Vlad unsheathes his cock from his pants, discarding them to the roof beside me. My mouth waters a little at the way it juts forth, thick and ready. That would have to wait for another time, it seemed, as he held out a hand to me.
I put my hand in his, standing for barely more than a second as he scooped me up again. I was ready for it this time and wrapped my legs around his waist.
He readies the tip of his cock at my entrance, then meets my eyes. I give a little nod, my arms around his neck once again.
Whatever I thought last time was like does not set enough of a precedent for what mating a gargoyle is like. He beats his wings, mere physics driving his cock inside me. The force of it is so sudden, leaving my body ringing with its impact, I barely noticed at first that he’s taking us into the sky.
Each beat of his wings has him delving deep into me, hard and fast. Each time I think I lose all the breath in my body. It’s like being held and rocked by the ocean, the deep night sky swallowing us, wave after wave, climbing ever higher.
With each flap of his wings, the world—the sky moves around us, thrusting his cock hard into me, withdrawing for a brief moment that makes my heart stop each time it happens, that gravity begins to catch up with us for a life-rending second, before he beats his wings again, pumping his hips into mine in a force that makes me see different stars.
I unravel well before him, but the endless bone shattering thrusts draw my climax out and coax forth another one, all of it melding together. Vlad lets out a deep growl as he claims me, and moments later, I feel his hot sticky satisfaction dripping down my thighs.
Finally, he lets the wind fill his wings, fanning out wide. Wisps of clouds drift by like seafoam on the beach. It’s so quiet up here, with just the two of us, cradled by the night.
I look down at the flecks of lights littered below us in the endless dark city, then back to Vlad, his adoring gaze from between my arms clutched around his neck. An unfamiliar feeling slips in through all my sundered defenses—being watched over.
I close my eyes and bask in it.
19
Volunteering information had never been my strong suit. I take a deep breath and remind myself I’m capable of something as small as this. I have quashed beef between minotaurs, mediated for gaslit cyclops, and done couples counseling between hydra heads.
I can talk to my boyfriend.
Boyfriend. It does make me smile and roll over girlishly, kicking the sheets of his big, sturdy bed.Ourbig sturdy bed. I do live here now. We did go find a bed we liked and was comfortable enough for the both of us, because it turned out that the bed Vlad had before me was only so durable. It didn’t give up the ghost as quickly as the hotel bed did, but it also didn’t last our entire first month living together.
I keep trying to fall back asleep, but my nerves are gnawing me awake every time I turn my pillow over. I’m going to tell him.
I hear the sound of a cup being set down on the nightstand near me, and when I roll over, the morning light is filtering through the steam coming off my coffee, and the gargoyle who made it for me.
I don’t know if that’s ever going to get old.
I push up to a sitting position, stretching and moving closer to him. I kneel on the edge of the bed and start undoing the buttons of his shirt even as he’s fixing his cuffs. This is the game we end up playing most mornings, figuring out if I can convince him to be a little bit late.
“Are you going to get dressed?” he asks, eyeing the fact that I’m still curled up in the bedsheets. “Or is it a work from home day for you?”
My hands stammer over a button, and his catch up to mine in that split second, rebuttoning deftly. He places a kiss on the top of my head.
“Neither, actually.”
“You’re taking the day off?” he asks before he checks his watch and mutters a curse under his breath. He stands and gives me an apologetic look as he ducks out of the bedroom.
I sigh and think about it to myself. Maybe it can wait.
I watch as he moves to the living room to glance at the news, muted as it flickers across the TV, but the questions run through my mind again and again. I find myself leaning in the doorway, watching him finish getting ready to leave. I chew my lip. Is it too early in the morning for this? Maybe I should wait for later. It’s late enough that there’s not really time for more than a kiss goodbye.
Vlad checks that he has everything he needs, watch, wallet, keys, before he looks to me again. “You said yesterday you were going to get lunch with Jessica All-Knowing-All-Judging?”
It throws me for a moment, the last thing on my mind. I’ve been trying to get out more often.
“Um, that’s tomorrow. I’m just gonna chill out here today,” I shrug, gripping the mug of coffee a little too hard for how hot it is.
Fucking get a grip, Gwen, I tell myself, biting down hard on my lip.It’s not that hard.
Despite being just about to leave, all his attention focuses on me for a moment. He raises his granite brows, pausing. “What's on your mind?”
He would be able to tell. He’s starting to develop an uncanny sense for when I’ve turned a thought over too many times in my head and need to air it. Sometimes it’s nice and it helps me communicate more than I normally would. But I also didn’t know it was possible for someone to know you a little too well.
