Stone Passions Trilogy (Stone Passion 1, 2, & 3) Read online

  STONE PASSIONS TRILOGY

  copyright©2013 Andrea Warneke

  STONE LOVER

  STONE ROMANCE

  STONE DESTINY

  Stone Passions Trilogy

  Stone Lover Vaughn and Melanie

  Melanie Jacobs has always been a little out of step with the rest of the world. She sees things that aren’t there, from the magnificent stone birds that fly overhead to the enchanted castle in the middle of the city. It’s when she gets an apartment in the castle that she discovers that she isn’t the one seeing things; it’s the rest of the world that is asleep.

  Vaughn Nosuntres explodes into her life New Year’s Eve and he is unlike any man she has ever known. The attraction is magnetic, overwhelming and irresistible. Powerless to resist, they embark on a passionate affair under the cover of night.

  But what Melanie doesn’t know is that when the sun comes up Vaughn becomes a stone beast, a guardian of the worlds and a protector of Melanie.

  Stone Romance Rhys and Jenna

  Once upon a cold winter’s night a magnificent man enters Jenna Jacob’s life and with a kiss nothing will ever be the same again….

  For almost seven years, Jenna had been sleepwalking through life, going through the motions and trying to be the best mother she can be to her precocious daughter. Now she’s ready to start living again, hoping to test the water with someone safe. But the Fates, and her sister, have other plans and she is introduced to the marvelous Rhys Nosuntres. A man with a ready smile and pure erotic magnetism, he draws Jenna in despite her wariness. Even when complications arise to keep them apart it is hard to stay away from one another no matter how hard they try.

  The Fates and the mysterious Omari conspire to bring them together, sending Rhys and Jenna on a journey of discovery. What Jenna discovers changes everything: Rhys is a Gargoyle and he is a Guardian between the two worlds. He is charming, generous and an inventive lover and Jenna cannot help but fall in love with him.

  But the Fates can also be cruel, giving Jenna everything she thought she wanted just when she discovers everything she needs.

  Stone Destiny Armand and Ferris

  It has been fifteen years since the events of Stone Lover and Stone Romance. The veil between the two worlds has fallen and Armand Nosuntres no longer knows his purpose: he is a Guardian with nothing left to guard. As he struggles with his new reality he is unaware that his destiny lies with the woman who loves him unconditionally, who has always loved him: Ferris Jacobs.

  A human raised in the world of magic, Ferris has never really fit in. Her best friend is an imp, her playmates are pixies, and she's in love with a stubborn gargoyle who is having a difficult time seeing her as a grown woman. But she has a plan and before she is through Armand isn't going to know what hit him.

  In an attempt to protect the vibrant Ferris from her own folly, Armand makes a decision that dramatically changes everything, sending Ferris on a journey that she never expected but one that she ultimately had to take.

  As passions explode and lovers are torn apart, Armand and Ferris have to find their way back to one another before fate spins out of control and destroy everything in its path.

  Table of Contents

  Stone Passions Trilogy

  STONE LOVER

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  STONE ROMANCE

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  STONE DESTINY

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Author Information

  STONE LOVER

  Copyright©2012 by Andrea Warneke

  All rights reserved

  This is dedicated to the ones I love: my friends, my family and my readers and to those serving in the armed forces; you have my gratitude.

  Thank you

  Chapter One

  Melanie Jacobs stood in the doorway of the roof access, her azure blue eyes sparkling with laughter at how ridiculous she was acting. The rest of her was buried beneath a heavy, down parka of red and purple plaid; two thick scarves, one in magenta, the other gold; a lime green hat pulled down low over her ears, and a thick, mismatched pair of wool mittens. She was willing to face the cold, harsh winter on the roof of her building just to be near him.

  From the very moment she had moved in the evening before, she had been inexplicably drawn to the roof, even if she had taken a bath instead of exploring. The luxurious, claw foot tub had been simply too tempting to pass up. It wasn’t until she got off work in the afternoon and hurried back to her new place that she finally had a chance to get up there. Although the route from her apartment to the roof access door was not straightforward and she was pretty sure it travelled through the neighbor’s lavish apartment, she knew the way as if someone had given her a map. Even the door disguised as just another wall panel proved to be no problem for her. It wasn’t until she saw him that she understood the need to be up there.

  He truly was the most extraordinarily gorgeous creature she had ever seen and she could have spent hours gazing at him. But then she wouldn’t be able to touch him, run her hands over the hard planes of his sculpted chest, the furrowed lines of his broad brow, the flaring nostrils of his snout. She wouldn’t have been able to see if his teeth were as sharp as they appeared or if his ears were as pointy.

  Leaning against the door, she sighed in pleasure as she drank him in: he was in a crouching position, as if prepared to attack whoever dared to trespass on his turf. Clawed feet were planted, ready to fly into action. His arms were curled upwards, his claws unsheathed and deadly-looking and his wings were spread in their full glory. Corded muscles covered his body, his curved calves, his powerful thighs. He was magnificent.

