by A C Warneke
“Uh huh,” she murmured, watching in fascination as the gargoyle became the man, the transformation never getting old. She loved watching the color leech back into his skin, the auburn hair sprout from his head, his face morph from monkey to man, the way he lost nearly two feet of height and became comfortably human-sized, albeit one with generous proportions. Running her fingers over the smooth line of his jaw, his full lips, she sighed in perfect pleasure because he was hers.
“Turn around and watch,” he chuckled, maneuvering her so she was facing the ruins. As the sun set, there was the briefest moment when the ruins appeared in all of their true splendor and glory: glowing white columns that soared upwards towards the heavens and solid marble walls that gleamed in perfection.
But the image vanished as the sun disappeared and the illusion of ruins was back in place. Jenna could only stare at the crumbling temple in disbelief as Rhys grabbed a pair of pants from the satchel and stepped into them. Quietly, she breathed, “It’s magnificent.”
He stood behind her, drawing her back against his chest as he rested his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “When we enter the temple you have to remember that it is very important…”
“That I not let go of your hand,” she finished with a smile, the familiar words of caution seared into her brain. The temple had various traps that lured men to their doom – and occasionally their salvation. Turning, she lightly trailed her fingers over his still-naked chest and grinned, “I have no intention of ever letting go.”
His eyes darkened and he hesitated a moment before grabbing his clothes and getting dressed. It was a pity that he had to wear clothes at all, including the shoes that covered his sexy feet. As soon as he was decent, the gravity had disappeared from his beloved face and his familiar smile was back in place. Capturing her hand in his once more, he grinned, looking like any college-aged boy going to his first kegger.
“Are you ready?” He practically vibrated with excitement, bouncing as he squeezed her hand and started walking towards the center of the ruined temple. Jenna had to quicken her pace to keep up, laughing with him at his enthusiasm.
He slowed down slightly and she wrapped both of her arms around one of his. Glancing down at her, he smiled, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling in the evening light. Taking a deep breath, his grin widening, they took one more step and the illusion shattered as torches blazed to life, illuminating a lavishly decorated Ancient Grecian temple. Pillars soared upwards towards a ceiling that was inlaid with precious metals and etched images.
“My God,” she breathed, her eyes wide as she tried to take everything in at once. Her grip loosened just a bit but Rhys put his hand over her arms, holding her in place. She gave him a sheepish smile as she squeezed his arm, “I’m not letting go.”
Slowly, they walked past the pillars and the deeper into the temple they went, the tighter Jenna’s grip on Rhys’s arm got. Statues of naked men dotted the ground, the details exquisite and lifelike, down to the veins on their stone erections to the hair covering their bodies. Gleaming golden artifacts and priceless gem-encrusted urns decorated the alcoves and Jenna felt as if she had stepped back into another time, another world. The artist in her was in heaven and she wanted to sketch a few of the statues and artifacts. Perhaps during the day while Rhys was a gargoyle she would be able to do some drawings.
Coming to a stop, she studied an ornately detailed urn, the scene one of a satyr spying on a beautiful nymph as she bathed. She could almost imagine it in her head: a coquettish nymph aware of being observed decides to torment her uninvited audience by exaggerating her movements. She slowly draws the wet sponge over her naked flesh, thrusting her breasts out as the water dribbles over the hard peaks….
“It’s extraordinary, Rhys,” she whispered reverentially, not wanting to break the peacefulness that imbued the temple. When he didn’t answer, she turned her head to look at him and gasped in alarm – she was holding onto the stone arm of a statue and Rhys was gone. “Rhys!”
Urgently pulling away from the statue, she stared in horrified shock. She hadn’t let go of him!! She had promised to hold on and she had so where was he? How did she end up clasping a statue when she never let go of Rhys? Keeping her eyes on the evil statue, she cried out, “RHYS!!”
Frantic with fear, she started walking back the way they had come, except nothing looked familiar anymore. The statues were all different, a hundred statues of a hundred naked men and none of them were Rhys. To top it off, the walls seemed to shift right before her eyes: passages would close while new ones appeared and the ever-changing architecture made her head spin.
