Stone Solitude (7 page)

“I don’t think I’d enjoy watching all of the other wolves sniffing around your skirts.”

“They only thrust their nose in your crotch or ass if they’re in wolf form,” she dead panned, wanting to hear his laugh. When he stiffened further, she let a smile curve her lips and murmured, “I’m teasing. After all, we’re not complete animals… well, I’m not an animal at all. And there are plenty of other bars out there….”

“I want to see you in the moonlight,” he said abruptly. “I imagine you are breathtaking beneath the moonlight.”

“Probably more attractive than beneath this harsh fluorescent light,” she returned, pleasantly embarrassed by his words. Looking at their joined hands, studying the contrast between her slender, peach-colored skin and his much larger, stone gray flesh, she sighed, “The wolves are beautiful in the moonlight but that’s to be expected, isn’t it? I mean, they’re wolves and I’m me.”

“I think you’re wonderful just the way you are.”

Huffing out a laugh, she twinkled her eyes at him and smiled, “But you don’t really know me yet. Isn’t that why we’re, um, courting?”

Slowly, he raised his hand and cupped her cheek in his large, stony palm and it was like she was able to breathe for the first time in her life. The world slowed down as time held its breath, waiting for the next moment. In an even rougher voice than usual, he rasped, “I know what I need to know, Daisy.”

A shaft of low light illuminated the lower curve of his unusually wide chin and she was able to see that his face was the same stone gray color of his hands. She was transfixed by the heat in his palm, the low timbre of his voice, and in that moment she knew that he was her soul mate. Licking her lower lip, she asked, “Are you going to seduce me?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation, the word coming out as a low growl. “I’m going to take your virginity and I’m going to give you so much pleasure, you’ll scream and beg for more. You’re mine, Daisy, and you know it. Deep inside, you know it.”

Her eyes slid closed at the heated promise in his words, the verbal claiming of her soul. Taking a shuddering breath, she pried her eyelids open until she was gazing at him through hooded eyes, “Will I ever be able to see your face?”

He paused for a moment before he answered, “Someday, perhaps.”

Turning her head slightly, she kissed his palm and he hissed in response. Covering his hand with hers, she pressed it harder against her cheek, “I wish to see you.”

Somehow, she felt his smile and she smiled in return, though she wasn’t sure why she was smiling. But then his hand was gone and she mourned the loss. Until she realized he had pulled his arms out of his sleeves and was pushing the material of his cloak away from his body, deliberately leaving the concealing hood in place. Massive, stone shoulders gleamed in the low light as a chest with slabs of carved muscles, heavily grooved abs, arms of corded sinew were slowly revealed. She held her breath as she stared at his naked torso, her fingers twitching to feel the hard flesh. Other than the stone gray color, his body looked human and perfect.

It took her a moment to realize that his shoulders weren’t as broad as she had thought they would be given the breadth they had been beneath the cloak. Flicking her eyes to those wonderfully carved shoulders, she almost forgot to breathe when the material twitched and she gasped, “What are you leaving hidden beneath your cloak?”

He was silent for a long moment before he said in a quiet voice, “My wings.”

Wings! The sudden giddiness that he had wings slammed into her and she wanted to see them, to study them and touch them….

“If you keep looking at me like that I might forget that I have no desire to scare you, my little flower,” he growled hoarsely.

Breathing heavily, she managed to drag her eyes away from the gloriously chiseled perfection that was Roman’s chest and asked, “Are you a gargoyle?”

He was quiet for a long moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed, the movement mesmerizing. He held himself stiffly as he answered solemnly, “I am.”

At his simple answer, her heart flipped over on itself in excitement. A gargoyle! It was strange that she was writing a paper on gargoyles and one should appear. Or maybe it wasn’t so strange because now that the veil was gone there was far more to the world than met the eye. As she continued staring at him, her lips pulled upwards into a grand smile and a small squeak escaped. “Oh my god that is so cool.”

His body started to relax but then he suddenly stiffened. Lurching forward, he curved his body defensively and let out a low groan of pain. Flying out of her chair, Daisy rushed around the table and put her hand on his shoulder to see if she could help. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” he ground out, his voice raspy as he grabbed the cloak and drew it back around his body.

“Obviously it’s not nothing,” she chided, sliding her hand beneath the material and smoothing her hand over the hard planes of his stone chest. The heat took her by surprise and she had to fight the urge to linger when he was in obvious pain.

