The Marked Ones (20 page)

Ivyanne was glad her face was hidden so he couldn’t see the guilt in her eyes. His easy-going attitude would probably dissolve if he knew that she’d been emotionally involved with someone since late
childhood. And she wasn’t ready for him to write her off. She had to admit to herself that she was considering him seriously now. Not because of his looks or his charm-but his ability to hear her out, without making snap judgements, a merit both Lincoln and Ardhi were seriously lacking.

‘Princess? What are you thinking?’

Ivyanne looked up. ‘About how being on land blows everything out of proportion when you’re used to problems being dwarfed by an endless horizon.’

‘Very true.’ Tristan said. ‘Humans feel it too, you know. Sailors are usually the most relaxed people on earth.’

‘Then too bad Lincoln hates boats.’ Ivyanne was comforted by his understanding. ‘Do you swear that you don’t hate me?’

He smirked. ‘Do you hate me because of
my antics? I mean, I’m no saint either Ivyanne.’

‘No. If we continue to hang out, and I see that your past truly is your past, then I know I’ll come to terms with it.’ She smiled ruefully, deciding to tell him about her other large problem. ‘And I’m glad
you understand my little crisis-because Ardhi overheard Lincoln sort of hit me up today and flipped out. No, not just flipped out- he literally pulled a lighting bolt out of the sky!’ She took in Tristan’s baffled expression. ‘Ardhi is a closet mystic, by the way.’

‘A
mystic?’ Tristan repeated this, eyes wide. ‘He can do weather?’

Ivyanne shrugged. ‘I guess so. It’s news to me too! The last mystic I knew was-’

‘Roan, with the Dolphin thing, and the fact that he could turn.’ Tristan finished. ‘Wow. Well... damn. Guess he’s more of a contender than I thought.’

Ivyanne snorted. ‘Not after
that tantrum, he’s not.’

‘Huh,’ Tristan said this, like he was mulling something over. ‘So Ardhi did the tree, Lincoln pitched a fit-and it’s
my door you rock up on....’

‘Yeah, to
yell at you,’ Ivyanne narrowed her eyes at him. ‘I’m still pissed off by the way.’ She rubbed at her temples. ‘And at me.... how can I turn Lincoln down without shattering his confidence?’

‘By being my girlfriend.’ Tristan said loftily. ‘Or my fiancé.’

Ivyanne rolled her eyes. ‘Do I look like a girl ready to make a full blown commitment right now?’

‘
No.’ Tristan reached over and pulled her against his chest so suddenly that she had no time to react. His next words buffeted her face with his sweet, minty breath. ‘You look like a girl who needs to be kissed senseless though.’

Ivyanne gasped as his forceful lips melded against hers. He rolled her under him then pulled back, his syrup colored eyes molten with desire.

‘Time to experience my special gifts, princess. In five minutes, you won’t remember either of their names.’

And then his mouth took possession of hers once more.

⁓

Lincoln wiped his wet hair out of his eyes and stared at the light beaming through Ivyanne’s door, gleaming like a beacon. Now that he’d finished work and had a run-and hadn’t had to look at either Adele or Ivyanne-he was feeling calmer. And he was regretting the way he’d treated her all day.

Are she and Adele in there together? He wondered, taking a few hesitant steps closer. Is Adele blaming her? Or is Ivyanne commiserating with her, and calling me a douche? And what if they’re comparing me to Tristan, laughing at my short-comings?

But then, a svelte shadow moved in front of the light, and Lincoln’s body twitched as he realized he wasn’t the
only man standing in the rain at the girl’s bungalow door.

‘Hey!’ He exclaimed, closing the gap between them in three, fast strides. ‘What are you doing mate? If you’re not staff, you need to get out of this area.’

Through the rain, the shadow turned, and a face, too beautiful to be as masculine as the body suggested, regarded him with surprise and...something else? Suspicion? Contempt? It was too hard to tell in the darkness.

‘I’m looking for Ivyanne. Someone told me that this was her room.’

‘Yeah well, I can’t divulge that kind of information.’ Lincoln snapped, coming to a stop a meter from the guy, absolutely gob-smacked that yet another, incredibly good-looking man, was chasing Ivyanne as well. ‘You need to move along.’

The guy held his palms up and smiled with perfectly straight teeth, which contrasted to his deep, olive tone skinned. Jet black hair was plastered to sculpted cheekbones. ‘I’m not a weirdo, lad. I’m actually looking for my sister, Pintang, who
is staff.’ He stepped closer. ‘I’m visiting, and the girl in reception told me that if Pintang’s room was empty, which it was, that I’d probably find her with some Ivyanne chick.’

Lincoln wiped rain out of his eyes. ‘You’re Pintang’s
brother?’

‘Yeah. My name is Ardhi.’ The guy looked agitated at having to spell it out for him.

Lincoln frowned at him. Pintang’s brother? Did he have a tattoo? Did he know Ivyanne? Was Lincoln being lied to again? ‘So why are you staring through the window, instead of knocking?’

