"To celebrate becoming the new owners of the orphanage, I'm taking the kids out for a treat," Pascal announced with a grin.
"Yay!" the kids shouted.
“And Florian doesn’t get any because he abandoned the bread I made for him,” Pascal teased.
I laughed, remembering the poor breadbasket back at the castle grounds. “Sorry. It was chaotic.”
“Don’t worry, I get you. Ice cream, kids?”
“YAY!” the kids shouted again.
I couldn't help but smile. It was the happiest I'd seen both Pascal and the kids for a long time.
Pascal's grin turned mischievous. “To be serious, I’d invite you two along, but I think you'd like some alone time."
He winked in case his child-friendly comment didn't get the message across. I blushed.
"See ya!"
"Bye, Florian! Bye, Devereaux!" the kids called excitedly as they bounced after Pascal.
When they left, Devereaux turned to me. "What did he mean by that?"
Instantly, my cheeks burned hotter. Did he really not know? I supposed that even if Devereaux had taken a human form at night, hewasa statue before my kiss turned him into a living gargoyle. I didn't know if he had any experience. Not that I minded, though—I didn't either. It would be sweet if our first time was with each other.
"He meant, erm... How do I put it..."
"Sex?"
Hearing that come out of Devereaux's stoic face made me laugh. "Um, yes. I think that's what he meant."
"Oh." Devereaux tilted his head. "Well, would you like to? I am fine doing whatever it is you wish, Florian. Be that sitting here in the garden, or spending time in bed..."
My cheeks flushed as hot as the sun. "Um... If it's okay with you, I'd like to try," I mumbled.
Devereaux smiled. "Of course it is all right."
He offered me his large stone hand and I took it. His skin didn't have the coarse feeling of concrete or rough rock. It was smoother, like a sanded stone, and though it was cooler than my own skin, it still had a pleasant warmth.
Would the rest of his body feel the same way?
Since Devereaux's transformation, he had shed his human clothes. The robes—and more importantly, the blindfold—were gone. It made sense, what did a statue need clothes for? But that also meant Devereaux technically walked around nude. Not that he was exactly flashing anybody. He resembled a walking marble carving with no visible 'sensitive' bits.
I wondered where he hid it, if he even hadone.
I guess I'm about to find out...
The house was silent. Devereaux offered to carry me up the stairs, which was kind of him since the stairs were my nemesis even on decent pain days.
"This was... is my room," I said when he passed the correct door. "It's weird. After Headmaster told me she was kicking me out, I stopped thinking about this as my home, even though it's alwaysbeenmy home. And now it is, for real."
Devereaux nuzzled his solid cheek against my temple as he carried me. "It is okay to have complicated feelings. Time will help sort them out."
How did he manage to be so sweet all the time? Everything he said and every moment we shared only made me fall deeper in love with him.
Inside the room, he set me down on the bed. I let out a contented sigh. It felt good to be horizontal after such a long, stressful night. Devereaux stood next to the bed, watching over me like the gargoyle on the fountain. The sudden memory made me chuckle.
"Come here," I said.
