Jill stayed seated as Aveoth and Kelzeb removed their shirts. Her eyebrows arched when both of the men withdrew their swords. “What are you guys doing?”
“Training.” Aveoth didn’t spare her a glance. “We do this often. Just remain where you are.”
They faced each other, backed away, and then lunged forward, swinging their swords. The shocking sound of metal clashing made her wince the first few times until she adjusted to it. They fought, striking at each other, doing a dangerous dance. It was like seeing something out of some medieval movie. She adjusted in the big fancy chair and tried to get more comfortable.
With the men shirtless, it didn’t suck, noticing how their many muscles bunched and flexed as they battled. A fine sheen of sweat coated both of them after a while and it amazed her that they kept going at it for so long. She would have fallen to the floor from exhaustion after a few minutes.
She caught her breath when Kelzeb almost took a blow to his arm and shelled his body at the last instant, spinning away. The blade missed by a hair. Aveoth leaped back and both men stared at each other. Kelzeb unshelled, his skin turning tan again instead of light gray.
Aveoth chuckled. “Sorry.”
“My fault.” Kelzeb grinned. “I was too slow that time to recover. Perhaps I should spar with you more often. I’d be a shitty lead enforcer if I couldn’t hold my own with you.”
“It’s my fault. I’ve sent you on a few missions lately and we’ve missed sessions.” He sheathed his sword.
Kelzeb did the same. “My wings are stronger though. Want to fly with me tonight?”
Aveoth turned his head, peering at Jill. “No.”
“I don’t blame you.” Kelzeb strode across the room and lifted two bottled waters from a table. He spun back around fast.
Jill was amazed when he chucked it hard about twenty feet at Aveoth, but he just caught it as if it hadn’t been hurled at his head. They both drank them down and Kelzeb returned to his friend, bent, and picked up his shirt, putting it back on.
“I’ll go guard the door so you can teach her some defensive moves. She may need them.” Kelzeb strode across the room to the closed door, opened it, and stepped out. He shut the door behind him.
Aveoth faced her and tossed the now-empty plastic bottle toward a corner. He used one hand to motion for her to come closer. “You need to learn how to defend yourself.”
“I’ve taken self-defense classes.”
“Show me.”
She didn’t budge from her seat. “I’m not going to sword fight with you.”
He unbuckled his weapon and laid it down. “No swords. Not yet. I need to see how you move and react first before we advance your training that far.”
“No thanks.” She glanced at the stone floor. It would hurt if he put her on her ass, and she knew he could. She’d just seen him fight with Kelzeb.
Aveoth advanced with a smile on his face. “I won’t hurt you, Jill.”
She leaned back in the chair and gripped the arms. “No.”
He reached her and bent, gripping her wrists. He pulled, easily yanking her out of the chair despite her bracing to keep him from doing so. She found herself being led by him to where he’d originally stood. He released her and his smile faded.
“I plan to keep you close and protected but there might be times where it’s paramount that you can get away from someone like me. Do you understand?”
“That’s just another reason you should return me to where I came from.”
“It’s not going to happen. Are you aware that when you bleed, you scent faintly of VampLycan? You get that from your father’s side. It would put a target on you from anything not human. It’s amazing you reached your age without being attacked.”
“Don’t call him that! He was just a sperm donor.”
“I apologize. I understand. I hated my father too.”
“At least you said yours is dead. I still dream about that day.”
She regretted saying that instantly when she swore she glimpsed pain in his eyes. She’d had a hard life, and tended not to understand when someone complained about things she couldn’t relate to.
“Sorry. It was tough growing up without a dad, and it made it worse knowing mine was such an asshole. I have some issues. It’s foreign for me to think of fathers as good things.”
“You were lucky he wasn’t a part of your life. Mine raised me. Lord Abotorus was cold and cruel.” Aveoth stepped closer, lowering his voice. “He limited the time I got to spend with my mother and ordered me to call her by her first name. I was a year old when he took me from her.”
Jill tried to understand what he was saying. His life seemed so strange to her. “They got divorced?”
“No. She lived here at the cliffs, and still does. They were mated but he kept her in separate quarters. He never would have allowed her to venture outside and leave him. He put me in his quarters. She wasn’t permitted to visit me there. I only saw her during social events.” He licked his lips and glanced away, then back at her. “I’d sneak away as I got older and visit her when I knew he was busy. She’d leave her bedroom balcony open and I’d fly in to see her.”
That was so sad. “Why would he do that?”
“She loved me. He considered that a weakness.”
