A Bonnie Moonlit Lark

Part 4

Minutes later she was feeling her eyelids droop, under the twin ministrations of hot chocolate, and the two males talking. Between Hudson' halting reading, and the drone of the radio in the background, she felt herself fast dropping into a limp state where all her limbs became lead. Really she was fascinated by the chapter of Robbin's book, a sequel to The Staff and the Sword: a tale of Merlin, but she couldn't help the yawn that almost split her head open.

"Sorry, must be the cocoa," she peered into the cup when both glanced at her.

" Maybe I shouldn't have offered it to you till AFTER Hudson read you chapter 25," Geoffrey joked.

"Are you kidding?" asked the lady doctor who was sitting, leaned against Robbins. "Chocolate is a stimulant…"

"Says the medical expert," Robbins said as he let her twine his arm through his. She leaned her head on his shoulder momentarily, and shifted to get more comfortable.

"Ach then, I'll be going t' this last paragraph," Hudson commented as he felt the weight of Ray's head on his shoulder, and didn't want to disrupt its presence. It seemed an odd scene to behold a gargoyle reading from a 21st century paper in an old Scots accent, but it seemed appropriate. Ray's mind drifted back on the words that Robbins had spun, and the account of Sir Gawain made her chuckle.

A wisp of memory surfaced and she wiped away the tear that blurred her vision. Across from them, Cornelia was leaning against Robbin's chest, and his arm was across the back of the sofa. He shifted so she was sitting slightly in front of him, and his folded leg propped her back up. The top button of her blouse was undone, and Robbin's fingers were gently fingering her soft hair. Friends or something more, Raina momentarily questioned as Hudson continued to read.

"Sir Gawain the purest of knights, accompanied by Sir. Percival, resolved to find the Graal?" Hudson asked as he fumbled over the words. He'd come to a part mentioning Sir Percival, and the look on his face was priceless.

"Is that a new sort of monster in medieval England I didn't know about?" Cornelia chuckled.

"Ach, that'd be grail would it not?" Hudson frowned as he glanced at Robbins.

"How can you possibly misspell grail," Cornelia threw a piece of popcorn over her shoulder at Robbins.

"It's that new text type. New fangled thing's due for a warranty check… sorry Hudson…"

"Actually graal is one correct spelling, isn't it?" Ray asked as she settled against Hudson, who was a bit embarrassed.

"True…" Robbins said as he stifled his own yawn.

"Don't let us keep you awake," Ray murmured, and Hudson shifted so she could lean more of herself against him.

"Excuse me… it is pretty late…" Cornelia yawned. "I know you gargoyles are night owls, but I've been going since six am… I hope you don't mind if I nod off early…"

"No, go right ahead lass. I was reaching the end of this chapter anyway, was I not, Jeffry?"

"That's about the last sentence in 25 Hudson. You read it beautifully… you ever considered being my voice for the tape version?"

"I dinnae ken how that wuild be possible… considering the closing credits," Hudson shrugged.

"They'd just be jealous as hell, because he has the most authentic accent," Ray smiled, and Cornelia settled down more comfortably against Jeffrey. He gave the top of her head a kiss, and rubbed her shoulder slightly.

"Well, you two are welcome to stay as long as you like, considering the same holdup brought all of you to my door," Robbins said. "Till tomorrow night… but you might want to consider staying indoors…"

"I saw that nasty accident on yer lawn…" Hudson shuddered.

"I hope you sue their butts," Cornelia glowered as she sat upright. "Those bastards…"

"Relax Cornelia. It's a statue, it can be replaced… and besides, I thought you were tired?"

"Good thing it wasn't one of us," Ray muttered, and glanced up at Hudson, who shared the same horrified thought. Again Cornelia yawned, and shivered, but took the hand that Robbins had slid around her front. Hudson's hand absently reached for Ray's and she was reassured by its squeeze. Silence fell like a pall and then was broken by a yawn from Robbins.

"Excuse me… I think it's time some of us turned in… I'm sorry we can't continue till our usual time…" Robbins said. "Make yourself at home… both of you."

