Free Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) by Stacey Rourke Page A

at its highest the bond will be broken.”
    And you’ll be gone.
    A wide smile of genuine happiness spread across his face. “No reason the celebration can’t start now, aye? I’ll get a cozy fire goin’ in the fireplace, we’ll crack open the bottle of wine I brought—because ya’r of legal drinkin’ age here in lovely Ir’land—then we’ll toast my last night as a demon and the beginnin’ of our human life together.” He hooked his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me close for a quick kiss, then darted off whistling.
    I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and watched him work. How do you act normal when it feels like your world just imploded? Was it possible to go through the motions of normalcy when all I wanted to do was lay down and cry? This wasn’t the first time I had pondered that question. Right after Daddy died I asked Grams how we could possibly go on without him. She had swiped at her own tears with a handkerchief and answered, “We’ll keep breathing, keep moving, and trust time to do its job and heal our hearts.”  
    I let th e memory of those words resonate through me and tried to steady my breath. I forced one foot in front of the other all the way to the weathered rocking chair by the fireplace. My gaze stayed locked on Caleb. I wanted to memorize every inch of him, to be able to recall even the subtlest nuances. The strong line of his jaw. That wonderful area just below his hairline on the back of his neck that I found so soft and touchable. How his silky hair felt when I ran it between my fingers. How right it felt when his strong arms pulled me in close …
    “Celeste? Are ya listenin’ tah a word I’m sayin’, lovey?”
    I expelled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding . “No. I really wasn’t,” I admitted with the best flirty smirk I could manage. It felt so awkward and uncomfortable I could only imagine it made me look constipated. “I was busy admiring the view.”
    He scooted across the floor and knelt beside my chair. “I know ya’r troubled, love. And I know why. But I need ya tah know that I’m gonna be okay. If I died tomorrow it wouldn’t be a loss. Not for me. Because I have you.” He gently pressed his palm to my face and used his thumb to wipe away the lone tear that snuck down my cheek. “Ya’r all I want, and all I’ll e’er need. And even though me being human scares ya, it thrills me tah no end. Because now we have a chance at a real life together. One I couldn’t have offered ya before.”
    Caleb’s hand hovered over mine. Black smoke puffed in the space between them. I glanced down at my hand while Caleb shifted his position. My mouth fell open. A diamond solitaire set between two emeralds had materialized on the ring finger of my left hand.
    NO! My brain screamed. This can’t be what I think it is, because that’s too painful for any person to bear!
    The raven-haired soon-to-be ex-demon dropped to one knee before me and took my hand. There were words. Wonderfully, sweet words that I couldn’t hear over the sound of my heart breaking. His traditional ending of, “Celeste Marie Garrett, will ya marry me?” stabbed into my heart like a hooked dagger meant not only to puncture, but to rip the beating muscle right from my chest.
    T ears streaked down my cheeks in torrents and blurred my vision. Fate served as a wicked enchantress with a twisted and cruel sense of humor yet tonight I refused to let her win. Tomorrow my life would be a shattered mess from which I may never recover. But on this night I planned to act on my desires—with no regrets.
    “Yes ,” I hiccupped and fell into his arms.
    The sensual caress of his hair against my cheek awoke a passionate urgency in me. I needed the contact of his skin on mine more than I had ever needed anything in my life. My desire awoke with a vengeance and I hungrily brought my lips to his.
    Caleb caught my face and pulled back, questions written all over his face. “Love, ya’r