Stone Passions Trilogy (Stone Passion 1, 2, & 3)

by A C Warneke

  “Three gargoyles,” she clarified. “Like you and your brothers?”

  He nodded, “Yes. And before you ask, my London brothers are the result of my mother’s and father’s time prior to my pod of brothers. We joined Artaire, Bar and Rowan in London when we were still young and then we arrived in the New World when we were old enough to guard our own territory.”

  For a few minutes he talked about the changes that he had witnessed in his lifetime as she listened in rapt fascination. Knowing that there wasn’t a lot of time to go into a great deal of depth, he just highlighted the wonder of the past century, going from horse-drawn carriages to driving in cars to flying in planes to travelling in space.

  “So, your mother is a gargoyle, too?” she asked tentatively, her eyes wide and her pupils large. “Of course she is. You told me that on the plane, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” he answered simply, watching her as she picked up her fork and pushed the food around on the plate. “You can imagine what her gargoyle form is.”

  She slowly nodded her head, her eyes troubled as she took in everything he was telling her. Her face was so expressive he could see the wheels spinning and it was fascinating. She had such a quick mind and it enchanted him as much as it turned him on. He could have saved the conversation for when they were closer to the island but he knew that she would need the time to absorb everything and be prepared.

  “Can I get you anything else, Master Rhys?” Zin asked in her crystal clear, high-pitched voice.

  “I’m good,” he grinned, patting his stomach. For the first time in his life he was too nervous to eat anything more. His brothers would be shocked. “Thank you, Zin.”

  The little pixie turned to Jenna, her purple-rose eyes growing even wider, as she breathlessly asked, “And for you, human?”

  Jenna blinked and looked at Zin, staring at the small creature for a moment in bewilderment before she returned to the present. Her lips curled into a smile but her eyes were still troubled, “Oh, no, thank you.”

  “Perhaps a plate of fruit?” Zin offered, obviously reluctant to leave the human.

  Jenna’s smile relaxed and she nodded, “Um, sure.”

  Zin beamed, buzzing away to gather a fruit tray, her hair fluttering about her wings. Within moments she had returned, bearing a platter over flowing with exotic and not-so-exotic fruits. With an elaborate flourish, she set it on the table, her eyes darting to Jenna to gage the human’s reaction. When Jenna smiled her approval, Zin puffed up in pride. “If you need anything, just holler for a dog.”

  “I think you mean whistle,” Rhys corrected.

  “No, holler,” Zin countered, opening her mouth and letting out a piercing whistle. As Jenna and Rhys slammed their hands over their ears, Zin smiled in self-satisfaction, “See? Holler for a dog.”

  “Yes, quite,” Rhys grumbled, giving the point to the pixie because her holler was very much a whistle.

  “Very clever,” Jenna said and the praise puffed the pixie right up. Zipping off, her body practically vibrating with excitement from conversing with a human, Zin disappeared back into the kitchen.

  “I think my ears are bleeding,” Rhys muttered, sticking his finger in his ear canal and juggling it a bit.

  “Zin is adorable,” Jenna chuckled easily. “She makes it easier to adapt to this new world.”

  “It’s older than you can imagine,”

  “Oh, I can imagine,” she grinned, her eyes twinkling. Then her lips parted and her eyes widened in astonishment, “Gorgon and gargoyle… I could see how the pronunciation could be altered throughout the years. Very interesting.”

  He chuckled, grateful that she was easing her way into his world with relatively few problems. Omari must have lowered her inhibitions slightly by giving her the medallion that she wore all of the time. Every now and then, she would touch it and not even realize she was doing it. Omari had told him it was a protective charm, but Rhys suspected it was so much more. Unless there was another reason Jenna was adjusting to her new reality so well… he just couldn’t think of one.

  She scowled, “If your father is a… well, a god, how can they be kept apart?”

  “Well, she is of the night and he is of the day,” he explained poorly. There were so many truths and half-truths he wasn’t sure where to even begin. It didn’t matter, not really. In the end his parents loved one another from afar, taking lovers as needed or wanted and savoring the brief moments of time they had together.