"Good seeing you both… and nice meeting you Ray," Cornelia said as she got up and excused herself. Hands were shaken or kissed, and Ray felt a brief kiss at the corner of her mouth from Cornelia. She did the same to Hudson with the same familiarity, as he came out of his handshake with Jeffry. Taking hands the two started up the stairs.

"Good night," Ray called.

"Good night Hudson. Untill tomorrow," Robbins waved. "And the TV has a timer… so you won't have to worry about turning it of…"

"I doubt they're going to get much sleep," Ray quipped as the couple retired, leaving her alone with Hudson. He picked up the mugs and stacked them on the tray with the rest of the empty plates, as if unsure of what to do. Ray moved to help, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Ye need t' rest and regain yer strength," he scolded lightly. "Dinna move."

"All right, Hudson," she said with a glint of amusement as he vanished into the kitchen. Strange to see a warrior turning domestic. However she climbed to her feet nonetheless because she felt a bit guilty about him constantly taking care of her. She heard the noise from the top of the stairs, and gave a slight smile when she recognized both their host's voice and his female visitor. From the sound of things she was no stranger here, and Jeffrey was making her felt very comfortable indeed.

As she stood there, looking at the home she inhaled the scents of a human abode. Memories of other dwellings she had stayed for a time within came rushing back. All those times that she would save the lives of oppressed peoples on many worlds, both with the Doctor and on her own. They all gave what little they had, and some of them had more than they could ever know. Her eyes again misted and she looked up, glad that her glasses had been forgotten, because the farsighted haze made it easier to block out stimulus.

Hudson's powerful hand at the small of her back jolted her out of her reverie. When she turned quickly she blundered right into his arms, and they were pressed close together. "Ach, y' moved," he commented, with a scolding countenance and a flirtatious twinkle in his eyes.

"I was wondering… what was taking you so long," she said quickly.

"Tis nice t' be missed," he said. "And speaking of missing, there be our favorite show. And since Jeffry invited us to make ourselves at home, I'd be thinking that we should honor his wishes."

"It would be rude not to," she said as she felt shy and clumsy as she hadn't felt in centuries. In this body she had so much to learn about moving, that she often blundered. Hudson was always there to help her, or Brooklyn. She noticed the bottles of bass ale in his one hand, and his other closed around her shoulder to urge her toward the comfortable sofa. He pushed pillows about to make a reclining space, since Robbins didn't have a lazyboy, and sat down so his wings were caped around him and his legs were stretched out with his shoulders supported. He positioned Ray to sit before him, and lean up against his chest with her own wings similarly folded so Hudson supported her back against his chest and belly.

Ray winced, and Hudson said, "Turn over lass, and make yourself comfortable… time t' save our strength for the return trip."

"I didn't realize we were going anywhere anytime soon?" She realized that if she did so, that gave him access to her back, and a flush of hot hunger washed over her. Obligingly she rolled over so she was half on her side, and he shifted her till she was nestled and laying half on top of him with her front pressed to his, and her head under his chin.

"Not if I have anything t' say in the matter. Orders be orders, and we'd best stay where we are t' pass the day here."

"I like the sound of that," Ray murmured. His fingers ran over her spine and between her wing and shoulder blades, and she couldn't stifle her body freezing up with the sensitivity of it. He stroked her brow ridge, ear, and crest with his other hand at the same time his first worked to massage her wings. Did he realize the effect it was having on her, for she was getting more and more aroused and he simply reclined and shifted under her casually as possible?

"Are ye fair tired from all that gliding? If ye say no I'd think ye'd be lying…"

"That feels… rather… decadent…" Ray gasped. Then she stifled a shriek as she tensed and then was suddenly on her belly, her front pressed to his and her head turned to one side as Hudson could now rub her back with both hands. That and his tail twining around hers rendered speech or any articulate sound impossible.

