Chapter 2
Chapter 2
S he didn’t know what to expect after she accepted Silas’s offer, but it wasn’t for Idris to wrap his massive arms around her and give her a gentle hug. The vampire pulled out his phone and started tapping on it quickly while Reed kept his head on her lap and let out a purring sigh.
“You’ll like the house. It’s well fortified with wards.” Idris’s gravelly voice sounded surprisingly happy.
“We’ve got an amazing kitchen,” Reed said from her lap. “Have you eaten dinner? I can make you something. If you tell me what you like, I can have the ingredients delivered to the house by the time we get there.”
“It’s after ten at night,” Idris grumbled. “She should’ve eaten dinner hours ago.”
Reed wasn’t deterred. “If she already had dinner, then I can make us all a late-night snack.” He lifted his head to give Silas a salacious grin. “And I can be part of the snack.”
Silas snorted but didn’t look up from his phone. “You’re my most favorite snack, Reed. If you’re a good pup, I’ll make you scream later.”
“I’m always good,” Reed purred, sliding his gaze to Cassi.
“When are we leaving?” Idris asked, looking at Silas. “Cassi’s human. She’s probably tired and needs rest.”
Silas didn’t look up from his phone. “Ask Reed to get the car, and he can call us when he’s out front.”
With fluid grace, Reed stood up and touched the brim of an imaginary hat. “I’ll go fetch the car, gov’ner!” he declared in a very bad, but jaunty, British accent. Then he leaned over to look her in the face. “Please don’t worry about your sister, okay? Silas will take care of everything. He’s good at that.”
Before she could think of an answer, Reed was gone. No sooner had Reed disappeared through the door than Silas’s phone rang.
“The reception in here is horrible, and I need to take this,” he said. “I’ll meet you out front.”
Answering the phone he walked out of the room. Now it was only her and Idris.
Idris was searching the floor. “It’s got to be here somewhere. I hope I didn’t step on it—there it is!”
She looked over to see what he’d found. It was a cell phone sitting among pieces of shredded jeans. As she watched, a long tail curled around the phone and lifted it up to deposit it into Idris’s clawed hand.
She was transfixed by that tail. Without thinking, she reached out to touch it. The appendage went perfectly still as she ran her fingers over the blunt end.
Slowly, the tail slid over the back of her hand and wrapped around her wrist and palm. It was incredibly warm, and she could feel the ropes of hard muscles under the soft skin.
“Unlike my claws and horns, my tail isn’t a weapon,” he murmured. “It’s for balance and acts as an extra hand when I need it.”
She started stroking the tail with her other hand. “I bet you n-n-never t-t-take more than one t-t-trip to carry in groceries.”
He laughed. “Never. But honestly, Reed does most of the grocery shopping. He loves cooking and feeding me. With you, he’ll have even more people to shop and cook for.”
The conversation was strangely normal considering she was currently sitting on a gargoyle’s lap and petting his tail.
Idris’s phone buzzed. “That’s Reed. He’s waiting for us out front.”
Before she could say anything, Idris gathered her in his arms and stood up, cradling her against his broad chest.
“I’m going to carry you,” Idris said. It sounded final so she didn’t protest.
Silas had left the door to the meeting room open, so Idris was able to talk right out and down the hall to the open stairs. Feeling the cooler air reminded Cassi of all the ruined clothing on the floor behind them.
“You’re n-n-naked!” she reminded him, wiggling a little in his arms. Then she realized that wasn’t the most shocking thing going on. “And you’re a gar-gar-gargoyle! We can’t go outside l-l-l-like th-th-this.”
He didn’t loosen his hold on her. “No one will see me. Vampires and gargoyles have magic that naturally obscures our shifted forms. I won’t be noticed.”
“Does that mean th-th-they’re going to see me floating in th-th-the air?” she asked, calming down.
“They won’t see you either,” he explained. “My aura is enveloping you.”
By now, they were at the glass doors at the front of the quiet office building. There was a security guard sitting behind a desk, but he didn’t even look up from his phone. The automatic doors slid open and beyond them was Reed standing next to a large SUV holding a back door open. Silas was already in the front passenger seat talking on his phone.
