Page 84 of Howl for the Gargoyle

"I fell in love with Hannah," I said, shrugging. "Not a client. I got to know her because… I dunno. She wasn't what I expected, and that made me curious about who she was. And it seemed impossible, until it didn't. We have to know what pleases our clients, what arouses them and relaxes them, what their boundaries are. And generally that's part of work, a list to follow. But then this one time, everything was just really natural. She fit with who I am and what arouses and relaxes me, and what my boundaries are too."

"Do you think Astraeya knew that when she paired you?" Elias asked me, black gaze somehow sharper than usual.

"I don't think she could have," I admitted. "I wasn't really being honest with MSA at the time about some of my boundaries. I had changed. But Astraeya is really good at her job, and ya know, a succubus too, so who knows? Maybe."

Elias hummed and nodded, turning back to stare at our friends.

A faint, itching suspicion rose in my mind, and my eyes narrowed. "Elias…why?"

"I'd like to try it."

"Try…?"

"Falling in love," he said.

I gaped at him for a moment, and it was impossible to tell with his eyes, but I was fairly sure he was glancing at me out of the corners. One hundred arguments to pose against Elias's clinical curiosity to "try falling in love" rose to my tongue. Love wasn't an experiment. MSA had been more of an obstacle for me and Khell than a boon. Hunting for love was sure to end in disaster.

Except, damn, it would be fun to watch.

"Rafe!"

I groaned, pressing my face into Hannah's throat, my fingers digging into her back, tucked under her loosened shirt. I really loved it when she said my name like that. She grew limp in my embrace, giving over to the wave of sensation rushing through her, and I tightened my arms around her waist, beating my wings against the sudden whip of wind.

I forced my eyes open, refusing to give in to the plea of her cunt clasping on my length, aware that my body was already a little too focused on Hannah in my arms instead of keeping us safely in the air as I'd promised.

Hannah's legs twined around my waist as she settled, her own cheek coming to rest on my bare shoulder. Her skin was chilling, and I needed to get her back inside soon, even with her warm werewolf blood pulsing through her veins.

"Is this the mile-high club?" she murmured, giggling almost drunkenly.

"Not remotely!" I grinned and kissed her cheek, bundling Hannah closer, trying to shield her against the wind even as we had to turn and brace into it to reach the spires of Tribune Tower.

She'd brought me up to her dad's apartment after I'd explained why I was hovering outside of it the night of the party. He was safely back out of town now. Making out by the windows had become fooling around on the balcony, which had somehow turned into, "Can gargoyles have sex while flying?"

We could, as it turned out. I hadn't tried it before.

"Oh my god," Hannah squeaked out, fingers clutching against my skin.

"I told you not to look down."

Her thighs clamped tighter around my hips and I laughed, tucking her face back into my shoulder as I flew us the few feet back to the tower.

"I had to peek," she breathed. "Not inside yet! Just maybe…somewhere with something we can hold onto."

I found an ornate perch along the balustrade in front of her dad's apartment. It'd been my usual spot anyway—I could enjoy the architecture of the building, but out of the way of rough winds.

"You hold onto me, and I'll keep us steady," I said, bringing my wings up just enough to shelter Hannah. She was already starting to shiver, so we wouldn't be outside for much longer, but her eyes were drinking in the city eagerly, and she stretched on my lap to peek around my wings.

"I never get sick of this view," I said, staring at her, smiling to myself as she hummed in agreement. Another gust barreled into us, whipping Hannah's hair around her face, and she squeaked slightly, clinging to me. "Are you scared?" I asked.

The time to be scared had been when I was thrusting into her four hundred feet off the ground. Not that she'd been capable of much thinking at the time.

"I…" She blinked and glanced at me. "A bit. I talked about how scared I was at the meeting today."

I leaned away just enough to catch her eye. "Of Fincher?"

She frowned, shaking her head. "No, I mean…no. Of…of the tour. Of the future. Of what life will be like if the band becomes famous, or if it doesn't." She waved a hand and then sank into my chest. "I know I don't have to worry, but I do sometimes."

I fit her head under my chin, spread my wings, and curled them around us to block out the wind and the noise and the cold. Worries came and went, even I knew that. I worried about being a useless mate, about how Hannah might feel burdened on the tour, essentially supporting me. About how presumptuous it would be to ask to move in when we'd only really started dating. She had the mating bond, I knew, but she'd still been human up until the past year, and I didn't want her to feel cornered or rushed.

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