Gregor (Stone Society Book 2)

by Faith Gibson

  Sitting on the deck of his cabin, he opened another beer. The moon was barely visible behind a cloud as he gazed into the sky. Gregor’s home was a large, three-story structure constructed of logs and stone. While he insisted on calling it a cabin, Julian reminded him it was a lodge. Gregor was one of the few Gargoyles who lived alone with no servants. His home was nestled in the woods on one hundred acres. Rafael had designed the home for him, but Gregor had built it himself with the help of Dante. Where Rafael and Sin had stuck together since they were small, he and Dante felt a closeness to each other. Not only were they close in age, but they held a special bond that wasn’t there with the others.

  He loved all his brothers and cousins. Being Clan meant they had each other’s backs, always. He and Dante had formed a connection in early childhood that had never wavered. If one ever left New Atlanta, the other would surely follow. His thoughts drifted back to Tessa. He wanted to check on her, check on Isabelle. He knew the transition was rough on males; he just had to wonder how it was on females. He had never witnessed one of the female Gargoyles going through the change.

  Tamian said Tessa was the best one to help her. He stood in awe as his tough-as-nails mate had tenderly cared for her cousin as gently as she would a child. Did Tessa want children? Hell, did she already have kids? Could that be why she didn’t want anything to do with him? Isabelle had been married before. If her husband hadn’t died in a boating accident, it was possible they would still be together. Then what? Would she leave her husband for her mate? Fucking hell, this was getting more complicated as he sat there. He needed answers. Since Tamian wouldn’t give them to him, he was just going to have to get them straight from the source.

  “Hello?” Tessa sounded out of breath when she answered his call.

  “Hey, Red. I’m just calling to check on our patient.”

  “My patient is doing just fine. How the hell did you get this number?” Tessa was huffing on the other end of the line.

  “Isabelle has you listed as her emergency contact. Did I interrupt? You sound as if you’re in the middle of something.”

  “Mr. Stone, what I’m doing is none of your concern, and yes, you did interrupt something. If you don’t have any more questions, I’ll just be going.” Damn, she was feisty. Why did that turn him on?

  “Actually, I do have another one. Will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

  “I will not be here tomorrow night, so no.” Damn, feisty and rude. So why was his dick stirring to life? He liked sex rough, and sometimes mixed with a little pain, but rudeness? Maybe he was more of a masochist than he thought.

  “Okay, the next night then. We need to talk.”

  Tessa sighed, stopping whatever she had been doing that caused her to sound out of breath. “I won’t be here the next night, either. I’m going out of town.”

  “Then when you return. How long will you be gone?” He knew he sounded desperate, he just didn’t care. This woman was his mate, and if he didn’t get close to her, he would never get the chance to bond with her.

  “I have no idea, Mr. Stone. One, two weeks possibly. So don’t wait up.” The line went dead.

  There was no way Gregor was going to be able to wait one day to see Tessa, much less one week. Two? Where the fuck was she going? He had to see her. He didn’t care if she didn’t want to see him. Now that he knew she was his mate, the urge to be around her was getting worse, not better. He still needed to take Isabelle’s car to her, so this would be a good excuse.

  With it being so late, he could drop off Isabelle’s car then fly back for his bike. He had already grabbed her car keys before he left her house, ensuring he’d have an excuse to return. The thought of seeing Tessa had his dick twitching. Decision made, he headed to the garage. He lifted his helmet from its perch atop the handlebars and straddled his bike.

  The drive to the Pen was quick since he lived so close. Once there, he wedged himself into the toy car and headed to the doctor’s home. Luck was on his side; Tessa’s bike was still in the driveway. He parked in front of the garage and turned the motor off. Even though he wasn’t as tall as his brothers, the compact was still a tight fit for someone of his stature. He had to wrangle himself out. He should have come up with a plan, something suave to say to make Tessa want him, but that just wasn’t his style. Other than Frey, he was the biggest roughneck of the family.

  The backdoor opened, and Tessa was stalking toward him. “What are you doing here?”

