“I chose you to raise her before we slept together. Thought you’d like to know that.”
Sofia turned to face him. “Why hook up with me then? Why didn’t you just dump her and leave?”
He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his shorts and didn’t respond. His gargoyle tendencies to always speak the truth would not allow him to say it had been purely for a physical release, and he didn’t know how to articulate what, exactly, it had meant.
“Was it some sort of insurance? Payment?” she persisted.
“What are you talking about?”
She waved her finger back and forth between them. “You and me. We didn’t even know each other, and yet you decided you’d drop an orphaned child on my doorstep, expecting me to raise her—alone, by the way. So, in order to ensure I willingly went along with your plan, you slept with me? Was that it?”
He cupped the back of his neck. “That’s not—”
“Well, I have news for you, buddy. If you knew anything at all about me, you would not have left her. Trust me.”
“I disagree.”
“Do you not see my house? How small it is? How old everything is? All of my and Penelope’s clothes are second-hand. I’ve never bought her a single thing brand new. I’m a waitress at a small bar that isn’t even on the main drag. I’m barely scraping by.”
“It isn’t about your finances, although had I realized, I certainly would have figured out a way to help in that respect, and I will be sure to point it out to Oliver—”
“Don’t you dare. I will accept this Oliver guy’s help with the whole Daughter of Light aspect, but other than that, she’s my child, and I will handle raising her on my own terms.”
She was proud, which he admired, although he did think her pride was misplaced in this case. Which meant he’d have to be stealthy about how he helped her financially. No doubt her life would be vastly different if he had not forced her into motherhood with no warning. He could not fix the last four years, but he certainly could make things better for her moving forward.
He nodded at an empty bench situated in the shade of a massive live oak with sprawling branches reaching out like gigantic fingers. “Would you like to sit?”
She shrugged again and they made their way to the wooden seat. As soon as she sat down, she frowned and twisted her head to and fro.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, glancing around, searching for anything that might appear out of place. All he saw were a gaggle of screaming and laughing children and small clusters of parents or other adult figures watching over them. He noted plenty of dragons and witches, but no other gargoyles and no warlocks.
She rolled her shoulders and trained her gaze on Penelope, who was on the swings, kicking her legs, clearly trying to go higher and faster than the child next to her. Griffin did not miss the spark of magic that gave her a spurt of extra speed. Had she done it on purpose?
“Does she know—?”
His words were cut off when a dragon in his human form slipped onto the seat next to Sofia. He had slicked back hair with one thatch that fell into his left eye, and as Griffin watched, he flicked his head to toss it back into place. His dark, wide-set eyes were drinking in Sofia like he knew her and hadn’t seen her in a very long time. He draped his arm across the back of the bench, bulging muscles twitching under his tight black T-shirt.
Griffin immediately bristled, not because he was worried Sofia was in danger, but because he was jealous of the way the man encroached on her personal space, as if they were intimately acquainted.
Sofia let out a small shriek and twisted, but the guy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her in place.
“Darius,” she blurted. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, little Sofia.”
“B-but you agreed. You said—”
“Who’s your friend?”
She glanced at Griffin before quickly lowering her gaze. In that brief moment, he saw fear, nothing but fear, which was highly out of character for Sofia.
She was a strong, independent woman, not someone who would normally cower in fear.
Which meant she needed his help.
Griffin hopped up and then dropped back down, inserting himself between Sofia and this guy.
The other man threw his arms into the air, a bewildered look on his face. “What the fuck?”
Griffin draped his arm around the back of the bench, just like the guy had a moment ago. Sofia stared at him with wide eyes. He wondered why she didn’t jump up and rush over to check on Penelope’s safety, unless… unless she did not want Darius to know about her.
“Get the hell out of here,” the guy snarled in his ear while Griffin scanned the playground, searching for Penelope. Ah, there she was, once again waiting to go down the slide.
“This is private business,” Darius added.
Griffin gave him a humorless smile. “Good thing I’m involved in Sofia’s private business.”
The dragon narrowed his gaze, and smoke curled from his nostrils. Go ahead and shift in front of all these humans, Griffin mentally dared him. Sofia placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed, and Griffin was distracted because damn, that felt good, even though she was probably doing it as a warning and not because she wanted to reenact the night they’d spent together.
Something grabbed the back of Griffin’s hair, and when he turned to see what it was, Darius headbutted him, dazing him and causing him to
