Butting Heads With A Gargoyle by Charlie Richards

Chapter Seven

Ridger woke to the sound of a hard thud. Cracking open an eyelid, he peered across his bed. The light from the cracked curtains revealed empty sheets.

Frowning, Ridger struggled to process why his sleep-muddled mind thought that was wrong. As he shifted in bed, the ache in his ass gave him a clue. Ridger inhaled deeply, and the mixture of masculine scents and the lingering aroma of sex helped him recall the rest.

Right. I found and claimed my beloved, and he claimed me. So where the hell is he?

While Ridger knew that gargoyles turned to stone before bonding with their mate, afterward, they didn’t have to. Instead, a gargoyle would gain their human form, allowing them to stay awake during the day. At least once a week, they needed to spend time as a stone statue roosting, as it was their version of REM sleep.

So where is he?

A low groan from the opposite side of the bed drew Ridger’s attention. He pushed onto his hands and knees, unmindful of the blanket falling away from him. Crawling across the bed, Ridger searched for the source of the noise.

Ridger peered over the side of the bed and frowned. Sprawled on the floor was his handsome, pale-green gargoyle. He noticed the sheen of sweat on the male’s skin and the way he clenched his hands.

Then Vermidian’s big body tensed, the lines of his back straining and his wings lifting into the air a little.

Realization hit.

He’s going through molt.

“Hey, Dian,” Ridger rumbled softly. He didn’t want to startle his clearly in pain beloved. “Did you fall off the bed?”

Even as Ridger’s still sleep-fogged brain caused him to ask the question, he rolled his eyes at himself. Surely, that answer was obvious. Wasn’t it?

“Rolling in pain?” Ridger pressed, easing off the bed and crouching beside him. “Let me help you up.”

“D-Didn’t want you to s-see me like this,” Vermidian ground out, even flinching away from Ridger when he reached for him.

Ridger paused and frowned, dropping to his knees. “Why wouldn’t I want to help my beloved?” He shook his head. That made no sense to him.

Vermidian finally opened his eyes and looked at him, revealing their pain-filled, dark-gray depths. “W-Was told it”—he paused and groaned through gritted teeth as another rippling shudder worked through his pale-green frame—”hurt.” Panting, he added, “Just didn’t realize how much.”

Rolling his eyes, Ridger muttered, “Then let me help you.”

Frowning in obvious confusion, Vermidian asked, “How can you help?”

Ridger grinned broadly. “Ah, do I know something about gargoyles that you don’t?” He waggled his eyebrows as he reached for his beloved once more. “Come on, hot stuff. Up you get.”

Sliding his arms under Vermidian’s armpits, Ridger carefully lifted his gargoyle. He knew it was only due to his vampiric strength that he could handle his weight. His sexy male was damn huge, which Ridger loved about him.

“On the bed,” Ridger urged, appreciating that Vermidian did as he ordered.

Vermidian practically flopped forward onto the mattress as soon as he was level with it, his strength obviously taxed to the max from hiding his first change from Ridger.

Gripping Vermidian’s thick thighs, Ridger slid his gargoyle onto the mattress fully as another shudder rolled through his beloved. He made certain Vermidian couldn’t see his cringe, not wanting his lover to think his change grossed him out in any way. As soon as Vermidian was settled fully on the bed, Ridger quickly crawled up beside him.

Ridger straddled Vermidian’s thighs with his knees and his torso with his palms.

“What a-are you d-doing?” Vermidian asked, panting softly.

“Easing your pain a little,” Ridger replied, lowering his body onto Vermidian’s.

Ridger nestled his groin against his lover’s firm ass, although there was nothing sexual about what he was doing. Instead, Ridger touched as much of Vermidian’s skin from shoulders to toes. Seeing as Vermidian was a seven-foot gargoyle, massive and broad, Ridger couldn’t cover all of him, but he did his best.

Even as Ridger relaxed over Vermidian’s large body, he felt his gargoyle let out a soft sigh.

“There you go, my beloved,” Ridger crooned, rubbing his cheek over the mark he’d left on Vermidian’s neck. He rubbed his hands up and down his gargoyle’s arms, then lower to stroke his sides before gliding his hands back up again. “Let my flesh ease the burn in your own.”

“Oh, wow,” Vermidian mumbled. Confusion filled his voice as he asked, “How is this possible? How did you know?”

Ridger continued to touch everywhere he could reach, including sliding his legs left and right over Vermidian’s. “Heard from my buddies that the touch of your mate soothes your skin as you go through molt.” Licking at his beloved’s sweat, he found it slightly more bitter than usual. “Guess the information is something that one clutch heard from another one.” Racking his brain, Ridger remembered, “Uh, from Chieftain Kinsey’s brother’s clutch.”

“Ahhh, the Falias clutch in Colorado,” Vermidian mumbled. “Met a few of their members.”

