Page 12 of Rock of Stages
“Beautiful,” I repeated in a hushed voice.
She turned to me and smiled. “You’re not at all what I thought gargoyles would be like.”
“How so?” I stepped closer, as the space between us charged with heat.
“I thought they were all big and intense and…intimidating.”
I chuckled softly and pressed my finger to my lips. “Shh, don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold.” I reached for her hand as if on instinct. It felt small and warm and perfect in mine. Without thinking, I brought it to my mouth and brushed my lips against her knuckles.
She watched me, eyelids dropping slightly as her chest rose and fell with quickened breaths. I lowered her hand but kept hold of it.
“I wonder if this is a dream,” I admitted quietly. “That you’ll dive back into the ocean, and I just imagined you.”
She squeezed my hand. “I’m real.”
“Oh gods, I hope so.”
Her eyes, green as the morning sea, locked on mine. My heart pounded yet neither of us spoke. The rush of the waves roared over the low murmur of the ship’s engine.
Her lips parted, eyelids lowered, drawing me in.
I bent down toward her, widening my stance to lean closer. She moved to her tiptoes, meeting me in the space between.
And then—our lips grazed. The feather-light touch was gentle at first, almost mystical, and sparks ignited. She tilted her head, inviting me closer, and I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. She let out a soft sigh and slid her little hand over my chest. Over my heart. As if claiming it.
Mine.
My beast didn’t whisper it but declared it with thunderous certainty. She was mine. I knew it in the deep, eternal way that gargoyles felt in their stone. In their wings. As natural as flying.
I couldn’t let her go.
When we finally broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers, trying to stay grounded.
“There’s something between us,” I said, my voice low. “Tell me you feel it too,” I urged her.
One thunderous heartbeat followed. Then two.
“Yes,” she admitted, her voice breathy. “A connection.”
Thank the gods I wasn’t imagining it.
“So don’t leave yet,” I urged, cupping her cheeks as I stared into her eyes. “Stay. Come back to my cabin tonight. I know there’s only one bed. I’ll find a place to sleep. On the floor. In the shower. I don’t care where.” I blew out a rough breath, trying to calm my rambling. This wasn’t like me, but Icouldn’tjust let her go back to the sea where I’d never see her again. Lose her forever. I took another deep breath and pleaded, “Just…stay.”
Naiya stared up at me, a silent statue caught between the sea and sky as she seemed to contemplate. As I waited for her answer, my heart drummed with thunderous anticipation.
CHAPTER 8
NAIYA
Stay with Caleb, in his cabin… Sleep in his bed.
Was this mad? We’d only just met that night.
It was now the quietest part of the night, just before morning, when the sea held its breath. The hours had zipped by as I’d spent them with Caleb, but I wasn’t ready to return to the ocean.
And I wasn’t ready to leave Caleb. That kiss was…unreal. The echo of it lingered with a warm tingle on my lips. I’d never been kissed like that before, with a heat that bloomed through me like sun warming the ocean’s surface. The way he’d held me in his muscular arms felt as secure as a stone cave protecting me. He looked at me from those gray-blue eyes like I was a treasure found in the deep.
He was still looking at me like that now, his intense gaze imploring me to stay.
