Stone Lover (20 page)

    “Nyuh uh,” Vaughn denied around a mouthful of the dessert. Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her against his side, lifting his loaded fork up to his mouth for another bite. “This one is mine; find your own dessert goddess.”

    He pulled her onto his lap while he continued to eat the chocolate dessert. After a few minutes of silence, as he savored each bite, Vaughn paused and gave Melanie a curious look, “Why aren’t you eating any?”

    She huffed out a little laugh, brushing a thumb over the corner of his lip and wiping the smudge of chocolate from his mouth. She put the thumb in her mouth and savored the small taste before she answered, “I work with candy all day; if I ate everything I made I would weigh a thousand pounds so I only nibble and relish the little bits of flavor.”

    “What kind of candy?” Rhys asked, his voice low and serious.

    “All kinds.” She met his eyes, mimicking the seriousness of his face. “But mostly chocolate.”

    “Oh, God,” he moaned again, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy. “Really, Lenni; dump Vaughn’s sorry ass and say you’ll be mine.”

    She threw her head back and laughed, “Rhys, don’t you know that you’ll get more chocolates if I’m with Vaughn?”

    “How do you figure that?”

    “Well, if Vaughn is going to insist on having a chaperone when we go out on a date,” she grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Then I figure I can just bribe you with some chocolate to look the other way.”

    “Oh, hell, sweetheart, I’ll leave the room if you give me the rest of the cheesecake.”

    “No,” Vaughn shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. “I promised you a real date; we’re going to have a real date.”

    “Even if we have to have a chaperone.” She laughed, kissing Vaughn on the cheek before standing up. “Well, I am going to change into some comfy pants and a tank top if you two wouldn’t mind setting up the movie.”

    “What about the dessert?” Rhys asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

    “It’s yours,” she smiled.

* * * * *

     Melanie was snuggled up on the couch against Vaughn’s side while Rhys was sitting on the floor in front of them. Her mind kept drifting from the movie, a classic horror that was one of her favorites, to Rhys’s gorgeous auburn hair. It was thick and luxurious and hung to his trim waist; and she just wanted to touch it and see if it was as silky as it looked. 

    “You can touch it, you know,” Vaughn’s breath warmed her skin as he whispered in her ear. “After that dessert, I’m pretty sure Rhys will let you do whatever you want to him.”

    She turned her head and their noses bumped but neither moved back. Her eyes sparkled as their breath mingled, “I only want to do
that
with you.”

    He put his hand around the back of her head and held her for a fast and hard kiss, growling possessively. “Good.”  

    Rhys cleared his throat, making a production out of it. “You know, if you want some time alone, all it will take is another piece of cheesecake.”

    “You ate all of the cheesecake,” Vaughn reminded him.

    With a grin, Rhys stood up and plopped himself down on the couch between Vaughn and Melanie, squeezing into the tight space and forcing the two lovers apart. “Well, then, no canoodling while in my presence; my delicate sensibilities can’t handle that much excitement.”

    Scooting over a bit to give him more room, Melanie mindlessly ran her hand through the thick hair. When he turned his head and gave her a questioning glance, she smiled wryly, “Can I play with your hair, Rhys? It’s so beautiful and I just want to touch it.”

     “Be my guest,” he grinned. With a squeal of delight, she scrambled off the small couch and got behind Rhys, running her hands through his hair and deciding what to do with it. She adored Rhys; he was everything a brother should be; protective and entertaining. Plus, he loved her cooking and her desserts. And he loved Vaughn; it was obvious in the way the interacted, the good natured ribbing and joking.  The two of them were very close and she suspected they shared a similar bond with Armand; it had to be killing Vaughn to know his brother so strongly disapproved of her, even if Vaughn never said anything.

    She would go nuts if Jenna didn’t approve of Vaughn; her sister’s opinion was very important to her. It was one of the reasons she had been reluctant to introduce Vaughn to the rest of her family. While she couldn’t fathom such an outcome, what if they didn’t like him? What if Ferris took one look at him and went screaming the other way?

    Nah, that wasn’t likely to happen. Her family was going to adore Vaughn simply because she adored him. They would take one look at her and see how deliriously happy she was and accept him without question. But how do you introduce your boyfriend to your parents when he wasn’t human? And only came out at night?

    She racked her brain to figure out what other supernatural creatures only came out at night but she was stuck on vampires and she knew he wasn’t a vampire because he didn’t have fangs and he had never, not once, bitten her. Absently, running her hands through Rhys’s hair, she stole a peak at the mirror and was relieved to see their reflections.  Of course, she had invited them into her apartment, which nulls a vampire’s weaknesses.

    “Are you guys sure you’re not vampires?” she asked, pulling Rhys’s hair away from his face and wishing her hair was as gorgeous. Dropping most of the heavy weight, she started weaving three strands into a braid. She accidentally pulled his hair when he lurched forward in laughter; he quickly sat back but didn’t stop laughing. “Sorry.”

    “We’re not vampires, Melanie,” Vaughn assured her; she could hear the smile in his voice.

    “Well, how do I know that for sure?” she asked, starting another braid.

    “We were able to consume food,” Vaughn laughed. “My brother ate almost an entire cheesecake; vampires cannot eat food in any circumstance.”

