Page 54 of Protected By the Gargoyle
“Back to happier topics.” Larissa took a napkin and wiped some dip off her chin. “Does this mean we’ll plan a bonding ceremony soon?”
“No, no, no. Not yet. I’m still on a slower pace here than shifters. Arto would have one tonight if I agreed, but I told him I’m looking at this as our engagement period and bumped him up from boyfriend to fiancé.”
“Woo! Congrats!” Larissa raised her glass.
Janie clinked it with her own. “Cheers to surviving all this shit.”
“And finding love in the process.”
“And one day becoming—not roommates or housemates—what should we call it?”
“Compound mates?”
“Ew, no,” Janie protested. “It sounds like we’re in prison together.”
“Ha, right. How about tower mates?”
“Yes, that’s better. Tower mates. Cheers!” Then she sipped her drink and Larissa followed.
At the end of January,Janie finished packing her things. She would miss her apartment, but it was just a place. Four walls where she kept her things. What she had with Arto brought far more happiness than a structure ever could. She didn’t care where they lived, as long as they were together.
Fifteen minutes later, he knocked on the door.
She opened the door and greeted him with a hug and kiss. “Hello, my mate.”
A low vibrating growl came out from deep in his chest. “You don’t know how long I’ve yearned to hear you say that.” He embraced her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“What can I say? You fell in love with a hapless human. It’s going to take me longer than most to understand this elusive concept.”
He nuzzled her neck. “How about I give you another lesson?”
She moaned in pleasure and tipped her head back. “I enjoy every time you show me what it means to be—um—connected.”
He kissed down her collarbone and then pulled up her shirt. Once she tossed it to the ground, he licked along the top of her bra cup while caressing her breasts.
Her pulse sped up, and flickers of heat curled inside her core. “And we should give this place a proper goodbye.”
He scooped her up and carried her to her bed, reminding her of the time she’d fantasized he was about to do so in her sleepy state. “Don’t pull away this time.”
He gazed down at her in question. “This time?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “That time you carried me to bed when I fell asleep on the couch, and I’d asked you to stay.”
“You didn’t mean it then, did you?”
Her lips parted. “On some level, I think I did. I dreamed about you.”
His eyes sparkled with heat. “If they’re anything like the ones I had of you all this time, they’d be quite incendiary.”
Excitement stirred within. “They were steamy for sure.” Her lips spread into a sly smile. “But I’m interested in these spicy-hot dreams of yours.” She reached up and ran her hands over his back. The demon’s marks were gone. Arto’s wings were retracted. She held onto her gargoyle shifter—her protector and her mate.
“It’s better I show you than tell you.” His voice lowered to a low, seductive croon.
She leaned up and brushed her lips against his. “Ooh, yes. Show me, Big Guy.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later
