Devotion (23 page)

I woke Tristan with kisses, wanting to finally make love to him, to take me to another, blissful place away from my reality. After months of holding back, I was so ready. I didn't care who heard me when my wall crashed–the hotel guests and employees were all Norman strangers who'd never know what hit them. The inevitable destruction of the room was a concern … but a minor one at this point. We'd just have to leave money to cover the damages.

He awoke immediately and responsively, his luscious lips kissing me back. The gold in his eyes sparkled with anticipation, the green shining beautifully as he looked into my eyes. Once again, I couldn't believe how breathtaking he was and how lucky I was to be with him. His strong arms enveloped me and held me against his hard body, making me feel safe and loved … and desperate for him. But apparently the stress and exhaustion of the last several days was more than I'd realized–some time before I was even naked, I crashed.

At least in my dream we made love. We were in our beach house in the Florida Keys, destroying the Caribbean room once again, our bed in shambles, the rest of the furniture in pieces. I moaned with pleasure, so close to euphoria … and then that musical voice chimed in: "Sweet dreams, little bitch."

I bolted upright in the hotel bed, my eyes darting around wildly and my heart pounding in my chest.

"Sorry to wake you from such a hot dream, but we need to go," Tristan said.

"Vanessa," I replied. The musical voice had been real and close by.

BANG!

The door burst open, bounced off the wall and slammed back in the white-blonde's exquisite face. Her lightning-quick reflexes caught it just in time, the metal door molding to the shape of her arm. Tristan took my hand as she threw it open again and, after catching a glimpse of Vanessa and her brother Victor flying into the hotel room, we flashed.

They came close enough. We appeared on a deserted beach, and Vanessa and Victor appeared right after us, catching our flash trails. They were stupid to think they alone could defeat us–they couldn't beat Tristan even without my help–but Vanessa's pursuit was always based on emotions, not on the obvious facts. And it wasn't Tristan she wanted to beat. She only fought him because he protected me. He shot fireballs at her, and I shot an electric bolt at Victor, singeing a hole through his shirt and into his chest, turning his white skin purple.

"Now!" Tristan said, and we flashed again, now somewhere inland and desert-like. The sickeningly sweet smell of burning vampire flesh still filled my nose.

"Son of a witch!"

Vanessa and Victor followed us once again, immediately lunging forward when they appeared. Vanessa's hand grasped my right wrist like a steel vise. I shot a constant flow of electricity at her, the current traveling through her arm and back into me, then into Tristan, who still had a grip on my upper-right arm so I could follow his flash. Victor, the idiot, wrapped his arms around his sister, trying to pull her off me. The electric current charged violently through all of us.

Rather than electrocuting me, though, it boosted my power. Tristan could take it. Vanessa and Victor could not. Their bodies convulsed, and purple tendrils of smoke rose from their skin. They knew what would happen from the last time I nearly smoked the vampire bitch, and she finally released my wrist. Both of them fell to the ground, their bodies still writhing. Tristan and I used our powers together to send them flying back twenty yards, too far to follow our trails.

"
Again
," Tristan said, and I followed him to a new place, more remote than the previous one.

We stood back-to-back, our knees bent in fighting stance, palms held out. My heart thrummed erratically as adrenaline and lingering electricity shot through my veins. Hundreds of beats thundered in my chest as we waited … and waited. When the two vampires didn't appear, the air imprisoned in my lungs finally released with a whoosh. I leaned forward with my hands on my knees, panting, trying to slow everything down to a normal rhythm.

"That was … fun," Tristan said, swinging around to face me. I looked up at him and lifted an eyebrow. A wide grin filled his face. He meant it. "You weren't really scared of those two, were you? They're not a real threat."

"She wants to kill me. That's a real threat in my book."

"She missed her opportunity,
ma lykita
. You're too strong for her now. I think you could have fried all of us and still be left standing." He squatted in front of me and lifted my chin with his thumb to look into my eyes. His sandy-brown hair still crackled with a trace of electricity. "Just make sure I'm there when you fight her. I've been looking forward to watching that for a long time."

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure if he wanted to see me beat Vanessa or just watch two women fighting … especially because it was over him. Well, I was sure it was both, actually. He wanted me to beat her, but he wouldn't mind a show of it.

My heartbeat and breathing returned to normal, I finally stood up straight and caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun, instinctively holding my palm out. A kangaroo stood a hundred yards in the distance.

"Oh!" Without a thought, I sprinted after it.

"Alexis, NO!" Tristan shouted but I ignored him, wanting to see it up close.

The kangaroo sprang away from me, but I was too fast for it. I was nearly close enough to touch it when it spun on me, leaned back on its tail and lifted its powerful legs. Its huge feet slammed into my face. I landed hard on my back and the breath flew out of me.
OW!
I panicked. Power shot out of my hand, and the kangaroo soared ten yards away before landing on its tail and feet. I lay in the dirt, dumbstruck, as it bounced away.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Tristan asked, his voice full of amusement as he appeared in front of me.

"Was … it … a Were?" I asked breathlessly as I struggled to sit up, mentally kicking myself for being so stupid and not checking first.

Tristan helped me to a sitting position. "No. Only a kangaroo."

"
Really?
Are they always that … mean?"

