Page 5

"Traitor!"

I grin. “Looks like he left you here all alone with me.” I take another step closer, unable to fight this strange pull.

“Fucking little brother,” he murmurs under his breath before turning his gaze back up to me, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. "Yeah. Looks like it's just you and me, big guy."

“I’m Ryker,” I say, tossing his ruined marshmallow into the embers and grabbing a fresh one from the bag on the nearby picnic table. I impale it on a clean stick before holding it over the golden flames, but far enough from the fire to bake it through without burning the exterior. “Ethan’s your brother?” They don’t really look similar. Maybe one of them is adopted?

“Yup. Baby brother. He got our mom’s Irish genes, while I inherited my dad’s Korean side.” He steps closer, leaning his shoulder against a nearby wooden post. He watches my hands with interest, his gaze wandering to the intricate line work of my dark wings before trailing back up to my face. "And I see you’re a gargoyle with a rescue complex. So noble. Do all gargoyles give out a complimentary s'more lesson, or am I just that lucky?"

"Definitely lucky," I murmur, slowly rotating the skewer as the marshmallow turns into a pretty toasted brown. "Because I don't usually share my secrets with just anyone. You have to earn it."

"Earn it?" He smirks. "Darling, my presence alone is a reward. Ask anyone."

"Is that so?" My lips twitch. I turn the marshmallow one last time, watching the sugary skin crackle faintly. "A celebrity in our midst?"

"Something like that," he purrs, even closer now. Like this, I can smell his subtle, intoxicating blend of sweet vanilla and something that reminds me of cotton candy. "Though tonight, I'm just a regular student trying to get a decent sugar rush, rather than shit faced drunk."

I sandwich the toasted marshmallow between two thick graham crackers and a generous slab of milk chocolate, squishing it down until the warm, gooey center oozes out the sides in a perfect melt. I hold it out to him like a precious offering.

“Go on. Prove me wrong, sweet cheeks.”

He takes the s'more, his painted fingernails reflecting in the firelight. With a slow, deliberate bite, his eyes flutter shut. He makes a soft, sensual moan that makes me hard.

“Fuck me. That’s really good,” he hums, opening his pretty brown eyes. He wipes a tiny speck of melted chocolate from the corner of his lip with his thumb, then absentmindedly licks it off. “Alright, gargoyle. You win. That’s actually really fucking ridiculous. It’s crispy, and soft, and damn, it’s a million times better than mine.”

“I told you,” I say softly, leaning down until my breath brushes the shell of his ear, enjoying the slight shiver that runs through his body. “I’m full of all kinds of dangerous surprises.”

He turns his head, his face inches from mine. The confidence in his gaze is undeniable, but there’s a subtle blush creeping up his neck that tells me he’s just as affected by the proximity as I am.

“Dangerous, huh?” he teases, his fingers tracing the muscles in my left arm. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Monster gods, we are being cheesy as fuck, but I’m having a lot of fun. When was the last time someone flirted with me? Or better yet, when was the last time I actually wanted to flirt back? "You never told me your name," I remind him.

"Teagan," he says, flashing me a sassy smile. He takes another bite of his s'more, savoring it before gesturing toward Ethan, who’s jogging back over with two plastic red cups in hand. "And as much as I'd love to stay and let you feed me delicious treats all night, my brother is giving me the 'it's time to go' look."

"Hey, Teag, let me introduce you to a few of my friends. They’re dying to meet you," Ethan says as he approaches. He glances back and forth between me and Teagan with an amused, knowing grin. "Nice to meet you, big guy. But I’m stealing my brother back."

"Nice to meet you," I nod to Ethan, before turning my full attention back to Teagan.

Teagan takes a slow step backward, his eyes lingering on mine with a playful sparkle. "Thanks for the rescue, Ryker. Maybe I’ll see you around campus... if you’re lucky enough to spot me again."

“Oh, I don't need luck, Teagan,” I say, letting a wicked, razor-sharp grin spread across my face as I flex my wings once behind my back. “I’m very good at keeping my eyes on things that catch my attention.”

Teagan lets out a soft chuckle and shakes his head. He waves before he turns to walk away with his brother. There’s a sexy-as-sin sway to his hips that’s both effortless and hypnotic. It takes everything within me to not chase after the pretty human.

I stand by the crackling fire, watching him leave. My heart thuds heavily against my chest, a sensation so intense and grounding it almost startles me.

For ten years, I've felt like a ghost drifting through a world I didn't belong to. But standing here, tasting the faint lingering sweetness of marshmallows on the breeze, I don't feel lost at all.

Chapter three

Teagan

The warmth of the fire stays with me all the way to the edge of the clearing, the smoky marshmallow scent lingering in the air. My cheeks hurt from all my smiling I’ve done tonight.

“—and then he told the advisor that he wanted to major in Monster Anatomy, but I’m pretty sure he just wants to bang that hot huldrekall, especially after seeing him streak across campus,” Ethan says beside me, gesturing wildly with his red plastic cup, liquid sloshing over the side. Considering he’s only twenty, and I’m his older brother, I should probably stop him from drinking, but since the legal age in Korea is nineteen, we’ve already gone out drinking several times whenever he came to visit. Stopping him now would be kind of weird, especially since there’re plenty of underage humans and monsters drinking around us. Plus, I’m here to make sure he’s safe.

Ethan continues to talk about how hot a monster named Caleb is before launching into another story. I nod along, wondering if he’s half as hot as a particular gargoyle I just met. “Mmmhmm. Wow. Crazy,” I murmur, completely tuned out.