Stone Solitude (25 page)

His brows pulled together in a frown as he gathered her back up into his arms, the red print of her palm a stark contrast on his cheek. “Daisy, why are you mad at me? I thought this would make you happy.”

“Where have you been?” she bit out. She didn’t have the strength to resist him so she sank with him as he sat down on the couch. She was barely aware of Jeanette and the look of astonishment on her face. Daisy was going to have some explaining to do, once she figured it out for herself.

“I found an old shed,” he explained slowly, as if he thought she was being irrational. “I spent the night there. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

“We had sex,” she hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes darting to Jeanette and seeing the girl’s jaw drop. Her friend wisely chose to remain silent. Turning her gaze back to Roman, Daisy continued, “And then you disappeared.”

Running his hands over her head, her shoulders, touching her, watching her, he said, “I’m right here.”

“It’s been a month.”

Shaking his head, he cupped her face in his hands and met her eyes. “It’s been a few hours. I’m even back before the anniversary, just like I promised.”

“Roman, it’s the middle of September,” she said softly, drinking in the sight of him, feeling her anger slip away at his noticeable confusion. “The anniversary was three weeks ago. I’ve been back in school for almost two weeks. It’s been a month.”

His hands froze and he gaped at her in disbelief. His brows drew together as he tried to comprehend what she was telling him but it obviously wasn’t connecting. Putting her hands over his, licking her lips, she asked slowly, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

His eyes widened a moment before a sexy smile curved his lips, his very human, very kissable lips. “Waking up with you in my arms and then needing to leave before the sun came up.”

“Why were you so eager to leave?” she asked softly, wishing he had stayed because then she would have known where he was for the last month.

“I shouldn’t have left you,” he rasped, his eyes moving over her face, watching her as words spilled out of his beautiful mouth. “But… I thought I’d go back to normal if we had sex, that taking your virginity would break the curse I was under and when I was still a… monster afterwards, I needed to get out of there. I needed to… reconcile to the fact that I’d always be a monster.”

“I never thought of you as a monster,” she protested. At his rusty chuckle, she smiled even as his words started echoing in her head. Tilting her head back, she met his molten gaze and frowned, “Is that the reason you seduced me? To break a curse?”

“Yes,” he answered honestly, his eyes moving over her face, an unspoken plea in the blue depths. Pushing a strand of hair from her cheek, he continued, “At least, it started out that way. But somewhere along the way, I forgot my reasons for needing to seduce you.”

“Would anyone have sufficed or did it have to be me?” Her heart raced as she waited for his answer, not knowing which would be better.

He shook his head no but answered, “I don’t know. I’ve been drawn to you from the moment you first touched me and woke me from my… frozen existence. There’s never been anyone else.”

Her forehead crinkled as she studied his face, hoping to determine whether or not he was telling the truth and what it meant if he was. It was ridiculous and it hardly mattered because he was her mate and he hadn’t actually left her. She supposed if she had been trapped for two thousand years, she would do whatever it took to be free, including seducing a naïve virgin.

Licking her lips with the tip of her tongue, she forced the question out that was lodged in her throat, “Do I mean anything to you?”

“Oh, Daisy,” he groaned, wrapping his arms around her body and hugging her even closer. Pressing his forehead against hers, holding her eyes, he said in a thick voice, “You mean everything to me.”

Sliding his arms up her body, he clutched both sides of her head, holding her steady as if he didn’t think she believed him. The fire in his eyes burned even brighter as he repeated, “Everything.”

As his confession and passionate words raced through her head and methodically obliterated all of the anguish and doubts she had experienced the past month, fresh tears filled her eyes. At his look of anguish, she laughed, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, “Roman.”

Letting out a low chuckle, he held her just as tightly, burying his nose against her neck and inhaling deeply. “I’d never leave you, Daisy. Surely you know that?”

