Promise (35 page)

Keeping my eyes from wandering, I looked into
his eyes and saw no fire—just beautiful emerald green and sparkly
gold.

"You're…okay," I said quietly.

"I am truly Amadis now. The monster is buried
deeply…maybe gone forever." His smile faltered. "Of course, we do
still need to be careful. You're still so very fragile."

My heart raced as he climbed onto the bed and
lay next to me. He placed his hand lightly around my neck and
kissed my mouth with renewed fervor. His hand glided down, over and
between my bare breasts, along my stomach, around the curve of my
hip and along my thigh, leaving shocks of electricity along the
path. His hand encircled my calf and he hitched my leg over his
hip, then slid his hand up the back of my thigh. My body warmed and
quivered with both yearning and fright.

My hands ran along his bare chest for the
first time in way too long, feeling its smooth planes and curves.
They trembled as they moved lower, along his perfect lines, his
muscles flexing under my touch. He hooked his thumb under the
elastic of my panties and, with a slight jerk, tore them off.

We explored new places we'd never been and we
both hesitated before reaching those parts that throbbed with
frantic desire. He was hard and big in my hand, exciting and
scaring me at the same time as I stroked him and he moaned. His
tongue flicked at my nipple as his hand separated my legs,
caressing my inner thighs and then between. A finger slid into me.
A small cry of surprise and pleasure escaped my throat.

"You're warm and wet," he breathed against my
breast.

I froze and looked at him, not knowing what
to say, heat rising to my face. "Um, sorry?"

He smiled. "That's a
good
thing."

He rolled over on top of me, gently moving
between my legs. He must have seen the panic in my eyes.

"You okay? You look…really scared." His voice
was low, kind, gentle.

"You're just…um…" I blushed again. "…really
big
."

I had a hard time imagining all of
that
inside little
me
.

A smile played on his lips. "Sorry."

I giggled, despite everything. "No, you're
not."

He pressed down against me and ran his mouth
across my cheek.

"No, not really," he whispered against my
ear. He shifted and I could feel his stiffness pressing against me.
"Ready?"

I stared into his eyes and nodded.

"I'll be gentle," he said softly. And he
barely moved his hips, sliding slightly inside me.

OW!
I bit my lip. He must have felt me
tense because he didn't move. We both remained perfectly still, but
I could feel him throbbing inside me. I also felt…something. I
didn't think my body could heal
that
…that wasn't supposed to
heal. But the pain subsided and I relaxed.

"Okay?" he asked, his eyes holding mine.

I nodded again. He slid in further and I
gasped, but not with pain. He knew, too, because he continued
slowly, an inch at a time, until he filled me completely. Then he
moved, back and forth, in and out, slow at first, then faster. And
harder. And deeper. Each stroke electrified me, sending jolts of
pleasure throughout my body. My back arched and I clawed at him. I
climbed quickly to my first ever orgasm. But he kept going and I
kept coming, again and again, each one building on the previous
one, bigger, better, higher, until I thought I'd fly over some
unseen edge and into oblivion to never return again. And then he
thrust himself inside me harder and deeper than ever and there I
went over that edge, losing
all
control. Every muscle in my
body contracted. My back arched. My head went dizzy with euphoria.
I shuddered violently with a moan, squeezing him as he convulsed
inside me.

He collapsed against me and we lay still for
several moments, panting, our hearts pounding against each other's
chests.

He finally rolled off and lay on his side
next to me, running his fingertips randomly over my breasts and
stomach. My body quivered as if I'd truly been electrocuted. We
grinned at each other and I'd never seen his eyes sparkle so
brightly. I knew exactly how he felt and wondered why people
bothered with drugs when making love had to be the ultimate
high.

Physically spent, I eventually turned onto my
side, facing him, and pressed the full length of my body against
his, our legs intertwining. We fell asleep naked in each other's
arms. But not for long. I awoke to the tingling of Tristan's
fingers running along my ribs and down my side.

