He shook his head. “I do not even know what it looks like. All I can do is remain alert and hope to recognize it if I see it.”
“I’ll help, of course.” She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “As will my coven. We’ll find the belt, Damien, goddess willing.”
There was silence for a moment. She toyed with her food, but he could see she was still worried about something.
“What is it, cherie?” He hadn’t let go of her hand and he gripped it tightly.
She nibbled her lip. “It didn’t occur to me until this morning that we didn’t…use anything. Not last night or this morning. Or then again when you came home. I’m an earth witch, which means fertility is part of my nature. I’ve always used protection before. I’ll admit I’m a little worried.”
Something clenched in Damien’s stomach at the thought of this vibrant creature growing round with his child. But he shook his head. “Don’t worry, petite. Gargoyles can only breed with other gargoyles. There is no chance we have conceived a child.”
“Oh. Good.” She toyed with her food some more and he fancied he heard a trace of disappointment mingled with the relief. “Doesn’t that make for an awfully inbred population?”
“There is a way. In the past, when one of my race found a mate, they were able to perform a conversion process, if the mate was willing to adopt the life of a gargoyle.”
“Only in the past?”
Damien nodded. As much as the idea of converting Katie to be his bride appealed, it was out of the question. Her life was far too precious to risk for such a thing. “It is too dangerous now. Perhaps once the regalia is found it will be safe again, but at the present time, it is not a risk I would be willing to take. In the last few decades many of the mates have failed to survive the conversion process.”
* * * * *
Katie’s mood was melancholy and contemplative as she cleared the kitchen and made her way up the stairs. Damien was in the living room using his laptop to contact his family back in Quebec, so she decided to take a few moments to center herself. How could she have fallen so hard for him so fast?
She stood by the window in her bedroom and lit a candle, then murmured the words to a spell for reflection and understanding. She held herself still while comprehension dawned. Ah. She was worrying about the wrong question. The how didn’t matter. The fact was she had fallen in love with Damien St. Pierre. Now she had to decide what to do about it.
Number one was to help him with his quest. That was a no-brainer. All of her contacts, all of her powers would be at his disposal. Secondly, she could help him by providing unconditional emotional support. Her love was a gift to be freely given with no expectation of return. While she hoped he would someday love her, she wouldn’t demand it. She’d felt a moment of hope when he’d described the conversion process, but she could only take the risk if she was convinced he truly loved her and wanted her as his mate. Otherwise she would continue as she was—his lover and his friend.
With that she decided that Damien’s spirits would benefit from a little lighthearted fun. She opened her toy drawer and perused the selection before deciding on a couple of all-time favorites. Her decision made, she shimmied out of her Flyers’ jersey and into something a little less comfortable.
* * * * *
Damien was shutting down his laptop when he heard music wafting down the stairs. Katie had confessed earlier that she shared his preference for jazz, so the smooth sound of a saxophone was no great surprise. It was almost five in the morning. He didn’t have too much time yet before changing and Katie would need sleep before she had to rise and go to work. He closed the lid on his computer and bounded up the stairs two at a time. He might not be able to make Katie his mate, but while there was life, there was hope. The seers said the artifacts could be found. If they were, he could marry Katie if she’d have him. Until then he wasn’t going to waste a moment of the time he was blessed to spend in her company.
When he reached the bedroom the lights were off and the room was lit by fat white candles. Katie sat in the center of the bed, her long legs folded into a lotus position. Damien’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw what she was—or wasn’t—wearing.
Black. Leather. Yum. His brain was able to come up with words, but not to string them together. Fish. Net. Stockings. He licked at his lips, afraid he was drooling. Spike. Heeled. Boots.
“Done working?” Her voice was a soft purr which matched the velvet kitten ears she was wearing on a headband. She wore some kind of little leather corset thing and a black silk thong. Black lace gloves covered her wrists and forearms but left her fingers free. In one hand she idly twirled the dangling ends of her long necklace, the antique gold one with the red and green stones.
He nodded.
“Good.” She uncoiled her legs and rolled to her feet beside the bed. She crooked one finger at Damien. “Come here.”
Obediently he stepped forward. His raging erection tented the front of the boxer shorts that were his only clothing.
“What a good boy you are.” She traced one finger down the center of his chest. “And good boys get rewarded.”
He could see the laughter bubbling up under the surface. He was nowhere near a submissive, but that was okay since she wasn’t really a dom. This was just a game and he loved the fact that she felt safe enough to play. He smiled back and wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? And what happens to bad boys?”
Her grin melted what little wall he had left around his heart. He felt it go, felt himself fall all the way in love with her when she giggled and replied. “Oh, they get rewarded even more.”
She slid her thumbs into the waistband of his boxers and worked them to the floor. When he stepped out of them, she put both hands against his chest and lightly shoved him onto the bed. He went willingly, happy to enjoy whatever her inventive mind had planned.
