Heads or Tails (32 page)

Tristan’s gaze flickered down to her then back to the opposite wall. He sighed deeply and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry your highness, but yes, I’m angry with you, and I’m not ready for those puppy eyes and that trembling lip to rob me of that right!’

‘Then
be
pissed. Lash out. Don’t look at me-that’s
fine
-but you won’t chase me away.’ Ivyanne buried her face in his arm. ‘I was so terrified that he’d kill you! I know I’ll calm down eventually, but for now, I don’t want to let you out of my sight!’

‘You really were worried, weren’t you?’

She looked up at him, a cold band squeezing around her heart. ‘Can you
blame
me?Tristan that is the third time you’ve faced off with Ardhi and have only just managed to hobble away after!’

‘Fourth actually, if you count the crash, and our fifth scuffle in total.’ Tristan gave her a pointed look. ‘Which should speak more of my durability than
vulnerability
.’

‘Is that right?’ Ivyanne asked, only half joking. ‘Because I’m starting to think you’re just accident prone!’

He rolled his eyes and looked away. ‘Yeah well...you have a tendency to underrate me don’t you? I survive what would kill lesser men and to
you
it’s a fluke. Or five
consecutive
flukes! I’ve known hundreds of women and fallen only for one-but to you that makes me unreliable when really, it should make you see how precious you are to me.’ His eyes came back, and fixed on her own, and the melancholy within them broke her. ‘You and I can have anyone we want-but the fact that you want me the most and I feel the same has you convinced that we’re fooling ourselves. The perfection of our chemistry is a blessing yet to treat it like a curse, and why? Because
you
don’t believe that fate wants you to be happy.’ He sighed and looked down at his hands on his knees. ‘I’m lost Ivyanne. Every shred of evidence you get that ought to give you faith in me takes a little more away. I feel like I’m literally chasing my own tail here.’

Ivyanne couldn’t speak, there was a lump in her throat the size of a stonefish and no amount of swallowing would budge it. She heard the ring of truth in his words and yet his eloquence, yet another tick in his column, threw her off once more.

And that was the crux of the problem; Tristan Loveridge was
too
perfect.
Too
desirable-
too
crazy in love with her for her to believe he was for real. She needed flaws to grip onto-just as her life was a broken fairytale, she assumed only a broken Prince Charming could endure it with her. That was Lincoln-she didn’t have to worry about Lincoln developing flaws overnight and shattering her perfect fantasies about their future together-she knew his faults and had accepted them and every day, he grew stronger.

Whereas Tristan had come pre-packaged and perfect for the job. Where did their passion have to go, but down? He was dominating every aspect of his life alone-she didn’t want to destroy that for him, by sucking him into her less than perfect world where every day, he got a little more bruised, a little more broken-and sparkled a little less thanks to
her
.

Whether he knew it or not-he’d be happier without her. And yet she was too infatuated with him to release him.

‘No response huh? Like in the past, your silence is proving me right.’ Tristan’s finger was under her chin, forcing her to look up into his muddy face. He smiled. ‘Naw come on Ivyanne, breathe. I’m
fine
. You’re the one who’s shaking!’

Ivyanne knew she was trembling-she just wasn’t sure if it was from fear, or something else. That smile was doing things to her, as it always did, only more so in the aftermath of his rage. She didn’t want to wait for him to get better-she wanted to kiss him better. She wanted to make up for all the ways she had wounded him in a way she knew would soothe him from head to toe-soothe them
both
. Clear her head, and allow her to focus on the bigger picture instead of the one tattooed onto his side, visible through his wet shirt.

‘Well it was a bit of an ordeal you know-even without the mini-tsunami.’ She sifted her fingers through his wet curls. ‘I just want to curl up in your arms and-’

‘I can only imagine how you felt, facing off with him like that. And we
will
talk about it later...’ Tristan sighed and slid off the counter. ‘But for now, I should go shower.’ He cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘Are you going to distance yourself from the security room? Or should I wear a bathing suit?’

‘I guess you’ve earned a bit of privacy,’ Ivyanne joked as she squeezed his hand, not letting go. She was so full of gratitude and adoration for him in that moment that she couldn’t bear the thought of parting ways, so she stalled instead. ‘But tell me...Will you be patrolling my hall tonight?’

