Page 25 of Eggsactly the Right Gargoyle

The grove responds to our surrender. The bioluminescent blossoms pulse brighter, releasing more of their glowing pollen. The moss bed grows thicker and more inviting. Vines curl higher around our private bower, shielding us from the outside world.

I break the kiss only to trail my lips along her jaw and down the column of her throat. Talia sighs, her head falling back togrant me better access. She explores my shoulders, my chest, and the sensitive junction where my wings meet my back.

“Is this okay?” she asks, tracing her fingers down the edge of one wing.

“More than okay,” I say against her skin. My wings have always been sensitive, but her touch sends shockwaves of pleasure through my entire body.

I guide her backward toward the moss bed. When her legs meet the edge, she sits, pulling me down with her. The moss cradles us, surprisingly comfortable and warm. “You’re beautiful.” I brush a curl from her face. In the golden light of the grove, her brown skin glows with an inner radiance that has nothing to do with magic and everything to do with her.

“So are you,” she says, tracing the contours of my face with gentle fingers. “Your eyes are doing that swirling thing again.”

I know what she means. When my emotions run high, the gold and orange striations in my eyes move faster, creating a vortex effect. Right now, they must be spinning like whirlpools. “Only for you,” I say, capturing her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm.

She smiles, then reaches for the ties of her apron. “Help me with this?”

My stone fingers, usually so careful and controlled, tremble slightly as I untie her apron and lift it over her head. Beneath it, her floral sundress clings to her curves, the fabric thin enough that I can see the outline of her body in the magical light.

“Your turn,” she says, tugging at the hem of my sweater.

I pull it off, revealing the minimal enchanted armor I wear beneath. It’s a sleeveless tunic that leaves my arms bare. Talia hands immediately explores the exposed skin, tracing the patterns where stone meets armor.

“Can this come off too?” she asks, fingers finding the clasps at my shoulders.

“Yes.” I help her release the fastenings. The armor falls away, leaving my chest bare. Unlike human men, my torso is smooth stone, sculpted like a statue but warm and alive to the touch.

She tests this new territory with obvious fascination. “You’re so warm. I always thought stone would be cold.”

“Only when I’m alone, or during the last century, when my guardian magic had gone dormant. With you, everything is different.”

She reaches behind her neck, unfastening the top of her dress. The fabric falls forward, revealing her breasts, full and perfect in the golden light. More than a handful even for my large hands. I hold my breath and reach out, hesitating just before touching her. “May I?”

“Please,” she whispers.

I cup her breasts, capable of being gentle with my stone hands despite their appearance. Talia arches into my touch, a soft moan escaping her lips. I lower my head, replacing one hand with my mouth to taste her skin, drawing another moan from her while I flick my tongue against a swollen nipple.

All around us, the grove responds to our passion. The bioluminescent flowers pulse in rhythm with our heartbeats. The moss beneath us grows softer and more yielding, while the vines curl tighter around our bower, ensuring our privacy.

She rests her hands in my waistband. “I want to see all of you,” she says, dropping her voice to a husky whisper that sends a ripple through me. “Every inch.”

I moan as she pushes down my pants, and I lift my hips to help her slide them from my body. The cool air of the grove touches my cock, instantly making me harder as...stone.

“There,” I murmur as the last piece falls away.

I stand naked before her, revealed fully to her gaze. Unlike human males, my cock is unique. It’s still carved from the same living stone as the rest of me, but with subtle variations intexture where the gray deepens to charcoal at the most intimate areas. Fine lines run like veins through the stone, pulsing faintly with golden light that matches my eyes.

I watch her face carefully, scanning for any sign of disappointment or shock. My heart pounds beneath my chest as silence stretches between us. What must she think, seeing a lover so different from any she has known before?

Her eyes widen slightly, then fill with unmistakable desire. “You’re magnificent.” She breaches out to touch my shaft, trailing her fingers down it.

The contact sends a surge of pleasure through my body, making my wings flare wide. Talia smiles at the reaction, and her touch grows bolder and more exploratory.

“And you,” I say, my voice rough with need, “Are still wearing too much.”

She laughs and stands, letting her dress fall completely away. Finally, she sheds her practical white panties, and the sight of her naked in the magical light steals my breath, revealing curves and valleys I want to explore with hands and mouth, and skin I want to worship until she cries my name.

She returns to the moss bed, kneeling before me. “Now, we’re even.”

I pull her into my arms, rolling so that she lies beneath me with her dark curls spread across the glowing moss like a halo. “Not quite yet,” I murmur, trailing kisses down her body. “But we will be.”

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