“That’s right.Mine.Mine to love.Mine to keep.”He slams into, causing my breasts to bounce.“Mine to fuck.”
“Baezal, Baezal,Baezal,” I babble uncontrollably.
His fingers sneak between us and find my clit.With a few tight circles, I sink down on him with a scream.My pussy clenches around his hardness.White fire licks at my sink as pleasure erupts.Baezal snarls, his hips come clean off the ground.My pleasure numbs me.I’m barely aware we’ve moved until Baezal has me in his arms and we’re launching into the sky.
I don’t have enough strength to scream.Not has his massive wings hold us aloft.The moon and stars look close enough to touch.Holding me under my ass, my knees fall into the crook of his elbows.
“Feel me.Come again and let the whole world hear your pleasure.”
The command is growled against my throat.He fucks me ruthlessly as I hold on for dear life.When his teeth sink into my flesh, I erupt again.The bit of pain tosses me overboard into a sea of pleasure.I clench down on him, biting his neck for good measure.
Baezal snarls against my throat and thrusts deep, emptying himself inside me.Each hot torrent of his seed sends small shocks of pleasure through me.The wind whips against us as we stay afloat.
“You are so beautiful, Willow,” Baezal whispers against my ear.
My face warms, and I burrow into his neck.After all we shared, it’s shocking I can still feel shy.Baezal chuckles, holding me close.
“All the creatures who callThe Woodshome must be looking up at us with envy.Wondering to themselves as to how I’ve gotten lucky enough to claim you.And you are claimed.My seed drips from your little cunt.My teeth mar your lovely neck.You are mine.Forever.”
Our souls thread together as our hearts beat as one.All my life, I was looking for my freedom—the chance to really be myself.Every sin, every mistake, every risk led me right here, to Baezal.It was all worth it.I’ve found my knight—my love.I’ll never feel alone again.I can be exactly who I am and he’ll love me for it.
Fiercely.
“Forever,” I agree, pressing our foreheads together.“Now take me to the sea.”
Baezal’s chuckle echoes through the night sky.We descend only briefly to collect our clothing and my satchel of trinkets.We fly far away from Thorncatcher Monastery, and I never look back.
Not even once.
EPILOGUE
BAEZAL - FIVE YEARS LATER
The heavy padlock glistens in the setting sun.
Thick, iron chains drag the leather bag deep below the dark waves.It doesn’t take long for it to disappear from view.The contents and the shackles are heavy enough to drag it into the sea.Salty air coats my tongue, tempered only by the scent of lavender.
Willow is beside me.The brackish wind blows her dark hair behind her.The soft strands tangle in my scales.Her breasts rest atop my forearms as I hold her from behind.I always need her but especially in this moment.We haven’t spent a day apart since the curse broke.Each day we find a new way to love each other.The depth of our desire never wanes.
The shackles of the past have been broken.Anyone who sought to cage us has now been dealt with.
As we stand and watch the body of the True Blessed Father sink below the water, I feel a sense of peace wash over me.I would’ve been happy never getting my revenge.Life with Willow is sweet enough to forget all the horrors I endured.However, in the end, I could not let him draw breath.It weighed on me, especially with the knowledge that no other gargoyles had been freed from their stone prisons.
He had to pay, but I had to be smart about it.
It took some time to devise a plan.The journey to his remote monastery nearly took half a year.Though that could be because Willow and I stopped to make a home in every village we travelled through.I swear there isn’t a town anywhere along the coastline where I haven't made her come.In the snow, on beaches, deep inThe Woodswith the stars and animals as our witnesses, I have claimed her thoroughly in each differing terrain.
Once we arrived at the monastery, we had to be smart.The True Blessed Father wielded dark magic.Had I known the full extent of his power, I wouldn’t have been so quick to barter away some of Willow’s favorite jewels to that bastard demon ofThe Woods.Even as I think it, I realize there isn’t a sum I wouldn’t give or a deal I wouldn’t make for Willow’s immortality.
As the years turned, and I watched the subtle changes in her, I knew I couldn’t lose her—not to something as simple as time.Seeking out the demon had been easy enough.He wasn’t nearly as frightening as the stories of him portrayed.
Especially not when his human mate encouraged him to be nice during our meeting.She and Willow had chatted animatedly, and I caught the demon’s wistful stare at his mate more times than I’m sure he wanted me to.His mate had been pregnant with their child, and it made me wonder what Willow would look like carrying ours.
I was not ready to share her with anyone just yet.One day, though, it would be nice to hold a product of our love.No matter what that child would look like, it would surely be just as perfect as its mother.
When the body does not rise in some act of God from the water, Willow leans fully back against my chest, breathing deep.He’s gone—that final ghost of the past laid to rest.Staring out at the dark waves, a flash of white catches my eye.Willow gasps, immediately snapping forward to attention.
The small sailboat rocks us gently on the waves.Our dutiful captain is away, paid handsomely to not ask questions about what we brought on board and why we needed to dump it this far from shore.After this, we were heading south, to the land of white sand beaches and limestone castles with towers reaching into the clouds.
