Cheeks burning, I nodded.I wanted that.Wanted to bring him so much pleasure he would be calling my name as he came apart for me.
“You’ll have to be very careful.”
“Mhmm.Yes–”
“My dagger is very sharp.”
I blinked.“Karim!”
His low, masculine laugh had me shaking my head with a smile.That sound alone was a weapon that made me tingle in all the right places.How dare he get me hot and bothered right before a dangerousmeeting?
“Less nervous now?”he asked.
I couldn’t get the smile off my face.He totally had me there with theD.“Yes, thank you.”
“May the only weapon you see me use tonight be the one that made you blush.”
“Yes, fingers and toes crossed.”
Suddenly, Karim cocked his head.I strained to hear whatever he was listening to, but my ears registered only soft nature sounds from the forest outside.
“Timpesinem,” he said after a moment.“It is time.”
I took a deep breath.Gargoyle time.
– 24 –
Holy Crap
Awarm summer breeze greeted us outside.I’d expected it to be pitch-black in the evergreen forest at this hour, but the moonlit sky and strategically placed light crystals along the path allowed me to see where I was stepping.As well as to whom we were headed.
Tall, broad, and muscular, the gargoyles made elves look like willow branches next to them.At the same time, if you put aside their huge, bat-like wings and long tails, these beings bore some similarities to elves.
Tonight’s guests had skin so dark-blue it looked black under the crystals’ light, but that skin was as hair-free and smooth-looking as the elves’.The gargoyles’ hair wasn’t as spectacular but they, too, had long and straight locks.And their fashion was similarly impactful.You couldn’t help but do a double take at the sight of all that flesh on display, a loincloth being the only garment the gargoyles wore.
Apparently, my favorite childhood cartoons had gotten gargoyles’ fashion right.
I tried not to stare as Karim and I drew closer, but it was hard.These beings were enormous, and having six of them in one small forest clearing was a sight that inevitably drew the eye.But as we got within earshot, something else caught my attention.
A female voice could be heard from within the circle of winged backs.
“Joking aside, the extended flight in the moonlight was a-ma-zing!Thank you, guys.This really helped calm my nerves.However, that stunt you pulled on me, Xan, is going to cost you.”
“You know I would never truly let you fall,anima,” a rumbly male voice responded in perfect English.“Still, I cannot wait to see what creative punishment my sensual little human will impose on me when we return to our bedchamber.”
Approving grunts and flapping of wings followed.
My eyebrows threatened to reach my hairline.That was when I stepped on a twig, and all the gargoyles turned our way simultaneously.My steps faltered.
“My flower?”Karim whispered with concern.
I wanted to tell him I was okay, but I was rendered speechless.The human was now visible among the gargoyles.She was staring back at me.
Impossible.
The gargoyle next to her stepped forth, hiding her from sight.“Prince Karim,” he said respectfully from within the circle of warriors.He was the one I’d heard speaking earlier, a black-haired gargoyle wearing a golden loincloth.
Karim gestured for me to remain where I was.He placed himself in front of me, some ten feet away from the gargoyles.“King Xaniban.On behalf of my sister, Queen Mesia, my braid-partner-to-beJasmine and I welcome you and your Queen.May our negotiations be peaceful, fruitful, and–”
