet, Gingernuts.”
Gage half-smiled as his gaze followed the cat’s trail of hair across the floor and then vanishing somewhere in the kitchen. “Is something wrong with him?”
“No!” I snapped, gaining myself a raised brow. “Haven’t you ever heard of long-haired cats?” I huffed, hating that Gage had to see the shithole I lived in, the cursed cat I adored so much. The pitiful expression on his face killed me when he looked my way. I’d always worked hard for him to see me as someone strong, brave, and capable of taking on anything. Not a mess who got beaten up and was lost on the inside.
“Okay, whatever. Your cat is freaky.” He glanced around my small abode and approached my messy bed. He reached over, taking my hand in his. His touch was soft and warm. “Please, Elliana. Tell me what’s going on. It scares me to see you hurt and pushing me away.”
I lifted my head to face him, my chin trembling, because facing the truth of my life grazed my skin like a flame. “What does it matter?”
He brought me into his arms with such swiftness, I lost my breath. My bruises ached, but he never squeezed tight. He breathed in my ear. “I care about you more than you realize. And if someone is hurting you, I’ll fix it. I adore seeing your smiles, hearing your laughter. I hate seeing you cry.” He brushed his thumbs under my eyes, and I melted beneath his tender touch.
A spark of passion ignited in me as his body pressed against mine. Somehow in his arms, the world stopped. No time, no fear, no gargoyle.
Tears kept falling as I remembered Dustin’s terrified gaze, that I’d aided in him losing his life. I never wanted to get beaten again. I’d been broken too many times and now I didn’t know if I’d ever feel whole again.
Gage’s hand took mine, his fingers stroking my inner wrist in that easy way that encouraged me to speak openly. I stared into his green eyes, and a wild expression of terror filled them. Up close, his cheek bones were sharp, and his chin narrow, resembling a dragon’s bone structure. Powerful and protective.
He’d always cared for me, perhaps too much, and I’d never understood why. He could have had any woman he wanted, and they’d never been shy around him. Yet he’d never once strayed and stared at me as if only I existed. Trepidation strangled me at the idea of placing him in danger. How much longer could I hold on to the anger, the memories, the self-loathing?
So my words fell before I could rein them in and revealed my sad life. The curse, my father, the gargoyle, years of going mad, and even the time I’d thrown myself off the roof to end my life. For too long I’d yearned to share them with someone, to somehow end the loneliness that clung to my skin like a jacket made of thorns. Always slicing into me, dragging me back to my fucked-up life.
“It’s my fault Dustin transformed.” A river of emotions spilled down my cheeks, and I cried into my hands.