“I thought I did but you were gone a month and I didn’t know what to think,” she murmured, pulling back and looking at his face, his beautiful face that was the face of a stranger. Touching his lips, she shook her head, trying to dislodge the confusion of loving this man with the wrong face because he wasn’t her Roman but he was. “Do you remember anything from this past month?”

Worry darkened his eyes as he shook his head no, keeping his forehead against hers as he rasped, “Nothing.”

“But the curse is broken?”

He nodded once and her heart swelled with love. Dragging her nails through his hair, unable to keep her hands from touching him, she whispered, “I love you.”

“We’re all right?” he asked, concern in his voice. Tilting his head into her caress, he closed his eyes in ecstasy but when she didn’t answer right away, he looked at her, “Daisy?”

“You’re my mate,” she said softly.

His sensuous lips curved into a smile as he nodded, “I am. But are we all right?”

“We’re all right,” she breathed.

“Daisy,” Dominic’s voice broke through the fog that surrounded her and she jumped but Roman held her steady, refusing to release her. Looking up, she met her brother’s eyes and saw the confusion and anger that was clearly written on his face. “Who is this?”

“My mate,” she answered slowly as everything sunk in. A smile curved her lips as she leaned more comfortably against Roman’s chest. As perfectly as she had fit against him as a gargoyle, she fit even more perfectly against him as a man.

Dominic’s brows pulled together as he took the pair of them in. “What happened to Roman?”

“This
is
Roman,” she laughed, the stress and anguish of the last month turning into giddiness. He had never abandoned her.

“Alright,” Dominic replied calmly as his eyes lit in fury. Carefully extracting Daisy from Roman’s embrace, he hauled off and punched her mate in the jaw.

“Dominic!” she cried, instantly at Roman’s side and smoothing his abused flesh. Glaring at her brother, she hissed, “What the hell, Dom?”

“He made you cry, Daisy,” Dominic ground out, fury emanating off him in waves as he continued to glare at Roman. “And then he shows up with a new face….”

“My
true
face,” Roman corrected, his bluer-than-blue eyes dancing as he lightly stroked Daisy’s back, oblivious to his reddening jaw.

“Whatever,” Dominic said dismissively. “And all is forgiven?”

“There was nothing to forgive,” she said. Pulling Roman’s head to her chest, she stroked her fingers through his silky hair while she continued to glare at her brother. “Now isn’t the place to discuss this, Dominic. Just trust me when I tell you it’s okay, that everything is okay. Please, Dominic. Trust me.”

His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together but he nodded his head, accepting her words at face value. After a moment, the stiffness in his shoulders eased and he smiled before he turned to Jeanette and shook his head, “I swear my sister is insane.”

“Since you’re talking about my best friend,” Jeanette purred, standing up and wrapping her arms around Dominic’s waist. “I’d have to agree with you. Who’s Roman?”

Color crept up Daisy’s neck and into her face as she realized how much she had kept from Jeanette. At first it had been too new and then Roman hadn’t been there and then there was the fiasco at the bar. Before Daisy could explain, Jeanette’s eyes widened almost comically, “Oh my god, he’s the gargoyle, isn’t he?”

“I am,” Roman answered, amusement in his voice as he pulled Daisy against his chest. Reaching a hand past Daisy, he murmured, “Roman Nosuntres.”

Jeanette eagerly accepted the offered hand, shaking it with enthusiasm that was more than the situation warranted. “Oh my god, it’s so great to finally meet you!”

“You, too,” Roman murmured, his eyes darting to Daisy’s showing his discomfort. Despite the fact that he was obviously uncomfortable with Jeanette’s effervescence, he continued to smile.

“Daisy has been exceedingly tight lipped about you, which is odd since you’re gorgeous,” Jeanette continued to gush. She narrowed her eyes as she glanced at Daisy, silently accusing her of holding out. But then she looked back at Roman and flashed her million watt smile, “We have to double date sometime or rent a beach house and spend a month in the sun.”