Panicking, she came to a dead stop, her thoughts burning and churning in her head, all muddled and confused. She was looking for something…. No, someone. She was searching for someone important and… and…. Squeezing her eyes shut, she grabbed her head in her hands, trying to drown out the static that was screaming inside her skull. As she stood there the world around her spun in a kaleidoscope of color and she was going to be sick. Only, her eyes were still tightly pressed shut.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw through the canopy of trees that the sky over head was clear but she knew that the sun was about to set. Catching a glimpse of a small, dark haired girl child out of the corner of her eye, she startled as she tried to remember what she had been doing, where she had been going. A little girl’s giggle wended itself through her and she turned on her heel to follow the sound, the child. There was something so familiar about the girl but Jenna couldn’t quite place it. All she knew was that she was late….
The landscape shifted but that was to be expected. The trees morphed into houses, a quiet neighborhood that was strangely familiar. Jenna stared up at a house that she knew well and smiled, remembering where she was going. Hastening her pace, she flew up the steps and flung the door open, the familiar interior of light and warmth flooding her as she stepped inside. “Hey, I’m home!”
Two little moppets crashed down the stairs, barreling into her at full force. “Mama!”
Laughing, she squatted down and rifled the hair of J.J and then little Lanie, “Hey, kiddos! Have you been good for your daddy while I was away?”
J.J. looked up at her with a gap-toothed grin, his dark blond hair the same shade as his fathers. At seven he thought he was practically a teenager. “Of course, mom. We’re not babies, you know.”
“I is a baby,” little Lanie said in her sweet little two-year-old voice. Her big blue eyes looked at Jenna with such earnestness, countered only by the lop-sided pony tails in her dark hair. “But I big girl soon.”
Laughing, Jenna wrapped her arms around her daughter and son, hugging them as if it had been ages since she had seen them instead of just a few hours. A pain lanced through her heart, there and gone, leaving a strange void in its wake, as if something was missing. But how could anything be missing when her world was right there in her arms? Ah, her husband. With her eyes twinkling, she pulled back, “Is daddy home?”
Lanie slid her hand into Jenna’s and pulled her towards the back of the house but it was J.J. who answered, “He’s in the office finishing up his reports.”
But he wasn’t in his office. He was leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face as he watched her walk towards him. His dark blond hair was cropped short even though he was no longer in the military and his light green eyes sparkled with love. At thirty-one, he still looked really good, with his flat stomach, toned body, and tanned skin. As she neared, he held out his arms for her, “Jenna, my love.”
“Jeremy,” she smiled, stepping into his arms and breathing in his familiar scent. A wave of sadness crashed over her and she hugged him tighter. “It’s good to be back in your arms.”
“It’s only been a few hours,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head as he tugged on the long pony-tail that hung all the way down her back, the gesture something he started when they began dating in high school. It was one of the reas
ons why she had never cut off the long tresses.
“It feels like a lifetime,” she breathed, pressing her nose against his neck and kissing the slightly salty skin, loving the familiar taste of him. Suddenly, she didn’t want to let go, afraid it was just a dream, that he would be taken away from her if she let go….
No, she was being ridiculous. She forced herself to relax her hold on him as she tilted her head back and looked at him, smiling at him.
He chuckled, keeping one arm draped around her shoulders as the four of them made their way to the kitchen, the place they all tended to gather. After a few moments of idle chatter, he asked, “Is your sister’s plane getting in on time?”
“It is,” she nodded her head, thinking about the twin sister she hadn’t seen in ages. Melanie had flown to Paris after high school and hadn’t looked back, except for the occasional visit every now and then. She led a glamorous life in Paris, flitting from one glitzy party to the next, leaving a trail of broken hearts in her wake. Jenna once asked her what happened to all of her talk of fairy tales and magic and Melanie had laughed her tinkling laugh and said, “I grew up.”
Sometimes Jenna missed the old Melanie but she knew that at some point everyone had to grow up. Well, it no longer mattered because Melanie was coming home so they could celebrate their thirtieth birthdays together, something they had planned to do ever since they were children. Jenna wondered where the years had gone. It was just yesterday that she was twenty-four with a one year old son.
