Removing the Gargoyle’s Mask

by Charlie Richards

  “Come here and I’ll explain,” the man said, beckoning him.

  After one more confused look, and giving in to the urge to lean down and brush his lips over the warm stone cheek, Marty stood and headed warily toward the stranger. He spotted the sweats on the chair the guy pointed at and it suddenly hit him that he was naked.

  Fighting a losing battle against a flush of embarrassment, Marty grabbed the sweats and yanked them on. Once at least half dressed, he settled into the chair and peered at the other man through narrowed eyes.

  Marty took in the fellow across from him. Obviously tall, heavily built with plenty of muscle, the man had light brown hair and darkly tanned skin. He rested one naked ankle over an equally naked knee. That’s when Marty realized the stranger also wore a loincloth. What was it with these guys and loincloths? Did that mean this man was something other than human, too?

  Well, may as well ask. “So, are you something other than human, too?”

  Grinning widely, showing off even white teeth, the man leaned forward and held out his hand. “I’m Sapian. I’m also a gargoyle. It’s a pleasure to meet Raymond’s mate.”

  Confusion flooded Marty, but he took the man’s hand and shook it on reflex. He looked over at his, uh, lover then back at Sapian. “Wait, if you are a gargoyle, and it is daylight, why aren’t you stone, too?” His brows drew down as another thought struck. “Come to think of it, I met Maelgwn and Einan during the day, but Ray says they’re gargoyles, as well? What the hell is going on? Where’s Ray?”

  Sapian chuckled low in his throat, which confused Marty about as much as it pissed him off.

  “What the fuck?” he snapped.

  Lifting a hand in placation, Sapian continued grinning as he said, “I’m not surprised Raymond didn’t get around to explaining too much. After putting off direct contact with you for so long, I’m sure neither of you had much more on your mind than, uh—” He cleared his throat, his gaze sliding to Marty’s shoulder. “Than getting relief.”

  That had Marty flushing again, but he forged again anyhow. “So…explain?”

  “Me and those other gargoyles you mentioned are bonded,” Sapian stated.

  “What’s that?”

  “The morning after a gargoyle completes the mate-bond with his mate, he goes through molt,” Sapian explained. He held up his hand and continued speaking before Marty needed to ask. “Unlike most paranormals, who can pass as humans, gargoyles cannot until after they’ve bonded. Molt is a fairly painful, but fortunately brief, process. Once complete, we have the ability to take on human form.” He spread his arms wide. “Like you see here.”

  “So, what do you look like in your, uh, as a gargoyle?” Marty couldn’t help but ask.

  Sapian grinned. “You sure you’re ready for that?”

  Marty scowled. “Why not?”

  Shrugging, Sapian told him, “Because you fainted when Vane showed up at your place.”

  Rolling his eyes, Marty sneered. “He came in the middle of the night and broke into my house. I wasn’t ready.” Pressing his lips into a firm line, he claimed, “Now I am.”

  Sapian nodded. “Fair enough. You’ll need to get used to us anyway.”

  “I do?”

  “Of course. You’re Raymond’s mate. You’ll move in here with us eventually,” Sapian said, as if it were already a done deal.

  Before Marty could come up with a response to that, Sapian started to…change. His tanned body appeared to thicken even as his bone structure broadened. White wings appeared, spreading behind him. Gold mottled hide replaced the bronzed skin. His jaw lengthened and canines peeked through his lips.

  Marty’s jaw sagged open and his heart raced in his chest. His hands tightened on the arms of the chair. Swallowing hard, he took in the huge gargoyle lounging in the chair before him. The creature had the audacity to wink.

  “Sapian, stop trying to scare the poor man,” a female voice called from the doorway.

  Unable to look away from the gargoyle, Marty didn’t see who it was until a short, slightly overweight brunette appeared in his peripheral vision. Sapian looked toward the woman and held out a white-clawed hand. “Awe, Missy, babe, I’m not trying to freak Marty out. He asked me to change for him.”

  Rolling her eyes, the brunette leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Sapian’s mouth. The gargoyle wrapped his arm around Missy and pulled her into his lap. The woman giggled. “Stop it. You’ll make me spill breakfast.”

