Chapter 19 #2
“For you, Ace, yes.” He puts his lips to mine, and the emotion I was holding back spills out. A tear rolls down my cheek, landing on Jacques’s chest.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” I say, lips still against Jac’s. “I know how much you want to be human.”
“You’re not asking anything. Let us stay as we are so we can keep you safe, at least for now.
I love you,” he says, so softly I almost don’t hear him.
“I failed before to protect the ones I loved. You asked why I became a priest: that is why. I won’t fail again, Ace.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. ”
Another tear falls, mixing in with our kisses. I feel so much for him right now, for all the guys. They’re so good to me, I almost feel like I don’t deserve any of their affection. Jacques stands, cradling me in his arms as he crosses the kitchen and goes into the library.
Using his foot to close the door behind us, he pushes me up against a bookshelf and kisses me hard.
“My whole life,” he pants between kisses, “I wanted to find someone like you. I wanted to believe in the concept of love and soulmates and husbands and wives. I looked and hoped until my heart became tainted through the sins of those closest to me. And then I gave up.”
He sets me down and unbuttons my pants. My body is reacting to his touch and I’m craving more of it. But my heart wants him as much as the rest of me. I don’t want to just have sex. I want to make love to him, to join together and transcend what we feel.
“And then I met you,” he continues, slowly inching down my pants and underwear at the same time. His fingers brush over my clit and I bring my mouth to his neck, sucking at his skin as he fingers me. I step out of my pants, kicking them aside.
“I gave up on love too,” I moan. “I didn’t let myself get close to anyone because I was scared of getting hurt. You gave me no choice,” I say, tipping my head to his.
“Should I be sorry about that?” He pushes his fingers deeper inside, and my knees weaken.
“Not. At. All.”
I grab Jac’s pants, pulling them down, and drop to my knees. I take his cock in my mouth, sucking him hard. His hand lands on my head, fingers tangling in my hair, and he groans as I run my tongue up and down his shaft. I cup his balls, stopping only when I feel them begin to tighten.
Jacques picks me up and my legs go around him.
The wet tip of his cock pushes against my entrance, and in one swift movement, he pushes inside me, pinning my back to the wall.
My feet rest against his wings as he thrusts in and out, holding me with ease.
I cling to him, overtaken with everything said and done tonight.
He comes only seconds after I do, and we fall back on the couch, both panting. We stay there, wrapped in each other’s arms, and my eyes grow heavy.
“Let me carry you upstairs,” he murmurs. “You have some time before sunrise to sleep.”
“Okay.” I hold onto him as he scoops me up, and I forget about his wound until my cheek rubs against the gauze. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, and he definitely was more than fine a few minutes ago. He lays me down in bed and gets in next to me.
“If this is what being cursed feels like,” he whispers, folding his arms around me, “I’ll stay cursed forever.”
Smiling, heart so full, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, waking a few hours later. Sunlight glows on the horizon, and I hurry out of bed to get dressed and use the bathroom.
The guys are all in the library, holding their runes. It makes me a little sad to know they’re leaving me, but the sense of family I’ve been missing since the day my parents died is starting to come back.
I go right to Hasan and throw my arms around him. Wrapping me in a bear hug, he lifts me off the ground.
“Thank you,” I say once he sets me down.
He kisses my forehead and tips my chin up to his. “You’re worth it, Ace.”
“You’re going to make me cry again, and I hate crying,” I say with a laugh. Looking out at the others, I start to get nervous. “If this doesn’t work, will you know to get to your spots outside in time?”
“I think so,” Hasan answers, but doesn’t sound certain. “I don’t feel compelled to go onto the roof, and I usually do.”
“Same with me,” Thomas and Gilbert answer at the same time.
Nodding, I try to push the nerves away. “You should probably spread out. You guys, uh, take up a lot of room when you’re in stone.”
“Way to make me feel dehumanized,” Gilbert teases, and Thomas elbows him.
“Like you can feel human with those things on your back again.”
“Next time you guys wake up, I’ll have concealment charms for all of you.
” I take a step back, looking at the time on my phone.
I looked up the exact time of sunrise, and we’re only a minute away.
Having the guys inside during the day saves us from a world of possible issues, but having them randomly placed around the library is going to look weird too.
They’re heavy as fuck, though not impossible to move.
I direct them each to stand in a corner, making it look more deliberate once they’ve become statues. My heart speeds up and I count down the remaining seconds. I’ve seen them turn to stone before and find it fascinating to watch the transition.
Sunlight streams through the windows behind us, and slowly, their humanity is stripped away as they turn to stone once more. I stand rooted to the spot for a good minute, making sure they don’t crumble apart or start cracking.
They don’t.
“It worked.” I’m beaming, laughing out loud at my disbelief. They’re inside, safe with me. I gather up the stones, intending on safely stashing them with my grimoire. And then it hits me, and the joy is stripped away.
If someone were to get ahold of the runes, they’d have some control over my gargoyles. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen, no matter what.