"Yes, especially when they feel threatened. So don't do that again. You'll ruin my favorite face in the world. Look what you've done to it." He knelt down in front of me and gingerly touched my nose and cheekbones. I flinched. Of course, I couldn't
look
at it, but I could
feel
it–my nose and cheeks hurt like hell. I groaned. The blood flowing from my nose had already stopped, and I could feel the broken bones mending themselves, but I would have serious bruises for a day or two.

Tristan lowered his mouth to my cheek and kissed across it, over my nose and to my other cheek.

"There's no open wound. You can't heal it with your saliva," I pointed out.

"Thought it might make you feel better, though."

It did, actually, eliminate the pain. My skin tingled rather than throbbed.

"My lip is cut," I whispered, and he moved his mouth to mine, his tongue running over my lips that had already healed.

"Would you like to pick up where your dream left off?" he asked.

I stiffened, staring at him. "
What?
You know what I was dreaming? Was I sharing it?"

The idea of my dreams seeping out of my head and into someone else's never crossed my mind.
How mortifying!

He chuckled. "No. Looks like I'm right, though."

"Are you sure? Even Vanessa said something about my dreams."

"Hmm …could be coincidence … but your sexy little moans and movements made it obvious to me."

I groaned. "How embarrassing."

He chuckled again and brushed his lips across mine. "I was personally enjoying it, my love. But the real thing would be better."

I sighed. "Sorry about last night …"

"You can make it up to me." He kissed across my cheeks again, opening his mouth, his healing powers taking away the pain and replacing it with bliss.

"I will," I promised.

"Right now?" he whispered against my ear, sending goose bumps across my skin.

I glanced around at our surroundings. Not a soul around, not even any animals. But it was dry and dusty, and the thought of that dusty sand making its way into certain places was not exactly romantic or sexy.

"Hmm … follow me." He took my hand and flashed.

We appeared in a grassy area, surrounded by trees and the bank of a smooth pond in front of us. Its surface duplicated the trees and sky above so perfectly, it was difficult to tell where the real world ended and the reflection began.

"Crocodiles?" I asked but I already knew the answer. The only mind signatures I sensed were birds and a couple of snakes in the distance. Like the night in the woods on the island, I jumped into Tristan's arms and crushed my mouth against his. And pain shot through my face. I gasped. "Crap."

"Take it easy, my love." He lowered me to my feet and took off his shirt, spreading it on the ground. He kissed along my collarbone as he undressed me, then lay me down on his shirt. His lips moved against my breasts, sending electric currents downward. "You've taken care of me all this time. Now I can finally take care of you."

I pushed my hands in his hair as his mouth caressed my breasts and his tongue flicked over the tips. He sucked, pulling my nipples erect between his teeth, making me moan and writhe. He moved his mouth along my stomach, kissing and sucking every inch. Electricity shot through my lower body as he continued moving down, his hands on my breasts, sliding along my sides and then underneath me, raising my pelvis. His tongue danced expertly against me, doing things that should be illegal, making me cry out. His mouth took me over that elusive edge and into oblivion.

When the convulsions subsided, I pulled him up, then took him into my hand, stroking him as I guided him into me. He shuddered before he even entered. He looked down at me, his eyes sparkling, as he slid inside. I ran my hands over his chiseled chest and hard abs, around to the perfection in back, and then thrust my hips against him, pulling him into me at the same time. We both moaned and moved with urgency. It'd been way too long. We built up quickly and soared away together. There was no time for messing around, playing games with our powers, destroying whatever lay in our path. This time was relatively normal–except for a few bruises, of course.

But they were nothing compared to–

"Holy crap!" I stared at the water's smooth surface, perfectly reflecting my battered face as I leaned over the edge of the bank. I looked like a damn raccoon, one large bruise creating a mask around my eyes and across my nose and upper cheeks. "How could you
want
to make love to this?"

"I won't acknowledge that idiotic question," Tristan said, considering me. "But I have a good one: Did it work? Your shield?"

I had to think about it. "I don't know. I don't think so, but without anyone else around, I can't tell."

"Hmm." He shrugged it off. "Let's clean off, and we'll get moving again."

He led me into the water, and although the ripples distorted the reflection, it was still hard to see what hid underneath. I felt around with my feet, and finding nothing, I dipped down and immersed my shoulders. The water was cool and refreshing, especially since I hadn't had a chance to shower this morning, thanks to Vanessa and Victor. Tristan was already out, buckling his pants, and I was splashing water against my face when I sensed the mind signature and saw the movement under the water at the same time. I hadn't been paying enough attention.

The eyes broke the surface first, and then the long, broad snout. As its head emerged, its mouth opened widely, exposing rows of teeth several inches long.

"Waaaaah!" I screamed, punched its nose as hard as I could, and literally flew out of the water, clearing twenty-five feet over the bank before I landed behind Tristan. My fingernails dug into his arm as I peeked around him. The oversized, white crocodile sauntered out of the water, snapping its jaw. My superhuman strength didn't slow it. "What the hell! What do we do?"

"Shh … it's okay. Can't you tell?"

Of course it was okay to him. He'd been fighting sharks and probably crocodiles and various other monsters for centuries.

"Yeah! It's a freakin' Were! Do something already."

Tristan lifted his hand, but instead of attacking, the crocodile began transforming.