It made her feel bad for Aveoth, trying to imagine such a childhood.
Aveoth cleared his throat. “Those are some of my best memories. I was four the first time I went to see her. I had so much curiosity. I always caught her watching me when my father assembled the clan. I feared she’d turn me in to her guards and want me punished for breaking the rules. That wasn’t the case. She welcomed me with a hug and tears when I figured out which room was hers and landed on her ledge. It was the first time I could remember when someone had embraced me with gentleness, instead of for battle training, to prove I wasn’t fast enough to avoid capture.”
Jill studied his handsome face and tried to imaging him that young. The boy she’d just met had been six. Aveoth had been flying at four. He’d have been smaller, and had only wanted to talk to his mom.
“Of course, she made me promise not to return. She was terrified someone would discover me there and I’d be severely punished. I realized she didn’t fear for herself, but for me. How could I not take the risk to see her again? Spending time with my mother was the only happy times I had as a child. She wanted to know everything about my life, and she always told me she loved me, how important I was to her.”
Aveoth was breaking Jill’s heart. “Why would your father keep you from her?”
His smile faded. “Gargoyles regard emotions as a weakness. Not all, but most. Lord Abotorus was very old.” He shrugged. “He had no empathy for anyone, especially for his own family. He felt forced to mate a GarLycan, and resented my mother, especially for birthing me. I was a disappointment.”
“Why?”
He hesitated. “I wasn’t able to hide my emotions from him at first. I learned to at a young age, but it was too late. He’d seen weakness in me as a baby. As I grew older, I also didn’t make him proud with acts of brutal rebellion like some of the other younglings did. It angered him.”
She hesitated. “I’m afraid to ask but…like what?”
“Bressor was my age, and my sparring partner for years. In our fifteenth year, he snuck out one night and went for a flight. The scouts caught him returning before dawn with blood on his clothing.” Anger harshened Aveoth’s expression and his tone. “He was taken before my father and forced to confess what he’d done. He had flown to a human town, grabbed a woman, and murdered her.”
The idea horrified Jill. “Why would he do that?”
Aveoth’s jaw clenched. “Women at the cliffs are off limits and protected. He was fifteen and wanted to have sex with one. So he kidnapped a human, abused her, and killed her when he was done to hide his crime. The scouts had to go out to find her body and dispose of it so it was never discovered. My father punished him for leaving the cliffs without permission…but not for the murder or abuse of that poor woman. She was just human, he said. As if they didn’t matter.”
Aveoth’s voice deepened even more, almost into a snarl. “Then my father pulled me aside and asked if I’d ever done anything similar before. Of course I hadn’t. I’m not a sick fuck who would rape and murder someone. He said I was a great disappointment, and actually encouraged me to do the same one night, because it would prove I was more like him. He just ordered me to be smarter about not getting caught the way Bressor had.”
Jill needed to sit down. She hesitated for a moment and then just took a seat on the floor. She had no words. “So this Bressor is here somewhere?” She was human, or at least mostly, according to Aveoth.
Aveoth crouched in front of her and sat on the floor. “I challenged my father a few years after that happened.”
“You fought him?”
“It was a fight to the death to see who would lead the clan. I won. Bressor was one of the clansmen who challenged me for leadership afterward. I killed him…and had no regret over doing so.”
She stared into his eyes, seeing the truth there. It didn’t break her up that Bressor was dead. He sounded like someone who more than deserved it.
It also sank in that Aveoth was saying he’d killed his own father.
“Sometimes people need to die. They are too cruel and selfish to be allowed to live, Jill. There’s no telling how many other times Bressor snuck away and harmed women. Are you afraid of me because I’ve admitted to killing him and Lord Abotorus? The more I learned of my father, the deeper my sense of rage and hatred burned toward him. He encouraged some of the clan to do atrocious crimes, and to look down on other races. I took over the clan, and some of my people aren’t happy about it to this day because I won’t stand for that shit. Most of the full-blooded Gargoyles still here are as cruel as he was, and resent the laws I’ve written. It’s punishable by death if they murder for sick entertainment. But I still have to hide most of my emotions when I’m dealing with the clan. They see them as a weakness.”
Everything he said made sense, and she agreed. The world was a better place with some people not in it. “I understand. I’d kill my sperm donor if I could after everything he did to my mother. She died because she got sick and refused to go to a hospital because it would have cost money. By the time I realized how sick she really was, and called an ambulance, it was too late. The pneumonia had damaged her lungs and she was too weak to respond to treatment. We had a little savings at the time, but she knew he’d be sending assholes after us soon, and that money would help us go on the run again. I hate that son of a bitch.”
