Gemma
One thing Gemma had to admit was that Theo was a fabulous kisser. Of course, her knowledge was limited on the subject, but with this kiss, he created feelings in her she had only read about in romance books. She had never imagined she would ever feel anything close to what she had read. She had just figured they were just like fairy tales – there was no such thing as Prince Charming either.
She was just about to lean in for a kiss when a loud rumbling noise filled the air. Once again, her face flamed bright red because the sound had come from her belly. She hadn’t eaten all day, and she just realized she was starving.
“Sorry,” she stammered. “I guess it’s hard to be romantic when your body parts are growling at you.”
He laughed. “No, worries. I guess I should feed you,” he said.
Theo carefully moved off Gemma’s body so he wouldn’t squash her or hurt her in any way.
As she got up, patted down her hair, and rearranged her clothes, he headed into the kitchen to check to see what he could make for dinner.
“I seem to have nothing,” he said.
He was correct. There was absolutely nothing in his refrigerator except for a couple of slices of moldy cheese.
“Don’t you eat?” she asked.
“Nothing usually cooked here,” he admitted. “I’m a decent cook, but I don’t find any reason to slave over a hot stove for just me. That just isn’t a whole lot of fun.”
“I’m going to head into town for some take-out. You can hang out here and relax, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Anything specific you want or don’t want?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not too picky. Food is good.”
“Food it is,” he said. He kissed the top of her head and said, “I’ll be back quick as I can.”
She decided to take the opportunity while he was gone to take a shower. She had taken one that morning before she had crashed in her Las Vegas hotel room, but that seemed like it had been days ago.
Gemma thought about Theo while the hot water cascaded over her body. She had felt his body while he lay on top of her, although he had held himself up with his elbows. His chest was hard, and she could imagine what it would be like to touch him and explore his chest with her hands. She could almost feel him under her fingers.
His hair was thick but soft. She wondered if he had that little bit of hair sprinkled across his chest she had always fantasized about.
She noticed she was starting to breathe heavily and feeling warmth between her legs, and she was shocked at herself. Gemma had never had these kinds of thoughts about anyone.
Theo was hot. She knew he had a sexy body. Despite the fact he had tried to kill her this morning, he was willing to go way beyond expected means to save her from a fate that her pack believed she was destined for. Maybe he was her Prince Charming after all. More like a knight in shining armor.
She finished her shower and had just finished dressing and brushing her hair when she heard Theo calling her. Even though she knew she was safe here, she still had her trusty bag wrapped around her waist.
“I hope you like Chinese food,” he said as he put a couple of plastic bags decorated with pictures of pandas on the table.
Her stomach rumbled loudly again, complaining it was empty and required to be filled immediately.
“My organs speak for me,” she said.
“Impressive,” he said.
She started unpacking the food and setting everything out while he grabbed plates and a couple sodas.
“Are we expecting other people?” she asked, laughing.
“No. You were hungry, and I didn’t know exactly what you would like, so I got some of almost everything,” he said.
She used her chopsticks like an expert, digging in. She was so hungry, she didn’t think she was ever going to be full. Finally, though, her tummy felt satisfied.
While they ate, they got to know each other.
“I have a couple of engineering companies,” he said. “Since I was a tiny dragon, I have loved knowing how things were put together. So, I created a couple of businesses. My employees have designed buildings all over the world. Savannah loved the architecture of buildings, so we started an architecture firm, as well. Every building that came from that company has at least one gargoyle on it somewhere. She loved the things.”
“I do, too,” she said. “They protect buildings from evil spirits. They are found all over the world. I just came back to the United States from Spain. While I had been hiding out in Rhodes, I did go to Toledo to see the gargoyles on the San Juan de Los Reyes Monastery and the ones at Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and on the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona. There were some others I wanted to see in Spain, but I had to leave. They had found me.”
Theo smiled. “Savannah and I went to all of those. We were heading to France because she wanted to see the gargoyles at Notre Dame, but we had to cut our visit short.”
Gemma noticed a flash of sadness crossed his face when he said this, so she guessed the reason they cut their visit short had something to do with her death.
“It’s too bad she wasn’t alive when I was a kid, and we had been friends then. There used to be a cartoon on television about gargoyles who protected a city. They came alive at night and flew around. It was calledGargoyles,” Gemma said.
He nodded. “She would have watched it, even as an adult,” he said, smiling.