“Thanks,” Idris said as he climbed in with her still in his arms. She could see the vehicle had been modified so Idris could fit even in his gargoyle form. There seemed to be a row of seats missing, giving the gargoyle plenty of room to stretch out his legs. He still had to hunch down a little to keep his horns from hitting the ceiling though.
Reed gently closed the door and hurried around the vehicle to the driver side. Silas finished his call as Reed started up the SUV. The vampire didn’t look up and went back to texting with a slight frown.
“We live about fifteen minutes from here,” Reed said as he maneuvered out of the parking lot. “It’s a nice property. Before I found Silas and Idris, I was livin’ in a house with three other pack members. It was fun, but a little crowded. Now I’ve got all the space, but it can get a little quiet when both the guys are busy. It’ll be nice to have another person there.”
“I-I-I-I’m only going to b-b-b-be there for one n-n-night,” Cassie pointed out, frustrated at her stuttering. This was the worst.
Reed wasn’t fazed by her reminder. “We’ll see. I notice you stutter. It doesn’t bother me, but I can tell it upsets you. Is there anything I can do to help besides telling you I don’t think it’s a big deal?”
Cassi blinked, surprised by Reed’s question. Most people got impatient and tried to finish her sentence for her. She’d even had people get annoyed and walk away in the middle of a conversation. She’d been asked if her stuttering was caused by childhood trauma or a blow to the head. No one had simply accepted her and asked what they could do to make her more comfortable.
“I can see you’re surprised by Reed’s question,” Idris said. “That makes me sad that you haven’t been treated with the kindness you deserve. None of us care about the stuttering. Everyone has a unique speech pattern. This is yours.”
“I’ve got a bit of Texas twang,” Reed agreed. “And when Silas gets pissed, he’ll get this really thick accent that reminds me of a Lebanese fellow I knew.”
“It’s true, we don’t mind how you speak,” Silas said, finally looking up from his phone. “The only thing that concerns me is if it’s happening because you’re afraid of us.”
Reed stopped at a red light, then looked over his shoulder at her with a frown. “Are we scarin’ you?”
“Not much,” she said, knowing better than to try and say little right now. She had trouble with that word at the best of times. At the moment, words starting with Ls, Ts, and especially Ss weren’t her friends!
“Yeah, I guess that’s not suprisin’,” Reed said, looking upset. “I don’t suppose sayin’ we’d never hurt you would help. We’ll just have to prove it.”
The light turned green, and Reed refocused on driving while keeping up a running commentary about the house and neighborhood. Soon, they pulled up to an intimidating security gate that slowly swung open for them. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but a miniature castle wasn’t it.
It didn’t look like the warm and sociable Reed belonged here, but the place was fitting for Silas and especially Idris. Did he like to stand on the roof looking scary like gargoyles of legend?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Idris said with a sigh. “I don’t need someplace to perch because I turn to stone during the day. I like this place because the crazy guy who built it made the walls of stone two feet thick and even built a massive basement. I asked Silas to buy it because the place is easy to defend and hard to destroy.”
“Don’t feel bad, darlin’,” Reed said with a chuckle as he parked in the front of the castle. “Everyone asks about Idris and perchin’ on the roof!”
Had she species profiled Idris? “S-s-s-sorry,” she whispered.
“No need to be sorry,” he assured her. “Even those who were born into our world ask. I blame the old cartoon.”
She nodded her head as Silas got out and opened the door for her and Idris. He’d finally put away his phone and had a satisfied expression on his face.
“Don’t be intimidated,” he said. “It’s very different on the inside.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. Idris easily got out of the SUV with her still in his arms. She knew it was probably pointless, but she tried again.
“I can walk,” she said, surprised she didn’t stutter.
To her surprise, Silas spoke up. “You should put her down, Idris. It might make her feel more comfortable.”
“No,” Idris said, turning slightly away as if Silas was going to pull her away from the gargoyle.
