Gryphon and His Thief (23 page)

Charon leaned down and released the ropes
tied to the pillar. As the boat floated away, the winds picked up
around Calli and Darrien on their side of the realm. Then the door
between the worlds rippled like the river, blurring what lay beyond
before ebbing away into nothing. The wind ceased whipping around
them just as suddenly as it had picked up, and for a moment, the
silence proved almost as deafening as the roaring wind.

Calli sighed long and hard as she tried to
come to terms with all that had transpired. It may take her a
lifetime. She gave Darrien a sideward glance with a tilt of her
head. She noticed his fingers massaged his chest right over the
area where the bullet would have entered. His cardigan showed no
signs of being damaged, as if it mended along with his wound. She
could only imagine the magic of the shift was responsible for the
transformation on both accounts. Yet, his essence must still feel
where he'd been shot. "Does it hurt?"

"What do you mean?" His brow furrowed then he
must have realized what he was doing and glanced at where his hand
rested. "The skin feels prickly."

She frowned and wondered why he would have
discomfort if he'd been healed. She wanted to make sure he was
truly okay. "May I?" she motioned with a nod of her head. "Will you
let me take a look?"

He lowered his hand. "Sure."

As she unbuttoned his shirt, she noticed his
skin flushed at her touch. As endearing as that was, she remained
more concerned if he were still injured. She pulled the shirt and
cardigan away, revealing what lay beneath. Her breath caught in her
throat as she stared at his chest in disbelief.

"What is it?" He voiced with worry and
glanced down. "Blimey, is that a tattoo?"

"Apparently." Her fingers smoothed over the
intricate Gryphon that had been designed with golden wings. The
wings gleamed brighter as her hand brushed over them. "Did that
hurt?" she asked and met his eyes.

"Yes, and no. It feels…warm, not unpleasantly
so." He covered her hand with his. "A parting gift from Charon, I
suppose. In memory of
the shifter
."

She nodded with a hint of a smile. "You are
part of the Gryphon. You always have been." She stood on her tippy
toes and kissed his cheek, but it seemed he wanted so much more. He
cradled her head as he claimed her lips. The invisible threads
which bound their souls pulled tighter, and electricity sparked
between them. She inhaled sharply and pulled away to stare at
him.

"You felt it too?" he asked.

"Yes." Longing shone in his golden brown
depths and she knew her eyes must mirror the same desires.

"I want you, Calli. I won't deny it, but I
want to take this…whatever this is at a slower pace. I am not sure
what I can offer you when I have never had a place in this world…
until now."

He had so much to offer, but she understood
what he meant. His life up until now had been fabricated, a lie
with memories that were false. He needed to find his footing and a
purpose.

"Agreed. We will see where our new friendship
takes us."

"Friends?" He said with a long sigh. "Isn't
that a kiss of death to a relationship?"

She straightened his shirt and cardigan over
his shoulder, covering the Gryphon design. "No, it's the beginning
of a relationship with the hopes of so much more to come."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Calli and Darrien had driven to the hotel in
her sedan. They were too tired to do more than clean up and cuddle
on the bed. She filled him in on all that had transpired—at least
the parts that led up to his beastie side making a deal with
Charon.

Finally, they managed a few hours of shuteye,
too exhausted for anything else as they snuggled close. It seemed
so natural to have him at her back with his arm draped around her,
his warmth cloaking her, making her feel safe.

When they finally awoke, they took turns in
the shower before they drove back to the museum to face the new
day.

There were plenty of questions to Darrien's
new life. The curse was broken and he had to exist in this world.
This required paperwork, legal documents, and such. She made a few
calls to Mick in New Orleans. Her cousin had all the connections.
Darrien would have what he needed as far as documents, but he still
needed a job – preferably one that paid. Then there was the matter
of the museum. It couldn't be left unattended, and she had a hunch
the head honchos who brought in the cursed items wouldn't allow it
to be abandoned.

Calli brewed a pot of coffee and offered a
cup to Darrien. He sat at his desk deep in thought and barely
glanced her way when he took the mug from her. He took a generous
sip before he placed it down in front of him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"You kissed…you know…
him?
" Darrien
whispered the last words as his fingers rubbed his chest where the
tattoo lay beneath his shirt.

"I don't believe he can hear you," she told
him with a smile and sipped her coffee.

He frowned, but then realized what he was
doing and dropped his hand.

He'd lived through a fantastic ordeal, and
yet he worried if she'd kissed his other half. It was so very human
of him, so much a guy thing, and so very, very normal.

Darrien slid his chair back and stood,
frowning with displeasure. "You did kiss him," he answered his own
question with certainty. "Does he kiss better than I do?" He strode
over to her.

She chuckled now. This was just too humorous
for words. "You're jealous."

He pushed his glasses back on the bridge of
his nose, making him look all Clark Kent kind of sexy. Really, the
superhero couldn't down play his allure behind a pair of glasses
and Darrien couldn't either.

"Well, yeah. I am," he told her. "There I
said it. I'm pea-green with jealousy."

She placed her coffee cup next to his on the
desk. "You were him and he was you, remember? So if I kissed your
alter ego, I was still kissing you." He didn't look at all
convinced. She removed his glasses and ruffled his hair before she
lazily rested her forearms on his shoulders. "I'm crazy in like
with you, Darrien Andros," she said, but he wouldn't look at her.
"Every last inch of you – shifter, man, even when you're the sexy
nerd with black-rimmed glasses…" She smiled when his gaze riveted
to hers. "Thought that would get your attention."

"You think I'm sexy?" His voice cracked, and
didn't that just endear her more.

"I said all of you." She cupped his face,
encouraging him to lower his head so she could kiss the tip of his
nose. She could feel him relax beneath her touch. His arms went
around her and he pulled her flush against him. Boy, did she love
the way it felt to be in his arms.

