Chapter Four

Trynche remained seated at Enrique's side, keeping his human's hand in his own, as he listened to his mate explain why he'd been flying over areas of their ranch.

"So, Sheldon's still looking for ways to cause trouble," Archer murmured, his eyes narrowing. Rubbing his chin, he asked, "Did you get any of the gargoyles on camera this evening?"

Enrique's brows furrowed, and he started shaking his head. Pausing, he turned to look at Trynche. "Uh, I was unconscious when you found me, so... I guess I don't know."

Lludd, who'd been standing next to Archer with his arm slung possessively across his mate's shoulder's, pivoted toward the door. "I'll send someone out to retrieve it." He paused halfway through the doorway to look at Trynche. "Do you think it caught you? Did you see where it was?"

"Is the camera on your helmet the only one, my mate?" Trynche asked, squeezing his hand.

"You keep calling me that," Enrique mumbled, using his free hand to rub his temple. His gaze fell to where Trynche held his hand. "You're giving me the impression that you think we're already in a relationship, but we don't know each other, and you're not even human." Blinking and squinting, Enrique further revealed his confusion and disbelief when he stated, "I've gotta be in a coma. I'm gonna wake up, still in my helicopter, probably with a few injuries, and none of this will have happened."

"Then you may as well enjoy your weird dream while you can, man," Lludd teased with a snort. "Now, any other cameras?"

"Just the one on my helmet," Enrique confirmed.

"This isn't a dream, Enrique," Archer told him, moving close to the bed as Lludd headed out of the room. "It'll sink in. Give it time." The sheriff offered him an encouraging smile. "I've been where you are, falling down this rabbit hole and trying to come to grips with my new reality." Reaching out, Archer squeezed Enrique's shoulder. "Try to trust me when I tell you that while this is a life-changing experience, it's also a great one." Pointing at Trynche, the sheriff continued, "Gargoyles are hardwired to please and care for their mates, so whatever your needs or problems are, you'll have plenty of help now." Then Archer's eyes widened, and he asked, "Uh, do you have a problem with him because he's a guy? Or are you in a relationship right now?" His voice lowered as he mumbled, "Damn, that could cause some bumps."

Trynche had never seen the friendly and laid-back sheriff ramble before. He appreciated the guy trying to offer reassurances to Enrique. However, that last question piqued Trynche's curiosity... and worry.

Does my mate have hangups or someone at home waiting for him?

When Trynche had been carrying Enrique to the ranch, he hadn't scented anyone else on him, but there could be plenty of reasons for that.

"Oh, uh, no," Enrique muttered. His brows furrowed as the scent of another wash of confusion wafted from him. "N-No one at home, and I'm, uh, bi, so..." Then Enrique frowned as he glanced from Trynche and back to Archer. "He's not human. He's a-a..." His voice trailed off, as if he were having trouble voicing the thought.

"Gargoyle," Archer supplied. "They're gargoyles. One of many paranormal species." Scoffing, he explained, "Sorry for the mind-fuck, Enrique, but humans are not alone on this planet." With his hand, palm up, Archer swept the room, indicating Trynche, as well as Doc Glover. "The proof is right before your eyes. I know you don't believe yet, but you will."

Hope that doesn't take too long.

"And like I said, you should take advantage of your continued coma belief and enjoy yourself," Lludd stated, drawing attention to the fact that he'd already returned. "Ruacin knew the direction Trynche was flying from, so he'll get the recording."

Archer nodded.

"What does that even mean?" Enrique focused on Lludd, cocking his head and squinting at him. "Take advantage of my coma belief and enjoy myself? Enjoy myself, how?"

Lludd chuckled. "Well, a gargoyle enjoys pleasuring his mate." He smirked as he winked at Enrique before cutting his attention to Trynche. "Ain't that right, Trynche? You'd love to pleasure your mate, wouldn't you?"

Trynche felt a wash of heat flood his body. His blood rushed south, a predictable reaction to thinking of pleasure and his mate at the same time. He shifted where he sat on the side of the bed, trying to get his hardening shaft into a more comfortable position.

The move drew Enrique's attention. His mate looked down... then snapped his focus back to Trynche's face. His brown eyes were wide as he stared at him, his shock evident.

Unable to help his reaction, Trynche shrugged. "The idea of pleasuring you"—he hesitated, searching for the right words, before finishing—"nothing would please me more than to please you."

Enrique blinked once, twice, before his focus drifted to Trynche's left. Trynche would have been concerned, but he spotted the telltale flush darkening Enrique's neck, creeping up to his cheeks. The delicious fragrance of Enrique's masculine arousal also began lightly perfuming the space around them.