  The fact that Missy carried a tray laden with covered plates, upside down mugs, and a couple jugs finally registered to Marty.

  Sapian pressed a kiss to the side of Missy’s neck. “I got a hand on it, babe. I won’t let it spill.” Sapian looked at Marty, then the tray. “Why don’t you take your breakfast to the table,” he suggested. “That way I can greet my mate properly.”

  “S-She’s your mate?” Marty couldn’t help but whisper even as he started moving. His stomach growled, reminding him it’d been a while since he’d eaten.

  “Yep,” Sapian replied happily. “This is Melissa.”

  Once Marty took the tray from her, she held out her hand. “Everyone calls me Missy.”

  Balancing the tray, Marty shook Missy’s hand. “Uh, Marty.”

  “Welcome to the family,” Missy stated, grinning.

  “Thanks,” Marty murmured.

  Not certain how else to respond to that, he headed toward the small round table situated on the other side of the room. Ignoring the soft giggles and masculine rumbles sounding behind him, he removed the lid off several trays. He discovered scrambled eggs, cheesy hash browns, bacon, sausage, and toast. After a quick sniff, he discovered the brown powder on it was cinnamon.

  Interesting.

  Pulling an empty plate toward him, Marty spooned eggs onto his plate, covered it with a liberal amount of hash browns, then sliced up several sausages. He layered that with a hefty dose of ketchup, then mixed it all up. After placing a heaping forkful into his mouth, Marty hummed in appreciation. Delicious. Within moments, he’d cleared his plate and taken a small amount of seconds.

  As he slowly ate that, Missy and Sapian joined him at the small table. Sapian picked up a slice of bacon and took a bite. Once he’d swallowed, he stated, “I know you’re gonna have questions, so fire away when you’re ready. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  Marty nodded and swallowed his own bite of food. “How does a gargoyle bond?”

  Missy lifted her hand to her mouth, snickering. She glanced toward Sapian, then picked up a piece of toast and ate, probably just for something to do. Sapian cleared his throat and ran a clawed hand through his thick brown hair. “Uh, fucking, biting, and blood,” he stated bluntly. “Sorry, babe,” he added, glancing at his mate.

  She just shrugged. “It is what it is.”

  Sapian leaned closer and lifted a hand. Marty froze, just barely managing to keep from pulling away when the gargoyle touched his shoulder, right below the bite wound Ray had left. Sighing, Sapian murmured, “Raymond should have explained before starting the process.” He lowered his hand, a concerned expression creasing his brows.

  “What are you talking about?” Wariness flooded Marty.

  “He’s already started the process,” Sapian told him. “He bit you, claiming you,” he stated, touching the joint of the shoulder on Missy. She tilted her head, showing off the faint scarring caused by what must have been Sapian’s claiming bite. Sapian pressed a kiss to the mark, earning a smile from his woman. “Will you give us a few minutes, love?”

  Missy smiled. “Of course.” She picked up her cup of coffee and stood. “It was nice to meet you, Marty,” she said.

  Marty absently responded in kind, then she left, leaving him alone with her mate.

  Sapian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. “I can tell from your scent that Raymond didn’t fuck you. If he had, the first half of the bond would be comp
lete, changing your scent.”

  Marty’s brows shot up. “Uh—”

  “Don’t say anything,” Sapian cut in, holding up his hand. “He needs to spill his seed inside you and bite you, claiming you inside and out. That’s the first half of the bond. To complete the second, you’d switch.” His tone remained steady and firm. “You’d need to fuck him, assuming you haven’t done that.”

  Even while damning his fair complexion, Marty tightened his jaw, refusing to comment.

  Sapian finally cracked, a smile curving his broad mouth, showing off more of his canines. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Just as quickly, he sobered. “Did you drink his blood?”

  Marty’s eyes widened at that comment. He quickly shook his head. “No.”

  Holding up his hand, Sapian waved his clawed hand between them, seeming to dismiss Marty’s growing unease. “You’ll need to. Normally for a human, a gargoyle would slice his wrist a bit so you can drink a little of his blood.” He shrugged. “That’s it. Like I said. Blood, fucking, and biting.”

