Gryphon's Pride

by Kaye Draper

  I groaned. Concord blinked at Oisin for a second as if trying to figure out if the fae was implying what it sounded like he was implying. Then he turned that curious brown gaze on me. "And you're a... gryphon?"

  I yawned. So tired. "Mmm...yep."

  "So, you didn't see a lion in there?" Oisin asked, curiosity lighting up his sharp features. "I guessed you might have the sight."

  Concord shrugged, but he was smiling as if the world suddenly made sense. "I have no idea what that means. But yeah, I saw the lion, but it got all...I don't know...wavy. Then I saw the gryphon."

  "We need to go," I said around another yawn. "Not sit here chatting while the police are rushing over to find dead bodies."

  Groaning, I went to stand. Concord beat me to it and held out a hand to help me up. I took the hand up and then studied his face. "So why were you at the underpass or on the streets if you aren't really homeless?"

  He flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had done that at the noodle hut. It was an adorable tell. "I'm involved in some community volunteer work through the college. I spend time with the local homeless population so I can get to know them and what they need. So we can really understand how to help."

  I tried to keep my eyes off his nicely developed chest. Don't ogle the humanitarian college kid. "And... monsters don't scare you? Oisin's right. You have the sight."

  He tilted his head, his eyes lighting up. "I've seen things I couldn't explain for years. Out of my peripheral vision, like I'd see some creature out of a storybook, but then when I turned my head to look, it was just a little old lady or a tree or something. It's kind of nice to know maybe I wasn't just hallucinating all that time."

  Oisin snorted. "Some humans just aren't as blind as others, that's all."

  Concord nodded. Then his shoulders slumped. "I should probably get out of here before the police get here. I'm a terrible liar, and I don't want to have to explain why I was here, if you just stumbled across all this."

  I nodded. "Sure. Be safe."

  Oisin waved a hand in dismissal. "I checked the perimeter to make sure nothing else is lurking around. Aside from a few territorial squirrels a block over, you should be fine."

  Concord nodded, catching his bottom lip between his teeth. "If you ever, I don't know, need anything? You can find me in the science department most days. Or if...you wouldn't mind telling me more about...?" He waved a hand toward Oisin and I, encompassing all our non-human weirdness.

  I nodded and watched him lope off toward a side street that led through a nicely wooded park.

  "He's not a bad guy, for a human," Oisin commented. "Beautiful pecs."

  I shoved him. "Does your libido ever turn off?"

  He put an arm around my waist, and I ignored the fact that he knew I needed help without my having to ask. "Does yours?" He smirked.

  I sighed. "No, not really. And I thought male lions were the ones who were supposed to need like twenty females to keep them happy."

  Oisin chuckled and brushed a soft kiss across my cheek. "No one here is complaining, Gesa."

  I squeezed his shoulder, where my hand rested as we shuffled off toward my apartment. It was nice, not having to make it there on my own. Knowing that he might rib me all the way there, but in the end, Oisin would take care of me. And yet, I told him he was just a fuck-buddy.

  "I lied, you know." The words were out before I even decided to say them.

  He didn't even pretend not to know what I meant. "Of course you did. You're scared."

  I stared at my feet as we walked. I was barefoot. My poor boots were goners. "I don't want to be the perfect little lioness like my clan expects," I whispered. "I don't want to be some man's property. I'm strong enough to take care of myself, for fuck's sake. But that doesn't mean I want to be so damned alone."

  Oisin sighed. "Do you really think I left my clan behind just for fun? They drove me out, Gesa. Even now, I'm sure my father is hunting me, and if he was trying to kill me, that would be better than what awaits me." He laughed bitterly. "I know the feeling of being used and betrayed—very well. My leaving was a punishment. Fae aren't meant to live solitary lives. If we aren't surrounded by the magic of our community, it's...unpleasant."

  I pulled him to a stop. There were so many questions I wanted to ask. I needed to know if the man I was sleeping with was being fucking hunted. But I only managed to blurt out, "So you're just with me because you don't have anywhere else to go?" I hated that I sounded like a weak, wounded child.

  Emerald green eyes stared daggers up at me. "You really are thick, aren't you?" Then his expression softened, and my chest hurt. "You are the first person I can actually stand being around for more than a few minutes without wanting to commit murder-suicide."

  What a glowing compliment. I turned to resume walking, but he didn't budge, halting me. "What I mean is, I actually enjoy your company, hard as that may be to believe. I would like to stick around, for as long as I'm able."

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat. "But you're fae. Commitment isn't really your thing, right? Aren't you like...allergic or something?"

  He chuckled. "I'm not proposing we get married, Gesa. Hell, I don't even know if I could be monogamous if I tried. But you aren't just one of my many one-night stands. I think this could be something.... more. Can that be...okay?" He shook himself, then reached up to grasp my jaw and tilt my head down toward his. "Damn, I am so much smoother than this. Let's just not talk anymore, hmm?"