  “What?” she chuckled, “Is he the sun god Apollo?”

  “Um, yes?” he admitted reluctantly, knowing she was still getting used to Medusa being his mother. “Though, of course, he goes by a different name now.”

  “Of course,” she muttered, the color once more gone from her cheeks as she stared at him. “It still doesn’t make sense, though. He’s a god, he should be able to do as he pleases.”

  He couldn’t help but smile, “The mythical world has its own rules and curses play large roles and so many of the great myths revolve around curses. Fortunately, it is also difficult to create a truly unbreakable curse so it’s important to learn nuance and to be very specific. My parents found a loophole in the curse and they use that time to make up for the hundreds of years they spend apart.”

  Jenna blushed prettily as her taut nipples betrayed her lascivious thoughts.

  “Before the curse mother could transform at will and they would spend their days together, frolicking and fucking and whatever else they did. But after, she was confined to a stone body during the day and he was banned admittance to her island, except for the five years they are allowed to be together.” He paused to make sure she was following since she was oddly quiet. “Because we are gargoyles, we are stone during the day and men at night. Because we are the sons of… Apollo we are men at night and not gargoyles.”

  “I…see.” Her nose crinkled slightly in confusion and he leaned forward and kissed the tip of it. Grabbing a slice of mango, he slid it between her parted lips, smiling as the juice dribbled down her chin and she gasped, effectively ending the conversation before she thought too much about it.

  “Mother will be able to explain it better,” he grinned, running his tongue over her skin to clean up the juice, tasting her in the process. With his lips next to her ear, his nose nestled in the soft, black silk of her hair, he breathed in her delicate scent and murmured, “Shall we take the fruit back to the room so we can finish getting ready for another night out?”

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she smiled, sliding her hand into his, sighing as he kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear. They stood up and, judging by the wide eyes and parted lips, he surprised her by handing her the platter of fruit. When she arched her eyebrow at him, he swooped her up into his arms, steadying her as she struggled between holding onto the tray and keeping her balance. “Rhys!”

  Kissing the tip of her nose again, he grinned, “I’ve got to build my strength up, sweetheart, since we only have a few days left until we arrive on Medusa’s island.”

  Grabbing a slice of fruit, she stuffed it into his mouth, stopping his sensual promises before he could make them again. He adored her but he was concerned. The fates were being awfully generous with their information and Jenna herself was struggling a little but she refused to admit to having any problems. She’d smile as if she hadn’t a care in the world and yet her eyes were troubled.

  Anytime he tried to ask her about it, her smile would become sultry and she’d distract him with sex. He wanted to comfort her but he was only a man and when she wrapped her hand around his cock he couldn’t think at all until she milked every ounce of pleasure from him.

  If he wasn’t careful, he was going to become addicted to her.

  If he was honest with himself, he would admit he already was.

  When they got back to the manor it was nearly three in the morning and Jenna was buzzing with energy. All of the sights and sounds were still pounding in her head and she felt amazing and she never wanted
the feeling to end. Rhys continued to draw her deeper into his spell, weaving a web that was ensnaring her body and soul. As they climbed the stairs to the top floor, he looked at her with fire and lust in his eyes, “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes, of course,” she answered without having to think about it, surprising herself with how much she did trust him. She felt young and carefree – alive – with him; of course she trusted him.

  He brought her hand up to his lips, his warm breath moving across her knuckles as he smiled wickedly, “Good. Now, come. I’ve got something special planned for our last night in London.”

  Jenna’s heart trembled and her belly hummed as she followed Rhys back to their suite. He kept looking at her with those heated eyes, making the butterflies in her belly go wild. There was a flash of dark craving in his eyes that thrilled her even as it made her a little apprehensive. But like the lust-filled fool she was, she followed him, wanting whatever he had in store for her.

