Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

EMMERICH

I carry Morgan downstairs for a quick trip to the bathroom, then bring her over to our nest. She fits so well in my arms, I don't want to let go, but I don't want to scare her, so I deposit her gently on the edge of the mattresses that Klaus had tied together and stand to let her settle in.

Morgan's hand shoots out before I can move away, and she grabs my wrist, holding on to it tightly. "Are you leaving?"

She gazes up at me, her brown eyes wide, her expression crestfallen. I can't help it—I crouch in front of her, take her chin between two fingers, and press a crushing kiss to her lips. She tastes like the toothpaste she borrowed from Klaus, but underneath it, her essence comes through, the honeyed notes driving my need higher.

"I'm not going anywhere if you want me close," I tell her. "You only have to say it."

She nibbles on her lower lip, then gives my hand a little tug. "I want you to stay."

Pride flares inside me, hot and potent. My mate wants me . It makes me want to beat my chest and pin her to me, strip off the soft layers of her clothing and find her slick heat.

Then I remember Klaus—and our promise that we would try to do this together .

I glance over my shoulder to find him watching us from the kitchen, where he's been washing the same cup for several minutes. His hands are sudsy and his grip so strong, it's a wonder he hasn't crushed the cup. With a quick twitch of my head, I indicate the nest, then shrug as if to ask whether he's coming to bed.

He hesitates a moment, his expression stormy. Then he gives me a small nod and rinses the cup, then dries his hands on a kitchen towel, his movements deliberate. Is he giving us time to settle? Or waiting for me to change my mind and demand the right to spend the first night with Morgan alone?

I shuffle as far to the left as I comfortably can and tug Morgan down next to me, leaving the right side of the nest empty. I hope that's enough of a message for him—there is space for all of us here.

Then I lie flat on my back, careful not to hit Morgan with my wing, and undo the button on my leather pants.

"What are you doing?" Morgan asks suddenly, her voice higher than before.

I glance up to find her staring at me. "It's hot in here. I will be uncomfortable under the blankets if I don't remove these."

Her cheeks have turned a deep shade of pink, and her eyes are slightly glassy and unfocused. "You sleep naked?"

"How else should I be sleeping?" I frown at her, confused. I can't imagine wearing leather pants all night if I don't need to. "Is this a human thing?"

She lets out a strangled laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is. With—with people we've only just met, we rarely get fully naked together unless we mean to fuck."

My eyebrows climb up. "What?" I turn to Klaus. "Are you hearing this?"

He chuckles, the sound low and wicked. "We did warn her. We are not human."

Morgan looks from me to him and back. "Yeah. You said that." She pushes back her hair and grabs on to it for a moment, clearly thinking things through. "Okay. How about this—you can get naked whenever you want. I'd hate to cramp your style."

There's a naughty glint in her eyes as she says it, and I can't help but laugh.

"That's very kind," I tease her. "And what of you? Gargoyles run hotter than humans. You'll be sleeping between us tonight. It would be such a pity if you were uncomfortably warm."

She releases her hair, some of the tension melting from her. "I'll sleep in my underwear and t-shirt. That means I'm only interested in sleeping tonight, okay?"

I nod, catching on to her plan. "And when you remove all your clothes, you'll be interested in fucking."

"Exactly," Morgan says, sounding very pleased with herself.

Behind her, Klaus shoves down his pants, freeing his cock. It's hard for her—for us—and leaking at the tip, but he presses his palm down on it, then lowers himself quickly and draws a blanket over his lap. I want to do the same, unwilling to scare Morgan with the size of my fully grown dick, but she's facing me, her lips parted slightly, the vein in her neck pulsing faster than before.

Is she waiting for me to undress?

Wicked little human.

I won't leave her dissatisfied, though. By now, I think I'm wholly incapable of refusing any of her wishes, which might become a problem sometime in the future, but right now, our interests align. She wants to see my cock, and I want to show it to her, even if there's no touching on the horizon for tonight.

I undo the last of the buttons, lift my hips, and shove down my pants. Quicker than ever, I kick them off my feet and dump them over the edge of the nest, then stretch on my back, canting my body slightly in Morgan's direction.

Her shocked gasp is music to my ears. My cock is as long as Klaus', or nearly, but slightly thicker. Morgan will be very pleased once I work it inside her. It will fill her pussy completely, and she must know it, too, because she's turning a deeper shade of red.

"Oh my God," she whispers, her hand coming to cover her mouth.

"It's hard for you." I grasp the root loosely to show off the shaft. I don't squeeze too hard, because it wouldn't take long for me to come, and I don't want to embarrass myself. "Do you like it?"

She swallows thickly and lowers her hand. "I mean…yes? It's—it's a very nice cock, Emmerich. But have you ever seen a human dick? They're, ah, they're smaller. In general. This is…a lot."

I sniff the air between us, and my heart skips a beat. She's nervous , and there's a hint of something else—is it fear? Or worse, disgust?

My disappointment is swift and utterly devastating. I grab the nearest blanket and yank it over my lap to hide the cock that is clearly upsetting her. From behind her, Klaus is staring at me, his expression inscrutable. He's not angry—but he isn't happy about this development either.

"I'm sorry." Morgan sits back on her heels. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"You didn't," I say gruffly. It's a lie, but the last thing I want is to shove my cock at her when she clearly doesn't want it. "Let's just go to sleep."

Her eyebrows draw together in a frown. "No, Emmerich. Remember what we said about talking through the things that bother us?"

I glower up at her, feeling petulant and embarrassed at the same time. It's not a pleasant combination, and I want nothing more than to roll away from her, pull my pants back on, and stomp away.

