Stone Romance (Stone Passion #2) (5 page)

But life was frequently unfair and it could change so quickly between one heart beat and the next; she was just going to enjoy the moments she had with the charming Rhys Nosuntres.

Rhys knew they had spent too much time in Nod’s presence when Jenna offered sex
;
her eyes widened in alarm at the words that came out of her mouth
and he had to bite his lips to keep from accepting
. The little sprite tended to have that kind of effect on humans: lowering their inhibitions and making them behave as if they were intoxicated on alcohol and aphrodisiacs. And foolishly, Rhys had wanted her offer to be genuine; had it been made in earnest he would have
taken her
upstairs and
have her naked and
in his bed
in a heartbeat
, though he probably would have saved the restraints for another time.

His heart thudded dully in his chest as he held the exquisite, raven-haired beauty in his arms. Her delicate scent of night-blooming jasmine wrapped itself around him, the exotic scent more erotic than any of the more cloying perfumes favored by many women of his acquaintance. He hadn’t expected to like her so much, and on such short acquaintance. There was just something about her that he found vastly appealing and he had to get to know everything about her and he had to get her into his bed. If nothing else, he better understood Vaughn’s strong reaction to Jenna’s sister.

At the time he had encouraged the infatuation, not knowing the drastic measure Vaughn would take to keep Melanie safe and not understanding the need to do so. He had enjoyed watching Vaughn behave like a fool even if a part of him had been a little envious of the strong attraction between Vaughn and Melanie. Knowing the impossible choice Melanie was going to have to make in a few days, he had ceased
envying
his brother.
Until he met Jenna
as a man
.

While Melanie might choose to accept Vaughn’s gift, Rhys knew that there was no chance in Hell that Jenna could; she had a young daughter who needed her mother. If she had been anyone else, he could have played his games with her and they both would have been sexually sated. But she was the type of girl who wanted forever, not a casual fling, no matter how sweetly she asked. Glancing down at the beautiful woman, he let out a sigh; for the first time in his very long life he wished he wasn’t what he was, that he wasn’t a gargoyle.

He wished he could offer her forever and she would be able to accept it.

Was this how Vaughn felt when he met Melanie? This instant connection that was as
devastating
as it was inexplicable? He
was
powerless to resist it even as he knew they couldn’t have anything more than a few stolen moments. And if Melanie accepted Vaughn’s gift in a few days, if she became a gargoyle, Jenna would despise him and with good reason: she would lose Melanie. And the thought of Jenna suffering made his chest ache. Why couldn’t she be a beautiful stranger, as Melanie had been to Vaughn?

Rhys vividly recalled the first time he had seen Jenna. It was shortly after Melanie had moved into the closet that had been converted in a hurry when a pixie needed a place to stay. Humans – normal humans – avoided the castle because they grew increasingly ill from the amount of magic concentrated therein. M
elanie
,
Jenna
and Jenna’s daughter apparently had been the exceptions and it infuriated Armand, which Rhys always appreciated. As much as he loved his oldest brother, Rhys felt that Armand was too tightly wound for his own good. And having two gorgeous girls sunbathe nearly nude on the rooftop while
he was
in gargoyle form had been one of the most exciting things to have happened to him during the day
in a very long time
.

He had been drawn to her immediately and it had been
all he could do to remain standing when he wanted to
claim her right then and there as a gargoyle
.
That would have terrified both of the girls, since Melanie had not yet been made aware of their true natures. And Armand would have taken a chisel to him had he done something so
stupid. Hell, his older brother had almost taken
a chisel to Vaughn
just a few days before for a similar offense.

It
had
n’t help
ed
matters that
Jenna
had run her slender hands all over his stone body
; her touch
had
sent waves of sensation along his stone skin, deep into his rock hard belly. He hadn’t known a human’s touch during the day could be so damn arousing and he hadn’t wanted her to ever stop. But then, just moments later, she had spread her towel out and lay down on it in nothing more than a skimpy bikini.

It was worth losing the feel of her hands when she had unhooked her top and then rolled over.

Even in black and white and shades of gray she had been stunning and he had enjoyed watching her sunbathe beneath the winter sun, her firm, ripe breasts the perfect size for his human hand.
They
weren’t as full as Melanie’s but they had been flawless and
he had wanted to consume her. Her body was sleekly muscled, slender and graceful; she had a dancer’s body.

When
Melanie had teasingly inferred that he wasn’t as handsome as Vaughn, he actually growled. It had not been a rational move on his part but his reactions towards her were not rational.
He just knew that he had wanted her to like him before she had even met him.

