Gargoyle: A Reawakening (Briarcliff Series, #2) (29 page)

Adriane stepped forward
and grabbed the handles, shaking the doors. They didn’t budge. He
ran his hands over his face, letting out a deflated sigh.
“
You’ve got to be kidding
me
!” He shook his head in
frustration.

“
What’s the matter?” Evie
asked, her breath coming out stilted from running so quickly. She
didn’t even feel like her feet had touched the ground—it felt like
she was running on air.

“
They are locked.” Adriane
swore under his breath, running his hands through his
hair.

Evie noticed his breath
wasn’t rushing from his chest like hers. “Is this the only way out
of here?” she asked, looking down the long hallway, a large plate
glass window positioned in the center. Unless they were planning on
flying, she didn’t see another way out at least not on this
floor.

“
We will have to find
another way.” He didn’t sound convinced.

Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the
handles with both hands and shook them. They didn’t move for her
either. Turning around she pressed her butt against them, pushing
for all she was worth. Surprisingly, they didn’t move, not an inch.
A slight smile played on the corners of Adriane’s mouth as she
turned back toward him. “Hey, you can’t blame girl from trying,”
she said to defend her futile effort, smiling too, even though she
was sure that was last thing she should be doing right now, but she
couldn’t help it.

“
You okay?” he asked
worriedly.

“
Oh, I’m fine,” she lied,
rubbing her damp palms on the sides of her skirt.

“
You’re fine?” He gave her
a look of disbelief. “You’re lying.”

“
Am not,”
she argued, even though what he said was true. She wasn’t fine. Not
at all. “What were those
things
?” she asked, remembering all
too clearly the crazy looking woman in the foyer that would
probably be starring in her nightmares for quite some time if she
ever got out of here.

“
Degare,” he scathed,
fisting his hands.

An intense surge of dread shot thought her.
She shivered and wrapped her arms around her stomach. “What do they
want?” she said so low it came out like a whisper.

“
Nothing you need to know
about.”

She gaped at him. “What
about my friends?”

“
Simon will look after
them.”

“
Why would he do that?” she
asked, surprised.

He gave her a startled look.

“
I don’t mean they aren’t
worth it or anything,” she tried to explain, “but he doesn’t even
know them.”

“
It’s what we do,” he said
simply, shrugging.

What you do?
She blinked stupidly like a little owl. “Huh?”
She shook her head in confusion. “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t get
what you are trying to tell me.

He laughed a little but it didn’t reach his
eyes. “Inquisitive little girl aren’t you?”

“
Am not,” she said,
sounding just like the little girl he accused her of being. She
pushed against his chest, not budging him in the least. Her fingers
tightened on his shirt. His chest was really warm.

He stared down at her.
“Yeah,” he breathed, his gaze slipping to her mouth. “You’re
not.”

The light from the full
moon poured in from a window over his flawless skin, shrouding it
in the bluish hue—he looked like a statue frozen in time. Her pulse
thumped wildly as the warmth of his breath wafted across her face.
She tried to swallow, but couldn’t. Her throat constricted,
stopping the words from coming out that she knew she should say. It
didn’t matter though. Nothing mattered right now—but
him
. All she wanted was
for him to kiss her…she bit her lip and stared up at him hungrily.
Of course, she should be thinking other things right now. Like what
were those creatures and why were they here, or how they were going
to get away….but instead, the
only
thing tangible in her mind was how she wanted him
to kiss her again…and then he did.

A moan of pleasure slipped from Evie’s
throat, as his lips pressed against her own. They were hard and
soft at the same time. His tongue slid into her mouth, as he
deepened the kiss. One of his strong hands cradled the back of her
head as his mouth traveled lower, assailing the delicate skin just
below her ear. Her body shivered even more as his other hand roamed
freely down the front of her shirt.

“
You smell so…damn…sweet,”
he murmured against her lips, sliding his hand under the length of
her hair, and fisting it at the nape of her neck. His other hand
curved over her breast, his thumb gently gliding over her nipple,
sending another ripple of pleasure through her.

Evie’s mind reeled. She
had never felt anything close to what she was feeling now. The kiss
deepened becoming more urgent. It wasn’t like before—no, this was
more intense… like he couldn’t get enough of her…which turned her
on even more. She ran her shaking hands over his taut stomach
muscles to his jeans, working at the button and zipper, her fingers
moving deftly as she tried to release him. He groaned… the sound
coming out more of a cry of pain, than a moan of
pleasure.

Adriane tore his mouth
away, placing his hand on top of hers. “Evie…we can’t.” His voice
was ragged, like he was in pain.

Evie stomach dropped to
her feet, probably a bit lower.
How did I
keep doing this to myself
? “You don’t want
me?” she asked barely above a whisper, feeling pathetic for even
asking, she stepped away from him, humiliated.

“
Oh
Evie…” He leaned his head back and partly groaned/laughed, rubbing
his hands over his face. “I do
want
you!” he dropped his hands down at his
sides.

Evie gave him a doubtful look.

He reached forward, gathered her fingers
into his own, and lifted them to his chest. He leaned forward.
“Feel that?” he whispered against her ear.

Evie nodded her head unable to speak. His
heart pounded violently inside the steel cage of his ribs.

“
Look at me.”

“
No.”

He exhaled and placed his hands on either
side of her face, forcing her to look at him.

Looking into Adriane’s eyes was like staring
into a sky full of stars, she felt very insignificant in
comparison.

“
I do
want you,” his deep voice sounded hoarse. “I want you more than I
have wanted anyone or anything…
ever.
”

“
Then what’s stopping you,
why don’t we just do it?” she asked, stepping up to him again and
gently laying her hand upon his arm. The contact of his skin made
her fingers tingle.

