Stone and Earth (5 page)

“Almost done.” Her voice was low and husky, impossibly seductive. “Just one more thing.” She dipped the paintbrush one last time and then added a few swift lines, right on the sensitive flesh of his shaft. This time he recognized that she was writing a word, but he was so overwhelmed by the feather strokes of the brush and the heat of the oil that he couldn’t make out the letters. Then she set the paint and brush aside and sat back on her heels to survey her handiwork.

“Oh yeah.” She gave a happy purr. “Goddess, Damien, I could just play with your body for weeks on end. I wish neither of us had to go to work today.”

So did he. But he wasn’t supposed to talk, so he just sent her a smoldering glance and nodded his agreement.

She leaned down and ran the tip of her tongue along the crease of first one leg then the other. “But there’s always the weekend, isn’t there? And then, big guy, you are all mine.” She grasped his cock in her hands and lowered her mouth. Game or no game, Damien couldn’t repress the groan that rose up from his throat. Katie didn’t seem to object. She swirled that talented tongue around the head of his penis, dipping inside to collect the droplet of pre-cum he knew had to be beading there. He bucked his hips up, trying to fuck her mouth when she opened her lips and drew the head of him inside for a brief taste.

He wouldn’t have minded if she’d decided to settle down and seriously suck him, but she dropped one last little kiss on the very tip and moved up to tickle his navel.

“Bet you want to know what I wrote.” She kissed her way up to his nipple and circled it with her tongue.

He nodded then gasped in a deep breath as she nipped.

“Wel-l-l…” She traced the lines on his chest with the tip of one finger. “These are runes. This is a protection spell. I know you’re stronger than the average cop, but I’m betting you’re still vulnerable to bullets. And the whole point of your task force is to keep the other big baddies in line. So while I’d never try to get between you and your job, I’m still going to worry about you.”

Damien was touched beyond belief. He could live with her painting a protection spell on his chest. It still stunned him that anyone other than his parents would care enough to want him to be safe.

She touched first one thigh and then the other and slanted him a wicked little smile. “One of these is the Japanese character for stamina. The other is for creativity.” She licked her lips before running her hand along the letters on his cock. “You want to know what this one says?”

He nodded.

She narrowed her eyes and stared into his as her fingers traced the lines. “This one is just a simple statement of fact. M-I-N-E. Mine. As in, this…” She wrapped her hand around his shaft and squeezed. “Belongs to Katie. And
only
Katie. You have a problem with that?”

“Goddess, no!” He’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to speak. “I love you, Katie Calhoun. Why the hell would I want to be with anyone else?”

Chapter Five

Katie froze as Damien’s heartfelt whisper registered in her brain. He squeezed his eyes shut and tugged lightly at the cuffs. “Not exactly how I planned to say it. Let me go,
cherie
, so I can hold you.”

She scrambled up the bed, grabbed the key off her nightstand and hurried to unlock his wrists. When she leaned over he lifted his head and nipped her left breast through the leather bustier. She fumbled the key and groaned at the pleasure. As soon as he let up, she finished freeing him and almost instantly found herself flat on her back on the bed, gazing up into Damien’s incredible gray eyes.

“I love you, Damien.” She was so choked up the words came out as a hoarse whisper.

“I love you, Katie. More than I’d ever dreamed I could love anyone. I know this is sudden, but it’s real. I know that with every fiber of my being.”

“It’s real.” There wasn’t the faintest shadow of a doubt in her mind. He was her other half, her perfect mate. Stone and earth.

“I’ve got to have you,
cherie
. I need to be inside you right now.” His rampant erection pushed into her stomach and he rubbed against her.

“Please.” She shifted her hips, trying to get pressure where she needed it. Her needy pussy wept while her vaginal muscles clenched tight, begging to be filled.

Damien pushed aside the soaked thong and shoved inside. “
Oui
.”

“Yes!” Their simultaneous cries echoed against the high ceilings of the loft. He set an urgent pace, but it wasn’t enough. “Harder, Damien. I need you hard and fast this time.”

“Anything,
mon ange
.” He pistoned his thick shaft in and out of her, the force of it making her gasp with every stroke.

She dug her nails into his back and he bit down on her nipple through the bustier before nosing the leather aside and taking the abused nub into his mouth. He pulled hard, the delicious suction timed to match the thrust of his cock.

