Here is chapter 5 of my story.

Special thanks to my beta "London Bai" for editing it!

Brandon had agreed to meet Demona, or rather Miss Destine at four in the evening at a restaurant called 'Ecuatoriana Restaurant' between 143rd & 144th Street, so that they could seal their deal of the artwork purchase. Weighing heavily on his mind, while driving to meet her, was the sizable check she had written out for him. He did want to sell his pieces so that he could pay the bills, but with the amount of zero's clearly penned on the check he felt that it was just too much. He had brought it up in their conversation earlier but she wouldn't have any of it and shooed him out of her office until they could meet later for dinner.

'I don't want to insult her or seem ungrateful, but it really is a lot of money...' He thought to himself while driving through the heavy traffic. That is one of the very few things Brandon hated about living in this area, his car almost begged him to drive it faster but with the amount of traffic, it was really a crying shame he couldn't.

Brandon pulled up to front entrance of Ecuatoriana Restaurant exactly on time just as Miss Destine had instructed. The restaurant was rather large and fancy, it almost had an old Roman look to it with the large white pillars out front. He took notice of the red-headed beauty standing out front of the restaurant as the valet opened his car door and gave him a ticket for his vehicle.

"Be careful with the car, will you? The clutch is a bit temperamental."

The valet acknowledged the comment and drove the loud Mustang off towards the parking lot.

"That was your car, hmm?" Miss Destine asked, slightly bewildered.

Smiling, Brandon replied. "Yes, Miss Destine, I built it from the ground up. I'm sure it's not exactly what you are used to being in, but it can really get your heart racing."

She smirked at him. "You can call me Demona, you know. This isn't my office, so it's perfectly fine."

The two walked into the restaurant together and were immediately greeted by the hostess. She smiled and spoke Latin to Demona, to which she responded right back in Latin. They were led right over to a large booth in the corner of the restaurant and given menus to look at.

Giving a look of what seemed like confusion, Brandon looked through the menu, which was of course mostly all in Latin.

"So, what kind of restaurant is this, Demona?"

"It's a Latin one. I like to come here often as not many people still speak the language."

"Ah, I see. So that is why the hostess spoke to you first. She knew you would respond back."

"If you need some help with the menu, I can tell you what things are, if you'd like." Demona said trying to be helpful.

"Thanks, I would like that very much."

The two slid towards the center of the corner booth so that they could look through the menu together.

Moments later, the waiter came over to take their drink orders and if they were ready to order their meals. Demona looked towards Brandon to see if he knew what he wanted and he gave her a slight nod to confirm he was and pointed to the item on the menu. She, then, gave the waiter her drink and food order, handing the man both of the menus. She began to give Brandon's order to the waiter in Latin when she paused, a slight shock by the feel of Brandon's hand on top of hers. Smiling, Brandon locked eyes with Demona as he spoke perfect Latin, telling the waiter his drink and food order, then thanking him graciously. Demona's mouth popped slightly open out of shock that his hand was on hers and in fascination that he spoke Latin.

"You speak it as well!? Where on earth did you learn that from?"

"Well, you pick up a few languages when you do the things that I did, Demona."

"So, you didn't need my help to read the menu." Demona playfully snapped at him. "And your hand on mine is for what exactly?"

"I didn't want to be rude by cutting you off while you were talking, so I figured that it would have been more subtle. I'm sorry if it bothers you."

"No!" Demona quickly blurted out. "I mean yes. Yes, it actually does in fact bother me." She slipped her hand from under his and placed it unto her lap. She could almost feel the redness in her face from her creeping blush, but was immediately relieved when the waiter brought their drinks. She thanked the waiter and quickly took a sip from her glass.

"Demona, there is something I wanted to bring up with you while we're here."

"If it has to do with the price on the check, you can stop right now."

"Sorry, but it really is a lot more then I think I deserve, I don't want to seem..."

Demona cut him off by placing her hand onto his this time.

"Look... you need the money and I need artwork for my building. I paid you what I think the value of your work is, even if it was more than you expected. It was my decision to pay you that much. Besides... look at it this way, you can pay your rent now and even buy a new car to replace that junker you have."

"Junker!?" Brandon said with a raised eyebrow.

She quietly laughed at his response. She knew the car wasn't really a junker and knew the value of the vehicle to him, but she enjoyed the rise she got out of her human beau. 'No, not that, just Brandon.' She chided to herself.

They received their food and began eating when Brandon had raised the question of how Demona knew Latin enough to speak it. She paused and thought about how much to tell him, but decided it really couldn't hurt to tell him the entire story of magic and the Arch-Mage.

"Where to start? Hmm... Well, the quickest explanation would be that I wanted to learn magic shortly after I grew out of my hatchling stage. All of the spells were in Latin, so I had no choice but to study the language in order to cast the spells. I have learned many a spell over the course of one thousand years. It took quite a long time and my training, I admit, was not easy." She explained to him the ordeal of her tutelage under the Arch-Mage; how he was very mean to her, called her names and such, but she soaked up everything he taught her and put up with it all until she had learned what she wanted to know.

