Page 31 of Falling for Ash
Nine
Ash wanted to rage at the she-beast. There was really no other way to describe his intense anger at the Sphinx’s stupid hoity toity fucking face. How dare she stop him and toss one of her puzzles at his mate! Such arrogance was not to be tolerated, and she should damn well know it.
“Thank you, my lady,” the half-Lion bitch said, and Ash snarled angrily.
“I got this,” Gabriella said, leaning her back against his chest.
He tucked her in closer, wrapping his arms around her waist as if he’d been doing that all his life. Seemed natural. Like he was supposed to hold her like that. Anyway, he fucking liked it, so he wasn’t going to stop. Unless she told him to.
“A special one for you, lady fair,” the Sphinx sneered, and Ash made a mental note to inform Lucifer of her highhandedness with his mate.
As mate to the General of the Daemonium Guard, Ash expected Gabriella to not have to participate in these petty games. Her clearance should be on par with his. He would see it done. Later.
“With pointed fangs, I sit and wait,” she began with a smirk on her face. “With piercing force, I crunch out fate. Grabbing victims, proclaiming might, physically joining with a single bite. What am I, mistress? Tell me, and you may pass,” the Sphinx grinned with a curtsy.
“I suppose because I am a newcomer to the Underworld, you expect me to answer with something like a Demon, Imp, or Vampire, don’t you?” Gabriella asked, her blue eyes glittering with mischief.
“Is that your answer?”
Ash tensed. He hated riddles, and while he was old enough to know better, he tended to jump at the wrong answer or simply end whatever game had begun with good, old-fashioned fisticuffs.
Grrr.
“No, Sphinx. It’s not. My answer is this,” Gabriella said, crooking her finger and beckoning the Sphinx closer.
Ash frowned, lip curled as the Sphinx lowered her body to the ground. He could tell the arrogant cat beast expected her to guess wrong, but Ash had faith.
“The answer to your riddle, what sits and waits with pointed fangs crunching out fate and joining with a bite, is simple. It’s a stapler.”
“Wro— Hey! You guessed it!”
“Of course, I did. I’m a teacher,” Gabriella said with a satisfied grin on her face.
Ash growled, enjoying watching the Sphinx hastily rise and open the portal. He hissed as he passed, making certain the half-Lion woman was aware of his displeasure.
“My lord,” she murmured, trying to show respect, but it was too late to appease him.
“Next time, no riddles,” Ash growled.
“No, General, of course,” Sphinx said, averting her gaze.
“Come on, Ash. I don’t want to be late.”
He’d worried she might be angry with his handling of the Sphinx, but Gabriella seemed unaffected. Another facet of the magnificent female. He grinned and took her hand, tucking her close while the portal zipped them up to the Earth’s surface.
The arid heat of LA greeted them on the other side, but Ash was unaffected as he maneuvered them to the place where she’d left her car the night before. Climbing in the passenger seat, he watched Gabriella don her seatbelt and check her mirrors before heading out into the late morning traffic.
“What time is your class?”
“Oh, it’s not ‘till this evening. But I have to get changed and prepare my notes.”
“I see,” he listened, realizing he had his own work to do.
Tension rain through him as he walked her to the door. He could not help but stare, his longing gaze roaming over her from head to toe. He did not want to go, but even as he stood trying to figure out how to say farewell, he felt someone calling him from below.
“What time will you be finished?”
“Catechism class starts at five and ends around seven,” she replied, her blue eyes wide and staring up at him like twin sapphire pools.