Not to mention the strangely erotic sensation of her breasts pressed up against his body, and the solidness of it beneath. Now their positions were reversed because she was dazed with what he was doing alone with his hands on her back, and his tail twisting around hers subtly. Also she lay between both powerful legs as she scrambled to push herself up, and that action pressed her even closer to his breath rising and falling. Her gaze met his, and she saw the intention was more than clear. Her general impression of Hudson as a traditional prude was based on human bias, and she wondered if her suspicions about gargoyles having some sort of experimentation before formal bonds were true.

"You're a casanova and I never suspected," she teased. "Didn't realize you were so eager… are we allowed to do this?"

"Aye, that we are," Hudson nodded. They were not human, and many accounts spoke of the loud noises they made while making love. Since gargoyles mated for life, there was a long protracted period of mate selection. Hudson asked, "Are ye feeling comfortable and protected now?"

"I… I…" she stammered. Her mouth dropped open and all she could manage was a gurgling growl.

"That would be a yes, would it not?" he growled softly, and she half laughed, half wanted to hit him in her confusion. It was the gargoyle version of a come on, and it was extremely arousing and far more sensual than the brief gropes and caresses of Brooklyn.

"I thought, I thought…" she stammered again, and let out a squeal as Hudson's tail moved slowly upwards, and his crest brushed to hers. "I presumed that gargoyles who were not mated… they were…"

"I approached ye as a human with their modesty. But there be more things that two do in private that are their own sport, and it is for their delight alone, in exchanging pleasure…" he whispered.

"Does that mean that as gargoyles who are not mated, that they… mate… before they are mated…"

"Only with those that they are pursuing, and with those that please them best. And the breeding is different from the enjoying of one another's…" he added in a rumbling growl that made her quiver in even more desire.

"I assumed that… because you were… this is silly…" she moaned.

"I'd be more traditional? Aye, that I am…"

"You mated when flying…"

"Aye, during breeding, but there be many ways to share lovemaking, and in the getting to know one another… but only to those that ye intend may be yer mates."

"You're driving me crazy I never thought…" she whimpered as his tail snared her and his claws gripped her arms tightly to hold her close. Ray quickly leaned down and caught Hudson's lips in a kiss. She couldn't help it, and after what he was doing she wanted to make him feel just as incredible as he was right now to her. His claws pressed her close, and his growling moan through the kiss showed how much she was exciting him as well. She felt his fangs nibbling on her lip, and she thrust past his lips to open his mouth through a deep kiss. When she felt his body rigid under her she almost released her passion then and there, if not for her tail gently twining around her leg, and his powerful hands lifting her up and repositioning her where he wanted her.

"This kissing, a human custom, has its place," he whispered, his body rumbling with the low growl that moved through both of them.

"You want me to…" she trailed off.

"Tis been far too long for both of us, and there be far more t' show ye I promise," he whispered. Ray gasped as his hands familiarized themselves with her, and she did the same. He knew all the places a gargoyle female most hungered to be touched, and soon drove her to the edge. There were no demands on her to please him, and she realized it was all for her right now. Was this the next step that would lead to the inevitable slope towards where Goliath and Elisa now found their relationship?

Hudson picked up Ray carefully, and carried her into the small office where Jeffry had his library. It was out of view and quiet. Between kisses he happened to peer out the window and see the lightening in the sky. Ray glanced at him, and at the encroaching dawn. "Rats, and we were just getting somewhere," she whispered. The line towards full intimacy had not been crossed, but the pattern was well set in that direction.

"Ye may chose t' stay close by in sleep," he said as she parted from their embrace. "If it please ye..."

"We won't harm one another other than perhaps socking each other during the morning roar and cracking of stone," she teased.

"Best t' give Jeffry something t' ponder when he wakes up w' his lass," Hudson smirked as he sat in his typical gargoyle pose, a more thoughtful pondering one, and Ray moved to face him, with her hands cupping his face. Their thighs were touching, as well as their forheads, and their hands clasped tightly together. Wrapping wings around one another, they felt their limbs hardning with that hint of crimson color Ray knew was the rising sun. And it was a memory that slid into darkness as two statues occupied Jeffry's library for that day.