Brandon was very interested in her story and she did take notice of that as he had given her his unbroken attention while she spoke.

They continued to talk and enjoy their food but was interrupted by a beep on her wrist watch. Demona noticed a worried mask fall over Brandon's face. "No worries, we still have a little time. This is just an early warning that it is getting around to 'that' time is all. I've got about an hour, so we should wrap this up here shortly." It was very near six, so a public place for Demona's little transformation wouldn't be very good.

Brandon gives an understanding smile to Demona. "Well, I'm sure you need to get to wherever you call home, so perhaps we should go ahead and call it a night?"

Demona let out a light sigh as she then signaled to the waiter to bring the check.

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked, noticing the obvious disappointment.

"It's nothing, just another nice evening ruined by my little ordeal is all."

"It wasn't ruined at all." Brandon said reassuring her. "Here, I'll take care of the bill. It's the least I can do."

But Demona, being the way she is, didn't listen and gave the waiter her credit card. "It's at the company expense, so don't worry about it."

"Well, how about you at least let me give you a ride home."

"I have a car waiting for me, but I appreciate the offer." She took notice of his disappointment shadow his face but felt that words at that moment would be empty.

After the bill was paid, the two of them slid out of their booth and walked out of the restaurant where a long black limousine was parked just in front of the grand door, waiting for it's exclusive rider. The driver opened the door, patiently waited for Miss Destine to seat herself into the vehicle. Brandon gave his ticket to the valet, watching the eager young man bound away to retrieve his car. Demona turned to Brandon, learning forward over his right shoulder to whisper into his ear. "I will see you later.''

Brandon could feel her warm breath touch his ear and caress his neck as she lightly whispered, his skin welcoming the pleasurable heat rolling from her. He couldn't make heads or tails of her sometimes, but perhaps that was why he found himself so entranced by her. The mystery surrounding her was enough to drive any man crazy, at least... the ones who didn't mind the bit about the gargoyle form. Before he could say anything intelligent, she turned round and entered the limo to head to her home.

Brandon stood there and waved her off as the car drove away down the street, which was then followed by his car pulling up in front of him. He tipped the valet and got into his Mustang and pulled away towards his own domicile.

As Brandon entered his apartment, he was greeted at the door by his obviously hungry tabby cat. He could tell she was hungry by how vocal she was being. Normally, his cat will only meow if she is hungry or pissed off. He filled the cat's bowls with food and water and gave her a light petting while she ate.

"You're getting new toys just like I said you would. I made a bunch of money today, so we don't have to worry about the little things much anymore." He said to his cat, who didn't bother to give a response.

It was almost seven and since he didn't have any plans for tonight Brandon figured he might as well have an early shower. With that thought in mind, he got undressed and turned his shower on. Stepping into the hot water was a big relief as it was always a relief on a cold night, he supposed. Reaching for his bottle of shampoo he noticed it was a little light. In fact, the bottle was empty. "Eh!? She used all of my shampoo! Damn it..." Although he wasn't really upset, complaining made the situation feel slightly better. Heavily sighing, he placed his hands on the shower walls and just let the hot water rush over his head and down his body. The thought that Demona used the remainder of his shampoo had triggered a slew of thoughts. 'Why am I so enamored with her?' He thought to himself. 'It's not just her body, it's her whole personality. The way she acts both as a human and as a gargoyle... that's what's driving me bonkers.'

Casting the thoughts aside for the moment, he finished his shower and stepped out to dry off. Once the water was off he heard a loud tapping noise coming from out in his living room. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bedroom to see Demona standing on his balcony with a hand on her hip and a look of I've-been-here-forever-now-let-me-in.

Brandon unlatched the lock to the glass doors and let her inside. "Sorry, were you out there long?"

"I was. I saw your car outside and knew you were home, but I wasn't sure what you were doing."

Throwing his hands up to show the obvious towel around his waist, he apologizes to her anyways. "Sorry you had to wait out there. When you said you would see me later, I didn't think it would be tonight." He finished, lightly chuckling.

"Oh? Should I go then?" Demona said in an emotionless tone.

"No. No, please stay."

Demona smiled as she spoke. "While I was out there, I did get a chance to admire the view from your balcony. It's quite nice at night with the city all lit up."

He could sense that Demona was covertly hinting that she wanted to overlook the city with him. "Give me a sec. I'll throw some clothes on and we can sit outside for a bit." He practically flew into his room, tossing aside his towel haphazardly in the doorway of his bathroom, and sifted through his clean clothes. Quickly, he got dressed and stepping into the living room, seeing Demona already standing outside on the balcony, leaning against the railing looking outward into the distance. He walked outside and slid shut the door behind him. Brandon stood closely to her as he, too, leaned against the rail, but he wasn't looking at the city. His attention was turned to Demona.

She turned her head towards Brandon, a small smile upon her lips when she noticed his stare, which hid nothing of his attraction for her. She, too, felt something, but it was something she hadn't felt in nearly one thousand years. Sure, she had a small fling with the Goliath clone, Thailog, but it never went anywhere sexually. In fact, if Thailog hadn't betrayed her first, she was planning on deserting him herself.

