"Pizza's here," Havoc announced. He lifted a bronze eyebrow and shot a meaningful look at my wings. "You'd better shut 'er down, Dare. Either that or take your new wings off to the family room."
As Mim moved away, I reached for her. My fingers only just touched hers but it was enough to stop her. She questioned me silently with her huge violet eyes and I shook my head fractionally, hoping she would understand that I wanted to have a private word with her. To my relief, she followed me when I headed for the family room.
MacKenzie and Valor hurried off to meet the delivery guy at the front door while everyone else went to work setting up the dining room table for pizza. Down in the family room, I found myself alone with this incredible girl who'd just spent two days making wings for me. The dark smudges beneath her eyes were a reminder of how hard she'd worked.
I tilted the wings and moved them tentatively through the air. "I don't know what to say," I whispered.
"You could start with an apology," Victor called from the kitchen.
I grimaced. It was hard to have a private conversation when you lived with a bunch of gargoyles. But at least they weren't in the same room with us. "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier but I thought you and Victor…"
"Me and Victor what?" she asked. A shy smile played around her lips.
"Well, it's just that he's so…"
"Good looking?" Victor supplied in a shout.
I made another face.
"Oh, Dare," she murmured, casting her eyes downward. "You're much better looking than Victor."
"Hey," Victor yelled out again. "Have a little consideration for my feelings, will you?"
"And I wanted to say thank you," I cut in quickly before Victor could completely hijack my private moment.
For a long time she just gazed up at me as if time had stopped. "You're welcome," she finally whispered.
I crossed my wings over my chest and we joined everyone else in the dining room. For the first time in several years, I was warm without heavy clothing or a huge blazing fire. But I played with my food, too excited to get a single bite down. I noticed Mim didn't eat much either. She pulled the crust off her pizza and nibbled at the edge without doing much damage.
"Gog and Magog," Havoc muttered, and slapped a half-eaten slice of pizza onto his plate. "I can't eat. I've gotta see how those wings work. I've gotta see Dare fly."
As if everyone had been thinking the exact same thing, we all pushed our chairs backward at the same time. In a wild mob, we scrambled toward the entry where our coats and jackets were hanging by the front door. We poured outside like we were on our way to a party in the cold winter night, Hooligan barking excitedly as he plowed ahead of us, Havoc grabbing my arm and dragging me along to make me go faster. I wrapped my hand around Mim's to make sure she didn't slip in the snow.
Over the last two days, some of the ice had melted from the rocks in the park but we watched our footing with the girls. Defiance led the way and pointed out the safest route to the cliffs. Valor and Victor each took one of MacKenzie's arms and I don't think her cast touched the ground once.
At the edge of the outcrop that overlooked the park, I handed my coat to Valor then opened my wings.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked as if he was suddenly worried that maybe I'd forgotten how to fly.
I tilted my wings experimentally. "It's just like riding a bike, right?"
"I wouldn't know," he laughed.
"It's just like riding a bike," MacKenzie assured me, holding tightly to Valor's arm and shivering with excitement.
I leaned close to Mim's ear and said, "I'll be right back."
A stiff breeze came out of the north and I turned into it then stepped from the cliff. Instinctively, I flexed my spines and stroked the air as I lifted into the sky. Traveling upward in a tight, spiraling circle, I beat my wings and climbed higher until my friends below me were mere specks on a rocky island in the middle of a green and white sea. I flipped, once, twice, then pulled my wings close and dove back toward the cliffs.
The faces of my friends and family came into focus as my hair whipped back against my skull and I screamed toward the rocks. Havoc was grinning. MacKenzie's eyes were wide with awe. Mim's face was white as I hurtled toward her. When thirty feet separated me from a violent crash landing, I snapped my wings open and caught the air then landed lightly on my feet.
"They work!" I shouted as I grabbed Mim and rocketed back up into the sky. Swiftly gathering the wind beneath my wings, I flew out over the park, away from the rocks and the pack's sharp ears. "You must agree to be mine," I choked as I hid my face in her dark hair. "For as long as you can possibly stand to be with me."