His hand came over hers, holding her palm against his heavily beating heart. Time slowed down as his clean, moonlit scent filled her head and she wanted to stay there forever with her hand on his chest. Turning his head slightly, careful to keep his face hidden, he rasped, “Let me keep some of my pride, little flower.”

Glancing down, she saw the tip of his penis peeking out from the voluminous folds of his cloak and her eyes widened in surprise and sudden understanding. She tried to jerk her hand away but he held it in place, almost as if he couldn’t let her go. His chest bellowed with each panted breath, his heart pounded in his chest, and she wanted to ease his suffering even if she wasn’t quite certain how.

“Daisy.” His tortured whisper was a caress to her soul, sending a shiver down her spine and making her want to give him more pleasure than any one man – or gargoyle – could stand. He started to pull her hand downwards but abruptly stopped, as if he were fighting against his urge to have her touch him. The image of his beautiful chiseled chest filtered into her head and she wanted to see it again. With her free hand, she pushed the material back over his shoulder and felt the shudder that wracked his hard body.

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, staring at his hand over hers, she murmured, “You’re naked. I mean, underneath your cloak, you’re naked. Were you naked the first time we met, too? Are you always naked?”

A pained groan came from the back of his throat as he managed to give her a single nod. Licking her lips, she waited until he eased his hold on her hand and then she slid her hand lower, over his hard belly. His skin was warm and smooth and hard, like stone that had been heated by the desert sun. But his body wasn’t inflexible like stone. She had watched him move, albeit briefly, and he moved with the carnal grace and fluidity of a man unreservedly comfortable with his body.

Her hand trembled as it moved lower, as the heat of his erection burned her skin. Swallowing against the nerves, the rush of sensual excitement, she lightly ran a finger along the rigid length and was rewarded by his harsh gasp. Taking encouragement from his involuntary response, she curved her fingers around the heated stone, marveling at its smoothness and strength. When he shifted, she was afraid he was going to pry her hand off his penis but he didn’t. Instead, he covered her hand with his and showed her how he wanted her to touch him.

His breath thundered in his chest and she swore she could feel his pleasure pumping through her blood. Her breasts tightened and her breath matched his, sawing in and out of her parted lips. As she began to lose herself in the joy of touching him, of feeling his heart beat and matching her breaths to his, something pressed against her leg. Before she could process what it was, the long, slender tendril wrapped around her thigh and she flinched.

“Don’t stop,” Roman rasped. “It’s just… it’s just my tail.”

A smile curved her lips at the thought of him having a tail. Perhaps if she wasn’t a wolf, she would have been bothered that her prospective love interest had a tail. Instead she was excited and intrigued since it was apparently a very talented tail, moving over the outside of her panties and lightly touching the damp folds of her sex.

Instinctively, she pressed her thighs together to shield the vulnerable part of her body. But then she chided herself because it was Roman and her hand was wrapped around the most vulnerable part of
his
body. Through sheer determination, she pried her thighs apart, at least a little ways, though she still tensed at the first touch. He chuckled softly, “Relax, my little flower.”

“I don’t usually do this, Roman,” she panted, squeezing the hot flesh of his erection, making him hiss in pleasure. Concentrating on giving him pleasure, she tried to ignore the barely there caress that was making her even wetter.

“I am aware,” he graveled, humor in the harshly spoken words. His right hand curled around the edge of the table as his ass arched off the chair. “Oh, sweet Zeus, fuck.”

His left hand curled around her hand and he increased the pace of her stroke before letting go. Pushing into her hand, his breath came in ragged pants as he grabbed the table with his left hand as well. Heat poured off his body, wrapping around her as surely as his tail curled around her thigh. His tail coiled tighter around her as she pushed him over the edge and she loved it.

There was a loud crack as he shoved his cock against her hand and froze and hot liquid pulsed against her flesh. After a moment, he collapsed back onto the chair, the broken-off piece of table in his hands. Despite not sharing in his orgasm, she was spent as well. Falling into her chair, she looked at her hand and frowned because the hot liquid she felt wasn’t there.

“Gargoyle sperm,” he heaved, his hands trembling as he set the cracked wood down on the table. “It doesn’t last. I’m sorry I didn’t last either.”

“It’s okay,” she managed, still staring at her hand as if it belonged to a different Daisy, an alien Daisy that was bold and adventurous and daring. She jumped when she felt the tip of his tail trail up her thigh. Arching a brow, she looked at him and asked, “Roman?”

