Stone Solitude (37 page)

Reining in his unapologetic lust, he forced himself to pay attention. This girl knew him from before. She knew who he was and what had happened to him to make him forget everything. Suddenly he stiffened as he thought about the possibility that it was her bite that had stolen his life. She must have sensed the change because she went silent and asked in her soft, sultry voice, “What is it?”

Trying to figure out the best way to frame the question so he didn’t come off looking like a complete ass, he finally said fuck it and blurted, “Are you the one who stole my life with your bite?”

Her eyes widened, the silver the exact same color from his dreams. Had he made a devil’s bargain with her and his life, his memories, had been the price? Slowly, she shook her head no as she stammered, “N…no. I told you: I bit you to save you.”

“Save me from what?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her, looking for any sign she was lying to him. He still wanted to fuck her but he didn’t know if he trusted her.

Her lips pursed together as she considered her words but he didn’t want her to think, to come up with a lie. “Tell me.”

Her head jerked as she looked at him, “You were dying. I had no choice.”

“You could have let me die.”

Tears welled in her eyes and she looked away, obviously overcome by strong emotion. Seeing the raw pain on her face, he felt like the complete ass he had wanted to avoid. Reaching out, he cupped her cheek and lowered his voice as he apologized, “I’m sorry, Daisy. I shouldn’t have said that.”

She shook her head as she tried to get her emotions under control. Even with a red nose and red, watery eyes, she was beautiful. Brushing his thumb over her lower lip, his breath caught in his chest. The feel of her was so familiar and yet it seemed as if he had never touched her before. “Was I human?”

Her silver eyes widened and then quickly looked away, which was telling. He just wasn’t sure what it was telling him. After a moment, tears still slipping down her cheeks, she shook her head no, just once. But then she frowned and nodded, just once again. Interesting. He would have asked if he had always been a wolf but he already knew the answer to that, since she had admitted to being the one who had bit him and changed him. “So I wasn’t human?”

“You were but only briefly,” she answered in a soft voice. Pulling her hand from his, she stood up, misery apparent in every inch of her body. Stepping around the table so she was next to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder as she whispered, “I can’t do this right now.”

“Daisy,” he started to protest but then her lips were right there and she was kissing him, kissing him like it was forever. Like it was goodbye. He reached up, but she was already gone. Needing to go after her, he started to stand up but that was when the memories slammed into him and he staggered back onto the chair.

The memory of the first time he saw her, standing in the doorway as he sat in the dark. There was a reason he had been sitting in the dark but that memory was absent. And in that moment it didn’t matter because she was there, a hesitant smile on her lips as she sat down. He remembered the exquisite feel of her hand as she touched him, as she stroked his cock and would have brought him to his knees if he hadn’t already been sitting down. He remembered taking her, the feel of her body stretching around him as she gave him her virginity.

He remembered the way she came apart in his arms and a low groan slipped past his lips.

There were gaps in his memory and he had the feeling that he’d never get those gaps filled. Conversations were censored as they talked about the secret glen she wanted to visit but couldn’t because she couldn’t shift. He had offered her… something but that part of the conversation was lost.

The flashes of memory that he had for the past year were nothing compared to the brilliant images that were currently playing out in his head. Every exquisite detail of her lovely body was there, from her shining eyes to her perfect breasts to her glistening sex to her long, lithe legs. He remembered the taste of her on his tongue and in that moment, he was ravenous for another sample.

Pushing off the table with such force he knocked the chair over, he ignored his friends as he stalked out of the tavern and up the stairs to the rooms above. Now that her scent was burned into his brain, he could locate her even if she was a million miles away. He could feel his wolf clawing his way to the surface but he had to be careful because she was latent and he never wanted to hurt her.

Not even bothering to knock, he pushed open the door to her room and stilled when he saw her next to the bed packing her bags. She froze when she saw him standing there, her pulse throbbing madly in her slender neck. As if sensing the volatile mood he was in, she slowly lowered the shirt she was folding and faced him. “Roman.”

Tilting his head to the side, he growled, “Were you planning on leaving?”

He watched the movement of her throat as she swallowed. Nervously, her hand fluttered over the racing pulse in her neck and she took a step away from him. “It’s too hard to stay.”

“I remember you,” he growled, taking a step closer to her, crowding into her space and not giving her a chance to think. “I don’t remember anything else but I remember you.”

A strained laugh came out as she looked at him, “What? In the five minutes since I left you sitting at the table?”

“Yes,” he rumbled, taking another step closer. One more and he’d be able to gather her up in his arms and never let her go. Her tight t-shirt hugged her mouthwatering breasts and as her breathing increased, the sight was almost enough to make him lose the tight leash he held on his desire. Dragging his gaze away from the heavenly temptation, he inhaled deeply and groaned. Her heated musk wrapped around him and shredded another layer of control. In a guttural voice, he rasped, “You kissed me and my memories of you came back.”

Her lips parted as a small gasp escaped and he wanted to capture the sound with his mouth. Softly, she breathed, “Osiris.”

He didn’t know what that meant, if perhaps she worshipped the ancient god even if he didn’t remember such a thing. It hardly mattered because her eyes were darkening to molten silver and wetness just dampened her sweet pussy. His fingers curled around the bed post and he felt the wood give way beneath the force of his grip. The wolf was close, he could see it in his nails that were longer than usual. Taking a few deep breaths, he willed the wolf to step down, at least enough to keep Daisy safe.

“I want you,” he rasped. “I want you more than my next breath, my little flower.”

“Roman,” she breathed, her lips forming his name though no sound came out. In the next moment, she was flying into his arms, wrapping her body around his. Covering his face with tears and kisses, she groaned, “Oh, Roman.”

