Sorceress Hunting (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 3) by Lisa Blackwood Page A

managed. When his head was resting comfortably on one of his folded
forearms, he rolled his eyes in her direction, still not saying anything, just
waiting for her to make the next move.
    Lillian needed to fill the silence with something more
than tension. “Did you know I was supposed to start college this fall? I was so
pleased I got accepted—I didn’t think I would, because I was homeschooled. At
twenty, I’d already be a couple years older than most other students going in.
I figured what the hell, so what if I was twenty and not eighteen. I wanted to
become a massage therapist.”
    She reached across him to snatch up the massage oil
where she’d left it warming close to the fire. His ears lifted from his mane to
track her movements but he didn’t otherwise move. “I knew Gran wasn’t happy
about my decision to attend college. I didn’t know why, since I planned to come
back and practice at the Spa once I was finished school.” Pouring a little oil
into the palm of her hand, she started on the muscles between his wings,
working her way slowly upward to his shoulders. He shifted slightly and sighed
deeply, tension flowing out from him as she worked.
    “In truth, I’m not sure if I could have left you. I
didn’t understand it at the time, but I was becoming more and more drawn to
you,” she laughed self-consciously, “a stone statue. Now it also makes sense
why Gran didn’t want me to leave. She was protecting me like you’d asked. What
would you have done if the Riven hadn’t attacked me back in the spring? What if
you hadn’t awoken early from your healing sleep?”
    “You wouldn’t have left me, not for long.” He huffed
softly, his ears swiveling in her direction again. “But had you somehow managed
to fight the draw between us long enough to have traveled any great distance, I
would have awoken and followed you. Although, I wouldn’t have been very happy
to find you’d left me behind.”
    Lillian laughed. “I can imagine how our first meeting
would have gone under those circumstances.”
    The idle talk had calmed her nerves and she continued,
much more relaxed.
    Unhurried, she made her way lower, paying special
attention to the joints of his wings, which made him practically squirm, and
then his sides. To her delight, she found he was ticklish there, too. When she
moved on to his lower back, he sighed again, relaxing now that she was away
from the ticklish zone. As she worked her way down, she hit the upper edge of
his towel. She traced along the terrycloth’s edges, a delicate caress, and then
she reached for the knot at the side, where he’d tied the two together.
    Gregory held himself perfectly still as she worked at
the knot—he seemed calm and relaxed outwardly, but she felt the line of tension
run through his muscles in what could only be anticipation. When she glanced
upward at his face, she found him watching her with half closed eyes, their
dark depths giving nothing away.
    She got the knot untied and tapped him on the hip.
“Up,” she ordered as she grabbed another towel warming by the fire. He came to
his knees, and she took the damp towels from his bath and tossed them off to
the side. He lowered himself back down to the mat with another contented sigh,
and she laid one of the fire warmed towels across his hips.
    Starting at his flanks, she alternately worked her
palm into his warm muscles and then used her fingers to work out any knots of
tension she found. Once she’d conquered those, she skimmed her fingers down one
powerful thigh. She knew how sensitive the joints of his wings were, and a
sudden spike of wickedness had her switching from his thighs to the more
sensitive base of his tail.
    At the first touch, he hissed something
unintelligible, and the tip of his tail thumped almost violently against the
floor. His wings threatened to unfurl and knock away her tormenting touch.
    Taking pity on him, she moved on down his nearest leg,
going slow and thorough until she reached