“I can smell your heat,” he rasped, his tail flicking over her sensitive clit, making her gasp. “You gave me pleasure like none other, my little flower. Let me return the favor.”

“I didn’t do it expecting any… Oh, god, Roman,” she moaned as he slid the tip of his tail beneath the edge of her panties and touched her naked flesh. Words were lost as he manipulated her sex, lightly brushing against the swollen folds until she was desperate and silently begging him to push just a little harder.

“Let me see your breasts,” he rumbled, putting a little bit more pressure on the sensitive bundle of nerves that was screaming for release.

With shaking hands, she slowly unbuttoned her blouse, exposing the plain white bra beneath. Since the bra hooked in the back, she simply pulled the cups down and sucked in a breath as the warm air caressed her naked skin. His breath was even more ragged as he ordered, “Touch them, my little flower. Twist your nipples with your fingers. Make them ache.”

Reluctantly, she ran her hands over her unbearably sensitive breasts wishing she could see his face, his expression. Swallowing down her nerves, she grabbed her nipples between her forefingers and her thumbs, gently tugging at them until she felt it deep within her belly. “Harder, Daisy.”

Pleasure was flooding her body and she knew if she did as he ordered, she would shatter. Licking her lips, trying to imagine his eyes heavy with desire as he watched her, she twisted her nipples and let out a soft cry as pain surged from her breasts to her pussy. She let out another cry as Roman pressed down against her clit and she came apart.

As soon as she recovered, she remembered they were sitting in a public library and anyone could have walked in on them. They could have seen her hands on her breasts, her head thrown back in ecstasy, and embarrassment replaced the pleasure that had been floating in her body. Stiffening, she straightened out her clothes and stood up. Unable to think of anything to say, she gathered up her books and fled, ignoring Roman as he called out after her.

She’d see him again someday. She just hoped she had her nerves and her lust back under control.

Sunday afternoon, Daisy tried to covertly study her mom as they sat beneath the sun but she feared she wasn’t being very sneaky since Lexi had a slight smile on her face. Her mom was working on her next book while her siblings, from the three-year-old to her twin Dominic, were building a fort in the woods. Daisy had been out there helping them when she offered to go in and get drinks for everyone. Since the kitchen was on the back of the house, she had to walk past the deck and that’s when she saw her mom outside working. Instead of working, however, her mom was staring off into space with a languid smile on her face. Daisy figured her brothers and sisters could wait a few minutes longer while she talked to their mom.

With a million watt smile and an absolute joy of life, Lexi was beautiful and could have enjoyed wild success in anything she put her mind to, in either the human world or the supernatural world. Hell, Daisy was certain her mom could have taken over the world on sheer charm alone. Instead, her mom was blissfully happy writing whenever she had the chance and helping her husband run his empire.

After the Rapture, her dad consolidated most of his businesses to keep his packs safe, since he was Alpha of a pack of ragtag wolves and Alpha-prime of the affluent pack of his father’s. Now, her parents owned the most popular shifter bar in the Midwest, a bar where wolves discussed everything from politics to the future of their packs. Both of them took on so many responsibilities to ensure the welfare of the pack that it was no surprise to Daisy that her parents were leaders amongst the wolves. Fertility was highly prized amongst wolves and her parents were prodigiously fertile.

“Mom?” Daisy blurted into the open. When her mom looked at her with her warm, sparkling eyes, she hesitated a moment before speaking, not wanting to come right out and speak of her fears. Instead, she asked something that she had always been curious about. “Before dad, you used to dress up in the most outlandish outfits. You used to wear more glitter on your face than was probably wise. You lived out loud and then you got married and had kids and became….”

“Boring?” Lexi asked with amusement in her voice.

“Not exactly,” Daisy protested before she frowned. Looking at her mother, picturing the girl who used to wear blue wigs and green leather, she corrected herself, “Well, yes, boring. I mean, you still have your own style but it’s more… subdued.”

“I thought I would always wear those outfits,” her mom murmured, almost to herself before she grinned. There was a hint of sadness in her mom’s eyes as she continued, “But the Rapture changed things. And if it weren’t for that, then I’m certain I would have given up my elaborate costumes long ago. Nobody wants to see a fifty year old in spandex, male or female.”