Sitting down and scooping Lanie up onto her lap, she smiled into her daughter’s hair, breathing in her sweet scent. “She says she has a surprise for us.”
Turning her head, she saw the latest magazine, the model on the cover an absolutely gorgeous auburn-haired man with abs that could cut diamonds. There was something so familiar about him, the curve of his lips, the spark in his eyes.… But of course she had never met anyone like that in real life. Besides, his abs were probably spray painted on. Ignoring the image, she looked up at Jeremy and smiled. He was a 100% real man, with laugh lines, a non-corrugated stomach, and a few gray hairs mixed in with the blond.
She looked around the room at her small family, sighing in contentment. Life was good.
The doorbell rang and excitement bubbled up from deep inside of her. Her sister was here! Setting Lanie on the ground, she made her way back to the entry way, her crew following close behind. Swinging the door open, the smile fell from her lips when the most incredibly sexy man she had ever seen in her life stood on the front step, a large grin on his too handsome face. His black hair gleamed in the overhead house light and his jade green eyes glistened with cheerfulness.
Before Jenna could ask if he was at the wrong house, Melanie stepped out from behind him and captured Jenna in an enormous hug, “Surprise!”
“Lenni,” Jenna breathed, her eyes stuck on Mr. Tall, Dark and Stunning. There was something so familiar about him, much like the man on the magazine cover, she just couldn’t place it. Maybe he was a model, or something, but what was he doing here?
“Jenna,” Melanie beamed, stepping back and entwining her arm with the gorgeous paragon of manhood. “I want you to meet my, er, husband Armand.”
Stunned, Jenna held out her hand, jumping slightly when the man – Armand – clasped it in his warm palm, “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Mitchell.”
“Likewise and, please, call me Jenna,” Jenna said dumbly, her thoughts whirling in her head. Shaking her head to clear it of the cobwebs, she stepped aside to introduce her motley crew. “This is Jeremy and these two little rug rats are our kids, Jeremy Junior and Lanie, short for Melanie.”
Armand shook J.J.’s hand before he squatted down, offering the little girl a dazzling smile, “Hi there, Lanie.”
“Mr. Armand,” the little girl murmured, staring at him with wide, curious eyes.
The man grinned, looking up briefly at Jenna before facing the little girl again. “Did you know that your aunt is moving back to my place and that I only live a few minutes from here?”
Lanie looked up at Jenna with wide eyes but Jenna barely noticed as tears filled her own eyes. Looking at Melanie, she could scarcely believe her sister was coming home, “Is it true?”
Melanie laughed, a light-hearted sound that Jenna hadn’t heard in years. “It is. But there’s something we have to talk about.” With a significant glance at the kids and Jeremy, she added under her breath, “Later.”
Armand stood up and wrapped his arm around Melanie, pulling her into his hard body. It was apparent that the two of them were in synch, their bodies just meshed. Still slightly gob smacked, Jenna welcomed them into her home, following Jeremy as he led the small group into the living room.
Melanie looked around the space, a smile lighting her face as she turned to her sister, “I love what you’ve done, Jenna. Is the artwork yours?”
Jenna glanced at the paintings on the walls, the portraits she painted of the children and a few still-lifes, and she smiled, “It is.”
“They’re amazing,” Armand murmured, his eyes never leaving Melanie.
After a few minutes of idle chatter, of Melanie and Armand seducing one another with their eyes, Melanie sighed lustily, “Do you mind if I find the bathroom and freshen up?”
“Of course,” Jenna said, blushing as Armand stood up and went with Melanie, caressing her butt as they went. Flopping down on the couch next to Jeremy, she stared at the spot where Melanie and Armand disappeared, “I think they are going to have sex.”
Jeremy chuckled, entwining his fingers with hers, “I think you’re right.”
