Stone Solitude (24 page)

“Yeah but I don’t think it means the same thing for him,” she said lightly, hoping her brother didn’t hear the hurt in her voice. At his raised eyebrow, she explained, “I haven’t seen him since Saturday night.”

“Ah,” Dominic said, a world of understanding in that one sound. “You told him about kissing all of those wolves and he couldn’t deal.”

“Something like that,” she muttered, not quite meeting Dominic’s eyes. Luckily, his thoughts were on Jeanette so he didn’t question her evasive answer. “If I was his mate, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

He nodded his head as he brought Jeanette’s hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers. “That is true. I mean, look at me and Jeanette.”

Daisy nodded in understanding but wolves were a different breed altogether. “Do you think you’ll give up the other wolves and bond with Jeanette?”

He dampened his lips with his tongue as he seriously considered her question. After a moment, he slowly answered, “I’m not sure if either of us is ready for that but I’m willing to try monogamy.”

“It’d be easier if you were bonded,” Daisy murmured since monogamy was the only option for bonded wolves. But being bonded also meant children, especially since birth control didn’t work on wolves, so she understood Dominic’s reluctance.

“As you said,” he returned with a wry grin. “We’re only twenty.”

“I’m glad you can laugh while I’m lying here dying,” Jeanette’s voice rasped from the bed.

“Jeanette!” Dominic said, all levity immediately disappearing from his voice. Leaning over Jeanette’s prone body, he brushed her plum hair out of her face and asked, “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“Like I was run over by a truck,” she grunted, looking up at Dominic with equal parts curiosity and lust. “What happened and why are you here?”

“You’re in the hospital,” he said softly, giving her a quick and sanitized version of the previous night’s events. “Why were you even there?”

“I was at
Skin
to either seduce you or make you jealous, Dom,” Jeanette growled, anger giving her cheeks some more color, the red complimenting the purple and green. Glaring at Dominic, she added, “I’m tired of getting my itches scratched by other wolves, Dom. It’s you I want and I’m tired of settling. I want
you.
”

“Did Daisy tell you the terms of the agreement between us?” he asked with a hint of suspicion, glancing at his sister, making Daisy wish she was elsewhere. Standing up, she moved towards the door as Dominic continued, “I mean, you know that I’m abstaining from sex for at least three more weeks, right?”

Jeanette arched an eyebrow, “Do I look like I’m up for sex, even with you?”

Daisy slipped out the door as Dominic the idiot said, “The doctor said there were no signs of rape.”

Daisy wanted to slap her brother on Jeanette’s behalf but her friend surprised her by chuckling, “Yeah, we’re not going to bond until you can think with something other than your dick.”

“But we’re going to… date,” Dominic murmured, a hint of nervousness in his voice as if he were afraid Jeanette would deny him. Foolish wolf.

“Yeah,” Jeanette returned and Daisy could hear the smile in her voice. “We’re going to date.”

Daisy sipped at the beer, cringing with every swallow. She had commandeered one of the comfy couches in the dark and
quiet
corner, her uneaten dinner sitting on the low table in front of her. It was another busy night at
The Black Wolf
, which was the perfect place to be alone in a crowd. Just in case anyone thought she wanted company, she had brought along a college text book, one of the bigger ones from the new semester. In the three weeks since she woke up in the hospital, she was still adjusting to having no one while her brother and Jeanette made moon eyes at one another. As happy as she was for them, it was a painful reminder of what she had lost so she had avoided them.

Childish but effective.

It was easy enough now that she was living in the dorms. Coming to
The Black Wolf
was her way of appeasing them for the way she had been avoiding them. It was difficult to pretend everything was okay when everything was completely fucked up and the noise of the bar was the only thing keeping her from screaming. The beer kept her hands from curling into fists and punching the nearest wall.

Who knew it was even more difficult to deal with a broken heart in a crowd of people than it was alone in one’s dorm room? At least she had no distractions at night to keep her from throwing herself into her school work and her grades had never been higher. Unfortunately, two weeks into her junior year and she was ready for winter break. Maybe she’d take a trip to somewhere far away and possibly tropical. Goodness knows she could use some time on the beach just soaking up the sun since the moon no longer held any appeal for her.

“Daisy!” Jeanette squealed, ignoring the invisible barrier Daisy had erected as she threw her arms around Daisy’s shoulders. “Just the best friend I was looking for!”

