Chapter 13
Sammy
As we stood in my room like two teenagers who’d snuck away to make out, the door clicking shut behind us with a finality that made my heart race.
Gavrel’s wings kept making small fluttery movements I hadn’t seen before. His tail twitched, wrapping around his own leg then unwrapping. He ran his hand through his hair, snagging strands on his horns.
“So,” I said, my voice higher than normal. “I’m on the pill.”
He nodded, studying my face.
“I… I’ve been on it since I had Corey though there hasn’t been anyone else.”
“I haven’t been with anyone in so long, I don’t remember when.”
“Do I get frequent flyer miles for all this aerial transportation?” I blurted it out.
His wings spread, then folded against his spine, his lips quirking up on both corners. “I could create a rewards program. Every tenth flight earns you a free chainsaw demonstration.”
“Tempting.”
We both laughed, the sound breaking some of the tension.
I’d seen him confident, commanding even. Watched him sculpt with absolute certainty and fly with effortless grace. I found this nervous version of Gavrel endearing. Like he cared enough about getting this right to be scared of messing it up.
He took a step toward me. His wing clipped the lamp on my nightstand, sending it wobbling. Leaping sideways, he caught it
“Merde,” he growled.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
He stepped away from the lamp, his wings tucked tighter against his back, like he was trying to make himself smaller. Which was impossible given his size.
“Do you need a bigger room?” I asked, grinning.
His ears darkened, his usual charcoal gray deepening. “This is not going smoothly.”
“I don’t know. I’m finding it pretty charming.”
He took another step toward me. His tail wrapped around the leg of my dresser without him seeming to notice.
I crossed the distance between us, done waiting, rising to my tiptoes to touch his wing where it joined his shoulder blade. The membrane felt soft, like suede that had been worn smooth.
He sucked in a breath, his whole body going rigid. His wings spread wide, knocking over the picture frame sitting on my dresser.
“Oh,” I said, wonder flooding through me. “They’re sensitive.”
“Very.” The word came out rough.
I traced along the edge, watching his reaction. His pupils dilated until his eyes were almost black. His tail had gone completely still, frozen mid-wrap around one of the bedposts.
“Should I stop?” I asked.
“Please don’t.”
I stroked my hands across his chest, undoing most of the buttons to reach skin. My fingers seemed tiny compared to this male. I spread them wide and still couldn’t cover even a fraction of the surface.
“You’re so big,” I said.
His hands went to my waist, nearly spanning it completely. “And you’re so small.”
The size difference had been obvious before, but having his hands on me drove it home. He could break me easily. But the careful way he touched me told me he never would.
I explored the texture of his skin, fascinated by how it changed. Smooth in some places, rougher in others. Warm everywhere I touched, like sun-heated stone.
“How do shirts even work with wings?” I asked, tugging at the fabric.
He laughed, his tension breaking slightly. “Slits in the back. Custom tailored. It’s expensive and annoying.”
“Let me help.”
I tugged his shirt out of his pants and finished undoing the rest of the front buttons. He stood still, letting me work. When I pushed the fabric off his shoulders, I had to undo more buttons in the back and maneuver it around his wings. He helped, shifting and adjusting until it fell to the floor.
His chest was broader than it had seemed when I watched him carve. The stone texture continued, revealing patterns I wanted to trace with my fingers and tongue.
“I’ve been wanting this since the irrigation repair day,” he said quietly.
I looked up at him. “Even when I was covered in dirt after working in the gardens?”
“Especially then. You had a smudge on your cheek, and you were so focused, so competent. I wanted to kiss you right there.”
Warmth flooded through me. “You should have.”
“I didn’t want to presume.”
His hands went to the back zipper of my dress. “May I?”
I nodded.
He pulled the zipper down slowly, the whir loud in the quiet room. He pushed the fabric off my shoulders and down over my hips, letting it pool at my feet. I stepped out of it, aware I was standing in my underwear in front of a gargoyle who looked at me like I was precious.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“It’s dark in here.”
