Gargoyle (Woodland Creek) (9 page)

Again, the Mayor chuckled quietly. “Hanna and I met some time ago. She said many things. None of them I truly enjoyed hearing. One of them being that I needed to follow your lead.”

Jonathan stared. “And?”

“And the rest was for my own ears, no one else’s.”

“Give me a hint.”

His head dipped back down, holding Jonathan’s gaze. “It was nothing to do with this situation.”

Jonathan sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair once more. “What is she doing?”

“What she always does.”

A snort. “How the hell is this keeping the peace?”

“That’s not all she does.”

Quiet grunt. “That’s for damn sure.”

I cleared my throat when they paused, a bit irritated at being left out. “What past are you talking about that Hanna knows about?”

Silence was all that met me, no one moving.

Both men began to quietly glare at one another.

Jonathan’s jaw started ticking, his eyes narrowed. “She wouldn’t do this.”

Isaac grunted. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

Red brows furrowed. “This makes
no
sense.”

“No. No, it doesn’t.”

It became quiet again.

Jonathan ran a hand through his hair again, glancing at me. His black eyes ran over my face unhurriedly, seeing my clear confusion. Plush lips thinned, and then he peered back to Isaac. He jerked forward on his feet, prowling straight to the Mayor, who tensed the barest bit, but didn’t sidestep him.

My jaw dropped as Jonathan leaned forward and cupped Isaac’s cheeks. And planted his mouth directly on his. Supreme shock held me utterly immobile as Jonathan tilted his head, his eyes closed. His lips brushed in gentle strokes over Isaac’s mouth.
So damn gently
. My eyes were enormous on my face, my jaw hanging open, as Isaac’s eyes fluttered shut…and he kissed him back, his body still tense, rock solid from the appearance of his straining muscles. But he still raised his hands and threaded his fingers roughly through Jonathan’s hair.

Their kiss deepened.

Almost like a dam breaking around them, they pressed against each other, their height the same, all their hard muscles pressing against each other.

Utter confusion swamped me as I stared, sucking in a massive lung full of air, the emotion overriding my shock. I even shook my head to clear it, but the scene was still the same in front of me. Their mouths…
pressed together
…caressing and stroking each other with
a lot
of damn hunger. I repeatedly blinked, my brows damn near touching each other.

It was when a deep moan filtered through the air—from my man—and I saw their mouths open and…
tongues met
…that my confusion sped away like a racecar. Jealousy and fury entered my veins like a bubbling caldron. I growled softly in my throat, my fists clenched. My feet were already moving as I raced across the room.

I grabbed Jonathan’s hair and jerked hard as hell.

His head snapped back, and he stumbled backward a few paces, grunting and grabbing his hair as I released him. I slapped his face harder than shit, my jaw clenched and cheeks flushed, and now standing between them. His head jerked to the left from my blow, and I shouted, “What the
hell
was that?”

My gaze snapped to the other man who was breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed.

Ah, hell.
Why not?

I reared my fist back and jumped, punching him as hard as I could across his cheek.

Landing, I wobbled a step, treading on their feet, watching as Isaac grabbed his cheek as his head jerked with my blow. I pointed a finger straight at his face, turning so I fully faced him, keeping my man and him away from each other. “He is
mine
. Not yours.
Past
, present, or future. Don’t you
ever
fucking kiss him like that.”

In the absolute silence that filled the air, my finger still pointed in the Mayor’s face, fury was running amok inside me—a haze of possessiveness running through my veins—I felt Jonathan’s palms land on my hips from behind. I instantly lowered my own and roughly swatted his away. I turned on my heel, and started roughly shoving his chest, making him
move
back across the room, my voice unlike I had ever heard it before as I hissed with each shove, “Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again.”

He grunted as his back banged against the wall.

I kept a hand on his chest where his heartbeat was thumping heavily under my palm, firmly holding him there as I tilted, my head snapping back to the Mayor, where he now stood with a carefully neutral expression, one hand in his pocket, the other scratching his chin absently. Too bad his cheeks were still flushed and his lips were even rosier than they normally were. I pointed my finger at the door, ordering him brutally, “
Get the fuck out of my home
.”