Then a fresh groan rolled from him, and his body trembled under Ridger’s.

Ridger suddenly wished he had the ability to trill. Since he couldn’t, he did the next best thing. After licking over his claiming scar, Ridger eased his fangs into Vermidian’s neck and sucked.

Vermidian groaned for a whole new reason.

Even as Ridger suckled, he kept his tongue around the wound, half-sealing it. He didn’t need blood, and he didn’t want to drain his gargoyle. He fed only to give him pleasure in counterpoint to the pain he was enduring.

While Ridger didn’t know how long it took, he thought the change in the feel of the skin beneath him felt... interesting—the thick, swarthy hide transitioning to smooth human flesh. While he was stroking Vermidian’s massive black wings, they slid into the gargoyle’s body, disappearing from sight. Finally, with one more final shudder, he spotted his beloved’s features change—his square jaw smoothing out a bit, his pointed ears rounding, and his sharp eyeteeth disappearing behind human-looking lips.

Ridger gently eased his teeth from Vermidian, then licked over the bite mark, sealing it anew. Nuzzling the back of his gargoyle’s neck, he whispered, “You feeling okay?”

“Holy fucking shit,” Vermidian slurred. A raspy chuckle escaped him. “Every gargoyle should be so lucky as to have a vampire as their mate.”

That was when a slightly salty scent teased Ridger’s nostrils.

Cum.

Smug pleasure flooded Ridger. Even while going through the pain of molt, his bite had still pleased his beloved.

“Oh, I am so telling my buddies,” Ridger mumbled, grinning.

“What?” Vermidian rolled, dislodging him. A second later, he wrapped his arms around Ridger and tugged him back against his side. Once Vermidian had him draped half over him again, he cradled Ridger’s jaw and tipped his face up to meet his gaze. “Are you saying you’re going to tell your buddies that you made me come during molt?”

Ridger fought back a laugh at how scandalized Vermidian appeared and sounded. “Well, sure.” He did his best to keep the smugness out of his voice. “After all, all they did was ease their beloved’s pain, not counter it.” Unable to help himself, Ridger finally allowed his grin to break free. “Total bragging rights.”

Groaning, Vermidian peered at the ceiling as he shook his head just a smidge. He stayed that way for so long, Ridger began to worry. Just when Ridger was about to assure Vermidian that he would keep his mouth shut—even though it would totally suck to do so, a smile curved his gargoyle’s human-shaped lips.

“I suppose that is something to brag about,” Vermidian mused, returning his attention to him. He threaded his fingers through Ridger’s hair, scratching at his scalp in an absent manner. “So...” Vermidian’s dark-gray eyebrows furrowed.

Ridger noticed they were so dark that they almost appeared black. Realizing Vermidian was waiting on something, he asked, “Hmmm?”

Vermidian cleared his throat, appearing uncomfortable. “Well, as you know, most paranormals struggle with aesthetics, like what you’d call handsome or... not. I was wondering what you thought of”—Vermidian waved toward his naked, human body—”thought of... well, me?”

Understanding, Ridger grinned at Vermidian. “Oh, my beloved,” he rumbled, tracing over the lines of his face. “I am a paranormal, same as you. Even though I’ve dealt with humans most of my life, due to my need to feed, I don’t follow their lines of thinking, either.” Shrugging awkwardly, Ridger admitted, “I was attracted to humans due to what their blood smelled like. I couldn’t give a shit about what their outward package looked like.” Ridger recalled his many years of hunting a donor and absently mused, “It was interesting. I would see so many people fawning over a particular person, but as soon as I got a whiff of him or her, I would be turned off.” With a chuckle, he finished, “Then this little nervous wallflower would make my mouth water.”

Vermidian growled softly. “Of course I know you’re not virginal,” he rumbled, annoyance flooding his tone. “But I have no desire to hear about it.”

“Oh, that’s not what I was getting at,” Ridger quickly assured.

“Then what?”

As hot as the jealous growl filling Vermidian’s tone was, Ridger didn’t want his beloved upset. “I mean, just as you mentioned once before, now that I’ve met you, tasted your blood, and claimed you, I’ll never be interested in another.” Levering up on his elbow, Ridger smirked down at his lover as he pushed his slightly sweat-damp hair from his forehead. “You could have ended up as a wrinkled old lady, and I would still crave only you.” He shrugged. “You know it’s the way of the paranormal.”

Easing his expression, Ridger threaded his fingers through his lover’s hair. “Your hair is still a gorgeous light-gray. Your dark-gray eyes continue to entrance me.” He swept his focus down and up Vermidian’s thickly muscled frame before saying, “Considering other gargoyles normally lose a few inches in height, I bet your six-and-half-foot-or-so muscled body with this lightly bronzed skin is going to get a lot of looks.” Ridger pinned Vermidian with a feral expression, liking the male’s wide-eyed gaze. “Good thing you’re mine, Dian, so I don’t have to tear out any throats.”