She didn't answer right away so I pulled my head from her hair and searched her face. Her expression was melancholy as we traveled over the forest. Her voice was soft. "Don't mistake gratitude for something more, Dare."
"Gratitude?" I exploded and gripped her more tightly in my arms. "What I feel for you isn't gratitude, Mim. It's more like worship."
"Well, whatever it is, don't mistake it for attraction."
Actually, I thought attraction fell short of describing my feelings, as well. Way short. "Why can't I be attracted to you?" I asked quietly.
"Why would you be?" she countered in a low mumble. "I'm not that pretty. I'm not pretty at all."
"Says who?" I growled down at her.
Her features took on a wry expression. "Cory Devereau for one."
"Who's Cory Devereau?" I demanded.
"A guy I went out with until I realized he had a crush on my mother."
I didn't like the idea of Mim having a boyfriend who wasn't me. But if she had to have a boyfriend, he could at least appreciate her. "Your mother?" I growled more deeply. I hadn't met Mim's mom but MacKenzie had told me that she taught belly dancing for a living. She sounded pretty exotic compared to Mrs. Campbell, who's pretty momly.
"I'm not exactly the most popular girl at school," she added solemnly.
Lucky for me, I thought but I didn't say so. "That's only because humans are uncommonly unperceptive."
"Compared to what?" she questioned me.
"Compared to gargoyles, wolfhounds, and just about any other living creature on the planet. Compared to frogs, Mim!"
She huffed out a small sigh. "So what do you see in me that everybody else seems to miss?"
"Everything," I insisted, finding it hard to express something so obvious. It was like trying to explain why you like sunshine or how counting works. "I see beauty," I murmured. "And kindness. Goodness. Intelligence. Invention."
She shook her head. "Well, you're the only one who sees that."
"You're wrong," I disagreed. I nuzzled my face against her neck and rubbed my lips into her skin. "The others can see it too. The rest of the pack. Any of them would be glad to have you for their girlfriend."
Mim snorted softly.
"I just about had to break Victor's arm to keep him away from you," I breathed against her neck.
She snickered. "You're joking."
"I'm joking," I admitted as I pulled my mouth reluctantly from her throat. "But Victor would have been the first to make a move for you if he hadn't known…"
She lifted her gaze to me. "Known what?" she asked tentatively.
"That I was mad about you."
Finally, she quit arguing and snuggled her head against my chest. I didn't know if she was giving up or if she was just too tired to talk anymore. With Mim in my arms, I flew to the far side of the park then skirted the boundary in a long, lazy circle. When I put my lips against the top of her head, her hair felt silky against my mouth. As I pulled in her feminine scent through my nose, a strange tingling raced beneath my hackles. I grunted in surprise.
"What is it?" Mim murmured sleepily.
"Nothing," I answered as I made a fist with my right hand—the one that was under her knees. Of course it wasn't exactly nothing, though it wasn't much more. But my feelings for Mim had achieved what MacKenzie's healing spel
l had failed to do. My venom was trying to reach my ruined barbs as my instincts commanded me to mark this girl as my own.
The tingling sensation came from deep beneath my scarred skin and I doubted my barbs were actually going to make a comeback. It was a little depressing to think I'd never be able to give my rune to the girl I loved. On the other hand, maybe it was a better this way. A modern girl like Mim might think the whole notion of having a rune carved into her shoulder was a little barbaric.
We circled back over the cliffs where we'd left the rest of the pack but no one was there. The park was empty. "We'd better get back to the house before all the pizza's gone," I told Mim.
She barely stirred in answer.
I landed in front of the garage doors and put Mim on her feet. This time, I did a better job of folding my wings into a vest. But before we went inside, I struggled to express what had been bothering me since she'd fallen silent. "Listen, Mim. If you don't like me…If you don't feel that way about me…If you prefer Victor."
She yawned then covered her mouth and giggled. "I'm sorry. I was up all night working on your wings." She gave me a solemn look. "But I don't prefer Victor. Not at all."