"So you're crazy
in like
with me?" he
asked, using her words.

"Uh-huh, but what about you?"

"What do you mean?" He frowned. "Of course, I
like you."

"Good. You had me worried for a moment," she
told him in good humor as she placed his glasses back on the bridge
of his nose. She brushed his shoulder with a swipe of her hand as
if she were removing lint. Then she rested her hand there. "Do you
think we'd make a good team?"

"A good team for what?"

"You know like maybe we could work together.
Of course, we'll have to have a chat with whoever is in charge of
delivering the items to the museum."

"The Guards of Judgment," he reminded her.
"They are the Nephilim dedicated to keeping the human realm safe
from those who wish to harm it."

He sounded like a commercial endorsement for
this elite group of Nephilim. "They take care of all the
preternatural business?" she asked.

He nodded with a heavy sigh. "They usually
contact me, but I do have a phone number. You know, in case of an
emergency."

"Really? Fallen Angels… I mean the Nephilim
have phones?"

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Cursed
curators apparently do also."

"So they do." She smiled. "We should call
them. Present our plans." She stared at the ring on her finger. It
was the one Isa used against her and turned her to stone. Seemed
harmless in the light of day, but she knew the magic it held and
the effects this piece of jewelry could invoke.

She'd been to Isa's office. There had been a
wizard and an angel statue there. It didn't take much imagination
on her part to suspect they'd both been flesh and blood at one
time. It would explain the eerie feeling she had felt about them,
the same feeling she had when she laid eyes on the Gryphon statue
for the first time. They were frozen, but there was still a soul
trapped inside. Energy never truly died, and it seemed it couldn't
be completely encased in stone either.

"Surely, the Nephilim would like to know the
fate of their fellow brethren," she said. "Maybe they'll be able to
reverse the curse. We have the wizard's ring. We'll offer it to
them in good faith, and with hope they will work with us in return.
Pay us to recover cursed items and keep them safe here at the
museum." She didn't run a recovery business for free. She and her
dad had always worked well together. She missed him, missed their
talks and their late nights when they would plan their next heist.
Her hand went to her necklace, the one her dad had given to her, a
stone to keep a thief safe. Maybe it had done its job after
all.

"So, we'll be like superheroes from a comic
book," Darrien said. "Hunting down cursed artifacts and saving the
world from destruction."

He really was a nerd, and God help her, she
loved that most about him. "Sure, why not?"

"The Gryphon and his thief," Darrien
teased.

All superheroes had secret identities. She
had her share of comic books stashed in her room back home.

"Has a good ring to it. Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah." She tilted her head as he moved in
for a kiss, but then he hesitated, pulling back slightly to meet
her gaze.

"Just so you know," he told her, "I plan on
kissing you until your toes curl."

Her lips slid into a broad grin. "I never
doubted you wouldn't." His mouth finally found hers and went to
work on his promise. Her hand rested on his chest where the Gryphon
tattoo lay beneath his shirt. The area warmed beneath her touch and
she could have sworn the wings fluttered as if the Gryphon offered
his approval.

The End

About the Author

Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California
with her husband, three fascinating children, and houseful of
demanding pets. Jack, her Chorkie, is her writing buddy and sits
long hours with her at the computer.

When she's not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or
otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order
at Gillian's Book Covers, "Judge Your Book By Its Cover". You can
also check out her published cover art designs at Western Trail
Blazer, Rebecca J. Vickery Publishing, and Victory Tales
Press.

Whether your reading fancy is paranormal,
historical, or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array
of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human
phenomena—falling in love.

Visit the author at her website:

http://www.kmnbooks.com

Blog: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com

Gillian's Book Covers, "
Judge Your Book By
Its Cover"

http://judgeyourbookbyitscover.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authorkarenmichellenutt

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMNbooks

Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/karenmnutt/

Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Michelle-Nutt/e/B002BLLBPE

Other Novels by Karen Michelle Nutt

Lost in the Mist of Time

Dougray Fitzpatrick has buried one wife and
vows to never love again—but destiny has other plans for this
16
^th
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Dougray must return to Dunhaven and to his century, but Aislinn
Hennessy follows him into the mist, leaving him no choice, but to
take her home with him.

Conspiracies, feuds and unexpected violence
are commonplace threats, but along the way, Aislinn and Dougray
discover a surprise neither one expects: a chance for love even
when they're
Lost in the Mist of Time
.

A Twist of Fate

Arianna memory is lost when she suffers a
blow to her head. It's 1814 and she's married to Captain Keldon
Buchanan, a man who despises her. The more Arianna learns about her
life, the more she realizes why she's chosen to forget it. Keldon
doesn't trust his wife, but he finds his heart softening to the
woman his wife has become. If he didn't know better, he'd swear
he's married to another woman and he's fallen in love with her.

Creighton Manor

Zachary Creighton, a gambler with one goal:
to win back Creighton Manor. Marriage is not part of the plan, but
since he is found with Gillian in his room, reputations are at
stake, his included. To keep peace with his reluctant bride, he
makes a bargain with her. He needs a tutor for his nephew Tyler,
and she needs a roof over her head until they can annul their sham
of a marriage. However, Zachary finds himself falling for Gillian's
oddly charming ways despite the fact the woman claims to be from
the future. The gamble is trust, but will the stakes prove too high
for Zachery to risk it all and win Gillian's heart?

Soul Taker

A vampire, a werewolf, and a Necromancer are
a most unlikely team, but Garran, Harrison, and Isabella plan on
putting a kink in the
dubbed
Soul Taker's plans. It's
personal now. One of their friends has fallen victim to the Soul
Taker's charms, but to stop him from hurting anyone else, their
efforts may involve raising the
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