Page 11 of Stone Seduction
She touched her chest. “I’ll just have to put up with your visits. It pleases me to know the ring longs to come here. That it desires my freedom.”
She shivered, dipping her head.
I stepped forward, contemplating pressing her on this ring stuff more.
Ember’s shoulders slumped, her posture signifying sorrow.
“Did King Declan do this to you?” I asked.
What was this? Sympathy? A kernel of empathy for this pitiful creature?
She sighed. “Whenever you’re here, don’t speak. I can’t bear your voice. Just be the key. Be the key. Be the key. Be the key.”
Her words swirled inside my head, probing, the ring heating up against my skin.
The key.
I am the key.
I swiped the air as if her words were pesky insects. “I?—”
A rush of hot air hit me, lifting me off the ground, sending me hurtling toward the rocky wall. I screamed, bracing for impact.
Ohmygod!
I shot awake, clutching at my chest. My heart pounded in my ears, chest on fire. Coughing, I choked on air, struggling to get a sense of my bearings.
“It’s alright,” Asher said, his hands on me.
Soothing hands, his voice an aural balm. Immediately, my heartrate came down, everything cooling.
“I’m here.” He smoothed my hair from where he crouched beside me.
I locked eyes with him, gaining control over my breath.
“I’m here,” he repeated.
Sweat smothered my body, my pajamas sticking to me. Moisture ran down my forehead, dripping off the tip of my nose.
“Gross.” I pulled at my top.
Asher rubbed my back. “What happened? Ember?”
I explained the latest visit to the cavern.
“Are you feeling alright?” He checked me over like the sweetie pie gargoyle he was. “Other than sweaty?”
I nodded. “She’s not getting her hands on me or this ring.”
His features darkened, shadows swimming in his eyes. “Got that right.” He leaned in and kissed me, slathering on more of his special Asher balm.
I could lose myself in you…I was losing myself in him. Markings might be allocated randomly to gargoyles and humans, but the romantic hands of fate had been involved in this one.
He was here to protect me, to touch me, to…
“Shower time,” I said, pausing my merry spiral into the sparkly side of our relationship.
He raked a hand through his raven-black hair, the streaks of metallic silver catching the light.