"I'm sorry, but I can't get enough of you,"
he murmured.

"Don't be sorry. I'm all yours." I kissed him
with a new hunger.

Knowing what to expect this time…wanting it
desperately…I let my inhibitions and self-consciousness fall away.
My natural instincts took over and the animal inside came out to
play.

Chapter 2
4

Light filled the Caribbean room when I awoke
only a couple hours later. I was snuggled up to Tristan's back, his
arm thrown over my hip. I kissed his shoulders and ran my
fingertips along his spine, hoping to wake him if he wasn't
already. The air caught in my throat when I saw the marks all over
his back.

"Tristan! What
happened
to you?" I
cried, sitting up.

He rolled onto his back and they were all
over his chest, too: long, purplish-yellow streaks like scratches
but they were fading bruises. Larger bruises discolored his
shoulders, ribs and hips. He glanced down at his chest and
grinned.

"You."

"
What
?"

He lifted my hand and placed my palm against
one of the bruises on his ribs. It was the perfect size. The
bruised streaks matched the width of my fingers. The blotches on
his hips were as wide as my thighs. I stared at him in horror.

"Looks like I wasn't the only one we
should've been worried about." He laughed.

I threw my hands to my face to hide my shame.
"Oh, I am so
sorry
!"

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me
close to him. I was afraid to touch him.

"They only look bad because we did it so many
times, but they don't hurt," he promised. Then he lowered his
voice. "Besides, I kind of liked it. Actually, I
really
liked it."

I pulled myself away to get a good look at
his face. He grinned.
Mom was right.
I rolled my eyes. And
that's when I noticed the cracked and chipped headboard and a dent
in the wall above it. I eyed Tristan.

"I don't know who did what, but I don't think
anger is the only emotion that brings out your strength." He
laughed and squeezed my thigh. I cringed—I had my own bruises.

We lay in bed until our stomachs growled and
decided to take a shower before we ate. That's when I first felt,
and then saw, the mark on Tristan's chest, right over his heart. I
didn't know how I missed it before, perhaps distracted by all the
bruises. This wasn't a bruise or a scratch. It had a design, dark
red and slightly raised. I traced my finger over it and looked into
his eyes.

"I've never noticed that before," I said.

He didn't answer, but he traced the birthmark
over my own heart. It had always been faint, just slightly
different pigmentation from the skin around it. Now it was also
raised and pink. They had the same strange design…and now I
realized it was the same design embossed on that envelope I found
in Mom's office several months ago.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"Sophia never told you? It's the mark of the
Amadis family."

I remembered the burning, tingling sensation
under Rina's hand when she held it right there. Her other hand had
been over Tristan's heart. My breath caught.

"Rina
branded
you?"

Tristan chuckled. "It's always been there,
underneath.
You
brought it out."

"Huh." I felt mine with my fingers and then
went back to his. I couldn't help but kiss it.

We made love in the shower, trying not to
break the tiles—six didn't make it. It was better than I ever
imagined, and I'd dreamt about the scene many, many times. The
water rained down on us…Tristan held me securely, my legs wrapped
around his waist….
Mmm…much better than any dream.

After the shower, as I rummaged through my
bag for something to wear, I remembered the condoms. I placed the
box on the counter.

"We should be more responsible," I
muttered.

Tristan pulled a box out of his own bag.
"Yes, we should."

I laughed. "Do you think we have enough?"

"We can always get more…."

We eyed each other. I was instantly in his
arms again.

"Maybe we should let this new round of
bruises heal first," I said, placing my hands on his chest.

"Mmm…I guess you're right." He gave my butt a
playful squeeze. "I need to feed you anyway, keep your energy
up."

Mom had packed me two sets of clothes, a
bathing suit and the box I knew contained lingerie. Not knowing our
plans, I decided to just not get dressed yet and wrapped the soft,
thick towel around me instead. I padded out to the kitchen, where
Tristan poked around the refrigerator.