“I’m so sorry, Jill.”
“Me too.”
He slowly lifted his hand, holding it out to her. “You do need to learn how to fight. Aren’t you tired of running? I can teach you how to kill assholes like the two who kidnapped you.”
She hesitated then gave him her hand. He rose up and gently pulled her to her feet. “I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”
“I’m nothing like Lord Abotorus but sometimes I have to act that way. I never want you to fear me. I’ll never hurt you, Jill. Can you trust that?” He released her hand.
“Do I have a choice? I’m kind of trapped here for now.”
“I didn’t take you from your life,” he reminded her. “I just accepted you into mine. Decker might have either killed you if I hadn’t brought you here, or used you in some other horrible way to gain something he wanted. He and Lord Abotorus were very similar. A bloodline means nothing and if you aren’t useful to them, they seem to think you don’t deserve to live.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I took some self-defense classes because I was raised in some bad neighborhoods.” She studied him from head to foot. Aveoth was a big man with a seriously buff body. Then she glanced at the hard floor. “Don’t you guys use mats when you tussle?” She met his gaze. “I can’t harden my body to protect myself from breaking bones if I slam into something solid. I’m assuming that’s what you plan to do with me?”
“I’m going to come at you but I won’t let you fall. Try to avoid me grabbing you.”
It was the only warning she got as he lunged forward and tried to snag her around her waist as he bent a little. She threw out an arm and knocked one of his hands away, twisting to the side and kicking out the way she’d learned. Her shoe made contact with his pants just above his knee.
The hit to his thigh actually made him take a step back and he straightened. He arched one eyebrow.
“What? I wasn’t going for your nuts.”
“Thank you.”
He lunged again but faster.
She gasped as his arms wrapped around her and she was lifted right off her feet. He had her in a bear hug with her side pressed up against his chest. It put their faces very close together. His skin was hot and a little damp. Whatever cologne he wore smelled amazing. She actually had to fight the urge to lick him to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.
He smiled. “I have you. You need to do better.”
She was grateful he spoke; it forced her to stop thinking about running her tongue over his skin. “I didn’t even see you move.”
“You aren’t completely human. Stop acting as if you are.” He lowered her to her feet and let her go, taking steps back to put a little space between them. “You’ve got some Vampire blood. We need to discover what advantages it gives you. I’m going to come at you again and this time, avoid me. Ready?”
“No.” She put more space between them, glanced at the hard surface of the floor again, then back at him. “Put down mats and then we’ll do this. I know if one of us ends up on their ass, it’s going to be me. I don’t want to break my tailbone or something.”
“We don’t use them here at the cliffs.”
The door to the hallway opened and Kelzeb stepped inside. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. May I make a suggestion?”
Aveoth appeared irritated. “What?”
“You have guest bedrooms in the lower section of your quarters. I’d remove the mattresses from the beds and use them to cushion the floor. I think your lower hosting room would be big enough to place them down if we moved the furniture against the walls.” Kelzeb grinned. “I’ll help you prepare the space, and then leave you two alone.”
Aveoth suddenly smiled. “That would work.”
Jill glanced between the two men and noticed that both of them looked amused. The idea of her and Aveoth on what amounted to one large bed in some room made her leery. “Maybe we could just not do this.”
Aveoth held her gaze. “You wanted mats. It’s the best we can do.” He strode over to his shirt and put it on. He strapped on his sword next, then approached her. “Let’s go, Jill.”
“Shit,” she muttered. She had walked right into that and it was her own fault.
Aveoth just grinned and took her hand, pinning it between his arm and chest. He led her out of the room and back to his home.
Once they got there, she excused herself to use the restroom upstairs. Mostly, she just wanted to hide as both men went to put mattresses down on the floor.
* * * * *
“Your Jill watched you closely,” Kelzeb whispered, leaning the mattress against a wall. He pushed the couches and tables to the side of the room, out of the way.
Aveoth frowned. “She didn’t scent of arousal. So much for pheromones and sweating for her.”
“This is a much smaller space, and she may have felt uncomfortable in the judging chambers. It’s cozy here.”
“It is,” he agreed.
Kelzeb put his mattress down first and shoved it into place. “You should just carry her to your bed, tie her down, and seduce her.”
Aveoth dumped the other mattress on the floor and held his friend’s gaze. “Did you get that advice from a Gargoyle?”
Kelzeb cringed. “True enough. I can’t imagine how difficult it’s going to be to persuade a distrustful human to let you get between her thighs.”
