I couldn’t believe how much food Ebrill was devouring. As if she hadn’t eaten in days. Then again, she was a gargoyle. As far as I knew, she had always been a statue so had never eaten, or else she’d been a statue for a long time, but once been awake? The best way to find out, I decided, was to ask her.

“So, all of th—”

“No,” she said, mouth full, crumbs flying.

“Excuse me?”

“You want answers. I want to satiate my hunger. My want wins.” She glanced over, took a bite of a sausage that she held in her hand, and added, “When I’m done, I’ll explain to the best of my recollection. Wine.”

“I’m not taking orders, or whining, or… what?”

“Get me a glass of wine!”

With a nod, I turned and then found a wine fridge or whatever they’re called in the pantry, took out a bottle, and uncorked it. Moving back to her, I noted how she was sensually licking her lips, eyes moving to meet mine as she did so.

“Two glasses,” she said, leaning with elbows on the kitchen island in a way that made it difficult not to stare at her very exposed cleavage. She continued to eye me as I poured, then cocked her head, motioning me over. I went, holding out a glass for her to take. She put her hands on my chest, grinned, and then moved them down toward my abs. Then, taking the glass and raising it, she said, “Thanks.”

I looked down and realized she had just wiped sauce from the glazed chicken on my shirt. “Really?”

She chuckled and held out the glass. I clinked mine against hers, as annoyed as I was.

“You find me sexy, don’t you?” she asked. “Even… like this?”

I sipped and allowed my eyes to roam over her, as she did the same to me. As odd as it was to be staring at an actual gargoyle, I wasn’t the least bit scared anymore, or even confused. The only emotions running through me were pure lust and infatuation.

I decided to tell her so.

Only, my aunt had just died and my girlfriend had turned out to be evil. We had killed a witch—or rather, I had watched this gargoyle decapitate her right in front of me.

“You are stunning,” I said, going for a complimentary but safe route.

“I see.” She took a sip of her wine while eyeing me. “What are these clothes? This house? It’s so… odd.”

“Not what you’re used to?”

She shook her head with a long sigh. “It doesn’t seem like it, but truth be told, I’m not sure. Everything’s blurry. Not my vision, but the memories.” With a long look my way, she motioned for me to follow.

We made our way to an adjoining visiting room where she sat back on a posh couch, spilling some wine and not seeming to care. She sat like a lady, but after a moment, looked at me and then motioned to the seat at her side.

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“I don’t want to have to yell to be heard,” she said.

Certain that wasn’t a legitimate concern, I took the seat and smiled, drinking more of my wine. “You’re sure they can’t get past the wards?”

“Unless they’re invited in, yes. Which makes me have to ask—”

“Please, don’t.” I grimaced, then sighed. “The one with the white hair. She was my girlfriend, until tonight.”

“Ah.”

“Apparently, she’d been setting all this up, planning for it… I don’t know.”

Seeing how distraught I was, Ebrill put a hand on my leg and leaned in. “She might have been being used the whole time, you don’t know.”

I nodded, then frowned. “How much… do you know?”

“About my past?” She glanced up. “I know the other woman’s name is Kordelia, and remember that she has a special sort of magic.”

“You knew how to do the wards,” I pointed out.

She nodded. “Yes. A certain amount of magic makes sense to me, as if it’s part of life. Yet, I feel distant.”

“You have no idea how long you were in stone? Or if you even had a life before?”

“I definitely had a life.” She set her now-empty glass down. “I know more than just her name. Kordelia and I were something like… lovers.”

“Interesting.” I ran a hand through my hair.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s just that…” I shifted, unsure how to say this.

“You were imagining the two of us together? Well…” She eyed me while gripping my hand with hers from beneath, then started moving it up my leg. “That doesn’t mean we’re off limits.”

“Oh?”

I looked down, watching our hands move to my inner thigh. “But you… Oh.” Her hand had brushed against the lower side of my package, but she pulled it back then, turning to take my hand in both of hers.

“The past is a blur, for now,” she said. “I remember her laughing. I remember her holding me, and me her. The way her lips felt on mine, and… I feel an emptiness no statue can fill.”

“An emptiness no woman can fill?”

She frowned, laughed, and then gently slapped me. “Not what I meant.”

I grinned. “Joking.”

This time, she put my hand on her leg, and leaned back, though not all the way as her wings didn’t fully allow that. Her eyes sparkled as if daring me, trying to see how brave I was. If she thought I was going to back down, she had another think coming. Sure, my mind was going in circles, but she had saved my life. She had kicked my old, crazy girlfriend to the curb, and as far as I could remember I had never seen a woman so beautiful, horns and wings included.

My hand moved along her thigh, feeling the tough but soft skin. I set my glass aside, then leaned in and allowed my other hand to join, the first going instead to her side and wrapping around her back as I scooted closer. My right hand met cloth, and I hesitated.

“Is this too soon?” I asked.

She nodded. “Testing you.”

“What?” I pulled back, confused.

“I had the sense that part of my power lay in the realm of seduction—of bending the will of others to get what I want—but wasn’t sure. You proved in part that it’s true, but also that you are strong-willed.”

“Isn’t it possible that I simply thought you were attractive and…” Even as the words came out, I knew that was only half of it. Considering what we’d been through, me making a move like this really didn’t make a lot of sense unless I factored in some sort of attraction spell like she was talking about. “Damn, so you’re like… some sort of succubus.”

“No.” She sat up, taking my hands and holding them while staring into my eyes. “I’m no demon, I promise you that.”

“A gargoyle can’t be both?”

“I don’t know, but I can tell you what I am or am not, and I’m definitely no demon, especially not one that would suck your life force out of you.”

“Only one way to find out.” I winked, squeezing her hands.

She frowned. “I might have to see if there’s a way to dim the effects of my powers.”

I laughed, hearing myself. “Yes, that might be smart.”

“That, or get it out of the way to cut the tension.” She stood and started for the door. “But first, we need to figure out a game plan, and probably see about teaching you some more spells. We need to be ready in case they find a way around those wards.”

“But you said they couldn’t.”

“What do I know?” She laughed and held the door for me this time. “I can’t even remember how I got here. Better to be prepared, though, in case.”