Page 13 of The Gargoyle and the Maiden (Nightfall Guardians #1)

Brandt

H er scent clung to him, the milky sweetness he’d already memorized. Her head rested on his shoulder. The door to his nesting chamber thudded shut behind them, insulating them from the busy streets outside.

In the private hush of his stone chamber, he didn’t want to put her down. It didn’t feel real, this heady satisfaction of earning her trust. Part of him was afraid it would all come to a crashing halt once he let go of her, like releasing a wild animal only to see it scamper away.

He crouched, tumbling them both into the deep, fur-lined depression in the center of the room. Idabel landed on top of him, giggling. It lightened his heart to hear her laugh. She had too many cares for a young female. He wished he could take them all away.

He tensed, wondering what she’d do once he was gone with the Sixth Watch. He would need to make provisions for her until he returned.

“Do you sleep here?” she asked, idly playing with a lock of his hair as she looked around the nest chamber.

He huffed a laugh. “I roost outside. The view is better.”

“Can’t see the view when you’re asleep,” she teased.

“Gargoyles don’t sleep. We might be frozen in the daylight, but we’re always awake. Always watching.” The way he’d watched her touch his face before she left his nest the last time. He would never forget it.

She propped up on an elbow and frowned. “What is the nest for, then, if you don’t sleep in it?”

“What do you think a nest is for, human?” He leaned toward her, nipping her ear with a growl. “It’s for raising our young.”

“ Our young?” Idabel looked up at him, eyes wide and lips parted invitingly. Or at least, his poor, hungry cock thought so.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm and then the inside of her wrist where her blood skittered close to the surface, begging him to bite.

He lifted his head, running his tongue over the points of his incisors.

“If you were my mate, I’d give you as many hatchlings to raise as you liked. Do you want children?”

“Yes. Someday. I raised my younger brothers and sister after my parents died. I miss them.” She sounded wistful and a little bit sad, so he kissed her until she was pink-cheeked and moaning again. Much better.

Then he shifted his arm so he could reach the pins still holding half her hair. One by one, he removed them and loosened her braids. Her locks spilled down, thick and shining in the candlelight, cascading over her like a length of silk fabric.

“I’ve thought about this too much,” he murmured, combing his claws gently through the fine strands. “About touching your hair. Grooming you.”

“Like a horse?” she giggled.

“Like family.”

Her breath caught at the word, but she relaxed beneath his hands. He worked slowly, delicately picking out every tangle, until she sighed and leaned into his touch. She was soft everywhere, from her hair to the curve of her chest to the warmth of her small hand resting against his thigh.

When he was finished, he leaned in and kissed her neck right over her dreamy pulse. She blinked at him with heavy lids. He’d forgotten that humans usually slept at this time. “Are you tired? I can hold you while you rest.”

She rolled from her back to face him, amusement sparking in her eyes. “I’m not too tired, if that’s what you’re asking. What we did on the balcony didn’t satisfy my—”

“What?!” He was sure she’d peaked. He’d felt her quiver and spasm beneath his tongue. Seen her eyes roll back and felt her clutch the sensitive bases of his horns. Surely he had not left her wanting on their very first encounter.

“—curiosity,” she finished, giggling at his horrified expression. “I want to know more. Show me more. Please?”

“I’ll show you anything you want to know.

” Brandt lifted her hair away from her bodice lacing with the back of his hand.

He kept his eyes locked to hers as he loosened the snug strings.

She lifted her arms so he could tug the bodice over her head.

Then, he reached around to untie her skirts and petticoats. She kicked them off.

Without the structure of the clothing, her linen chemise was a creamy cloud, drifting around her. He wanted to lick it up. He reached for the hem, and she tensed.

“You can trust me,” he murmured, pausing until she relaxed again.

“I know,” she whispered. “I want this. I do. I just…I’ve never…I don’t know what comes next. I’m bracing for a surprise.”

“Shall I tell you everything I plan to do?” He dropped down so his mouth was very close to her ear, and he could feel the rise and fall of her chest against his chin. “Does my little rabbit want the story of her own seduction?”

“Yes, please.” She gave an eager wriggle of her hips that made him want to purr.

“Very well. First, I will rid you of this silly human undergarment.” He fisted her chemise so it snugged around the shape of her body. “And then, when you’re bare, I will look at you.”