“
Evie, it is not that
simple …if I take your innocence now, nothing will ever be the
same…”He lifted his hand from hers.

“
The
word
innocence
rang out like an alarm in her mind, drowning out the rest of
what he was saying.
O-migod! How
embarrassing
! Did she have a neon sigh
flashing over her head or something? “Listen…” She tried to play it
cool. “It’s not like I am not old enough…
to you know
… decide for myself.” She
took a breath. “I want
you.
”

“
I wish it were that easy,”
he said, struggling, looking down into her eyes.

“
It can be.” Before she
lost her nerve, she stepped up to him and ran her shaking hands
over his chest, feeling his muscles under her fingers. She leaned
forward, pressing up on her toes, and tried to kiss him.

He turned his head. “We
can’t.”

Now, she felt
really
- stupid. She
dropped back down and stepped back.

He grabbed her arm. “Don’t
leave.”

“
I don’t get what you want
from me?” She pulled her arm away and lifted her hands in the air.
“I’m not a yo-yo you know. Either you want to be with me or you
don’t?”

He reached out. The tips of her fingers
glided down her cheek and then slipped under her chin, making her
tingle.

“
I just don’t get it,” she
muttered, feeling completely confused.

“
Look at me,” he urged,
nudging her chin up with his fingers.

“
I can’t.”

“
Why?”

“
Because
I can’t…”
Breathe when I look at you. I
can’t think when I look at you. I can’t function when I look at
you
… “I just can’t…
okay.”

“
I can’t
either…”

Startled she looked up at him. “You can’t
what?” She swallowed hard.

He smiled. “I
can’t…
not…”
he
leaned forward, “kiss you.” He seized her mouth with his
own—pulling her roughly against his body. All the pent up emotions
between then spiraled out of control. She opened her mouth wider,
tasting the velvety softness of his tongue as it twined with her
own, delving deeper. He lifted one of his hands, his fingers
tangled into her hair, pulling her neck backward as he kissed her
with a growing urgency.

The warmth from his body mixed with his
scent made Evie breathless and dizzy all at the same time. She
could feel his mounting desire as her own spread through her body
at an alarming rate. She opened her mouth to his, tasting the
warmth from his tongue as it delved deeper. Her own thoughts became
a riotous jumble, while other thoughts tumbled into her mind. They
were not her own, but his…

A clearing came into focus. The moon still
not fully in the sky, the color was blue, just like the moon she
had seen with him the very first night she met him. Two cloaked
figures emerged from the shadows, pulling him behind by chains,
dragging him forward into the clearing. He struggled, trying to
break free, but he was not strong enough.

The sound of his muffled
groans of pleasure from the present drowned out his anguished cries
from the past. Evie held him tightly, peppering kisses over his
face, neck, trying her best to kiss his pain away.
Stay with me… Stay with me…
she kept repeating over and over in her mind for him to stay
with her, not listen to the chanting that was pulling him further
away.

A low growl emitted from
the back of his throat. He pulled up her shirt and covered the soft
flesh of her breasts with his hand, kissing her desperately as
visions assailed him from other times, spiraling through his mind.
“I have been waiting for you…,” he breathed, gripping her closer.
His mouth was everywhere, his hands kneading, caressing… “You taste
so good…feel so good…,” he murmured against her flesh.

“
I
can’t
stop touching
you,” he breathed into her mouth, his lips brushing against hers.
“
Please
,” he
begged. “I am not strong enough,” he moaned again. “Make me stop,”
he begged with his mouth as his hand slid down between her legs and
then up under her skirt. He could feel the heat against his hand,
his fingers working the fabric, tearing it away to get
closer.

Evie wiggled closer, not
caring about her leggings ripping this time. She was burning up.
She couldn’t even begin to imagine stopping at this point. Her mind
was reeling. She was being bombarded with feelings, ones from the
present intermingled with past emotions from another time. Shadowy
misshapen shapes formed behind her closed lids blurring the past
into the present…dragging her unwilling mind down a rabbit hole and
again she was a spectator to the scene unfolding before her
eyes…

Another clearing came into
focus. A pair of young lovers tumbled on the ground, kissing,
touching one another. It was a moving scene. Then it changed. An
angry mob crashed through the tree line, carrying torches. The
young man was pulled away from the girl and tied to a pyre, the
angry mob cursing him for a crime he did not commit.

Evie could feel him giving
up. Her mind was appalled—hurt, fear, betrayal, assaulted her
emotions. She felt every single one, like it was happening to her.
Holding tightly to his body, she tried to use her own to give him
pleasure—to take away the awful memories that were flooding his
mind. Lifting his shirt, she slid her hands over his chest, then
around to his back. Her fingers connected with jagged welts, spread
across his skin. He flinched away. She wrapped her arms around him
more tightly. He was shaking, his agony was torture, making her own
writhe and convulse in his embrace.

The scene opened again in
her mind…

They set the mound ablaze.
She prepared to feel the heat, but instead she felt coldness spread
throughout her body as it turned his human remains not to ash… but
to stone.

An image of the statue in
the front hall of Briarcliff Manor burned itself into her mind. It
was
him
…it
was
Adriane
. Her
body shuddered as her mind came crashing back to the
present.
Ohmigod
!

Tears rolled down her
cheeks. His mouth seized hers, kissing her deeply, passionately.
She tasted salt. She had no idea if the tears were from him or
herself… maybe both. It didn’t matter. She held onto him, not
wanting to let go. Not now…not ever—no matter what she saw. “It’s
okay,” she whispered against his ear, trailing her fingers lightly
over his skin—again he flinched. She lifted her hands to his face,
holding them on either side, looking up into his haunted
eyes.