Page 15 of The Gargoyle and the Maiden (Nightfall Guardians #1)

Idabel

S he felt light as air, but the circle of Brandt’s arms and his swollen knot inside her kept her from floating away.

The intense sensations in her body slowly ebbed as the knot finally began to deflate, the fullness gradually easing until he slipped out of her.

She felt hollow without him, and the cooling seed that slipped down her thigh made her shiver.

He gathered her close immediately, pulling furs to cover her exposed skin, and then wrapped his massive body around her back.

Claws combed through her unbound hair with surprising gentleness, picking out the tangles that had formed during their lovemaking. She blushed even thinking the word, but his grooming was so sweetly earnest that she soon forgot to be embarrassed.

She snuggled closer, pressing her back to his stony chest. “That was better than I dreamed it could be,” she confessed. “You were so kind and gentle, even when I scolded you for it.”

“I am honored by your trust,” he said solemnly, his voice a low rumble that made her body perk with awareness. “I did not expect such a gift. I will treasure the memory of this night forever.”

Idabel twisted her head to look at him over her shoulder. There was something akin to reverence in his granite-gray eyes, and she ducked her head back down, awed and overwhelmed to have inspired that kind of emotion.

“Thank you for showing me what it could be.” Heat crept up her neck as she spoke, aware that she was flaying her heart open right in front of him.

“Maybe it’s always this way for you, but for me this was…

something beyond. I felt things that I didn’t know existed.

It made me believe for a moment that the gods weren’t dead. ”

“Glad to know your curiosity was satisfied,” he chuckled, sliding one hand down her belly to cup between her legs. He squeezed gently, sending a pulse to her core, and she wrapped her thighs around his wrist so he couldn’t escape.

“It isn’t. It made me want to know more. To know everything.” She traced a finger along one of the raised scars on his forearm. “If there’s more to learn?”

His hand stilled in her hair. “You want more from me tonight?”

“Yes.” The word came out breathy and shameless.

“Stay with me until dawn,” he said, his voice dropping to that rough, gravelly tone that made her stomach flutter. “I will be happy to show you everything I know.”

The offer was tempting—so tempting she could already feel herself sinking back into the nest. But duty tugged at her conscience, and she sighed regretfully. “I have to go to work at the apothecary. I’m already late as it is.” She made no move to extract herself from his embrace, though.

“Stay. It’s only one night.” His arms tightened around her possessively.

“Betje is expecting me, and I can’t afford to lose her good opinion. It’s my only chance at an apprenticeship.”

“You don’t plan to be a keeper?” The confusion in his voice made her laugh.

“Are you surprised? Forgive me, I don’t dream of cleaning garderobes for the rest of my life.

I want to be a healer. It’s not so impossible, even for someone like me.

” A bitter pill of emotion lodged in her throat.

It was not impossible, but it was nearly impossible without coin and connections, the kind Lord Wilkin dangled in front of her.

“Someone like you?” Brandt brushed his lips over her shoulder, kissing his way up her neck.

“No family reputation. No education. Female.” She shrugged. “I’ll find a way to afford it, even if it means I work night and day for the rest of my life.”

He paused his ministrations. “It means that much to you?”

It meant everything. She squeezed her eyes shut, caught off guard by the swell of vulnerability that threatened to steal her voice.

“My parents died of quartan fever when I was seventeen, my mother first and then my father. I learned later that they could have lived if they’d visited an apothecary.

There’s a simple infusion of cascarilla bark that might have saved them. ”

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I would like to help you achieve this. What can I do to that end?”

She hiccupped a laugh. “Let me go to work.” She pushed off his arms and forced herself to sit up, immediately missing his warmth. “I’m sorry. If I don’t see you again before you leave, know that I will celebrate your safe return.”

Brandt’s expression grew thoughtful as he watched her dig through the furs for her discarded chemise. His hand caught her wrist as she began to pull it on, stopping her. “Promise me something.”

“What?”

“That you won’t seek another gargoyle’s bite in my absence. Promise me.”

Her stomach twisted. He could have asked for almost anything, and she would have agreed, but this she couldn’t promise. Regretfully, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to lie to you.”

“But I lied to you ,” he said grimly.