  I laughed against his lips. But not talking sounded great to me. He kissed me gently, tenderly, and it broke down some sort of wall inside me. Then he bit my bottom lip sharply and started steering me down the sidewalk again. "Enough of this silliness. Let's get you home so you can get ready for your date with the police."

  I grumbled about that. "Or we could just forget the police and go sleep for a couple of days?"

  But I knew that plan was doomed to fail. I was too honest and stinking responsible. Besides, I had to make nice with the law enforcement officers in the know, who grudgingly let me do my job on their turf.

  Chapter 15

  A few days later, I stood outside the faded, Victorian-style facade of a three-story row building. It stood on a busy street crammed with specialty shops and yuppy stores like the Tea Emporium.

  "This is your idea of a date spot?" I asked Oisin, glancing at the redhead in confusion. His hair was braided today, and he was wearing more casual, if still over-the-top-expensive, clothes. I thought maybe he was going to take me out to run in the nearby Porcupine Mountains or something. Older fae had at least one animal-spirit form, and I was dying to know what his was. But instead we were...here.

  "Oh, stop your grumbling, will you?" he admonished. "I promised you a surprise, not a sappy romantic outing.

  I grunted. "I wore actual clothes for you."

  He rolled his eyes and gave my flowy blouse a tolerant, but fond, look. "Yes, yes. Colors, even. Very pretty. Get in here." He held open the door to whatever shop was contained in the less-than-polished building.

  I stepped inside to find shelves. Row upon row of them, haphazardly covered with books and dust.

  "Oooh...just what I always wanted!" I mock enthused.

  Oisin just smirked at me. "Oh ye of little faith. That's not for you. Come." He took my hand and towed me through the bookshop, past a cluttered seating area and through a door at the back that led to a large office.

  I stopped in the doorway and took in the shiny new oak desk and comfy-looking rolling chair, a couple of old antique wing-back seats for visitors. Even a freaking potted plant.

  "What...?"

  Oisin wrapped an arm around me in a lop-sided hug. "Your office, of course. We can't bring in better paying customers if you don't have a more professional workspace than your dingy old apartment. We can print up cards. Have office hours. Cater to supernatural clients."

  I gave him a look. "I don't own a business."

  He shook his head. "Of course you do. You even have a se
xy partner. Oh! And I found you the sweetest little secretary."

  I wanted to shake him. But I also kind of wanted to cry or hug him. I settled for glaring. "Tell me you didn't pay rent for this place. And, I mean...look at the mess out there. Not very professional with books and dust everywhere."

  There was a noise from somewhere in the building and I heard footsteps on stairs.

  "Look, Gesa, trust me. I know the guy who owns the place," Oisin said with a smirk that told me he was up to something. "Rent is cheap. And there's an apartment upstairs. You could even live here if you wanted. Save on rent for that awful place you have now." He winked. "And I know someone with excellent tastes who can help you decorate and shine the place up a bit—a brilliant redheaded bloke. Maybe we could even open the bookstore back up, for a little extra cash."

  "Oisin?" A masculine voice called.

  The sneaky-assed fae grinned like a kid at Yule and took my hand again, pulling me back out toward the main store area. "Come meet your secretary. Personally, I think that's the best part of the gift. He leered."

  I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt, but I let myself be dragged out of the office anyway. This was all ludicrous. But Gods, if I wasn't tempted.

  A man waited impatiently by the bookstore counter, frowning as he rubbed dust off the buttons of the antique cash register. He looked completely different in a soft gray sweater and neatly pressed slacks. He even wore nerdy, thick-rimmed glasses. His brown eyes lifted to meet mine and he gave me a shy wave. "Hey, Gesa. Happy Birthday!"

  I darted a glance between Oisin and Concord. My eyes started watering when the fae bastard gave Concord a head nod and the human pulled a huge cupcake with a candle stuck in it out from under the counter. Oisin snapped his fingers and the candle ignited.

  I cleared my throat and tried not to emote. "If you two bastards start singing, I swear to the Gods, you will regret it the rest of your lives."

  Oisin shoved me forward. "Eat your cupcake, cupcake."

  Concord handed the cake over with a shy smile, sticking his hands in his pockets and clearing his throat nervously. "So? Do I have a job?"

  I stalled. "But you're in school. That's way more important than wasting your time with something like...this." I waved a hand to encompass the messy store and run-down building.

  He smiled. "I'm not a student, Gesa. How young do you think I am? I'm an adjunct professor at the college."

  I mentally upgraded him to about my own age. Not that it mattered. At all.

  "But the adjunct position is only part time, so I have a lot of free time," Concord continued. He waved at the books. "I can help clean up the place, and answer phones and stuff. And really," he gave the dusty old books a longing glance. "Some of these are really rare. I'd love to help you."

  I glanced at Oisin for assistance. I could handle the fae with snark and sarcasm, but this sweet human would probably cry if he had to spend more than a few minutes around me. And I couldn't handle tears. Oisin just smiled at me and refused to help, the jerk.

