Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide

Stone was reclining in one of the two patio chairs, his thumb on his chin and his index finger pressed against his lips. His eyes had been staring off in the distance but he glanced up at her when she poked her head out the door.

When his eyes met hers, a surge of heat rushed to her face and she lowered her gaze to the box in her hands. “Um, hungry?”

He gave her a curt nod. “Are you?”

Her stomach growled in response, deepening the blush already in her cheeks.

He reached out to take the box of pizza from her so she could take the seat opposite him. There wasn’t a patio table out there, so one of them had to hold the box of pizza. Stone seemed content to hold it on his lap.

“I’ll grab a couple of plates,” she murmured, more so to herself than to Stone to try and ease some of her embarrassment.

She hurried into the kitchen and came back out two seconds later with some plates. She handed one to Stone as she chewed on her bottom lip and lowered herself onto the chair.

He held the box open for her so she could grab a slice. She stared at the meat-lovers delight with its pepperoni, ham, bacon, and Italian sausage coated in cheese on top of a hand-tossed crust. She pulled out two slices and slid them onto her plate.

The silence between them put her on edge as she settled back into her seat. Lifting the pizza to her lips, she gave a little moan of content as the flavors danced in her mouth. “It’s been a while since I’ve had pizza and this is pretty good.”

He nodded as he pulled out two slices for himself and closed the box with his plate resting on top. He lifted a slice to his mouth. “Gwen’s judgment was good, then.”

It was more a statement than a question.

She swallowed the morsel in her mouth. “Well, you do have a strong sense of smell, right? You can probably sniff out good food from a mile away.”

He nodded. “To be honest, I haven’t had pizza in many years.”

Her eyebrows shot up then. “You’re kidding.”

A hint of a smile tugged on his lips as he shook his head. “I don’t eat human food frequently. A couple of times a month for snacks and full meals, every few months perhaps?”

She considered his words as she chewed. “So, what do you eat?”

“Game. Venison, rabbit, fish...” He trailed off.

She didn’t know what to say to that. Wild game? Like, raw meat? Like, a predator?

She swallowed with a bit of difficulty at the thought of Stone eating a cute fluffy bunny for breakfast.

She decided to change the subject a bit. “What’s your favorite food?”

He pursed his lips and pondered for a moment. “Quail, perhaps?”

She raised her eyebrows at that.

Seeing her reaction, he shrugged. “Birds are harder to catch, so I enjoy them when I can.”

She looked away, her appetite all but lost now. “I was thinking more along the lines of human food...”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not too sure. Everything’s a treat when I eat it, so it all tastes good.”

Refraining from pressing her palm to her face, she brushed her hair behind her ear instead. “Well, looks like I have some experimentation to do. Of the food we ate for breakfast this morning, what was your favorite?”

“Bacon and sausages,” he said without hesitation.

She grinned to herself with a slight shake of her head. He would jump on those two items. Come to think of it, they all did. Gwen couldn’t get them to cook fast enough and all four guys would pounce on the plates as soon as she loaded them up. A bacon frenzy, it was.

She looked over to see Stone watching her, her grin still plastered all over her face. “You guys are like wild animals, almost.”

He held her gaze. “When it comes to food, yes.”

Tearing her eyes away from his, her stomach rumbled for more sustenance. She returned to eating her pizza, her attention drifting out over the neighborhood around them.

After she’d finished her first slice and picked up the second, she brought up the last thing Gwen had said. “Did you guys really live in dens?”

“Yes. Our kind has for thousands of years. It’s only been in the last hundred years or so that we’ve moved into houses. Mind you,” he said, as he opened the box to grab two more slices of pizza, “We normally don’t live in palaces like Vincent. Vincent is an exception to almost all lycan rules and behaviors.”

“Yeah, I thought I had stumbled through a time portal or something when I left that room.” She shook her head, recalling all the antique furniture and the stone structure itself once she stepped outside. “He looked like some kind of Viking king or something.”

“For all we know, he could have been,” Stone said. “He’s old enough to fit the timeframe if it weren’t for the fact that his roots are Gaelic.”

