Stone Solitude Page 7

  “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?

  “It’s very promising,” he answered carefully. Echoing her thoughts, he asked, “I wonder what roused your dormant wolf?”

  Her mom leaned over and whispered, “She’s imprinted on someone.”

  A thunderous scowl darkened her father’s expression as he pressed his lips together in a tight line. “Who. Is. He? Is it a wolf? Do I need to castrate him?”

  Her mother’s giggle filled the air as she trailed her fingers over his jaw and murmured, “Relax, darling, Daisy’s an intelligent girl. Besides, you know our kind tend to find our soul mates at the oddest times.”

  “Yes but she’s still a baby,” he ground out, his eyes softening as he looked at his mate.

  Daisy chuckled at her father’s words, at the vehemence in his voice. “Dominic has bedded half of the unrelated wolves in the pack, dad. He’s a whore but you’re worried that I’ve imprinted on possibly the only man I’ll ever have sex with?”

  Color flooded his face as he struggled to find the words to explain himself. After a moment, he grumbled with obvious affection, “I knew having a Siren for a daughter was going to be hell.”

  “I love you, too, daddy,” she grinned.

  “If he hurts you I will castrate him.”

  “That might prove difficult, dad,” Daisy said. “He’s a gargoyle.”

  His eyelids slid closed as he bit out another mild expletive. Looking at his wife, he shook his head in grim comprehension. “The world has gone insane, Lex. I imagine gargoyles and wolves mesh as well as Sirens and wolves.”

  “Then they’ll get along splendidly,” her mom grinned, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her father’s lips. Of course, a kiss between those two was never a simple matter of lips touching lips and before being subjected to the passion that always flared up, Daisy silently excused herself. Grabbing some water bottles from the fridge and putting them into a bag, she quietly walked past her parents who were lost in each other and down the stairs. With a smile, she ambled off to the woods to join her brothers and sisters.

  Maybe she would hang around tonight and play with the wolves. Since Roman hadn’t been in the library she had been able to finish her paper with time to spare. She had even included the obscure myth of Medusa and Apollo.

  Roman sat on the edge of the bed, scrubbing his hands over the bony ridges of his skull, trying to remember what it had been like to have hair. Was it his imagination or was his head a little
less lumpy than it was before Daisy had destroyed him with her innocent touch? Pushing off the bed, wincing as it gave a loud groan, he stood in front of the broken mirror. In the shattered reflection he still looked as grotesque as ever, though his brow ridge was ever-so-slightly smoother. Trailing his hand over his sternum, his belly, he cupped his penis in his hand and grunted in disappointment. Apparently his cock only responded to Daisy’s delicate hand.

  The door slammed open and Xerec rushed inside, his scrawny chest heaving with each panted breath he took. Before Roman could ask him what the fuck he was doing in the room just after sunset, the demon hissed, “She’s a Siren!”

  Glaring at the intruder, Roman stalked back over to the bed and sat down. “What are you yammering on about, Xerec? Who’s a Siren?”

  “Your pet!” The bastard clasped his chest as he tried to catch his breath, his words coming out interspersed with panted breaths. “She’s a Siren.”

  “She’s a wolf,” Roman corrected automatically even as he straightened his spine and considered the ramifications of the girl being a Siren as well. How the hell did something like that happen? How could a wolf be a Siren? How could a Siren be a wolf, latent or not? His thoughts were racing a million miles an hour, wondering how this new development was going to affect his plans.

  Obviously, it wasn’t going to change his mind about using the girl to gain his freedom but he had to reconsider his plan. Wolves were notoriously loyal and he had counted on that to keep her from asking too many questions. Sirens, on the other hand, were not known for their loyalty, luring many men into their sensual snares. But neither was known for holding onto their virginity so he was presented with a dozen new questions about Daisy.

  Hellfire. Now he had a legitimate reason to be in the library archives but he didn’t want her to know that he knew her secret. Rather, he wanted her to trust him enough to tell him of her own volition. He wanted her to tell him all of her secrets and, son of a bitch, she was becoming more than merely a pawn.

  “Well, she’s a Siren as well,” Xerec panted, reminding Roman of the little bastard’s presence. “I overheard her talking with her mother. She plans on singing to you to make you expose yourself to her.”

  Roman stiffened in outrage and a smidgen of fear; he wasn’t ready for her to see him yet. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready. Catching a glance of his distorted image in the broken mirror, he felt a pressure in his chest. It was probably indigestion from the shit food Xerec had procured for him and it had nothing to do with seeing the horror in Daisy’s silver eyes the first time she saw him. Clearing his throat, he rasped, “If she starts to sing, I’ll put my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.”

  “I could curse her,” Xerec offered. “Make her lose her voice.”

  “No, Xerec, no curses or potions or anything. You’re not to harm her in any way,” Roman grimaced, oddly touched by the demon’s offers to help him with his efforts to woo Daisy even if his offers were less than palatable. Pressing his thumb and forefinger against his eyes, he tried to figure out how he was going to handle Daisy if she decided to sing. Maybe he should just show her his face and pray the fates were kind that night. Or maybe he could trick her into remaining with him during the day so she could see his true gargoyle form, not this grotesque mishmash of facial features.

  He couldn’t do that because he was fairly certain she’d be even more freaked out if he became a stone beast, unable to move or talk, unable to chase after her when she decided to run. Besides, where would he take her? Because he sure as fuck couldn’t bring her back to the hovel where he currently lived. If he had some mobility during the day it might be a different matter but he was still recovering from the curse and he doubted he’d be fully back to normal until he took her virginity.