  "I'm not really...I mean...." I ran a hand through my hair in agitation. "Oh, fine! But just think of it as a trial. I'm not very pleasant to be around for long periods of time. And that guy over there is a complete degenerate," I said, hiking a thumb over my shoulder at the fae.

  Concord was the kind of guy that could blend in anywhere, but man, when he smiled, it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Like puppies and rainbows. My poor heart hurt. I blew out my candle and took a big bite of cake and sugar to prevent any more words from falling out of my mouth.

  "And?" Oisin said. "Do you want to see the upstairs? You really should just move in here and ditch that crappy apartment you currently call home."

  Concord grinned at me. "He's not lying, Gesa. It's pretty awesome. I think someone was fixing this place up and started there before they ran out of money or something."

  I grudgingly followed Oisin up the spiral staircase in back, near the office. This had clearly been a stunning building at one time. Her bones were still beautiful. She just needed a lot of elbow grease.

  We arrived at a landing and my eyebrows rose. Concord was right. Tall ceilings with exposed wooden beams that had been polished to a dull gleam. Light, airy colors that somehow made the little flaws of such an old building into an artful showcase. A rambling crack in the plaster in the corner of the hallway had been painted with delicate leaves, so it looked like a vine growing there. Potted plants were arranged everywhere I looked, by someone with a very green thumb.

  Oisin showed me around, and there was a strange tension in him, though he kept smiling the whole time. The place was fully furnished, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear someone already lived there. "There are six rooms, three on this floor, three on the third floor. They could be bedrooms or offices, there's tons of space."

  He opened a door to my right and gestured inside. "I thought you might like this one, though?"

  The room was empty, but it was immaculately clean. Gleaming old hardwood flooring, high ceilings, and a huge window with stained-glass details and a roomy window seat. My over-sized bed and its sumptuous bedding would look perfect in here.

  "There's an attached bath in this room. And two more in the rest of the apartment."

  I turned to Oisin, feeling like I was floating. "This can't be real," I said softly. "Really, Oisin. I could never afford a place like this. How much is the rent?"

  He took a deep breath. "First, admit you love it. If money was no obstacle, would you stay here?"

  I rolled my eyes at the crazy fae. "Are you kidding? It's perfect. Like a dream. And you're right. There is so much damned potential here, for whatever kind of business I wanted."

  He nodded. "Then you're staying. No matter what."

  I squinted at him. "Oisin, you're scaring me. I've never seen you look...nervous." And this outpouring of generosity....

  He stepped away, trailing a graceful finger over the brick detailing that took up one wall of what I was already stupidly calling "my bedroom" in my head.

  "I know the owner," he said, almost a whisper, timid in a way that was shocking, coming from him. "I know him very well. This was the only thing his family left him with when they chased him from his home. It was his younger sister's townhouse, when it was built."

  I gaped at him. "Oisin...you are not serious. You own a freaking building?" And his younger sister had been around when it was built...like sometime in the eighteen-hundred's probably? How old was he?

  He didn't meet my eyes. "It's way too big for me alone. And I've nearly spent all my 'trust fund' on the upstairs. You could put your rent money into fixing up the shop portion. And... well, Concord lives in those awful converted dorms at the college...."

  I couldn't help it. A laugh escaped me. Oisin glanced at me and I saw the honest emotions in his gaze. He was lonely. He had lost his clan. And, consciously or unconsciously, he was trying to fill that need for community by keeping his new people close to him.

  It was way too early to consider living with this crazy, amazing, terrifying creature. But there was plenty of space. And if Concord agreed to move in with us, it would be less like a relationship commitment and more like a roommate situation.

  And I was also a sucker for those big, sparkling green eyes, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.

  I was lonely too. I missed my clan too. Even though I was the one who left them.

  "Oh why the hell not," I said, as if it was the world’s greatest concession. "But if we all end up wanting to kill each other, that's on you."

  Oisin almost glowed, he was so happy. He crossed to me and took my hands. "Thank you," his usually smooth voice was uncharacteristically rough. He cleared his throat and pasted that smirk back on his face. "Now let's go overwork your new secretary, shall we?"

  I stared at his swinging braid as I followed him back downstairs. Oisin was hiding something painful under his snarky mask. I had heard the darkness in his voice when he mentioned his family. And his father appa
rently wanted to inflict some fate worse than death upon him. We were both a mess. This was either the best day of my life, or the worst decision I'd ever made.

  And for me, that was saying something.

  Coming Soon

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  Also by Kaye Draper

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  Fey Lovers (Come Love A Fey Collection)

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  The Demon's Birthday Present

  The Demon's Call Series (3 Book Box Set)

  Forever After

  Light of Day

  Dark of Night

  Forever After

  Gesa's Menagerie

  Gryphon's Pride

  Heart of the Pride

  With Pride

  Pride Before the Fall

  Wounded Pride

  Pride and Perdition (Coming Soon)

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  Wendigo Girl Box Set