Stone Passions Trilogy (92 page)

All of them looked at her, one with a knowing smirk. Of course, Michael thought everything was one giant lark and didn’t take much of anything seriously. Smacking Michael’s leg to get him to scoot over, she sat down on the couch, her heart racing a million miles an hour in her chest. Did something happen to him? But, no, if there was something wrong with Armand they wouldn’t be hanging out in the living room talking and laughing, and in the case of the three young gargoyles, getting ready to head out for the night.

“He’s on the roof,” Raphe answered softly, watching her with compassionate violet eyes, making her stomach clench in dread that somehow he knew about her and Armand. She was being silly. Raphe looked at her with compassion because he loved her and they were friends. There was no hidden meaning in his expression. After all, she was the one keeping a secret, a deliciously wonderful secret.

“Oh.” She knew it was a lame response but she was trying to figure out a way to excuse herself so she could head up to the roof without appearing too eager to see her lover. God, she loved the sound of that! Armand was her lover. They were lovers. A silly, loopy smile started to curve her lips but she pulled it back so it was just sort of a crooked half-grin. She glanced at the clock that hung on the wall and wondered how long she would have to wait before she could leave.

“We’re heading over to mom and dad's for the weekend,” Melanie said, her free arm wrapped around Vaughn’s waist. He had one arm wrapped around her and the other protectively on Alex’s shoulder. The four of them made a picture perfect family and even after fifteen years Melanie and Vaughn couldn’t stand being apart from one another for more than a few minutes. “Do you want to join us?”

Ferris loved spending time at her grandparent's but she needed to talk with Armand. With a regretful smile, she shook her head no, “I'd love to, but I have to work this weekend and I also plan on finishing up my painting.”

Jenna kneeled in front of her and gave her a hug, which was only a little awkward since Ferris was still sitting. “If you change your mind we’d love to have you join us. Mom and dad would love to see you.”

“If I get a chance I'll stop by, Jenna,” Ferris murmured, returning her mother’s hug, breathing in the warm, familiar scent and closing her eyes in contentment.

Jenna let out an almost painful sigh, “I wish you’d call me mom when we’re at home.”

Ferris offered a conciliatory smile, “When you stopped aging we agreed that this was for the best. If I call you mom at home I’ll screw up and call you mom in public.”

Jenna heaved another pained sigh, sorrow filling her eyes as she looked at her daughter. Brushing a strand of dark hair from her face, she cupped Ferris’s cheek in her slender palm, “You are an amazing woman, Ferris. Do you know how much I love you?”

“I love you, too, Jenna,” Ferris murmured, blushing slightly. Jenna pulled her into another quick hug before the four adults and two kids made their exit.

After they were gone, Ferris let out a long breath and tried to decide how much time she needed to spend with the three remaining gargoyles before she could escape to the roof. They usually spent their nights out on the town, keeping an eye on everything, even though the dynamics between all of the species had changed dramatically when the veil had been lifted just a few years prior. The change hadn’t affected Ferris much since she had been immersed in magic her entire life. It also hadn’t given her the vindication for the virulent teasing from her childhood since so many of her former tormentors had so much to deal with when the creatures of mythology stepped out into their world. She doubted any of them even made the connection between what they perceived as her odd behavior and their new reality.

“Hey, Ferris,” Michael taunted. Turning her head she met his sparkling green eyes. His eyes were darker than Armand’s, there were no shadows in the emerald depths and they stood out in a face surround by white blond hair. He was exotically beautiful, like a wild cat prowling the pride lands, which made sense since he was a white lion in his gargoyle form. Even though he was only four years older than her, he had always been most insistent that he was a white lion and not a regular lion,

Because they were so close in age, Michael, Leo, Raphe and herself, their relationship was more akin to that of siblings than play mates. The three boys loved to tease her and plague her and generally make her life as miserable as possible but she knew that they would defend her against anyone who tried to abuse her in any way. It was just unfortunate that they were marble statues during the day; the three of them could have made her aforementioned school days bearable. Of course they never knew the extent of her difficulties. That honor was saved for Armand and Ajreis. To them, she was simply Ferris, the lone human in a castle full of supernatural beings.