  A large, impressive stone penis curved upwards from between his stone thighs, lovingly carved from marble, a penis that would be absolutely monstrous if it ever was to grow and become erect. Melanie smiled at her whimsical thoughts. It was carv
ed of marble, he was carved of marble. It was, er, set in stone. Above the thick penis was a set of eight-pack abs that many men would kill for. Muscles blanketed his ribs, his pectorals, his broad shoulders, his thick neck.

  Her eyes wandered over his face, the frightening mouth overflowing with razor-sharp teeth, the elongated snout and broad, triangular nose. Whisker lines were carved into the bulbous area above his upper lip. His expansive brows were drawn together in a fierce scowl over gray eyes that seemed to track her movements without moving themselves. The pointed ears added to his leonine appearance.

  Walking over to her gargoyle, ignoring the other two gargoyles entirely, she ran her covered hand over the distorted features of his beautiful face. Frustrated with the barrier, she put the tip of her mitten between her teeth and pulled it off. Immediately, her hand returned to the gargoyle’s face but the unexpected heat from the stone had her snatching it quickly away. Holding her hand against her chest, she tilted her head to the side and studied the marble beast. Was he laughing at her?

  After a moment of considering that possibility, she dismissed it. He was a marble statue, he didn’t possess consciousness. After another moment, she realized that she was sweltering in her winter gear, which was surprising considering the subzero temperature and negative fifteen wind-chill that normally ripped through the warmest coats. Almost hesitatingly, she began peeling off the layers of her clothes: the other mitten, the scarves, the hat. Pausing only a moment, she unzipped the parka and pulled it off her shoulders, letting it slide from her arms to the ground.

  It was warm, pleasantly so. The long sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans she wore were almost too much clothing and if she weren’t standing outside on a roof in the middle of St. Paul with buildings on either side she would have seriously considered stripping down to her panties and bra. With a self-conscious gesture, she brought her hand up to her hair and then realized that she didn’t care that her long, chocolate brown hair was matted to her head. There was no one around to impress.

  Except for the marvelous gargoyle and he was a statue, even if she had the feeling there was something… living about him. But that was only in the Saturday morning cartoons of her youth. Gargoyles didn’t come to life at night and protect the city from villains.

  Stepping closer to the object of her unexpected obsession, she began slowly caressing the lion’s face, his chest, running over his sculpted muscles. The stone beneath her hand was smooth, warm, and if she concentrated, she could almost feel a heartbeat, very slow and steady. She tilted her head back and watched as it tried to snow, as a flake drifted through the air, never quite taking the plunge and falling. It really was strange that there was no snow on the roof, that it wasn’t cold at all.

  It was magical in its strangeness, just like her gargoyle.

  Her gaze drifted to her hands moving over the warm stone. Her brows pulled together as her gaze traveled lower. Did her gargoyle always have that enormous erection? Distracted by the thick phallus straining upwards from between massive thighs, she felt her brain short-circuit. Goodness, the details of his erection were exquisite: the substantial shaft threaded with corded veins, the bulbous shape of its head, the defined crest. It was smooth and hard, exactly like a real penis except for carved in stone. And it was hot; really, really hot. Tentatively, she ran her finger over the realistic slit on the swollen head and could have sworn she felt the stone leap beneath her touch.

  Melanie glided her hand along the length of it, from base to tip and back. Wrapping her hand around the shaft, she found that her fingers couldn’t even circle the thing. There was at least a two inch gap from fingertip to thumb tip. She slid her hand back down, cupping the stone scrotum, feeling the curve of carved testicles. Had she ever seen anything so terrifying and beautiful at the same time?

  She was almost certain that the erection hadn’t been there before, which was… ludicrous. He was a stone statue, carved out of marble. The artist who crafted him certainly admired the male form, which would have been an absurd thought to have if she wasn’t ridiculously attracted to him herself.

  Her body temperature was increasing and she knew that it had nothing to do with the abnormal heat and everything to do with the magnificent gargoyle. She could feel her breasts swelling, her nipples tightening, and her knees weakening. Heat pulsed low in her belly as she stroked the burning stone erection and as she pressed her body against the hard, unforgiving planes of his chest, lust rampaged through her flesh.

  Her thoughts were becoming liquid like the rest of her body and she wanted to melt into the stone lion. Burying her face against the curve of his neck, she inhaled deeply, taking in his smell of the wilderness and moonlight, a decadent scent of mystery and magic with a hint of ozone. With a wry smile at her fanciful thoughts, she moved her hand over the bulbous tip and stroked down. Her sex heated and softened, preparing to accept the glorious stone weight into her body, not caring that it would never fit.

