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

  It didn’t matter how she managed to get up on the roof again, only that she discovered a way so she could see her magnificent gargoyle, a gargoyle that weirdly reminded her of Vaughn. Probably because they were both lions.

  If she couldn’t find the passage in the next day or two, she was going to have to get that ladder after all. She really hated that idea.

  Sitting down on the edge of the bed with legs twitching, too restless to sit still, too tired to pace, she weighed her possibilities. She could go through Armand’s apartment, at least one last time, and explain to her gargoyle why she was no longer able to visit him. But that would imply the gargoyle would understand her and that was just insane. He was a stone statue. He probably didn’t care one way or the other whether she saw him ever again.

  No, if she were being honest, she wanted to go up and see him for her own peace of mind. She wanted to say goodbye to her strange connection to the stone beast. If she weren’t such a chicken, she would buy that ladder and risk her life and limb to climb it. She didn’t think she would ever be able to, not even for her beautiful gargoyle.

  Damn, that left breaking and entering again, though it could hardly be considered breaking and entering when there were no locks on any of the doors leading from her apartment to the roof. Maybe she would be able to ask Omari if he had some sort of spell that would make Armand give her permission to traipse through his home just so she could gain access to the roof. She snorted, doubting there was anything powerful enough to get the black-haired man to change his mind. If she even attempted it, he would be furious and she knew that no magic charm could protect her then.

  She glanced at her watch, then looked out the window. The sun was going to be setting in less than an hour and it wouldn't be wise to press her luck, especially if she planned on a little B and E. Taking the chance would be idiotic because the police would be called and she’d be evicted from her apartment and possibly sent to jail. She wasn’t sure which would be the worse punishment.

  Throwing herself back onto the bed, she put her hand over the charm and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe she could wait until night fell and then knock on Armand’s door and introduce herself properly, assuming she could find the door. And maybe she could discover how often Vaughn visited so she could set up an accidental meeting. Or she could wait until she knew whether her new protection charm actually worked before she threw herself before Armand.

  It was obvious Armand was just trying to protect him and his brothers and that was entirely noble. But it meant she couldn’t hold it against him for making her life so difficult. If only she had exchanged phone numbers with Vaughn, then she wouldn’t have to be staring up at her ceiling trying to figure out what her next move should be.

  Anyway, she still had to return Peter’s call and find out what he wanted. She just didn’t have the energy to call back or the desire to talk to him. Between the sex, the lack of sleep and Omari, Peter was very low on her list of priorities. It was possible he was having a momentary panic attack brought on by being single during the holidays. She always felt a little nostalgic during the holidays, too. She’d call him in a few days.

  Rolling onto her back, she closed her eyes, positively exhausted from her mind-shattering sex and subsequent sleepless night. She would only take a quick nap and then she would call Jenna, talk to her about last night’s events and check in on Ferris. Normally she would have called her sister first thing in the morning but she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Plus, she had to drive Vanessa home.

  When she thought about it, she hadn’t talked to anyone, other than Omari, about what happened in the bathroom with Vaughn. After she finally got herself back together and said goodbye to him, she hadn’t wanted to share it with anyone. Besides, Frankie and Vanessa had been pretty drunk and oblivious to Melanie’s absence while they had danced with reckless abandon. One of the guys dancing with Vanessa had had his hand under the material of her dress and he looked quite happy fondling her breasts. The other guy was working up the courage to do the same. Maybe Vanessa would be relieved at not remembering last night’s behavior.

  Of course, Melanie was the one who had unprotected sex with a beautiful stranger in the bathroom of a crowded bar. Who was she to judge anything her friend did?

  Just the thought of what happened in the bathroom made her blood sizzle. If she concentrated hard enough, she could still taste him on her tongue, feel him in her body. No matter what happened she hoped she would always remember how Vaughn had made her tremble. With her skin burning, she seized the hem of her shirt and yanked the blasted thing from her body.

  She grabbed the small pendant and lifted it up, studying it in the low light of her bedroom. The stone flashed as the light hit it and she thought that it was really quite pretty. Whatever language that was engraved on it, the letters were delicate and oddly compelling. It would be interesting to know which language it was because it certainly didn’t look like any language she had ever seen. Maybe it was a faerie language.

  Running her thumb over the strange markings, she smiled from the faint whirring was still there. The metal was warm, an antique patina darkening it, and the stone was set in the middle of the disc. It didn’t have any prongs holding it in place and it was as if the stone stayed put by sheer force of will. Or magic.

  She laughed at herself, the laugh turning into a jaw cracking yawn as she continued to examine her new necklace. Maybe Omari was playing a practical joke on her and it was just a worthless trinket. Or maybe it was a priceless heirloom and some fairy was frantically searching for it, hoping that it hadn’t gotten into the wrong hands.

  Into a human’s hands.

  That still gave her a little thrill, learning once and for all that humans weren’t the only intelligent life forms on the planet. It certainly made life more interesting. Maybe fairies really existed, though why she was obsessing over fairies was beyond her. There were so many types of supernatural creatures, many of which were not something she would like to run into in the middle of the night, she should feel at least a little apprehensive.