But that would hurt Morgan's feelings, and that's not something I can do.

"It's okay if you don't like it," I say slowly. "But I wanted to show you."

She nods, her expression gentling. "It's—it's very big. That's why I freaked out. You really haven't seen a human cock before?"

Klaus clears his throat. "Like you said, humans rarely get naked in public. We haven't had the opportunity."

Morgan opens her mouth as if she wants to say something, then shakes her head. "You know what? Never mind human cocks. Let's just say they're smaller than yours and don't have those, ah, ridges. They look interesting, by the way."

She's talking fast, still flustered, but her scent isn't as nervous anymore, and she doesn't smell upset either.

"So you've never been fucked with a cock this size?" I grin at her, relishing the news.

The color of her cheeks deepens. "No."

"But you're willing to try?" Klaus leans close to her.

"Yeah," she breathes. "I'd like that. Very much."

He takes her hand and kisses the inside of her palm, then presses it against his cheek, as if being held by her is all he's ever wanted.

I understand the sentiment perfectly.

Shuffling closer, I put my hands on Morgan's waist and tug her down so she's lying between us, safe in our nest. She squeaks, then removes her glasses and sets them aside, blinking a little as if to refocus her gaze.The scent of her arousal blooms in the air, and I groan, then lean in for a kiss. I lick into her mouth to taste her incredible essence.

Klaus rumbles approvingly and settles on her other side, his wing open over us both, always the protector. "We should let Morgan rest, Emmerich."

I lift my head, dazed from Morgan's kisses. He's right, of course, but Morgan doesn't seem to agree—she's got her fingers in my hair and tugs on the back of my head to bring my lips back to hers.

And who am I to refuse my mate?

I kiss her again, my hand on her hip, so close to where I want to go but still so far. Tentatively, I slip my fingers to the hem of her t-shirt and push it up just an inch, enough to feel her soft, warm skin.

A groan rips itself from my throat, and I wrench myself back before my instincts take over and I demand more from her than she's willing to give. Putting some distance between us, I stare at her, chest heaving with quick, shallow breaths.

"Sorry." Morgan presses her fingers to her swollen lips. Then she grins up at me. "You're a great kisser. I enjoyed that a lot."

My purr fills the room, a deep sound that I've only ever uttered when Klaus has just fucked me well. My cock twitches at the thought of it, and I glance at him to find him watching me with a hungry gaze, his nostrils flaring.

He must be scenting my need—but I wonder if he knows it's for him as much as Morgan.

He rears up and moves in suddenly, but instead of kissing Morgan, like I expected him to, he palms the back of my neck and draws me in for a rough, possessive kiss. His tongue thrusts in my mouth, demanding submission, and I give it willingly, clutching on to his shoulder.

The kiss is a reminder of what we are together—of what we were and always will be, even though our roost now has a new member. I want him to know I feel the same, that I'll always want him, so I kiss him back, giving him all of me.

When he pulls back, he stares at me for a moment, his serious expression so solemn, I know he understood what I tried to tell him. Then he glances down at Morgan, and the corners of his lips turn up.

I follow his gaze to find our human mate with her lips parted, her eyes round as saucers. She's lying very still, as if afraid to draw attention to herself, but she didn't miss a moment of our kiss.

"Are you all right?" Klaus asks.

She nods mutely, her throat working as she swallows. I lean down to sniff her neck and grin, satisfied.

"She's more than all right," I tell Klaus. "She smells delicious. She liked this as much as we did."

Morgan slaps my shoulder lightly. "What did we say about sniffing people?"

But there's no real anger in her eyes, nor does she move away from me. On the contrary—when I lie next to her, she shuffles closer until our legs are touching and her warm breath ghosts over my arm.

Klaus takes her other side and studies her, running his gaze over her luscious form. "You're still clothed."

Morgan squirms at the reminder. "I know."

I put my palm on her soft belly, keeping the pressure light. "Do you want help? I am very good at disrobing."

She groans. "Of course you are."

I slip my little finger to the sliver of skin visible above the waistband of her leggings. She jerks under my touch but doesn't push my hand away—instead, her eyelids flutter, and she takes a shuddering breath.

"Morgan?" Klaus prompts. "Do you want help?"

For a moment, the question hangs between us. Then she gives us a minute nod—and it's all the permission we need.

I pinch the waistband of her leggings and tug it down. Morgan helps by lifting her hips, and I draw the stretchy, patterned fabric over her lush hips, exposing black cotton underwear—and a lot of skin. I stare at her creamy thighs, arrested.

Morgan's scent intensifies, the honeyed notes of her arousal growing stronger. She's turned on by my staring. I glance up at her for a second, meeting her heated gaze, then look down at the apex of her thighs again, where her pussy is hidden by that scrap of fabric, so, so close.

A growl tears itself from my throat. It's a low sound, and it reverberates around the room, its intensity building.

"Emmerich," Klaus barks, a clear warning.

But I'm too far gone. This is our mate and she needs me, her body calling out to me. I know we said we'd only be sleeping tonight, but even as I try to calm myself, each inhale brings more of her scent into my lungs, the call of her too strong to resist.

Klaus told Morgan we weren't human, but she doesn't know what this means, not really.

It's not about the wings or the horns, or even the dick she was so afraid of.

It's the instinct that's telling me to rut, to mate her and breed her until she's pregnant with my young. It's the insatiable need that overshadows all civilized rules, tearing past everything I've learned about human society because the beast inside me doesn't care.

It only wants her .