by E A Price
Anger stole through him, but it was an impotent rage, one that he could do nothing about. He was used to it.
Biting back the pain, he hurled himself into the sky. It was enough to know Melissa could not be his; he did not have to stay and watch it.
*
“I’m sorry,” murmured Melissa as she immediately pulled away from Colt’s lips. “It’s not me; it’s you. I mean, it’s not you, it’s me!”
Her face burned in embarrassment. This gorgeous, perfect man had tried to kiss her – she should be thrilled! But all she could think about was Gracchus, and how she wished it was him kissing her. She thought she sensed Gracchus was starting to have feelings for her too, but she wasn’t sure. However, she wasn’t about to do anything with Colt until she knew for sure. Maybe Gracchus wouldn’t want her, and she would have rejected Colt for nothing, but she would rather know the truth than miss out entirely.
“I just…” She shook her head. “I met someone a few days ago and I’m not sure whether it’s going anywhere, but I would like the opportunity to find out if it will.”
Colt looked mildly disappointed, but ultimately resignation dawned. “It’s okay; it’s probably for the best.”
“Because we work together, right?”
“Hmm, oh, yeah.” He looked distracted as he stared out of the window. “You know I’m not trying to change the subject, but I’m sure I just saw something big come out of the trees and fly away.”
Melissa snapped her eyes to the sky, but whatever it was had already disappeared from view. Was it Gracchus? What on earth was he doing there? Had he just witnessed that kiss?
“Maybe it was a bird,” she suggested weakly.
“Big Bird maybe,” muttered Colt who appeared to have bounced back to his happy demeanor.
If she weren’t so worried about Gracchus, she might have been a little put out at how quickly he got over her.
“I should go home,” said Melissa.
Colt nodded and finished his beer. “You don’t have your car, right? I’ll drive you.”
“You don’t have to…”
“It’s no problem. We’re still friends, right?”
Melissa smiled. “Definitely.”
Colt grinned. “C’mon, Sanchez. I’ll let you pick out the radio station.”
Eighteen
Gracchus was surprised that Melissa returned home so quickly. His jealous heart was sure she would be out for hours with the male, Colt.
He had debated whether he ought to return to her apartment at all, but he thought he at least owed her a goodbye before he returned to Devil’s Hang. Gracchus thought it was prudent to leave. He had visited the crime scene and was now sure that a gargoyle did not commit the murder.
Of course, Luc wanted him to find the gargoyle he fought with, but Gracchus considered that it was unlikely he would find him on his own. The city was enormous, and searching on his own at night would take a long time. Perhaps Chris would be able to search during the day, or maybe Kylie could provide some magical aid. He did not like returning to his clan a failure, but he doubted he was doing any good remaining here.
He already knew Melissa could be trusted with keeping the gargoyles’ secrets. His original mission was therefore complete, and he should go.
“Good, you’re here,” breathed Melissa, gracing him with her sweet smile.
“Yes, but I must go,” he said tersely.
“Already? It’s only just midnight; sunrise isn’t for a while, I thought we could…”
“I must return to my clan.”
“Oh,” she murmured faintly, “are you coming back tomorrow night?”
“No.”
Melissa’s face fell in disappointment. She moved towards him. “Gracchus, I..”
“You have no need of me,” he told her sternly.
She looked confused by that. “That’s not true at all. I thought that…” She swallowed. “I thought that at least you wanted to stay and find out who this new gargoyle is.”
“It is unlikely I will be able to find him alone.”
“But you’re not alone; you have me.” She looked at him hopefully, unaware of how little truth there was in her words.
“This is not your problem, Melissa. You have your job, and your partner…”
Apparently, he was not quite so adept at masking his bitterness as he thought. Because her confusion ebbed and she regarded him suspiciously.
“You were in the park, weren’t you?”
“I ah…” Gracchus almost blushed in shame. It had been a long time since he had acted as foolishly as he had that evening.
Melissa placed her hands on her hips and gazed at him in displeasure. “You were watching us, and you saw him kiss me, right? This is why you’ve suddenly gone all cold fish on me.”
“I…” He considered lying, but that may just land him in further scaldingly hot water. Gracchus ruffled his wings and admitted, “I was.”
Melissa let out a sound of annoyance.
“But only to ensure your safety,” he added quickly, but even to his ears that sounded frankly pompous. “There is something about that male that I do not like.”
The fact that he evidently desired Melissa was probably Gracchus’ biggest problem with him. But he did have real reservations. For one thing, the male’s behavior in the park was odd, and for another, he didn’t quite smell right.
“You don’t know him,” said Melissa.
“His scent is unusual,” said Gracchus, as if to justify himself.
Melissa slanted him a look. “It is? In what way?”
“He does not smell entirely human.”
Gracchus thought back to the scent he caught in the park, and how like the beast men it had been. Colt did not smell like that, but still, he wasn’t quite right.
“Well, what does he smell like?”
Melissa was looking at him like he was slightly bonkers. Maybe he was; maybe he was just inventing reasons to hate the male.
