“Maggots,” I heard the selkie’s sing-songy voice reply before Dallan’s deeper timbre blocked them out.
“What’s going on, Daphne? Everything all right over there?”
“I’m not sure, Cash is asleep and I think he might have a fever? Can gargoyles evengetsick?” If so, I wondered if human cold medicine would work on him. I was pretty sure I had a bottle of it upstairs if so.
“Can you explain what’s been going on?” Dallan asked, not sounding nearly worried enough about his best friend.
I pressed the back of my hand to his cheek, finding the stone skin to be nearly as warm as my hand. Usually his skin was a bit like incredibly soft granite and it took my own body heat to warm him up in any significant way.
“He’s warm to the touch and he’s been lethargic throughout the morning feeding. I don’t think I’ve actuallyseenhim take a nap before,” I explained, my voice peaking with worry.
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line.
“Dallan, are you laughing at me right now?” I asked, irritated by the Cthulhu’s nonchalance over what could potentially be something very serious.
“No, lass, I’m not. Cash is all right,” Dallan said. “He’s just, ah, preparing.”
Confusion filled me. “Preparing?”
Another chuckle came through the speaker of the phone before Dallan sheepishly explained himself. “Yes, preparing. For many supernatural beings, the act of mating, especially during times such as the equinox, takes a lot of energy for, y’know,activities. So sometimes they go into a sort of short hibernation to prepare themselves.”
At his round-a-bout explanation of Cash’s sudden narcolepsy, my face warmed. “Oh,” was all I managed to say.
“Yes,oh.” I could hear the smile in Dallan’s voice and I was half-tempted to hang up the phone and stew in my own embarrassment for a bit.
“So he doesn’t need any medicine?” I asked, just to make sure.
There was a beat of silence before Dallan said, rather gleefully: “No, Daphne, I’m afraid that in about eight to ten hours,youare going to be Cash’s medicine.”
“Oh,” I repeated again, hoping Dallan didn’t think I was an idiot.
“Have fun and take it easy, I’ll be out in the morning to take care of the animals like Cash asked me to do while you both are, uh, busy,” Dallan chuckled one last time before hanging up the phone, leaving me alone with a softly snoring gargoyle and a heap of anticipation.
“Does that mean I also need to take a nap?” I asked out loud, glancing over at Oscar and Saoirse who were asleep in their beds.
Oscar lifted his head and let out a plaintive whine.
“I don’t speak dog,” I told the canine as I pulled one of the soft blankets over Cash’s massive form. “But if I did, I’d assume you just answered yes to that question.”
Cash had given me the basics of what was going to happen once night fell, but it was hard to wrap my head around.
There would be no interruptions this time. No phone calls, tattoo appointments, or friends to get in the way.
It would just be me, Cash, and a mating bond that would change my life forever.
No pressure, right?
* * *
As it turned out, Cash didn’t need a full eight hours in order to wake up.
“Dragonfly,” Cash’s voice roused me from my long nap. The sun was still out, though it was starting to shift in color as it began its descent. Soon the three-quarter moon would rise in the sky and the equinox would truly begin.
“How was your nap?” I asked groggily, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes.
Cash didn’t answer, his lips already too busy nibbling on the soft skin of my neck.
Before climbing into bed for my nap, I’d changed into a comfortable nightgown. It was quickly shredded by Cash’s imploring hands and left to hang off of my shoulders so he could tweak each of my already peaking nipples.
