Page 37 of A Highland Gargoyle's Lucky Star
I’d much rather eat his beautiful arse for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Realizing I’m staring at him in a ravenous manner, I clear my throat and look away. “Tal and his crew keep us all well fed.”
Everyone begins serving themselves from the communal dishes, and I watch in amazement as Noah piles an astonishing amount of food on his plate.
“Are you sure you can actually fit all of that in your stomach?” I ask.
He grins at me. “I told you before, I’ve got a hearty appetite. I’m confident that I can keep up with a gargoyle.”
Braewyn suddenly takes a seat next to me on my other side and begins heaping dinner onto his plate. “You’ll fit in here, no problem, Noah. We’re a species that takes our food very seriously.” He flexes a bicep at Noah and winks. “Got to keep this magnificent machine fueled and ready for action!”
Noah laughs.
I scowl at Braewyn and shift my body to block Noah’s view of him.
My soon-to-be-former best friend, if he keeps it up, just cackles.
Noah studies me for a moment, then shrugs and eagerly shoves a forkful of food in his mouth. Instantly, his eyes roll back in his head and he moans.
“Oh my God.Whathave you done to these potatoes?”
I glance at the tatties on my plate. “No clue. You’ll have to ask Tal, but it’s a common way he has of preparing them.”
“They’re just so delightfully crisp on the outside, but then the inside bursts with buttery softness when you eat them.”
The blissful look on Noah’s face is far too fetching. It makes me want to pounce on him.
Much like a cat.
But no, I donotbloody well purr.
For his part, Noah remains unaware, still fixated on the damn tatties.
“I think I could eat my weight in these potatoes. I’ll have to give my compliments to the chef,” he mumbles to himself, nodding decisively.
My irritation vanishes and I can’t help but smile. By the Light, why is everything he does and everything about him so adorable and yet sexy at the same time? It makes no fucking sense.
Noah glances up from his food and gasps. “Aha! You’re smiling. For real this time.” He beams at me. “I knew you could do it. Looks good on you.”
Feeling all kinds of awkward under his unexpected praise, I turn my attention to my own plate, which is still empty, and busy myself dishing up some grub that I barely even notice.
Why am I acting like a total and utter prat around Noah?
“Ignore Elryk’s brooding exterior,” Braewyn pipes up. “He’s a good and honest man with a big heart. His biggest problem isthat he likes to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, even though he has plenty of friends and family to help him lighten the load if he’d just let us.”
Noah gives me an inquisitive look. “Weight of the world, huh? Let me guess, this is one of those things you can’t talk about until we have our meeting with the clan bigwig?”
I grunt and shovel some of the tatties he was just waxing poetic about into my mouth. They’re delicious, as always.
“I thought so,” Noah grumbles to himself, then proceeds to demolish the rest of the meat and veg on his plate.
When he finishes, he leans back with a contented sigh and rubs his belly as he looks around the dining hall with avid curiosity. But after a few moments, his gaze stops and I follow the direction of his eyes.
That’s when I notice my poor cousin, Sorwyn.
“Who’s that guy?” Noah whispers. “Why is he eating all alone at that table away from everyone else?”
I tense up. “It’s… a bit of a sensitive subject. What I can say is that Sorwyn committed a grave crime among our people. He made some foolhardy choices that led to the deaths of several people.”
