Page 16 of Never Been Gargoyled
“Your skin is warm and soft.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Her head cocked. “Do you turn to stone and sleep on the roof at night?”
“What?” I barked, sliding my glare from my arm to her. If she kept touching me, my hormones would go wild. “I, Feydin Xavier Trenchalot Budiere, do not let anything go wild.”
“Why not?” She gave me a cute smile. Although, everything about this woman was cute, from her pert little nose to her curvy frame to her quick wit.
“I just…can’t.” In this, I was at a loss for words. I couldn’t tell her she was my fated mate. That she’d restarted my heart.
Humans didn’t believe in things like that, and if they did, they rarely believed they could fall hard and fast for someone they recently met. Which was what was happening to me.
I tipped my head back and howled at the ceiling.
With a grin, Dazy did the same, and I had to admit, her howl was also cute. “That’s fun. Any other news about Helga’s potential illegitimate child? She’s my dad’s aunt, so her daughter, assuming this is true, would be his cousin. My second cousin. Who is trying to take my inheritance away from me. It makes me sad.”
“Losing the estate?”
“Well, that, yes, but I was thinking that it’s sad that second cousins aren’t more interested in getting to know each other, maybe being friends, rather than suing them in court.”
“If this goes to court, we’ll win.”
“I like how confident you are about that, Feydin. I enjoy howling, too. Is it the moon?”
“What moon?”
“Are you howling at the moon? Is it full tonight and…I don’t know, drawing out the wild side you said you don’t possess?”
“There is no wild side.”
“Aw, that’s sad.”
I stiffened. “It is not.”
Her smile only widened. “Sure it is. You need to let loose and have fun.”
“I have fun.” Sometimes.
“Doing what?”
“Flying. Howling. Sitting on the roof.”
“In stone form, I assume,” she said.
“Icansit in stone form; it’s voluntary now.”
“It wasn’t before?”
I shook my head. “With the manor house empty, I solidified into stone form.”
She gasped, pressing her fingertips against her lips. Plush lips. Pink. Kissable, I’d bet.
“Are you suggesting I woke you up?” She glanced toward the foyer. “Last night, I heard something when I was trying to get inside the house. I thought maybe itwas mice or something, though I don’t know any mice outside of Mickey who can talk, and I doubt Mickey would tell me to leave.”
“I assure you, there are no mice inside this manor. They listen to gargoyles, and if they were present, I would’ve already told them to leave.”
Her eyes lit up. “Like you tried to tell me to leave? That was you, right?”