“What, Michael?” she asked in exasperation. Even though they had barely spoken more than a few words she was already wary. He just brought that out in her.

“If you’re going to sneak lovers into your studio you should really clean up after yourself,” he whispered for her ears alone, covertly putting a piece of silky material into her hand. Flames engulfed her skin as she curled her fingers around her ruined panties and Michael’s wicked laughter only made it worse. Leaning closer so his breath fanned over her skin, he added softly, “I’m dying to know how you were able to sneak a lover into your studio without any of the grouches discovering it. You have some sterling silver balls, Ferris.”

Brazening it out, she glared at him, “What were you doing in my studio, Michael? You know you’re not supposed to go in there, especially when I am working on a project.”

His wicked smile grew, “I didn't go in. These were outside the door."

She thought about the mess she hadn't had time to clean up and she held her breath as she asked, "You didn't go in there, did you?"

He gave her a funny look but shook his head no, “Your little imp wouldn’t let me. He is very protective of your privacy, you know. He wouldn’t even tell me the name of your lover.”

Her breath had caught in her throat. It had never occurred to her that Ajreis wouldn’t tell though it should have come as no surprise. After all, he was the one who helped plan the seduction. If she had been thinking straight she would have realized that he was probably the one who kept everyone away from the studio while she had been, er, working. “Of course he protects me. He was assigned that task when I was a child.”

Michael shook his head and gazed at her with pity, “I think he’s in love with you.”

Ferris stared at him for a long moment, wondering at the bizarre workings of his mind, before she burst out in laughter. Ajreis was as much a brother to her as Michael and the other two. The thought of any feelings of romance was ludicrous. Michael’s frown only made her laugh harder, which made him huffier.

“What’s so funny?” Leo asked, gazing at the laughing Ferris and the scowling Michael with sparkling and curious golden eyes. Because his form was a liger when the sun was up, or maybe just because he won the genetic lottery, he was the largest of all of the Nostuntres brothers, standing close to six foot eight in his human form and weighing two hundred and forty pounds, all of it pure muscle. He was massive and fierce looking and the sweetest kitty cat in the world unless provoked. Then he was frighteningly powerful and lethal.

Ferris turned to him and simply smiled. He was three years older than her but infinitely more mature than Michael. She figured it was because Michael was jealous of Leo’s five extra inches, which was ridiculous because all of them towered over most humans. “Michael is just delusional.”

Leo nodded his head in amused agreement, “He does get that way.”

“It’s what happens when you let your dick do all of your thinking,” Raphe added, his violet eyes laughing with quiet mirth. Of the three terrors, Raphe was an enigma: incredibly intelligent, terribly introverted, and extraordinarily beautiful with his blue black hair and angelic face. He was the very essence of innocence, which made women desperate to corrupt him. Despite the fact that he loomed over her by a foot, Ferris felt a deeply protective instinct towards him, often taking the brunt of his brothers’ teasing to spare him when they were growing up. He watched the world with his violet eyes, as if he could figure everything out if he just stared hard enough. Out of the three of them, she was probably the closest to him and they had a strong friendship.

“What would you know?” Michael scowled, the muscles in his jaw clenching. “You’re just a bloody virgin. The very last one in this room!”

Two sets of eyes turned to her, accusations darkening the jeweled depths of gold and amethyst eyes. Leo’s jaw tightened and he seemed to expand in size, sucking the air out of the room and turning into a ferocious protector,  the combination of a liger and a gargoyle, “Is this true, Ferris?”

She didn’t want to lie but she also wanted to keep what she had with Armand to herself for a while longer. Leaning back against the cushions, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and firmed her expression, “It’s none of your business.”