  Licking her lips, tasting the warm stone with the tip of her tongue, she pressed her thumb against the sensitive underside below the smooth ridge and felt the stone tremble. But stone can’t tremble…

  Melanie frowned. In truth, she didn’t know what the big deal was about sex. It was okay but it was kind of messy and, well, boring. Peter, her ex of three and a half months, had always climbed on top, laboring and grunting as he thrust away, sweating and dripping on her as she lay there waiting for him to hurry up and finish. Even though she considered him a good friend, they had never really connected in the bedroom. In fact, they were much better friends than lovers and there had been no hard feelings when they came to the mutual decision to break up.

  She often thought she should be more like her friend Vanessa, who had a new guy in her bed every weekend and enjoyed every single one. But she also knew herself well enough to know that she wasn’t able to separate sex and love, even if her feelings for Peter were not passionate. She did love him as a friend and if they hadn’t become sexually active shortly after high school, they never would have dated for as long as they had.

  Despite her sometimes outlandish outfits and somewhat capricious nature, she really was an old fashioned girl at heart, hoping to find love and happiness, get married, have two or three kids, a dog and a white picket fence. She wanted someone she could grow old with, a friend as well as a lover.

  Of course, if her beautiful gargoyle ever took human form, all bets would be off; he was her one exception to the rule. Since that was never going to happen, she was perfectly safe to fall in love with a nice gentleman and create a life together with him. Even if she longed for a magical gargoyle.

  The image of the leonine gargoyle wrapping his arms around her, pressing his stone mouth against her breast, filled her head. His harsh expression would soften as he looked at her with adoration, as he ran his rough, stone paws over her body. As she rubbed her body all over his. She briefly wondered what it would be like to have sex with the gargoyle and his more-than-generous marble cock but she just as quickly dismissed the absurd thought. He’d tear a girl apart.

  Besides, it wasn’t right to lust after…. She shivered, unable to dismiss the attraction, the lust. She quickened her stroke and the gargoyle seemed to be purring in pleasure. Nearing release, his face twisted in delightful agony.

  As Melanie watched, his stone eyelids slid down and his expression of torture morphed into one of ecstasy as the marble shuddered and she felt an invisible drop of liquid heat. Surprised, she stumbled back a step, releasing her hold on his erection. Maybe it had been a snowflake that quickly melted in this heat, even though the snow didn’t fall anywhere near here. She tilted her head back and looked closer at his face, sighing over the slight smile and slumberous eyes.

  “Your expression,” Melanie whispered voice held no small measure of awe. Studying the gargoyle, the garish smile that was all teeth, the flared nostrils, the drowsy eyes, she was half in love with the marble beast. Reaching up, she lightly ran her fingers over his ridged brow, his taut ch
eekbone, his stretched lips. Was that a puff of breath? No, she was just imagining things. He was a stone statue, carved from marble and inanimate. He wasn’t real.

  Glancing over her shoulder, she finally looked at the other two gargoyles standing just behind her, one on her right and the other on her left. One resembled a griffin and the other resembled a mischievous, flying monkey. They seemed to be accusing her of some grave offense and she felt the heat spread up her neck and across her cheeks. The griffin looked particularly angry, glaring at her with malice that was almost tangible, enough to make her step away from the lifeless figure and bump into the lion.

  Laughing a little uncertainly, she turned back to the statue she had just man-handled. “I feel like I should introduce myself after molesting you. I’m Melanie, Melanie Jacobs. No, no, you don’t have to say anything…. I agree. It is a little weird and I have no excuse for….”

  She let her words trail off, lowering her chin and focusing her gaze on his navel. He really was quite exquisitely formed. The details were….

  Pressing her forehead against his chest, she closed her eyes. She was almost twenty-four and she felt just as lost as ever, not quite in step with the rest of the world and she was surprisingly okay with that. Despite her amazing family and wonderful friends, she didn’t quite fit in, spending too much time with her head in the clouds, daydreaming about fairy tales and gargoyles. In fact, the only other person who truly understood her, who shared the same love of the fantastic, was her niece Ferris, who was nearly six. The two of them shared a special bond that confounded even Jenna, Ferris’s mom and Melanie’s sister. Most everyone else was just so… so… practical.

  Tenderly, she pressed her lips against the strong column of his throat and kissed the gargoyle. Stepping back, she brushed her fingers along his jaw. “I wish you were real, that you were….”

  Alive. She didn’t say that last part out loud since there were limits to even her madness.

  With a sigh, she looked up to see the sun starting to dip beneath the horizon. It was going to be night time soon and she just wanted to curl up in the gargoyle’s lap and disappear for a while. Of course, instead of spending her time up on the roof with a gargoyle and wishing he was real, she should have been in her apartment unpacking all of her things. Not that she had a lot of stuff because her new apartment was tremendously small. In fact, most of her stuff was back home at her parents’ house.