Tracy awoke surrounded in warmth. Strong muscular arms enclosed her, and it took a moment to remember what had happened. Last night had seemed surreal. What she’d seen with a statue coming to life couldn’t have been real. But, he’d gone home with her.

It had felt like a dream—a decadent, sinful, mind-blowing sex dream.

Yet, she was awake. And in the arms of the man who now held her in a protective embrace.

Except, he wasn’t truly a man…

She’d slept with someone who wasn’t human. What the hell was wrong with her?

Her pulse quickened. Gargoyles existed. They could see and hear while in stone. They could shift into humans. The statue she spoke to many times in Vamps had turned into the man now in her bed.

When she pulled herself to a sitting position, the arm he had draped over her fell across her lap. His blond hair splayed across the pillow like a lion’s mane. She moved a strand of hair from his cheek. He appeared so peaceful at rest, so unlike the fury in his face when he’d shifted to confront Brian.

Her movement must have stirred him as his eyelids fluttered and then opened.

“Bon matin, mon ange.” His voice sounded husky with sleep.

She smiled. His warm greeting in that sensual accent reminded her that she had nothing to fear from him. “Bon matin, Danton.”

He laughed. “Did I slip into French?”

She nodded.

“My native language. But you understood what I said?”

“Yes, you said ‘good morning, my angel.’ I took French in high school. Je parle un peu français.”

“Très bien.” He brushed a finger over her lower lip and let it drag down over her chin. “You pronounce it very well.”

Although her heart raced under his touch, she managed to respond. “Merci.”

His fingers continued down over her collarbone and down the front of her body, leaving a trail of heat as they traveled along her skin. He gently squeezed one of her breasts and then teased the nipple with his thumb and forefinger. It hardened in response to his dexterous touch.

“Do you have plans today?” he asked.

With Danton seizing command of all her attention with such decadent distraction, it was difficult to recall what she’d had planned. Oh yes, it was Sunday, her usual study day. She’d drink coffee and listen to music while she caught up on her schoolwork for the week, or got a head start for the week ahead. If she wasn’t swamped with papers or studying for a test, she’d head over to her parents for a Sunday dinner, and spend the evening playing a game with her brother, Andrew.

“Nothing I can’t reschedule.” If this was a one-time opportunity, everything else could wait.

“Can I convince you to spend the morning here with me?” He kissed her neck and then licked down around one nipple. He enclosed it in his warm mouth and she moaned with pleasure.

She scooted back against the pillows and he slid over her.

She sighed. “I could spend all day here with you.”

He planted a trail of kisses down her skin, circling her navel with his tongue. She squirmed and said, “That tickles.”

“I’d like to discover all your ticklish spots.” He kissed farther down, focusing on her inner thighs. “How about here?” He licked a smooth trail up to her most sensitive area, peering at her with those intense green eyes.

She caught her breath, unable to speak. Danton took his time, sending her into sensual delirium as he pushed her closer and then drew back. Each time left her writhing on the bed, a bit more frantic and desperate for release. When he finally relented and brought her to climax, she shot to an unprecedented level, exploding among the stars.

When she returned to earth, she stroked his cock. Finding him rock-hard and eager, she rolled a condom over him. She then climbed on top, taking the lead, as she lowered herself onto his massive shaft. She rode him slowly at first and then ground against him with more intensity as the pressure mounted.

Danton gripped her waist with his large hands, making her feel tiny in comparison. He raised his hips, thrusting deep into her. The heat building inside her spread to every nerve in her body as the need intensified in her core. She ached, desperate for more of him.

Harder and faster, she rode him until she crashed over the edge again. She arched her back, reveling in the sensations that rocked her body.

Danton growled an inhuman sound. He buried his fingers in her hips and thrust so deeply, she thought he’d split her open as he followed and released deep inside her.

Shit, she didn’t think anything could top last night. But, Danton had a way of surpassing every expectation.

They didn’t say much as their heated bodies recovered. She doubted she could ever speak again. After her racing heartbeat slowed, she said, “You must be famished. I haven’t offered you anything to eat.”

He grinned and quirked his brows. “I’m quite satiated.”

“You know what I mean,” she stammered. “I’ll get us some breakfast.”

When she pulled herself up, he said, “Soon.” He pulled her back into his arms and entangled his limbs with hers. “I’m going to miss this.”

A half-hour later, Tracy dressed in her favorite pair of lounge pants, which had black cats printed on them, and a pink tank top. She scoured the contents of her fridge while she brewed coffee. It was already eleven a.m. What could she offer him?

“Do you eat food? Like, you know, what people eat?” What an awkward question. Her cheeks heated. But, how would she know, after all he’d transformed from stone!

“Yes.”

“Oh, um,” she stammered. “I wasn’t sure.”

“When I’m in human form, just think of me as human,” he explained. “I eat, drink, and make love just like a human male.”

Maybe so. But, no man had ever made love to her the way he did. She smiled to herself.

With him wearing nothing but a towel, it was difficult for her to concentrate on making breakfast. How could she ignore his sculpted face, broad chest, and finely cut abs? And he was too entrancing for any woman to resist. She struggled against the desire to climb on his lap and run her hands through his warrior mane. She’d mount him right there on her kitchen chair…

“You’re blushing.” He interrupted her fantasy. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.” She buried her face in the fridge for cover. “I’m still hot from the bedroom.” What was wrong with her? She was turning into a sex-crazed maniac after one night with him.