‘Probably. Garridan will want the able-bodied ones on the ground floor. And on that note-make sure you lock your windows tight, okay? I dare say we’ll
all
be posted inside, for safety’s sake.’

‘Okay.’ Ivyanne said softly, secretly amused that Tristan was missing so many clumsily veiled hints. She traced a slight circle on the inside of his palm-her body once again two steps ahead of her mind and mouth. ‘I will. But you might want to come in and double-check that I’ve done it
right
.’ She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him demurely. ‘After all, I think I’ve proven how complacent I can be with my own safety, haven’t I? Besides, I’m pretty shaken. Do you think Garridan would object to posting a guard in my room...just this once?’

At last, the penny seemed to drop. Tristan lifted his eyebrows and stared at her incredulously for a full moment before clearing his throat and saying: ‘Is that...was that an invitation into your
room
, your highness?’

Ivyanne smiled. ‘Shall I write down what I’ve been hinting at for the last five minutes Tristan? Or is that intellect of yours gonna kick in at last?’

He looked at her sideways. ‘I hit my head pretty hard you know...perhaps you need to spell out exactly what you’re offering here.’

‘I feel badly-for turning my back on you last night and almost getting you killed tonight. So I’d like to make it up to you. In my room.
Alone
.’ Ivyanne brought his hand to her lips and kissed it tentatively, smiling when his adam’s apple bobbed and his eyes darkened in response. ‘I haven’t got a precise offer worked out just yet-but I’ll be open to negotiations.’ She pressed her body into his. ‘But in the very least, I plan on kissing every ache I’ve caused.’

His eyes flared. ‘
Every
ache?’

She cupped the crotch of his jeans in one hand gently and whispered against his lips: ‘Every single one.’

Tristan’s eyes closed and he breathed in deeply. ‘Oh sweet jesus…what if it’s not enough? What if I lose control?’

‘It’s a risk we’re both going to have to take. But,if you try to take it further then I’m prepared to, a quick kick in the shin ought to settle the matter.’

Tristan chuckled. ‘You have no idea how badly I want you, do you?’ He opened his eyes. ‘What physical pain I’d endure to feel myself inside you again?’

Ivyanne shivered deliciously. She knew she was playing with fire, but she was in the mood to feel it’s warmth on her skin. ‘Actually, I do. But if it’s truly my faith you want, this is your chance to win it.’

‘I will,’ he whispered. ‘I won’t touch you until you ask me to. And I won’t kiss you until you break that damn command officially.’

‘Then my door will be unlocked, Tristan. As soon as you’re finished with Garridan, walk through it, okay? I’ll be waiting.’

Tristan caught her hand, frowning. ‘Do you swear? You’re not going to call Link in the next hour and give yourself cold feet again, are you?’

In response, Ivyanne reached over to the iPod dock and held in the power button on her phone-silencing The Commitments. Lincoln would be devastated when he learned of her invitation and whatever transpired as a result-and he
would
learn of it, of that she was certain. But she was sick of putting everyone else’s feelings ahead of her own. She needed to be kissed and held-she needed to know if removing the embargo on Tristan’s body removed her fixation with him as well.

‘I’ll be upstairs, warming my feet,’ she said. ‘Just come up before I overheat, okay?’

Tristan’s face broke into a dazzling smile, a mix of relief and anticipation. ‘Nine?’

‘Can’t come fast enough.’

‘That makes two of us.’

Ivyanne smiled as she left the room and headed for the stairs.

*

‘Grace! Whoa!’ Lincoln straightened his arms, locking them in place-and her away from him. ‘Don’t! Remi’s counting on me and-’

‘I know... you promised her you’d find him, and we
will
.’ Shadows from the ferns danced across her in the moonlight, making her skin luminous and surreal. ‘But yesterday you promised
me
something and-’

Lincoln put his hands over her hot mouth. ‘No.’ He said through gritted teeth, struggling to resist putting his hands elsewhere. ‘I’m not going to kiss you.’

Grace swatted his hand away and held it, narrowing her eyes in accusation. ‘But you promised!’

‘Grace-
no
.’ He said firmly, staring her down. ‘You’re beautiful, smokin right now actually, and it’s a tempting offer-but the only reason I want to mess around is to get certain urges out of my system-and being a full blood Marked daughter, I can’t take it any further with
you
than I can with Ivyanne. Kissing is only going to make it
worse
.’