“Daisy,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around her slender waist, sliding them down to curve around her sweet ass. Tearing his lips from hers, he pressed his forehead against hers and swallowed thickly. “Daisy, sweetheart. I’m not the same man you knew.”

“You’re not,” she whispered, placing a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth. Holding his eyes, she gazed deep into his soul and her voice was even softer as she said, “You no longer have the sadness that used to shadow your eyes.”

“Was my life so bad?” he asked in a soft rasp.

Her tongue darted out as she answered, “Parts of it were. But now I think you are the man you were always meant to be.”

As his lips curved upwards into a half-smile, he huffed out an unexpected laugh. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” she vowed vehemently, her silver eyes flashing with conviction. Curling her fingers into his hair, she gave a none-too-gentle tug and growled, “You’re a good man, Roman.”

“I don’t want to wait like your brother is waiting,” he said, the words surprising him as much as they surprised her. Now that he had her, he would be a fool to let her slip through his fingers. “I want to claim you now.”

Her eyes widened and a moment later, her lips curved into a sweet, seductive smile. Tilting her head to the side, she closed her eyes and braced herself, “I’m ready.”

“When I claim you, my little flower,” he growled, tossing her onto the bed and falling down on top of her. Running a finger along the curve of her cheek, the length of her neck, he continued, “You will be naked and I will be buried in your wet heat. God, I can smell you and you smell so fucking good.”

Color infused her cheeks and her racing pulse raced even faster as her legs parted in silent acceptance of his words. For whatever reason, he remembered feeling he wasn’t worthy of her. But now he was a wolf and she was his and there were no doubts in his head that they were meant to be together. He would be a good mate to her, providing her with food, shelter, and pups, as many as she wanted. There was plenty of time to get to know one another after they were well and truly mated.

“How much do you like the clothes that you’re wearing?” he asked, trying to tamp down the primal reaction he was having towards her. He’d never hurt her but he didn’t want to scare her either.

“I hate them,” she said, her silver eyes heavy with desire. Holding her gaze, he slowly extended his claws and watched her eyes widen. “Impressive. Not many wolves have such control.”

“Pushing myself to the limits helped deal with, well, everything,” he said. Not wanting her to think about what he had lost, he tore the jeans from her body. Her squeak of surprise was music to his ears and her long legs were manna to his soul. Slowly, he drew a claw down the front of her shirt, wanting to savor the pleasure of unwrapping her and the anticipation of finally being inside of her. He froze when he saw the four pink lines crossing her flat stomach. Tracing one of them, he frowned, “These weren’t here before.”

“I’m not the same girl, either,” she said softly, lowering her lashes to cover her amazingly expressive eyes.

Jealousy reared its ugly head at the thought of another wolf touching her, taking her, and he pressed his teeth together as he asked, “What happened?”

“A mistake came back to bite me in the ass. Or rather, scratch me across the stomach,” she said with a note of shame and disgust. Covering the marks, she turned her head and he felt her slipping away. “He was under the mistaken impression that I was his mate but I was never his.”

Swallowing down the bile and dread, he forced the question out that he didn’t want to ask. “Did he….”

Her eyes flew to his and she shook her head no, “He tried but no, he didn’t.”

A wolf dared to hurt Daisy…. The possessiveness that he felt before was nothing compared to what he was feeling at the moment. He wanted to hide Daisy away from all of the evil in the world and keep her safe. “I’ll rip his fucking throat out.”

“He’s dead,” she blurted. “He’s dead because of me.”

Bending forward, pressing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes, “Sweetheart, no. Don’t think about him. Don’t think about anyone but you and me. You’re mine, Daisy, and I’m never letting you go again.”

“Roman,” she breathed, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight.

The savage urge to take her fast and hard disappeared, replaced by the need to claim her slowly, tenderly. Holding her eyes, he pulled her panties off of her and then dragged his hand back up her smooth legs. He rested his hand against the wound on her belly, holding it there until she was breathing heavily, her breasts rising and falling with each breath. Still keeping his eyes on her face, he unclipped the front clasp of her bra and spread the material open until she was lying naked beneath him.

“I think you’re wearing too many clothes,” she panted in a breathy whisper.

“Are you afraid of the big, bad wolf?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her. Her sweetly erotic smile made his control falter for a moment, made his cock twitch against the rough material of his jeans.

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and whispered, “I’m not afraid of you, never of you.”

“Good, because I hate my clothes, too,” he said with a wicked smile. In the next heartbeat, he shifted to a wolf and the heartbeat after that he shifted back. His clothes were shredded but he was naked and that was all that mattered.

“Jesus,” Daisy breathed in awe, her silver eyes wide. “I didn’t know wolves could do that. Even my dad can’t shift that fast and he’s the strongest wolf I know.”

“I don’t want to talk about your dad, Daisy,” he said, pressing his straining erection against the heat of her pussy. Her delighted giggle filled all of the empty spaces in his soul that he hadn’t known were empty. They weren’t empty; they were just waiting for Daisy. She opened her mouth but he was done talking. Slowly, he pushed into her, loving the mind-numbing pleasure of her pussy embracing his cock. Her breath hitched in her throat and he thrust the rest of the way in, until he was buried to the balls.

Closing his eyes, he stilled, savoring the intense joy of being in Daisy once again. Softly, his voice raw with emotion and lust, he said, “It’s only ever been you, Daisy. Only you.”

Her legs wrapped around his hips and he had to fight against the urge to move, to fuck, to claim. He just wanted another moment of this perfect peace but she was making it difficult by being so damn luscious and by smelling so damn good. Bending his head, he pressed his nose against her throat, breathing deeply of her unique scent, the smell of sunshine and moonlight and impossible things that were somehow possible and her. His mouth watered as he growled, “You’re mine.”