Page 5

I couldn’t help it. I screamed.

“Calm down. You are safe.”

Safe? I would have cackled, but I was too busy shrieking as I held on for dear life.

I might face deadly creatures without losing my cool, but it wasn’t every day that I flew across the sky with nothing but thin air beneath me.

We were already so high that the fifteen-story office building was shrinking by the second.

Also, we kept rising faster and faster, propelled by those massive wings–or should I say, gargoyle wings?

“Little human, have mercy.”

Right. I had to pull myself back together before I damaged the pointed ears of the only one keeping me alive at the moment.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hid my face in the crook of his neck, hands still gripping his brawny shoulders.

This was simply a glass elevator ride in the tallest skyscraper ever. Yep, scary but safe .

And kind of comfortable. Now that I wasn’t looking down, I had to admit that my ride was not bad.

The gargoyle’s strong arms held me securely against his chest. His skin ran hot, so I was warm despite the biting air at this height.

His wings flapped fast enough to shelter me from the wind’s powerful bursts. Comfy.

I tentatively released his shoulders from my death grip and rested my hands against his wide chest. Warmth seeped through my fingers right away. Ah, much better.

A deep, primal grunt vibrated through my palms. “Do not test my patience.”

I cringed and snatched my hands away. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to anger you.”

An amused laugh tore from him, surprising me. “You have no idea what you are doing to me, do you? I have not picked up a female from the ground in many years, so I have forgotten you are not familiar with a gargoyle’s erogenous zones.”

“What!”

I tried to put as much distance between our bodies as possible under the circumstances. As in, I pulled my head back by an inch or two. The rest of me stayed plastered against him.

More laughter. “Do not worry: I will educate you. It was not your delicate fingers on my chest that inflamed me. It was your nose right where a female would take in my scent to determine whether I am worthy of her attention. A longer sniff equals full approval, and then the claiming can begin.”

Had my feet been on the ground, my knees would have buckled. Not only had I accidentally given a gargoyle a come-on, but I had also been sniffed by him back at the conference hall. That had been a long sniff over the side of my neck.

The gargoyle found me worthy. Of a claiming . And he’d said he would get what he desired from me once we got to safety. What had I gotten myself into?

“Where are you taking me?” A look around revealed we were engulfed by cloudy whiteness.

“My palace, of course.”

“Of course.” Silly me, still thinking of him as a stone sentry on a medieval cathedral having come to life. Hadn’t I learned that no creature in the apocalypses was as depicted in movies? This gargoyle was a king with a palace. Wasn’t I lucky. “Why are we going there?”

“Because it is safe,” he replied with a shrug, as if the answer were obvious. “And it will continue to be so as long as my brethren and I draw breath. You will like it. Humans are always fascinated by the view of the night sky when they first arrive.”

“You’ve taken many women there?” I barely hid the quiver in my voice.

To think I had chosen against venturing out during the bombings to avoid joining the aliens’ breeding program…

Sure, this gargoyle didn’t have two heads, seven tentacles, and a scaly blob for a body. He was physically appealing, but still.

Oblivious to my incoming panic, he explained.

“I have taken my fair share of humans over the years, though my brethren have been more active in that department than I will ever be. In the last three years, I have been limiting myself to rare claimings of the unmated females living on my homecloud. No females from the ground.”

It took me some time to process his words. “So humans were abducted for years before the apocalypses?”

“ Abducted? ” His lips curled in a sneer and his nostrils flared. “Are you implying a gargoyle would take someone against their will, like the Gods-cursed extraterrestrials do? You are comparing me to them ?”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “You took me against my will.”

“Did I?” He stopped so abruptly I got dizzy. Dark eyes bore into mine. “You wanted out of that building, did you not?”

I lifted my chin. “You didn’t give me time to decide. Nor did you tell me there was fine print.”

“Fine print?” His thick brows knitted together. “I am not familiar with this term. Care to elaborate, bold little human?”

“It means you never told me what agreeing to come with you entailed. I wanted out of that building, nothing more! You owed me that much for having saved you. Instead, you take advantage and drag me away to–to your breeding cloud–palace–whatever!”

His frown deepened. “I am not interested in pips yet–children, as you humans call them.” His tone conveyed surprise rather than anger. “I am more than mature for the responsibility, but I have not found my mate yet. I do not intend to have pips from anyone else but my mate.”

Hmm. I’d thought mate was a mating partner, like in the animal kingdom, but now I wasn’t so sure. Perhaps he meant wife ?

Hesitantly, I asked, “If you don’t want to use me for breeding, why are you taking me to your palace?”

