She almost hissed, “I’m not your typical female.”
His sarcasm was palpable. “Clearly.”
Kiss him again.
As if in a daze, she reached up and cradled his face before she pulled him to her. Again, she felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her as their lips met. He moved to deepen the embrace but she pulled away.
She raised her fingers to her mouth and whispered. “What is that?”
His tone was jagged, torn somewhere between desire and disbelief. “Confirmation.”
Her blue eyes bore into his. “Of what?”
“That you are the one; the one who can free me from the immortal stone.”
She paled but didn’t speak.
He reached for her again, but she stepped backwards. He crossed his arms instead. “I suspect that while your sister claims to be a witch, you understand more about her actions than she does.”
Tori shrugged. “I read more.”
“I gathered as much with your use of the word occultist. And what do you know about me?”
She cleared her throat and stared over the water. “You, specifically? Not much. The curse that it took to imprison you is more than I want to know.” She turned back to him. “Nothing personal, but if you were locked in a gargoyle, you weren’t meant to be freed.”
“And yet I was. Which is why you’re here, why you searched for me.”
“I... I wasn’t really sure what to do.”
He smiled without humor. “You didn’t expect them to be successful.”
“Not really. I feared they might, but hoped they wouldn’t.”
“And now that they did?”
She shrugged. “I need to read more.”
He knew her unspoken question but chose to ignore it. “We are meant to be together.”
She turned away from him. “I know.” Her shoulders drooped in defeat. “I read that each gargoyle had one savior but the odds that they would come together were astronomical. After that kiss, I’d have to say that we just beat the odds.”
He put his arm around her and once again, the warmth of the contact filled recesses of her soul that she hadn’t known were empty. She didn’t even bother trying to fight her own actions; the natural sense of attraction was palpable. They fit together like they’d known each other forever. She laid her head on his shoulder, and they stood silently, taking in the beauty of their surroundings.
He held up his hand with the ring. “You are the only one who can remove this. Once it’s removed, I no longer will return to stone.”
She finally looked up at him and asked the question that could change everything. “You’re obligated to kill those that freed you, aren’t you? To avoid the potential of them putting you back.”
He nodded.
She stiffened her shoulders and stepped away from him. “I can’t allow that.”
“I can’t change the rules. They were written by sanctimonious powers long ago.”
She stared into his eyes. “You don’t understand. I won’t let you kill my sister.”
Chapter Six
Tori tossed some clothes to Malik. “These were my brother’s but they should fit you good enough for now.” She pointed. “Bathroom is that way.”
Her cell phone rang as he headed down the hall. “Hey, Felicia. What’s up?”
“I’m coming over. I can’t sleep; I can’t eat. I hate everything that has happened.”
“No!” Tori walked out to the back deck. “I’m not going to be home anyhow, so no sense in coming over here.”
“Where are you going?”
Tori’s mind spun. “I have to run to the library to look up some old articles.” It was the one place she knew Felicia wouldn’t go.
The whine echoed in the phone. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Go to the hospital. Sit with Rosie; keep her company.”
She sighed in relief when Felicia reluctantly agreed.
“Just call me when you get home from the library.”
“Will do.” She ended the call. That’s all I need right now. She does not need to meet Malik.
She had coffee ready when he reappeared from the shower with just a towel wrapped around his waist. She tried to ignore how sexy he looked with his hair slicked back.
“Do I pass inspection?”
Her face heated as she realized she was staring. “Just put the clothes on and make sure they fit.”
“Give me a moment to dress. I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry.”
I just need you to cover the most gorgeous chest I’ve ever seen that’s making me want to get my ho on.
Go Tori, go Tori, be a ho, be a ho.
“They’re a might snug, but they’ll do for now.”
She took a quick peek. Snug in all the right places. She made a mental note to thank her brother. He’d be thrilled that a gargoyle wore his clothes.
“Your brother lives here?”
“Nope. He doesn’t even live in this state. He doesn’t approve of my sister’s choice of hobbies, or of our bloodline from our mother, so he disappeared from our lives a long time ago.”
“Hobbies?”
She handed him a mug. “I told you that she’s not a career witch. She can’t be accused of being a professional.”
“That fact changes nothing.”
Her tone hardened. “It will.”
He glanced around. You live here alone?”
“Just me.”
“If that’s the case, what do you do to earn a living for yourself?”
“I’m an administrator for a group home that houses foster children.”
“Foster children?”
“Orphans is probably what they were called in your time. An orphanage. I facilitate adoptions, make sure the family is a good fit for the kid.”
“Admirable. Tell me about your family.”
She gave him a brief biography of her mother. “But she never practiced black magic as far as I know.”
“I am unaware of how much of that black magic was practiced by the witches I had the ill fortune of running across. All they managed to do was turn my heart as black as coal.”
“You still haven’t fully explained why you were punished.”
“My crime was love, my dear. No more, no less.
She cleared her throat. “Who did you love?”
He gazed at the counter. “Her name was Merada.”
Tori felt his sadness and pain like it was a physical wall. “I’m sorry I asked.”
“No need for sorrow. But you, you are not married? No children?”
She made light of the questions. “Never been married; I work too much to be able to maintain a relationship. And I’m around children all the time, but none of my own. Toby, one of my charges, is pretty special to me, but he’s as close as it gets.”
“Do you wish for a family in the future?”
She grabbed the coffee pot and topped off his mug.
“Come on. Let’s go sit on the deck.”
She led him out the back door to where a large, open porch ran the length of the back of the house. A barbeque area sat on one end, and Adirondack chairs sat on the other. She sank down into one and gestured to the other.