Page 4 of Stolen by the Gargoyle (Gargoyles of the Underworld #1)

That line of his chipped brow furrowed. “In my culture, it is an honor to be taken as a bride. To be desired and hunted.”

Right. I wasn’t a fucking turkey, though. I waved at him with my hand, gesturing for him to continue.

“Then, we mate with them.”

I swallowed, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

“We wrap them in our nest and feed them.”

The softness beneath my body suddenly felt much more damning all of a sudden. Like I shouldn’t be sitting on this mound of pillows and blankets because it was essentially a marital bed.

“We shower you with gifts.”

Okay, that didn’t sound bad. I liked gifts. Who didn’t?

“And then you become my wife once all these steps are completed.”

That was… Okay, well, while it wasn’t what I was expecting it was still very much a marriage ceremony rooted in his culture and his beliefs.

While not like my own Mexican traditions, they were still his.

Yet, despite all the trouble he’d gone through to get me, I couldn’t go through with any ceremony with him.

Because he hadn’t asked me to be his wife.

Apparently, gargoyles don’t need consent for that.

Or did they?

He hadn’t explicitly asked me. He’d implied that we would be sleeping together. But when he’d tried for more and I’d said no, he had stopped. If I told him I wouldn’t have sex with him, would he be angry?

Would he try to force me anyway?

The sudden thought seized me with fear, but I tried to keep my expression neutral. This was definitely fucked up.

I didn’t belong here with him. I didn’t know him.

What if he tried to take what I wasn’t willing to give?

That would mean I’d be trapped in this cave with him forever.

The fear of an unknown future grabbed at me and wouldn’t let go.

Suddenly, I didn’t care about anything else.

I didn’t care about asking questions or getting answers. I panicked and wanted to get out.

But I couldn’t let any of this show on my expression.

Instead, I relaxed my features into something soft, tipping my lips up into a smile I hoped didn’t look like a grimace as it felt.

“Wow,” I said. “What a beautiful tradition…”

His chest puffed up with pride, and he looked at me with admiration.

I swallowed.

“Humans have rituals too,” I said slowly.

He nodded, attentive to my every word, like he didn’t want to miss a single thing.

“Before… mating… we have to… freshen up. Clean ourselves, fix our hair.” My hands went up to my coils, which I was sure were tangling together at this point. “Make ourselves presentable and pretty for our mates before we… join.”

His eyes flashed blue like the pits of a fire and there was something–hopeful?–in that expression that made a sliver of guilt worm its way up my chest.

“If you want me to mate with you, I just ask that you give me the privacy to get ready, like my tradition dictates.”

His chest rumbled with that rock sliding sound, and I worried for a second he was having an anxiety attack with the way his chest expanded like he would burst. His nostrils flared and steam seemed to come out of his nose.

He looked over me, his claws reaching in my direction. I tried not to flinch, but he was gentle as his hands wrapped around my upper arms, holding me softly.

“You are already beautiful,” he whispered. “Do not ever doubt that.”

“Oh.”

I hadn’t expected that. But even the warmth his statement caused couldn’t squelch the panic that had already taken root inside me. Was this flattery just a way of concealing something darker? I had no way of knowing, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

“Regardless, I would like to do so.”

He nodded.

“I’ll need you to go to the far side of the wall and turn around so I can get presentable.”

His body tensed, like he was prepared to argue or say no.

“We cannot mate if you don’t let me,” I urged, the panic clawing its way up my throat.

It was a low blow, using what I knew he desperately wanted against him. But it worked because he shot up and shuffled to the furthest side of the cave, the side shrouded in the most darkness, and faced the rocky wall.

Without him so close, I could finally breathe. Then, I dug through the pile of blankets he had piled into the nest and found one I could tie around my waist like a skirt.

I surveyed it with a few swishes of my thick waist. When the knot didn’t come undone and it didn’t completely restrict my range of movement on my legs, I let out a breath of relief and turned.

He was still facing the wall, shifting impatiently from one foot to another.

I tried not to stare at his muscled backside, but it was hard not to when he was carved like that.

His wings twitched open wide before snapping tightly together.

Beneath the loincloth, the hem of which brushed the backs of his thighs, a long tail protruded.

A tail . With a pointed, black tip, like an arrow.

A shiver trembled down my body.

“I’m going to step away to fix my hair,” I explained quietly. “And to clean up.” The last thing I needed was for him listening intently on what I planned on doing. I needed to be quiet, stealthy. But mostly, I needed him to not turn around.

He grumbled with obvious displeasure, but didn’t turn. “Fine,” he conceded. “Do not go far, little wife.”

The words felt odd, but I just hummed and slowly began stepping towards the tunnel that I was hoping led towards the mouth of the cave.

I only had one opportunity, and I prayed it would work.

On quiet footsteps, I moved, walking backwards with my eyes trained on the gargoyle, praying I didn’t trip and fall. I felt the darkness begin to swallow me up, and it wasn’t until I lost sight of him completely, that I finally turned and fled.