“You are,” he growled.
I reached behind to unhook my bra. His eyes tracked the movement, his wings spreading wider.
When I dropped it to the floor, his tail did the slow swish behind him that I’d learned meant he was happy.
I explored his chest, his shoulders, and the place where his wings connected to his back. He trembled under my hands, his breathing going ragged.
His fingers skimmed up my sides. When he cupped my breasts, his palms felt warm, textured, and perfect.
I made a sound I didn’t recognize.
“Okay?” he asked, his hands pausing.
“Very much so.”
He bent down, his mouth finding mine. This kiss was different than before. Deeper. Needier. When he slid his tongue across my lower lip, I opened for him.
We broke apart.
“May I taste you?” he asked.
It took my brain a second to process what he meant. When it did, heat pooled low in my belly.
“Yes.”
He guided me to the bed, his hands on my hips. When I sat, he knelt between my legs, his wings spreading for balance.
The sight of him kneeling did something to me. All that power and strength, focused entirely on my pleasure.
He hooked his fingers in my underwear, looking up at me first. I lifted my hips and he slid them down, setting them carefully aside.
His hands glided up my thighs, the texture of his skin sending shivers through me. When he spread me wide, his claws retracted completely, leaving only the pads of his fingers.
“Beautiful,” he said again.
Then I was falling back on the bed, and his mouth was on me. Thinking became impossible.
His tongue was textured, not human-smooth. The sensation was overwhelming. Too much and not enough all at once.
His tail curled around my thigh, and his wings created a cocoon around us, blocking out the rest of the world until nothing existed except this.
My hands went to his horns, holding tight. He made a sound against me that vibrated through my entire body.
“Gavrel—”
He pulled back enough to speak. “Tell me what you want from me, chérie.”
“Don’t stop.”
His mouth worked magic, his tongue finding spots that made me shake. One hand slid up to play with my breast while the other held my hips steady.
The pressure built and built until I was making sounds I’d never made before, gripping his horns hard enough it probably hurt.
He didn’t complain. Just kept going until I shattered, pleasure rolling through me in waves.
When I could think again, he was pressing kisses to my inner thighs, his hands soothing on my hips.
“I want all of you,” I said. “Please.”
He rose, climbing onto the bed beside me, tugging me up to lie with him. I turned into him, working the fastenings of his pants.
Once I’d opened the front, I pushed his pants down. He helped, kicking them off along with everything else until we were both naked.
I’d known he must be big. I hadn’t quite comprehended what that meant until now.
He must have seen something on my face because his wings tucked closer to his body. “We don’t have to—”
“I want to.” I touched him, fascinated by the texture, the heat of his rigid cock. “I’m just thinking about the logistics.”
“I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“I know you won’t.”
He eased me back onto the bed again, his body covering mine without crushing me. The weight of him felt right. Safe.
His wings spread, bracing his body while creating a private space for us. His tail curled around my calf, holding tight.
“We’ll go slow,” he said. “Tell me if anything doesn’t feel right.”
I nodded.
He took his time, using his fingers to prepare me, checking in constantly. His patience was maddening and exactly what I needed.
When he finally positioned himself, we were both shaking.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He pushed in slowly, so slowly, watching my face the entire time. The stretch was intense, bordering on too much.
He stopped. “Okay?”
“Keep going.”
He did, inch by careful inch until he was fully seated. We both froze, breathing hard.
“Oh,” I said.
“Oh,” he agreed.
It shouldn’t work. The size difference alone should make this impossible. But somehow we fit perfectly.
He started to move, slow and careful, his eyes never leaving mine, our gazes locked as he built a rhythm.
His stone skin warmed under my hands where I gripped his shoulders. His wings trembled with the effort of holding back. His tail remained around my calf, tugging it up into the air to spread me wider.
“You feel amazing,” he said, his voice ragged. “So beautiful.”
I pulled him down for a kiss, needing to be closer even though we couldn’t get much closer than this. He surrounded me completely, sheltering me with his body and wings.