  But with Vaughn by her side, it would be all right for he was built like a Celtic god. Goodness, he could hold her weight while he was making love to her and that took some serious muscles. It had felt so… amazing: the deep, penetrating thrusts, the squeeze of his hands on her buttocks, the strength of his arm and thighs. She was burning up just thinking about him.

  With a groan, she shimmied out of her pants, tossing them onto the floor, figuring she would pick them up after she woke up from her nap. The mere thought of Vaughn was turning her on and she could smell her own hunger. Unfortunately, she was too damn tired to do anything about it. Rolling over onto her side, tucking her hands beneath her head, she fell asleep, where Vaughn awaited her in her dreams.

  Vaughn turned the knob and let himself into Melanie’s room, dreading the thought of sensing her on all of her things while longing to touch her one more time. She had smelled like the spring air after it rained, sweet and pure. Intoxicating. He hadn’t had nearly enough of her; he never even got to taste her and she was gone. If she had been any other woman he could have had her for a month of pleasure and wouldn’t have felt any guilt wiping her mind when they tired of one another. But she was Melanie and he doubted he would ever have grown tired of her. In all of his years he had never felt that instant connection with another living being and the sex had been incredible. It just hadn’t been enough.

  As he entered the small room, he had to close his eyes. Her scent was still so strong and he could smell so much more than her bare essence. He could smell chocolate and vanilla, as if she spent her days making candy and cakes. It was delicious. She had been delicious. He should have let a pixie take care of packing up her bags because he didn’t think he could stand the torture of breathing in her scent and not having her beneath him in bed, or over him. Or up against a wall….

  With a groan, he closed the door behind him, figuring it was best to just get it over with and end the
torture quickly. Luckily the room was small and there shouldn’t be a lot of stuff to pack up; she hadn’t been there long enough. He just needed a few minutes to work up the resolve to do what needed to be done. Then he would open his eyes and start in….

  He heard her moan and nearly turned around and left because if he was hearing her while he was awake he was already lost and she was gone. But then he thought rationally and realized that he wasn’t imagining anything. Opening his eyes, he saw her lying on the bed wearing nothing but a lacy black bra and matching panties. His erection was instant and painful and nearly brought him down. Too much blood rushed from every other part of his body and he was abruptly light headed and elated.

  She was still here and she was nearly naked.

  Lying on her side with her hands tucked up beneath her cheek, she looking so very beautiful. Helpless to resist, he made his way over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Gently, lightly, he ran his hand down her side, feeling the smoothness of her warm skin beneath his fingers. He had to close his eyes, the pleasure was so intense. A simple touch shouldn’t have been enough but it was. He was content to touch her. See her. Breathe her in.

  Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him, “Hey, you.”

  “Melanie,” he whispered in a raspy voice.

  “I didn’t forget,” she grinned, clearly pleased with herself. She grabbed a pendant that was nestled between her beautiful breasts and held it up for his inspection. “Look! I even found something that will prevent your brother from trying to erase my memories again.”

  He let out a strangled laugh since that was not at all what he expected to hear. Taking the small, metal disk between his fingers, he looked at it. His eyes widened in surprise for the charm was a potent piece of magic. Whoever gave it to her was very powerful. How in the name of all that was sacred had she met such a being? And how was she still walking around after doing so?

  If she could survive an encounter with an entity powerful enough to gift her with the charm, maybe it wouldn’t be as dangerous for her to remain in the building, to stay with him. It would give him the time to determine if she was the one, if he would give up his nights for her.

  “What do you think?” she asked, laying her hand over his and smiling sleepily up at him. Why did the fates decide to let him keep her? How did he get so lucky?

  “Beautiful,” he murmured, looking at her guileless, blue eyes. Letting the charm slip from his fingers, he reached up and brushed his fingers over her lips.

  She rolled onto her back and seemed to lay herself before him, offering herself to him. He leaned over her body, resting his hand next to her shoulder and feeling the bed sink beneath his added weight. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I missed you, too. So much,” she said softly. Dampening her lips with the tip of her pink tongue, she reached up and stroked his cheek. She was looking at him as if he were the answer to all of her prayers, as if she wanted to make love to him as much as he wanted to make love to her. It was amazing and exhilarating.

  “There’s something I didn’t get to do last night,” he murmured, lowering his head and brushing his lips over hers, a brief caress to whet her appetite. He hadn’t counted on her sweetness to suck him in until he had to taste more of her. As soon as her lips parted, he swept his tongue into the warm depths of her mouth. Her tongue brushed against his, tentatively exploring him as he savored her, the sweet caress making him forget his intentions.

  His hand curled into the bedding next to her head when she shifted her body, arching her back until her breasts brushed against his arm. Forcing himself to stop kissing her, he rested his forehead against hers. Both of them were breathing raggedly.

  “What was it?” she asked, sucking her swollen lower lip into her mouth.

  His lips curved upwards in a sinful smile, “I didn’t taste you.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted in shy arousal at his words. Holding her gaze, he reached beneath her and unfastened her bra, pulling it off her body and dropping it to the floor. Her pupils dilated in awareness, her cheeks reddened in self-consciousness. He was going to have to do something about that; someone with her exquisite body should never feel embarrassment.

