Stone Solitude (17 page)

“How large?” she asked, regarding the room where they stood.

“There’ll be room for me to fit,” he assured her. When she sighed in relief, he added, “Barely.”

“I’ll, um, I’ll make sure everyone stays out of the pool house today,” she said, watching him with worry in her pretty, silver eyes. As much as he dreaded the day, he was grateful he wouldn’t be stuck in one of the decrepit buildings. It was becoming harder and harder to return to his dilapidated living conditions and he knew it was because he was starting to care again.

“Thank you.”

Holding her eyes, he felt the change start at a cellular level. Her eyes widened as his features began rearranging themselves to his gargoyle form. His smashed in face popped out, the snout elongating so his mouth made more sense, the muzzle of a wolf. His body twisted and bent until he was hunched over, his wings curving around him. His head was at the same level but he was now hunched over and at least a thousand pounds heavier because he was marble.

“I remember you,” she breathed, running her hand reverently over his nose. Tears filled her eyes as she gave him a tremulous smile. “Oh, Roman. You’re beautiful.”

Daisy was unable to tear her eyes from the beautiful gargoyle that was currently taking up most of the main room in the pool house. She had been ten years old the last time she saw him and at the time her entire world had been pulled inside out and ripped to pieces. But even then she had felt safe with him. Why had he kept this side of himself hidden from her?

Because he hadn’t known her long enough to share all of his secrets, duh, just as she hadn’t told him she was a Siren. Maybe the fact that he was wolf, well, sort of, was the reason why
he
was her mate and not any of the other wolves she had known. Not that she had been in a hurry to find a mate. After all she was only twenty. Lexi had been nearly twenty-five when she had met her mate so Daisy hadn’t been too concerned. Besides, her mom always told her that fate brought a Siren’s True Love into their lives, though it wasn’t always easy. 

But the fates had been kind, bringing Roman into her life when she least expected him.

No, the fates had brought her into his life when she was ten and he had waited for her to grow up. Smoothing her hands over his nose, along his sharp teeth, along the curve of his forehead, she couldn’t believe that this exquisite creature and Roman were one and the same.

There was a knock at the door a moment before her brother entered with a stack of sandwiches. He froze in the doorway, his eyes on the massive statue. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s Roman,” she murmured, not taking her eyes from Roman’s face. “I told you he was a gargoyle.”

Dominic edged into the room, setting the food down on the counter. “He didn’t look like this last night.”

“No, no he didn’t,” she agreed.

“He’s a wolf.”

Daisy laughed, “Yes.”

“Well, mom and dad will be pleased,” he said, his forehead furrowing. “I think.”

“Have they found out about last night yet?” she asked, peeking at Dominic out of the corner of her eyes. He was just as fascinated by the gargoyle as she was, though he was wise enough to keep his hands off.

“I haven’t told them,” he said. “But they’re bound to find out that something happened the next time the pack gets together. We’ll just have to pretend we’re just as clueless as everyone else.”

“I doubt that will work.”

“It might,” he murmured with more optimism than she felt. “Steffie is mated to Tobias.”

Daisy’s eyes widened in her head because Steffie swore she would mate a troll before she mated Tobias. Perhaps there truly was a fine line between love and hate because she never could have imagined a more unlikely couple.

“At least that one almost makes sense. Aunt Marissa is now mated to Joey Brown,” Dominic continued, shocking Daisy with the news that her fiercely independent aunt, who was a few years older than her dad, was mated to Joey, who was Daisy’s and Dominic’s age. Actually, Marissa was an honorary aunt like Uncle Dima and Uncle Cole. “Um, Aunt Jillian and Uncle Cole mated.”

Daisy opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Aunt Jillian was her father’s sister and had had a love/hate relationship with Cole for as long as Daisy could remember while Uncle Cole always flirted with Aunt Jillian but he had never been serious. Daisy just hadn’t realized there was more to it than that because he flirted with everyone. He was a complete man-whore and had no intentions to settle down and Jillian wanted forever. “I didn’t even see Uncle Cole last night.”

“He was on the second floor with Sika,” Dominic murmured. “But when you sang, he was on Aunt Jillian before the first word was out of your mouth.”

“Huh.” Well, now that they were mated, Cole’s playboy ways were a thing of the past whether he wanted them to be or not.

“Nearly half of all of the unmated wolves that were at the bar last night are no longer unmated, thanks to you,” Dominic said softly but his voice lacked blame. There was going to be a baby boom for sure. “I can’t imagine anyone’s very happy about what happened.”

Daisy let out a low groan as she crumbled to the ground by Roman’s massive paws. “Crap, I’m in so much trouble.”

“Not if you don’t mention why they’re all mated,” Dominic offered, sitting down next to her. “Haven’t we already discussed this?”

“Dominic, someone is going to mention that I sang and it’s not going to take much more than that for mom to piece it all together,” she said, her heart pulsing madly in her chest, making her skin feel flush. “It won’t matter how old I am, they’re going to put me on a ship bound for Antarctica and make me study penguins. I doubt a Siren’s song will have much effect on a penguin.”

“Nothing so drastic as that,” Dominic chuckled. “Maybe make you scrub pots and pans in the kitchens of the bar until you’re old and gray. I suggest you run off with your gargoyle until this all blows over. I’d give it about a hundred years.”

“You’re not helping,” she grumbled, bumping his shoulder with hers, a slight smile playing at her lips. “Maybe I should just go and confess my involvement. Maybe they’ll be lenient.”

