Stone-Cold Lover Read Free Page A

rejection,” he said through gritted teeth. “And I’ll toast the gentleman who brings you to your knees.”
    Who said it would be a gentleman?
    Her attention returned to the gargoyle as Max marched back through the double doors.
    She swiped the pink-tipped nails of one hand through her hair. Perhaps she was a spoiled little rich girl who wanted the one thing she couldn’t have. But she burned for Cray. And no amount of lovers could ever cool that flame.
    She looked up into his carved face. “I’ll be long gone by the time you come to life when the sun goes down tonight. I think the fresh mountain air is just what I need. If you can hear me, you know where I’ll be.” She reached up and ran a manicured hand along a granite-smooth cheek, her voice husky as she said, “And this time, I know you won’t push me away.”

Chapter Two
     
    The veranda’s sofa swing gently swayed as Loretta leaned back in her ankle-length, fleecy jacket, getting comfortable for the long wait. Tucking one leg beneath the other, she watched the growing dusk, and with it, an incoming gray-white band of rain.
    Frogs croaked into song with the gentle patter on the tin roof. Within seconds, nothing could be heard but the din overhead as the sky unleashed its fury.
    The tumultuous mood of Mother Nature seemed to echo her own and she welcomed the display—even when some two hours later the downpour still hadn’t abated. She closed her eyes, drawing in a shuddering breath. Please God, please let Cray notice me…want me. Her lids flicked open and as she watched the rain she acknowledged the rules really had changed. The game plan was now on a whole new level.
    Beneath her jacket, the ice-cold night puckered her flesh with goose bumps. A shiver slipped down her spine when the flash of headlights at last announced his arrival.
    She’d put him at quite a disadvantage by coming here. The mountain retreat was too high for him to make use of the night air currents. Unlike most winged creatures, he couldn’t fly. But he could soar through the heavens until his weight and lack of air thermals brought him back to ground.
    This time he’d had to use conventional transportation to follow the “brat heiress who takes her safety for granted”.
    She shielded her eyes as the headlights arced over her, dazzling her vision. They caught hold of the tangle of trees that, on a clear day, framed the inland patchwork valley far below.
    Cray braked the SUV in front of a railed safety fence and cut its lights.
    Her belly twisted, warmth pulsing through her pussy as she rose, toed off her sheepskin boots and slipped out of her jacket before padding barefoot along the floorboards.
    Rubbing her chilled arms, she flicked on the outside light and waited on the veranda’s top step. And like an apparition, a fantasy brought to life, he stepped from the darkness into the circle of illumination.
    He seemed barely conscious of the rain that stuck his long-sleeved shirt to his carved body like a second skin. His denim jeans plastered his muscled thighs, emphasizing his bulging cock as he strode purposefully toward her.
    He paused on the first step and looked up. The rain eased to mist as their gazes locked. His eyes glittered. “I can’t give you what you want. I’m under oath to protect you.”
    Her lips compressed. Her hand clasped the rail beside her. “I don’t want your protection.”
    I want you.
    “Nevertheless, you need it. And I made a vow that if I had to guard someone, had to become close to them, it would never be on an intimate level.”
    Her throat went tight. It hurt. But it was his honor as a gargoyle that he protected, not her own. “And if I release you from that role?”
    “Only your father can retract the oath.”
    “Then…I’ll convince him.”
    He raised a dark brow, a half-smile pulling at his lips. “Even if Lincoln released me, the curse would compel me to find someone else to safeguard.” At her horrified silence he added, “Besides,