Excerpt from Heat

~~Excerpt from HEAT, a gargoyle shifter romance by Lisa Carlisle~~

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱. "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧."

She gauged the distance between her and the pepper spray behind the bar.

"I came to see what you were doing tonight. Thought maybe we could hang out?" 

The way he slurred the words indicated he'd already had one too many, a bad sign.

She felt a tiny movement under her hand.

No, she had to be losing her mind. As if stone could move.

"Definitely not. The restraining order should have made that clear."

She kept her hand on the stone like a security blanket, almost gripping it now that Brian had arrived. 

"Babe, I was in a rough place and I took it out on you. Let's put the past behind us and try again." He approached her. "I would never hurt you again."

The cold stone felt warmer beneath her hand. How strange. Was she so heated from the tension that her palm could warm cool stone?

"Don't come any closer." She moved to get to her purse behind the bar.

The gargoyle statue behind him changed color, turning from gray stone to what appeared to be--flesh.

The stone wings of the gargoyle statue unfurled into enormous sleek, gray ones. The gargoyle reshaped itself, rising from a crouched position to stand on two legs to a full height well over six feet.

Horns receded into his head and golden hair sprouted to take their place, growing well below impressively broad shoulders. Within a few seconds, the stone creature transformed into a massive man.

She shrieked and then fumbled for her purse to search for the spray. Who should she direct it at now?

 

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