Grace raised an eyebrow. ‘You just admitted that you want to take me to bed again,’ she purred, running one hand down his chest. ‘
That’s
progress.’

‘Not for me, it isn’t.’ Lincoln said sourly. He took her shoulders in her hands, trying to ignore the plea in her eyes. ‘Anything I do with you is leading you on Grace.’ He glanced across the pool, which was glowing blue in the moonlight. ‘I think we need to knock this on the-’ his eyes widened when he spotted something floating on the edge of the pool, only a few feet from him. ‘Shit!’

Grace jumped. ‘What?’

‘Michael!’ Heart in his throat, Lincoln leapt into the water in pursuit of the body.

15.

Tristan didn’t know what to think when he limped up Ivyanne’s stairwell and saw no light shining out from under her door. He glowered down at his watch-it was nine on the dot-he’d spoken to her at seven. He’d showered and rushed through a quick re-con with Garridan and the others-comparing notes. Garridan had gone down with Camus and inspected the car-finding nothing but some fishing maps and old beer cans inside-nothing to identify the driver. There was a registration sticker in the corner, up to date, but they didn’t have access to those kind of records, so the best they could do was wait and see if a tow-truck, or Ardhi, came for the vehicle.

As for Ivyanne, they’d all agreed to put a lock on the outer door of the surveillance room as well-so the next time they had to contain her, she’d
stay
contained.

Tristan had to admit, even to himself, that his mind hadn’t really been on the meeting-but his watch. When they’d parted ways, and he’d informed them that he’d be camped in Ivyanne’s stairwell-no one commented. For the first time in his life, people were assuming that sex was the last thing on his mind.

And strangely, they were kind of right. Because when he reflected on their conversation earlier, it wasn’t her promises that made his heart race, so much as they
way
she’d promised them. Ivyanne Court had flirted with him-
really
flirted and it made him feel drunk with happiness. Of course there was a lot of innuendo between them but usually, everything she said had a hint of sass to it, or was backed up by a cutting remark of some sort.

This time though...she’d been glowing. Grinning. Batting those damn eyelashes and forcing his heart to keep pace with them. Desperate to please-and that’s what he was coming back for-her undivided attention.

Tristan nudged the door-which was ajar to begin with-open with his bare, bandaged foot. ‘Ivyanne?’ he asked quietly.

She was lying on the bed, her hair splayed out on her pillow, shining silver and gold in the weak moonlight filtering through her window. Her breathing was deep and even, and her comforter was pulled up over her shoulder. She didn’t respond.

Tristan’s heart sank. All desire to shake her awake-to do
anything
to her, left him with one deep exhalation.

Of course she’s exhausted,
he thought, cocking his head and smiling with the tenderness of a father looking in on a slumbering child. He couldn’t begrudge her sleep, not when he thought of the constant dark circles under her eyes. And even though he felt desolate knowing that she hadn’t been excited enough for their rendezvous to stay awake, he took comfort in the fact that at least she’d tried.

Tristan hobbled to her side and sat on the edge of her mattress, tentatively stroking her beautiful blanket of hair and gazing down at her peaceful expression.

‘Good night, my love,’ he whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. ‘Sweet dreams for once.’

‘I thought you weren’t going to touch me until I gave permission.’

Tristan blinked in the darkness, trying to make out her face. ‘You’re
awake
?!’

Ivyanne’s eyes opened, a smile stretching her lips. ‘You think I could actually fall asleep knowing there was a sexual deviant prowling around my stairwell?’

‘Ga!’ Tristan smacked her backside, or what he assumed was her backside under the protection of her comforter. ‘You are such a brat! I ought to-’

‘To
what
?’ Ivyanne sat up, and the comforter slipped off her shoulder ‘You dare threaten your
queen
?’ In the low light, her teeth were whiter, her skin dark, her eyes twinkling merrily.

‘I
would
-except I can’t think of a single threat that you wouldn’t
enjoy
.’ He was buoyant to know she had been just teasing him. He rested one hand on either side of her hips, bringing his face close to hers. ‘So... is there room on your bed for me? You know, given my awful injuries?’

Ivyanne wiggled back against the left hand side of the bed head, making room for him. ‘Hop on in hop-a-long.’