  Bending his head, he kissed the tip of one nipple and then the other, trailing soft kisses over her stomach until he reached the band of her panties. Still holding her eyes, he tugged the panties down her slender legs, kissing along her thighs, her knees, the curves of her calves. Her hips were already undulating in anticipation of his kiss. He wondered if she realized that she was created for sex. That she was created for him.

  He traced the lines of her legs with his lips and tongue, tasting the heavenly sweetness of her flesh. He ran his hands over her thighs, opening her body and feeling the softness of her skin. The womanly musk of her arousal was powerful, filling his lungs as he breathed her in. Her eyes squeezed shut as he pressed a light kiss to the dark curls covering her feminine core.

  Licking his lips in anticipation, he ran his forefinger along the plump folds, feeling the moisture already seeping from her body. Using his thumbs, he opened her to his perusal and had to suck in his breath at the delectable sight of her glistening flesh. His heart pounded against his ribs and his lungs burned from breathing too fast. She was perfection and he could spend the rest of his nights worshipping her.

  Bending his head, he gently probed her body with his tongue, running it along the plump flesh and groaning at the heady taste. He pressed his tongue into her as far as he could, feeling the walls of her sex tighten around it. Wrapping his arms under and around her thighs, he pressed his hands down on her hips to keep her body still, to hold her body to his mouth so he could plumb her depths.

  She was already moaning and he hadn’t even touched her painfully swollen clit. Her fingers combed through his hair, twisting and tugging him, begging him to end her torment. The slight pain of her pulling at his hair only heightened his enjoyment and he wanted to extend it as long as possible. Lightly, he swept his tongue over the swollen flesh, grinning when she groaned.

  “Vaughn.” Her voice was breathless as she tried to move her hips but he was still holding her down.

  How he loved the way she tasted! He could have spent hours licking her, devouring her, but he wanted to be in her body too much. His swollen cock was pressed against the front of his pants and the constriction was agonizing. As his mouth was busy tasting every recess of her feminine sheath, he lowered a hand, tugging at his pants, eager to be as naked as she was. Brushing against his erection with the back of his hands as he pushed his pants over his hips elicited a sharp hiss; he had never been so damn hard.

  Kicking his shoes off, he continued to struggle out of his clothes, unwilling to remove his mouth from between her luscious thighs. With only one hand holding her down, she was able to move once more. Her body was frantically writhing against his mouth as her fingers convulsed in his hair, holding him in place. She was just as determined to come as he was to make her.

  As soon as his pants were off, he pushed two fingers of his free hand into her, finding the spongy wall within her depths and rapping against it. Her body began to jerk as he sucked harder, pressed harder. And then her body stiffened as she let out a long, low wail and a wash of fluids flooded his mouth. He continued to lightly brush his tongue over her until her body relaxed against the bed.

  “My God,” she exhaled, her hands resting on her stomach, her expression drowsy, languid. “That was…. Wow.”

  He would have grinned but he was in too much pain. Ripping his shirt from his body, he moved up her body, thrusting into her as soon as his cock was near her core. Her back arched off the bed, taking him even deeper.

  He had to stop and collect the pieces of his body as she accepted him completely. Thank the gods he had already brought her to orgasm because he wasn’t going to last long at all. Trying to slow down, to draw out the pleasure, he eased out of her, returning just as unhurriedly. While the pleasure was exquisite, it wasn’t enough.
/>   “Harder, Vaughn,” she panted, lifting her body up to meet his on the down stroke and he obliged. Their bodies rocked together in perfect unison and it was extraordinary. “Please.”

  He groaned, bending his head until it rested against the curve of her neck. Wrapping his arms around her body, he slammed into her, over and over until the walls of her sheath trembled around him and she screamed.

  The movements of his hips quickened until pleasure overwhelmed him and he thrust into her one final time. Ecstasy rushed through his body, along his spine and throughout his penis as wave after wave of bliss broke over him. His body trembled as he collapsed onto her, crushing her beneath him. Her breasts were flattened against his chest, her belly kissing his, her legs wrapped around his waist and he never wanted to move.

  “Wow,” she said again, her hands gently moving up and down his back in a tender caress. He chuckled at the sound of awe in her whispered word, feeling as if he were the god of sex.

  Realizing that he was lying heavily on top of her, he had at least eighty pounds on her, he started to roll off of her but her arms tightened around him, “No, don’t move.”

  “I’m crushing you,” he murmured, quite content to stay where he was. If only she wouldn’t suffocate if he stayed any longer. Tightening his hold on her, he rolled over until she was sprawled across his chest, his cock still deep within her body with no signs of slacking. He had been wrong… having her on top was infinitely more gratifying.

  Melanie lifted her head and looked down at him, the slow, easy grin making his handsome face even more devastating. His beautiful hair was splayed out across her pillow, looking like strands of silken gold. She tangled her fingers in his hair, loving the soft luxuriousness of it. She would have been jealous of how gorgeous it was but he was simply too wonderful to elicit envy. Only lust and adoration.