Aveoth checked the mattresses, making sure that they lay close together with no gaps between the side seams. “I want Jill, but I’m not willing to push her too fast. She might resent that, and she’s already angry that I’m keeping her here.”
“She asked me to fly her home.”
“What did you tell her?”
“No.”
Aveoth sighed and stared at the stairwell. “She’s probably barricading herself inside her room. Go. I’ll secure the doors so no one can get in. I’ll call you later.”
“I’ll take the meeting with the scouts and go over the lists for winter supplies with our stores this afternoon. That will leave your day free. Just keep your phone within hearing range. I’ll call if an emergency arises.”
“Damn. I’d forgotten both were scheduled for later.”
“You have a lot on your mind.” Kelzeb walked over to him and reached out, gripping his shoulder. “I have you covered. It’s my honor as your friend to take whatever burdens I can from you.” He smirked. “Just focus on getting laid. You really need that.”
Aveoth snorted and shook his head. “That’s the Lycan side of you. Sex doesn’t fix every problem.”
“It would be nice if it could though. I know it would improve my mood most days.”
“You need to look for a mate.”
“The timing isn’t right yet. Women need a lot of attention, which I don’t have to give. The price would be her unhappiness.” Kelzeb released him and waved. “I’ll call if I need you. I won’t interrupt unless it’s very important. Good luck.”
Aveoth followed him to the exit and secured the door. He ran upstairs and went to his bedroom first, closing off the balcony. The reminder of how close Jill had come to falling to her death had already made him secure all the lower-floor cliff openings. They were now safely sealed. He heard sounds in her bedroom and walked through the connecting bathroom to knock on the closed door.
“Are you ready, Jill?” He tried the handle and found the door unlocked.
She stood by the bed and turned when he stepped inside. “These aren’t really the right clothes for workouts.”
That reminded him that she needed outfits. “They will do for now. After we see what you can do, I’ll have Renna come measure you. You’re welcome to wear anything in my wardrobe until she’s made you gowns.”
“Gowns?”
“We aren’t in your world anymore,” he gently reminded her. “We dress a certain way here at the cliffs.”
“Are we talking a ton of material that goes from the shoulders to my feet?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not leaving your fancy cave again if that’s true. No way am I going to put on some getup from the eighteen-hundreds.”
He didn’t blame her. She was a modern woman, used to wearing the clothing of one. “Luckily for you, we’re just going downstairs into another part of my home right now. Let’s go.”
“Why are you so determined to kick my ass?”
“I’m not. I just want to see how you can defend yourself and if you have any traits you weren’t aware of before. We need to test your skills.”
“You mean like if I have any super-secret kickass things I can do? I don’t.”
“You didn’t know what your bloodlines were before.”
“I’ve gotten into plenty of fights in my lifetime, Aveoth. Nothing weird ever happened.”
“You were around humans. Now you’re not. Let’s go, Jill.”
Her gaze flashed down his body, then she stared into his eyes again. He watched her swallow hard but she walked toward him. “Fine. Let’s get this over with. After you.”
He crossed her bedroom and opened the door to the hallway, more than aware that she kept close behind him as he took the stairs to the lower level and entered the living room. The two large king-size mattresses were squared together in the center of the room. He paused, then took a seat on the floor to remove his boots.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Take off your shoes.”
She sat far from him and removed them. It surprised him when she didn’t argue. He stood, unbuckled his sword belt, and then stripped out of his shirt. Jill kept glancing at him, but she said nothing. She got up and hesitated near the edge of the mattresses. He didn’t. He walked to the center of them and pointed at the space in front of him.
She came over and stopped two feet away, a frown firmly on her attractive face. He thought she was incredibly cute. He rolled his shoulders, relaxing.
“Show me something you’ve learned with this self-defense you spoke of.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Okay.” She turned and pressed against him, her back fusing to his front. It stunned him. She turned her head, looked up at him, and smiled. “No bear hugs, but wrap your arms around my shoulders like you’ve just come up behind me to mug me or something.”
He gently wrapped his arms around her…but then remembered what she’d said earlier. “Don’t hit me in the nuts, Jill. I won’t be amused by that.”
“I won’t.”
She looked away from him to peer straight ahead—and suddenly reached up.
One of her hands gripped his forearm and the other clasped the curve of his shoulder. She bent suddenly, kind of twisted her upper body to one side, yanking on him.
He hadn’t expected that, and it knocked him off balance. Surprise held him still while he stared at her from his back on the mattress.
She’d flipped him.
