Page 12 of The Gargoyle and the Maiden (Nightfall Guardians #1)

Idabel

T he railing bit into Idabel’s back as she leaned against it, gripping her skirts so hard that her knuckles went white. Brandt’s confession hung in the small space between them.

I can’t get you out of my head.

“I have tried to build a mind wall against you.” He avoided meeting her eyes, looking past her at the city that circled the Tower.

His half-furled wings trembled as he spoke, like they’d carry him away if he let them spread.

“The kind I build in battle to keep my focus. But you defeat it every time.”

Her heart stumbled at the vulnerable admission. “I’m sorry?”

“No!” She jolted at his rebuke, and he gripped her shoulders, stilling her. More softly, he repeated, “No. That is what I’m trying to tell you. I would have it no other way. I feel for you as I do no other. I want…I need you. I cannot leave Solvantis without having you. Without making you mine.”

Shock held her immobile for a beat, but pleasure uncoiled low in her belly, traitorous and insistent.

She wanted him, too. Badly. Every inch of him.

The urge had crept up on her, from that first terrifying moment on this very balcony when he’d confronted her.

She hadn’t understood then, but she did now. It wasn’t all fear she’d felt.

“It’s the same for me,” she whispered, her voice shaking as much as her knees. “I feel for no man the way I feel for you.”

His gray gaze snapped hers, pupils blown wide, and his chest rose and fell like he was trying to catch his breath. He reached to cup her face, and she leaned into his hand, letting him feel the heat that had bloomed in her cheek.

“Idabel,” he growled, stepping closer so their bodies pressed together, and she was trapped between him and the stones. “I’ll take you to Maiden Hall right now if you wish it. At any time, only tell me and I will. Understand?”

She nodded, unable to find words. Her body was speaking for her, leaning forward, seeking his heat. She might be inexperienced, but she wasn’t stupid. She wanted him to kiss her. To touch her. To teach her how to satisfy the cravings that had settled into her bones.

He bridged the final distance, his hands still cradling her face. “Stop me any time,” he murmured, eyes searching hers.

She surged upward, and their mouths met.

His lips were hot and firm, his breath ragged.

One of his massive hands slid to the small of her back, holding her tight against his huge, unyielding body so she was cushioned from the rough stone railing.

Her fingers skated over the planes of his bare torso, finally hooking them into the worn leather of his belt to gain leverage so she could deepen the kiss, but it was like wrestling a cliff face. He was immovable.

Brandt groaned into her mouth and pulled away, panting. “Slow down, little rabbit. This isn’t a race.”

“I just want to kiss you,” she said, breathless. “Why stop? Are you afraid someone might see? We can go to your nest if you prefer.”

He stroked her cheek with a clawed thumb.

“No one can see us from the street. But if we go to my nest, I won’t want to stop at kissing.

It’s up to you whether we stay or go.” His cock pulsed against her through the five layers of fabric between them.

It felt impossibly hard, just like the rest of him.

Impossibly hard and impossibly large. It was going to wreck her.

Why couldn’t she have fallen for one of the silly, soft men who waited outside Maiden Hall to whistle at the women who lived there?

Then she wouldn’t have visions of being split in half by an obelisk.

An ambitious heart was a hazard as much as an ambitious stomach, it seemed.

She gave a slightly crazed giggle. “I don’t know my own capabilities. ”

Brandt’s mouth quirked. Was he smiling ? “You are very capable,” he said dryly, his fingers slipping into her hair. He pulled her into another kiss, this one gentle but just as heated, his tongue sweetly seeking hers.

The heat built inside her like a furnace, liquifying her center, and she found herself hooking one leg around his, her calf notching into the back of his knee so she could rub against his hardness in the place that felt best.

He cursed, his head tipping back and breaking their kiss. “Inside or out, Idabel?”

Even though they were still pressed together, she felt his absence. The blood pumped in her lips and her core clenched, clear in what it wanted. But she didn’t want the night to end in fear and disappointment if she couldn’t take what he had to offer.