“You did save my life,” he noted, resuming our flight.

“The blood suckers and flesh eaters had overwhelmed me by sheer numbers. Although I had killed all but four of my enemies, those four had been enough to overpower me in my exhausted state. Any other human would have run away, but you risked your life for mine. I had to repay you by saving yours.”

His words sounded honorable, but… “Why not drop me off at a place of my choosing?”

The gargoyle shook his head, a solemn look on his face. “The ground offers no safety anymore. My homecloud is the safe place to be. My kingdom in the clouds.”

“Okay, but–”

“I admit there is a second reason why I decided to save you.” One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Your scent was heady, and my regeneration had left me raw with hunger.”

“But you said you don’t eat humans.” I was getting more confused by the minute.

Blue lips tipped up into a smile that was undeniably naughty. His exposed left fang gleamed. “I said I would not eat you. I never said I would not eat you out .”

Heat rose to my cheeks. By hunger he hadn’t meant need for food–

“And when you not only touched my wing but also smelled so compatible, and went as far as to suggest I might suck you dry? I could not possibly resist bringing you home to my bedchamber. A gargoyle can only take so much innuendo.”

I should have been concerned about destination bedchamber .

Instead, I was burning as red as the setting sun, currently peeking behind the clouds.

His words, coupled with that deep, rich timbre of his, awoke something in me.

A vivid picture bloomed in my mind. I could almost feel it: his powerful body pinning mine, his muscular arms keeping my thighs spread wide as he dove in for a taste–

“Gods, you are gorgeous like this, all flushed and aroused.”

I sputtered. “I’m not aroused!” Liar, liar, combat pants on fire.

How was this possible? I had shoulder-punched Carson for a similar suggestion earlier today; I had gagged at the very thought. Yet here I was, throbbing down south after an indecent proposal from a gargoyle .

Some special pheromone had to be at play here. There was no other explanation for my overwhelming attraction to a monster.

Flushed, but this time with anger both at myself and him, I said firmly, “I demand you let me go. Right now.”

His black brow crept up, then he chuckled and stopped our flight. “Alright.”

Huh? He wasn’t angry that I’d rather risk my life on the ground than visit his bedroom? “You will do it?”

“Of course. I will do as you wish.” Mischief sparked in his eyes.

His arms released me.

I started free-falling. My heart leaped into my throat. My limbs flailed wildly. The wind hit me full-force, its roar now deafening. I opened my mouth to scream–

The fall stopped. I had the gargoyle’s tail around my waist, holding me tight. He used it to return me to his arms, and I let him. Oh, did I let him. The moment he was within reach, I wrapped my arms and legs around him, clinging like a sloth to a tree trunk.

He smiled, his face a breath away from mine. The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement.

“You jerk!” I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. That free-fall had lasted only a second, but the suddenness of it had gotten to me. “Why the hell did you do that?”

“I hope jerk is a term of endearment?” His left arm replaced the firm hold of his tail around my waist, while his right hand cupped my thigh.

“Of course I would let you go. You demanded it.” He gave me a lopsided smile as he added, “Also, we had to change positions. This one is much better for what I have in mind.” His smile turned wicked.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

He kissed me. The gargoyle king pressed his lips to mine for a heartbeat and stole a kiss.

I was left breathless and dazed, lips parted.

He waited for me to react and when I didn’t, he brought his face closer, slowly but surely. His dark-blue gaze was on my mouth, his intention clear.

I didn’t pull back.

He dove in for another taste.

I could pull away. I should pull away. But I was swept away by the electrifying feel of his lips on mine.

Their softness. Their warmth. All the raw passion that he poured into that kiss…

It was intoxicating. Long-dormant needs taking over, I melted in the gargoyle’s arms and let myself succumb to his gentle exploration.

A light tug at my upper lip. A suck at my bottom lip. A claiming of them both. A delicate lick at the line where my lips met. Then a sensual dance of his tongue with mine, because I opened my mouth to him without hesitation.

I had never been kissed like that. I mean, I had been kissed in a similar way, but never had it felt so good.

So toe-curling. So scorching hot. Heat ignited in my core and spread downward like a tidal wave.

I was suddenly dough in the gargoyle’s hands that he could mold however he pleased, as long as those lips stayed locked with mine and our bodies remained entangled.

Was that me growling in frustration when he broke the kiss?

I saw him grinning through my slightly blurred vision. I had forgotten to breathe, completely lost in the feel of him. “There, that is much better. Flushed, aroused, and willing. You are ready.”

“Huh?”

Instead of replying, the gargoyle flapped his wings a few times and… landed. “Welcome to my homecloud.”