“Scoot up.” There was a big pile of pillows padding the wrought iron headboard. Damien immediately followed instructions and reclined against them. True to her word, Katie rewarded him by climbing onto the bed and straddling his hips. His cock strained upward, brushed against the scrap of wet silk between her legs before she scooted forward and sat on his chest.
The first thing she did was lean down and kiss him. His arms wrapped up around her as her lips softly nibbled along his, tasting and exploring. He tried to deepen the kiss, but she pulled back with another smile.
“Uh-uh.” She shook her finger playfully near his nose. “Not yet. Now close your eyes.”
He did, content to let her take charge. He felt her lean over, heard the clatter of plastic as she took something off the nightstand. Then his eyes flew open in shock as she snapped a handcuff around his wrist and manacled it to the iron bedpost. While he lay there stunned, she clipped the other wrist to the opposite post. She perched on his chest, grinning.
“You realize I could break these if I wanted to?”
Her musical laugh warmed his soul. “Honey, if you hadn’t noticed, the cuffs are plastic. I could break them. And I have no doubt if you really put your mind to it, you could rip the headboard apart. Relax and have some fun, okay? Today was your first day at a new job. You’ve earned a little playtime.”
He had to concede the point. And since she was wiggling her delectable ass down his body, he quickly decided she was right. She stopped with her pussy riding the ridge of his erection and teased him with her damp heat. Then she reached over and pulled a couple more objects from the nightstand.
“What now?” He didn’t even try to keep the chuckle out of his voice.
“No talking.” She waved a small paintbrush at him. “Or you’ll force me to add a blindfold.”
She dipped the brush into a small jar and began to paint a design on his chest. The fine hairs tickled against his skin, but it was worth the minor torment to watch Katie’s face while she worked. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and squinted as she meticulously traced symbols on his skin.
�
�What—”
“Ah!” She shook her head, reminding him he wasn’t supposed to speak. He nodded his apology and was rewarded with a quick buss on his chin before Katie went back to her work. She shifted her hips occasionally as she worked, rubbing her cleft along the ridge of his aroused cock.
“There!” She straightened up and inspected her artwork. “Perfect.”
Then she moved. At first he was disappointed to lose the weight on his erection, but she turned and swung the other leg over his hips, ending in the same place she’d started but facing his feet. The new position robbed him of the sight of her face, but he was compensated with a view of her luscious ass. Forgetting the cuffs, he moved to fill his hands with her cheeks, but was brought up short by the restraints. Sure, he could have snapped them in a heartbeat, but he was having fun. So he stared instead, mentally lining up all the ways he was going to pay her back. They’d both enjoy every minute.
She painted something on his thigh and he realized the design on his chest was heating up. Apparently whatever paint she was using had warming oil in it. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, but it was increasing his arousal, making him even hotter for Katie, more impatient to be inside her. She finished her artwork on one leg then switched to the other. She’d started humming along with the stereo and her hips swayed in time to the music, which added to the friction on his cock. He moaned when she lifted off him again, this time coming to rest between his legs, facing him.
“Almost done.” Her voice was low and husky, impossibly seductive. “Just one more thing.” She dipped the paintbrush one last time and then added a few swift lines, right on the sensitive flesh of his shaft. This time he recognized that she was writing a word, but he was so overwhelmed by the feather strokes of the brush and the heat of the oil that he couldn’t make out the letters. Then she set the paint and brush aside and sat back on her heels to survey her handiwork.
“Oh yeah.” She gave a happy purr. “Goddess, Damien, I could just play with your body for weeks on end. I wish neither of us had to go to work today.”
So did he. But he wasn’t supposed to talk, so he just sent her a smoldering glance and nodded his agreement.
She leaned down and ran the tip of her tongue along the crease of first one leg then the other. “But there’s always the weekend, isn’t there? And then, big guy, you are all mine.” She grasped his cock in her hands and lowered her mouth. Game or no game, Damien couldn’t repress the groan that rose up from his throat. Katie didn’t seem to object. She swirled that talented tongue around the head of his penis, dipping inside to collect the droplet of pre-cum he knew had to be beading there. He bucked his hips up, trying to fuck her mouth when she opened her lips and drew the head of him inside for a brief taste.
He wouldn’t have minded if she’d decided to settle down and seriously suck him, but she dropped one last little kiss on the very tip and moved up to tickle his navel.
“Bet you want to know what I wrote.” She kissed her way up to his nipple and circled it with her tongue.
He nodded then gasped in a deep breath as she nipped.
“Wel-l-l…” She traced the lines on his chest with the tip of one finger. “These are runes. This is a protection spell. I know you’re stronger than the average cop, but I’m betting you’re still vulnerable to bullets. And the whole point of your task force is to keep the other big baddies in line. So while I’d never try to get between you and your job, I’m still going to worry about you.”
