Chapter 13
Thirteen
Georgie
My cottage was warm, dry and safe. We’d had to contact Pam again to send someone to collect us.
She’d complained a bit, saying that we weren’t even clients of hers, but had agreed to arrange for my car to be taken to the garage.
In return, we’d agreed to meet her tomorrow for what she’d called some ‘simple tests’.
The woman who had collected us in a Hot Tatties branded car had given us some dry robes to warm ourselves.
She'd also waved an alien-looking scanner over me and announced that I had bruised ribs, a shallow cut and no damage to my brain. Cairn had made her repeat the last part twice. I suspected he’d been hoping for an explanation for some of my decisions.
I was doubting myself a little. I'd met this guy, this gharrgoil, yesterday morning. Now I was about to take him to bed. And for some reason, I didn't see a problem with that. I knew on some level that this wasn't just normal sex. It was more serious than that. It was a commitment.
Why on earth was I willing to do this when I barely knew him? I'd kissed him, given him my blood, kept him close so he wouldn't turn to stone. Why would I do all that for an almost stranger and an alien at that?
Love, a tiny voice inside my head said. But that was ridiculous. People didn't fall in love after thirty hours.
But we were mates. I accepted that now. I had woken up this morning and had known where Cairn was without opening my eyes.
I felt some sort of connection to him, one that was too strange and alien to put into words.
And I felt like I knew him. Yes, I knew almost nothing about his life, his family, his aspirations and hopes and dreams. But I knew what he was like.
The rest could come later. Deep inside, I knew that he was the gharrgoil for me.
Maybe I was crazy to even consider this. I was a rational, down-to-earth sort of person. I made plans. I made pros-and-cons lists. My dreams had to be backed up by facts and planning.
And now I was throwing all that to the wind for him. Cairn. My winged Guardian.
He'd thrown his dry robe onto the sofa. The remains of the C-suit hung from his hips in black shreds over his battle wrap. One wing was still held slightly lower than the other, but the scanner had confirmed that he hadn’t broken anything either.
“So,” I said.
“So,” he repeated.
Neither of us moved.
This had been easier beside the wreckage, when adrenaline had been rushing through me and the possibility of dying had made everything seem simple. Now we were standing in my cottage, warm and safe, with my bed waiting on the mezzanine above us.
My bed suddenly seemed very small.
“Have you changed your mind?” Cairn asked.
“No.”
His tail flicked behind him as if he could barely restrain himself.
I smiled. “I’m trying to work out the logistics.”
“What logistics?”
I pointed upwards. “You. My bed. The mezzanine.”
His gaze travelled to the iron chains supporting the platform. “It held me last night.”
“You weren’t moving much last night.”
“I can be still.”
“That rather defeats the purpose.”
His fangs appeared as he smiled. “Then we shall discover how well your structure was built.”
He turned to the ladder, but I held up a hand.
“Wait. One thing. Small thing. Uhm. If... when we do this, what does it mean for this mate-thing?”
Cairn laughed. “Mate-thing? You mean the sacred, eternal mate bond that will bind us together until we return to the stone? The bond that led us to find each other across the stars, across the centuries? The bond that awakened me from my long sleep?”
I smiled wryly. “Yes, that one.”
He turned serious. “The bond is here and has always been here, but it is not fully developed yet.
Imagine it as a plant that has sprouted and is growing, but hasn't come to flower yet.
Only once our connection is strong enough does it grow into the beautiful flower that it is destined to be.
For some gharrgoils, that will be their first mating.
For others, it doesn't need any physical actions, while for others yet again, it can take many.
There is no way to predict it. That said, I feel our bond is strong already.
I have nothing to compare it to, of course, but from what I have been told I think it's well developed. Almost ready. If I feel the urge to... would you let me bite you? Not to drink your blood, just to harden the bond?”
The thought of his fangs once again piercing my skin made me all hot and bothered. I squeezed my thighs together.
“Yes. I would. Bite me. Please.” I laughed. “You can start with that, if you want.”
Cairn grinned. “No. Not yet. First, I want to taste you.”
He was doing things to my ovaries that shouldn't have been possible.
I headed for the ladder before my courage deserted me. My ribs protested as I climbed, but the pain was no worse than a bad stitch. Cairn stayed close behind me, one hand hovering near my back without touching.
When I reached the platform, I turned and caught him staring at my backside.
“Were you checking whether I needed help?”
