Page 37 of Stone Seduction
Seth’s eyes moved between us. He knew we were talking, his features twitching with irritation.
I brushed my knee against Asher’s for comfort, boosting me against the scrutiny of the weaver.
God. Sharing a space with Seth wasn’t going to be smooth sailing. At least the tower was big enough to avoid the bastard and his stinky joints.
Carissa, who’d been typing on her gargoyle-exclusive gray flip phone, looked up and cleared her throat. “Now that’s settled, I can tell you the plan.”
Those phones ran on the G Network, which provided better signal than human companies. For gargoyle use only, no human customers allowed.
Dammit.
Seth leaned back in his chair, taking his eyes off me at last.
“I have ordered extra knights to be sent over from Gula,” Carissa continued. “There will be some grumbles about their time off being cut short, but too bad. This is serious.”
Gargoyles typically worked on six-month rotations—six months on Earth, six months back on their home world.
“Also, I have put in a request for extra weaver assistance,” she added.
The weaver glowered at her as if she’d called him weak.
She shook her head. “The more the merrier.”
Seth puffed on his joint, his mood in the toilet. Oh, well. He’d have to suck it up. As it stood, Brinecrest was vulnerable. It needed this fortification.
Because of me…
Damn. The guilt weighed heavily. If it weren’t for me, this town could go about their festive business, no gas mask arseholes pissing in their cereal—as Asher would say.
“Sounds cool,” Asher answered, rubbing at his stubble.
“You will both join the patrols,” she told him and Dane.
Oh. Unexpected.
Asher bristled. “But?—”
“But,” she bit back at him, “you will stay here with Luke after your shifts.”
Here came the return of smug Seth.
Asher seethed with angry energy, the tips of his fingers digging into the table. “It’s my job to protect him at all times.”
Seth yawned. “Please stop this tired old trope, Asher. We get it. He’s your mark, maybe even more than that.”
Carissa squirmed in her seat.
“Don’t worry,” Seth continued, relishing this, “you can fuck up monsters by day, and fuck Luke by night.”
As a defensive move, I blurted, “You don’t know his shift pattern yet.”
Not the best retort, but a retort all the same. And it worked in muting the arrogance on Seth’s handsome, irritating face.
Take. That.
Asher didn’t argue. “Fine. As long as I can work with Dane.”
His bestie nodded enthusiastically.
