13. Angie

13

ANGIE

I left my capable staff at the microbrewery, and we jumped into my car. Tuvid had to squish his body into a gargoyle pretzel shape, and the spikes on his wings scraped across the ceiling, but he insisted he wanted to be with me at all times.

"Protection from Jasper," he muttered.

I was beginning to think it was because he liked me.

My bones still hummed from him eating me out, and frankly, I was already dreaming of round two. This guy had a magical tongue and fingers, and I'd always been a girl who enjoyed tricks involving magic.

"Who else is a suspect?" I asked as I drove my car toward his place so he could change.

He'd driven me wild, something no other guy had ever been able to do, and I'd be a fool if I tried to push him away.

He gave me the owners' names of three rival microbreweries in the area.

"You can cross Maureen Hackney off your list," I said .

"Why?"

"Only a few people offered support after my uncle died. She was one of them."

"That doesn't mean she's not a threat. She's your closest competitor. Her gross revenues outstripped yours last year, though after releasing a cinnamon lager during the holiday season, her sales dropped off a lot. She's been scrambling to make up the difference since. I'm sure she'd love to win the contest and take home the prize. That would redeem her in the brewing community after her lager flop."

"How do you know this?" I thought Maureen's holiday brew was inspired; I planned to try something myself once I'd finished my expansion.

"I looked it up online. A lot of this information is available to the public."

"I thought you slept like me this morning."

"I'm not resting until we get your beer back," he said.

"I appreciate that but do rest. You need your strength." I didn't mean for that to come out sexual, but my cheeks got hot quite fast, and his grin deepened, mirroring the smoldering look in his dark eyes.

"I'm sure you'll find I have plenty of vigor." He tapped his chest. "Remember. Gargoyle."

"With your wing around my back, I don't believe I'll forget."

"I could remove it."

"No, leave it there. I like it." He made me feel treasured. Protected. Wanted. My life had been good. Pretty much awesome, actually, so I had no reason to complain. But over the past few years, an ache for something more had been growing in my chest.

I had a feeling Tuvid might be able to soothe that pain with his touch. His fang-filled smile. And his tongue. Let us not forget his wonderful tongue.

Those things were all physical. He possessed hotness in droves. But that wasn't the only reason I liked him. He'd jumped up to defend me. He'd held me all night. And the way he insisted on riding with me now despite his discomfort went a long way toward soothing the pain in my chest.

Could I be falling in love?

Nah, I'd only known him a short time if I discounted the gnome incident. But even then, I'd noticed how cute he was, how the skin around his eyes crinkled when he was acting all serious. And how he'd commented on how gorgeous my gladiolas were before he accused me of stealing gnomes.

This guy had substance.

"You need to strike Benjamin Piles off your list as well," I said.

"Why?"

"He's . . ." My old boyfriend, but we didn't need to bring that up. He was the one who ended our relationship. At the time, his rejection had stung. Now, I could barely remember how I felt. It had been a long time. Lots of water had flown under that bridge since. "He doesn't have what it takes to do something like this."

"Your former boyfriend is entering the contest," he said.

"My prior dating status is on the web?"

He nodded. "FaceSpace. A very old thread. "

A thread that needed to be deleted. I'd track it down tonight. "I figured he'd enter."

"He's offering a stout as well. It could give yours some solid competition."

"My, you've been doing your homework," I said, amazed. "How did you find out what beer he plans to enter in the brew-off? The entries are supposed to be top secret until the day of the event."

"Just a little snooping."

I shook my head. "Okay, don't strike Benjamin Piles off your list."

"I wasn't going to."

"What if I insisted?"

"I'd talk you into it." He shot me a fang-filled grin.

When he smiled like that, this gargoyle could talk me into almost anything.