Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 13 - Stone (Part 2)

Stone didn’t know why this holding of hands and touching foreheads was so effective. Was it a mate thing or something Adelaide had discovered with him? Nevertheless, it always worked to calm him and he felt ready to tell her Adelaide’s name when she asked. It didn’t hurt as much and he knew it was because of the connection to Aubree’s soothing touch.

“Are you okay?” She looked up at him with concern.

He smiled down at her and pressed his lips to both of her hands, one at a time. “Yes. Thank you. Your soul always has been a kind and tender one, Röslein. Always patient with me when I am undeserving of it.”

They strolled along in silence as they took in the rest of the garden before making their way to the circular fountain at the head. In the center of the fountain was a pillar a few feet tall with a bowl on top and a small fountain pouring water into that. Around the base of the pillar were carved turtles from stone shooting water out of their mouths into the large round base. Sunlight shimmered from the gentle spray at the top of the fountain and rippled in the base.

Stone dipped his fingers into the pool of water, ignoring the overwhelming smell of chlorine.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked, mostly to fill the silence. He knew how she was feeling through the touch of her hand in his.

She had been enjoying the beauty of the garden, but her mind had been swirling with thoughts over what he had told her. They weren’t negative thoughts and that was encouraging.

“Yeah.” She followed his lead and dipped her fingers into the water as well. The light bouncing off the surface reflected in her eyes in a hypnotic dance.

He smirked to himself and flicked his wrist, sending a small trail of water to splash at her. “Then, cheer up.”

A little shriek met his ears as she jerked away from him and held her hands up as a shield. He couldn’t help but chuckle as she lowered her hands and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Are you serious?”

His grin widened. “Aren’t I always?”

Her calculating eyes studied him as she set her jaw, stuck her hand in the water, and launched a bigger splash his way.

Already expecting retaliation, he stepped away and managed to evade most of the spray, but a few droplets struck the bottom of his jeans and shoes. “Nice try, Röslein,” he said as he stepped forward and send another splash of water in her direction.

She didn’t move away fast enough and the right side of her jeans got wet. She cried out before lunging at the fountain’s edge with a merciless grin on her face. “Oh, you are so dead now!”

A splash-war commenced with fits of shrieks and giggles until Stone rushed forward to catch her and pull her away from the fountain. Lifting her up in the air, he carried her to the grassy picnic area behind the fountain before setting her back on her feet before him.

She beamed up at him with a rosy hue in her cheeks from laughing so much and joy sparkling in her hazel irises.

The squeeze of his heart was crippling. He reached up with a trembling hand to wipe a water droplet on her healed eyebrow with his thumb. He stared down into those shimmering eyes and could hardly breathe. “This is what I wanted,” he whispered. “To see your face light up like the moon and your eyes to dance like fireflies.”

It was cliché for him to think she was perfect, but she was. Perfect for him. The Goddess hadn’t made a mistake even though She had made Aubree human. Perhaps it was because of the mistakes he had made in his past?

Was she strong enough to accept him and all of his secrets? It was easy to be natural and casual with her now that she knew what he was, but he was a changed lycan because of Adelaide. Adelaide had been able to forgive his mistakes, but would Aubree?

He was falling hard and fast for the petite girl before him. It frightened him.

He couldn’t tear himself away from the hold her eyes had on his as his thumb trailed down her temple and along her cheek. Her breath hitched in her throat when he reached her jaw and slowly glided down to her chin. Her eyelids fluttered closed as he tipped her chin up and brushed his lips against hers, like the velvety soft rose petals they were.

Not wanting to spoil the moment, he drew away and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Her heartbeat thundered in his ears, and he could feel a wave of desire roll over her. He had to rip himself away from her. If he gave in to temptation to kiss her more deeply now, he knew it would be an even bigger battle not to surrender himself to her right there on the grass.

Judging from her current trembling state, she would have surrendered herself as well.

Taking her hand in his, he guided her to sit next to him on the grass. Too dazed to argue, she followed as he took his jacket off and laid it on the earth. Then he laid his head on one end of the jacket and she followed, laying on the other side.

She stared back at him as they laid there side by side without uttering a word. There was nothing to say. It was simply a moment of enjoying each other’s presence as the sun shone down on them.

Time passed and although he couldn’t tell how much, the heat on his skin suggested they move to a shadier spot.

Her brows pulled together as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. “Why?”

He picked his jacket up from the ground before standing up and reached down for her hand, pulling her up to her feet. “Because I don’t want your skin to burn.”

“Aw, so considerate,” she teased.

He flashed her a shy grin. “I try to be.”

She swatted him playfully on the shoulder before she linked her arm in his. She leaned against him as he led her to a trio of trees clustered together in the otherwise open field of grass.

He sat down on the ground under the base of the biggest tree of the three and before she could sit next to him, he reached up for her hips and guided her to sit down on his lap. She giggled as he nuzzled her nape with his nose, the scruff on his face scratching lightly against the soft flesh.

Their pants were drier now from the splashing at the fountain and he asked her about her job and what she wanted to do.

Sighing, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know. I mean, I only just started there and was enjoying the work. After the accident, they gave me some time off to recover, but I haven’t gotten back to them since. I don’t know if I could make the commute every day from your house into the city now.”

“It’s your house now too.”

Her heart fluttered at that and he felt the heat from her cheeks radiate against him.

“You don’t need a job anymore if you don’t want one,” he said. “While we don’t make a lot of money for what we do, it’s more than enough for us to survive.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “I know but I like working. I was enjoying my marketing projects with the company.”

“Perhaps you can work from home? Could you ask them? If they say no, so be it. You can replace freelance work if you really want something to do.”

She nodded but said nothing.

He nuzzled the side of her head with his nose. “I want you to be happy.”

“Thank you.” She looked up to give him an appreciative smile.