Ardhi ran his hand through his hair. ‘Because I only just got here-and when I went to knock, I noticed that there’s only one girl in there, and she’s
crying. I was about to go check out the bar when you came up and read me the pervert version of the riot act.’

‘Oh.’ Lincoln went up to the window, and peeked inside. To his dismay, he saw that Ardhi was right. Adele was alone, on her bed, sobbing into her upraised knees. A cold hand clenched his heart-first, at witnessing the pain he’d caused and secondly, because Ivyanne’s side of the room was empty. And all at once-he knew that wherever she was-she probably
wasn’t with Pintang. Not at eleven on a Tuesday night.

‘That’s not Ivyanne.’ He said to the other guy, stepping back from the window, feeling cold all over. ‘That’s my ex.’

‘Your ex?’ Ardhi raised an eyebrow. ‘Where’s this Ivyanne chick then?’

‘Good fucking question.’ Without elaborating, Lincoln turned on his heel and stalked towards Tristan Loveridge’s room-leaving his good mood at the stranger’s feet at Ivyanne’s door.

20.

When Tristan swooped over Ivyanne, she was so mesmerised by the poetry and grace with which he moved that she observed him with rapt astonishment instead of protesting as she ought to. He rolled over so that he was on top of her and broke off the kiss as suddenly as he’d started, drawing back and surveying her like she was a puzzle he was about to solve. His golden curls shimmered in the dim light, and his bright, fervent eyes skimmed over her with excitement she couldn’t believe she was responsible for.

‘Incredible,’ he whispered, reaching up and cupping her jaw, turning her face slowly from left to right, his eyes following the line of her jaw while she stiffened, acutely aware that she was breathing heavily but not knowing why. He reached out and lifted a thick lock of her damp hair. He brought the curls to his face and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, a slow grin spreading across his perfect features. When his eyes opened, the expression in them was so sultry that Ivyanne stopped breathing all together. ‘I want to grovel at your feet, princess-and yet there’s so much more I could do to this body that I know you’ll prefer.’

Was he kidding with this? Ivyanne felt like every part of her had just burst into flames-and he was waxing lyrical about her beauty like some damn poet? How did he have the presence of mind to even form a sentence while she was being reduced to a puddle of need under him?

Because this isn’t exactly his first time pinning a woman to his bed! Her inner dialogue managed to splutter. Tread carefully! Men say pretty things to get pretty girls!

‘Tristan...’ She managed to gasp, making the smallest possible effort to loosen his grip on her hair.
God, what am I trying to say? Stop? Get off? Or take me?

‘I can’t pull lightning out of the sky,’ Tristan whispered, staring deep into her eyes and smiling. ‘But-’ his lips brushed her jawline and Ivyanne’s neck arched in reflex, forcing the kiss to slide closer to her throat, making her feel heady. ‘You’ll like this a
hell of a lot more....’

Ivyanne felt an unwelcome, but intoxicatingly sweet feeling blossom low in her pelvis as Tristan gently suckled on the base of her throat, and alarm bells started ringing in her head. This was too much for her! She needed to snap out of the thrall and act like a monarch!

‘Tristan-don’t!’ She gasped, drawing on every molecule of her inner strength to push him off her and roll away. To her amazement, he scrambled to his knees, holding his hands up in a pose of surrender.

‘Okay...maybe not.’ He said, chest heaving with labored breathing. He ran his hand down over his mouth and appraised her nervously. ‘Wow, maybe my reputation
is overly exaggerated.’

Ivyanne buried her face in the mattress. ‘It’s not that!’ She exclaimed, turning her profile to face him. The sheets felt cool against her flushed cheek. ‘Tristan do you have
any idea of what you’re asking me to do here? Because I sure don’t.’

He furrowed his brow. ‘Are you talking about
specifics…?’

‘I’m talking about
sex!’ Ivyanne exploded. She got to her knees and faced him, holding her hands up. ‘My whole life, I’ve been taught not to cross that line until there’s a wedding band on my hand, like it’s the biggest deal in the world, and then you come along and act like that rule doesn’t apply to you! And you’re actually convincing me that maybe it doesn’t. But what do I know? I’ve never done this before!’

Tristan’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Whoa! Calm down Ivyanne. I wasn’t about to rob you of your precious virginity. I just wanted to give you a preview.’

Ivyanne crossed her arms. ‘And why should I believe you?’

‘Because you haven’t agreed to marry me yet.’

She cocked an eyebrow. ‘I hadn’t agreed to marry you last Thursday either, but you sure seemed hell-bent on conquering me, all the same!’

Tristan chuckled. ‘Yeah well, you caught me by surprise-I was reacting to you. This time, it’s a well-plotted strategy.’

Ivyanne hoped her skepticism was evident. ‘So you’re saying it wouldn’t have gotten out of control, huh? That my virtue wasn’t even slightly at risk?’

