Stone Solitude (6 page)

“Yes, of course.” Turning away from the demon, Roman concentrated on the food Xerec had brought to him, trying not to gag even though gargoyles needed to eat. With ruthless determination, he forced the food into his mouth and down his throat. Behind him, the door opened and shut and Roman closed his eyes for the temporary reprieve. His resolve hadn’t wavered, he was still going to seduce the girl and break the curse, but having met her face to face, he wished he wasn’t so ugly. Even his gargoyle form was preferable to the hideousness of his distorted face.

She had liked his gargoyle form, at least she had when she was ten.

Fuck it, he couldn’t stay in this room a moment longer. He had to see her. It wasn’t too late, just past ten, so perhaps he would find her at the library once again. If he saw Xerec, he’d just tell the demon to go fuck himself because he wasn’t going to explain himself to anyone.

Tucking his massive wings against his body, he grabbed the dark cloak and draped it around his shoulders. He caught his reflection in the remnants of the mirror and shuddered; he looked like a fucking hunchback. A twinge of conscience pierced him and he regretted the fact that Daisy unknowingly bound herself to him when she was a child. It had been her hand that had woken him up and it was going to be her blood that was going to set him free.

Daisy poured over the words in the old book of fairy tales, fascinated by the impossible tales of gods and curses and love and hate. Even though she was supposed to be working on her paper, she had gotten sucked into the fantastical myths. She never would have picked the book up but it had been in the wrong section and she grabbed it so she could move it. But then she made the mistake of opening it. 

There had been a chapter about wolves that looked very interesting and she wanted to read it later on but at the moment, she was far more interested in the gargoyle mythology. According to the story, gargoyles were born from the love of Apollo for Medusa, a love that was tragic and beautiful and everlasting. She couldn’t imagine only being able to spend a few years with the love of her life every five hundred years nor could she imagine having to give her children up before they reached the age of ten.

For some reason, the image of a hulking cloaked figure flashed in her head and she flushed. Certainly she wasn’t interested in Roman for they had barely exchanged a handful of words before she bolted on him. She doubted she would ever see him again and if he saw her, he’d probably run in the other direction before she had the chance to apologize.

If she wasn’t interested in him then why was he occupying so many of her thoughts? Ever since their brief introduction on Friday, she had spent far too much time wondering about him. What did he look like beneath the voluminous cloak that he hid under? Was his skin gray all over? Was he one of those mythical gargoyles that she had been reading about?

She really needed to concentrate on her paper since she had lost most of Friday being a chicken and then on Saturday she could barely concentrate. Sunday the library had been closed and then tonight she had discovered the absolute treasure that she was currently reading. The book occupied all of her thoughts and she was starting to imagine things that just weren’t possible, like a god falling in love with a Gorgon.

Says the Siren with a latent wolf.

But surely gargoyles weren’t the love children of Apollo and Medusa and Roman wasn’t a gargoyle. That would be too much of a coincidence. After all, she had decided to write about gargoyles because she had been fascinated by them for as long as she could remember though she didn’t know why. She had also been dreaming about them for the last ten years. Gargoyles were simply on her mind and she was trying to make Roman into something he wasn’t because he intrigued her.

With a sigh, she pushed the wonderful book aside and dragged the huge tome she needed to read back in front of her. The usual origin myths were all there, from the use of gargoyles as protectors against evil to the design of them as water spouts. Compared to the lyrical prose of the other book, this book was dreadfully dull and it was difficult to keep her brain focused when she wanted to read more about Apollo and Medusa and possibly sneak a peek at the wolf tales.

As she yawned, the door opened and
he
was standing there, hidden beneath the heavy layers of his cloak. Standing abruptly, she knocked the chair down and cringed at the clanging sound it made. “Roman. I didn’t expect to see you again.”

His head turned towards the chair then back and she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. What must he think of her? Awkwardly, she bent down and straightened the upturned seat, waiting for him to say something, anything. When he remained silent, standing in the doorway, she started to blabber, “I’ve been studying… well, I
meant
to study but I started reading a book of myths and I probably wasted a good hour losing myself in the stories of love and loss and I was thinking about you and if I’d ever see you again but I didn’t expect to, not really, and now here you are.”

Her face was blistering from the heat of her embarrassment and she had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything else. Geez, she had already said way, way too much, probably confirming Roman’s opinion of her of being a complete scatter brain.

After a long, very uncomfortable silence, his gravel rough voice broke the quiet, “You thought about me?”

Her cheeks burned even hotter as she fell into the chair and nodded dumbly, “I did. I wanted to apologize for my behavior.”

He cocked his head to the side, “What behavior?”

With a slight frown, she blinked up at him, “On Friday?” she reminded him. When he remained silent, neither moving forward nor leaving, she added, “When I ran out on you?”

A rusty chuckle came from within the heavy material and he finally stepped into the room. Pulling out the chair across from her, he sat down, filling the small space with his presence. “Think nothing of it, Daisy. I have that effect on everyone.”

This time her frown was more pronounced, “I… it wasn’t because of you…. Well, it was but it wasn’t your appearance, it was your words.”

“My words?” He did that head cocking think again and she really wished she could see his face but he still managed to remain safely hidden in the shadows of his hood.