“Idris,” Silas said. His tone sounded very much like a father gently insisting his child be polite. “Do as I ask.”
The gargoyle let out a sigh, then slowly lowered her to her feet. She stumbled a little, surprised to find her legs were slightly wobbly.
“Easy,” Silas murmured, grabbing her arm to steady her. “Maybe I shouldn’t have insisted Idris set you down.”
Being carried by Idris hadn’t been a bad experience, but it felt nice to stand on her own feet.
“I’m f–f-fine,” she promised, trying to smile up at him. It must not have been a convincing smile because his concerned expression turned into a frown.
She felt movement at her back and turned to see Idris swooping in to pick her up again. She reacted instinctively.
“No!” she stated firmly, pulling her arm out of Silas’s grip and stepping back.
The gargoyle flinched back as if she’d threatened to hit him. “I was only going to carry you,” he said plaintively.
Reed came up behind the giant and jumped on his back. Wrapping his arms around the gargoyle’s neck, the wolf shifter nuzzled the base of a horn. “I know I ain’t all delicate and pretty like Cassi, but you can carry me!”
The gargoyle’s hurt expression exploded into a smile. He reached back to grab Reed and flipped him over his shoulder. He didn’t let the wolf fall. Muscles bulged as he shifted Reed around until the shifter was cradled against Idris’s chest just as Cassi had been.
Reed smiled and snuggled close. “This is the best,” he declared.
Watching this exchange helped Cassi relax. Reed was delightfully energetic, like a big puppy. Instead of being annoyed by his antics, Idris was patient and loving. It was the kind of relationship she’d always wanted but hadn’t found.
“Everyone inside,” Silas said, wrapping his warm hand around her upper arm again. The touch was comforting instead of forceful and made Cassi want to press against his side.
How had she gone from being terrified to relaxed in less than an hour?
At Silas’s words, Reed gave Idris a quick kiss, then bounced out of the gargoyle’s arms. “I think you’re gonna love the blue room!” he declared as he bounded up the short flight of stairs to the front door. Pushing open the massive wooden double door, he rushed up a grand staircase. “Let me go check to make sure everything’s good. I’ll meet you guys in the kitchen. I’m hungry so that means we’re all eatin’!”
“Reed’s love language is food,” Idris said as he walked to her other side.
“Woah!” she gasped. In the few moments she hadn’t been looking at him, he’d shifted back to his human form.
With the shift, the bit of cloth still clinging to his frame had dropped away and made him seem even more naked.
Cassi knew her face was bright red as she forced herself to look straight ahead. “You might want t-t-to put c-c-clothes on.”
“I guess I could,” Idris agreed, sounding confused. “I’ll be right back.” Then he bounded up the stairs after Reed. Cassi gave herself permission to watch those muscles flex as he took three stairs at a time. She was actually surprised his dick didn’t smack the floor as he went because his human form was almost as well-endowed as his gargoyle form.
“I can assure you that they’re both equally beautiful when they’re naked,” Silas murmured. “It takes my breath away every time I see them flushed with desire and moaning. My gargoyle and wolf are the most beautiful men I’ve ever known, and I’ve met a lot of people in my long life.”
It was both titillating and sweet to hear Silas talk this way.
“You’re nice too,” she said. It was true, Silas might not be as handsome as Reed or as big as Idris, but he exuded a comforting charm that put her at ease. The way he treated Reed and Idris with tender firmness made her think of a benevolent father figure with plenty of naughty daddy thrown in.
Wait, where did naughty daddy come from? And more importantly, was it accurate for Silas?
Did he do the ordering around in bed? What kinds of things would he command them all to do? Her mind filled with X-rated images that might make some porn stars blush.
“I’d love to know what’s going on in your head right now,” Salis murmured as he led her down a hall. “Your heartbeat had been steady since the car ride, but it suddenly sped up.”
“N-n-nothing!” she denied.
“If you tell me, I can make sure it comes true,” he said.
She shook her head. If he did even half the things that popped into her head, she might not survive the night. At least she’d die with a smile on her face!