Page 41 of Hearts of Stone

I paced back and forth across the kitchen floor, my tail flicking as I went. Each time I passed the open doorway, I turned my head to stare out across the grounds. Pretty flowers and the dark of night were not enough to obscure the two figures out there. I watched my stone brother lead her away, talking all the while, no doubt having a sober, rational conversation with our mate about our kind, whereas I…

I wanted to show her the much more elemental side of our nature.

She belonged to me. The knowledge of that burned in my chest like a brand. I needed her close, to touch her, feel her, breathe in her scent. When that little bastard, Seneca, rose from the table and drew near, I saw that he was staring out of the doorway as well.

“What do you w—?” I was about to send him on his way. Our kind knew better than to get between a gargoyle and his fated mate, but when he turned to face me and I saw his expression, I stopped. “Gods, you’re…”

“She’s mine,” he snapped, staring at me with blatant dislike. Impudent little pup. I had served this house for centuries before he ever took to stone, something I was about to remind him before his words sunk in.

“She’s… ours,” I said begrudgingly, even though I knew that most gargoyles formed flocks around their fated mate. A mate was always a woman of power, and we were a conduit to it. By taking multiple mates, she would never risk draining us completely, and we would ensure she was always safe. But forming a flock with the likes of one such as Seneca… I curled my lip, and he looked at me hotly.

“You tasted her last night.”

Oh ho, now it came out—the seeds of this whelp’s discontent. I smiled slowly.

“That I did, and she was sweet as honey—”

“Ohh-kay, I’m gonna need you to dial back the talking about my bestie’s ‘honey’,” Daniel said, walking over to join us, and we both frowned down at him. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger here. I’m not gonna cock block you two.” He looked out the doorway. “Umm…three. I’m Team Jade-getting-it-in-every-hole-from-the-monsters, trust me. You look after me and, during the day while you sleep, I’ll be your biggest cheerleader.”

“And what do you want in exchange for this service?” I asked, folding my arms. “This one.” I looked past him to where Harold watched the conversation unfold. “He is a lover of men like you.” My eyes narrowed as I focussed back at the blue-haired man next to me, my nostrils flaring. “You smell of sex and pain.” I nodded to Harold. “You are strong, capable, for a human. You can provide this kind of experience for Jade’s best friend. If you need tuition…”

Seneca flinched at the same moment I did, because we had had some experience of this ourselves. In Z Ward. Some of our kind remained trapped within its walls, but none of the rest of uswould go anywhere near the place. We couldn’t. Luther Whiteley had sealed the place away from us, locking some of our stone brothers inside. Whiteley had been particularly insistent that Wulfstan remained trapped there, separated from the rest of us. I shook my head, as if that would dislodge the memories: of sex, of pain that went on and on, of screams of agony and screams of pleasure, too similar to differentiate between.

“I don’t need teaching,” Harold replied stiffly, “and the food is about to arrive. I’ll go down to the gate to grab it. In the meantime, Carrick, stop fucking meddling.”

Despite that growled response, Daniel watched the other man go with a steady gaze before his focus finally shifted back to us.

“I don’t need any quid pro quo to do the right thing by Jade. She’s amazing,” he said.

“On that, we agree,” Seneca said.

“And having super protective monster boyfriends? Yeah, I think she deserves that, and more. The only one you’ll have a hard time convincing is her. She’s just got out of a relationship with Pencil Dick—”

“Pencil. Dick…?” I asked.

“Ohh, you don’t know?”

Daniel waved us towards the table that was set up in the kitchen, sitting down on one chair and then gesturing for us to do the same. I gingerly sat down on one spindly thing, hearing the wood creak in protest, then moved forward, putting my weight on my feet.

“Explain, friend of Jade’s,” I demanded.

“Jade has only ever had one guy.” Both Seneca and I growled at the same time, our eyes meeting, then our focus shifted back to Daniel. I had thought him a threat, but now I saw him for the resource he so obviously was. He knew our mate well and could tell us about her history. “Trevor, aka Pencil Dick. Like, nohuman dude is going to be able to compete with you fuckers…” I frowned slightly as Daniel waved at my now flaccid cock. “But even compared to most men, Jade’s ex is… lacking.”

He held up a pinky finger to illustrate his point. The looks Seneca and I traded then were self-congratulatory. No wonder our mate had struggled to take much of me the previous night. She had not been properly serviced before, something that would now change.

“But hey, just because a guy has a micro peen, doesn’t mean he’s a bad lover. I knew this guy with a wicked tongue—”

“Focus, friend of Jade’s,” I prompted.

“Right. So, the thing about Trevor is that he’s a little man. Like, literally and metaphorically. He tried to say he was taller than Jade, but she could never wear heels around him, not even a small one. Said it ‘emasculated’ him.” Daniel rolled his eyes and his scorn for Jade’s former lover created a bond between us. “He’s the kinda guy who likes to push people down to make himself feel bigger.”

“Tell me where this man lives,” Seneca demanded. “I’ll fly to his home tonight, and tear his head from his body for the sin of harming our mate.”

“Mate…?” Daniel looked at him, then me. “I’m assuming you don’t mean that in a ‘tie me kangaroo down’ kinda way.”

“Why would someone wish to bind a kangaroo like that?” Seneca asked, frowning, but I shook my head.

“Mistress,” I corrected. “What the fledgling meant to say was ‘Mistress’.”

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