Hell, my breathing was louder than theirs, my chest heaving forcefully.

Brutal quiet weighed the air.

Jonathan rested his large palm gently on top of my hand on his chest. “Peanut, calm down.”

The hell with that. “Fuck you. You just
kissed
him.” I jerked my attention from the Mayor, glaring at my man. “We’re going to church.”

His expression instantly cracked from detachment to one of exasperation. “I am not going to church. How many times do I have to tell you this?”

My eyes narrowed to mere slits. “The fact that you think it is all right to kiss someone else in front of me is a perfect indication that you need to go.”

He merely stared. “I won’t go to church.” His palm on top of mine gently curved, holding my hand against his chest. His gaze was patient. “And he’s not leaving. The three of us need to talk.”

Instant. “No.” I jerked my hand away from his, and stepped back a few steps, but still stayed between them. “There will be no talking. I don’t give a shit that you two had a past together. You are mine now. Not his. I want him to leave.” My nose crinkled. “He is a
shifter
, Jonathan.”

It was quiet for a beat, and then Isaac snorted. “You sure as hell didn’t care that I was a shifter a month ago.” His plush lips curved ever so slightly, and the devil gleamed in his eyes as he stared at me. “Even when the spell ended,” he hummed quietly as my shoulders stiffened, “we didn’t stop.”

My breath caught in my chest, and I quickly slammed my gaze to Jonathan, mumbling hurriedly at his blanking expression, “We were already…” I waved my hands at each other, “…in the act.”

Isaac chuckled softly. Complete arrogance. “Now, now, Kennedy. You seem to be skirting around the truth to your advantage. I gave you the chance to stop. You didn’t take it. In fact, you kissed me if memory hasn’t failed me.”

I growled under my breath, baring my teeth at the damn Mayor. “You are a fucking asshole.” I leaned to grab my plate off the pristine table…and chucked it straight at his head. He easily ducked and danced to the side, my plate shattering against the red and black striped wallpaper lining the wall my couch rested against. I jammed my pointed finger at the door. “Quit trying to wreck us even further! You. Can’t. Have. Him. Now, get out of my home!”

The Mayor merely smiled with the barest flash of his white teeth between his lips. “You don’t technically have him either. Not when he kissed me like that.”

In that mere statement, the simple breath that it took him to say those words, all of my fury melted away. The possessiveness that I had felt was still there, but I crossed my arms as my stomach churned, falling back into the reality of the situation.

I felt cold.
Alone
. My bones chilled with it as misery made my shoulders slump.

He was right.

Jonathan muttered a curse and shoved off the wall. He waved a sharp, agitated hand at the Mayor, his tone just as brutal. “Cut the shit out, Isaac.” Black eyes turned to me. His features were still quiet, but his gaze may have softened a smidge, his tone gentle. “He’s playing a game with you. You don’t understand what he’s doing.”

My lips pinched. “Or maybe you don’t understand his game.” I shook my head slightly, holding my arms tighter around myself. “He came here. Stayed here. Has done everything in his power to make this happen. He
wanted
you to know about that night, about us together, and he sure as hell didn’t move away when you,” I choked on the words, taking a step back from him, “
kissed
him.”

Jonathan’s eyes didn’t leave mine, his tone still quiet. Patient. “I know, Peanut.”

My eyes narrowed. “You’re being condescending.”

He held up his hands in supplication. “I’m not. I swear.” A soft shake of his head. “You’re just missing what he’s doing.”

My eyes stayed narrowed, but I jerked them to the Mayor. “Then what
are
you up to?”

His own black brows were furrowed, a slightly aggravated expression. “How old are you?”

My shoulders jutted back at his tone, my chin lifting, and my tone curt. “I’m twenty-two.” I tapped my fingers on my crossed arms. “How old are you?”

“I’m thirty-five.” Isaac’s brows didn’t move, still slanted. His head cocked ever so slightly as he slowly eyed me from head to toe before his expression cleared. “And you’re a human.”

I snorted. “Really? I hadn’t figured that—”

“No,” he stated sharply, interrupting me. Once more, he scratched his chin distractedly. “Again, you misunderstand. I mean you are a
human
. You are not used to the games and intrigue of a shifter. It is a normal way of keeping ourselves entertained.”

