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My heart beats and breaks, beats and breaks over and over while I take in the muscular form of the man with clawed beast paws, paired with the head of a monster who has great fangs and wings.
It’s not until the officer passes by and rounds a corner that Leo’s fur brushes my side.
My mouth permits my sadness a voice. “There are no gargoyles anymore. They were a dying breed back then. But when one of the spell books was stolen, Gregory was cursed as punishment for the mistake. Now there aren’t any gargoyles protecting the Grayrock City.” I swipe at my cheek, unsurprised when I find moisture there. I’ve always been a softy for other people’s plight. I don’t care to be embarrassed that Leo is beside me. I whisper up at Gregory, hoping he can hear me. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I don’t know how to fix it.”
At this, Leo shifts into his man form beside me, so I make sure to keep my eyes on Gregory, and not Leo’s massive cock. “First of all, the shifters protect the city, and the witches use their wards to keep outsiders away.” His voice delves into grumbling in the next sentence. “Vampires are parasites, so they don’t do anything to help.” He clears his throat. “But the point is, the city is not unprotected. And second of all,” he pauses to motion up to Gregory, “youcan’tfix this. You didn’t do it, so you can’tundo it. It won’t do you any good to be this soft, falling apart at the first thing you see here. Magic has a lot of twists and turns, so if you want to keep up, you’ve got to develop tougher skin.”
I swing my head to him, unwilling to take his criticism lying down. “Like you? You want me to be more like you?”
Leo’s brows knit but then he nods, as if wondering if I’ve led him into a conversational trap.
I turn my head back to Gregory, allowing myself to feel, even if it is foolish and there is no hope of redirecting fate. “No, thanks.”
I catch Leo motioning to his midsection in my periphery. “So, is that it? Is your gut satisfied? Can we move on from here? Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but witches and shifters stand out if they’re seen together, because that’s not something that ever happens around here. I’d rather go unnoticed by the officers, if it’s all the same to you.”
I nod, though no part of me is finished with Gregory and his plight. But being that Leo is naked and no doubt wants some semblance of dignity restored, I agree to move on.
Though, before I turn away, I blow a quiet kiss up to the gargoyle, gifting him a promise that I have not forgotten about him, and I won’t be finished with this puzzle until I can wrap my arms around him and warm the cold parts of his soul.
I have no interest in developing thicker skin. In my field, I’ve never seen how ignoring one’s emotions has served as a strength.
I rub my sternum where the unanticipated feelings tend to surface, wondering why this particular piece of history is hitting me so hard. I should be in wonder at the beauty surrounding me. I should be grateful that fate drove me to the land of my heritage that I never was allowed to enjoy.
Part of me feels both of those things, but the sadness still lingers, wishing I could bring Gregory back to life so he can experience this place, too.
5
Ivy
Leo turns back into a bear, but this time he keeps tight to my side. Perhaps it’s so he can steer me away from wandering into the thick of the city. I like to think that my big emotions don’t frighten him, but rather that he is close to me because he is a decent person. I hope Leo is a man who knows that sometimes a girl just needs a hug while she solves her own problems.
I like the closeness. It isn’t something I get a whole lot of, living alone as I do and feeling not quite part of the real world in which I grew up.
Leo’s giant furry head slides under my hand, his side pressed to mine while we talk together in silence through the bramble, the trees hiding just enough of our forms that we don’t draw unnecessary attention. I don’t know if he wants me to pet him or not, but I find I cannot help myself. My fingers slide over his thick fur coat, the tactile distraction lulling me away from the conundrum I cannot solve for the lone gargoyle in one night.
Leo has a tattoo on his left thigh of a paw inside a circle. I shouldn’t be thinking about it, nor should I be thinking of him in that way, but being that I’ve never seen him in clothing, my imagination tends to be tethered to his body.
His gloriously toned, strikingly attractive body.
Leo’s home is the first condo we come to on the strip near the east side of town. The tidy nature of the city proper isn’t completely lost the further east we go, but it is clear some parts of the city are a priority while others are not.
The building stretches to include a dozen entry doors, each unit two stories tall and painted brown to fit in with the surroundings. Nature creeps in, instead of sticking to the periphery, winding its roots around the pillars of the massive wraparound porch that looks equally inviting as it does territorial. I cannot decide if I love it or if it strikes caution into my bones. “Do you want me to wait out here?” I whisper to him. “I know it’s going to make you and your friends uncomfortable to have me in your home.”
Leo motions for me to stick close to him, which I am already doing. But I know that venturing into his home is going to cause problems, seeing as how I am a witch entering a shifter’s abode.
“I’m sorry you have to do this!” I whisper my internal fretting aloud. “I know I’m making you break all sorts of rules. I don’t mean to!”
Leo nuzzles my hand with his nose as we move to the door, as if he forgives me or dismisses my apology as unnecessary. He shifts back onto two legs, and everything in me goes into not staring at every inch of his length. It shouldn’t matter that he’s well hung. It shouldn’t cross my mind how long it’s been since I’ve had sex. He’s a person and doesn’t need my raging hormones hanging around his house.
Leo lets me into his condo and motions for me to have a seat on his couch. Even though he is nude, he makes an effort to straighten a few things, as if he is nervous to let company see that he occasionally leaves a coffee cup and a book out.
Damn that delicious tattoo. It’s a round thing with a paw in the center. It looks rough yet simultaneously beautiful.
Just like him.
I don’t realize until Leo chuckles at me, his head turned over his shoulder to smirk in my direction, that I am biting my lower lip with obvious lust wafting off me. “Well, that’s a first. A witch admitting to herself that a shifter is attractive?”
I turn to the side in a huff, my cheeks heating while I roll my eyes. “I don’t have any trouble admitting to anyone that you’re obviously beautiful. I didn’t mean to stare. I’m not used to being around a naked man this much in one night, is all. We’re at your house now. Perhaps this is the time for you to locate a set of clothes.”
