Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) (17 page)

"Grilling you?" he suggested when her voice
trailed off.

"Yeah, I guess that would be the best way to
describe it."

"She's overprotective of all her siblings, I
think it comes from being the oldest female."

"I think that's just what comes from having
brothers and sisters, it must be nice. I mean it's not great when
you're on the receiving end of it, but I understand. She loves you
and apparently she was also beginning to question your sexuality,"
she added with a laugh.

He chuckled as he shook his head. "Sometimes
I'd like to strangle her."

"I think that also comes from having
siblings."

He kissed the top of her head. "I think this
is where we exit."

She followed his gaze up the hill to the
small house she was staying in. "Jill and Mandy are probably still
awake."

"Then I promise not to jump you in the
entryway again."

Emma couldn't stop the burst of laughter that
escaped her; she pinched his side before darting away from him and
fleeing across the sand. Her feet slipped in the loose sand but she
forced her small legs to move faster, she could hear him steadily
gaining on her. She tried to dash to the side but his arms
encircled her waist and he easily lifted her off of the ground. A
squeal of delight escaped her as he pressed her back against his
chest and spun her around in a circle. Lightness filled her heart
as he stopped spinning and walked with her the rest of the way
across the beach to the road.

"I don't think carrying me is helping with
the not being jumped in the entry part," she told him when she felt
his erection pressing against her spine.

"Maybe not, but I'm not ready to let you
go."

Was he trying to make her fall in love with
him? If so, she was dangerously close to it as he set her on her
feet in the driveway. "Ethan..."

She found that words failed her as his
emerald eyes met hers in the moonlight. Emotion swelled so
vehemently in her chest that she almost threw herself into his arms
and buried her head in his chest. "What is it Emma?" he asked
worriedly.

She shook her head and turned away from him.
She'd sound like a complete moron if she started stuttering on
about feelings and whatever other foolishness had been about to
spill from her mouth. Pulling the key from her pocket, she slid it
into the door and pushed it open. Jill and Mandy were sitting on
the couch with drinks in their hands. Classical music, Mandy's
favorite, drifted through the room.

"Hey guys!" Jill greeted. She'd taken all of
the braids out of her hair yesterday; it tumbled around her
shoulders in waves that emphasized her high cheekbones and pretty
features. "Did you have fun?"

"We did," Emma answered. "What about you
guys?"

"It's a party wherever we are," Jill assured
her.

"Very true," Emma agreed as she kicked her
shoes off and placed them in the hall closet.

"There's some margarita mix still in the
blender, help yourselves," Mandy offered.

"I'm good," Ethan said as he walked over to
stand beside her.

"I think I've had enough for tonight," Emma
told her and cast a shy glance at Ethan. "I'm ready for some
sleep."

Jill and Mandy both smirked as they took
another sip of their fruity drinks. "Sleep tight," Mandy said as
they turned away.

"I don't think there will be much sleep going
on in there," Jill whispered and they both burst into loud
giggles.

Emma shook her head but followed Ethan to her
room.

***

"I have something for you," Ethan said as he
ran his index finger in a circle around the small of her back. Her
hair tickled against the bottom of his chin but he didn't move to
brush it away.

Emma had to force herself to lift her head in
order to look at him, she was so thoroughly exhausted and satisfied
that all she wanted to do was lie there and never move again. "You
do?" She had to stifle a yawn as she asked the question.

"I do."

He sat up and swung his legs off the bed with
far more energy than she had right now. Emma put her elbow on the
bed and plopped her head on her hand as she watched him walk across
the room to his backpack. The light from the single candle on the
nightstand revealed that his skin was still slick with sweat as it
played over his taut muscles and firm ass. Much to her surprise,
she found herself growing aroused again as he dug into the bag.

He pulled something out and turned back to
her. It looked incredibly small in his hands but the sight of the
dress she had been admiring in the store earlier caused her to bolt
upright in the bed. Her exhaustion vanished as the blanket fell
away to reveal her breasts. Her mouth dropped as he walked over and
sat on the bed beside her.

"You shouldn't have," she breathed.

"I saw you looking at it today; I hope I got
the right size."

She finally tore her attention away from the
beautiful dress and focused on his exquisite face. Something in her
chest began to swell as she met his eyes, she wasn't quite sure
what the feeling was as she'd never quite experienced it before,
but she knew that she never wanted it to end.

"It's... it's beautiful," she stammered. "But
it was so expensive and..."

"No ands," he said forcefully. "I wanted to
get it for you and that's that."

She was tempted to argue further with him but
she found that she couldn't when he was smiling at her and holding
that
dress. "Thank you," she
whispered.

"Come on, let's see if it fits," he said. He
rose to his feet and gestured for her to do the same.

Emma stared at him for a second before
tossing the rest of the blanket aside and climbing out of the bed
to stand in front of him. She tilted her head back and raised her
arms up for him to slide the dress over her head. The material felt
like a feather caressing her skin as it settled over her. It hugged
her curves before flowing out at her waist. The bottom of it spun
out around her as she twirled in it.

"I love it!" she cried and stopped spinning
to throw her arms around him.

Relief filled Ethan as he wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her against him. He hadn't been sure how she
was going to react when he gave her the dress, had thought maybe
she would think it was too much or that he was moving too fast. He
knew they had to talk about everything, but his experience with
conversations about relationships had consisted of three words,
don't get attached.
Those were the
last three words he was ever going to utter to her though.

There was nothing more perfect than she was,
or the joy that she radiated right now, he was certain of it. He
was already growing erect again as he slid the dress slowly up her
body and pulled it over her head. Her pert breasts, rounded hips,
and silken skin were bared to him once more. He draped the dress
over the chair and began to edge her toward the bed. He was going
to enjoy burying himself inside of her for another couple of hours,
enjoy feeling every bit of her all over again.

