GargoylesEmbrace by Lisa Carlisle

I arrived, you seemed to be doing
fine holding your own. Are you all right?”
    She raised her chin and appraised her well-being. It felt
good to fight back and not take Brian’s crap. “Never better.”
    Brian recovered his voice. “That’s the monster. I knew it!”
    “The only monster here is you, Brian,” Tracy spat. “You need
to get help. Immediately.”
    “Can I add something?” Danton had a twinkle in his eye. “I’d
hate to have come to protect you only to stand by like an ornament.”
    Tracy grinned. “I suppose.”
    Danton’s wings unfurled around him, making him appear like a
dark-winged god as he approached Brian. Tracy scanned the shoreline to make
sure nobody was watching.
    “Holy shit,” Brian said. “I knew I didn’t imagine this.”
    “No, you didn’t.” Danton lifted Brian two feet off the
ground, holding him by the throat. Danton’s icy-blue eyes reflected his fury
while Brian’s bloodshot ones showed his terror. “I should have killed you at
Vamps. It’s only because Tracy stopped me that you’re alive.” Brian tried to break
Danton’s hold with his hands while he choked and flailed his legs. “Tracy has
told you repeatedly she doesn’t want you bothering her and I am here to protect
her. Before you even make it within ten yards of her, I will destroy you.
Understand?”
    Danton dropped Brian to the ground. Brian choked and grabbed
his throat before he stammered, “Uh huh.”
    “Leave us,” Danton commanded.
    Brian ran up the beach, stumbling at times, but not turning
back. Soon he was nothing but a tiny dot that disappeared into the darkness.
     
    “Where did you go?” Tracy asked.
    “I’d made arrangements to return to Paris,” Danton said,
wrapping his arms around her.
    “Why would you do that?” Her words came in a higher pitch
than she’d intended.
    “I understand how you feel. I didn’t want to be like Brian, bothering
you, getting in the way. After what happened between us last night, I thought I
might be a distraction so it was better I left you alone. All I want is for you
to be safe and happy.”
    “Danton, I was just wrong. I should never have run from you.
I haven’t had a panic attack like that in years and I don’t know—so much
happened so quickly.” She brushed her hair out of her face. “But I realized
something after I left. And when I thought I lost you, it confirmed it. The
thing is, I love you. Maybe it’s crazy, but man or gargoyle, I’ll always love
you.”
    His eyes widened in amazement.
    “If it’s not too late, I want to be with you. Now and
forever. Can we take the oath?”
     
    Danton couldn’t speak for several moments. All the years of
watching over her, he never dreamed she’d fall in love with him. And to take
the oath? It was the most incredible feeling he’d ever experienced in his
hundreds of years.
    “Are you sure you want to?” he asked. “You know this is
permanent.”
    “Absolutely.” She looked around. “How do we do it?”
    “We take a vow when we’re joined. We declare our oath. And
magic will seal us, binding me to you as your protector, sealing our
declaration as lovers.”
    “Is it like being married in the gargoyle world?”
    “In the way that it’s a sacred bond. It cannot be severed by
divorce though.”
    “What do you mean by when we are joined—making love?”
    “Yes.”
    A naughty glint entered her eyes that matched her smile. “Good.
I owe you one. I’d promised you we’d make love one more time before you
transformed, but I left. How about I make it up to you not just tonight, but
for as many nights as you can handle?”
    Danton couldn’t resist grinning. “That’s the best offer I’ve
ever heard.”
     
    Back in Tracy’s bed, he took his time making love to her.
They weren’t pressured by their time together slipping away so he kissed every
inch of her body, savoring the lavender scent of her skin, before entering her.
Being inside Tracy once again was phenomenal, it felt so