It had probably been a blessing that he had not been able to meet her before tonight; had he met her before he got to know Melanie he would not have been able to keep his hands to himself. He would have caused Jenna immeasurable pain because he wouldn’t have known her heartache, her close ties to her family,
her
devotion to her daughter. Now he knew how very difficult the choice was that Melanie was going to have to make
, a choice that he wouldn’t ask Jenna to make until the time was right.

As they walked along in companionable silence, his conflicting thoughts plaguing his mind, he couldn’t keep his eyes from Jenna. Her glossy black hair gently moved with the wind, sticking to her lips and driving him crazy with lustful thoughts. But her ears were starting to glow bright red from the frigid cold and he wanted to smack himself for dragging her out of the apartment before she could finish getting her winter gear on. “Are you cold?”

“Hmm?” she looked up at him and he swallowed thickly as he was once again smacked by the beauty of her eyes. Nothing had prepared him for the blueness of those eyes; they reached into his soul and tugged at something he hadn’t known existed.
Everything about her drew him in, completing something inside of him.

“Are you cold?” he repeated the question, afraid that she hadn’t heard him because her ears were already frozen.

She chuckled, reaching into her pocket and tugging a moment before she pulled out a thick hat. “I forgot I even had this with me; you’re very distracting, you know.”

Taking the hat from her, he pulled it onto her head, cupping his hands around her ears to thaw them out. Her eyes widened and her lips parted as she stared up at him with those blue eyes of hers, “How come your hands are so warm?”

“I run hot,” he said softly, the lust coursing through his body making the words rough. As her eyes darkened in sexual awareness, he had the nearly painful need to kiss her. But if he kissed her, he wouldn’t want to stop until she was tied up and screaming her release. He could see it so clearly, her delicate wrists wrapped in the finest silk, her long, slender limbs spread wide so she couldn’t hide any of her treasures from him. Slowly, lightly, he would drag his fingers over her skin, not leaving a single inch untouched. And then he would repeat the action with his tongue….

With a wry chuckle, he stepped away from her, trying to adjust the thick erection that was aching
with eager anticipation, trying not to be too obvious
. “Whoa, I let my imagination get away from me for a moment.”

“It must have been some moment,” she replied, her voice uneven.

“It really was.” Sliding his hands down her arms, he took her hands in his and grinned, “Now, let’s catch up to
the others and let them know that their nefarious plan almost succeeded but they forgot one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s too damn cold to properly seduce a beautiful woman,” he grinned, looking down at her and
appre
ciating
the lovely blush that colored her pink cheeks.

Jenna felt like she should feel some guilt for flirting with a gorgeous man but guilt was in surprisingly short supply. Rhys made her feel good; he reminded her that she was a woman and that she was desirable. She had forgotten how hot the glow of attraction could get, how it made her feel loose and languorous. And for one night she was going to bask in the splendor that was Rhys; she’d worry about the rest of it tomorrow.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she smiled to herself; maybe Melanie wasn’t completely insane for suggesting Rhys be her foray back into the dating world. There was something to be said for primal sexual attraction and even if it didn’t lead anywhere it was a hell of a rush. If Melanie suffered even a fraction of the desire swamping Jenna, it was no wonder why she had mind-blowing sex with Vaughn hours after meeting him.

She chuckled, “Were you there when Melanie and Vaughn met?”

“I was.” Humor laced his brief answer and when she tilted her head back, he was smiling down at her. He had a wonderful smile; it reached his eyes and lit up his entire face. “I do believe the two of them would have crawled through shards of broken glass to reach one another; it was quite remarkable.

“Ah,” Rhys said, lifting his hand and waving at a trio up ahead. “And there are our wayward siblings and your adorable daughter,”

Melanie wore a brilliant smile as she looked back and forth between Rhys and Jenna, noticing Rhys’s strategic arm placement and Jenna’s leaning. Vaughn held Ferris in his arms and he wore an indulgent smile, though there was a trace of sadness around his eyes. Despite the melancholy, Melanie and Vaughn made a striking couple, with him so golden and her so, well, so Melanie. “They’re beautiful together.”

“Yes,” Rhys agreed
readily but
his
tone at odds with
his words
. Tearing her eyes away from her insanely happy sister, she looked up at Rhys and saw the
grave
expression he wore as he gazed at Lenni and Vaughn. “She’ll always have his heart, no matter what happens.”

That was an odd statement, especially when it was evident that Vaughn had Melanie’s complete and utter devotion.
Rhys
turned his head and looked down at her with a smile, all trace of the seriousness of a moment before completely gone. “Did you know that they are not very discreet when they are having sex? I have had to back out of a room more than a few times.”

The absurd statement made her pause a moment before she let out a horrified chuckle that turned into a full belly laugh as Rhys waggled his eyebrows and leaned closer, lowering his voice, “They look so normal now but when they think they’re alone they’re insatiable. It can be very distracting when I’m trying to watch something on the television and they forget they’re not alone.”