Distracting herself with the task of breakfast, she was able to act normal once again. Danton sliced some fruit while she fried eggs. She put on a Nina Simone playlist, and they sat to eat in her small, retro, red-and-yellow decorated kitchen.

“I like this music,” he said. “It’s different from the club.”

She couldn’t agree more. Vamps played all sorts of alternative, goth, and underground music, with the occasional live rock bands. Although she loved the vibe, she craved listening to something more soothing at home.

“I like to listen to this on Sunday mornings. Helps me unwind after working Saturday night. I usually work the busiest shifts, Thursday through Saturday nights.”

He gave her a deep look. “I know your schedule. I look forward to the moment you return.”

“Oh.” That was intense. Everything about him was like that, sucking in all the air in the room. She took a deep breath to center herself.

They ate breakfast in silence for several minutes, listening to Nina sing Wild is the Wind. Danton appeared intent on listening to the music coming from her vintage-looking stereo in the living room, which was docked with modern technology that piped into the kitchen.

After it ended, he asked, “What did you mean about the man who attacked you last night being ‘taken care of?’”

His expressive eyes showed his concern. How could they be the same ones that flashed such fury last night when he had been about to crush Brian to a lifeless pulp?

“I have a restraining order out on him.”

“A piece of paper?” Danton snorted. “That worked well.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“It would have, if I’d called the cops.” She raised her brows. “Which I might have done, had a stone statue not come to life, and thrown him over the bar.”

Danton put down his mug. “I can make sure he never hurts you again. That’s what I’m designed to do—protect humans, usually from other humans.”

Her pulse raced at what he promised. Sure, it warmed her to know what he’d do to protect her, but it was too much. “Thank you, Danton. But, it sounds a little too much like a mob whacking for me.”

“A mob what?”

She shook her head. “Never mind. Besides, I think you gave him a taste of what you can do and I’m sure it’s scared the bejeezus out of him.” She walked over to the coffee pot and refilled her mug. “More coffee?” She raised the pot in offering him more.

“No, thank you. How about I visit him today and let him know what will happen if he comes near you again?”

“Chill out about Brian, will you?” She snapped. Oh hell, what was her problem? Why was she defending that asshole? She didn’t want anything to do with him, but she didn’t want him killed, if that was indeed what Danton was proposing.

He’s doing it to protect you.

Right. She smiled to soften her tone. “You take this protecting gig seriously, eh?”

Danton fixed his intense gaze on her. “Of course.”

“Don’t worry. If he comes back to bother me, I know where to find you.” She furrowed her brows as she pictured it. Would he go back to being the stone statue near the bar where she worked? “You’ll be back at Vamps, right?”

“I will.”

“That’s going to be weird.” Her voice trailed off.

“Why is that?”

“Because we uh, you know, had world-rocking sex last night and again this morning. And I’m supposed to go back to work with you next to me locked in stone?”

He peered at her with an inquisitive glance. “That’s the way it’s been for a long time, has it not?”

True. She’d been a bartender there for a couple of years. She’d started soon after she’d turned twenty-one, save for the several months after a fire when Vamps had been sold and renovated. After floundering trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, she’d decided to go to college and study to become a special education teacher. She wanted to help kids like her brother, Andrew.

But, how could she and Danton go back to the way it was? “Yes, but, I didn’t know someone was alive in there. Is there any way you could stay out here? Stay in human form?”

Danton took a low, audible breath as his eyes searched hers. “There is.”

“What?” She leaned forward. “How?”

“If I take an oath with someone, such as the person I am protecting, I am able to break the curse and move freely between both worlds—gargoyle and man.”

“Curse? Oath? What do you mean?”

“Gargoyles aren’t typically locked in stone. One of my brothers angered a witch several years ago, and she’d retaliated with a curse on the three of us. Gargoyle magic is powerful enough to break through to act when we must protect someone. But, only love is strong enough to break the curse. It must be promised through an oath.”

Her mouth fell open. “You’ve been cursed by a witch?”

Danton nodded.

Her encounter with him turned stranger with each revelation. What happened with him and his brothers? And, where were they? She shook her head to clear through the mounting questions.

“When did this happen?”

“Over thirteen years ago.”

She blinked. “That seems a bit extreme.” She took a sip of coffee while her thoughts raced. “How old were you?”

“I was twenty-two. I’m the oldest of the three of us.”

“You’re thirty-five?”

He nodded.

“You don’t even look thirty. Does being locked in stone slow the aging process or something?”

“Perhaps because we spend so much time in that state, it’s why we age slower than humans. Our lifespans can be twice as long.” He rubbed his cheek. “But, if we take human mates, they live longer, as well.” He shrugged. “So, I suppose the answer is maybe.”

“You seem so calm. Aren’t you angry about this?”

“I was for a long time, until I realized it wouldn’t change anything.”

What a nightmare to have been cursed that way for so long. Could she help him?

“If I take this oath with you, you’d be free, right? It’s just words. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“No, Tracy. It means everything.” His bright green eyes widened. “When you take the oath, you are swearing to love—and in my case protect—the one you bond to for all your days. It would bind us together with magic. We can’t break through the curse if the words are empty.”

“Oh,” she said. Agreeing to spend a night and day with someone was one thing. Vowing to love and be with him forever was another, especially when the other person wasn’t human. How could a relationship like that even work?

Damn, she wanted to help Danton. Sending him back to his stone prison was too cruel, but what could she do?

Her relationship with Brian had turned disastrous. She wouldn’t rush into another one with someone she’d technically only met last night.

“I wish I could help you out, but, that’s too much of a commitment. I’m sorry, Danton, but I can’t.”