“Hey, Jeanette,” Daisy said, managing a slight smile. It hurt to smile. God, ever since that night, it hurt to do anything. At least Jeanette looked good, really good. If she didn’t know any better, Daisy would never have known the girl had been in the hospital just a few weeks before. One of the benefits of being a wolf. “It’s been a while.”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s become a recluse,” Jeanette protested, grabbing a fry from the plate and making a face when she realized it was cold. Tonight her hair was red, bright, cardinal red and suited Jeanette very well.

“I wanted to give you and Dominic time to… come to terms,” Daisy murmured, using the toe of her shoe to push the plate further away from them. “And I’ve been in school.”

“But you’ve always had time for your friends.”

“It’s my junior year and I have been super busy with school work,” she offered, knowing it was a lame excuse, especially since she spent too much time
not
doing her school work since there was only so much school work assigned each week. “But I’m here now.”

“You’re barely here,” Jeanette huffed. “I mean, we’ve been playing pool for at least an hour and every time I looked over here you’ve been staring off into space.”

“I just have a lot on my mind,” she murmured, guilt being heaped onto her misery. Pushing her sorrow down as deep as she could, she turned in her seat to more fully face her friend. Even though she wasn’t willing to share the source of her anguish, she owed her friend some sort of explanation. Clearing her throat, she started, “It’s just getting… hard being around all of you.” As Jeanette’s face started to twist in guilt, Daisy held up her hand and shook her head, “It’s nothing you’ve done! It’s me, it’s all me.”

Jeanette’s expression softened as she leaned in and asked in a low voice, “Are you talking about me and Dominic?”

“What?” She was stunned Jeanette went there but it made sense. Shaking her head no, she said, “No! I’m so happy for you and my idiot brother, you have no idea. No, it’s not that.”

Leaning even closer and lowering her voice even more, Jeanette asked, “Because of your wolf?”

“Yes.” Daisy’s belly tightened at the half-truth but there was nothing else for it. She couldn’t tell Jeanette that it was awkward being around so many wolves that she had kissed nor could she explain what happened after she had kissed all of those wolves and went home with a gargoyle. If she thought about that night at all, she’d probably break down and cry. Or give herself an ulcer from worrying about him. In her free time, she had even searched a few of the condemned buildings during the day, looking for him in his gargoyle form but he was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared from her life and she no longer knew what to think.

It didn’t change the fact that he was her mate. It just meant it wasn’t reciprocated. After all, he never said anything about her being his mate; he had made no promises and he never said
I love you
. She had just thought there was something between them, something magical, that defied all logic or reason, like her parent’s grand love affair.

“I guess I’ve been a little wrapped up in my own relationship,” Jeanette continued with a soft smile, her eyes darting to the pool table where Dominic was probably standing, staring back with an equally besotted look on his face. “But unlike you, I’ve tried calling and you never answer,”

“Sorry.” Pulling out her phone, Daisy looked at it even though she already knew how many calls she had ignored. “I turn it off for class and forget to turn it on and by the time I remember it’s too late to call back. Um, how have you been?”

“Good,” Jeanette answered quickly as a shadow passed in her pale eyes. With a slight frown, she shook her head, “Mostly good. I have had a few anxiety attacks but Dominic has been pretty, um, amazing.”

“I don’t want to hear anything,” Daisy said even as a smile curved her lips. “As deliriously happy as I am for you and Dominic, I don’t want to hear any more details about his sex life.”

“But all of the girls talked to you about him.”

“But they weren’t my best friend and my brother’s mate,” Daisy retorted. “It matters now, you know?”

A blush colored Jeanette’s cheeks as she gave a nod. “Yeah, it does.”

After a moment, determined to be cheerful, Daisy asked, “So, what have I missed?”

“Well, you’ve missed the latest scandal,” Jeanette grinned, falling into the easy rhythm of their friendship instead of laying on more guilt. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Jon Sorensen has flown off to some remote cabin in the woods and he took a couple of females –
human
females – with him. Apparently, he is determined to prove his heterosexuality by banging as many girls as possible.”

Daisy cringed. In all of the crap she’d been dealing with, she had completely forgotten about Jon. “How do you know this if he’s off hiding somewhere?”

“He keeps posting about it,” Jeanette said with disgust. “And the weird thing is all of the girls look suspiciously like my best friend.”

It took Daisy a moment to realize Jeanette meant her and when it registered her eyes bugged out. “Ew, that’s kind of disturbing.”

“Honey, Jon has taken it to a whole new level of disturbing,” Jeanette sympathized. “You’ve got that guy all tied up in knots.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Daisy protested weakly because it
was
her fault Jon was obsessing over her. She sang and then hadn’t given him the Siren’s goodbye kiss. The poor guy was going to continue this madness until he returned and she did what she had to do to release him. However, it was
his
fault that he ran off to some remote mountain cabin.

