Stone Passions Trilogy by A. C. Warneke Page A

wasn’t the father. But it would be too late, they would have been married. And she would be stuck in a loveless marriage with mediocre sex and a baby that she didn’t know from where it came.
    Okay, so she was getting way, way, way ahead of herself and she could almost guarantee that she wasn’t pregnant. Besides, she still had to figure out how to prevent her memory from being erased, at least, long enough until she could convince Vaughn and his brothers that she was not a threat.
    Maybe it would be best if she didn’t return to her bed. In fact, it might be in her best interests not to fall asleep at all. What if the black-haired man were to realize his mistake and take measures to correct it? Melanie would wake in the morning with no memories of her most unforgettable New Year’s Eve ever!
    Sliding down, she sat on the floor with her back to the kitchen cupboard, her brain whirling with a million thoughts. Deep down she had always known that there was magic in the world but to nearly be the recipient of a spell was admittedly scary. And what did he mean about gargoyles? Was he talking about the three creatures that were on the roof? What other gargoyles could he possibly be talking about?
    Ooooh, maybe the three gargoyles were magical, coming to life at night and protecting the city from dark magic, like her favorite cartoon. That would explain why Armand forbade her from going onto the roof at night.
    Melanie’s forehead crinkled in thought. It was obvious that Armand had planned on erasing her memory all along so any permission he gave would be pointless. She would hardly be able to visit her gargoyle if she didn’t remember him. Oh! That man was a devious, gorgeous bastard! She was going to have to have a word or two with him after she figured out a way to protect herself from him.

Chapter Five
     

     
    Melanie’s eyes burned from the lack of sleep but she was grateful to make it through the night with her memory intact. Was it because she stayed awake? If she had fallen asleep would she have forgotten everything? Well, if she thought about it, she had to admit that she was pretty sure another spell hadn’t been cast so it was more than likely that Armand believed he wiped the memory of the right girl.
    But how did it affect Vanessa? Melanie hesitated to wake her friend up. How much memory was she going to have from the night before? Was there anything that Vanessa really had to remember? It wasn’t like anything of great importance happened to the blond, at least nothing out of the ordinary. Guys at the bar had hit on her, she probably received a few phone numbers, a couple of offers of unbridled sex, but Melanie doubted Vanessa really cared about any of them.
    “Oh, my head,” Vanessa groaned, letting Melanie know that she was awake. Melanie glanced at the clock and say that it was just after eight.
    “How are you feeling?” she asked tentatively, as she filled a glass of water and grabbed the bottle of aspirin before walking over to the bed. She hesitated a moment before she sat on the edge, cringing at the thought that maybe there was residual spell sparks lingering.
    “Like shit,” Vanessa groaned, rolling onto her side and facing Melanie. “It must have been one hell of a New Year’s party – I don’t remember a thing.”
    Well, alcohol would be one reason why her friend would not remember the night before. At least it was somewhat plausible and if Melanie hadn’t seen the mist and heard the words herself she would have believed such a simple explanation. Twisting the cap off the bottle, she dumped two pills into her hand and held them out to Vanessa, “Here, hopefully these will take the edge off your hang over.”
    “Thanks,” Vanessa said with a groan, sitting up and letting the blanket fall from her body, revealing her nakedness. She giggled as she took the pills and swallowed them down. “It must have been even better than I thought if I wound up naked. In your bed.
    “Yeah, ha