STORY EXCERPT

“Thanks, Sam!” Elliot told his brother as he prepared to get out of the truck.

“No problem,” Sam returned. “Come over and see the kids later.”

“Will do.” He loved his niece and nephew, though it had taken some time to get used to them being dragon shifters. It was more than a little weird. Yep, it was like a ten on the weird-o-meter, he thought with a smile.

Jumping down out of his brother’s truck, Elliot hurried toward the community building where he, Francois, and David would have supper with everyone else. While there would be food available there, many of the people living on the farm enjoying having a meal together every day, Elliot had gone into town for Tex-Mex. His gargoyle mates loved it, as did he. It was a simple thing, but something they shared in common.

Elliot hurried to get everything ready. The sun was beginning to set, a moment in time when his two mates would be released until dawn. They would have the night to be together, to talk, to hold hands, and be close. Though they were mates, the gargoyles had refused to complete the bond between them.

Being human, Elliot was still learning about the paranormals living on the farm. It was all very complicated and confusing, but he sorted out what he needed to know as it pertained to his particular situation.

The two gargoyles, along with their four brothers, had once been men. Though they remembered very little before the moment they had been cursed and changed into gargoyles, they did remember being mercenaries and fighting for a French baron, a man known for his cruelty and greed. He was power hungry, which was why he went to the expense of hiring mercenaries. Elliot didn’t like the idea of his mates having been equally cruel, willing to kill for money. But he understood it had been a very different time, and he wouldn’t judge them. At some time during their service to this baron they had been cursed by a very powerful witch or wizard, but that was where their memories became very cloudy. They had awakened one night to discover that they were in England, placed on the walls of a castle, bound to it and the man ruling it. They had remained there for nearly a thousand years, trapped until a clever caretaker realized that he could free them. As a descendant of the original master of the castle, he could release them from the spell which bound them to the castle. He had searched the Internet for months, tracing the history through the centuries of a man they had once known. He had finally discovered where Ian MacLauchlan lived. The gargoyles were then packed up and shipped to the United States from England, a huge surprise for Ian when they arrived without warning.

Elliot finished setting out everything at the large wooden table and stools made specifically for the heavy gargoyles. Then he was hurrying outside to wait for his mates. Anticipation wasn’t enough to ease the ache he felt deep inside his chest. It had been over a year since he had come to the farm and discovered an entirely new world, as well as his mates. The moment he had learned about mates, Elliot felt as if he had finally found happiness. It wasn’t something he had known at home, with his family. His brothers were okay, but their parents really had no business having children. They weren’t the worst, but they sure lacked any natural ability to parent. Elliot was grateful he and his brothers were all of age. Francois and David had let him know from the beginning that he was very important to them. They had also promised to cherish him above all others for the rest of eternity. While that was a good thing in Elliot’s book, there was one big catch. He wouldn’t be sharing an eternity with them, because they refused to bond with him until the curse was broken and they returned to their human form.

When the sunlight touched the top of the trees in the distance, Elliot ran to where Francois was perched on a carved stone base. David was only about a hundred feet away. They and their brothers helped to guard the farm at night. Though nothing funky had happened in a while, crazy witches and wizards trying to kill people, with the paranormal world as strange as it was, he doubted it would be peaceful for long.

His heart pounded in his chest as he watched his mates transform from cold, unyielding stone to warm, flesh and blood gargoyles. Though they were rather hideous to look upon, he saw beyond the oddly formed features and blood-red eyes. When he looked at them he could see the love they had for him. He felt it when they touched him or held him close.

Elliot ran and threw himself into Francois’s powerful arms. Though they had very long claws neither gargoyle had put so much as a scratch on him. He wrapped his arms around Francois’s neck, hugging him tightly. When David joined them Elliot moved into his arms, giving him the same loving greeting as he had given Francois. A sigh escaped him as he rubbed his cheek on the warm, velvety skin.

Dropping down to the ground, Elliot smiled up at his mates. “After I got off work, I stopped and got us Tex-Mex for supper and two gallons of root beer.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Watching Elliot prepare his body for their mating was nearly enough to make David drool. It was an amazing sight. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been with another, though he had vague memories of their being lovers over the centuries. There were men and women drawn to them, eager to couple with a beast, entertaining their dark desires.

That was not Elliot’s motivation. He was not drawn to them because they were odd, misshapen creatures with tortured souls. All Elliot saw were two mates, beings given to him to love for an eternity.

Uncovering his groin, David let the leather loincloth drop to the floor. He kicked it away and grabbed the base of his cock. He did chuckle when Elliot caught sight of it as he looked over his shoulder. While he had the unnatural body of a gargoyle, his cock appeared to belong to that of a human. It was long, thick, and was more pinkish flesh rather than the gray of his body. The head was a dark red, and flared, the small slit leaking a rivulet of pre-cum. Grabbing the bottle of lube, David smeared a generous amount on his length. His heart pounded as he stepped forward and touched the head of his cock to the twitching opening.

Pushing in, David held his breath, knowing they would soon learn if Elliot’s hopes were real. While he had his own hopes, he tempered them with the disappointment of a thousand years of reality. He doubted the end of the curse could be as simple as bonding with his mate, but there was a chance he was wrong.

Elliot’s whimpers of pleasure grew louder as David bottomed out, their balls slapping together, ending his dark thoughts. The trembling in his mate’s body made him forget all else but the joining of their bodies. Sliding his hands around the narrow hips, he admired the small, rounded mounds of Elliot’s buttocks and the place between where his cock was withdrawing slowly. Elliot whimpered again and wiggled his ass, obviously eager for more.

“Please, David, I want you to fuck my ass,” Elliot begged. “I need it. I need to feel you moving inside me.”

“Oh, I will be doing more than that, little one,” David promised, his voice rougher than was normal. “I will take you up to see the stars without leaving this room.”

“I hear a lot of talk. Not feeling a whole lot of action.”

Francois chuckled. “All I am hearing is…what do you call it, a smart mouth? I can take care of that.”

With a little rearranging, Francois was able to place himself in front of Elliot. A moment later, with his hand cupping the back of their mate’s head, he was feeding his rigid flesh into an eager mouth. The sight caused David’s balls to draw up close to his body. His hands tightened once more as he began to fuck Elliot’s tight asshole, watching as Francois fucked his mouth. The duel pleasures swept through David as he thrust and withdrew, pegging Elliot’s sensitive gland, and the hot silken channel stroking his cock. He let go of one hip so he could stroke the soft skin covering his mate’s body. He touched it with wonder, comparing his clawed hand to the beauty of the creamy skin.

David wanted nothing more than to be a man once more. No matter what they had done, if they had done anything at all to deserve such a curse, certainly they deserved to live as men now?

Francois coming down Elliot’s throat refocused David’s attention. He felt his own balls tighten, warning him he did not have long before he found his own pleasure. Heat swept over him, taking him closer to the edge. Elliot was begging him now, clawing at the bedcovers, as he seemingly tried to escape. David laughed and reached beneath Elliot as he leaned over him, covering his back. Curling his fingers around his mate’s cock, he began stroking it vigorously, matching the thrusts of his cock into Elliot’s ass.