Jill straightened up. “It worked! I thought you might be too heavy.”
He stayed down, staring up at her. Part of him was amused, another impressed. She looked pleased with herself. It turned him on more. He sat up and got to his knees, twisting around to face her.
He tackled her a heartbeat later, taking her down flat on the other mattress.
He was careful to do it gently and not crush her under him when he pinned her flat to her back. He crawled up a little so they were face to face. She felt fragile under him, so he braced his arms more and took some of his weight off her.
Her eyes widened and her breathing increased as she gazed up at him.
He grinned. “Get free.”
Her hands pressed against his chest and she pushed. It tickled a little. She stopped. “I’d have to hit you, and then you’d hit me back. No thanks.”
“I doubt you could hurt me unless you went for my groin. Don’t.”
She licked her lips and his focus lowered to her pink tongue. Desire shot through him and his dick reacted. Blood surged south. He wanted to kiss her.
“Your eyes are doing that weird thing where they’re reminding me of a lightning ball.”
He stared into hers. “A what?”
“Never mind. Your eyes are amazing and scary at the same time. What causes that? Silver bolts are flashing inside them right now, and the blue is moving around as though it’s liquid being poured around your irises, then disappearing behind all the silver.”
“I’m part Gargoyle. The colors can swirl with my emotions. I’m not hiding mine from you. Vampire eyes brighten to an almost neon color when they want to control a human’s mind or when they’re sexually aroused.”
“Good thing you’re not a Vampire because I’m still not having your bat babies. You can’t mess with my head and change my mind.”
He was tempted to confess his real heritage to her, but it was too dangerous. It would probably make her fear him more. He imagined her pregnant with his youngling and longed for it. He’d been alone all of his life. With Jill, he’d create a family, and they’d form tight bonds together. “Would it be such a bad thing?”
Her lips parted, then closed. She pushed against his chest again. “Get off. I thought you wanted to fight with me.”
He’d rather fuck her. He lifted up though and got to his feet. He bent, offering her a hand. She ignored it, rolled over, and got up on her own. They faced off against each other.
“What kind of cologne are you wearing?”
“I’m not.”
She inhaled. “That’s just you I’m smelling?”
“I apologize for sweating earlier. Is it offensive? We do use deodorant.” He tried to contain his excitement. Kelzeb might have been right about them excreting pheromones that would attack sexual interest. He got closer, making it easier for her to inhale his scent. “Do I smell horrible to you?”
“You don’t stink. It’s actually the opposite.”
He needed to keep her close. “You’re stalling.”
“I am,” she admitted.
He lunged at her again and wrapped his arms around her. “Get free from me. Show me what you’ve got, Jill.”
She put her hands on his shoulders, staring into his eyes. “You’re really strong. You’re holding me off my feet like it’s easy as pie.”
“You are very light.”
“Could you tell that to my doctor? He recommended I lose twenty pounds the last time I went in for my annual checkup.”
That pissed him off. Humans were idiots. “You’re perfect. This doctor was incompetent.”
Her lips parted again but she didn’t say a word. That was rare for her.
Her hands slid over his skin, and the sensation felt so good. He liked her touching him…a hell of a lot. So did his dick as it stiffened inside his pants. He’d have adjusted it but he held her in his arms, her body against his.
Her eyes widened. “Put me down, Wings.”
“You’re supposed to break free from me.”
Panic showed in her eyes. “Please?”
He lowered her to the mattress so she stood on her feet and released her. “There’s no reason to be afraid.”
She lowered her gaze, staring at the front of his pants. She backed away from him, then lifted her chin, staring into his eyes. “We aren’t going to do this.”
“We need to discover if you have any defensive traits you weren’t aware of.”
“The only thing I’ve learned is you have a huge bulge in your pants and touching me seems to be the cause. I’m not having your bat babies. Wrestling around with you isn’t going to change my mind. You never fed me. I’m hungry.” She cleared her throat. “For food, to be clear. I’d like a shower, too.”
Regret surfaced. He’d forgotten to feed her. His desire to get her into bed had been foremost on his mind. She’d seen through his plot, too. That’s what he got for listening to Kelzeb. His friend spent way too much time with full-blooded Gargoyles. “I’ll fix you something now. You can shower after that. Let’s go upstairs.” He led the way.
She followed him to the upper level of his home. “Thank you.”
He turned away from her and crossed the room to his kitchen. “Eggs, bacon, and toast okay?”
“Sounds perfect. I would have been happy with a bowl of cereal.”
He smiled. She wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever known. The possibilities intrigued him.