“Perhaps I am wrong,” he said, swishing his tail in frustration. “Perhaps he would be ideal for you.”
Ideal in a way that Gracchus was not.
“You just said he smelled bad!” she grumbled.
“Not bad, just different.”
She sighed in mounting irritation, but then blew out a breath and softened her tone. “Gracchus, he kissed me and then I stopped him and told him I was not interested.”
Gracchus stared at her, watching to see if she was being truthful about her lack of interest in Colt. Even Gracchus could see the male’s desirability; Melissa could not fail to do so. His tail flicked across the floor while the rest of him remained motionless. After a couple of flicks, Panthro became interested and started trying to bat it with his claws.
“You do not wish to mate with that male?”
“No,” she said taking another step towards him, “I don’t even want to date him, never mind mate him.”
“He desires you,” pointed out Gracchus.
“Perhaps.”
“He would make a good match for you.”
“Maybe.”
“He would…”
“Gracchus,” she hushed him. “Maybe we would be married, own a minivan and have five kids in another universe. But here, right now, I… well, you know.”
Gracchus shook his head and gazed at her with eager longing.
“Well, you’re here.”
He let out a small growl, and she beamed at him.
“I told you I was waiting for the right person. That in spite of my mom’s many, many, many attempts to get me married that I never found anyone. But I think,” she took a deep breath, “maybe, now, I’ve found him.”
Gracchus was elated by her words; pleasure flowed through him as this beautiful, effervescent young creature told him that she wanted him. It was what he wanted to hear, and also what he feared hearing.
When he didn’t respond, her face pinched in worry. “Or am I wrong?”
“You are not wrong,” he rumbled sof
tly, “I cannot deny how warmly I feel about you, nor my jealousy over seeing you with another male. But…”
“But?” she repeated in a breathy voice.
“I was mated once. Gargoyles cannot mate twice. I am sorry.”
He disengaged Panthro from his tail and moved to the window.
“Gracchus, you’re not really leaving tonight, are you?” The alarm was evident in her voice.
“I…”
“At least, don’t leave tonight. Just… let’s both sleep on what’s happened, okay?” she suggested practically. “Then, tomorrow night, we can talk again.”
He hesitated.
Melissa moved in front of him, blocking his exit in as much as a five-foot-two woman could block a gargoyle. If he wanted to get out he would have to pick her up, hold her in his arms… and if he did that, he probably wouldn’t leave at all.
“I will come back tomorrow,” he said thickly.
“Promise?” She eyed him meaningfully. “Cross your heart?”
“Yes, I promise and why would I cross my heart?” he asked curiously.
“It’s just a kid thing; it means you cannot break your promise.”
Gracchus drew himself up, wings and all, to his impressive height. “I would never break a promise to you.”
“See that you don’t,” she sniffed and then grimaced. “Also, forget I said that – I sounded just like my mother, and that is not a good sound on me.”
Gracchus laughed softly. “Until tomorrow night then.”
“Yes, and just so you have something else to think about…”
Melissa rose to the very tips of her toes and grasped his shoulders, pulling him down for a kiss. He let her too. If he had not wanted the kiss, she could not have moved him. But as she pressed those, soft, pouty lips against his, he was glad he had not done anything crazy like try to stop her.
Gracchus growled as her sweet taste exploded in his mouth. His arms snaked around her, pulling her tight against his body and his mouth opened, wanting to taste more. Her tongue pressed through his lips, finding his and his body shook with pleasure.
He had never kissed a female before. He had pleasured females with his mouth, but he had never experienced this. Gargoyles did not tend to kiss this way; they nuzzled more like their dragon ancestors. He had seen his clan mates, and their human mates kissing but had never thought it could be this wonderful. He had undoubtedly been missing something special. Yet, he could not imagine any kiss being as wonderful as the one he was sharing with Melissa.
He wrapped his wings around them, wanting to join them, keep them together forever. But too soon for his liking, she withdrew her lips and graced him with a bashful little smile.
“Just a little something for you to dream about,” she said modestly.
“I will,” he rumbled, tightening his wings even more. “It was my first.”
“Really?” Her face lit up in equals parts delight and amazement. “You’re a natural. Though perhaps more practice is called for.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
Her large eyes seemed to widen even more. “Do you have to leave right away?”
“I…”
He should go. Staying would be a bad idea. He wanted this female, more than he had ever wanted anything, but could he really ignore the traditions of his ancestors to have her? The gargoyles had already lost so much already, should they really just ignore the traditions that have simply become inconvenient?
Those huge eyes sparkled, and he felt himself crumbling. “Perhaps I might stay for a little while…”
Nineteen
What does being mated mean?
Follow up questions – how does ‘being mated’ occur? Is there a ceremony? Do gargoyles recite vows to one another?
What is the reasoning behind not allowing gargoyles to mate more than one person?
Follow up questions – what would happen to a gargoyle if they mated again? Are there any physical consequences? Or is it merely frowned upon?