“Isn’t Armand just to die for?” Melanie asked later that night as she and Jenna sat in the kitchen sharing an after dinner coffee. It was nearly impossible to convince Armand to let Melanie out of his sight for more than two seconds so Melanie and Jenna could have a sister-to-sister chat. He was obviously very possessive of Melanie and judging by the lust-fueled screams coming from the bathroom earlier, he was also a generous and demanding lover. He finally agreed to hang out with the kids and Jeremy for a few minutes.
“How in the world did you meet someone like that?” Jenna blurted. Even knowing the circles her sister travelled in couldn’t explain the perfection that was Armand. He was an ethereal being, closer to an archangel than a man. As her sister, Jenna also knew that he was overwhelming poor Melanie with his intensity.
A tremulous smile curled Melanie’s lips, “He was at a club in Paris. He came in with three other men and when our eyes met…. It was magic. I gave him my virginity less than a week after meeting him and a month later we were wed. Well, sort of.”
Jenna was a little astounded that Melanie had her virginity to give, though it shouldn’t have been surprising since her sister swore she was saving herself for marriage. But in the end, she hadn’t saved herself, even if she married the man she gave it to. It sounded as if Melanie had been caught up in the whirlwind that was Armand. Jenna was still a little unclear on something. “Are you married or not?”
“We are,” she hemmed, a slight frown on her face as she studiously watched Jenna’s expression, looking for signs of something, Jenna just wasn’t sure what. Moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, Melanie said, “He was in Paris to break an old bond that he had foolishly made when he was younger and then he met me. He told me it was reckless but he didn’t care and he gave up his nights for me and I accepted his gift. I’m a, um, I’m a gargoyle now.”
“Pardon?”
Melanie laughed nervously, twirling a strand of chocolate colored hair in her fingers, “During the day I’m a gargoyle… I’m still trying to adjust so please don’t yell at me.”
Jenna blinked, pretty sure her sister had hit her head and suffered some sort of brain damage. “A… gargoyle.”
Something pinged in the back of Jenna’s mind, something about gargoyles that walk as men at night because their father was Apollo, that walk as gargoyles during the day because their mother was M
edusa. Shaking her head to clear the delusions, she stared at Melanie who watched her with wide, wary eyes, as if Jenna would condemn her.
Taking her sister in her arms, she hugged Melanie and felt her sister tremble in relief. Kissing the top of Lenni’s head, she chuckled even as her thoughts were struggling to deal with her sister being a gargoyle. “What’s it like? Being a gargoyle?”
“It’s challenging,” Melanie answered hesitantly, honestly. “I’m still learning how to fly but Armand has been very patient even though he’s eager to return home and introduce me to his pod of brothers. He has assured me that they’ll love me but I’m so nervous.
“There’s so much to learn, to get familiar with, but Armand gets distracted so easily,” she said with a nervous laugh and a furious blush. “I’m sure I’d learn so much faster if he didn’t get an erection every time he looked at me.”
Jenna had no idea what Melanie was talking about but she knew her sister had to feel overwhelmed. Sitting back she grinned, “Can you make love as gargoyle?”
Melanie’s cheeks turned bright red as she lowered her lashes and smiled slightly, “Yes, and Armand is very… sexual in both of his forms.”
“Yeah,” Jenna grinned, scrunching her nose. “I heard.”
After a moment, Melanie licked her lips, the color fading from her cheeks as she looked at Jenna. “I’m incredibly nervous, Jen. Tomorrow evening I’ll be meeting Armand’s brothers and I want so badly for them to like me. Come with… please come with me.”
“Of course,” she readily agreed, concerned about Melanie and everything she was going through. Of course she would be there for her. She took Melanie’s hands in her own, offering support in whatever way Melanie needed.
“They’ll adore you, Lenni,” Jenna assured her sister with absolute conviction.
Blinking her eyes, Jenna was standing in an elevator surrounded by her family, her sister in Armand’s arms, Lanie in Jeremy’s arms with J.J. holding her hand. Jenna was incredibly nervous, with the sense that something important was going to happen. Giving Melanie a frozen smile, she tried to scrub her brain of the memory of the sounds that had come from the guestroom throughout the night. One thing was true, Melanie and Armand were insatiable.