“Yes,” she said with a nod, keeping her eyes on the area she thought his face might be in the off chance the light hit him just right and illuminated his features. “You called me something I hadn’t heard for many years.”

“Forgive me.”

Reaching out her hand, she shook her head no, not wanting him to get the wrong impression. “No, it was just a reminder of someone near and dear to me who has been absent these past ten years.”

She held her breath as he slid his massive claw over hers, feeling it in her soul. The thrill that tripped down her spine almost made her miss his words as he asked, “Was it someone you lost in the Rapture?”

It took her a moment to remember what they were talking about. “Sort of? Not exactly?”

His deep chuckle on top of the feel of his hand on hers had turned her brain to tapioca. Clearing his throat, he murmured, “Forgive me again. I did not mean to laugh but you look utterly adorable when you’re stumped.”

She was fairly certain her face was on fire but she couldn’t stop the smile that curved her lips or the rush of pleasure when he called her adorable. It was obvious he wasn’t human so perhaps he wouldn’t freak out too much if she told him the truth. Squeezing his massive hand, not releasing her grip, she explained, “I’m a… wolf.”

When he didn’t freak out or scoff, she continued, “Well, I’m supposed to be a wolf but I offended her when I was a child and now she won’t acknowledge me. I mean, I’m still a wolf but I can’t shift.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said gruffly.

She offered a sad smile as she shrugged her shoulders, “I’ve lived most of my life without her council so I suppose I’m used to it. Besides, I have my family and they are always eager and more than willing to offer their opinions to me.”

His shoulders shook slightly as he chuckled, “Do you have such a large family then?”

Heaving a dramatic sigh, knowing her eyes were sparkling with love and laughter, she nodded, “I am the second oldest of nine, if you can imagine. And the oldest is my twin.”

He sucked in a harsh breath and she wasn’t sure if it was the number of kids her parents had or the mention of a twin. Squeezing his hand, she asked softly, “What of your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

His head moved slowly in a nod and his words were just as slow to come, “I have… several brothers but I have not seen them in many, many years.”

Tears filled her eyes as she put her other hand on top of the stone hand she held. “Do you miss them?”

“I do,” he answered quickly, unable to hide the wistfulness in his rocky voice. “But I have hopes of seeing them again. Soon.”

“That’s wonderful,” she breathed, her heart doing a little dance of joy for him.

“Yes.” He only said the one word but she could have sworn he was squirming, at least a little bit, in his seat. She really, really wished she could see his face, to study his expression as he talked. It had never occurred to her how large a role facial expression played in communication. Blowing out a breath, he murmured, “I am a twin, too. My br… my brother would have challenged me in some feat of athleticism for the pleasure of courting you.”

Heat seeped into her cheeks as she lowered her lashes, unable to prevent the smile that formed at his old-fashioned words. Glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, she asked, “Are you courting me?”

“That is what one calls it when they wish to get to know a beautiful girl better, is it not?” She heard the curiosity in his voice, the hint of amusement, and her blush deepened. “And I do wish to know you better.”

“I’m not that interesting,” she blurted, strangely flattered by the offer. “I don’t think it’s necessary to court.”

He stiffened and started to pull his hand away when she realized he took her words the wrong way. Wrapping both of her hands around his wrist, pulling with a great deal of effort, she quickly added, “I didn’t mean it like that, Roman. I’d like to get to know you it’s just…. I’ve never actually gone out on a date-date.”

There was a momentary pause before he asked, “Why is that?”

Embarrassed, she shrugged her shoulders and acted like it wasn’t an issue when it had bothered her a great deal. “Guys rarely ask me out and I’ve only asked a guy out a few times, but they always came up with some excuse to bail before the actual date. So I’ve never actually gone out on a date.”

“So, you want to… go out with me?” There was a wealth of suspicion and doubt in his voice and she wasn’t sure if she was making an even bigger fool of herself in front of this fascinating man.

“Well, I usually go out in groups,” she said. Licking her lower lip, she added, “But I don’t want that with you.”

“Because I embarrass you.” He said it so matter-of-factly, her heart broke a little bit for him.

Shaking her head, she smiled at him, “Not at all. It’s because my friends are nosy and once they get wind of you, we’ll never have another chance at this.”

“This?”

“This,” she repeated, flapping her hand around to demonstrate what she was talking about. “Just you and me getting to know one another. Without a bunch of wolves butting their heads in.”

He seemed to study her in silence, though she wasn’t sure how he was able to see from beneath the heavy cloak. She wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or go and she held her breath, hoping he remained where he was. Slowly, the stiffness eased from his arm and he relaxed once again, “I am perhaps a little sensitive to my appearance.”

“Will you show me?”

“Not yet, sweetling,” he murmured as his head moved back and forth in the negative. A wry chuckle slipped past his lips as he added, “You see, I wasn’t always this way and I fear my vanity is still very fragile.”

She grinned at his teasing tone, wondering if she was intrigued by him because he was so mysterious or if it was something more. “Then how do you propose we get to know one another?”

His broad, broad shoulders lifted and dropped in a shrug before he said, “We could stay here and talk.”

“Well,” she pursed her lips, searching the shadows for any glimpse of his face and seeing nothing. “The world isn’t the same place as it was ten years ago. We can go to one of the creature-friendly bars and have drinks maybe?”