“No.”
“At least you’re honest.”
He climbed after me. The platform dipped beneath his weight, but only a little. It was going to be fine. And if we ended up breaking the platform, at least he had wings to stop us from falling.
Cairn crouched beneath the sloping roof. Even kneeling, he seemed far too large for the space. His horns almost brushed the beam above him, his wings were folded tightly behind his back and the tip of his tail hung through the railing.
At some point, we'd need a bigger cottage. For now, we'd make do.
I reached for the hem of my jumper.
His attention snapped to my hands.
The humour vanished from his expression as I pulled the damp fabric over my head. My shirt followed. Cairn didn’t blink. I removed my bra and dropped it onto the floor, revealing my breasts to him.
I didn't feel self-conscious at all. There was no urge to cover my boobs or hide under the blanket.
His nostrils flared.
“That scent,” he said roughly.
“Which one? Mud? Rain? Anxiety?”
“Desire.”
I should have known better than to ask.
I kicked off my shoes, then pushed my trousers and underwear down together. Bending hurt my ribs, but I managed without making a face. Mostly.
Cairn remained motionless. His tail had stopped flicking. It was now wrapped so tightly around one of the railings that I worried he might bend the iron.
“Well?” I asked.
“You are more beautiful than I imagined.”
“You imagined me naked?”
“Frequently.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. “At least you didn’t pretend otherwise.”
“You said you wanted all of me.” His gaze moved slowly down my body. “I want all of you too.”
He reached for me, then paused before making contact.
I caught his hand and placed it on my breast.
That was all the invitation he needed.
Cairn pulled me against him and kissed me. His mouth was hungry, his fangs scraping my lower lip as his rough tongue swept against mine. His hand covered most of my breast. He squeezed, rolling my nipple beneath his thumb until it tightened.
His tail released the railing and slid around my waist. The tip travelled up my side, tracing the curve of my other breast before circling the nipple. The touch was more precise than I’d expected, the very end of his tail curling and flicking across the sensitive point.
I gasped into his mouth.
“You can control it that well?”
“It is part of me.”
“It seems to have a mind of its own most of the time.”
“It expresses what I am too polite to say.”
The tail tightened around my breast.
I moaned.
“And what are you too polite to say now?”
“That I want to taste every part of you.”
My knees weakened. Cairn caught me with one arm and lowered me onto the mattress. His wings opened as far as the roof allowed before curving around us, creating a dark, warm cocoon.
He kissed his way down my neck. His fangs grazed my skin without breaking it, sending tiny shocks through me. His mouth closed around one nipple while his tail continued playing with the other.
I slid my hands over the smooth granite texture of his scalp until I reached the base of one horn.
I curled my fingers around it.
A low growl rumbled through his chest.
“Sensitive?” I asked innocently.
“You already know the answer.”
“I thought I should check for damage after the crash.”
I stroked upwards. Let my fingers rub over every ridge. Slowly. Teasingly.
His hips jerked against the mattress. The platform swayed.
“Georgie.”
“Yes?”
“You are playing a dangerous game.”
“I’m a trained professional. I need to make sure my gargoyle is intact. That includes the horns.”
“I love it when you call me yours.”
He moved lower, spreading my thighs with his broad hands. Any clever reply disappeared when his hot breath touched my pussy. Before I could object, he dragged his tongue through me.
The rough surface caught my clit and sent a bolt of pleasure through my body. My hips lifted from the bed. Cairn pushed them down with one hand and did it again, slower this time.
“Oh, fuck.”
His eyes met mine. ”Is that encouragement?”
“Yes.”
He lowered his mouth again.
Cairn licked me as if I were the first meal he’d been offered in five hundred years.
His tongue was far rougher than a human’s, every stroke creating a friction that bordered on too much before easing away.
He explored me without hurry, learning which touches made my thighs shake and which made me pull on his horns.
His tail slid over my stomach and curled around my breast. It squeezed in time with the strokes of his tongue, the tip flicking my nipple while he concentrated on my clit.
I’d never been surrounded by someone before. Mouth, hands, tail and wings, all of Cairn focused entirely on me. There was nowhere for the pleasure to escape.
He pushed one thick finger inside me.
I clenched around it.
“So tight,” he murmured against my pussy.
The vibration of his voice almost pushed me over the edge.
He added a second finger, stretching me while his tongue circled my clit. I tightened my grip on his horns.