“Damien!” She called his name as the stars exploded around her. Damien speeded up, the increased pace driving her to yet another unbelievable peak. This time when she screamed his name he held himself deep, flooding her womb. Her drawn-out orgasm continued and so did his, jet after jet of his hot seed filling her core. By the time they both finished, neither one of them could breathe, let alone speak. Finally, he rolled to the side, taking her with him, one leg thrown over his to hold their bodies together, still fused like two pieces of a puzzle.

“I want you to convert me,” she whispered later, combing a hand through his hair. Dawn was only about twenty minutes away and she was delighted that this time he was in no hurry to leave her bed.

He clasped her hand with his. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t want to lose you, Katie. I couldn’t bear it.”

“But I’m only human, Damien. And though you haven’t said, I know our life spans are very different. I don’t want to grow old without you and I don’t want you to watch me age and die.” And she wanted more than anything to be able to bear his children.

“You’d rather die now?”

She shook her head. “I’m an earth witch, remember? Stone should be a natural extension of that.” She could see the yearning in his face and knew he was close to relenting so she pressed. “You agreed that we were made for each other. I have faith that the goddess will protect me.”

He hugged her so close she could hear his throat work as he tried to speak. “I’m not used to being frightened.”

“It was meant to be, my love. Trust me. I know this is the right thing for us to do. I need to be your mate, Damien.”

He nodded against her hair and then pulled away. “I’ll be right back.”

He walked to the dresser where he’d emptied his pockets after work and picked up his small pocketknife, then returned to Katie. He helped her out of the bed and stripped her of her clothes. The only thing he left was the necklace. She’d told him she never removed the heirloom and since it was easily more than a meter long, it should survive whatever transformation occurred. If the gods were with him, within the week she’d also be wearing his wedding band.

He resumed his reclining position against the pillows then pulled her down on top of him, taking her lips in a brutal, ravishing kiss. It only took a second for his hormones to overpower his fear. As soon as he was hard again, he shifted Katie on his lap and slid back up inside her.

“You’re sure?”

She nodded, not a trace of doubt or fear in her clear green gaze—just love, trust and unshakable faith. He prayed that she had enough for both of them.

He picked the pocketknife off the nightstand and sliced a small x on his palm. Then he reached for hers. “Give me your hand.”

With no hesitation she did and he kissed her palm before making the same cut on it, keeping the incision as shallow as he could while still drawing blood. He interlaced their fingers so the two wounds pressed together, mingling their blood. Then he took one of her fishnet stockings and used it to bind their wrists together, ensuring the impromptu transfusion.

“Our blood combines at the same time as our bodies join. I hope to hell you know what you’re doing, my love. But know I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my miserable life.”

She rocked up and down on his cock, riding him slowly and easily as her fingers gripped hard on his. “I love you, Damien. I know this is the right path. I’ve waited thirty-two years for you and I don’t intend to waste a day now that I’ve finally found you.”

She bent down and kissed him as she rocked, the taste of her warm and sweet on his lips. He pumped into her, mimicking her gentle pace, savoring the movement. He felt the magic flowing from his body to hers and from hers to his.

By the time they both came in another glorious burst of pleasure, he knew the transformation was complete. Katie was now a gargoyle. Now they only had to wait and see if she survived the coming dawn.

“So what will happen now?” She lay limp and sated on his chest while he unbound their wrists and pressed a kiss against the cut that was already closing on her hand. Goddess, she loved this man. She could feel the magic pulsing through her body and she was excited about what was to come.

“Now we wait. When the sun rises, we both transform. The first time can be…difficult. I’m sorry,
mon coeur
. I’d spare you that if I could.” He sounded so worried, she couldn’t help trying to tease him out of it.

“Well, they say the first time is always painful,” she joked. “Then what?”

“Then your body will try to recover, by sending you into the stone state. You will be conscious, aware of your surroundings, but unable to move or speak. You will remain a statue until your body recovers.”

She kissed his neck. “Okay. So when I transform, will I look like you?”

He shook his head. “We each have our own unique shape. There is no way of knowing what form the magic will choose for you.”

“Will I be gray?”

“I have no idea, my love. We shall have to wait and see.”

They didn’t have to wait very long. When the first rays of dawn began to peek through the blinds, Damien stood and helped Katie to her feet. He gathered her close in his arms and stood near the window, his face buried in her hair.