“I’ve never… I’ve never been with a man like that. I don’t know what I want.” She swallowed hard, hating to reject him. “Maybe we shouldn’t go inside.”

She braced herself for his anger at being denied, but he smiled down at her like she’d given him a gift. Had she ever seen him smile before? He was terribly handsome. She felt dizzy with desire.

“Then we’ll stay here. You can stop me at any time. No one will know as long as you’re quiet. Can you manage that, little rabbit?”

Her breath caught. She nodded vigorously. In that moment, she could do anything he asked of her. “Yes,” she whispered. “Teach me.”

He made a low, hungry sound in his throat and kissed her again, slower this time, more deliberate. Her knees went weak, and he steadied her, guiding her back against the stone rail. “Lean here,” he murmured. “Are you comfortable?”

She nodded, goosebumps rising on her arms as his hands slid to her waist, fingers curving around her hips. He lowered himself slowly to his knees before her, his horns casting sharp shadows behind him.

What was he doing? This wasn’t anything like what she’d seen the cows and goats do, nor what the other women in Maiden Hall described. Maybe gargoyles did things differently.

Her breath hitched, nerves flaring. The street below suddenly felt far too close, the distant flicker of streetlamps and the faint sounds of footsteps on the cobbles making her stomach tighten with unease.

She glanced upward and froze. Moths. Three of them circled the lantern, their wings catching the light.

“The moths,” she whispered urgently. “What if they see us? What if they tell?”

Brandt’s gaze followed hers, then flicked to the solitary lantern that illuminated the roost. Without a word, he reached for it, extinguishing the candle flame with his fingers. Shadows swallowed them.

He turned back to her, eyes glowing faintly in the dim. “They won’t see anything now,” he said, voice low and steady. “You’re safe with me.”

The darkness pressed in, intimate and thrilling.

Her breath caught as he lifted the hem of her skirt and lifted it, along with her petticoat.

She clutched the stone rail to keep herself upright, her whole body quivering as his hand ran up the inside of her leg, pausing between her knees.

With a gentle twist of his hand, he coaxed them apart.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, eyes fixed between her thighs. “So soft and warm.”

Her breath stuttered. She’d never been looked at like that by anyone. He admired her.

He bent his head to kiss the inside of her knee, then higher, teasing a path upward. Her breath came faster the nearer he came to the place where she now ached with need. Why was he moving so slowly? She spread her legs further without thinking.

“Good little rabbit,” he murmured, sounding amused. “Now guide me. Use my horns and show me where it feels best.”

She reached for him with shaking hands, her fingers wrapping around the ridged bases of his horns. He grunted as if the touch pleased him. Then his mouth delved into her folds, hot and skilled, and she gasped, tightening her grip.

Pleasure sparked, sharp and bright. He worked her methodically with tongue and lips, building the heat until her hips rocked against his face instinctively.

He growled again, the vibration raising the tiny hairs all over her body. Her fingers clenched, automatically adjusting his horns until his mouth was in the perfect spot.

Her climax hit her like lightning in one searing burst, leaving her gasping with the effort of keeping quiet. Brandt held her firm, kissing her clit through it, every press of his mouth an echo of her orgasm that made her twitch with pleasure.

When she could breathe again, he pried her fingers from his horns and stood, towering over her, chin glistening. He cupped her face, kissed her gently with salty lips. She could taste herself on him, a pleasant shock. She wondered if he liked it, too? He couldn’t have enjoyed it as much as she did.

“Was that…good for you?” she asked.

“You have no idea,” he murmured, brushing his lips over hers reverently, again and again. “I will never forget this as long as I live.”

He said it like this was over. Like they were done.

She looped her arms around his neck so he couldn’t fly away. She didn’t care that she was horribly late to Betje’s. She didn’t care if Brandt ruined her for anyone else. All she knew was that she wanted more. “Can we go to your nest now?”

In answer, he swept her into his arms and carried her inside.