Authors: A. C. Warneke

Stone Passions Trilogy (126 page)

BOOK: Stone Passions Trilogy

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“And yet your three gargoyles spend more time as men than gargoyles,” Gwen continued with a sigh. Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around her knees and stared out over the dazzling Caribbean waters. “At least the kids still spend some of their time as gargoyles. They’re so bloody adorable when they’re gargoyles.”

Ferris grinned at her daughter, absently stroking her pregnant belly. “My nieces and nephews are adorable all of the time.”

"Yeah," Gwen agreed, a small smile playing at her full lips. "But they're less fragile as gargoyles."

"Gwendolyn," Ferris groaned at Gwen's teasing, smiling when her daughter laughed.

“Pass me the suntan lotion,” Jenna murmured, holding out her hand to anyone who would listen.

Melanie tossed her the bottle, laughing when it landed just out of Jenna’s reach. “Sorry, sis.”

“Whatever,” Jenna grumbled good-naturedly, smiling as she picked up the bottle and tried to wipe off the sand. Squeezing some lotion onto her hands, she rubbed it into her golden skin and sighed, “This was a brilliant idea, Ferris. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner.”

“You didn’t have the trio of terrors yet to take over the job at the Castle,” Ferris murmured absently, absurdly proud of Raphe, Michael and Leo for stepping up to the task. They were perfect gargoyles for the new world, a world without veils, able to adapt in ways the older gargoyles still struggled with.

“True, true,” Jenna murmured, relaxing back with a sigh.

Melanie giggled her irresistible giggle, making Ferris automatically smile. “The kids have shifted into their gargoyle form and the guys are having an impossible time chasing them. Even Alex is joining in on the fun.”

Sarah and Orion were nearly a year old and just as mischievous and adventurous as Georgia had been at that age. Georgia and James were best friends, with Georgia leading them into all sorts of exploits. With three large gargoyles, a host of pixies and a parcel of sprites keeping an eye on the two tots, everyone was able to relax. Of course, Jenna and Melanie never completely relaxed, always keeping tabs on their offspring.

“Fray?” Ferris murmured lazily, feeling the tug as he pulled himself from her body. He looked at her with a gleam in his jeweled sapphire eyes and she grinned. “Go full-on dragon and give those kids a thrill.”

He beamed as his body stretched out, growing to twenty feet long, his golden scales shining beneath the sun. His wings stretched upwards as he took off into the air, the rush of wind moving over Ferris’s skin and lifting her hair from her neck. A chorus of squealing laughs came from the ocean and the women all chuckled.

Sitting up, she watched Fray chase the young gargoyles, swooping into the water and splashing the men every chance he had. The dragon was utterly gorgeous against the backdrop of the crystalline water. He was showing off for Zilahr, who was far too pregnant to fool around with her mate, and Ferris thought it was incredibly sweet. Armand wore the heavily pregnant dragon with pride and Ferris thought he was even sexier.

It was exhausting watching them and after a few minutes she lay back down on her beach chair, content to just listen to the laughter and the chatter around her.

“I’m so glad you stumbled onto a trio of gargoyles all of those years ago, Lenni,” Jenna said on a sigh. “I can’t imagine more perfect lives.”

Ferris smiled to herself, knowing how close they came to never knowing about gargoyles at all. She figured it was one of the advantages of being a goddess, though she didn’t like thinking about the idiosyncrasy of time too much because it gave her a headache.

Droplets of cold water woke her from her daze and she squealed as Armand’s warm lips kissed her belly, “Hey, love, you looked so beautiful over here that I couldn’t resist. How are you feeling?”

“Like a whale,” Ferris murmured, exchanging a grin with her daughter. Pushing herself up to a sitting position so Armand could join her on the chair, she rubbed her belly. “He’s been very active today.”

Armand placed his hands over the baby and grinned like a loon, “
She’s
anxious to join her cousins. I love you.”

The other two gargoyles joined them, shaking the water out of their hair and off of their bodies as they joined their mates on their lounges, causing much squeaks of protest and laughter. Gavin and Alex stayed behind to continue playing with the little ones and Fray. Setting her magazine down, Gwendolyn joined them in the water, a brilliant smile on her face.

Vaughn looked at Ferris with warm affection in his golden eyes, his arm possessively wrapped around Melanie. They were the first and they were even more madly in love than ever, the way they were always meant to be. “I still can’t believe this smiling man is the same brother who barely cracked a smile for four hundred years.”

“He just didn’t have anything worth smiling about,” Rhys said, scooping Jenna up and settling her on his lap. He brushed a gentle kiss along her neck, making her blush. Ferris thought it was adorable that her mom could still blush after all of these years mated to the unreservedly passionate gargoyle.

“Very true,” Armand readily agreed, grinning from ear to ear, his green eyes dancing with laughter and love.

A Braxton-Hicks contraction tightened Ferris’s belly unexpectedly and she let her shield drop momentarily, bathing the small gathering with her inner light. With wide eyes, she quickly put the shield back up and looked around to see four sets of eyes staring at her. Her mother’s mouth was gaping as she growled, “Ferris, is there something you forgot to tell me?”

“I didn’t forget,” she offered lamely. “I just held a few things back.”

Armand buried his face against her neck, his shoulders shaking in laughter. His lips pressed against her throat as he shook his head, “Gods, Ferris, I love you. I love you so much.”

*~*~*