  The ever present scowl on her face didn’t mar her beauty. Her green eyes were shining. “Since you are leaving town, I didn’t want Isabelle to be stranded.” He dangled the keys in front of her, hoping she’d take the bait. Tessa stepped closer and when she was in arm’s reach, he snagged her body, twisting her so that her back was to his front. He wrapped both arms around her, caging her in so she couldn’t move. She wiggled furiously, “Let me go. What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Stone?”

  “I’m holding you captive so I can talk to you. You have a tendency to walk away from me.” She kept wiggling her ass. Did she not realize she was grinding into his dick? Oh, the things he wanted to do to her ass.

  Gregor wanted so badly to strip Tessa naked, feel her skin to skin. Standing in the middle of Isabelle’s driveway was not the place for it. Tessa leaned back into him, her ass nestled against his hard cock. He let out a groan and she froze.

  Sixteen

  Gregor’s breath was hot in Tessa’s ear. “I just wanted to bring Isabelle’s car to her and to tell you to be careful. Watch that ass while you’re gone.”

  When he groaned, Tessa realized her attempt to get away was turning him on. Feeling his erection against her ass gave her all kinds of dirty thoughts. “What do you care about my ass?”

  “I would hate to see something happen to it. It’s a mighty fine ass, and it’s mine, Tessa. Just like you, that fine ass is all mine.”

  She was panting. He had her panting like a fucking dog. “What...what are you planning on doing with your ass?” She knew what she imagined him doing with it.

  He pulled her back even tighter to his body, his erection rubbing against her jeans. She couldn’t help the shudder that flowed through her or the juices that were soaking her thong. He licked the rim of her ear then grabbed her hoop between his teeth and pulled. “First, I’m going to spank it. I’m going to spank that pretty ass until it’s pink. Then, I’m going to eat it. I’m going to eat you out from your pussy to your tight pucker, until you beg me not to stop.” He scraped his fangs down the side of her neck. Another shiver took up residence in her nerve endings. “And just when you think I’m going to let you come, I’m going to flip you over to your stomach and put you on your knees so your pretty, pink ass is waiting for my dick. I’ll stretch your hole with my fingers, and when you’re ready, I’m going to ease my hard cock into your tight little ass. My ass.”

  If Gregor hadn’t been holding her so tightly, her legs probably would have given out. The promise of him doing what he just described had Tessa ready to get naked. Gregor’s thoughts about her ass were right in line with hers. She had to get away from him, out of his arms. Hell, out of the fucking country. She had to go. She wiggled her ass against his erection, hoping it was tormenting him. “That’s never going to happen. I told you not to touch me again. When I get loose from here…”

  Gregor interrupted her, “You’re going to what, Red? You know what I am and what I’m capable of. Sure, you might be a shifter, too, but you are a female.” Now he was just pissing her off. The wet between her legs was still there, but the urge to fuck him was quickly dwindling.

  “Boy, you sure know how to entice a woman. Go all fucking caveman. Why don’t you beat on your chest while you’re at it, grab my hair, put me in my place.”

  “I’ll grab your hair all right, but you’ll enjoy it.” Gregor fisted her hair and pulled her head back so he could see her face. She glared at him, hoping he would let her go. Instead he kissed her. Hard. She kept her lips closed f
or all of five seconds, but the mate pull was too strong. She opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue entrance. She didn’t want to want him. She wanted to push him away and run for her life. Her body had other ideas.

  Gods could the man kiss. He kept his mouth firmly against hers. His tongue, however, was softly caressing her own. She had no doubt he could make her come by kissing alone. When they both needed air, Gregor finally turned her loose. “I want answers, Red. I need answers. And according to your brother, you’re the only one who can give them to me.”

  She whirled around, “My brother? What the fuck did he tell you?” She was going to kill Tamian if he had told Gregor anything.

  “Not enough. Look, I don’t know what you have against Gargoyles, seeing you are half Goyle yourself. Why don’t you explain that to me?”

  “Tessa?” Isabelle chose that moment to come outside. Saved by the Belle. Tessa laughed at her own joke.