The sound of her laughter was contagious and
he found himself laughing with her as they tumbled onto the bed
together. She had the most radiant smile he'd ever seen. He traced
his finger over her lips and down across her chin. "It's a perfect
fit," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Just like you," he muttered against her
lips.

Something flickered through her eyes; her
grin turned playful as she wiggled beneath him. "I'll have to give
you an extra special thank you for the dress and the flowers," she
said as she nibbled on his bottom lip.

Ethan was in the process of losing himself to
her when her words finally registered. He propped his hands on
either side of her head as he held himself above her. "What
flowers?"

Emma frowned at him as the smile suddenly
left his face and his eyes became as icy as the Tundra. Her hand
fell away from his cheek as he stared at her. "What flowers?" he
demanded again.

"The flowers in the kitchen, the ones you
sent me this afternoon," she said hesitatingly. She'd never
expected to see that look on his face; there was an almost lethal
air surrounding him as he pushed himself off of her.

"I didn't send you flowers," he said.

He turned and walked out of the room so fast
that she barely registered he was leaving before she was gaping
after his naked backside. She scrambled off of the bed as he
disappeared from view. Grabbing her robe, she tugged it hastily on
as she followed him down the hall, praying every step of the way
that Mandy and Jill weren't still awake. He was completely heedless
of his nudity as he stalked across the living room to the kitchen.
He was nuts, or the most brazen man she'd ever encountered.

Emma caught up to him as he stopped by the
island that the flowers were sitting on. He frowned at them before
grabbing the card from the stick it was on. Reading it quickly, he
placed it back on the stick before turning to her. "I never sent
these Emma."

Her forehead furrowed in confusion then the
color drained from her face as she stared at the flowers with a
look of abject horror. She snatched the vase off the counter,
stalked over to the trashcan, stepped on the foot pedal, and dumped
them unceremoniously into the trash. The lid slammed closed with an
air of finality as she turned away. Ethan watched her agitated
movements as she hurried across the living room and jerked the
curtains closed over the glass doors that led to the balcony.

There was a firm set to her shoulders but he
didn't miss the tremble in her hand as she finished closing the
curtains. "Emma do you know who those are from?" She didn't speak
as she walked around the room and pulled the rest of the curtains
shut. "Emma?"

"I thought I saw him the other day, but I
didn't think it was possible," she muttered agitatedly as she
returned to the kitchen and yanked the curtains over the sink
closed.

Ethan took hold of her hand before she could
walk past him. There was a growing hostility inside of him as he
took in the frantic look in her eyes. He hated that look and with
sudden certainty he knew that he would do anything he could to make
it go away.

"Who Emma?" he asked in a deceptively calm
voice.

Her eyes zipped wildly around the room before
finally settling on him. "Tristan."

It took him a minute to place the name, but
when he did a rage the likes of which he'd never experienced before
settled over him. He somehow managed to keep himself composed
though as her troubled eyes watched him. "You saw him the other
day?"

"Yes, I mean no!" she cried. "I thought I did
but it
couldn't
have been him. What
would he be doing
here
? How would
he even know that
I
was here? But
who else would have sent them?"

He pulled her against his chest as tears
began to spill down her cheeks. It wasn't until he felt the wetness
of her tears against his skin that he realized he was stark naked.
Bending down, he lifted her up easily and swung her into his arms.
It amazed him how little she was as he carried her down the hall
and placed her tenderly on her bed. He turned back and noiselessly
closed the door before settling beside her and pulling her into his
lap.

"Tell me what you think you saw," he
coaxed.

Finding comfort in his strong arms, Emma
curled closer against him as his presence helped to ease some of
the instinctual terror that had sprouted forth at the realization
that Tristan might be on this island. She told him what she'd seen
the other day on the beach and that she really believed the flowers
were from him now.

"My parents wouldn't have sent them; I know
Jill and Mandy didn't do it. If they weren't from you that only
leaves him," she whispered.

Ethan brushed her satiny hair back from her
forehead as he tried to soothe the shivers that were wracking
through her small frame. "If they are from him then I will take
care of it," he vowed.

"I don't want to see you hurt over this.
Tristan is really unstable; I don't know what he's capable of."
Ethan's jaw clenched but he couldn't tell her why he had no fear of
any human. "I just don't understand how he was able to find
me."

"Are you sure it couldn't be someone
else?"

She frowned as she searched her mind for
anyone else that would have sent her those flowers but she came up
with nothing. "I'll call my parents and ask them tomorrow but I
know
it wasn't them. They would
have sent more of a card with them."

Ethan rested his chin on top of her head and
ran his hands up and down her arms. The desire he'd felt for her
earlier had disappeared. All he wanted now was to keep her
protected and to ease her worry. He would do everything he could to
make sure she stayed safe, even if it meant killing his first
human.

Jill was about to dump the leftover eggs into
the trash when she froze and looked up at Emma with consternation.
Emma was tempted to hide behind her coffee mug; unfortunately it
didn't offer her much protection from her friend's probing gaze.
"Why are the flowers in here?" Jill demanded.

Mandy leaned forward on her crutch to see
what it was that had caught Jill's attention. Her forehead furrowed
as she lifted her head to look at Emma. "Did you two have a fight
or something?"

"From the sounds I heard last night there was
no way they were fighting," Jill said.

It may be useless, but Emma lifted her coffee
mug and held it before her face. "Then what is going on?" Mandy's
hand pushed her mug back down so that she could look Emma in the
eye.

"The flowers aren't from Ethan," she
admitted.