Page 25 of Stranded with the Kraken
“Not Santa.” He smirks at me.
For a moment I think that he can, in fact, see into my mind, but he shrugs and points at the clock on the wall.
“It’s past midnight,” he says, “which technically means it’s Christmas.”
I smack his naked shoulder. “Okay, smart-ass. What was it really? Did a tree collapse on the roof?”
I try to remember if I’d seen any trees on the property that were close enough to fall over and make so much noise, but there’s another thump on the roof, and something like footsteps, though that can’t be right. Who would be walking on Jasper’s roof at midnight on Christmas Eve, and during a snowstorm?
“Wait here,” Jasper snaps. “I’ll check it out.”
He pulls on his sweatpants and stalks to the glass doors leading to the porch. He slides the door open and peers into the darkness outside. I wrap the blanket around my shoulders and scurry after him, though I don’t follow him to the snow-covered porch. I have some sense of self-preservation, it seems. I squint into the darkness, then glance behind me, trying to decide whether I should grab the poker from beside the fireplace to arm myself.
Suddenly, something large drops from the sky, and a massive crash has me flailing backward with a shriek. Jasper curses, crouching slightly as if preparing to attack. The creature that landed on his porch straightens, its large wings fanning out, scraping against the glass. Its dark-gray skin is barely distinguishable from the darkness, but I make out a broad, bare chest, a rough-hewn face, and thick horns growing from its forehead.
It’s a gargoyle.
Despite myself, I freeze in place, staring at the stranger. I’ve read about them, but I’d never seen one in person.
I glance over to Jasper to see what he’ll do to fend off the intruder, but he straightens from his fighter’s stance and pushes his hand through his hair.
“Fucking hell, Emmerich,” he growls. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
The gargoyle looks down at where he crashed directly onto a deck chair and tries to swipe the splinters behind him with his boots as if hiding the evidence will make Jasper forget he saw it. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to land so hard, but the wind is vicious tonight. It was either this or land on your pool house, and I thought you would prefer this.”
His voice is gravelly and low, the words holding the barest hint of an accent that I can’t quite place. German, maybe?
Jasper puts his hands on his hip. “Why are you here?” he repeats.
I move forward to see better, and the gargoyle’s gaze snaps to me. His dark eyes widen, and he looks from me to Jasper and back. Then his craggy face splits into a wide grin.
“I didn’t know you had a human, too, Jasper,” he exclaims and stomps forward, his hand extended in a greeting. “Hello, I am Emmerich.”
I only hesitate a moment before placing my hand in his much larger one. Unexpectedly, his skin is warm to the touch and soft, sort of leathery. I half expected it to be rough and cool, like granite. Emmerich takes great care not to squish my fingers, his claws staying well away from my skin.
“Hi, I’m Arielle,” I say. I meet Jasper’s gaze and lift my eyebrows as if to say, ‘Is this a friend of yours?’
“Let’s get inside,” Jasper says with resignation coloring his voice. “And you can tell us what’s going on.”
Emmerich the gargoyle tucks his wings tightly against his back and ducks his head to enter the living room. He’s taller even than Jasper, who must be six foot three. If Jasper’s house wasn’t a freaking mansion, Emmerich’s horns would likely brush the chandelier hanging from the living room ceiling, but as it is, he still takes up a ridiculous amount of space. He shuffles awkwardly by the couch, though, and I realize he’s staring down at the nest of blankets we’ve created, his nostrils flaring.
A blush creeps up my neck at the thought of him scenting what Jasper and I have been up to. If his senses are as strong as Jasper’s, he must know what’s going on. But to my surprise, he beams at me, his dark eyes glittering, and pats my shoulder with care. It still feels as if I’d been hit with a snow shovel, but I manage not to stumble forward.
“It’s good to meet you, Arielle,” he says. “Jasper needed a mate. He was a very grumpy man.”
I bite my lip and glance at Jasper, who is glowering at us, hands still at his hips.
“Really? He’s been very nice to me,” I tell Emmerich.
The gargoyle nods sagely. “Oh yes. He will treat you well. He’s very rich and will be a good father to your brood.”
I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my grin. I knew that Jasper was loaded, but this gargoyle’s frank assessment of his financial means is a weirdly great kind of endorsement.
“Emmerich,” Jasper snaps in warning.
He’s adorable when he’s annoyed, but I don’t want to tease him in front of his friend. Instead, I walk to him and loop my arm through his, then smile sweetly up at him when he looks at me. Jasper lets out an exasperated huff, then wraps his arm around my shoulders and squeezes me to his side.
Emmerich watches us with interest, as if he’s cataloging our interactions.
