Knights-of-Stone-Bryce by Lisa Carlisle Read Free Book Online Page A

laughed, and she followed suit. Neither spoke for several moments as they shared the memory.
    She searched through the clearing. “Where are the others?”
    “Mason is likely with Kayla in the moors.”
    “Kayla?”
    “She’s a tree witch. He spends much of his time with her.”
    She raised both brows in question. “To protect her?”
    “Aye. You know how the call to protect affects a gargoyle, right?” Different clans might have different characteristics, but since they were all the same species, he expected many similarities.
    She nodded. “Especially when you’ve found your mate.”
    A mate. Something he never pictured him nor any of his brothers taking on, yet Mason and Lachlan had each committed to partners. He was not about to become the third. Could that be what was going on with the odd sensations rippling through him, luring him closer to her by the minute?
    He pulled back to create some distance. He’d ignore them. He wouldn’t even admit he had those feelings to anyone—not to her and definitely not his brothers. He just had to make it through tonight, and then she’d be gone. With distance, whatever that drive was would fade, and he’d forget her.
    Something about the way she watched him made his skin heat under the scrutiny. “Lachlan will be with Raina, a wolf shifter. So there’s plenty of room if you’d like to rest up here with the rest of us.” He motioned to the stage. “Unless you prefer another location.”
    She continued with the inquisitive stare. “Here is fine.”
    He climbed on stage and offered her a hand. When she took it, a smoldering heat pulsed between them. He released her hand as soon as she was steady, yet the warmth where they had touched lingered.
    His reaction to her was far too uncomfortable. He clenched his jaw as he came up with a plan. Once he left her with the Calder clan, he’d fly down to Inverness where there was never a shortage of bonnie lasses in the pubs. Aye, that’s what he could use—a strings-free night with a female to take off this edge. Maybe that’s all the discomfort was—a buildup of sexual tension that needed release.
    He nodded to himself, satisfied with his plan. It would make resting by her more tolerable. He’d fantasize about a woman—any woman beside the stunning red-haired one, who’d begun to creep under his skin, at his side. With that goal set, he took his favored position at the edge of the stage, one which had a view of both the island and the ocean beyond.
    Mairi scanned their surroundings. The higher positioning permitted a vast vantage point. Some of the taller trees in the nearby forests obstructed their view, but not enough so they would be blind to danger.
    “It’s beautiful up here,” she pointed out. “So peaceful.”
    Peace? They hadn’t had much of that as of late. “Let’s hope it stays that way,” he muttered.
    Bryce initiated the shift from man to stone. She focused her gaze on him during the transformation and widened her eyes. After he’d taken position in stone form, he sensed her shift beside him and fixed his vision her way. His stone eyes had excellent peripheral vision, more so than his human ones, and took in a vast panorama of the scene before him. As her soft human body transformed, he watched transfixed.
    When her lustrous auburn hair retracted into her head, he followed the transformation, captivated as the silk hardened to stone. Her beautiful features reshaped. Wide almond eyes lost their jade green hue and grayed. Soft lips no longer appeared pliant, begging to be kissed. He stifled a silent groan as her feminine shape contorted to a distorted version of herself. Her dress didn’t fall to the stone floor, much to his chagrin, but vanished, as had his kilt. It was one time he wished gargoyles didn’t have that ability—he’d sneak a glimpse of her soft naked body.
    Enough.
    He hadn’t shifted more than ten seconds before fantasizing about her naked.
    With her transformation complete, she