“Ferris,” Raphe murmured, looking at her with those soulful eyes, eyes that saw way too much. It was difficult to fathom that he was the same age as her when he had the wisdom of the ancients in his purple eyes. How could he be so wise and so innocent at the same time? He held her gaze and her body stilled, easily falling under his spell. Even knowing it was a spell and that he very rarely used it she had difficulty resisting, which meant she wanted to share her secret.

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs away, she smiled brilliantly at the three gargoyles and stood up. Planting a kiss on Raphe’s cheek, she laughed, “You’re not getting anything so stop trying and go do what you do at night.”

With that, she turned with a flourish and started walking away, determined to make her way to the roof within the next three seconds. She ignored them as they called out to her, smiling as giddiness urged her legs to move faster. Hearing one of the gargoyles behind her, she rushed through the door, slamming it shut and locking it behind her.

She was going to see her lover.

Unable to erase the brilliant smile that was almost painful, she slowed her steps as she reached the roof access. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands down the front of her outfit, feeling incredibly gauche now that she was standing so close to her destination. Armand was used to being surrounded by the most beautiful and glamorous women in the world, both human and supernatural. She was wearing a peasant skirt and a pale gold blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the very opposite of gorgeous and fashionable.

Pulling the binder from her hair, she ran her fingers through the thick strands, hoping to give her hair a sexy, tousled look. She undid the top two buttons and then decided to undo the third as well until her breasts were nearly spilling out of her shirt. There wasn’t anything she could do about the skirt so she pushed the door open and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the man who stood there with his back towards her.

Armand was staring out at the city, the wind tousling the dark silk of his hair and making the robe billow out behind him. He looked like a dark hero standing guard over the people of his realm, motionless, vigilant, and… isolated. Power and strength radiated from him, creating a bubble that kept everyone else at a distance but no longer. She had been the one that he had finally let in and she loved him all the more because of it.

“Ferris,” he murmured without turning around, his voice low and emotionless. “I thought you would have gone to your grandparents' house with your family.”

She blushed at the censure in his tone but she ignored it. Crossing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around his taut waist, she rested her forehead between his shoulder blades. “I was hoping we’d have a chance to talk.”

His muscles tensed, his body stiffened, as he coolly murmured, “What is there to talk about? We had sex, it was… good. What more do you want?”

Her brows drew together at the cold, hateful words. “But I thought…. I mean, I gave you my virginity.”

“And I’ve told you that I’ve had virgins, it isn’t a big deal,” he said cruelly. “And if you’re going to get weepy about it then you should have saved it for someone you love.”

“I love you!”

“No, you don’t,” he said warily, sighing in resignation. “You love a fantasy that you’ve created in your own little mind, Ferris. You love an illusion, not me.”

She tightened her hold on him, not understanding this terrible change of personality. He had always been self-contained but never spiteful. And after the past couple of days, after last night, she had thought he… well, that he had fallen in love with her.

Turning in her embrace, he cupped her cheek in his palm and gazed at her with cool, green eyes, “You’re very naïve, Ferris. I should have remembered how very young you were before I fucked you.”

His coarse word to describe what had occurred between them was a vicious slap to her face and she reeled backwards as if his words had the weight of his hand behind them. His words were shards of glass piercing her soul and threatening to tear her apart. She desperately tried to hold onto him, to keep him with her, to keep her soul in one piece. Last night she had experienced something so profound. How could he act as if it meant nothing?

He chuckled, the sound almost mocking, as he drew his thumb over her lower lip. His cool gaze heated and he looked at her with raw emotion. “But you’re so very sweet, I forget myself around you and I made a mistake.”

"Don't do this," she whispered in a shredded voice. "Last night was not a mistake! Don't say it was."

His gaze softened slightly and she saw the despair burning in the back of his jade eyes. "It was a mistake, Ferris, you know that it was. I'm not the man for you."

She felt his penis stir against her belly, swelling and lengthening as he whispered words of poison and looked at her with eyes of hopeless desire. His words and his body’s reaction to her were incongruous and her frown deepened. He was pushing her away but he wanted her, she knew he did.