Stone Passions Trilogy (61 page)

“In his gargoyle form?” Bar asked in disbelief, “Impossible.”

“Not impossible,” Rhys countered. Glancing at each brother, he asked, “Have you never felt anything? Even for the women for whom you gave up your nights?”

“I may have felt a twinge of something when Emma touched me,” Rowan admitted reluctantly. “But it could have just as easily been indigestion.

“I never felt a thing when Rosalyn touched me, when she worked up the nerve to touch me when I was like this,” Bar bit out. Unable to disguise the bitterness that laced his voice, his snout flaring in indignation, he shot a glare at Artaire as he sneered, “She preferred the eagle to my boar.”

“I did not encourage her,” Artaire protested. “I had offered my gift to her grandmother generations before and there was no way I would give up my nights again. Besides, it was nearly six hundred years ago; I thought we had moved on.”

“We had,” Bar said on a soft exhalation, looking out over the buildings. “But I know you felt something when she touched you but I hadn’t thought about it at all. Listening to Rhys makes me wonder if she was meant to be yours had you not been a coward.”

“After she passed and you awoke you understood why I refused,” Artaire bit out, not wanting to rehash something that happened so very long ago. “Let it go.”

Rhys watched in fascination as his brothers argued, the sense of similarity between this group and his own group was eerie. As his brothers glared at one another, the tension threatening to crack apart and shatter, he softly asked, “Did any of you love the woman to whom you offered your gift or did you offer out a sense of… obligation.”

The three stone heads ground together in their haste to turn to face him, similar dumb struck expressions on their gargoyle faces.

Chapter 10

Jenna’s eyes popped open and for a moment she had no idea where she was or why she was surrounded by opulent luxury that she had only dreamt about. For another moment she thought that perhaps she was still dreaming, except the sun was slanting through the window and piercing her brain right through her eyes. Plus, she was starving. Groggily, she forced herself to get out of bed as she belatedly remembered that she was in London and she wasn’t going to waste any more time sleeping.

Glancing at the clock, she swore; it was nearly four and she had slept the day away. It was only a six hour time difference and she shouldn’t have crashed so hard. Yet it was the first time she had had a chance to relax since discovering her sister had been in a car accident and was completely in love with a gargoyle.

Plus, Rhys was by nature a night owl so perhaps she was simply adjusting to his schedule to make it easier to spend time with him. She hoped he would be willing to show her some of the local night life… or the supernatural night life. She was sure that was bound to be interesting. And with no responsibilities, she was planning on embracing everything he offered.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and chastising herself for missing a full day of sightseeing, she picked up the phone and punched in the international code and the phone number to reach Melanie, wanting to let her sister know that they had landed in London safely and to check in on Ferris.

“Hello?” Melanie’s voice came through clearly and tears smarted in Jenna’s eyes at the sound.

“Lenni,” she smiled. “It’s Jenna. How are things?”

Melanie’s familiar laugh burbled over the phone and, though muffled, Jenna heard her sister call for Ferris. “Things are good… well, as good as they can be considering Vaughn is a stone statue and you’re half way around the world from me. How was the flight?”

“I slept through most of it,” Jenna admitted. “And then I slept most of the day away, too. How’s Ferris? Is she causing any trouble?”

“I love having her, Jenna. I think you should plan on staying away for a month so I can keep her.” Melanie laughed lightly before adding, “Of course she misses you but she’s holding up; she’s a real trooper. Oh! Before I forget – her grandparents want to take her to Florida next week and I wanted to clear it with you before I said yes.”

“That’s kind of last minute….”

“I know but they said they got a really good deal and are planning on taking the whole family,” Melanie expounded. “All of her cousins will be there and I think it would be good for her.”

“Of course she can go,” Jenna said, her stomach tightening at the thought of her baby growing up and becoming more independent as time went on.

“They were really hoping you could go, too,” Melanie continued. “And now I feel bad for making you go on this quest.”

Laughter rippled out of Jenna’s mouth before she could stop it, “Like you had to twist my arm to make me fly off to Europe and spend time with a gorgeous man.

“So, you like him?” Her sister’s voice bubbled with enthusiasm. Without waiting for an answer, Lenni squealed, “I knew you’d like him! Have you guys done it yet? Is he a fantastic lover?”

“Lenni!” Jenna scolded, laughing a bit hysterically. “We haven’t… done… anything yet.”

“Oh.”

The one syllable was laden with disappointment and Jenna felt the need to explain, “We weren’t alone on the plane and we arrived just as the sun was rising so there really hasn’t been time. Besides, I barely just met the man.”

“I had sex with Vaughn only a few hours after I met him.” Melanie laughed slightly, though there was a certain wistful quality to it. “Actually, I molested him in his gargoyle form before I ever even spoke to him. I think Rhys will be good for you.”

“Lenni,” Jenna warned. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

“They’re already up, Jenna, you must know that,” Melanie said fervently. “Aha! Here’s Ferris and she’s making faces trying to make me give her the phone.”

“Melanie….”