  But he couldn’t take her virginity if she was traumatized by seeing his face and she decided to bolt.

  So, he’d keep their meetings to dark places and if necessary he would blast some music to drown out the lure of her Siren’s song.

  Suddenly the four walls of his tiny room were closing in on him and he needed to get out and breathe some fresh air. Anything was better than sitting in the squalid room thinking about the girl who was going to set him free. Throwing the cloak over his wings, his naked body, he stalked out the door with grim determination. Xerec chased after him, tripping over his large feet to keep up with Roman’s much longer stride.

  “Xerec, find a demon bar and drink yourself into oblivion,” Roman growled. “I’m not fit company tonight, even for a demon.”

  Xerec stumbled to a halt and Roman reluctantly looked over his shoulder to see the demon’s watery eyes widen in alarm. “You know I don’t drink anymore. It’s how I ended up with you.”

  Roman ground his teeth together, cursing whatever fate it was that decided Wayfarer demons got viciously drunk off goat’s blood. He cursed the bartender who served Xerec the goat’s blood and he cursed the idiot Xerec for picking a fight with a much larger, much more powerful warlock. It was unwise of Xerec to call into question the warlock’s virility and it was probably even more unwise to compare the warlock to a hairless wharf rat.

  “Fine, then go out and find a female Wayfarer demon and fuck her brains out,” Roman snarled, once again moving through the dimly lit hallway. His hope that Xerec had taken his advice died the moment he hit the concrete stairwell and started heading down the stairs. The little bastard nearly crashed into Roman and sent them both tumbling down the stairs. Knowing Roman’s luck, he would have crushed the demon and then demon guts would be splattered all over his stone body. It wouldn’t have mattered so much had the damn shower worked but as it was, there would have been no way to wash off the grime.

  Thundering down the stairs, Roman growled, “What do you want, Xerec?”

  “I want to spy on the gargoyles with you,” he wheedled in his nasally voice, freezing Roman in his tracks. He hadn’t realized the little demon knew about that.

  It’s not like he could see much, watching them from the alleyway behind the castle or from darkened alcoves when they went out. But it had given him comfort to see his brothers, even if they were unaware of his presence as they made their way about their business. Once, he had taken the risk of spending the day on a decrepit building several blocks away because there was enough of a gap to allow him to catch a glimpse of his brothers.

  A pigeon had used him as its own personal restroom and he had woken up covered in shit. Shifting usually cleansed him of the dirt and grime he accumulated during the night but not during the day. He had to wash off the best he could in some water Xerec brought him but he didn’t feel truly clean until the next evening.

  “I don’t spy on them,” Roman managed to choke out.

  Xerec snorted, spraying spittle everywhere. “Fine. You watch them from afar like a beggar. They’re your brothers and yet you hide from them. Even if they forget who you are….”

  A wry smile curled Roman’s lips because of course the little demon didn’t understand. When he had first awakened from his extraordinarily long slumber, he discovered that his brothers – his pod brothers – were visiting the states and he had gone to meet them, not aware of the full range of the curse. The lack of remembrance was the least painful. It was returning the next day and realizing they had already forgotten him from the day before. It was a hell of a curse.

  No, the most excruciating part of the curse was looking into his twin brother’s eyes and seeing no recognition. They had once shared a face, a womb, and now Roman was a stranger, a forgettable stranger. He would use Daisy to get his family back, no matter how sweet she was, how tempting.

  “We’ve discussed this, Xerec,” he reminded the stubborn demon. “I have no wish to be unremembered.”

  A mischievous smile curved Xerec’s lips, a cringe-worthy expression without any words. “I still say you should play pranks on them because none of them will remember you to retaliate.”

  The only one he wanted to get vengeance on was th
e bitch who had cursed him so very long ago. Gods, he was damned tired of living in the shadows. He should just find Daisy and get on with it; certainly he’d be able to seduce her in the dark. And to make certain she didn’t use her Siren wiles on him he’d gag her. The image of a bound and gagged Daisy sent a rush of dark pleasure through his body and his apathetic cock sprung straight up at the idea.

  “Or perhaps you prefer bed sport,” Xerec snickered.

  Ah, his unruly penis deflated at the sound of Xerec’s voice. At least he wouldn’t have to wander around the city with a heavy, gray erection, something he hadn’t had to worry about until Daisy. Maybe he should start wrapping a blanket around his waist since he doubted he’d be able to find a pair of pants that could accommodate his tail. “Daisy has class in the morning, Xerec. I doubt she’d be interested in losing her virginity the day before a big test or something.”

  “She wouldn’t have to spread her legs for you.” Shrugging his thin shoulders, Xerec added, “She could pleasure you in other ways like she did before.”

  Roman stared at him in horror. “You were there? In the library?”

  Xerec’s cheeks turned several shades darker as he looked away. “You asked me to keep an eye on her. How was I to know you would show up?”

  Roman scrubbed his hands over his head, almost dislodging the hood before pulling it tightly back into place. Even though they were standing in the dark corridors and the only other residents of the dingy building were rats and other underworld creatures that liked to remain out of the public’s eye, he was very conscientious about remaining hidden. “Sweet Zeus, Xerec, have you no shame?”

  The demon blinked his watery eyes and Roman realized he would be better off talking to a brick wall. After all, Xerec was only doing what he was told. With a low growl, Roman pushed through the door to the outside world. There was much to be desired about having a loyal demon following him around. Yet Xerec was right: he could go see Daisy.