Chapter 8 – Byron
BYRON
I’m in big trouble. As Medusa groans in her sleep again and moves, brushing her naked ass against my erection, I’m having a harder and harder time remembering why I can’t just bury my cock deep inside of her.
This woman is the most frustrating creature I’ve ever met before.
I mean, she attacked me. Attacked a gargoyle! We aren’t just made of stone when we transform. We’re known for being strong, fast, and powerful. She had to know she didn’t have a chance in hell of escaping me.
It’s like she did it just to piss me off.
My mouth curls into an unexpected smile, and I gaze down at her.
And then my smile fades, carefully pulling one of my arms out from under her, I reach forward and pull her skewed sunglasses off. I forget to breathe for a long minute. She’s so damn beautiful, so unbelievably beautiful, even in the shadows of the jungle.
I cannot believe she’s a monster. She’s more beautiful than any angel. Her long dark lashes tempt my fingertips. I want to touch them, to see if they’re as soft as they look.
And I feel like a fucking jackass for even having such a dumb thought. Who wants to touch a woman’s eyelashes? Who wants to stroke a woman’s face to see if her skin feels as soft as they imagine?
I slide her glasses on and lean back against the trunk of the tree.
Me. I’m the jackass who wants to touch every inch of her.
If I just wanted to stroke her breasts, fondle the tips of her sweet nipples, or just bury myself inside her while I touch the soft folds of her body, that I could accept. I’m a horny gargoyle who hasn’t touched a female in a good twenty years.
But her eyelashes and face? That pisses me off, because that means this isn’t just arousal between us.
And I hate that.
Because when it comes down to it, I'll have to be the one to kill her. For the first time in my life, I don’t know if I can do my job.
My brotherhood has a mission. Retrieve the monster, get her cooperation with two tasks that she is uniquely suited to help, and then take her to the sanctuary for one act before her final judgment.
She may be our mortal enemy, but the survival of our people depends on her helping us.
It doesn't matter if she is willing or not.
Which means I need to fix this thing between us before we reach our destination. I need to be a bigger jerk. I need her to act like a hateful bitch. I need to stop feeling my heart ache every time she looks in my direction.
I never should have stopped here. We've got time constraints, we can't delay, but here I am, watching her sleep. Because she scared me when she fell. Because, despite the fact that my gargoyle instincts should be telling me she’s an enemy, I’m caring for her like she’s an innocent under my protection.
Which makes absolutely no sense… my instincts have never led me wrong before.
I sigh. But for now, I run my free hand along her smooth legs, feeling my erection aching with need. I look down at her face and imagine what she’d look like laughing, or with her eyes wide as I make her come.
For now, I pretend that I haven’t been sent to end her life.
Hours tick by. I nod off, holding her close, smelling her sweet lavender scent and dreaming of things that are stupid-as-hell, like waking up to see this woman naked, swelling with my child, and smiling at me.
Just stupid shit like that.
And then, I feel her stir in my arms and snap awake. The first thing she does when she awakes is feel for her glasses, and I sense her relax just a bit when she finds them in place.
I can’t see her eyes beneath her sunglasses as they open, but I sense them. And immediately, I hide every dumb feeling and thought I have. The last thing I need is for her to know how I’m feeling.
“Better?”
She stretches in the sexiest damn way in the world, her perfect ass rubbing against my crotch as she moves. “Yeah. Head still hurts a bit, but I’m okay.”
“Well,” I clear my throat. “There’s a hot spring on our way. We can stop there and clean you up a bit.”
A smile twists her lips. “Are you offering to bathe me?”
I scowl. “Not a chance in hell, monster.”
It hurts when her smile vanishes. “You’re a real asshole, you know that.”
Yeah, I am. “Just shut up.”
Climbing to my feet, I keep her cradled to my chest. For some reason, I think of the moment her head hit the root. I’d been scared. More than scared. I’d panicked.
She wouldn’t be getting hurt again under my care, not if I could help it. Until you kill her, you idiot.
“Are you planning to carry me the whole way?” she asks, looking irritated.
I picture her falling again. “I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so damn clumsy.”
