Even Monsters Like Sweet Things
Cin and Vane
Monstrous
Eyeing the horizon, Cin estimated she had about ten minutes before the sun dipped low enough her darling gargoyle would come to life for the night. Which gave her just enough time to park the car and get up the stairs to watch him wake.
Unable to stop grinning, she parked as close to the house as possible and fumbled for the frozen blended coffee she’d picked up for him.
It amused her beyond belief that her big, stony, generally surly mate loved these sweet treats.
And if she made a mistake and forgot to get whipped cream on it, the big guy would actually pout.
Her gargoyle would pout.
A two hundred plus stone monster should not look adorable when he pouted, but Vane did. His lower lip would jut out and his eyes would go sort of sad. And his wings. Oh, goodness, his wings would flutter a little like he was torn between spreading them wide and putting on a dominance display or pulling them tight to his body like he did when he got upset.
Adorable, adorable man.
As much as she loved watching him when he got put out, she’d made sure his drink had plenty of whipped cream on it tonight.
Looking down at the drink, Cin bit back a laugh. Somehow, the tower of cream she’d asked for had managed to stay in place and it rose above the opening of the little plastic lid in impressive proportions.
The leaning tower of whipped cream.
Vane was going to love it.
She’d even had them put the sprinkles on that looked like edible pieces of confetti. A rainbow of colors dotted the tower, cheery against the stark white.
Trotting inside, Cin sent a brief hello in Ari’s direction barely slowing as she made her way to the back stairs. Her friend waved absently from her throne on the couch, her green mate sprawled over a good portion of it as he watched her fiddle with her laptop.
They looked good together, Cin thought as she slowed so she wouldn’t lose the whipped cream tower this close to her destination. Their relationship had freaked her out a little when she’d first met the big green monster, but Liam loved Ari.
Epically.
The type of love she used to swoon over in romance books and movies.
She had her own epic romance now. A monster who was stone during the day and hot, hard flesh when the sun went down.
It had taken a bit of time before she adjusted to being awake during the night so she could spend every moment possible with him, but they were figuring things out.
She’d like to figure out more, naturally. The medusa who worked at the library had told her gargoyles hadn’t always had this ridged schedule. She’d told her there were stories of a time when gargoyles walked in the sun.
It was a nice daydream, but all the tentative inquiries Cin had made had resulted in a whole lot of nothing.
So for now, they were just stories.
Putting aside her musings, Cin slid into the partially enclosed perch at the top of the house and congratulated herself on her impeccable timing.
She had a minute or two at best before the sun went down and Vane woke.
A minute or two to ogle her handsome mate.
Hot damn, she loved this monster.
She could totally understand now why Ari had been obsessed with the monstrous long before she ever met one in the flesh. The males were impressively muscled and so…captivating.
The way Vane stood, his tree-trunk thighs in sharp relief as he perched as if ready to spring, his wings framing the beauty of his body in their half-unfurled state.
Whew. Was it hot in here?
Her man was gorgeous. Utter stone perfection.
Finding a spot in front of him, Cin waited for the moment when his stony façade melted away and he became the monster who wooed her with gentle kisses.
She swore she could feel the flare of magic over her skin when it happened.
A shiver worked its way down her spine when Vane blinked, his eyes falling on her.
“Cin,” he rumbled.
Another shiver, this one from the rough tone of his voice. “Hey, babe. Welcome back. I brought you something.”
His eyes lit up when he saw the drink in her hand. He looked delighted by the obscene amount of whipped cream threatening to topple over the edge.
He might snap and growl at everyone else, but when they were alone, he allowed himself these unguarded moments. He smiled and purred and showed his softer side.
Man, she loved him.
Especially when her big, burly mate got a dab of whipped cream on his nose.
Grinning, she wiped it away, popping her finger in her mouth before he could lick it off. He mock growled and she sweetly swiped her finger through the whipped cream tower and licked it off again.
“You’re playing with fire, little human.”
Pfft. Hardly. Her monster was a big softie where she was concerned. He’d do anything to make her happy, even gladly give up his sweet treat if she asked.
Not that she would. She’d bought herself her own drink and didn’t need to take from him.
“I like playing with fire,” she purred.
Vane’s eyes went hot and she grinned. She did love that look in his eye.
He looked down at the cup, his expression torn for a moment. She got it. She really did. Those drinks were his favorite, but she was his favorite also.
Deciding to play nice, Cin urged his hand up so he either needed to lap at the whipped cream tower or put the drink aside altogether. She wanted him to enjoy it. She’d bought it because watching his eyes light up made her happy.
She could wait a handful a minutes to tease her monster some more.
After all, they had all night to do the things she had running through her head.
All damn night.
The End
Want to see how Vane and Cin finally find one another? Monstrous Matchmaker: The Complete Series gives us their story. (Or grab Operation Gargoyle if you prefer to read it as a serial.)
Missed any of the other shorts? Check out the Series Shorts page and get caught up.
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