With a grimace, Dominic shook his head, “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ll ask you who put you up to it and then I’ll be on the ship to Antarctica with you.” He nudged her shoulder with his and grinned, “But we can go to the bar tonight and see how everyone is getting along with their new and unexpected mates.”

She was tempted but she didn’t want to see how much damage she did just yet. “Maybe I should take a trip with Roman, just for a few days. That way everyone can adapt to the... situation and I’ll be back in time for school.”

“As a bonus you can escape all of the ten year anniversary crap.” A shudder worked its way through Dominic’s body at the reminder. “Humans are really strange, aren’t they?”

“A little bit, yeah,” she murmured, leaning back against Roman’s chest between his front legs. Despite the fact that he was stone, she could still feel him, his essence, as if he were there in the room with them. It was comforting, especially since she had screwed up so badly. She knew better than to sing in public no matter how exhilarating it had been. “I think they just want to celebrate the fact that they’re still alive and the world hasn’t ended yet, despite all of the dire predictions when the Rapture first happened. But that doesn’t mean I have any plans to celebrate.”

Except for ten years ago, she touched a gargoyle and that gargoyle was Roman. She wouldn’t mind a personal celebration, just Roman and her and the night sky overhead….

“I’ve got to get dressed,” Dominic murmured, pushing himself to his feet. “Dad wants help building a bassinet for the new baby.” His eyes widened in alarm as he looked at Daisy with guilt, “You do know about the baby, don’t you?”

She nodded, “I do.”

“Oh, thank god,” he sighed, visibly relieved he hadn’t spilled the secret. “I wasn’t sure….”

Because she had never shifted. Yeah, she understood but it didn’t change the fact that she hadn’t scented anything since that afternoon and was even more frustrated than before because her wolf had been so close for the first and only time in years. Pushing herself to her feet as well, unconsciously leaning against Roman, she murmured, “They should stop giving the bassinets away once the puppies outgrow them.”

Dominic chuckled, “They never expect to get pregnant again.”

Daisy snorted, “After twenty years, they have barely aged and they can’t keep their hands off one another. They need to keep the bassinets.”

“I think dad just enjoys making them,” he said. “What are your plans for the day?”

“I think I’m going to call up Jeanette and see if she wants to go to the mall.” Resting her hand on Roman’s ribs, warmth seeped into her hand and she wanted to spend the day with him even though he couldn’t talk. Unfortunately, if she stayed, her siblings would be pounding on the door to see if she wanted to play with them. Under normal circumstances, she would have loved to play but not with Roman sitting in the middle of her temporary bedroom. “Do you need anything?”

He shook his head no. “Not that I know of.”

“Dominic?” she asked as he put his hand on the doorknob. When he turned around and raised an eyebrow, she asked, “How’s the abstinence?”

His smile turned to a glower as he growled, “You’re a bitch.”

Grinning, she walked over to him and asked, “What happened to the girl you just had to have?”

He looked momentarily confused before a slow smile spread on his lips, “Ranger got to her. I figure I’ll use a new play for the next wolf that comes along, the conflicted monk. I’ll let her seduce me and after a few weeks, she’ll feel she’s corrupted an innocent while I give her the best orgasms of her life. In a month, of course.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” she said, trying not to laugh and encourage him.

“And I’m not introducing you because I don’t need you to scare her away,” he stated.

“You’re just afraid she’ll tell me all of your secrets.”

“Hell yes I’m afraid of that,” he agreed. “Apparently all of my other girlfriends have had no problem spilling the beans. Now, I’m going to go help dad build another bassinet and you… just stay away from any new wolves.”

“And you make sure no one comes in here,” she said, laughing softly. For an answer, he waved his hand and left. She was almost confident he wasn’t going to tell anyone about Roman since she had been keeping his secrets safe for twenty years. It wasn’t as if she actually would have told her parents anything; she just liked seeing her brother squirm.

Grabbing her phone off the night stand, she leaned against Roman’s side, brushing against his wing, as she called Jeanette.

With her arm looped through Jeanette’s, Daisy cringed as she listened to her best friend talk about the events from the night before. From the uncharacteristic matings to the free-for-all fucking, Jeanette didn’t leave anything out, though she didn’t seem to connect Daisy’s song to the madness.

Her parents were going to kill her.

“It was like a lust bomb exploded,” Jeanette continued, her free arm waving in wide circles to indicate the size of said explosion. “I have never seen that many wolves get their freak on all at once. I swear, Daisy, it was intense and absolutely insane. I saw things last night that will haunt my dreams for years to come.”

“That bad?” Guilt ate a hole in her stomach and she was going to be sick. But she had to hear the extent of the damage. When she faced her parents, she wanted to know all of the pertinent information so she could make suggestions for how to fix it. Maybe they’d be lenient if she started to make amends before she told them.

“That damn good,” Jeanette said on a lusty sigh. Fanning her face, she gave Daisy a wicked grin, “I learned a couple of new techniques last night that would make your brother blush.”

Daisy tried not to laugh so it came out as a snortle, a cross between a snort and a chortle. It wasn’t pretty. “I doubt anything could make Dominic blush.”

“This could,” Jeanette grinned. “The way Tobias went after Steffie… well, let’s just say our friend is more than satisfied today. And she’s quite happy Toby’s her mate, no matter how much she claimed to hate him. I think it was unacknowledged love from the very beginning. Those two were always nipping at each other’s heels.”

“Thank god,” Daisy whispered to herself. At least that was one less problem to worry about. Licking her lips, she forced herself to look at her friend and ask, “What about you? Did you, um….”