She shoves at my chest, anger radiating from her. “Put me down.”
“No.”
“Put me down. Now!” she commands me.
I snarl. “No. Now, shut up. We need to get you clean before we see Eros.”
She stiffens in my arms. “So, we’re really seeing Eros?”
I scowl, mad I told her anything.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I continue moving through the forest, determined not to look at her again. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion.”
Her hands grip the front of my shirt. “He’s unstable as hell, Byron. And if we’re heading where I think we are, he won’t appreciate us in his temple.”
“Well, fuck him, because that’s where we’re heading.” Damn it! I glance down at her, annoyed when I see her satisfied expression.
“So, we’re heading to his temple?” Her gaze grows thoughtful. “Why would a gargoyle want to see a god of lust? Aren’t you guys incapable of getting hard or something?”
“You know damn well I can get hard!”
Her brow raises, and I want to scream that she got me to admit it. “So you were aroused?”
I say nothing. I’m tired of her mind games.
Her lips pucker. “So, a gargoyle who gets hard and comes while he flies wants the god of lust? Interesting.”
I bite back my response.
“But I guess it makes sense. Maybe you’re tired of exploding in your pants every time you fly.”
“I do not—“ I clench my teeth.
She looks even more satisfied. “So what is it, gargoyle? Does the wind turn you on or is it me, because you’re giving a lot of mixed messages?”
I curse softly.
To my shock, a giggle explodes from her lips, and the sound is musical. Delightful.
My anger fades. Did I really just make her laugh? And why the hell does that fact make me feel so damn proud?
“Should I keep guessing as to why we’re going to Eros?”
I break out of the jungle and come to my destination. I’ve only been here once, but nothing has changed. It’s a waterfall crashing down into a pool of heated water.
She makes a little sound. “It’s the same. So beautiful.”
Beautiful? It's just a freaking pool. I look again, trying to picture it through her eyes. Maybe it is a little nice.
“You’ve been here before?” That surprises me.
For a second she looks sad. “A long time ago.”
I want to ask her more. But getting to know her isn’t exactly part of the plan. Stick to the plan.
I take her to the edge of the water and set her down.
She looks at me first, and then down at herself, her point clear. “Do you plan to undress me now or undo my cuffs so I can undress myself?”
An image of me slowly undressing her comes into my mind. My cock bobs eagerly.
Fuck.
I frown at her, remembering the sprint we just took through the jungle. “I’ll undo your cuffs, but if you try to run for it, I’ll hog tie you.”
She holds out her hands.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and touch the metal. The magical cuffs hum as I give my command, and I hear them hit the ground.
“Magic cuffs?” she says, sounding excited. “A god must have made them.”
One did, but I don’t tell her that. “Go get cleaned up.”
She takes a step back from me, to the very edge of the water, then reaches for the buttons on my shirt.
Fucking turn around and walk away! I command myself.
But I stand absolutely still as she slowly undoes every single button, exposing more and more of her creamy, white skin.
When she gets to the last one, she grasps the sides of her shirt, and I wait, pulse racing.
I tell myself that she's a flight risk, that I have to watch her.
The truth is that I want to see her. I need to see her again.
“Byron?” her voice is soft, husky.
My pulse races.
“Turn around.”
I blink stupidly at her for a second. “What?”
“Turn around, you pervy gargoyle! If you want a strip show, you might want to be a bit nicer next time.”
I scowl, hating how pissed off I am. I turn my back to her.
Her shirt lands on my head, and I yank it off, turning back around.
She’s already splashed into the water and her creamy flesh is hidden from my view. I stare like some pathetic loser as she dives under the water and plays. She winces as she scrubs out her hair, and I’m transfixed by every move she makes.
At last, she tilts her glasses down, and her gaze meets mine. “You know, you might want to clean up a bit, too. It’s been days since you last showered, and between the cum in your pants, and your manly scent… well, I think it wouldn’t be the worst idea.”
I scowl, hating that she’s right.
I pull off my black t-shirt and toss it on a rock near the water, along with hers. As I start to undo the zipper and button on my pants, I find her staring at me.
“Can’t control yourself?” I ask.