Damien was touched beyond belief. He could live with her painting a protection spell on his chest. It still stunned him that anyone other than his parents would care enough to want him to be safe.
She touched first one thigh and then the other and slanted him a wicked little smile. “One of these is the Japanese character for stamina. The other is for creativity.” She licked her lips before running her hand along the letters on his cock. “You want to know what this one says?”
He nodded.
She narrowed her eyes and stared into his as her fingers traced the lines. “This one is just a simple statement of fact. M-I-N-E. Mine. As in, this…” She wrapped her hand around his shaft and squeezed. “Belongs to Katie. And only Katie. You have a problem with that?”
“Goddess, no!” He’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to speak. “I love you, Katie Calhoun. Why the hell would I want to be with anyone else?”
Chapter Five
Katie froze as Damien’s heartfelt whisper registered in her brain. He squeezed his eyes shut and tugged lightly at the cuffs. “Not exactly how I planned to say it. Let me go, cherie, so I can hold you.”
She scrambled up the bed, grabbed the key off her nightstand and hurried to unlock his wrists. When she leaned over he lifted his head and nipped her left breast through the leather bustier. She fumbled the key and groaned at the pleasure. As soon as he let up, she finished freeing him and almost instantly found herself flat on her back on the bed, gazing up into Damien’s incredible gray eyes.
“I love you, Damien.” She was so choked up the words came out as a hoarse whisper.
“I love you, Katie. More than I’d ever dreamed I could love anyone. I know this is sudden, but it’s real. I know that with every fiber of my being.”
“It’s real.” There wasn’t the faintest shadow of a doubt in her mind. He was her other half, her perfect mate. Stone and earth.
“I’ve got to have you, cherie. I need to be inside you right now.” His rampant erection pushed into her stomach and he rubbed against her.
“Please.” She shifted her hips, trying to get pressure where she needed it. Her needy pussy wept while her vaginal muscles clenched tight, begging to be filled.
Damien pushed aside the soaked thong and shoved inside. “Oui.”
“Yes!” Their simultaneous cries echoed against the high ceilings of the loft. He set an urgent pace, but it wasn’t enough. “Harder, Damien. I need you hard and fast this time.”
“Anything, mon ange.” He pistoned his thick shaft in and out of her, the force of it making her gasp with every stroke.
She dug her nails into his back and he bit down on her nipple through the bustier before nosing the leather aside and taking the abused nub into his mouth. He pulled hard, the delicious suction timed to match the thrust of his cock.
“Damien!” She called his name as the stars exploded around her. Damien speeded up, the increased pace driving her to yet another unbelievable peak. This time when she screamed his name he held himself deep, flooding her womb. Her drawn-out orgasm continued and so did his, jet after jet of his hot seed filling her core. By the time they both finished, neither one of them could breathe, let alone speak. Finally, he rolled to the side, taking her with him, one leg thrown over his to hold their bodies together, still fused like two pieces of a puzzle.
“I want you to convert me,” she whispered later, combing a hand through his hair. Dawn was only about twenty minutes away and she was delighted that this time he was in no hurry to leave her bed.
He clasped her hand with his. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t want to lose you, Katie. I couldn’t bear it.”
“But I’m only human, Damien. And though you haven’t said, I know our life spans are very different. I don’t want to grow old without you and I don’t want you to watch me age and die.” And she wanted more than anything to be able to bear his children.
“You’d rather die now?”
She shook her head. “I’m an earth witch, remember? Stone should be a natural extension of that.” She could see the yearning in his face and knew he was close to relenting so she pressed. “You agreed that we were made for each other. I have faith that the goddess will protect me.”
He hugged her so close she could hear his throat work as he tried to speak. “I’m not used to being frightened.”
“It was meant to be, my love. Trust me. I know this is the right thing for us to do. I need to be your mate, Damien.”
He nodded against her hair and then pulled away.
“I’ll be right back.”
He walked to the dresser where he’d emptied his pockets after work and picked up his small pocketknife, then returned to Katie. He helped her out of the bed and stripped her of her clothes. The only thing he left was the necklace. She’d told him she never removed the heirloom and since it was easily more than a meter long, it should survive whatever transformation occurred. If the gods were with him, within the week she’d also be wearing his wedding band.
He resumed his reclining position against the pillows then pulled her down on top of him, taking her lips in a brutal, ravishing kiss. It only took a second for his hormones to overpower his fear. As soon as he was hard again, he shifted Katie on his lap and slid back up inside her.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded, not a trace of doubt or fear in her clear green gaze—just love, trust and unshakable faith. He prayed that she had enough for both of them.
Stone and Earth Page 4