23. Graeme

23

GRAEME

I n the days after our visit with Velda, it felt like a renewed fire had been lit under Ecco and myself. It went unspoken, but the visit reminded us both of the precariousness of our situation. We cooped up in our room, figuring out all the intricacies of the honeymoon suite.

We've made good use of the heart-shaped jacuzzi, explored the depths of the pleasure chest, and done unspeakable things in the shower.

But this morning is a first. I wake up with a groan, increasingly aware of the sensation of Ecco's hot mouth working its way down my torso.

I reach a hand out to her—or at least I try to.

The damned woman has tied me to the bed in my sleep.

I tug gently at my bonds. My legs are free but my hands are tied down, pinning me to the bed, my wings caught useless underneath me.

Part of me wants to laugh at Ecco's audacity, at the sheer gall it must have taken for her to tie me down while I slept. The other part bristles at the thought of being restrained, of not being able to move freely if a threat were to arise.

"Ecco," I say, my voice still rough with sleep. "How in the name of the gods did you manage this without waking me?"

She lifts her head from where she's been trailing kisses along my stomach, a mischievous grin lighting up her face. "Turns out you're a really heavy sleeper, Graeme Grigori."

I blink at her, momentarily stunned. I've always been a notoriously light sleeper, my senses honed by years of training. The fact that Ecco managed to tie me down without rousing me shows how deeply I've let my guard down with her. How much I've come to trust her.

It's a vulnerability I've never allowed myself before.

"Ha, ha," I grumble, tugging on the restraints again. They're not overly tight, but secure enough that I can't easily slip free. "You've had your fun, little siren. Now untie me. What if something happens and I need to protect you?"

Ecco crawls up my body, her hot flesh sliding deliciously against mine as she presses soft kisses along my jaw. She nuzzles into my neck, her lips brushing my ear.

"The ties aren't that tight, my big strong male," she whispers. "I'm sure if you really needed to protect me, you could tear right out of them." She nips at my earlobe. "But in the meantime, barring any major incidents, maybe you could just play along? It's my turn to take the lead."

Her seductive purr sends a jolt of need through me, desire warring with my protective instincts. I grumble my reluctant assent, my body already responding to her touch.

Ecco kisses her way back down my torso, her clever mouth and wicked tongue stoking the flames of my arousal with every brush of her lips against my skin. She reaches the top of my pajama pants, my erection straining against the fabric, and pulls them down unceremoniously.

Then she takes me into her mouth without preamble, the wet heat engulfing me and making me groan. Ecco works me with lips and tongue, driving me to the brink embarrassingly quickly. I groan, my head falling back against the pillow at the unbelievable feeling of her.

Just before I reach the point of no return, Ecco pulls me out of her mouth and crawls up to straddle my hips.

"I want you to show me what this tail can do," she says, reaching back to stroke the sensitive appendage. "I can't stop thinking about how you have the ability to take me from the front and back at the same time, and I want to try it, Graeme. If that's okay."

I suck in a sharp breath. "Are you sure, Ecco?" For gargoyles, tail play is an intensely intimate act, something I've only ever done with my own kind before. But I want to explore this new level of closeness with Ecco.

Ecco leans down to press a soft kiss to my lips. "I'm very sure," she murmurs against my mouth. "I want to feel all of you, Graeme. I want to experience every way we can be intimate together."

Her words send a bolt of pure need lancing through me. Gods, this female will be the death of me.

"Okay," I rasp, trying desperately to hold back. "But we'll need lubrication."

Ecco grins, reaching over to the nightstand. She brandishes a bottle of lube that she's pulled from the pleasure chest, wiggling it triumphantly. "Already got it covered, big guy."

I chuckle, shaking my head in amazement. "You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

"I'm nothing if not prepared," she quips, popping open the cap.

Ecco slicks up my tail with a liberal amount of lube, her deft fingers stroking and massaging until the appendage is glistening. She also squirts some onto her ass.

"Tail first?" she asks.

I nod. "Let's make sure you're comfortable before we do everything."

She positions herself over my hips again, reaching back to guide my tail to her puckered entrance. We both groan as the tip breaches her tight ring of muscles. Ecco sinks down slowly, easing me into her.

It feels unbelievable. My tail is not quite as sensitive as my cock, but it's still filled with nerve endings and she's so tight around me.

Ecco takes a deep breath, her body gradually adjusting to the foreign intrusion. I watch her face intently, ready to stop at the first sign of discomfort. But Ecco's expression is one of concentration and growing pleasure, her brows knitted and her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Gods, Graeme," she pants as she takes me deeper. "The way you fill me, it's incredible."

Pride and possessiveness swell in my chest at her words. I want to be the only one who gets to see her like this—uninhibited, confidently chasing her pleasure.

Once my tail is fully seated inside her, Ecco pauses, her chest heaving and her thighs trembling. I flex the appendage experimentally and she cries out, her head falling back in ecstasy.

"Please, Graeme," she whimpers. "I need more."

With a groan, I surge up to capture her lips in a kiss, pulling against the bonds at my wrists. At the same time, Ecco reaches between us to grasp my rigid cock, lining me up with her soaked entrance.