“Don’t worry so much,” she told him, as she felt something like a thousand needles begin to penetrate her skin. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I love you.” He held her tightly as her body began to change.

It hurt. He hadn’t been kidding about that. Katie clung to Damien’s arms as she felt every bone and muscle in her body shift and pop. She tried to keep silent, but she couldn’t stifle a cry when she felt something burst from the skin of her back. When the racking agony finally stopped, she panted, trying to catch her breath. Without Damien’s strength, she would have fallen.

“You are beautiful,
cherie
!” His awed whisper soothed the worst of her fears. Slowly she allowed him to help her pivot toward her full-length mirror. When she saw what she’d become, it was all she could do not to laugh.

“Catwoman.” The word sounded strange coming from lips that were now feline in shape. She still looked like a woman from the neck down, except for the fine dusting of auburn fur that now covered her skin. Since Damien was stroking it with a look of intense desire, she decided that fur was okay. Her ears were pointed and furry, poking just above her normal mane of red hair which hadn’t changed a bit. But her face was an almost Hollywood-style blend of human and cat. She tried to smile and was glad to see it worked.

“You have wings and a tail, just like me.” Damien turned her to the side so she could see. Sure enough, she had a pair of dainty pointed wings in what looked like grass-green leather. The tail was feline though, twitching and furry and red. She laughed, then felt herself stagger. Her feet were suddenly leaden. She was unable to move.

“Shh. You are entering stoneshape now so that your body can recover. I will be right here with you, my love. Do not be afraid.” He feathered tiny kisses on her cheeks. His tail wrapped around her legs to stroke hers. “Here.”

He sat her in the chair by the window as the paralysis crept up her legs to her hips. She leaned forward, her tail draped over her lap, her hands on her knees. Damien continued to touch and stroke and soothe.

“I love you, Kathleen Calhoun, soon to be St. Pierre. Right now you need to rest. In time, you will adapt and think nothing of this. If you can sleep, the time will pass more quickly. It is something we all learn to do sooner or later. Meanwhile, I will be right here by your side until you can move again.”

She felt the stone creep up her neck toward her face. She looked at him and smiled one last smile. “I love you.” She barely got the words out before her lips refused to move. Even after she was completely frozen, she felt the touch of his hand on her hair, his tail on her ankles. He spoke to her and assured her that all would be well. Then amazingly, Katie slept.

Damien stared at his petrified mate. He hadn’t expected to be able to tell when she fell asleep, but apparently the link between them was strong enough that even though he couldn’t hear her thoughts, he could sense her mood and state of being. She’d been a little afraid, but not much and the depth of her love and faith overwhelmed him.

That hadn’t been his only surprise. Katie’s feline gargoyle form was beautiful. He couldn’t wait to make love to those lithe, faintly furry limbs and feel that adorable tail intertwine with his own. He was glad she had wings, too. Hopefully they could fly together. But what had shocked him to his core was that her stoneshape wasn’t marble as he’d expected, or granite like his own, but the same red and green of the stones that made up her necklace.

Garnets.

Katie was a garnet gargoyle. And gemstone gargoyles were very, very rare. In fact, the only one he knew was the current matriarch of his tribe. Katie hadn’t been kidding when she’d said they were made for each other. Clearly she’d been born to be a leader among his people.

Another oddity was that her necklace hadn’t changed with her. The golden chain that hung to graze her lap still gleamed and the gems on the clasp between her breasts and the two ends of the chain still sparkled independently of the stone that made up her body. That was odd. Usually only powerful magic items withstood the transformation. Her heirloom must be an important object indeed.

After she fell asleep, he called the mayor and explained that neither Katie nor Damien would be in today, or indeed for the next several days. He desperately needed to take her home to meet his clan. They needed the hope that she would bring when she showed them what she was. And the priestess could marry them in spirit if not by law. Once the gods had blessed their union, they could take their time working out the legal details of an international marriage.

The mayor was not pleased about their absence, but was happy to hear that Damien had decided to remain in Philadelphia. He agreed to the time off and wished the couple well. Damien made a couple more calls then stretched out on the bed with his laptop to wait for Katie’s recovery.

As soon as she was flesh and blood again, he pounced. First he dragged her into his arms for a long, demanding kiss. “You know you are mine now? Forever.”

“Goddess, yes. And you are mine, you understand? Mine alone.”