  Marty lowered his gaze, focusing on his nearly empty plate as he processed Sapian’s words. His ass clenched at the idea of allowing Ray to fuck him. Sure, he’d loved fucking Ray, and the male had seemed to like it, but would he? Then he realized, he shouldn’t expect Ray to be the bottom all the time. Wouldn’t they need to be equals in a partnership?

  Damn, partnership? How could I think of the gargoyle as my partner already?

  “Anyway, once the bond is complete, Raymond will be able to go through molt, as I mentioned. However, there will be some changes you’ll notice in yourself,” Sapian added.

  Wait, what? He really needed to focus. “What changes?”

  Sapian lowered his voice to an almost gentle tone when he asked, “Did Raymond mention that gargoyles live for centuries?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, since you would be the only person he could be with sexually,” he stated, “Your life would extend to match his.”

  Holy shit!

  Marty sat in silence for several minutes, absorbing that information. A soft knock on the door drew him from his near-shocked state.

  “Come on in, baby,” Sapian called.

  Missy returned to the room, holding a carafe of coffee. She smiled as she moved to her mate’s side. “I brought some more coffee.”

  After she refilled their mugs, Sapian tugged her onto his lap. For the next little while, Marty kept his mouth shut and listened while the pair slowly explained things. How a clutch worked with Maelgwn as the chieftain, a gargoyle named Tobias as the second in command, along with several enforcers, Sapian being one of them and Einan another. He learned his own health would be impacted, rarely getting sick, increased immunity, so no need for condoms. How important secrecy was, since humans tended to fear, hate, and persecute those they didn’t understand or who were different.

  Then, Missy pointed at the cinnamon toast that he hadn’t touched, insisting he eat it. When Marty asked why, she dropped another bombshell. Gargoyles could make their male partners pregnant.

  Marty’s jaw sagged open in shock. “What the fuck?”

  Sapian chuckled and shrugged. “And on that note, I think I’m going to take you home. You’ve had enough info dumped on you by now, haven’t you?”

  “Y-Yeah,” Marty mumbled. His stomach rolled, and now he wished he hadn’t eaten quite so much. He wasn’t certain he was gonna be able to keep it all down. “I think I need to, uh, I need a day or two to assimilate all that.”

  Missy reached across the small table, rested her hand on his arm and squeezed gently. “It’s a lot to take in. Sapian will drive you home.” She looked over to where Ray lay curled up in the corner. “Should I tell Raymond you’ll be back this evening?”

  Marty followed her gaze. God, why do I want to lie down and curl around the gargoyle…watch him sleep until he wakes again? Then start the fucking all over again? His prick thickened a bit at that idea.

  Even with all the information he knew he needed time to wrap his mind around, Marty realized he wouldn’t be able to stay away. “Yeah,” he assured. “I’ll be back.”

  He could see the relief in Sapian’s eyes when the male stood. “Good. Raymond will appreciate that knowledge when he wakes from roost.”

  “Roost?” God, so many new terms to learn.

  Sapian nodded. “Roosting is what we do when we turn to stone. It’s essentially our sleep cycle,” he explained. “Even after completing molt we still have to sleep a couple times a week. If we go too long, our body will force the issue, which could be dangerous if we end up turning to stone in the wrong place or at the wrong time.”

  Marty nodded absently. That he could believe.

  Hours later, Marty’s perusal of the changes he needed to confirm for the Grossman job was interrupted by a knock on his door. Sighing, he threw down his pen and watched the back door open and his brother enter. He smiled at the slightly shorter, more slender man.

  Marty hadn’t been making any headway anyway, his mind too busy turning over and over all the information Sapian and Missy had dumped on him.

  “Hey, man,” Marty greeted. “What’s up?”

  Matthew shrugged. He rooted in Marty’s fridge and brought out two beers. Marty took one as he watched his brother flop onto a dining room chair. After popping the cap, Matthew took a swig.

  Lifting a brow, Marty gave his brother a questioning look. “Matthew?”

