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Using my tail, I pull together a pile of pillows, stacking them to create a cushioned floor. I make a mental note to put finding a mattress high on the priority list. Careful not to nick her with my claws, I lower her into the plush nest. Grabbing a smaller pillow, I gently lift her head and slide it beneath her in what I hope is a comfortable position.
I’ll know her name soon.My tail slaps against the ground in excitement, the noise dampened by a pile of blankets.
A growl rises in my throat, and anger flares anew as I spot blood, dark and dried, in her blond waves. Originally obscured by a tendril, a small gash cuts across the edge of her hairline. I already handled her attacker; I left him bruised and bleeding on a rooftop blocks away, and he won’t be back. Now, she’ll never be without my protection.
Tempering my strength, I check her for further injury.
Lifting and turning each arm, I push up her sleeves. Light purple bruises mark her strong biceps and shoulders where the attacker had grabbed her. I search lower to find pinpricks of blood dotting her knees where she fell on the cobblestones. Removing her shoes, I run my claws over her legs, feeling for broken bones. I work up from her ankle over the firm curves of her calves. Moving quickly, I adjust her skirt, pushing the light material up to expose the plush swell of her thighs and hips. As I move to pull the fabric back down, she shifts, her knee dropping open and exposing her black cotton panties.
I swallow hard.
The pang of desire that hits me squarely in the chest is wrong. She’s so vulnerable now, but memories of these thighs, spread and shaking in pleasure, rise to the surface.
I force down a growl, and the moment I confirm she has no further injuries, I quickly cover her in several blankets.
Daisy/Dawn/Persephone lets out a faint whimper as she stirs beneath the heavy fabric. She doesn’t wake. I cup her chin and turn her face gently, checking the wound at her hairline to make sure the bleeding has stopped.
“I’m truly sorry I couldn’t prevent the attack, Per…” I hesitate, desperate to know her true name. Now that she is in front of me, I cannot give her one of my own. In frustration, I lean down and whisper, “What is your name?”
“Astra,” she murmurs, and I nearly jump back in surprise and delight. My tail shoots out behind me, and my wings unfurl to give me stability.
She’s slipping in and out of consciousness. Her eyes are tightly closed as she shifts and turns. She pulls the blankets closer, and I crawl across the stone floor and over the pillows to her, adjusting them up to her chin.
“Astra,” I repeat faintly.
Her name is sweet on my tongue, and I want to taste it fully, let the pretty word fill my mouth completely, so I say it again, “Astrrrra… Aaaastra… Astraaa…”
She shifts, letting out another fitful whine as she twists in the blankets. I reach for her, brushing the back of my claws over her forehead and pushing her waves from her face.
“Shhhh, my star, shhh. You’re safe now.”
I move down over her soft, rosy cheek, stroking her until I know that if I don’t stop myself now, I’ll be tempted to continue soothing her with my lips.
“Don’t,” she murmurs, eyelids fluttering in their half-closed state, as I pull my hand back. “So good… don’t stop.”
“Astra!” I don’t think to control the full, deep gravel of my voice, and the tower shakes with the depth of my excitement. “You’re up.”
Astra’s icy blue eyes fly open. Her fingers dig into the edge of the blanket, her body freezing in place as she stares at me. Her gaze grows wide as she seems to take me in fully, scanning over my face and body. Her attention holds on my tail, so I sweep it forward to give her a better look.
She jumps in her seated position as her mouth drops open, but nothing comes out.
She doesn’t know what happened,I realize.She doesn’t know she’s safe.
“Save your voice.” I force my tone softer, recognizing my earlier mistake, which must’ve shocked her out of sleep. “You are injured, but you have nothing to worry about. You’re safe now.”
“Wh… what are you?” she croaks out. Her gaze shifts rapidly around me, taking in our surroundings. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as her breathing speeds up.
“Your fall must’ve been harder than I thought if you do not remember me.”
I reach to stroke her cheek again, something she moaned for only moments ago. She pulls back as my claws close in.
“G… gar… gargoyle,” she stutters out, eyeing my hand suspiciously. “You’re a gargoyle? A real, live gargoyle?”
“Yes. Good, very good. I’m Colossus, the gargoyle you seduced from your window.” I grin. “Yourmonster.”
“Colossus? Wait…Yourmonster? No, my…my monster? What? No, no, no, no, no…”She scurries backwards, throwing off her blankets and scrambling to get free of the pillows. “This isn’t possible. Is it?”
Her heartbeat pounds in my ear. Her breath is sharp and shallow. My chest twists to see her residual fear. She’s close to hyperventilating.