‘Thank you.’ Tristan grinned and slid onto the mattress beside her. It was warm from her body heat. He shifted, trying to arrange the pillows behind his neck so he could look at her. ‘Just give me a second to arrange myself...’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Ivyanne whispered, pulling him across more, her strength making light work of it. ‘Really. Can you even
get
comfortable?’

‘I think so…’ He turned onto his side, resting his injured ankle in front of the right one and propping himself up on one elbow. ‘Okay this is good like this-plus, I can see you now.’ He glanced down at the blanket she had hugged around herself. ‘Although I
would
like to see a little more.’

‘No surprise there.’ Ivyanne joked, getting on her own side so they were facing each other. Even under the downy quilt, her curves stood out like a race track.

There was a moment’s silence as their bodies settled. The tension in the air was palpable. Ivyanne broke it with a giggle. ‘Okay why is this weird?’

‘Probably because this is the first time you’ve let me get this close to you without having to pin you in place.’

‘Ah!’ She laughed. ‘That must be it.’

‘Want me to piss you off?’ He asked.

‘I actually don’t think you could right now.’ She mused in a thoughtful tone.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? Why’s that?’

Ivyanne reached out and fingered one of his curls. He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling like a petted cat. Like a king.

‘Because for the first time since we met-I’m not scared of encouraging you.’

Tristan pushed his head into her fingers and sighed again, deliriously pleased. ‘I knew it was a pretense. No way am I as irritating as you make me out to be!’

Ivyanne chuckled. ‘No. You’re sexy... Which is why I wish you weren’t so public about it with your pretenses!’

Tristan was touched, and yet her honesty was catching him off-guard. Okay so she’d messed up that night and had gotten him hurt-but it wasn’t her style to lay herself at someone’s feet. She spoke her mind, not her heart. So why the sudden change? Was she laying herself at his feet, hoping he’d step over her?

‘Are you saying all of this as a swan song?’ He asked, breathing in the scent of freshly washed and damp hair from her pillows. It was heavenly. ‘Are you going to seduce me with your words, make love to me-and then release me, hoping I stay released?’

‘Is there anything I could do to release you?’ She asked, neither confirming nor denying his fear. ‘To make you walk away?’

Tristan opened his mouth to say no, but then realized, that wasn’t honest. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘You could choose Lincoln.’

‘That would make you fall out of love with me?’ Her voice was tinged with surprise. ‘But-’

‘Lincoln and I can wax eternal about never ending love but really, what the hell do we know about that? If you choose him my heart will be broken-
shattered
-and I will sulk for a long time dreaming of what might have been….maybe even decades.’ He shrugged, staring up at the wall behind him, silently approving of the metallic wallpaper that was glowing a dull gold in the filtered moonlight. In fact, her entire bed seemed to shimmer and he never wanted to leave it-or her. ‘But we’ll move on. It’s amazing what a nice piece of ass, an epic serving of resentment and a holiday can do for a man’s perspective.’

‘Honest as always...’

‘I aspire to be. I don’t want you to choose me because you think I’m more likely to hang myself if you don’t.’ He held up a finger. ‘
Or
him. If you make this choice for someone’s sake other than your own I will track you down and kick your ass. Got it?’

Ivyanne backed her eyes. ‘Good thing I’m not the willing sacrificial lamb you all think I am then, huh?’

Tristan laughed. ‘I never thought you were
that
angelic.’

‘And that’s probably why I keep you around,’ Ivyanne said quietly, sitting more upright and leaning over him. ‘You see me more clearly than the rest. Even me sometimes.’ She kissed right near the neckline of his white tank. Heat blossomed from the spot and swiftly spread all over him.

‘What was that for?’ He asked, inhaling gently, afraid to make a sudden movement.

‘I told you I was going to kiss you better. And there’s a slight scratch there.’

‘Mmm...there are scratches everywhere, my queen. You could be there all night….’

‘That’s kind of the plan.’ Ivyanne’s lips traced a breathy line to his shoulder, then landed again, moist and soft. ‘Is that better?’

‘Much. I’m already on the path to forgiving you…’

‘Good.’ Her fingers spanned across his lower abdomen, close enough to his waistband to make his cock twitch, and then pushed up gently, moving his shirt out of the way and leaving another humid trail of kisses where the cloth had been. ‘I want your forgiveness, Tristan. For tonight. For everything else.’ Then her lips moved against his tattoo, and he swore he could feel the pattern separate from his skin and hum.

