Fuck, my cock was achingly hard.Everyvein in my body thrummed with rushing blood.Noway wouldIbe able to hide my excitement if she opened the door and saw me there with a massive erection.Ididn’t know what the hellIwas doing.Myhead had never been as confused as it had sinceImetEloise.Nownothing made sense.Mybody and mind constantly battled with my duty.Andthe ever-pressing desire hammered at me to pound on the door and begEloiseto let me in.
No.Notlike this.She’llthink you’re a monster.Again.
Hadn’twe gone so far from her thinking of me as a terrifying beast?She’dkissed me tonight.Thatmeant she didn’t find me repulsive.
SoIcouldn’t ruin it.Icouldn’t let this raging passion drive me to do something to push her away.Theregrets would haunt me.
Weneeded time.Totake things slow.Evenif time wasn’t somethingIwas sure we had.
Forcingmyself to pull away from her door,Icounted to ten—and then another twenty—beforeImustered some semblance of control.
Onesmall step followed by another,Imade myself walk away from her room.
Thenext morning,Idowned a coffee asIpaced the rooftop and watched the sun come up, but that wasn’t the reason for my nervous twitching.Whathappened here withEloiselast night had thrummed through my veins, burning in my memories.NowIboth counted the seconds and dreaded them as they drew me closer to seeingEloiseagain.I’dnever felt untethered like this.
WhenIfinally brought myself to the dining area,HugoandAnyawere there.Thefour of us had arranged to have breakfast together.FunnyhowI’dnever spent so much time withHugobefore on a social basis.Iwas a leader and he was under my command.ButsinceAnyahad arrived withEloise,Ihad inserted myself more into their orbit soIcould have a chance to spend some time with her.
Iwatched them as they chatted over a leisurely cup of tea.Althoughthey were different species, they were finding a way to make it work.Withthe way they glanced at each other and took care of one another, it was clear they both wanted this relationship and were willing to work hard at it.
Didthat meanEloiseandI?—
Ofcourse not.Oursituation was entirely different.Hugodidn’t have an entire city to protect and a team of sentries to lead.
Afew decades later—or at least that’s how long it felt asIwaited for her to arrive—she stepped into the room.Thesight of her drew breath from my lungs.Whenher scent reached me,Iinhaled deeply.Allthe anxiety that had built up during ourabsence from each other overnight dissipated, leaving me with a strange soothing feeling.
Aftershe greeted her sister andHugo,Eloisemet my gaze. “Goodmorning,Dumont.”
“Goodmorning.”Myvoice sounded strangely light and distant, entirely not my own.Icleared my throat. “Didyou sleep well?”
Shebroke eye contact and averted her gaze, her cheeks turning a pale pink. “Eventually.”Sheexhaled slowly. “Ittook me a while to get to sleep, but onceIdid,Islept hard.”
Hard.That’showI’dreturned to my room, with an aching erectionIhad to take care of to remove some of the agonizing tension and prevent myself from going back to her.
Whenshe brought her gaze back to mine, our eyes locked.Myheart pounded faster.Couldshe sense what happened last night?HowI’dgone back to my room and lay in bed thinking of her.HowIstroked myself asIthought about her soft pink lips.HowIached to get closer to her now and take her straight to my bed and act out every slow detail of exploring her beautiful body, bringing her to pleasure time and time again.
Istraightened. “That’sgood.It’shard to sleep in a bed that’s not your own.”Shit, didIhave to use the word hard again?Mybody warmed.Picturingher in bed did nothing to yank the image of her in mine.Ihad to focus on something else, anything else. “Areyou hungry?”
Shesmiled. “Icould eat.”
Mygaze traveled to her lips again.Sweetmoon, this was going to be an agonizing meal.HowcouldIsit across from her and watch her eat and not be distracted by her tantalizing mouth?
CHAPTER 8
ELOISE
Dumonthad rushed away after breakfast, but the four of us agreed to get together for dinner.Beforehe left, he suggestedIorder clothes online and anything else to make my time here more comfortable, and he’d insisted on paying for it.Anyahad insisted that she needed to work at the library, and after some reluctance,Dumontagreed.Afterall,Hugowould be with her andLucandMarcwere on watch there.
Ispent some time browsing through stores on my phone, adding a couple of summery dresses to my cart as well as more practical items.I’dpacked quickly when we’d stopped by my studio apartment, not knowing how longI’dend up staying here.
Wemet up again that evening withAnyaandHugo, sharing a delicious dinner they’d ordered from anItalianrestaurant—one ofAnya’sfavorites.Thestuffed mushrooms were amazing, andthe flavorful sauce from the spaghetti carbonara lingered on my tongue.Theyexcused themselves soon after, leavingDumontand me alone.
Weeach carried a glass of wine as we meandered through the shared spaces and then moved out onto a terrace with a small table and chairs for two.Theevening breeze brushed my skin.Wewere alone together, finishing a second glass of wine.Likelast night.
Mythoughts leaped to our kiss on the rooftop, andIhad to stop myself from pressing my fingers to my lips.
Iglanced at him and our eyes caught.Again.Afterwe’d stolen glances at each other throughout dinner, the tension simmered between us.Mybody was so heated with awareness of this massive gargoyle thatIbarely noticed the foodI’deaten.Andnow it was almost impossible to pull my gaze away.
Finally,Idid so while taking a sip of my pinot grigio.Istood and walked over to the railing, clutching my wine glass.