I was hoping for something a little more encouraging but I guessed it would have to be enough for now. Taking Mim's hand, I led her through the garage and into the house.
"We saved you some food," Havoc shouted as soon as we were inside. Mim and I grabbed a few slices of pizza and caught up with the rest of the pack in living room where the Parcheesi tournament was under way.
Havoc gave us his seat on the couch and joined Victor and Hooligan on the floor. I fell into the corner and pulled Mim close. Five minutes later she was asleep with her head resting on my shoulder, her untouched pizza sitting on the paper plate in her lap.
"How was your flight?" Valor asked from the other end of the couch.
I didn't want to wake Mim so I kept my voice low. "The wings are amazing. I think they might even be better than the real things."
Valor's blue eyes widened. "Really?"
I inclined my chin. "Lighter. Stronger. Faster."
"How did Mim like flying?" MacKenzie whispered as she rolled the dice onto the Parcheesi board. "She wasn't afraid, was she?"
"She wasn't afraid." I murmured. "Only…"
"Only what?" Mac asked, and moved her game piece a few spaces.
"I don't understand why she doesn't believe I like her."
Victor just rolled his eyes and scowled at me.
"What?" I asked in a whisper.
MacKenzie lifted one shoulder. "You did spend the last few weeks being…"
"What?" I challenged her a little more loudly.
Havoc leaned back on his hands. "You have been a little…what's the word?" His eyes glinted as he looked around at the others for help.
"Unkind," Defiance suggested as he leaned forward in the leather chair and reached for the dice.
"Mean," Victor supplied bluntly.
"I wasn't that mean," I protested.
"Maybe not," MacKenzie soothed while Defiance took his turn moving his game piece around the board. "But Mim isn't used to guys liking her. So she wouldn't expect you to be interested in her in the first place, and by now she's probably convinced that you hate her."
"You're gonna have to work on that," Havoc pointed out cheerfully.
I shot a frown at my younger brother but he was right. I was going to have to work on that. I kept forgetting Mim wasn't what most guys considered pretty. "The guys at school…aren't crazy about her?"
"They don't see her like you do," MacKenzie explained.
Defiance sent me an unsympathetic grin. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you."
I shrank down into the corner of the couch and watched the others play. It might take me a while but I planned to go all-out to show Mim and everyone around her that she was the most important thing in my life. In the short term, I could see that I wasn't going to be able to convince her with words, and I decided a kiss might help to get my point across. But when midnight finally rolled around and Havoc had been declared the Parcheesi Champion of the World…for the eighth time running, Mim was still asleep. I watched Valor and MacKenzie share a long kiss beside me on the couch.
I slanted a glance down at Mim and thought, "What the hell. Faint heart never won fair maiden." At least, I think that's what they used to say back in the day. It was New Year's Eve and I wasn't going to wait another three hundred and sixty-five days for an excuse to kiss her.
I leaned in and touched my mouth against hers, surprised at the warmth and the petal-softness of her lips. She stirred and responded before she was really awake, her lips yielding beneath mine, a soft sigh catching in her throat. I was so lost in the taste and texture of her mouth, I'm not sure I convinced her of anything. On the other hand, I was completely sold. My interest in her was about as solid as Castle Rock in Scotland. And the dull ache in my knuckles only confirmed what I already knew.
"Did that feel like gratitude?" I breathed as I pulled back a few inches and looked down into her heavy-lidded gaze.
"I don't know what to think," she murmured.
"Maybe you should think you're amazing," I whispered.
Chapter Eleven
On New Year's Day, I made my first-ever resolution. Come hell or high water, I was going to convince Mim she was the most legend girl on the planet. Getting up early, I went to work in the kitchen, heating milk and setting up mugs with powdered cocoa. As soon as I heard stirring in MacKenzie's bedroom, I poured the hot milk into the mugs then headed upstairs with a tray balanced on my hand and a tea towel folded over my arm. "Room service," I announced crisply as I rapped my knuckles against the door.