“You’re not fifty yet,” Daisy murmured. “And you don’t look older than twenty-seven. You could still pull off spandex.”

“Your father could pull off spandex,” her mom said with a slightly lecherous smile.

“Mom!” Shaking her head, she tried not to imagine her dad in spandex. So, of course, the image of her dad in a pair of tight, neon shorts seared her brain and made her cringe. Even though her dad would never be caught dead in such an outfit, it was enough to traumatize her.

“Besides priorities change,” her mom continued as if Daisy wasn’t throwing up inside. “I get to experience the terrifying adventure of parenthood and I get to run as a wolf beneath the light of the moon nearly every night.”

Thinking about her own wolf, the wolf that refused to talk to her, Daisy cleared her throat and asked, “Do you ever regret becoming a wolf?”

“Never,” her mom answered without hesitation, her eyes lighting up with absolute joy. “Even if I could have had your father any other way, I’m glad I became a wolf.”

Pursing her lips, trying to figure out how to phrase her question without insulting her mom or her mom’s wolf, she asked, “Is your wolf as… stubborn as mine?”

Her mom chuckled, “All wolves are stubborn, sweetie. You should have seen the battle your father had with his before they bonded. In fact, his wolf is the one who bit me without your father’s awareness because he knew your dad would never have taken the risk. To be honest, their battle of wills aren’t much better now but it helps that they both desire the same thing.”

“You,” Daisy murmured without thinking. Her mother’s tinkling laughter made her blush.

“Yes. That and the safety of his family,” her mom said with a grin and a happy little sigh. It was obvious that the affection between her parents was more than mutual. Leaning back in her chair, she studied Daisy with eyes that were too knowing. Abruptly, she stopped laughing. Closing her eyes, she sniffed the air and then pinned Daisy with her wolf’s eyes. “Daisy. You’ve imprinted on someone.”

Heat flooded her cheeks as she lowered her lashes to avoid her mother’s penetrating gaze. “I haven’t.”

Her mom arched an eyebrow at Daisy’s protest, making the heat in her cheeks burn hotter. “I haven’t, mom. I mean, I’m still a virgin.”

“Sweetie, a Siren’s imprinting has little to do with the state of your virginity,” her mom explained carefully. Daisy looked up at that, regretting it as soon as her gaze was captured by the wolf. Leaning forward, she clasped Daisy’s hands in her own, her eyes probing Daisy’s. Her frown deepened the longer she probed. “He’s not human.”

“He’s not,” Daisy confirmed, since it would be stupid to lie because her mother already knew the truth. Besides, this is what she wanted to talk to her mom about, the tumultuous reactions she had around Roman. It had been almost a week since she had seen him in the library, since he had pleasured her in that unconventional way and she had run off like the frightened little virgin she was. Nearly every night that she had spent in the library working on her paper, she had both hoped and feared seeing him, afraid of what she might do. She’d either tear off his hood or strip naked and offer herself to him on the table. “I don’t behave like myself when I’m around him and it’s… not normal.”

“I threw myself at your father the first time we met,” her mom said with a slight grin before she frowned again. Brushing a strand of hair from Daisy’s face, she murmured, “But you’re so young and I worry about you. What is he?”

“Um, he’s a gargoyle,” Daisy admitted, a soft smile curving her lips as she thought about Roman, about his stone skin and his blunt flirtations.

Cocking her head to the side, her mother looked bemused, “He’s not one of the gargoyles that protects the castle in the city, is he?”

“You know about gargoyles?” Daisy asked, a little hurt that her parents had never told her about such magical creatures.

“Only a very little,” Lexi admitted in distraction. “To be honest, I had thought they were more myth than reality until your dad pointed them out one day and explained that they were living creatures though I’ve never seen them up close, obviously. I mean, they spend their time on the roof of the castle. You say he’s a gargoyle?” At Daisy’s nod, she grunted, “Huh. What does he look like?”

“I don’t know.” Shrugging her shoulders, Daisy sighed, “He keeps his face hidden from me like he’s afraid of what I’ll think.”

“Does that bother you?”

Daisy let her mother’s question sink in a little bit, trying to be as brutally honest with herself as possible, realizing that if she was being perfectly honest, she was a little bit shallow. Slowly, she raised her lashes and met her mother’s eyes. “I wish I could say it doesn’t bother me, that it doesn’t matter what he looks like because it’s his soul that matters, right? But I have to admit that I am concerned and a little… nervous. I mean, he has a glorious body so how bad does his face have to be to make him want to keep it hidden?”