  “I swung by here last night about ten,” Matthew admitted, surprising him.

  “Oh, yeah? Why?”

  Shrugging again, Matthew admitted, “I wanted to talk to you about those guys we met at the diner. I did some digging and found out they own this huge estate thirty miles north of the city.”

  Marty already knew that, since he’d spent the night there. Not that he could tell his brother that. Instead, he nodded. “Yeah?”

  Matthew nodded back. “From what I can gather, there’s a good two and a half dozen people there. A couple of them work here in town, but it’s for funzies.”

  At that, Marty’s brows shot up and he couldn’t help but smirk. “I’m sorry. Funzies?”

  “Yep.” Matthew took another swig. “The estate is owned by a company called Night Wingers, Inc.” He plunked the now empty bottle on the table. “You wanna know who the president of the company is?”

  Marty lifted one brow and nodded once.

  Matthew crossed his arms over his chest. “Maelgwn D’Montron. That’s who.” Rubbing his chin, his brother appeared thoughtful. “I drove up there yesterday and they have massive security. I wonder what they’re hiding in there.”

  “How the hell did you find all that shit out?” Marty asked. He knew from experience that once his brother got curious about something, he was like a dog with a bone. For Matthew’s sake, he needed to figure out how to get him to back off. “And what’s it matter anyway? You looking to bid a job for them?” he teased.

  Snorting, Matthew rolled his eyes. “Come on, bro. You were planning on having them over for a BBQ. I bet that’s where your reclusive boyfriend hides out.” He punched Marty’s arm. “Somebody’s gotta look out for ya.”

  Marty rubbed a hand over his jaw, trying to find something, anything to say. Heaving a sigh, Marty smiled at Matthew. “Thanks, man. Love you, too,” he quipped, punching his brother’s arm.

  Matthew snorted, his gaze dropping to the open laptop in front of him. His brows creased as he stared at the screen, the mirth disappearing from his eyes. “Hey, what’s this?”

  “What’s what?” Marty asked, coming around behind his brother.

  He’d left the screen open on his email.

  “Who sent that?” Matthew pointed.

  Marty frowned at the screen, reading the heading of an email.

  Stay away from GRay397

  Not recognizing the return address, Chekov87, Marty mumbled, “No idea.” Clicking it open, he saw the body consisted of one line.


  Raymond is mine.

  “Well, damn.” Matthew looked up at him. “What the fuck is going on, brother?”

  “I’m not sure,” Marty shook his head. “Maybe my new interest has a jealous ex. I’ll ask him the next time I chat with him.”

  Marty never got the chance. The glass of the sliding glass door shattered. Pain spiked through his torso. He felt himself falling, heard his brother shouting, but couldn’t seem to force himself to answer. It took every ounce of energy he had just to force air into his lungs over the pain coursing through him.

  Matthew’s face appeared above him. Marty tried to smile. Then, a fresh spike of pain burst through him and he roared in pain until darkness converged.

  Chapter Nine

  Raymond unfurled from the ball he’d curled up in before sinking into roost. He’d been so comfortable in his mate’s arms, he’d waited until the last possible minute. Not wanting his brand new lover to wake up to a lump of stone, he’d slipped off the bed and curled up in the corner, instead.

  Thinking of Marty, an oddly queasy feeling filled his stomach…which only intensified when he looked up and saw the room was empty. Raymond rose and headed toward the door, trying not to inhale too deeply. The room still smelled of Marty and sex, with a little bit of Sapian and Missy thrown in. The scents were wreaking havoc on his cock, and since experience proved walking around with a hard-on was both uncomfortable and embarrassing, he preferred not to.

  Leaving the room and pausing in the hallway, Raymond breathed deeply for a few seconds. He thought about lines of code until he got his randy dick under control. Raymond sighed and headed toward the mess hall, more than ready for some steak and eggs.

  Raymond strode into the large room and headed straight for the buffet. After loading his plate with food, he glanced around. When he spotted Sapian, he headed that way. Placing his plate on the table a couple seats down, he nodded to the other gargoyle.