  “Come,” he whispered, opening the door to their room. Slowly, the door swung open, revealing a room filled with the warm glow of candle light. Rose petals were strewn across the floor and the bed, blood red against the white sheets. Soft, sensual music played in the background as the scent of candlewax and rose petals filled the air.

  Tears welled in her eyes as she stepped into the room he had prepared. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she took in the whole room, noticing the black and red silk ties that were artfully interspersed across the bed with the rose petals. Her eyes flew to Rhys, who quirked up a wicked smile as his hot eyes burned through her. “I told you I wanted you tied to my bed.”

  Her stomach hollowed out as a million butterflies vanished in fright. Slowly, he pulled the tight t-shirt off his body, revealing the naked splendor of his gold-kissed chest, the hard muscles and sculpted planes of his abdomen. Her knees wobbled as he continued to look at her with those smoldering dark eyes. His fingers flicked the fastening of his pants and her mouth went dry. But he didn’t remove his pants, he simply kicked his shoes off until he stood before her in nothing but a pair of denim jeans.

  It was incredibly sexy.

  “Jenna,” he purred, running his fingers along her arms, her shoulders. “Take off your clothes.”

  Trembling, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and found Rhys’s hands already there, tugging the material up and over her torso. Raising her arms above her head, she held his gaze as he pulled the shirt from her body to reveal the silky blue bra that encased her breasts. Before he stripped any more clothes from her body, he cupped a breast in his hand and brushed his thumb over the nipple, making her moan in pleasure.

  “That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured, bending his head and taking the swollen peak between his teeth. He gently bit down on the silk-covered flesh and Jenna’s body stiffened in pleasure and she had to grab on to his arms to keep steady.

  As he tongued her breasts, he unfastened her pants and pushed them down her legs, holding her steady as she stepped out of the material. Stepping back he looked at her in her bra and panties and smiled hotly, “Beautiful.”

  Standing nearly naked before him, with his hot eyes raking over her body, she felt beautiful. The most charming, gorgeous man stood before her with an erection that was straining against the front of his jeans and he was looking at her as if she was his salvation and deliverance. Of course she felt beautiful. Reverently, he took her hand in his and led her over to the bed. He continued to hold her hand and her eyes as she climbed onto the bed, shivers of excitement and nerves dancing over her skin.

  Holding her eyes, he gently laid her back against a pile of pillows so she was at a slight incline and the scent of crushed roses filled the air. Taking one of the red silk sashes in his hands, he slid his hand from her shoulder to wrist and the bed dipped beneath his weight as he kneeled on the mattress beside her. He wrapped the silk around her wrist and raised the arm above her head and lashed it to the headboard, stretching the muscle of her shoulder until she felt it but not so much that it hurt. Her heart raced in her chest as she placed her pleasure into his hands and she wanted it and feared it in equal parts. Moistening her lips, she asked in a hushed voice, “What if I change my mind?”

  “Dragon’s breath,” he murmured huskily as he took her other hand and repeating the action, tying it to the bed so her arms were firmly but comfortably bound. He ran his finger over the tip of her breast as he smiled down at her, “It’s a safe word, a color of red. Any time you say dragon’s breath I’ll stop immediately. Unless you prefer a different word?”

  She swallowed thickly as he gazed at her with hot chocolate eyes. “It’s okay.”

  “Say it for me,” he ordered, his voice rough with passion.

  “Dragon’s breath,” she managed to whisper, her mouth dry, her sex wet. He lightly pinched her nipple making her shoulders tighten and her breasts thrust upwards and his smile was pure decadence. Licking her lips, she asked, “Why a safe word?”

  “It’s part of the thrill,” he purred, bending his head and trailing a line of kisses from her ear, down her throat, along her collar bone. “When you’re dying from pleasure and begging me to stop I know you don’t mean it, that you’re simply lost in the moment. It heightens your pleasure when you beg.

  “But if you say dragon’s breath I’ll know you’ve had too much,” he continued, kissing each breast, her sternum, dipping his tongue in her navel and making her squirm. But then he stopped and sat back on his heels looking down at her with liquid desire, “I’m asking you to trust me, Jenna. I know how much your body can take and I will take you to the edge and leap off with you.”