She thrusts herself down on top of me. The dual sensation of being sheathed in both her ass and pussy is almost too much to bear.

I growl into her mouth, my hands fisting in their restraints as I fight the urge to tear free and grab her hips, to take control of our rhythm.

Ecco sets a slow, torturous pace, rising up until just the tip of my cock remains inside her before sinking back down, taking me to the hilt. She grinds her hips in a sensual figure eight, squeezing me with her silken walls.

"Fuck, Ecco," I grit out between clenched teeth. "You're killing me here."

She leans forward, changing the angle of penetration and making us both groan. "At least you'll die happy, right?"

Ecco rides me harder then, the coil of her body tightening as she chases her release. I thrust up to meet her as best I can while bound, reveling in the exquisite slide of our joined flesh.

"Graeme, I'm close," she whimpers, grinding down on me with increasing urgency.

"Let go, baby," I say. I flex my tail inside her, stroking that spot that makes her keen.

Ecco shatters with a hoarse cry, her inner walls clenching around my cock and tail in rhythmic pulses as her orgasm crashes over her.

She comes apart above me and it sends me hurtling over the edge. With a guttural groan, I find my own release, spilling myself deep inside her welcoming body.

Ecco collapses on top of me, her face nestled in the crook of my neck as we both struggle to catch our breath. I nuzzle my nose into her hair, breathing in the intoxicating scent of her—vanilla and jasmine, a hint of the ocean, and now the musky aroma of our lovemaking.

"That was..." I trail off, unable to find a word that adequately describes it.

"Earth-shattering? Mind-blowing?" Ecco supplies, her voice muffled against my skin. She reaches down to undo the ties around my wrists. "The best sex of my entire existence?"

I chuckle, the sound rumbling through my chest, and wrap an arm and then a wing around her. "All the above."

We lapse into a comfortable silence, basking in the afterglow of our intense coupling. Ecco traces idle patterns on my chest with her fingertip, her touch feather-light and soothing.

After a few moments, she tilts her head to look up at me, a victorious glimmer in her eyes. "So tell me again about how all you do are one-night stands."

I chuckle ruefully, shaking my head as I meet Ecco's playful gaze. "You've already shattered that notion to pieces, little siren. Obliterated it beyond recognition."

My expression sobers as I brush a lock of hair from her face, tucking it tenderly behind her ear.

"I meant what I said before, Ecco. I've never been in a relationship. It was tough to fathom having one in my line of work."

I take a deep breath, my heart pounding as I prepare to lay myself bare before her.

"When I told you I'd never slept with the same female more than once, I was being honest. Opening myself up, allowing someone close enough to be a vulnerability, went against everything I've ever been taught. You know that my oath to my clan has always come first to me."

Ecco tenses slightly in my arms and I hurry to continue, needing her to understand.

"But you, Ecco… you've changed everything for me. Turned my whole world upside down." I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs caressing her soft cheeks as I stare deep into those captivating violet eyes. "You're headstrong and impulsive and you have a knack for finding trouble. You drive me absolutely insane sometimes."

Ecco's lips purse playfully. "Is this leading somewhere nice, or redo those ties and leave you here for a while?"

"Yes, it's going somewhere nice," I say. "It's because I like you so damn much. I didn't know I could feel this way about another person."

The words are pouring out of me now, a torrent of emotion I can no longer hold back. "I want to protect you, Ecco. More than I've ever wanted to protect anyone, or anything."

I realize as I say the words that they're true; I want to protect her even more than our clan's mountain pass. It's a dangerous thought that I'll have to revisit later.

I stroke her cheek again. "I'd like to be with you, Ecco. If you'll have me. I can't imagine being anywhere but by your side."

Ecco grins, an incandescent look that lights up the room. "Really? That's what I want, too—honestly, what I've wanted from the first moment I saw you. I was afraid of the way I felt, since I didn't know if you'd want something like that."

"I do. This is new for me, though. I'm not sure how to do this, how to be with someone romantically. I'm really fucking afraid of hurting you."

Ecco snuggles closer, her head resting on my chest as she draws lazy patterns on my skin with her fingertip. "Don't worry, big guy. My skin is plenty thick—I've been hurt before and survived. I can handle a little risk."

A growl tears out of my throat at her casual mention of past hurts. My arms tighten around her reflexively.

"Give me their names," I demand, my voice dangerous. "I'll make sure they never hurt you again."

Ecco laughs softly, the sound soothing my bristling protective instincts. She presses a tender kiss over my heart.

"Everyone before you is inconsequential, Graeme. Ancient history. You don't need to worry about them."

Ecco tilts her head up to meet my gaze.

"But if any of them do show their faces again, who should I say is looking for them? My bodyguard?"

Her lips curve into an impish smile.

"Or… my boyfriend?"

My heart stutters at the label, a thrill racing through me. I never thought such a simple word could fill me with so much satisfaction, so much rightness.

I press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Both," I murmur against her skin. "I'm both."

I never knew how right that word would sound. Boyfriend .