  “What’s so funny? Oh, hello, Mr. Stone, I didn’t realize you were here.” Isabelle’s eyes got wide, realizing she had interrupted something. “Uh, I’ll just go back inside now. Good to see you.” She turned, but Gregor stopped her.

  “Isabelle, don’t be silly. I just came to bring your car and find out how you’re feeling. How are you feeling?” If Gregor was affected by their kiss, he was doing a bang-up job of hiding it. Tessa glanced at his crotch. His shirt was hanging in front of his groin area, but she would bet any amount of money his dick was throbbing as hard as her pussy was.

  The two of them chatted, and Isabelle finally said goodbye, hoping to return to work in a couple of days.

  “As you can see, she is fine. Thank you for bringing her car. Now, you should go.”

  “Are you really going out of town?” Gregor adjusted his cock and stuck his hands in his pockets. She wanted to adjust his dick for him. With her mouth.

  “Yes, I really am. Now if you’ll excuse me...” He was on her again before she could finish. Dammit he was quick.

  “Listen to me.” He had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her body to his. His erection was evident between them. He lifted her chin with the other hand so she had no choice but to look at him. “I want you to be careful. There are women being murdered, and they all happen to look just like you.”

  Tessa gasped. “What? How do you know this?”

  “Because, Red. I know someone who works in the morgue; there are three dead women who could pass for your sister. I’m not telling you this to scare you. I’m telling you this so you’ll watch your back. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You might not like me, and while I don’t understand that, I’m willing to wait until you do.” Gregor placed his lips next to her ear. “I like you, and I have nothing but time.” He ran his tongue along the rim of her ear before softly placing a kiss on her cheek. He released her and walked off. She immediately wanted him back. Damn her traitorous body.

  Gregor removed his shirt and tied it around his waist. He continued walking until he was out of her sight. She waited. She kept her ears open and her eyes glued to the night sky. There. There above her was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen: her mate with his wings unfurled, soaring higher and higher until even she couldn’t see him. Her heart skipped a couple of beats. Yep, she was fucked.

  When Tessa walked back inside, Isabelle was on the telephone, whispering, “Okay, I will see you soon.”

  “Who are you going to see soon?” Was Belle hiding a boyfriend?

  “Nobody. You should go home. I appreciate your help through the transition, but I’m fine now. Really. I just want to be alone and do some reading. I need to rest. Don’t you have a trip to pack for?” Isabelle was nervous and Tessa had a feeling it was because she caught her on the phone.

  “Yeah, sure. I wouldn’t mind sleeping in my own bed tonight. Just take it easy and keep practicing. You are going to have to be able to control yourself completely before you go back to work. You will be around the inmates soon; being a beautiful woman, they are going to come on to you, saying crude things. You need to be able to handle that.”

  Isabelle was just staring at her.

  “What?”

  “You called me beautiful. Nobody has ever called me beautiful.” By the sadness on her face, Isabelle was being honest.

  “You’re joking, right? Alexi must have told you how stunning you are. Have you not looked in the mirror lately? Okay, maybe not lately. Right now you look like shit. What I mean is, you look tired. But Belle, you are beautiful. You have a natural beauty that most women pay good money for. You don’t need hair color, or makeup, or Botox, or any of that stuff. Seriously, take a good, long look at yourself. Enough with the mushy stuff, I’m outta here. I’ll be in New Orleans for a while. You have Sophia’s number if you need anything.” Tessa didn’t have her leather jacket since she had worn her flight jacket to the Pen. She’d have to tough it out. Grabbing her key and helmet, she left her cousin sitting with her mouth agape.

  Her first order of business was to find out who Isabelle had been talking to. If it weren’t a big deal, she wouldn’t have been so secretive. Tessa arrived home and pulled her boots off. She went to her office and fired up the computer. While she was waiting on it to boot up, she grabbed a beer out of the fridge. Damn Gregor Stone, acting like he cared what happened to her. Shit, bodies were turning up who looked like her. She needed to check into that, too.

  Tessa sat down and hacked into Isabelle’s phone account. She might not have gone to college, but the skills she had accumulated over the years were priceless. “Here we go. Enrico Sanchez, New Columbia, Tennessee.” So Isabelle was still in touch with her caretakers. Tessa really couldn’t blame her. They had been more family to Isabelle than her own.