And…I was beginning to feel really ignorant.

Like,
massively
inept.

My expression instantly blanked, and even though I kept my arms crossed protectively. I peered directly at Jonathan and forced my tone to be bored. “Explain what I am missing. Please.”

His jaw ground together. Glancing once at Isaac, who merely lifted a black brow, he then turned those black eyes back on me. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. His voice was more than a tad bit growly. “He’s not just attracted to me, Peanut.” He inhaled and exhaled heavily. “He’s also attracted to you.”

My blink was ever so gradual. “And?”

We’d had sex. It hadn’t been
bad
sex.

The attraction was normal.

His chuckle was gravelly. “I believe he has it in his mind for the three of us to attempt a relationship.” Both of his red brows rose when my jaw began to slacken. “The three of us.
Together
.”

My widening gaze couldn’t be stopped. “Uh…” a slow blink on drying eyes, “no.” Like on autopilot, my head turned bit-by-bit to Isaac, meeting his sparkling, stunning green gaze. “No.”

Black brows gradually rose. “Why…
no
?”

My mouth bobbed for the barest moment, and then my cheeks betrayed me as I blushed furiously. “Isaac, I think it is
you
who really needs to go to church.”

Jonathan made the oddest sound in his throat, but quickly cleared it, even banging on his chest a few times with one of his fists. He turned his attention to Isaac’s studiously blank countenance, and stated evenly, “Kennedy recently took up faith. She’s been a devoted follower ever since.”

Isaac stood perfectly still…but he also made a
bubbling
sound. It was odd. It came from his chest I was pretty sure. He started coughing. Hard. He lifted a finger, then quickly turned and headed straight for my kitchen. The refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of water, twisted the cap off, and proceeded to guzzle the entire contents down.

Wiping off his mouth with the back of his hand, he gently placed the empty on my counter. He gradually turned to face us, his face still as blank after his coughing fit. Sparkling green eyes met mine. “You’re full of faith, yes?”

My chin tipped up further. “I am.”

He blinked slowly. “Well…” another blink, “that is an interesting piece to this puzzle.”

“It’s not a puzzle,” I clarified. “There will be no
three
of us.” I dropped my arms and headed to my purse on the end table. “You know, I think I have a card in here for the church. They have a helpline you might like to call. There’s always a minister there to answer—”

“Peanut,” Jonathan stated loudly, making me stop in my tracks and peer back at him. He appeared pretty damn amused, even as Isaac reached into my fridge and grabbed a beer this time. Jonathan shook his head slightly, his red hair brushing his cheekbones. “No helpline.”

I pointed vaguely in my purse’s direction. “But the Mayor could—”

“No,” Isaac cut me off. “He’s right. No church for me. I’m far beyond redemption.”

I shook my head. “No one’s past redemption. You only need to have faith.”

He hummed quietly. “Let’s say you are correct. I still don’t want the card.”

I huffed quietly and crossed my arms again. “Okay.” He needed it, though.

Isaac took a long swig from the beer bottle, eyeing me over it. “Just for clarification’s sake, now that I know you believe in God, do you agree or disagree with homosexuality?”

I snorted, completely affronted. Righteous indignation filled me. “Just because I’m a believer doesn’t mean that I’m biased. I believe in love and faith. I don’t care if two people of the same sex are together, but I do agree that it should only be
two
in a relationship. Anything further is a,” I shook my head the tiniest bit, “…
sin
.”

Black brows rose. “And you don’t believe that sex out of wedlock is a sin?”

My mouth snapped shut. I didn’t really have an answer for that.

He chuckled quietly, his eyes even creasing with it. “So, you’re one of those people that believe some sins are worse than others?”

Eyes narrowed, I muttered, “It’s not quite like that. Plus, I’m not a saint.” I shrugged. “I merely have boundaries.”

He snorted softly. “And yet, you still screamed my name, not God’s, when I took you to heaven.” He lifted his beer in my direction, cheers to me with the gesture, a wicked grin gracing his stunning features. “Again…and again…and many more agains.”

My jaw dropped. “You are crude.” Still flustered, I quickly peered to Jonathan. “I…that…wasn’t…”