Free Stone-Cold Lover by Mel Teshco

halo of sunlight, its warmth caressing his whiskered cheeks, his brow and its white puckered scar…
    Impossible! A strangled cry burst from her lips. And in human form, Cray jerked awake from where he’d slumped in a chair that was too small for his large frame.
    “I don’t…believe it,” she choked out.
    He was by her side in a nanosecond. He reached over and pressed the nurse-call button. “It’s true,” he said hoarsely, brushing a cool hand over her fevered brow. “You saved my life…and broke the curse.”
    All thoughts jammed and then bounced around her mind like the steel orb in a pinball machine. She wished she could rejoice and shout for joy. She couldn’t. Instead, she closed her eyes and weathered an overwhelming swell of anxiety.
    Her greatest wish had now become her greatest fear. He was a free man now. Free to stay…or go.
    “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked softly.
    Everything. Nothing.
    She opened her eyes. “So…what happens now?” she asked, wincing at the searing pain in her shoulder that trapped her immobile on the hospital bed.
    “ Shh .” He pressed a gentle hand to her lips. “We’ll talk later,” he murmured. “For now, you need to rest.”
    “But what about those men with guns?”
    “Don’t worry, they won’t ever hurt you again.”
    She sighed, weariness pressing around her. “You…killed them?”
    “No.” She heard an edge of regret in his voice. “All three are in the hospital too, under police guard.” His chair creaked. The pad of his thumb drifted over one side of her face. “I’m betting the officers don’t quite know what to make of their tale,” he murmured, darkness coloring his dry amusement.
    A nurse came in and they fell silent while her wound-free arm was cuffed to check her blood pressure. Loretta’s eyelids fluttered closed, and even before the nurse had finished, she felt herself drifting back into the folds of sleep.
    * * * * *
    Loretta shifted in the passenger seat as Cray keyed in a code to activate the security gates guarding a tall, luxurious apartment building.
    Her breath caught in her throat as she watched his somber expression. Was this where he’d gently break the news and tell her that he wanted his freedom?
    He drove the car down a steep ramp and into underground parking.
    “Where are we?” she asked, a lump in her throat.
    “I thought you might like to see my home.”
    “Oh…yes.” He had his own place?
    He parked the car and got out. His footsteps were a muffled staccato on the concrete as he walked around and opened the passenger door before bending low and gathering her close.
    “I’m fine…to…to walk,” she said, sounding breathless and more than a little unsteady as he hoisted her effortlessly into his arms.
    “Humor me.”
    “But what about you? I saw the blood…so much…”
    He shrugged. “What can I say? The bullet went clean through muscle and bone…and we gargoyles heal fast.”
    “So you’re still gargoyle?”
    “Yes. But it’s no longer involuntary. I can change at will.”
    “I’m glad.”
    “Really?” he asked with a raised brow, clearly unconvinced.
    “ Yes! Even with wings, you’re more human than many people I know.”
    A sigh shuddered from him. “I’m pleased you think so.”
    A little thrill arrowed down to her toes. “So, you’re a true shapeshifter now?” At his nod, she probed, “Are you aware of any other changes?”
    He managed a shrug. “Not that I’m aware of. Though whether or not I age now, or am still immortal, remains to be seen.”
    He paused at a wall with huge shiny metal doors. On a keypad he entered identification and it dawned on her that they were at a private elevator.
    “I own the building,” he said before she could formulate the question. The doors swished open and he stepped inside. “I lease it out but the penthouse suite is all mine .”
    The doors closed and little red numbers flashed as the elevator shot them smoothly skyward. She lifted a hand and