  With that little mystery solved, Tessa finished her beer, gathered as much information as was available on the dead victims, which, so far, wasn’t much, and called it a night. Normally, she did some sort of cardio before she went to bed, but she had taken care of that at Isabelle’s. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow and needed a good night’s sleep.

  Flanagan was going to have to give Merrick a raise after this latest victim. He dabbed Neosporin on the scratches to his face. Bitch had been a fighter; he’d give her that. He scraped under her fingernails, hoping to remove all evidence, but one could never be certain. His DNA was on record since he had served in the military. Maybe it was time for a new identity in a new location.

  Gordon Flanagan had recruited Merrick when he received a dishonorable discharge from the Army for cruel and unusual punishment. He had enlisted so he could torture the fucking enemy with permission. Who knew the government had limits on torture? Flanagan lured him in with the promise of free rein on the torture and the possibility of immeasurable wealth. So far, he had immensely enjoyed his role in Flanagan’s organization. Fucking and killing were his two favorite past times. When you put them together, the high was better than any drug. The money was good, but he could measure it. His bank account needed a boost, and Gordon was going to give it to him.

  When he first started working for Flanagan, he overheard a conversation that was not meant for his ears. Gordon was scooping up as many ex-military as possible to add to his own army, one in which the men would be turned into super-soldiers. Where the scientists had totally fucked up with Vincent’s DNA and the Unholy, they were convinced the new formula would react the way they wanted it to.

  Merrick hadn’t come up with a plan quick enough to escape the long grasp that was Gordon Flanagan, and he had become the first test subject. The scientists injected him with the serum and sure enough, the formula worked. He was the first soldier in their new regime. Merrick was faster and stronger, but he still wasn’t as strong as the Unholy. Those bastards were just motherfucking crazy. But then again, so was Flanagan.

  Seventeen

  Gregor hated the unknown. He was 567 years old. Before last week, he’d never thought about the future. Until now. Until Tessa, he lived his life day to day, taking things as they ca
me. He and Dante were happy in their jobs. Both had moved to New Atlanta soon after the bombings to help Rafael put the city back together. It wouldn’t be long before they would need to change locations and take on new identities. Thirty years was a long time to look a certain age.

  Because of Tessa, he thought about tomorrow, about what happened next. He was bound and determined to understand why she was so dead set against him just because he was a Gargoyle. Fuck, her own father was a Goyle. Maybe that was the problem. It was possible she hated her old man and had been abused. He would ask her when she returned from… he didn’t even know where she was going. Not that it was any of his business. He wanted it to be his business. He hated not knowing if she had someone else in her life. He hated not knowing what she was doing right this very second. He wished with every fiber of his being that she was sitting beside him on his deck enjoying the sunrise peeking through the tall pines.

  Gregor was used to the solitude that his cabin in the woods offered him. He relished being alone with nature, with himself. The family of deer at the edge of the tree line gave him the same sense of tranquility that Rafael’s garden bestowed on him. Until Tessa. Now the tranquility was replaced with longing. The peace replaced with sorrow. The contentment replaced with loneliness. How could this be? How could one woman turn his whole life upside down in a matter of days? Hell, it hadn’t even been days. If he thought about it, it had been less than 48 hours. She had him scribbling poetry for fuck’s sake. If he could not convince her to give him a chance, give them a chance, he was well and truly fucked.

  At least today wasn’t Saturday. He never appreciated having to go to the Pen more than he did this very moment. Working would take his mind off his mate and everything he didn’t know about her. He drank the last of his coffee and headed to the shower. Gregor cranked the water to cold, but his cock still ached to be touched. He would never be able to wear his shirt tucked in again. He constantly sported a hard-as-nails erection and a set of blue balls he figured would not be going away any time soon. Not unless he could get one little redhead on board. Or on his cock. Fuck. Just thinking of those green eyes and that sassy tongue had him stroking himself. He leaned a forearm against the cool tile wall and studied his hand as it groped his length.