Waving her hand as if erasing the memory from her mind, Jeanette grinned, “Steffie and Tobias are already expecting a little pup. They think they conceived on the night they mated. In fact, I think all of the wolves that bonded that night are expecting.” Holding up her hand, she started counting them off on her fingers. “Gwyn and Zach, Tori and Brandon, Tracy and Matt. Even your Aunt Jillian is expecting. People are starting to wonder what is up with your family.”

“In what way?” Daisy asked carefully, her heart fluttering madly in her chest that anyone suspected she wasn’t a normal wolf, other than the fact that she couldn’t shift.

Jeanette laughed, “Nothing like that, Daisy. Most of them think it has something to do with the fact that your mom was human. I doubt any of them know the truth.”

Daisy’s eyes widened in alarm at her friend’s words and she stilled. Her voice squeaked as she asked, “The truth?”

“That your voice is an aphrodisiac to wolves,” Jeanette said dramatically, too close to the actual truth to not even be funny. Dominic must have told her, which made sense since their daughters had the possibility of being Sirens, at least carrying the Siren gene. Jeanette would need to know. Winking, Jeanette added, “Both you and your mom. Don’t worry, Daisy, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you. I appreciate th....” Her words trailed off as Jeanette’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she grabbed Daisy’s arms. A fissure of something tripped down Daisy’s spine but she ignored it because that only happened when Roman was nearby and she was too far angry at him to just melt when he finally decided to show up. Refusing to turn around, she licked her lips and asked, “What is it?”

“The most gorgeous man in the universe just walked into the bar,” Jeanette breathed. “Well, the second most gorgeous man because I’m pretty sure Dominic is the most gorgeous but… Oh, my god he’s heading this way.”

Daisy tried to ignore the disappointment that it wasn’t Roman but it was difficult because she still wanted him. Stupid Siren imprinting. Slowly, she turned her head and had to remember how to breathe. Intense blue eyes burned from a face that was exquisite in its masculinity, a face framed by thick short hair the color of the purest gold. His dark t-shirt was molded to broad shoulders, a chest that was fashioned from every girl’s fantasies, and abs that were made to be licked. It was a very tight shirt. His arms were corded with long, sinewy muscle. His legs were encased in a pair of well-worn blue jeans. He had muscled thighs and an impressive… package.

He made the wolves look like trolls.

Breathless, she caught his expression and realized he had focused on her like a wolf that had scented his prey. Or his mate. Her body trembled because her reaction was so similar to the one she had towards Roman, only this god walking towards her wasn’t Roman, couldn’t be Roman. What if her Siren and her wolf had two different mates? Was that even possible? Could she even have a wolf mate?

Pushing back deeper into her chair, trying to escape him but unable to actually move, she watched as he stalked towards her, his eyes burning hotter and brighter the closer he got to her. The noise of the bar faded to nothing as her heartbeat filled her head.

“Daisy?” Jeanette’s voice came from a different dimension as the world shrank down to the magnificent man and herself. She was peripherally aware of Jeanette still standing there but beyond that, Daisy wasn’t aware of anything but the man in front of her and the heat that was coming off his body, wrapping around her and drugging her.

And then he was there, his clean minty scent filling her head as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up and into his hot embrace. Her thoughts scattered as his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that instantly transported her to Eden. Automatically, her hands went to his head and her fingers curled into the thick, golden strands of his hair. Heat spread down her spine and through her body as he moved his tongue against hers.

His breath filled her lungs as if he could only breathe with her air, as if he only existed for her. His arms banded around her waist, pulling her against the hard, contoured planes of his chest. Her nipples tightened as they rubbed against his chest, and pleasure raged through her body. She wanted to climb up his body and wrap herself around him until she no longer knew where she ended and he began. She wanted to tear his clothes off and fuck him where they stood.

His lips trailed along her jaw and she was able to suck in much needed oxygen. Tilting her head back, she gave him access to her throat. She wanted to feel the bite of his teeth; she wanted him to claim her…

“My little flower,” he rasped, his breath hot against her ear, her neck.

Pulling back, she stared at him in horror and a whole lot of relief. “Roman?”

His smile was blinding as he nodded once, “Yes.”

Her hand flew back of its own accord, striking him across his cheek and making pain shoot through her palm. Clutching her stinging hand against her chest, she glared at him as tears filled her eyes, “How? Why? How?”