Hooligan slipped from the room as a laughing MacKenzie swung the door open to let me in. I kept up my waiter act and waited for Mac to get settled on the bed again before serving her. Moving slowly so she didn't spill her chocolate, MacKenzie propped her back against the headboard and grinned up at me.
Mim sat beside her with her legs tucked beneath her ivory nightgown. A narrow band of ruffles edged the wrists and hem while little pink roses dotted the soft fabric that fell to the bed in folds. The sleepwear looked remarkably feminine, especially compared to Mac's notorious penguin pajamas. I couldn't take my eyes off her and almost forgot the chocolate I was supposed to be serving.
"Isn't this a nice surprise?" Mac murmured and eyed her friend. "You'll have to spend the night more often, Mim."
"I wouldn't want to create more work for Dare," Mim protested with a mischievous smile.
"I need the exercise," I told her as I joined them on the bed with my own cup of cocoa. "You'd be doing me a favor."
Downstairs, Hooligan barked softly. I assumed that he wanted to go out, although he didn't usually bark in the house. But before I could get up to see what he wanted, I heard Valor talking to him.
"What was Hooli barking about?" MacKenzie asked a little later as Valor stepped through the door with a bag of cookies. "Did he just want to go out?"
Valor glanced at the soft rays of light that were just beginning to leak through the bedroom curtains. "He was in the family room, barking at the window. Apparently, he thinks it's time to open the blinds and wake Reason."
"Do you think he's right?" she asked, and dug a cookie from the bag he offered her.
"I think he knows something that we don't know," he hedged and made eye contact with me.
I agreed with my brother. But what did Hooligan know? And—just as importantly—was he right? Maybe he knew that Reason wanted us to wake him. Or maybe he knew that Reason had made the change to stone before any water entered his lungs. There was no way Hooligan could share his insight with us, but I didn't think he'd be barking if he thought Reason was in danger of dying as soon as he woke up.
The bedroom door cracked open a few inches and Havoc tried to squeeze into the room. But MacKenzie told him he couldn't join us unless he brought something.
"I'll start breakfas
t," he promised and reappeared thirty minutes later with a pan of warm cinnamon rolls. Victor and Defiance followed him through the door, Victor carrying a large bottle of orange juice and Defiance balancing a handful of glasses.
We sat on Mac's tartan quilt and polished off the rolls as sunlight filled the room for the first time in several days. We talked about England and Europe and the Mediterranean and places we'd like to see. MacKenzie happened to say that Morocco was on her list. 'Course that gave Havoc an excuse to start quoting Casa Blanca.
"Humphrey Bogart was a surprise," Havoc mused. "He didn't look anything like I'd expected. He's a bit of a trout, actually. 'Course he might have looked different if I met him in person. Television's a little one dimensional when you're a gargoyle."
"Elizabeth Taylor's the one who surprised me," Victor added. "I'd never have guessed she was that nice looking."
"Based on what you could hear, who did you think would be pretty?" MacKenzie asked.
"Angelina Jolie," we all answered together, then started laughing.
"We got that one right," Havoc snickered.
He reached for the last cinnamon roll at the same time as Defiance and an arm-wrestling contest was required to settle the matter. There was no table in MacKenzie's room so they stretched out of the floor and went at it. Defiance won, though he didn't have an easy time of it. Havoc accused him of cheating.
"How can you cheat at wrist wrestling?" Defiance demanded just before the last roll disappeared inside his mouth.
"I don't know," Havoc countered with a wolfish grin. "But if there was a way, I expect you'd find it."
MacKenzie drained her mug then shooed us from the room so she and Mim could get dressed. They joined us downstairs a little later, Mim catching up to me in the living room where I was plowing my way through Dickens. I was surprised to discover that she looked just as good in her dark jeans and hoodie as she'd looked in her ivory nightgown. But Mim looks good in everything.
"So, what are you reading?" she asked as she slid beside me on the couch.
"Great Expectations," I answered. I leaned into her warmth, the length of my arm connecting with hers. "But I'm not reading so much as struggling."
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