Vermidian chuckled softly, appearing a bit abashed, before nodding. “Right. Sorry to suddenly come off as so needy.”

With a grin, Ridger began to slide back on top of Vermidian. Their flesh sliding together instantly fired his blood in his veins. His dick quickly began to swell, and as he moved over his gargoyle, he was gratified to feel Vermidian’s answering swelling cock.

“Being needy isn’t so bad,” Ridger purred once he lay on top of Vermidian again, chest to chest. “In fact, I can think of a few things I need right about now.”

“Oh?” Vermidian’s deep gray eyes began to darken with his rising lust. He rested his palms on Ridger’s ass and rocked his hips a little, causing their erections to slide against each other. “And what do you need?”

“How about a mutual fuck?” Ridger urged. “Me in you and your tail in me?”

Vermidian grinned widely, showing off straight, even teeth. “I’ll always be happy to fulfill your needs.”

Anticipation filling him, Ridger reached over to the nightstand, intending to grab the lube they’d left there the evening before. Except, just as he touched it, his cell phone went off. He froze for a second, listening to the ring tone, then groaned.

“I’m sorry, Vermidian,” Ridger stated on a sigh. “That’s Krispin. I really should take this.”

Even as Vermidian groaned, he nodded. “I understand.”

Grabbing his phone instead of the lube, Ridger grumbled, “This had better be damn good.” Then he accepted the call and lifted the phone to his ear. “Ridger here.”

“Good morning, Ridger,” Krispin greeted, sounding way too happy. “I would have thought you’d be feeling more chipper after a night with your beloved.”

Narrowing his eyes, Ridger stated, “My beloved just finished molt, and I was about to feel real chipper when some asshole decided to call me first thing in the morning after my bonding.”

Had anyone else been around, Ridger never would have talked to the coven master that way. With his vampiric hearing, he knew that his buddy was alone in whatever room he was in. They didn’t stand on ceremony when they were alone together.

Krispin barked a laugh once before he sobered just as quickly. “Ah, fuck, Ridge. I’m sorry.” He even sounded contrite, too. “I forgot about molt. Is Elder Vermidian okay?”

Ridger sighed as he relaxed against Vermidian. He wasn’t a fan of the sudden use of titles, and he hoped the addition of his elder beloved didn’t cause strain between him and his friends. He wanted his gargoyle to eventually be considered part of their group—family.

“Yes, my beloved is fine.” Unable to help himself, Ridger grinned broadly. “Better than fine. I got him off to beat out the pain during molt.”

Groaning softly, Krispin grumbled, “I didn’t need to know that, Ridge.”

“Just sayin’,” Ridger continued. “I never heard you or Basques tell me it was possible.” Admiring his gargoyle, he noticed his slightly flushed cheeks. “Just took a little creativity is all.”

“Yes, yes, good for you,” Krispin muttered dryly. “You’re a badass in bed. Happy now?”

Ridger grinned broadly. “Yep.”

“I did call for a reason other than to hear about your prowess between the sheets. After all, you’ve been bragging about that since you figured out what your dick was for.” Then a gleeful note entered Krispin’s voice as he continued, “But may I remind you that you were the last of us to figure out how to talk a girl into bed?”

Ridger growled, displeased by Krispin’s comment. “That was just because I was more discerning than you or Basques,” he lied. In truth, Ridger had been more than a little awkward as a teenager.

“Whatever, dude.” Krispin obviously didn’t believe him, which wasn’t surprising considering they’d known each other all their lives. “Anyway, I have a report from Ninevah already. Geez, I swear that vampire doesn’t sleep.”

“If he does, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was in front of the computer and his fingers were still typing.”

“Indeed.” Krispin commented, “I hate to rush you, but I’d like your thoughts.” After a second, he added, “You and Elder Vermidian. Would you both be amenable to a breakfast meeting? I’ve already ordered your favorites, Ridge. Just let me know what your beloved would be interested in first thing.”

Vermidian, who’d been listening in silence, finally cut in. “I’ll be fine sampling whatever you and the others enjoy, Master Krispin.”

Great. More titles.

Ridger knew he would have to nip that in the bud before too long. It would get ridiculous damn fast.

“Good to know, Elder. Thank you. I’ll tell the kitchens to make plenty of extra of everything.”

Cutting in, Ridger offered, “Give us half an hour, and we’ll be there.”

Scoffing, Krispin teased, “Well-sexed, I’m sure.”

Ridger grinned broadly. “Of course.”

“See you soon.”

Then Krispin hung up, so Ridger leaned over and set the phone back on the nightstand. He also grabbed the lube. Holding it up, Ridger wiggled it as he grinned at Vermidian.

“Now, where were we?”

Vermidian growled as he spread his legs, allowing Ridger to drop between them. “Right here.”