Aubree hummed under her breath as she continued to eat. Her mind flitted with thoughts of wolves running through trees, curled up together in a deep hole in the ground, and howling at the moon. Did they really live like animals for thousands of years?

“What was it like? Living like that out in the wild, I mean.”

He paused mid-chew and lowered the slice he’d been eating onto the plate. The air grew heavy as his shoulders sagged and his eyes glazed over.

Oh, yeah. His life before all that was spent with his former soulmate.

Idiot.

She wanted to smack herself. Instead, she lowered her gaze and turned away. “Never mind. Sorry I brought it up.”

He stood up then. “Bathroom?”

It came out as a grunt.

She turned in her seat and pointed at the wall of the living room on the left. “On the other side of that wall.”

He left without another word, drawing a sigh from her as she watched his retreating back. She waited and when he didn’t return five minutes later, she couldn’t help but feel worried.

Setting her empty plate on her chair, she got up and tip-toed to the bathroom. The door was still shut and she could hear the water running from the faucet. She rapped her knuckles gently against the door. “Stone? Are you okay?” She kept her voice soft, afraid that if she spoke too loudly she’d wake Gwen up.

The water turned off.

With her heart thumping against her ribcage, she waited for him to open the door.

When he did, the wisps of hair that framed his face were dripping with water, his face pat dry with a towel. His eyes were cool, his expression neutral, if not slightly tired.

“I’m fine,” he answered.

She didn’t miss the clipped tone of his voice.

“I’m sorry if I upset you,” she said as she took a step back, allowing him space to leave the bathroom.

He remained standing there, his hand still gripping the doorknob.

He avoided her gaze. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

She pursed her lips, about to protest when he stepped close to her and held her chin between his index finger and thumb as he pressed his thumb gently over her bottom lip to silence her.

“My past does not concern you. Only the present and the future.”

As he drew away, she called out his name with a hint of urgency. It pained her to see him like this. She wanted to do something to make him feel better.

As if picking up on her desperation, he grimaced before he dropped his nonchalance and rushed before her. Gripping her face in both of his hands, he tilted it up. His forehead met hers as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. His closeness lulled some of the stress on her nerves as she closed her eyes and inhaled his earthy musk, relishing in the feel of his hands and his breath on her face.

“Listen to me,” his voice low, husky and laced with emotion. “I am broken. I never anticipated in a million years of finding you. Frankly, I believed it impossible.” His eyebrows brushed lightly against hers as they furrowed. “We need this time apart. You, to take care of things with Dan. Me,” he swallowed, “to let go of my past. I carry a heavy burden on my shoulders...”

She reached up and touched his cheek, drawing her fingers along the thin stubble on his jaw and eliciting a shuddering breath from his lungs at her tantalizing movements. “You can tell me anything. If it will ease some of your burden, tell me. You don’t have to carry it all on your shoulders. You’re not alone. I’m here with you. Share some of it with me.”

A short cough-like chuckle drew him back, away from her touch, while he lowered his hands from her face. “My burdens weigh a ton. How much could a little thing like you carry? Thirty pounds? Fifty at most?”

Was he teasing her? The shadow of a smile danced on his face, as his eyes cautiously met hers.

“Regardless of its weight, if it will help, I will carry as much as I can,” she said. “Okay? Just... don’t shut me out.”

Her heart jumped in her throat as she said that last part and she struggled to get the words out.

She wanted to know everything. Every last painful detail of his life if it meant getting closer to him. If it meant alleviating some of the agony that crippled his heart. Even if it took her entire life, she wanted to be there for him when he had no one but himself to turn to.

He stepped tentatively to her, closing the small gap between them again. Brushing her hair behind an ear, his hand slipped behind her head and urged her to raise her face up to his. He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers again, a faint rumble reverberated within. Tingles danced along her spine, sinking into her skin and spreading to her heart. Encircling it, cradling it in warmth like a glove on a cold winter’s day. His earthy scent filled her senses as her eyes fluttered shut.

He held her like this for a few minutes, neither one pulling away or moving a muscle.

“As long as I live, I will try to give you my best,” he vowed.