"He likes that idea," Lludd quipped. Continuing to smirk, he turned to Glover. "There a spare room in the bunkhouse they can use, Doc?"

Archer growled softly, grabbing Lludd's forearm in what appeared to be a strong grip. "Lludd." He murmured the name in a low way full of warning. "Stop teasing Enrique. He's not ready for your kind of humor."

Lludd's eyebrow ridges shot up, expressing his surprise. "I wasn't making a joke." He met Trynche's gaze for a second before he looked at Enrique. "I'm serious. You can enjoy yourself while you're coming to grips with the fact that you're not in a coma." Shrugging, Lludd added, "Besides, getting off releases endorphins that'll help relax you and combat your headache." He focused on Glover. "Right, Doc?"

Doc Glover smirked where he leaned against the room's counter, his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeeees," he replied, drawing the word out. "Sexual release does do that." Narrowing his eyes, Glover added, "But Enrique allowing Trynche to care for his needs doesn't mean he's ready to accept everything that's happening between him and Trynche." The doc pinned his gaze on Enrique. "I'd hate to hear that Enrique was leading Trynche on."

"You've seen enough matings to know he'll come around before too long." Lludd waved a hand dismissively. "What we really need to worry about is that damn Sheldon and his plans." A growl entered his voice as he spoke. "We don't need him fucking with us while we're dealing with the rogue gargoyle faction pestering us."

"Rogue gargoyles?" Enrique murmured, finally seeming to come out of whatever reverie he'd been lost in.

My mate is clearly overwhelmed.

"What's that mean?" Enrique frowned as he glanced around the room, his gaze landing on Trynche. "Rogue gargoyles?"

Trynche nodded as he squeezed Enrique's hand. "That's what hit the tail of your chopper this evening," he admitted. Seeing his mate's eyes widen, he winced as he explained, "The gargoyle species is ruled by a circle of twelve elders. They're usually some of our oldest and most trusted men, those with reputations above reproach, known for their fair-headedness and wisdom." Grimacing, Trynche admitted, "Well, one of those elders, a guy named Laagstine, has gotten it in his head that gargoyles are superior not just to humans, but to other paranormal species, as well." After a glance at Lludd, who winced while nodding, Trynche refocused on Enrique and finished, "Laagstine somehow managed to have a number of dangerous, rogue gargoyles who'd been incarcerated, secretly whisked away instead of being put to death for their crimes."

"Shit!" Enrique stared at him with wide eyes as his jaw sagged. After a quick shake of his head, he grumbled, "Sounds like someone with delusions of grandeur trying to become an evil dictatorship." Scoffing, Enrique grumbled, "We have enough of those amongst humans without having them in a huge winged monster."

Hearing Enrique's mutterings, Trynche felt his gut clench.

Monster? Is that how my mate sees me?

"Hey," Lludd growled, scowling at Enrique. "Watch it."

Archer lifted his hand, obviously hoping to ease his big gargoyle mate's annoyance. "Gargoyles aren't monsters, Enrique," he corrected, casting a quick glance at all of them. "They're just another species living here on Earth." Offering a wry smile, Archer shrugged. "Hell, most of them just want the same things that most humans do. To find happiness, love, and acceptance. Maybe a family."

"Sorry. Sorry. Didn't mean it like that." Enrique froze for a few seconds before gaping as he glanced around the room. "A, uh... a family?" His brows furrowed once more. "H-How's that possible?" Then, with a roll of his eyes, Enrique snapped, "Guess that's not really important right now." He scoffed again. "After all, we're both guys."

Trynche exchanged looks with the other men in the room, knowing he would have some explaining to do. After all, gargoyles could get their fated male mates pregnant.

I'll explain later.

Hearing Enrique start talking, Trynche refocused on his human.

"I mean, you've told me all sorts of fantastic shit tonight." Enrique heaved a deep sigh as he rubbed his temple with his free hand. "I get why you keep your existence a secret. I imagine the general populace wouldn't take knowledge of you well." Scowling at the floor, Enrique muttered, "Many humans are great at persecuting our own kind for one reason or another. Race, religion, sexual orientation, man, woman, fat, skinny, tall, short. Humans use all kinds of reasons to be a bigoted asshole." Enrique waved his hand absently, his eyes becoming a bit glazed. "Take Sheldon, for example. He sure as shit should never know about you guys. The ruckus he would cause." After a few blinks and a shake of his head, he focused on Archer. "I won't say anything to anyone about these guys, Sheriff. You have my word."

"I appreciate that, Enrique," Archer replied, a small smile curving his lips. "I know everyone here will appreciate it, too."

