When a Gargoyle Lives (Gargoyles Book 2) by E A Price Read Free Book Online Page B

Chloe was here now.  She knew what he was and was not running, screaming in the opposite direction.  At least, not anymore.  Perhaps there was something there – he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but she seemed to be coquettish towards him – not something female gargoyles bothered with.  When female gargoyles decided they wanted a mate, they tried to claim them in much the same way a male would – through shows of dominance and aggression.  He didn’t really like the human way of flirting.  It felt wrong.  Females should say what they think.  Any flirtation should begin and end with them clobbering a male with a battleax – the gargoyle equivalent of a wink.
    Chloe had put her hand on his the previous night.  It had been so long since he had been touched by a female, and her affection hadn’t been unwelcome.  He wasn’t a lovesick fool, practically panting over her – as Luc did to Kylie – but it had felt quite pleasant.
    She texted back.  Are you mad at me?
    He replied no and placed the phone back into his belt.
    His parents had an arranged mating, and eventually, affection grew between them.  Perhaps the same could happen to him.
    *
    Kylie stood in the circle, her hands trembling slightly.  Luc took each one and pressed kisses to the palms before reluctantly stepping out of the circle.  He folded his arms and smiled at his mate.  Only the flicking of his tail betrayed his unease.
    The incantation took a lot out of his mate, and as much as he needed her to perform the spell, he disliked her doing so.
    Kylie raised her hands, took a large breath and started chanting.  It was over in a matter of seconds.  She lowered her hands, panting lightly as swirls of pink energy alighted around the statue.
    It worked.
    The skin of the entwined gargoyles slowly heated, turning from stone to flesh but they did not move.  Even Ric, still preoccupied with his own thoughts watched in rapt attention.
    The gargoyles didn’t stir.  They were locked in an embrace, with the female wrapped inside the male’s wings, her head nuzzled into his neck.  The male had one arm around his mate, and the other wielded an ax.
    The silence was punctuated by a sigh and what sounded like the cry of a baby.  Kylie stepped forward.
    “No!” roared Luc.
    The male hurled the ax at her, and she froze in horror.

Chapter Nine
    “You know, Bob, you’re not exactly making new friends here.”
    He ignored Brenda and dug at the hedge.  Yes, another walk, and another visit to the Hardcastle estate.
    Brenda groaned at the stubborn dog.  “If we’re not careful Andrew Hardcastle will take out a restraining order against you.”
    She didn’t really mind where Bob took her for the walk.  She needed to get out of the house and get away from the two annoying men in her life.
    Kevin had been grouchy about the fact that she couldn’t call him as often as he wanted, and then there were the recriminations about the fact that she moved in the first place.  He had wanted her to move in with him and his two roommates.  She’d been tempted, even if his roommates were pervy morons, but her grandmother made her promise to go live with her uncle.  And she couldn’t say no to the woman who raised her.  Not while she was on a respirator at least.
    Meanwhile, her uncle had been nagging her about dumping Kevin altogether.  He wasn’t the monster Chris made him out to be.  Yes, he smoked pot now and again.  And yes, he had been arrested once.  He had the munchies, so he went to a seven-eleven where a couple of cops happened to be grabbing a coffee.  They were probably tipped off while he was trying to eat a bag of cat food.  But that didn’t make him a bad person.
    Even with Kevin in Phoenix, she felt like she was stuck between the two men.  Both stubborn.  Both irritating.
    “Come on, Bob; people are definitely going to see that.”
    There was now a huge hole under the hedge.  One that Bob was wriggling his rounded