Page 5 of Enchanted by the Gargoyle (The Crescent Coven #1)

Ezren

I stare at the cracked, grey asphalt at my feet.

Across this border is where I’ll walk into town.

A town I haven’t seen in so many years, I couldn’t even put a number to it.

A town where Coldwater Springs has grown and flourished, and left me behind.

Today’s sun is warm, while the air is crisp.

I close my eyes for a moment, letting its rays warm my stone face and take the first step over the border, scrunching my eyes up in anticipation, but the resistance isn’t there, and my foot falls neatly on the other side.

Elation buoys up within me, and I start walking, setting my pace to a fast clip. As I’m walking, a few cars pass me by, with most people waving to me. With every wave, my smile gets wider, and I start to wave back. The fact that people are seeing me, wanting to say hello to me, is truly a gift.

Before long, I see the buildings in town and I stop in my tracks.

There are so many shops along Main Street, with people bustling in and out with their bags or their friends, chatting away.

I step aside onto the sidewalk and lean against a building for a moment, letting my breath slow down, trying to close out the hustle and bustle for just a minute to gather my senses.

“Ezren?” A familiar voice calls to me, and I turn to see Tamsin’s lovely face poking out from a nearby doorway. “There you are!”

Without thinking, I reach for her, gathering her into my arms so I can feel her plush, warm body against mine. She doesn’t protest, and instead melds against me. I feel my heart rate evening out, and look down to see her eyes crinkled up with concern.

“You okay?” She asks me, her hands rubbing soothing circles on my lower back, the highest place she can reach.

“Yes, now. It was exciting to see everything, and then, I don’t know. I just needed a second to…” I lose my words, a strange pressure catches my throat, and I don’t even know how to describe what this feeling is.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re here with me. Let’s go inside my shop. Beryl wants to see you.” Tamsin takes my hand, and I feel that warm connection flowing through us again.

I have a brief glimpse of her store sign, ‘The Gilded Geode’ in gold letters on the window before we cross the threshold.

On the left are polished rocks of every size, shape, and composition.

Everything is ordered and grouped on the walls, supported by clear shelving that fully displays her wares without overtaking the delicate shimmering crystals.

After the impressive display of druzy quartz, tiger’s eye, and labradorite, I see winking in the morning light bins of raw amethyst clusters, tumbled rose quartz pieces, each size in its dedicated clear tub, of course, but it’s the citrine that grabs my attention.

Its warm yellow hue is like a mini-sun, its golden fissures reminding me of the magic that emits from Tamsin’s hand when she touches me.

“You like that one?” She whispers, coming closer to me. This entire time, she’s been watching me, eyes following my gaze as I’ve explored her shop. Her hand closes over mine.

“It’s warm,” I say, looking at her, instead of the stone, because really it's Tamsin who is warming me.

She just nods. “I have it in jewelry too, people love my necklaces.” She gestures to the other side of the shop that I haven’t seen yet, and my eyes widen at the racks and racks of delicate necklaces on chains so fine you can barely see them, rings with stones so shiny they’re almost blinding, and bracelets with dainty crystal charms. This time, instead of citrine, a rose gold necklace with a tiny raw amethyst floating in a circlet catches my eye.

I unhook it from the rack and hold it up to Tamsin’s collarbone, letting it drape down onto her chest so the amethyst is resting in the hollow just above her breasts. The rose gold brings out the flushed tones in her skin, and it reminds me of the blush of a nectarine.

“This one is beautiful on you,” I murmur.

Her breath is coming out in little shallow puffs, her pulse pounding against her throat where I’m holding the necklace.

Her lips are parted. I don’t know what snaps in me, but before I know it, I'm pushing her up against the far wall behind the counter that holds the register, sliding my thigh between her legs, and hoisting her up so our lips can meet.

Her skin sizzles against my hands, and she shudders as I part her lips so my tongue can sweep over hers.

My wings unfurl behind me, and I can only hope they aren’t wrecking her shop because I can’t focus on anything else except the way her plump body feels against mine; the incessant need to be with her is overwhelming.

“Why are you so soft ?” I growl into her neck, tracing her flesh with my tongue.

Everything about her is flushing that blush pink, and it once again makes me think of a nectarine.

Can humans taste like fruit? I want to find out.

I want to rip every speck of clothing off of her and bend down on my knees to explore her entire body and discover what is hidden underneath.

She’s grinding it against my thigh, emitting little whimpers as I continue my path to her breasts.

I want to memorize every curve of her body, every valley, every hill.

I’ve reached the place where her breasts are pushed together, creating a sweet dip. Her scent is overpowering me as I push my tongue into her shirt, pushing away the fabric, whining with desperation for more of her supple skin.

With a frantic whimper, she reaches up and yanks her top down, exposing the rounded globe of her breast in such a way that I’m momentarily shocked into stillness because this is my first time seeing one, and I want to savor the moment.

But Tamsin has other things in mind. She’s heaving, arching her back, pushing it into my face.

“Ezren, if you don’t suck my nipple so help me goddess I might actually cry!” She huffs, clearly exasperated.

“Why would you cry?” I say, reaching up to heft its weight into the palm of my hand. It jiggles , and I bounce it again, causing Tamsin to giggle.

“Because I need you to touch me.” Her hands have grasped my neck, but she is watching me, my fascination written all over my face.

“It’s so bouncy. How do you walk around with these all day? I wouldn’t be able to stop playing with them if I had them. They’re even softer than the rest of you.” I bury my face between them, grateful for the fact that she has two .

“I only remember I have them when someone plays with them.”

I consider this, and then experimentally flick her nipple with my tongue.

It’s a dusky rose color, and it immediately responds by shrinking into a tight pucker, skin drawing into itself, causing her nipple to harden and peak.

She gasps when I slide my tongue back over this new tightness, feeling the ridges.

“Oh, fuck you are good at this.” She pants.

I grin into her skin, before attempting to fit as much of her delicious tit into my mouth, and then, as she demanded, I suck.

The effect is immediate. She writhes and bucks under me, pulling my face into her, panting yes, yes, yes like a chant in my ears.

Closing my eyes, I let the feeling of her pleasure wash over me, consume me.

She is scrabbling at my back, ready to tear her own clothes off just so that I can be nearer to her, our bodies urging us forward.

It’s as if the spin of the earth has stopped, and a shaking, quaking has taken its place, rocking us back and forth, enveloping us in a warm, yellow, glowing light.

“Ezren!”

My eyes pop open, and the shaking stops. Oh, shit.