She shoots me an arrogant look and turns her back to me.
Satisfied, I strip off my jeans, boxers, sneakers, and socks. I set them on the rock, and wade into the waters. Ignoring her entirely, I wash.
When I hear her swimming, I can’t help but look. She’s going beneath the waterfall.
Like a magnet, I follow her.
When she swims beneath it, she tilts her head back so that the edge of the water hits her hair. I’m transfixed. She’s like a water nymph, beautiful and tempting.
“Coming?” she asks, looking at me.
I move closer, standing beneath the falling water beside her. I’m tempted to pull her into my arms. I'm tempted to fuck her right here in this perfect moment, but I don’t.
I don’t.
The fact that I hold back… I’m pretty sure this will be one of my life’s greatest regrets.
Yet, I can’t. I can’t fuck the woman I intend to kill. I can’t break my vow of celibacy.
Soon, one of the female gargoyles will give birth. Once she does, all the males will be allowed to mate her again. At least the males she desires, and she’s made it clear that my brothers and I are at the top of her list.
We can finally touch a woman. We can finally try to have a child.
But only if we follow the rules. We can satisfy ourselves, but we can’t have sex.
The Elites believe our sperm is more powerful this way, and with our kind dying out, only the males who have controlled themselves can mate with a female gargoyle.
Having sex with this woman would mean giving up twenty years of careful control.
And it’d mean giving up my hope of ever having a child.
So, I hold back.
The moment passes. She looks away from me, and I swear there’s disappointment in her eyes. With her glasses, I can’t be sure.
“I’m done if you are,” she says after a moment.
I nod.
We head back to shore. We’re only a short walk from Eros’ temple, and then the real work begins.
A lot of people have tried to steal his fertility figure, but none have succeeded.
But then, Eros is a seriously fucked up God who apparently has a soft spot for female monsters, so I think Medusa is our one chance at getting in the door without getting caught.
After that though, we still have to get lucky. I’ve heard the statue only appears when Eros is present, when he’s using his powers to lure humans to him. So step one is getting Medusa inside. Step two is actually just being in the right place at the right time.
Because if I don’t get that fertility figure, I’ll let down my entire race. We need it to ensure the female gargoyles conceive again. I can't let them down.
I won't.
When we reach the shore, I freeze. Our clothes are gone.
“Fuck. Where are they?”
She sighs behind me. “Eros’ people.”
I whirl on her. “His people?”
“His magic lures humans to him. They come from the city to his temple, compelled by his magic. Many of them end up in this hot spring. Sometimes his people steal their clothes.”
“So you knew this would happen?” I can’t keep the anger out of my voice. I have a hell of a lot to do, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be a lot harder to do naked.
And, when I glance at the tops of her breasts over the water, I reluctantly admit that she’ll be harder to resist too.
To my annoyance, she crosses her arms angrily in front of her chest. “You think I want to be naked with you, asshat? Because I don’t. I just figured his people would know we weren’t human.”
I shake my head. “And how would they know that?”
She shrugs.
I grit my teeth together. “Well, this is just great.”
“Relax. I’m sure there are clothes scattered all around his temple. We’re going there anyway.”
She’s right. “Fine, but keep your hands to yourself.”
She snorts. “Yeah, right. I’m not the one who is constantly hard.”
Turning, she heads out of the water. I hate that I watch her every move. I hate that I love the way her wet hair hangs down her back, and I hate how much I love the sweet curves of her round ass.
I leave the water too, and reach down, snagging the cuffs. She glances back at me, and her eyes widen. “You can’t be serious.”
“Just in case,” I mutter.
Then, her gaze moves down.
I know she’s staring right at my hard dick. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
“Gargoyles are always hard,” I tell her defensively.
She laughs. “At least you’ve got something to be proud of.” Turning, she looks toward the jungle. “It’s that way, right?”
I’m feeling a little too happy about her complimenting my junk, so it takes me a minute to respond. “Yup.”
Then, we start the longest hike of my life, as I walk along, dick hard, and a beautiful naked woman in front of me.
And did I mention that I’m celibate?
The Gods must be laughing their asses off at me.