“Mommy!” Ferris’s sweet voice shattered her ear drum and she had to forget her conversation with Melanie and concentrate on her daughter. What Melanie had said was true: Jenna just didn’t want to think about what was happening between her and Rhys. “I am having the bestest time! Aunt Mellie let me style her hair and eat ice cream, but only after I ate my oatmeal. She says we can go to the animal shelter one of these days and pick out a puppy or a kitty for Mr. Armand and I miss you and Mr. Rhys… and Mr. Vaughn. Sometimes Aunt Mellie cries but when I ask her about it she tells me she’s not crying but she is. I think she could use a puppy, too, but she says that we’ll worry about that when the time comes….”

Ferris stream-of-conscious conversation made Jenna smile, even as she tried to keep up with her little girl’s topics. Her heart ached as it filled full to bursting with love for her daughter; Ferris was such an amazing child and it was thanks to Melanie for being such a huge part of Ferris’s life. What would have life been like had Melanie decided to pursue her goals instead of staying home? Jenna didn’t want to think about it, knowing Ferris would be a much different character had Melanie not been there.

The familiar pressure in her chest flared up and Jenna rubbed the tender spot. She wasn’t going to waste any more time worrying about what could have been. Her daughter was too important to her and when she got home she was going to make up for lost time. With Jenna’s introduction into the supernatural world she had something more to connect over with Ferris.

As she sat on the patio overlooking the private courtyard below, Jenna stared off into the distance as the sky began to darken. After she hung up the phone, she opened her door and found a tray of food laid out before her. Remembering Trixie’s words from earlier, she thought it might be better to keep to her room until sun down, in case the fairies were hanging around and decided to have some fun. Despite Trixie’s assurances that they couldn’t harm her beneath the Guardians’ roof she didn’t want to take the chance of them following her out the door to try something.

So she gathered up the tray and took the food onto the balcony to enjoy at the little outside table, breathing in the air. It was chilly and overcast but she didn’t care because she was in London. If she tilted her head back she could just make out the tip of one of the gargoyle’s wings, until it became too dark to see and the wing tip disappeared. She knew they would be changing soon.

Eventually the air around her altered, becoming almost electric, and she knew Rhys had come down from the roof. Inhaling deeply of the twilight air, she took a moment to calm her racing pulse and her fluttery nerves. She pictured the night to come and smiled slightly because tonight she was going to throw all caution to the wind and get Rhys into her bed, dragging him if need be. After her talk with Melanie she no longer wanted to wait. She knew how short life was and she wanted Rhys and her entire body buzzed in anticipation and shivers of excitement chased each other beneath her skin. She wanted to feel his lips against her throat, his body against hers. She wanted Rhys.

Turning, she leaned her back against the rail as he strode across the sumptuous room, looking incredibly sexy in a pair of khakis and a button-down shirt that was completely unbuttoned, showcasing his incredible torso. He had flat, clearly defined abs and a light dusting of hair on his chest. His skin was the same gold-kissed shade of his face, his natural color despite the glorious auburn hair that no longer hung loosely and unbound to his waist. As he walked he looked like a romance cover model come to life, all sex and swagger.

As her eyes drifted lower, over the bulge in his pants, she noticed that he wasn’t wearing any shoes. He had long, elegant feet, which she found just as sexy as the rest of him. Geez, she had it bad if she found his naked feet sexy. Leisurely dragging her eyes back up his body, she smiled in appreciation; she had never seen such a well-formed man and for now he was all hers.

“You didn’t go out,” he said, stepping onto the patio and putting his hands on her waist, warming her with a simple touch. “Is everything all right?”

She smiled sheepishly as she admitted, “I was going to walk around the neighborhood and just absorb the atmosphere, maybe sketch a little, but I fell asleep.”

He brushed him thumb along her cheek, the touch so achingly tender she wondered how she would survive falling in love with him, if she were foolish enough to do so. “My brothers wish to take me out for a night on the town.”

Her heart stuttered as disappointment ate at her and she took a small step back. Offering a smile that felt too much like a grimace, she looked up at him, “Then you should go. I’m sure I can find something to keep me occupied.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he murmured, closing the distance she had put between them and gathering her into his arms. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured, “I told them that it would only take me a moment to get you… unless you don’t want to go?”

Her lips spread into a wide grin, eager to spend the night in Rhys’s company, to see the nightlife of London with him by her side. Standing up on her tip toes, she pressed a kiss against the strong column of his throat, “I want to go.”

He inhaled sharply, bending his head and capturing her lips in a heated kiss. She slid her hands up over his bare torso, over the hard muscles of his chest, and around his neck, holding him to her as he kissed her with a desperation she recognized. Seven years of loneliness fueled her hunger and she drowned in his kiss.

Tearing his mouth from hers, breathing heavily, he rested his forehead against hers, “We should get ready to go.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, staring at his damp lower lip, mesmerized by the way it glistened in the low light. Moistening her own lips with the tip of her tongue, she captured the succulent masculine flesh between her teeth and gently bit down, soothing the bite with her tongue.

Rhys’s groan filled her ears, driving her wild with the need to be a part of him. Grabbing her wrists, he pried her arms away from his body and then stared down at her, his eyes darkening as they moved over her face. With another groan, he offered a sexy smile, “We have a few minutes.”

“Will that be enough time?” His scent filled her head as her eyes drifted to the gold-kissed skin of his taut chest, the light dusting of hair and the hard brown discs of his nipples. She lightly scraped her nails over his nipples, watching as the small buds tightened in response, as his stomach muscles clenched.