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ticked on the smooth surface of the hardwood flooring, and if toenails could sound tentative, then Rodney’s certainly did.
     
    The claws were black and caught the gleam of the ambient lighting as though they’d been polished. Rodney walked upright on his toes like a dog, the heel of his foot elongated and rising up from his foot like a horse’s hock. His skin was moss green in color and had a sheen to it that made David think it would feel like fine leather. Rodney’s legs were muscular and strong; David’s memory flashed back to the sight of Rodney crouching beside him on the rooftop, sitting on his haunches effortlessly. Well, he probably had a lot of practice doing that. An inappropriate giggle threatened to make its way out of David’s throat, and he had to beat back the temptation to burst out laughing. He sobered quickly when he realized the enormous power of the being standing in front of him.
     
    David followed the line created by Rodney’s legs up to the rest of his body. “Six-pack abs” was a phrase that David had heard bandied about the gym and among his friends, but he’d never really appreciated what that had meant before. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on Rodney, and the muscles of his belly corded and bunched so that each isolated grouping was clearly apparent. His waist and hips were the narrowest part of his body; his chest widened above his belly to include broad shoulders, each muscle clearly visualized there as well. His dark green nipples fascinated David; he swallowed hard before continuing his visual assessment. Rodney had tucked his wings in close to his body in order to enter the apartment, but David could see the hinge-like joints and the great expanse of skin across them.
     
    And then there was the matter of what Sadie referred to as his schlong . David had never seen such detail on a stone gargoyle, but there was no mistaking that Rodney was a living, breathing being with functional anatomy—not with a cock like that. Like everything else about Rodney, it was huge. It also was erect, with a bullet-shaped hood of foreskin that made it look very much like an arrowhead. David thought briefly about what it would be like to be nailed by something like that, and he felt a warm flush steal over his face again. There was something very pleasing to the eye in the symmetry of Rodney’s cock and the balance of his balls, and David suddenly realized he was staring.
     
    He jerked his gaze upward to Rodney’s face. The uncertainty there in Rodney’s expression made David catch his breath. Rodney was hunched a little, as though afraid of breaking something if he moved. His ears, which were decidedly Yoda-like, no matter what he said, drooped at the tips. Rodney’s gaze, green and intense, flicked around to the sides, taking in the apartment before coming back to rest on David’s face. He took the end of his tail, and despite the fact that he already had something in his hands, he began to fiddle nervously with the tip. This time, David did laugh.
     
    Rodney frowned. “What’s so funny?” He looked really irritated now, and David realized that it probably would be smart not to piss off the giant gargoyle. The sarcastic gargoyle who read books and had probably just saved his life. He took the chance anyway.
     
    “You,” he said with a grin, indicating the tail. “You with that gesture. You reminded me of the Cowardly Lion. And there’s nothing cowardly about you.”
     
    Rodney released his tail abruptly, but his expression lightened briefly before it became puzzled again. “Don’t you find this whole situation just the slightest bit odd? Most people who catch a glimpse of me end up weeping and making all kinds of crazy promises to the deity of their choice. You’re the first person who’s ever even heard me before. Now, all the sudden, I’m having casual conversations with people left and right, and no one is freaking out. Well, except for your mugger, that is. I sort of wanted