Idabel froze, a chill of unease running down her spine. “What did you lie about?”

“I told you that gargoyles don’t bite except to kill.

” His thumb brushed over her pulse point, and she realized her heart had begun to race.

“That was not entirely true. We bite our mates. I have no claim on you, but still I could not bear it if anyone else sank their teeth into you and marked you as theirs.”

“Oh.” The chemise slipped from her nerveless fingers, and he brought her hand to his mouth, scraping his teeth over the inside of her wrist before kissing his way up her arm to her inner elbow where her skin was the thinnest. Part of her wanted him to sink his teeth in.

Her breath rushed out as her fingers flexed, folding into her palm.

“I didn’t know. I…can find another way. Maybe it doesn’t have to be a bite. ”

He kissed inside her elbow and raised his head.

“I will bite you, if you want that.” He blurted the words in a rush, a wild look in his eyes like he feared she might flee before he could finish speaking.

“I know I haven’t courted you properly. But the more I think of you alone, the less I like it.

As my mate, you’d be guaranteed housing.

Protection. You wouldn’t have to work or worry while I’m gone. ”

She stared at him, certain she’d misheard. “You want me as your mate?”

Brandt gave a cautious nod. “You could use my bite as evidence. Then you can finally abandon your foolhardy mission to injure yourself.”

Instantly, her heart rebelled against the idea. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Wait until I deploy to report it. The Nadir might investigate, but there will be no trouble if they find that you’re my mate.”

She picked up her fallen chemise, smoothing the fabric and fussing with the sleeves to buy time to think.

It was absurd to consider becoming a gargoyle’s mate.

Less absurd to be Brandt’s mate though. He was everything she could want in a husband: good-hearted and strong, intelligent and faithful.

He would provide for her even while he was gone.

It was impulsive and risky and unheard of to mate with him, but not foolhardy.

And he was right…the bite could serve two purposes. “I can’t believe I’m considering it.”

“I can hardly believe I offered,” he admitted with a rueful laugh. “But it’s true. You are the only female I want in this way, human or otherwise. I would have you as my mate, if you’ll have me.”

The impossibility of it crashed over her in waves.

A gargoyle commander wanting to mate with a mere human.

A creature who could live for two centuries binding himself to someone with hardly more than a mayfly’s lifespan.

It was absurd. It was wonderful. It was terrifying.

And he was leaving the decision to her .

“I’d be honored,” she choked out. “I don’t know why you would be so generous, but I hope I will prove worthy.”

Brandt cupped her face in his hands, tipping her head to meet his gaze.

“You have nothing to prove. And I confess it is not generous at all. It is for my own peace of mind. The mating bite will connect us while I am gone. Through the bond, you will be able to feel whether I am alive or dead, no matter how far apart we are. And I will be able to find you, wherever you go.” His thumbs brushed tenderly over her cheekbones.

“I’m not sure how long I will be gone, and I want to be able to find you if you leave Solvantis in my absence.

It will be many moons. Six at least. Two years at the most. Can you wait for me so long? ”

She nodded, heart in her throat. “I will. And I won’t waste the luxuries you’re bestowing, either. I’ll work hard so you’re proud of me when you return.”

His lips parted, and he shook his head wordlessly.

“What?”

“A safe place to sleep is no luxury, human.” He sounded angry.

For a second, she was worried she’d offended him, but he lifted her and arranged her on his lap so that her back was pressed against his chest, his arms encircling her waist. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart against her shoulder blade as he buried his face in the back of her hair.

Against her neck, he murmured, “You have nothing to earn or repay or prove. I am yours as much as you are mine. Don’t forget that, no matter what anyone says. ”

She nodded, eyes welling so much that they dripped down onto her thighs. Sighing, he scraped his teeth down her neck and along her shoulder. “Say it aloud, Idabel.”

“I am yours as much as you are mine,” she whispered, not quite believing it still.

“This will hurt,” he warned, his breath hot against her neck. “But only for a moment.”

“I trust you.”

With a snarl of wild hunger, his lips brushed the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. She felt the sharp prick of his teeth testing her skin, and then they sank deep. White-hot pain blazed through her nerve endings.