I pressed my lips into a thin line.“You tookmeagainst my will.”
“Did I?”He stopped so abruptly I got dizzy.Dark eyes bore into mine.“You wanted out of that building, did you not?”
I lifted my chin.“You didn’t give me time to decide.Nor didyou tell me there was fine print.”
“Fine print?”His thick brows knitted together.“I am not familiar with this term.Care to elaborate, bold little human?”
“It means you never told me what agreeing to come with you entailed.I wanted out of that building, nothing more!You owed me that much for having saved you.Instead, you take advantage and drag me away to–to your breeding cloud–palace–whatever!”
His frown deepened.“I am not interested inpipsyet–children, as you humans call them.”His tone conveyed surprise rather than anger.“I am more than mature for the responsibility, but I have not found my mate yet.I do not intend to havepipsfrom anyone else but my mate.”
Hmm.I’d thoughtmatewas a mating partner, like in the animal kingdom, but now I wasn’t so sure.Perhaps he meantwife?
Hesitantly, I asked, “If you don’t want to use me for breeding, why are you taking me to your palace?”
“You did save my life,” he noted, resuming our flight.“The blood suckers and flesh eaters had overwhelmed me by sheer numbers.Although I had killed all but four of my enemies, those four had been enough to overpower me in my exhausted state.Any other human would have run away, but you risked your life for mine.I had to repay you by saving yours.”
His words sounded honorable, but… “Why not drop me off at a place of my choosing?”
The gargoyle shook his head, a solemn look on his face.“The ground offers no safety anymore.My homecloud is the safe place to be.My kingdom in the clouds.”
“Okay, but–”
“I admit there is a second reason why I decided to save you.”One corner of his mouth quirked up.“Your scent was heady, and my regeneration had left me raw with hunger.”
“But you said you don’t eat humans.”I was getting more confused by the minute.
Blue lips tipped up into a smile that was undeniably naughty.His exposed left fang gleamed.“I said I would not eat you.I never said I would not eat youout.”
Heat rose to my cheeks.Byhungerhe hadn’t meant need for food–
“And when you not only touched my wing but also smelled so compatible, and went as far as to suggest I might suck you dry?I could not possibly resist bringing you home to my bedchamber.A gargoyle can only take so much innuendo.”
I should have been concerned about destinationbedchamber.Instead, I was burning as red as the setting sun, currently peeking behind the clouds.His words, coupled with that deep, rich timbre of his, awoke something in me.A vivid picture bloomed in my mind.I could almost feel it: his powerful body pinning mine, his muscular arms keeping my thighs spread wide as he dove in for a taste–
“Gods, you are gorgeous like this, all flushed and aroused.”
I sputtered.“I’m not aroused!”Liar, liar, combat pants on fire.
How was this possible?I had shoulder-punched Carson for a similar suggestion earlier today; I had gagged at the very thought.Yet here I was, throbbing down south after an indecent proposal from agargoyle.
Some special pheromone had to be at play here.There was no other explanation for my overwhelming attraction to a monster.
Flushed, but this time with anger both at myself and him, I said firmly, “I demand you let me go.Right now.”
His black brow crept up, then he chuckled and stopped our flight.“Alright.”
Huh?He wasn’t angry that I’d rather risk my life on the ground than visit his bedroom?“You will do it?”
“Of course.I will do as you wish.”Mischief sparked in his eyes.
His arms released me.
I started free-falling.My heart leaped into my throat.My limbs flailed wildly.The wind hit me full-force, its roar now deafening.I opened my mouth to scream–
The fall stopped.I had the gargoyle’s tail around my waist, holding me tight.He used it to return me to his arms, and I let him.Oh, did I let him.The moment he was within reach, I wrapped my arms and legs around him, clinging like a sloth to a tree trunk.
He smiled, his face a breath away from mine.The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement.