"So, uh, yeah, of course." Enrique glanced at Trynche, then down at where he still held his hand. Clearing his throat, he began to ease his fingers as if he were preparing to pull away. "Yeah," he repeated. "Uh, guess I need to ask for a ride to town. I have work tomorrow, and I need to figure out how hard it's going to be to transport my bird to the airport so I can work on it." Frowning, Enrique shook his head. "Or maybe it's not in too bad a shape, and I can fix it out in the field."

My poor mate is thoroughly overwhelmed.

Trynche squeezed Enrique's hand instead of releasing it. Hoping to help calm him, he rested his free hand on his mate's back and rubbed up and down his spine. He felt his human tense beneath him for an instant before relaxing into his touch.

A small smile curved Trynche's lips, and he wondered if Enrique even realized he'd done it. Plus, his mate had also stopped trying to release his hand.

"I would advise against taking him home, Sheriff," Doc Glover stated, pushing away from where he'd been leaning and listening. When Enrique opened his mouth, probably to argue, the doc lifted his hand to stall him. "You hit your head, and while I didn't see any signs of a concussion, I still think you should be monitored at least for the night." He narrowed his deep amber eyes and continued, "You wouldn't want to risk the chance of becoming disoriented tomorrow while out flying your tourists, would you?"

Enrique grimaced before nodding once. "Yeah, okay." After a sigh, he murmured, "That makes sense."

"The first room on the right upstairs is free, Trynche," Lludd told him. "Why don't you take him there."

Trynche nodded. "Will do."

As Trynche helped Enrique from the bed, he noticed his mate sway just a little. He took advantage of his mate's slight weakness and slipped his arm around his torso. Trynche enjoyed the feel of his human's solid body beneath his palm, even through the sweatshirt.

Can't wait to explore what's underneath.

"Come on, Enrique," Trynche encouraged, guiding him past the men toward the open door. "Time to get you comfortable and relaxed, my mate."

Enrique obeyed, allowing Trynche to guide him. Trynche turned him to the right and back toward the main room. Several men were sitting at a table playing cards, Walsh amongst them. The hand grinned widely at them while waggling his eyebrows.

Trynche didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed that Enrique missed it, not reacting at all. With the way his mate seemed so overwhelmed, it was probably a good thing. His human didn't need any more teasing.

Leading Enrique up the stairs, Trynche headed into the indicated room. The space was standard for a bunkhouse room with a bed, nightstand, and dresser. There was a boot box at the foot of the bed with a quilt folded on top.

"Come on, Enrique," Trynche encouraged, stopping him beside the dresser. "Let's find you something comfortable to wear." He opened the top drawer to find a selection of light gray t-shirts. "What size? Large?"

"I normally sleep in just jogging shorts," Enrique murmured, sounding absent.

"No underwear?" A rush of heat flooded Trynche as the image of a nearly nude Enrique sprawled in bed filled his mind. "Damn," he whispered. "Easy access."

Enrique seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. Taking a step away from Trynche, he cleared his throat as he looked from him to the bed and back again. Letting out a breath through pursed lips, Enrique rubbed the back of his neck.

The move drew Trynche's focus to Enrique's lips, and he recalled his mate's absent question about how Trynche kissed around his canines. He wished he could show his human right that second, but he didn't think the man was ready.

Too bad.

Instead, Trynche closed the drawer and opened a second one. "There's sweatpants in here." He pointed at the contents. "That'd be more comfortable than your jeans. Want a pair?"

"So, guess I'm staying the night. Uh, yeah, I'll take a pair of sweats. Large." Enrique glanced around again. "There a bathroom I can use?"

Trynche nodded as he fished out the desired size sweatpants. While holding them out, he used his chin to indicate a closed door. "Through there." When Enrique took them, Trynche made certain to tease his fingers along the back of his mate's hand. Trynche noticed the way his mate drew in a sharp breath, but instead of drawing attention to his human's reaction, he told him, "There should be spare toothbrushes in a drawer in there."

Nicholas Lindson always kept every bathroom in the bunkhouse well-stocked.

"Thanks," Enrique muttered before heading into the room.

Just before Enrique closed the bathroom door, he paused and stared at Trynche. His mate opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Trynche smiled and settled on the bed. "I'll be here when you get out," he promised. Unable to help himself, he allowed heat to enter his eyes as he admired his mate's strong frame. His thoughts turned carnal as he thought of his mate, in a bed, in only a pair of sweatpants. "I look forward to spending more time with you."

Enrique swallowed so hard his Adam's apple bobbed, and Trynche wondered what the skin covering the little nub would taste like.

His mate's cheeks took on a pinkish hue as he closed the door.

I hope I get to find out soon.