Page 17 of The Gargoyle's Grace
She snorted and gave me the smile I’d been hoping for. “I do. Breakfast will be coming very early, I have a feeling.”
“I’m sorry for robbing you of your rest time,” I apologized. “But not for anything else.”
“Me neither,” she said quietly.
Relief washed over me. Rejection was not something I was familiar with, mostly because I didn’t offer myself up for it often. It would have been painful for her to regret our coupling. Guilt would have eaten me from the inside out, and I wouldn’t have forgiven myself for not only hurting her but ruining our friendship.
She put away our leftovers and cleaned up, leaving us staring at one another again in the quiet kitchen. “For what it’s worth, I don’t know how this part goes either,” I finally said, wrapping my arms around her. Grace sagged into my embrace in a way that gave me great relief.
I knew all too well she didn’t lean on anyone or ask for help unless she absolutely couldn’t get by without it. She was one of the strongest, most capable people I’d ever met. For her to trust me enough to relax into my arms was a tremendous honor. I didn’t take it lightly.
“Good night, Magnus,” she said, pulling away.
“Good night, Grace.”
I watched her go through the back of the kitchen, her footsteps above my head as she went into her hidden apartment. Turning out lights as I went, I made my way through the collegium to my own apartment, wondering if the day would come again where I’d share a living space with a woman.
If it did, I wanted it to be her.
Chapter9
Grace
The annoyingly handsome man was watching me with a coy grin over the top of his pitcher of coffee. Beast. The nerve he had to be in such a cheerful mood when I was positively stewing over what had happened the night before.
Not in a bad way. More in aHow did we get here?kind of way. Maybe even anAre we going to continue, because I could be really good at making that a bad habitkind of way.
His abnormally large hands made regular cups look like something a child would use. Or a doll. Meals required multiple plates or platters and drinks were often offered to him directly from the serving container. Coffee was no different, though I hadn’t intended for him to drink directly out of my best ceramic carafe.
“Don’t you have somewhere you should be? Perhaps in the observatory as a statue, still getting that beauty rest you spoke of?”
He snorted, leaning back arrogantly in his chair. “I’m quite well rested, thank you. And I know better than to let you out of my sight. We have things to talk about, and if I’m not right here”—he mimed me walking away with his fingers—“you’ll slip out into the city, and I’ll be stuck here with all these questions.” His voice dipped to a teasing growl. “Though I could always chase you down.”
I pinned him with a stare, desperate to ignore the pulse between my legs. In response to my silence, I got a wide smile and raised eyebrow. And damn my hormones anyway—especially the way they responded to his cockiness. That throbbing only reminded me I was indeed a bit sore from our interlude. Blood rushed to my cheeks, heating my whole face, and that irritated me too. “Fine. Are you wanting to eat my food then?”
His tongue traveled along his lower lip, and I cursed myself for leaving an opening like that. “I can think of several things I have an appetite for,” he said, gravel in his voice as his hand tightened around the coffee container.
“I’m afraid we’re only offering eggs and toast this morning.” I slapped the table irritably and headed off to the kitchen to get us both a plate, his low chuckle chasing me the whole way.
To my immense relief, Vassago had joined him by the time I returned. I deposited the plates in front of them, gladly taking the excuse his arrival gave me to dash back to the kitchen. As I took a few deep breaths, willing myself to stop sweating, my littlest helper, Jana, came scuttling in with the dirty dishes she and her sisters had created with their own meals.
“Mr. Vago would like some coffee. I told him I would get it,” she said brightly.
“That’s a good helper, Jana, thank you. Did you need anything more to eat?”
“No ma’am. I’m going to help Clem with the horses after this.” She focused on not spilling as she poured a steaming cup from the large pot on the stove.
“Well done. I’ll see you later on.” She nodded and left as quickly as she’d come, and I was stuck alone to decide what I could stomach.
Just as I was plating up the eggs I’d boiled for myself, Magnus’s voice boomed across the dining hall, calling my name. “If you don’t come back and join us, I’ll come in there to retrieve you.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I whispered to myself, grabbing a fork. “No need to get cranky,” I scolded once I got on the other side of the kitchen door, “I was only making myself a plate.”
“Mmm,” he grumbled, eyebrow raised in gentle accusation. Vassago looked between us, settling on a conspiratorial smile as his gaze returned to his breakfast. “I have an appointment with a handful of merchants today. Would you care to join me, demon?”
The fair man turned to the gargoyle, eyes narrowed. “What kind of meeting?”
“I believe I’ll be recruiting a few new members for camp.”