    “So,” Looping the braids together, she twined some of his hair around the loop and started yet another braid. Choosing her words carefully, making sure she understood, she drawled, “You’re saying that vampires do exist; that they’re not just myth.”

    “And you really don’t want to meet one; they’re horrid creatures.” A shudder went through Rhys’s body. “Luckily for you, they mainly keep a low profile, preferring to terrorize the forgotten towns.”

    She shivered at the confirmation that vampires existed. Letting that digest for a few minutes, she silently continued to play with Rhys’s hair, her thoughts flying a million miles an hour, coming up with possible creatures and then just as quickly discarding them. Then inspiration hit. “Ooh! Are you guys shifters? Like, able to transform into a lion or a monkey or something?”

    Rhys sucked in a breath but Vaughn was the one who answered, “Sweetheart, when you’re ready, you’ll know. Don’t force it or you’ll only get frustrated.”

    “Do you know what would be awesome?” she asked after a few minutes of trying not to think about it and failing. Rhys’s hair was looking pretty spectacular, though; if he was a girl, it would be perfect for the Renaissance festival. “If gargoyles were real and they came to life at night to protect the world: I bet the three gargoyles on the roof would look glorious flying around the night sky, with their gorgeous stone bodies and magnificent wings.” She sighed with heartfelt yearning, “I would love to see that.”

* * * * *

  
“You look ridiculous,” Vaughn said after the movie ended. After Melanie had finished styling Rhys’s hair, his brother had slid back to the floor, giving his space back to Melanie. She had promptly curled up against Vaughn’s side and fallen asleep, missing the last hour of the movie. He didn’t mind; he got to hold her in his arms and run his fingers along her soft skin.

  
Rhys ran his hand over the many, many braids and grimaced, “It kept her entertained; it was a small price to pay to make your
anime coeunt
happy.”

  
Vaughn couldn’t help but smile at his brother’s words.
Anime Coeunt
. Soul mate. Were gargoyles even given soul mates, at least allowed to keep them? Of all of the gargoyles who ever gave up their nights, he could think of only one that had had his gift accepted and that was long, long before his time. Granted, not all that many tried; there were very few humans capable of being aware of the world beneath the veil. And of those humans, even fewer wished to love a gargoyle.

    Even Katrina, who had loved Armand to distraction, had difficulty accepting his gargoyle nature. She had known the outcome before Armand gave up his nights for her and she was eager to accept the gift, until it came time to actually accept it. At the last moment, she balked, abandoning Armand and breaking his heart.

    “I like Melanie,” Rhys said, interrupting Vaughn’s contemplations. “She’s something special.”

    “Yeah, she is.” 

     “Her subconscious mind knows,” he whispered, glancing back to make sure she was still asleep. “She knows what we are, even what our gargoyles are; what are the fates waiting for?”

    Vaughn shook his head, frustration and anxiety tightening his jaw. “I don’t know.”

    Rhys was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and when he spoke, his voice was hushed, “Have you noticed the increased… activity?”

    Vaughn’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he stared at nothing in particular. “You mean the imps?” At Rhys’s nod, Vaughn gave a curt nod of his head. “They are drawn to humans who are sensitive and having Melanie living in this building is a beacon to the little bastards. They’ve been keeping their distance but I have put up extra wards none-the-less; her protection charm seems to be an effective deterrent as well.”

    “Good.” Rhys nodded his approval. “Did you ask Armand to create a shield or something, just to have a little extra… oomph?”

    “He did it before I even asked,” Vaughn answered, grateful to his older brother even as he was angry with him for his hardline stance on Melanie. “He’s not happy that she’s here but he won’t let anything happen to her.”

    They fell into a companionable silence. For a long time it had just been the three of them, together against the world. Vaughn couldn’t imagine being without his brothers and he also wanted Melanie to become a part of their lives. Would they be able to accept her if she accepted his gift? Rhys wouldn’t be a problem; he was already putty in Melanie’s hands; but what about Armand?

    Would Melanie even want to spend a lifetime with him? She was already giving up so much of her time to be with him, getting up early to work at her parent’s shop, staying up late to be with him; it was no wonder she was exhausted.

     “Are you going to give up your nights for her?”

    Vaughn was quiet for a long time, contemplating the question that he had been asking himself often of late. “We just met and we’re still getting to know one another; so far, nothing bad has happened to her, the imps are leaving her alone even if they follow her relentlessly. But….”

    He looked down at her sleeping face and swallowed against the knowledge that lodged in his throat. “Yeah; I think I will.”

     Rhys shook his head, a sad smile playing about his lips, “Armand will be furious.”   

    “I know.” And Vaughn hated upsetting his brother but Melanie was quickly becoming his everything; he would do anything to keep her safe. To keep her forever. “But it won’t happen anytime soon; we have time. Hell; if she’s willing to accept my gift, I’ll wait until she’s forty before asking her.”

    “Do you the relationship will last that long?”

    “I think it will last forever.” Vaughn gave a rueful smile, “At least it will on my side.”

    Rhys stood up and clapped him on the back. “I’d wish you luck but if you had any more luck I think I would have to take a chisel to you.”