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

perched in stone at his side on the stage.
    Rest well, he communicated telepathically.
    Would she be able to hear him? He’d never communicated to a gargoyle from a different clan before.
    And you.
    A moment of elation filled him, knowing they shared this intimate link.
    It was shattered a few moments later when Gavin and Calum flew in and assumed their stone positions on stage for their repose.
    Try not to wank off. We have a lass here, Gavin smirked at Bryce and Calum.
    Brilliant. Gavin had to ruin it with some sodding comment. Typical.
    Bryce ignored him and entered the meditative state gargoyles took on at rest. They didn’t sleep like humans did as they always had to be aware of their surroundings, on watch for danger. The way humans shut off their senses to the outside world terrified them. No wonder humans needed gargoyles to protect them.
    He sensed Mairi’s presence beside him, blanketing him like a comforting cloak. With her here, he’d shield her from harm. He wouldn’t let any demons—nor any other threats—get by him.
    Get some control , he warned himself. Create some distance.
    Foolish to grow attached to someone for such a short time. He steeled himself to ignore his feelings. Still, her presence continued to tug at him, making the struggle more difficult.
    Trying to rest wasn’t such a good idea, after all.

     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Although distracted by Mairi, the hours under sunlight energized Bryce. All of him. When the sun began its descent over the horizon, he initiated the change to human form. All that blood that had been dormant while in stone rushed through him, invigorating every cell with life. He turned from her so she wouldn’t see his arousal in case his kilt didn’t cover him in time.
    When he faced her again, she’d shifted. She may as well have hit him with a blow to the solar plexus since she bloody well sucked the air out of his lungs. Her eyes now shined with more blue than green, the way those shades often blended in the ocean. She wore a different dress; a golden tone that brought out the brilliant colors of her hair and eyes. Her dress hugged her curves, fueling his imagination as to what treasures she hid beneath.
    “You can change your clothing?”
    She tilted her head while perusing him. “Sure. Can’t you?”
    He shrugged. “Never tried. We shift with our kilts.”
    “Have you ever tried to shift into something else?”
    “No. This is what we always wear.”
    When her eyes traveled from his torso down to his kilt, he straightened and pushed out his chest in an instinctive response. Her lips parted. He hoped she liked what she saw.
    The sound of movement nearby made him turn. Gavin and Calum had shifted as well. Bugger. Bryce wished he was alone with Mairi.
    For what? This isn’t some romantic interlude.
    True. They’d be leaving the Isle of Stone, soon. Time to get his head out of his arse. His gaze swept over her again, wanting to memorize every detail of her. The way the V neckline gave him a glimpse of her cleavage. The way the fabric clung from her rounded breasts to her waist and then flared out into a feminine line. Had she chosen this dress for him; to tease him?
    He groaned. He needed to stop thinking with his dick.
    “I guess we should get moving,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
    So soon? He cleared his throat. “I’ll check in with my brothers.”
    Lachlan, Mason, you awake? Bryce asked.
    Aye, Lachlan replied. Flying back, now.
    Mason said, Be right there.
    “I’m going to splash some water on my face.” Mairi treaded down to the shore.
    He watched her walk away, her silhouette gliding before the splendid pinks and orange strokes of the sunset—her flame-colored hair the most striking of the colors. A melancholy sensation swept through him at her departure, as if a part of him ached at the sudden absence.
    He gritted his teeth. Stop it, you bloody fool.
    When all his brothers had gathered at the amphitheater, Lachlan said, “We should all