Her mother’s mouth formed a perfect ‘
O
’ as she stared at Daisy. “Dearest, just how much of his body have you seen?”

Drawing her answer out, Daisy murmured, “Um, most of it?”

“Most of it as in all of it?”

“I haven’t seen anything above his chin or below his knees.” Quickly, she added, “I’ve seen more of the pack when they strip off their clothes before they shift.”

Her mom covered her mouth as her eyes widened in horrified laughter. “Does he have a gargoyle body, a little twisted and overly muscled?”

“It’s more or less human,” Daisy answered. “Except for he’s gray and he has wings. And a tail.”

“A tail.” Amusement lit her mom’s eyes as her natural humor rose up. “Like a wolf’s tail?”

“Not even close,” Daisy said with a reluctant smile. “It’s long-ish and slender and surprisingly agile.”

“He’ll show you his tail but not his face.” Her mom pondered that for a moment before she narrowed her eyes and asked, “Do you wish to see his face?”

“I do, but I want him to reveal himself when he’s ready. Why?”

Color climbed into her mother’s face as she said softly, “I was going to suggest singing to him.”

“But you’ve always taught me that being a Siren is a gift and we shouldn’t abuse our powers.”

“It wouldn’t make him fall in love with you, sweetie,” her mom stammered slightly. “He’s a gargoyle and is most likely unaffected by our song.”

“Then why sing to him?”

“Because singing sometimes makes a supernatural creature do what he wants to do anyway.” The color deepened as she looked away, avoiding Daisy’s stunned expression. “It can also, um, enhance one’s, er, pleasure. Daisy, don’t look at me like that. You’re a Siren and a wolf, two notoriously lusty creatures, and you’ve imprinted on a gargoyle. I don’t want you going into anything unprepared. I just thought I had more time to… discuss these things with you.”

Daisy opened and closed her mouth a few times before she managed to ask, “Is that why there are so many pups in our pack?”

Her mom’s laughter eased the awkwardness of the conversation, at least a little bit. “In this new world, fertility is a matter of survival and having a Siren fan the flames of the lust that already comes so naturally to wolves certainly doesn’t hurt. It’s good that the Siren song has benefits, yes?”

The French doors opened and her dad stepped out onto the deck and the smile that lit her mom’s face was bright enough to light the universe should all of the stars go out at once. Stepping behind her mom, he curled his fingers into her shoulders and gently massaged them as he smiled down at Daisy with love burning in his silver eyes. Seeing the two of them, still so affectionate after all of this time and everything that they’ve been through, made her soul smile. This is what she wanted and she wondered if Roman was someone she could find such blissful harmony with.

“Daisy,” her dad murmured in his deep voice. “Dominic called the house wondering if you were still here or if you had decided to return to the dorm.”

“Oh, crap,” Daisy groaned, jumping to her feet and heading towards the door. “I was going to get some water for everyone.”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” her mom said, patting the chair and beckoning her to sit once again. “If they’re really that thirsty they’ll come up to the house. Besides, I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with you.” Tears filled her mom’s eyes and she sniffled, trying not to cry by making her smile larger, “I miss you.”

Instead of sitting down, Daisy went to her mom and hugged her. Her dad’s warm palm awkwardly patted her back and all three of them laughed. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the warmth of her mom and froze as she smelled something unexpected. “Mom, you’re pregnant? Again?”

Color rose in her mom’s cheeks, which was confirmation enough, especially when her dad wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his body. But then, her mom looked at her with an odd expression, “Daisy, you
scented
it.”

Daisy’s eyes widened as a rush of emotion flooded her and she fell back onto the chair. Her wolf was latent; she shouldn’t have been able to scent the change in her mom’s hormones and yet she had! With a shaky smile, she looked at her dad, seeing the joy on his face that her wolf might be waking up. “Do the others know?”

“Only the ones who can shift,” he said, sitting down and twining his fingers with her mom’s, bringing the slender hand up to his lips for a tender kiss. “We’re waiting to tell the younger kids until we’re a little further along.”

“Does this mean I might shift? That my wolf will bond with me?” she asked, unable to keep the hope and fear from her voice. Did she want to bond with her wolf? Would her wolf mind being mated to a gargoyle? Why would her wolf decide to wake from her slumber now?