‘Oh...
babe
…’ he caught his lip with his teeth. Seeing her like that, bent over his waist, her beautiful profile serene as her lips worked their magic on him was so provocative that he rapidly began to swell in response. Then she moved and the bedspread slipped off her shoulder and revealed a thin, black satin strap against her skin. He followed it down and to see more black satin stretched tautly across her beautiful breasts-and it was all he could do not to tear the bedspread free so he could see how the negligee ended.

‘That’s not the fuzzy pajamas,’ he said thickly, gripping the side of the mattress so he wouldn’t touch her without prompting.

Her eyes lifted to his and she smiled. ‘You caught that huh?’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Well I have your wardrobe memorized by now. I like to dress you in my head like a barbie doll...’

‘Nice. One more thing to be paranoid about when I feel you staring.’

‘Oh no, I do that in my room when I’m alone. If I’m staring at you, it’s because you did something spectacular-like breathed, or blinked.’

Ivyanne bit her lower lip but her smile was too grand and it fell free. ‘Do you write this stuff down somewhere ahead of time? Is there a panty-wetting database on your computer I ought to know about it?’

Tristan’s pulse was galloping. ‘
Are
your panties wet?’

Ivyanne sat up and swung one knee over him so that she was straddling his hips with hers. As she settled, she ground herself into him, sliding along his erection smoothly, warm lace against hot cotton. ‘If you were naked right now…’ she said breathily. ‘You’d
feel
the answer to that.’

‘If I was naked right now I’d be apologizing-’ Tristan managed to stammer out through his ecstasy.

Ivyanne smiled wickedly. ‘So you
like
what I’m wearing?’

There wasn’t much ‘it’ to like. Thin straps, a fitted bodice that clung to her waist and ended soon after with a delightful, lace lined split at the top of each of her muscular thighs. The way she was sitting strained the splits, revealing the curve of her ass on each side.

It was the best thing he’d ever seen on a woman. ‘I do. But I’d like it better
off
.’

She raised one eyebrow. ‘Not wasting any time, are we?’

‘And why would I? You put that on knowing that once I saw it, it wouldn’t stay on for long.’ He grinned at her. ‘Besides, you want my forgiveness, and I’m still pissed that you spied on me yesterday then left me high and dry. And
hard
. Time to return the favor, you little minx. Get rid of it, and then once I get a good, thorough look at what you’ve been hiding from me, I’ll let the offense slide.’

‘You better.’ Ivyanne’s hands went to the straps of the bodice and she began to slowly slide them down her shoulders until her breasts emerged from behind the lacy edge. Tristan sucked in his breath and had to clench his hands into fists so he wouldn’t cup them in his hands. A few more inches and the narrow plane of her waist was exposed, then her belly button. Tristan felt like he was going to hyperventilate. The satin pooled around the hilt of her delicately pronounced hipbones.

‘There,’ she breathed. ‘Forgiven?’

‘Not
quite
.’ Tristan whispered as his gaze lowered to her belly-button. ‘I get to see
everything
-just like you did.’

Ivyanne hesitated, gripping her slip in place. When he looked up, he saw that her green eyes were muted by the darkness but still haunted.

‘What are you afraid of anyway?’ He asked gently. ‘I said I wouldn’t touch you and I
won’t
-unless you
ask
me to.’

‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ she whispered. ‘The odds of me asking you to make love to me are high-and you
know
it.’

Tristan smiled knowingly. ‘Get rid of it.’

Ivyanne blushed, but rose to her knees, and the negligee slid down, revealing a black lace thong. The idea that it had been pressed against him seconds before stole his breath, but before he could black out from a stimulant overdose, Ivyanne rocked forward and caught herself beside his shoulder, pressing her breasts into his face and then twisting to bend. The urge to take one of her perfect tits in his mouth was so all-encompassing that he had to wrench his face to the side to resist. He snapped his teeth shut, panting through them, his breathing becoming more labored when he saw her delicate fingers gripping the band of her panties and tugging down until they too pooled at her knees. In a heartbeat, she was up again, looking uncertain of what to do with her hands and watching him cautiously.