“That’s all? Just looking?” Idabel grinned at him.

He growled playfully at her. “I will look as long as I please, at every part of you, especially at the parts you always hide. And then…”

“You’ll put your cock inside me?”

“Always in a rush,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

No, he wouldn’t hurry their first mating.

They had all night, and she was new to this.

Perhaps he shouldn’t feel so solemn in his duty, but he wanted her introduction to the pleasures of mating to be a good one.

It should be unforgettable for the right reasons, for memories were all they would have of each other after he deployed.

But when she lifted her hips slightly, a wordless invitation, and he couldn’t resist divesting her of the chemise.

She lay there glowing in the candlelight like precious metal, the tiny hairs on her skin rising as the seconds stretched.

He sat back on his heels, drinking her in her lush little figure.

She was a slight female, with muscled arms and legs from her daily labor, but her breasts were delightfully plump, tipped with nipples like brown berries, and her hips flared in a way that made his cock twitch with anticipation at the prospect of seeding her.

And her mouth…

“Beautiful,” he murmured, overwhelmed. “The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what to do with you. Perhaps this is the story of my seduction, not yours.”

“In that case...” She grabbed his hand and formed it around one breast, sighing at the touch.

He purred, kneading her warm flesh. His lips found her throat again, then her collarbone. He kissed a path downward, slow and careful. Her breath hitched when his mouth found her nipple, and he paused, glancing up.

“No,” she begged, tugging on his horns impatiently. “Please, don’t stop. I was only surprised. There are so many things I did not realize.”

“Likewise,” he chuckled, taking her nipple into his mouth again. He suckled gently before scraping his teeth over the tightened bud. She gasped, back arching as her hands slid into his hair.

The marine scent of her arousal strengthened, and a smug purr escaped his chest.

Her eyes flew open. “What is that?!”

He cleared his throat, embarrassment creeping over him. He did not mean to remind her of their differences, only their compatibility. “It’s a sound gargoyles make when we are content.”

“Like a cat?”

He inclined his head, though he didn’t enjoy the comparison to a house pet. “If it troubles you, I can stop.”

“I want to know how to make you do it more, not less,” his bold little human declared. “But I have a feeling it will take more than scratching your ears.”

“Try it and see.” He tilted one ear toward her, and she stroked it tentatively. Her light touch sent a warm prickle over his scalp, and he shuddered as a rough purr began its thrum somewhere near his heart.

“Just like a cat. What about your tail?” she teased, reaching around him to grasp it. The nerves there fired directly to his cock, tearing a groan out of him that interrupted his purr.

“Not a cat,” he growled, covering her with his body so he could better devour her mouth. She clutched both of his ears and spread her legs so he was cradled between them, and the posture perfumed the air with even more of her mouthwatering sea-scent.

Her hands wandered, seeking out places that made him purr, until his cock swelled to the point that it hurt. He reached down to loosen the lace of his breeches.

“I knew it was time for that,” Idabel whispered with swollen lips, her lashes sweeping her cheeks as she tried to get a view between their bodies.

His impatient little rabbit was so wrong. Brandt moved lower, kissing her lovely breasts and the small swell of her belly, then settling between her legs. He stroked a hand along her inner thigh, admiring the thin skin there.

“You already did that,” Idabel whined, trying to tug him back up her body by the horns. He laughed at her futile attempts. She might as well have been trying to pull a boulder up a mountain.

“I need to prepare you to take me,” he murmured, punctuating his words with well-placed kisses. “I want this to feel good for you. No pain. Can you wait a little longer?”

She nodded, her lower lip caught in her teeth. He bit the claw off his forefinger before sliding it inside her, slow and deliberate. Even a single finger was a snug fit. Her body clenched around it, heat and wetness enveloping him. He groaned low in his throat, imagining his cock in its place.

“Look at you,” he purred. “So slick already.”

“Is that good?” she asked, sounding breathless as he massaged her supple walls, testing their capabilities. He was pleased to find they were more pliant than he’d assumed.

“Perfect. You’re perfect.” He withdrew his fingers momentarily to nip off another claw, helping himself to a sample of her taste, then resumed with a second finger joining the first, working her open. Her gasps and sighs tested even his patience. “How does this feel? Does it please you?”