“Um, gargoyles are night creatures,” Roman answered tactfully. It was still unbelievable that he was there, that he hadn’t left her. Daisy wondered if his gargoyle form had changed and hoped that it hadn’t. Once she calmed down, and they were alone, she was going to make him tell her everything. She hadn’t even known he had a human face at night.

“Oh,” Jeanette murmured, momentarily disappointed. Thinking quickly, she said, “Well, we could rent a cabin in Alaska and have long nights in front of the fire place….”

Daisy abruptly realized they were in the middle of a crowded bar, Dominic was staring at them as if they were all mad, Jeanette was talking about travelling together, and Daisy really wanted to be alone with Roman. Taking his hand, she stood up and pulled him to his feet. “Um, we have to go. I’ll call you guys later and we’ll make plans to do something. Later, though.”

“Where are you going?” Dominic asked.

Crap, she didn’t know where to go. If they went to the pool house, one of her family members could barge in on them and she really wanted to speak to Roman without interruption. Maybe they could just drive somewhere out of the way and park the car. That offered a lot of privacy. “I haven’t seen Roman in a month, Dominic. We’re just heading out.”

“Daisy,” he growled low in warning, still so suspicious.

Ignoring her brother and turning to Jeanette, she smiled, “I promise we’ll figure out something to do together. And I promise to make more of an effort to spend time with you.”

The two girls hugged before Daisy managed to drag Roman out the door and across the parking lot. Twining her fingers with his, she looked over her shoulders and nearly tripped over her feet at the heat in his eyes. Swallowing, she murmured, “We’re not going to make it very far, are we?”

Tilting his head to the side, looking adorable and jumpable, he frowned, “What do you mean?”

Coming to a stop, standing up on her toes, she pressed her body against his and kissed him. With her mouth against his, she whispered, “It’s been a month, Roman, and I’ve missed you.”

His eyes heated even more as he grabbed her waist and thrust his heavy cock against her. “For me, it’s only been a few hours but, yeah, I’ve missed you, too. So damn much.”

Swiping her tongue over her lower lip, tasting him on her skin, she whispered, “We could get a hotel room in the city, order room service, and spend the entire weekend in bed.”

“There’s nothing I’d enjoy more,” he grinned, bending his head and taking her lips in another brain-melting kiss. As they stumbled to her car, she realized she had forgotten her school books and then she realized she didn’t care. Someone would hold onto them for her and she’d be able to pick them up before she went to class. “Lead the way, my little flower.”

A silly smile curved her lips at the pet name. It had been so long since she heard it rumbled in Roman’s voice and it sounded even better than she remembered. It was a little strange that his voice hadn’t changed all that much, the husky, sexy tone the same as it had been when he was stone. Stumbling over to her car, she pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. Glancing at Roman, she cocked her head to the side and spontaneously asked, “Would you like to drive?”

“I’ve never actually been in a car,” he admitted with a wary look. “I’d been in the castle long before cars were invented and once I woke, I had wings. Besides, I didn’t look like someone a person would give a ride to, no matter how generous.”

“I would have given you a ride,” she murmured, opening her car door and sliding into the driver’s seat as Roman got in the other side. He was tall in human form, having to fold his legs in order to fit in her small car.

“You’re not like most people,” he replied,

Her brows drew together as she started the car. Turning her head, she looked at Roman, still not quite sure she wasn’t dreaming. If she was, she didn’t want to wake up any time soon. “Um, how did you get here?”

Color burnished his elegant cheek bones as he admitted, “Xerec. He is a powerful little fucker.”

A huff of laughter escaped as she backed out of the parking spot and then drove forward. “I didn’t see very much of him this month.”

“Generally he doesn’t like being seen,” he answered. She could feel his eyes on her and it did weird and wonderful things to her belly. Glancing at him, she saw that his blue eyes were blazing hot and his lips were slightly parted, making him look beyond delicious. He murmured, “He prefers remaining invisible.”