  When he looked at her like that she could barely breathe. “I don’t like pain.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he vowed, cupping her cheek in his hand, his expression one of love and devotion. “I’d never hurt you. This is all about pleasure, love, your pleasure.”

  Slowly, she nodded, not quite a hundred percent certain she was okay with it. She watched with wide eyes as he grabbed the black ribbon and put it over her eyes, tying it at the back of her head so she couldn’t see anything at all. “Rhys….”

  “Shh,” he murmured, putting his finger over her lips. Without her sight all of her other senses were heightened and the anticipation sky rocketed. What was he going to do to her?

  His hands reached behind her back and unhooked her bra and for a moment she wondered how he was going to get it off, if he planned on cutting it. She hoped not because it was her favorite bra – it gave her breasts more oomph. Then she felt him push the silky straps up her arms, leaving the material at her wrists. “I like the look of your bra dangling right where your arms are bound.”

  Slowly, he trailed his fingers back down her arms, the touch light and almost ticklish. Goosebumps broke out all over her flesh and her nipples tightened just to the edge of discomfort. He hadn’t even done anything yet and she was ready to explode. She didn’t even care that her breasts were too small or her stomach was marred by stretch marks because Rhys made her feel beautiful and desirable.

  Hot, moist breath followed the trail his fingers had left behind as he kissed her from her wrists to her shoulders, as he nuzzled her neck. “I could spend hours just kissing you, Jenna.”

  Blindly, she turned her head to taste his lips, thrilled when he covered her mouth with his, kissing her with worshipful passion. His tongue moved against hers and in the dark all that existed was Rhys. His midnight scent filled her senses and she was drowning in his kiss. She wanted to touch him but her arms were bound above her head and it struck home how helpless she was. Her belly tightened as her muscles strained against the ties.

  “I want to touch you,” she panted as she tore her mouth from his.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” he chuckled roughly as he moved his body lower, his lips brushing kisses along her jaw, her throat. It was difficult to protest when he worked magic on her body with just his mouth.

  His fingers curled into the lacy straps of her pan
ties and as he pulled the flimsy material down her legs, he ran his tongue along her skin, kissing and nipping as he went. Pulling against the restraints, feeling the stretch of her shoulders and arms, she wanted to pull the blindfold off and see what he was doing. She wanted to see the lost in sensuality expression that darkened his eyes when he was making love with her and she almost begged him to remove the blindfold.

  He pushed her legs apart and when he kissed his way back up her legs he was between them, the rasp of his blue jeans rough against her sensitized skin. The heat of his breath along her inner thigh was the only warning she had before he gently spread the lips of her sex apart and delicately ran his tongue along her clit. Her body ached off the bed, pushing her harder against his mouth.

  His hand pressed down on her stomach, holding her in place as he suckled and ravaged her with his tongue and teeth. She struggled against the bonds, her body trying to twist against his unrelenting sexual mastery. Gasping for breath, straining to get closer or maybe to get away, she almost screamed in frustration when he stopped the torment and placed a gentle kiss on her inner thigh.

  The bed shifted as he slid off. With her body strung to the point of shattering, she was shaking and confused. “Rhys?”

  She could hear movement: the slide of a drawer, rummaging, the drawer closing. There were footsteps and then the bed shifting once again as Rhys sat down next to her hip. Grabbing her around the waist, he flipped her onto her back. A moment later warm liquid dribbled between her shoulder blades and she tensed, “What are you doing?”

  “Shh,” he murmured, pouring more of the liquid onto her flesh. There was a soft sound as he put the bottle down and then his warm, broad palms were gliding across her skin, massaging her muscles in a slow, sensuous caress. With her body still vibrating from her near-orgasm, the slide of his hands over her skin was divine. He didn’t dig into her muscles, just gently caressed them, sliding his hands down her spine to her ass.