"It's a calm night, tonight" She spoke, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice ni..." Brandon was quickly caught off guard as Demona scooped him up into her arms as if he was a damsel in distress. "Hey, what are you doing?..." Demona stepped up onto the railing of the balcony. "Whoa! whoa, what are you...?!" She flared her wings out and began to step off from the ledge. "Jesus Christ!" Instinctively, Brandon wrapped an arm around Demona's neck.

"You'll be just fine." Demona assured him as they began to glide from his building top, going through the night sky, up higher with the gentle air currents that constantly whisks through the city air. "You're not scared are you?" Demona laughed slightly at Brandon's overall reaction.

"Of course, I'm not scared, but you sure surprised the hell out of me. It's not often that you get scooped off your feet and get to go gliding through the night sky."

"That's not what your arm says being wrapped around me." Demona chuckled, feeling his arm slightly relax. "So what do you think? Does this get your heart racing a little more than your little car?"

Playing coy, Brandon decided to not admit that it was at least at this moment a much more enjoyable experience. "It's ok, no real thrill though." He said with a smirk.

"I could easily drop you, you know." She said grinning maliciously at him. "Would that be a thrill?"

A small dry swallow revealed his discomfort. "Well, if you're going to drop me then I just want you to know that you used the last of my shampoo the other night."

Demona let out of an honest laugh. "Is that so? I will be sure and replace it for you then."

Gliding through the cool night air Brandon looked around his surrounding in awe of how different the city looked from the air. From this perspective, everything seemed much simpler and organized. Demona tightened her grasp around Brandon as they hit an air current which propelled them even higher. Their journey took them over the waters of the East River and towards the Brooklyn bridge.

"Where are we going, Demona?"

"Atop the bridge. I enjoy the view from up there and I think you might too."

The air over the water was chilly and sent shivers through Brandon. He wasn't exactly dressed for a night of gliding around, but he was enjoying himself none the less.

Demona could feel Brandon slightly shiver. "Cold?" Demona asked thoughtfully.

"No, I am fine, but thanks."

"Playing tough guy, hmm?" Demona smirked at him as she held him a little tighter to her chest.

They had finally reached the top of the center of the bridge as Demona softly touched down, releasing Brandon from her grasp. She turned to see the city lights reflecting off of the water, the moon delicately strung up high in the sky, it's soft light visible on the waters' rippling surface.

"So, what makes you come to this spot? Just the view?" Brandon quietly questioned.

"No... I come here to think. It is very peaceful here and oddly enough the sounds of the cars below is somewhat soothing. It's hard being me, in the sense that I have no clan to call my own. Having no one else but myself. The other gargoyles pass their judgment on me for the things that I have done, but none of them have lived almost completely alone for as long as I have." Demona clenched her fists feeling the anger of her past boiling to the surface.

Brandon placed his hand on top of her clenched right fist. "Don't dwell on the past so much. Everyone has done something they are not proud of, but if you live in the past, you can't ever live here in the present."

Demona lowered her hands and looked into Brandon's eyes. "I've done bad things." She said in a saddened tone. "Horrible things..."

Brandon, feeling the need to give her a hug, pulled on her hand bringing Demona close to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in an attempt to console her. "Don't worry about what you've done. Worry about what you're going to do."

Demona, not sure of how to react to this show of affection, backed off from Brandon a bit. "I should get you back to your apartment since it's only going to get colder out here.

Brandon could sense the uneasiness pour from her and silently agreed. Demona once again scooped him up into her arms and took to the night sky towards his home. It was a quiet glide back to his balcony as both of them were knee deep in thought about what the other was thinking. Demona had a little more on her mind, though, as she was just not sure how to react to a show of affection. They landed safe and sound back at Brandon's apartment after their night trek. He slid the glass door open and looked back at Demona. "Coming in?"

"No... not tonight... I need to take care of some things..."

Brandon stepped back over to Demona, noticing that she was intentionally trying to keep her gaze away from him. "Look, I'm sorry about the hug thing. You just seemed like you really needed one is all."

Demona slowly turned her attention back to Brandon and locked her emerald green eyes to his deep blue eyes for a moment before she stepped forward and gently pressed her lips to his in a warm thoughtful kiss. Sliding his eyes closed, Brandon cupped her right cheek with his hand as he deepened their kiss, both of them glad for the small release of tension growing between them. Demona slid a hand through Brandon's hair as she allowed herself to become lost in the kiss, but something didn't quite feel just right. Oh, she knew that she wanted him, but this moment isn't the right time. Reluctantly, she was the one to break off as she stepped back from him. She gave him an unsure look before she bound up into the night sky without so much as a goodbye.

Not sure what to think of it all, Brandon watched her sleek silhouette disappear into the night before going inside for the evening. He shut the doors and drapes behind him before walking back into his bedroom to disrobe and head for bed. Flooding thoughts of Demona and her sudden kiss were trapped in his mind. The memory of how soft her lips were and how warm her body was occupied his psyche before he fell deep into slumber.

Unbeknownst to either of them, their little scene on the balcony had been carefully watched by a figure concealed in the shadows of a building's rooftop close-by.