"There's food in there?" I asked, surprised.
I sat on a barstool at the island.

"I had some brought in. Not a lot, but we can
get more if we stay."

I watched him with awe—he wore only shorts
and it wasn't just his muscles that held my eyes. His tanned skin
seemed to
glow
. I tore my eyes away and glanced down at the
house papers in front of me. Something caught my interest. The
owner's name was not mine. Maybe I did misunderstand
.

"Tristan, who's Katie Andrews and why does
her trust own this house? I thought…"

He placed some green grapes and cheese on the
counter and turned to the pantry. "If you did some real digging
through several attorneys' offices, you might be able to find that
Katie Andrews is an alias for Alexis Ames. Hopefully, though, you
wouldn't."

"Why'd you do all that?" I asked, impressed.
I got up and found glasses and filled them with ice and water.

"Because there are certain people who don't
need to know you own this house. I had it built for you and no one
can take it away from you." He gathered the food in his arms.
"Let's sit outside."

"Our life is way too complicated. Already." I
set the glasses on the patio table.

"Unfortunately,
ma lykita
, we may be
meant for each other, but not everyone likes it." He pulled me onto
his lap.

"In the normal world, I would just tell them
to go to hell."

"Yes, but in our world, they are already
there. And that still doesn't stop them."

We sat in silence, eating cheese and crackers
and grapes, and watched the boats pass by far out on the water. I
munched on a cracker and traced the mark on his chest—it fascinated
me—when there was a knock on the front door. We stiffened and
looked at each other.

"Hmm…Stefan," Tristan said.

I hurried into the bedroom to dress while
Tristan answered the door. I felt like he minimized the danger
besieging us, so I rushed, not wanting to miss anything. They were
just sitting down outside when I came out and joined them.

"I was just telling Tristan what a
superlative estate this is," Stefan said, as I took a seat at the
back of the table, folding my legs underneath me. "Beautiful,
private, easy to shield. A better safe house than Tristan's place
because no one even knows you are here."

"That was the idea," Tristan said.

Stefan told us the Daemoni still didn't know
about our marriage, but said they were unusually quiet, unlike
their normal, boastful behavior. Tristan told him what he'd told me
the night before—the sooner they knew, the better. Stefan said he
thought it fine for us to stay, but he'd discuss it with the
council and let us know.

"I would highly recommend…well,
insist
… you stay out of Key West," Stefan said as he stood
to leave. "You well know that is a prime hunting area for the
Daemoni."

"Yes, it's a favorite stomping ground for
them," Tristan said, making my spine tingle unpleasantly. "Don't
worry. I'd rather they don't know we're even in the vicinity."

We walked Stefan outside and after saying
good-bye, he walked off into a mess of trees and brush. I had no
idea where he went from there. While we were outside, Tristan
showed me around the three-acre property, complete with its own
small, private beach. He said our property shared the tiny key with
four other homes. Most people driving through wouldn't even know
there were homes at all—it looked like a wild jumble of overgrown
vegetation from the highway.

The house was a big square, raised on stilts,
with the ground level intended for storage. It had a light gray
metal roof and darker bluish-gray stucco siding with white trim.
The screened balcony off the family room and Caribbean room
stretched across the full west side of the house. I hadn't yet
explored the two other bedrooms and bathroom on the east side.

"This wasn't one of your models," I pointed
out.

"No, this is just a beach house. Those models
were dream homes."

"I can't imagine anything better than this,"
I said. "When did you do it? I never even knew."

"Hmm…I did the drawings last August…when I
met you." He smiled down at me. "They broke ground in March…after
you said 'yes.' I had to push hard to get it done in time since we
kept moving the date up, but they did it. The important stuff,
anyway. There are a few things they need to finish up."

"Whoever
they
are, you'll have to
thank them for me." I slid my arm around his waist and pressed
against him as we walked up the stairs. "And you…well, I'll never
be able to thank you enough."