Stone Lover (24 page)

    “I know you,” she murmured as she continued to study the odd, little man. Armand paused in his tracks, slowly turning around to look between the two of them, an arrested expression on his face.

    “That’s Nod,” Vaughn said with a low chuckle, coming up behind her and putting an arm around her waist, pulling her against his body. He was completely unaware of the tension emanating from Armand’s. “He thinks he is Cupid and interferes in the human world without realizing that humans live linear lives; he gets confused and connects the right people at the wrong time.”

    Slowly, barely paying attention to Vaughn’s explanation, Melanie smiled as memories quickly flooded her brain. She had been walking past the familiar building again, as she did every day before and after work. It was the reason she parked a few blocks away from the store; in the off chance that the extravagant birds would be flying overhead again.

    She had almost crashed into the man before she became aware of him standing there. At first, she thought that he was a child, perhaps lost. But as she looked closer, she saw that he was, in fact, an adult; just unlike any human she had ever known. “Pardon me.”

    His face lit up with a brilliant smile as he slid his hand into her, his hand practically disappearing in her grip. She was too stunned to pull away and had automatically followed him into the magnificent building, awe filling her when she was finally inside. The atrium was just as stunning as the outside, with its soaring ceilings and elaborate stone work that echoed the delicate scroll work throughout. Every surface was covered in works of art and she could have spent hours studying all of the intricate details.

    “I have a room for you,” he told her, his voice high and so very beautiful.

    “I’m not looking….” She had begun to protest, returning her attention to the little man.

    “I have a room for you,” he repeated, leading her over to the desk and passing her the key to room 1401. “If you would just follow me?”

    Instead of offering another protest, she followed him, mechanically stepping into the elevator beside him. On the way up, he explained that she would be living on the top floor and there was a secret to getting to the roof. “But why would I want to go up onto the roof?”

    He had smiled at her, “To see the beautiful birds up close.”

    She nodded her head, accepting his answer without question, and listening carefully as he gave explicit directions for getting up there, including the hidden door. And then he had opened the door to her room and her breath caught in her throat. Of course, as soon as she had seen the studio apartment she had fallen in love with the teeny, tiny room and paid the first and last month rents, signing her name to the renter’s agreement and going home to pack.

    Returning to the present, she laughed, still shaken from almost dying and thinking that perhaps the situation wasn’t as funny as it seemed. “I remember.”

    “It was impossible to erase your memory,” the little man said. With a shrug, a wink, and a mischievous grin, he said, “So I contained it.”

    Armand’s jaw tightened, probably pissed that he hadn’t thought of containing her memories instead of erasing them.

    “Memories contained eventually break free,” Nod explained, even as his smile faded and a frown replaced it. “I had hoped….”

    The little man looked from Armand to her, then to Vaughn’s arm possessively around her waist. His frown deepened as he returned his gaze to Melanie. “But I thought you were for Armand.”

    She was about to laugh at such a ludicrous idea but she saw the flash of… pain? Regret? That passed over Armand’s face before the stoic mask was back in place. Armand scoffed, “As if I would want anything to do with her; she is my brother’s woman, not mine.”

    Melanie wasn’t sure what to make of that statement, since he had been so opposed to her being his brother’s anything; was he relenting? Or had she been destined for Armand except she saw Vaughn first? It wasn’t something that she wanted to dwell on; she knew in her heart that she was meant for Vaughn; she had fallen in love with the lion, not the griffin.

    Armand must have thought it was rubbish as well, since he walked away and disappeared into one of the elevators. The little Cupid-wannabe was simply mistaken. With a shrug, she turned to the lavender-haired man, “What are you?”

    His smile returned to his face, though his eyes remained clouded with distress. He held out his tiny hand to her and in his high, beautiful voice, he introduced himself. “I’m a sprite and I am most pleased to once again meet you, Human.”

    She couldn’t stop the smile from forming as she stepped out of Vaughn’s arms and took his hand in hers. Sunshine whispered up her arm from where he held her hand and she realized she was talking to a freaking sprite – how awesome was that? “I’m very pleased to meet you, too. Again.”

    It felt as if champagne bubbles were filling her head, making her woozy; if she wasn’t careful, she’d be giggling soon. Nod continued to smile at her and it felt so good just looking at him; he had such a wonderful face, the kind of face that made you think of butterflies and puppies and warm summer breezes and ice cream sundaes.

    Her knees wobbled and she would have fallen to the ground except Vaughn was there, his arm sliding around her waist and holding her steady. She looked at her gorgeous lion and felt the loopy grin grow wider. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his golden, unbound hair and felt warm and amorous. Her voice was low, velvety, as she purred, “Hey, you.”

    And then she giggled at the ridiculous sound of her voice, of her words. Looking at Nod, the two of them shared a secretive smile and she tried the words with different voices. High and squeaky, long and drawn out, breathless and airy, “Hey, you; hey, you; hey, you.”

    Nod was laughing along with her and the champagne bubbles grew bigger, encapsulating her entire body until she felt like she was floating. No, that was simply Vaughn, carrying her away from the fascinating little man. “Come, Melanie; it isn’t wise to spend too much time in a sprite’s presence.”