Are gargoyles who have lost their mates permitted to… have sex… no scratch that. Fornicate? Ugh, no. She had never used that word before and never will again. Knock boots? Good heavens, no – she preferred the word fornicate to that.
Melissa sucked on the end of her pencil. She really wanted to get some work done, but it was a Saturday, and she wasn’t really supposed to be there, so maybe a little procrastination wouldn’t hurt.
She had often worked Saturdays in the past, when she was bored or when she had a case she couldn’t wait to get cracking with. Today it was a little of both. Being at home alone, waiting for sunset was driving her crazy, so she decided to go to work. Though, so far all she had done was start writing out all the questions she wanted to ask Gracchus about this whole mating thing.
He had indicated in one of their previous discussions that gargoyles weren’t expected to save themselves for their mates, so she wondered if gargoyles were still allowed to have sex with other gargoyles after they lost their mates. Not that she was only considering sex – no, not at all! Though that was a part of it.
She was wondering whether she and Gracchus could have a relationship without being mated. If it was only that they couldn’t formally mate, then she didn’t see an issue. They could be together without mating surely. Gargoyles probably didn’t co-habit without being mated back in his time, but this was the twenty-first century – times had moved on! Couples could do all sorts of things without actually getting married.
Melissa chewed the eraser off the end of her pencil and then spent four minutes coughing the thing up and gurgling water to get rid of the taste. She scowled at the pencil, chucked it in the trash and decided that she needed more information from Gracchus.
Part of her had wanted to push him on the matter the previous night, to demand to know why they couldn’t be together, but she had been right to wait. Now, she had time to think the matter through and decide how she wished to tackle it.
After her drink with Colt, she had been quite fired up, and not just from the alcohol. Kissing Colt had given her perspective. She was attracted to Gracchus. She wanted to be with Gracchus, so why not say something? Usually, she wasn’t so forward with men, but when he told her he was leaving, she had to do something.
Thankfully, she hadn’t been wrong; she affected him too. Then he whipped out this whole ‘gargoyles can’t mate twice’ thing, and that kind of threw a wrench in the works. But she had persuaded him to stay, and then they shared their first kiss, and then their second, and then their third… Yeah, he had stuck around for a while for more kisses. She was kind of thrilled to be his first kiss. Made her feel… special. A smug warmth spread through her body and…
“Hey, Sanchez.”
“Gah!”
Melissa leaped to her feet and slammed her elbow into a file cabinet.
Colt winced. “Jeez, you okay?”
“Fine,” she muttered rubbing her elbow, “you just startled me. My cats make more noise than you.”
“Can’t help it,” he told her cheerfully.
He strolled into the office, dropped some documents onto his desk, and gracefully slumped into his desk chair. “How is your cat anyway? The one with the funny eye?”
“Oh, Lion-O, he’s fine.”
She almost snickered. It felt like a lifetime ago since Colt first showed up in her office. It was before Gracchus entered her life and yet it had been little more than over a week.
Like her, Colt was wearing casual clothes. He was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. All he needed was a Stetson and a horse, and he could belong on the cover of a steamy romance novel.
“What are you doing here?” asked Melissa.
He just seemed to pop up wherever she happened to be. Course that could be because they were both investigating the same crimes and both had slightly obsessive tendencies.
“I just had coffee with Morgan,” he said slightly awkwardly.
“You had coffee with Mean Morgan Green?”
&
nbsp; “She’s not that mean, and she wanted to give me the detailed financial reports for our victims.” He tapped his fingers on the documents on his desk.
Melissa struggled not to smirk. “Are you saying Mean Morgan bribed you into a coffee date in exchange for the reports?”
Colt winced. “I wouldn’t put it like that.”
“But it’s true,” laughed Melissa. “Thank goodness you didn’t want anything else from her. Lord knows what else she might want from you. One too many favors from her and you could end up married with two kids.”
“Funny,” he deadpanned. “You should be thanking me.”
“For dating Mean Morgan?”
“For getting these reports so quickly,” he growled. “They’ve thrown up something very interesting.”
He tossed them over to her, and while she rubbed some feeling back into her now swollen elbow, she looked at the highlighted entries. She frowned and compared the two files.
Melissa looked up at “Both our victims were getting money from Evermore?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.” Melissa looked through the entries. “Pretty big coincidence that two victims killed in the same way, by apparently the same creature, had incomes from this one company.”
“This one company that tried to hide the fact that it’s a front for Morgain Pharmaceuticals.”
“Yeah. You know I looked into this Morgain Pharmaceuticals, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand what kind of drugs they manufacture. They certainly don’t supply any to hospitals or doctors. I’m not sure what they do.”
Colt smiled predatorily. “Maybe we should go ask.”
*
Colt let out a whistle as they walked in the entrance of Morgain Pharmaceuticals corporate headquarters. To say that Morgain didn’t apparently seem to sell any drugs, they were living la vida flashy.
They didn’t appear to occupy much office space, but their main offices were located in the penthouse suite of the most expensive building in town, and the reception area looked more like a museum than anything else. Melissa supposed that whatever testing and manufacturing they did, happened in labs in other parts of town.