The angle shifted and I gasped, digging my nails into his shoulders.
“There?” he asked.
“There.”
He adjusted, hitting that spot with every thrust. The pressure built again, different from before, deeper.
His rhythm faltered, his control slipping. I could see the effort it took to stay gentle, to not let his strength overwhelm me.
“It’s okay to let go,” I said. “I won’t break.”
“I could hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
Something in my certainty must have reached him because his next thrust was harder, more confident. I moaned, arching into him.
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
We found a new rhythm, harder and faster. His wings spread wide enough that the tips touched each wall, and his tail tightened its grip on my leg. Curled forward, he buried his face in my neck, breathing hard against my skin.
I felt claimed, cherished, and completely safe even as he lost control. This powerful male chose to be gentle with me, trusted me enough to give into his need.
The pressure peaked. My second climax hit sharper than the first, making me cry out. He followed seconds later, whispering my name.
We stayed locked together, catching our breath. His weight pressed me into the mattress, and I loved feeling surrounded and protected.
Eventually he shifted, starting to pull away. I tightened my legs around him.
“Stay.”
“I’m crushing you.”
“I don’t care.”
He compromised, rolling us so I was draped across his chest, his wings wrapping around us like a blanket. His tail eased up to curl around my thigh.
I snuggled into his side, my head on his shoulder, one leg thrown over his.
We were quiet for a while, just breathing together. He stroked my back.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” he said quietly.
My chest tightened. “Me neither.”
“I know you’re scared. That your judgment about men makes you doubt this.”
“I’m terrified,” I said. “But I’m also falling for you. I have been, maybe since we met the day of the wedding..”
His arms tightened around me. “I’m falling too. Have fallen, more accurately.”
“What does this mean?”
“Whatever we want it to mean.”
I lifted my head to look at him. “I want it to mean something. Not just sex, though that was—”
“Incredible.”
“Very incredible.” I settled back against his chest. “But more than that.”
“More than that,” he said. “You and Corey are everything I will ever need.”
“You’re sure? Because once Corey gets attached, he won’t let go easily. And honestly, neither will I.”
“I’m sure.” He kissed the top of my head. “Though we might need bigger furniture.”
I laughed, the sound muffled against his chest. “The wing logistics are going to be interesting.”
“It’s worth figuring out.”
His wing adjusted, tucking more snugly around me. The membrane felt soft against my skin.
“How do we sleep like this?” I asked.
“I’m flexible.”
“You’re seven feet tall with a wingspan that could probably carry a small car.”
“Minor details.”
I poked his chest. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You like it.”
I did. I really, really did.
He got up and went to the bathroom, returning with a wet washcloth. After carefully washing me, he tossed the cloth into the hamper and climbed back into bed.
We arranged ourselves more comfortably, him on his back with me curled against his side. One wing stayed draped over me while the other folded against the mattress. His tail coiled around my leg, and I liked the weight of it, the constant physical connection.
“The meeting with Virginia is in four days,” I said quietly.
“We’ll handle it.”
“And the house?”
“I’m putting in the offer the moment Mason returns to town. He’s away with a family emergency. The house is close enough that I can be here in minutes if you need me.”
“What if I need you more than just for emergencies?”
His hand found mine, lacing our fingers together. The size difference was stark, but somehow we fit.
“Then I’ll be there for that too. For dinner and homework help and watching Corey build Lego empires. For early morning coffee and late-night talks and everything in between.”
My throat closed up with emotion. “You mean that.”
“Every word.”
I believed him. Maybe I was being foolish, but I believed him.
His breathing evened out, and I thought he’d fallen asleep until he spoke again.
“Sammy?”
“Yeah?”
“I love being with you like this.”
I kissed his chest. “So do I.”
His wing tightened around me.
I let myself drift, safe and warm and happier than I’d been in longer than I could remember. Tomorrow would bring reality back, Virginia and lawyers and all the complications of building something real.
But tonight, wrapped in wings and held by someone who looked at me like I was special, I let myself just be.