    “Why?” she asked drunkenly, though she knew she was sober. Her gaze kept returning to Nod and she wanted to stay and chat with him. He was just so adorable and she felt so damn good; which was especially strange considering how close she had come to dying not so very long before.

    “They make you intoxicated,” he said grimly, making her giggle once more. “If you’re not careful, you may do something stupid.”

    “Like what?” she asked, twisting around to look up at Vaughn; her big, strong Vaughn with gargoyle wings and a gargoyle cock. She snickered, liking the way the words formed in her brain.

    His face was so grim as he looked down at her, she held her breath until his expression softened. As he gazed at her goofy smile he gently set her down on her own feet and brushed a strand of loose hair from her face, “Perhaps sleep with him.”

    “Never,” she denied passionately, her eyes widening in her head as she adamantly shook her head no. Cupping his face in her hands, she stood on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his firm lips, sliding her hands upwards into the silk of his golden hair. “I only want to sleep with you.”

    “Good,” he groaned, grabbing her hands and pulling them away from him. At her look at dejection, he smiled, “If you keep this up, I’ll fuck you right here and now.”

    “Okay,” she rasped, feeling her thighs dampen instantly. He closed his eyes and swallowed before taking her hand and leading her into the elevator. As the doors slid close, she fell against the door and looked at Vaughn, wanting him with every fiber of her being. Taking a deep breath to get her hormones under control, she offered a tentative smile, “I don’t remember him having this effect on me before.”

    “You hadn’t just had a near death experience,” he explained, reaching out and tugging her into his arms, hugging her to him. “Your defenses are down.”

    “I like this,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist and breathing in his Vaughn scent.

    “You’re not going to like it in a few hours,” he grimaced.

    “Why’s that?” she asked, untying the robe and sliding her hands over his bare skin, the warmth heating her palms. “Mmm, you’re already naked.”

    “Withdrawal,” he choked out and it took her a moment to realize that he was answering the question she had just asked. It took her another moment to remember what the question was.

    “So no show tonight?” she asked, skimming her hands down and over his erection. He was already hard, making her smile as she stroked him along the scorching length.

    “We can still make the show,” he choked out, wrapping his hands around her wrists. “If you’re up to it.”

    “I think you’re up to it,” she breathed, pressing her body against his. Brushing her lips against his throat, his ear, she whispered, “And I’m not wearing any panties.”

    With a defeated groan, he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up. With a victorious grin, she wrapper her legs around his waist as they both fought to pull the material of her skirt out of the way, even as they kissed passionately and desperately. Reaching down between their bodies, she wrapped her fingers around his cock and guided him into her, elated with the knowledge that she was being fucked in a moving elevator.

    With a grunt, he pushed into the wet depths of her sex, his fingers flexing on her ass as he filled her in one thrust. Her back arched and she hissed out a breath in pleasure, “Yes.”

    The elevator dinged as it came to a stop, the doors opening to reveal the hall that led to her apartment in the middle of their rooms. Vaughn stepped off the elevator and kept walking forward until her back was against the wall. Nipping at her sweet neck, thrusting into her with mindless need, he rasped, “I can’t get enough of you.”

    She twisted her fingers into his hair, holding him to her as he relentlessly pounded into her, slamming their bodies against the wall in a rapid rhythm. The framed art on either side of her head clunk against the wall with each jolting thrust, threatening to fall crashing to the floor is they weren’t careful. Or done soon.

    The second one wasn’t going to be a problem as everything in her coiled tightly and then exploded. Vaughn’s body stiffened as he let out a roar and came. Bending his head, his hot breath moved over her neck as they both fought to catch their breath.

    “Do you think you could find a fucking room?” Armand asked caustically. “Or is it necessary to fuck in the entryway?”

    Melanie stiffened, turning her head and seeing Armand standing in the door way with his arms crossed negligently over his broad chest, a bored expression on his face. If she didn’t notice the rampant erection pressing against his slacks, she would have thought he was merely annoyed at finding them there.

    With a sigh, Vaughn let her slide down his body, gently smoothing the skirts over her naked legs before retying the belt of his robe. Glaring at Armand, he shrugged, “Can you really fault us? We nearly died and then the sprite was there; I’m surprised we made it out of the atrium of the building.”

    Armand snorted, his eyes hard as he looked at Melanie, “You nearly got my brother killed.”

    She sucked in a breath at the painful reminder, stepping back and into Vaughn’s arms as if to reassure herself that he was, in fact, still there, still alive. Vaughn’s body stiffened even further as he put his arms around Melanie and growled, “That is not fair and you know it.”

    Armand lifted his broad shoulders and let them drop, not bothering with a reply. Cupping Vaughn’s cheek in her palm, holding his warm gaze, Melanie told Armand, “Your brother saved me; I can’t thank him enough.”

    “Try,” Armand snapped, his control snapping for just a moment.

    Melanie’s lips curved upwards at the churlishness in Armand’s single word, not letting it bother her. After all, Armand had a soft, gooey center. Instead, she placed her hand over the pendant and smiled, “For a moment there, I thought this thing was useless; but it’s not, is it? It protected me….”

    “I can protect you,” Vaughn said softly, his tone and expression serious as he looked at her. Her heart lurched in her chest at the promise in his eyes.