He shrugged, leaning back against the headboard and fixed her with a frank gaze. ‘Well you’ve cut me off cold twice now, proving that you have more control than anyone gives you credit for...but if you’d
begged me to make love to you...I wouldn’t have asked for your word, and your hand-before going through with it.’

She tilted her head to the side. ‘But how could a person in the throes of passion make such a decision?’

He smiled brilliantly at her. ‘You’re a virgin-not a child. At some point, the responsibility is as much yours as it is mine.’

Ivyanne chewed that over, frowning. If he was telling the truth, then she supposed his attitude towards sleeping with her was as gallant as could be expected. She gazed at him, biting her lip thoughtfully.

‘What?’ He asked, clearly amused.

She watched his face carefully as she asked: ‘
Would I have done it? Begged you for it? Would I have agreed?’

Tristan shrugged, averting his eyes-but the trace of a smile curved his lips. ‘What do I know?’

‘Tristan…’ Her tone was warning.

He glanced at her, then grinned. ‘Yeah. Probably.’

Ivyanne sucked in a breath. If he was that confident, then the audacity of his strategy was mind-blowing. How close had she just come to becoming a betrothed woman? ‘How can you be so sure?

Tristan had the grace to blush. He shrugged again. ‘I’m
good at it. Some people can sing, some can paint, some can design buildings- but I can make a girl’s body explode, over and over again.’

‘How?’ She demanded.

Tristan smiled at her with shining eyes. ‘Partly because I’m built for it.’ He tugged on his boxer briefs, drawing her gaze. ‘And also, because I get off as much on the woman’s pleasure, as my own. I crave it Ivyanne-and I won’t stop until I’ve felt you come undone around me countless times.’

Ivyanne tittered nervously, trying to look unaffected, though her mouth had gone dry. ‘Something tells me that you probably paint like Da Vinci too.’

Tristan winked at her. ‘I wouldn’t say Da Vinci. My building designs are way better than my water colors.’

Ivyanne groaned and sank back onto the bed beside him, weakened. ‘My virtue has been at risk since the moment I laid eyes on you, hasn’t it?’

‘And my heart has been at risk with you.’

Ivyanne rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah right. I believe that you want me-and that you could tolerate being married to me for the pay-off of being king. But if you expect me to believe that I’ve succeeded in stealing your heart by pushing you away, when
hundreds of women before me have tried everything and failed, then you must think I’m really gullible.’

‘I don’t think you’re gullible. I think you’re
magnificent.’ Tristan’s finger lifted her jaw, tilted it towards him. The look in his eyes travelled through her, like warm butterscotch. ‘I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you. When you push me away, you’re challenging me, and most women have never cared about themselves enough me to risk showing a backbone, which is ridiculous because I don’t want some hoop-jumping follower. Your sense of self, and your desire to do the right thing for your people despite the demands of your heart and body, astonish me.’ His lips brushed hers, tantalizing her deepest senses. ‘Right now making love to me would solve most of your problems. You’d have made your choice, Lincoln and Ardhi and Bane would have to throw in the towel, and you’d finally be able to experience what your body desires the most. And yet you don’t-because solving your own problems won’t bring you peace, if it causes someone else pain. It’s so generous.’ His eyes sparkled. ‘Frustrating, but generous. Throw in the fact that you’re beautiful, that you slay me with witty one-liners on an hourly basis, and that you stuffed two pissed off mud crabs into your apron tonight to save their lives….well…..what chance does a man have around you?’

His words caused the sort of reflective pleasure within her, that she’d never been able to evoke from a mirror, and she melted, resting her forehead against his, reaching up and gripping his golden, bare shoulders, which felt tightly coiled beneath his satiny skin. ‘Geez…’ she whispered. ‘Talk about slaying a person. The gods were unfair when they graced you with that pretty face
and a silver tongue.’

Tristan ducked his head to gently kiss her knuckles, halting their movement across his shoulders. He kept his eyes trained on hers, and the lust within his expression made the muscles tighten deep inside her core. ‘I don’t want to
flatter you with my tongue Ivyanne,’ his lips left her fingers, and when he leaned forward, landed on the underside of her jaw so that his hot, sweet breath coursed across the delicate skin there and caused heat to flush outwards from that point, across her body. Her face up in reflex, allowing him access, and her eyelids fluttered shut. ‘I want to explore you with it.’

‘Mmm…’ Ivyanne’s grip on his shoulders relaxed and her hands slid down to cup his jaw, pulling his face closer, giving him silent permission to continue his exploration. ‘I know if I was smart, I’d kick you across the room.’ She ran her hand down his shoulder. Every since she’d first seen him shirtless, Ivyanne had been desperate to know if his stomach felt as magnificent as it looked. She indulged her curiosity now, gasping as her fingertips glanced off muscles that felt like chiseled wood covered in silk. ‘But I can’t be very smart can I? A smart girl wouldn’t do this.’ Ivyanne stood from the bed and sat back down on his lap, straddling him, hooking her legs around his waist and pressing against him. Her body rewarded her with a wanton throb, and Tristan groaned, clutching her close. ‘Or
this.’ Ivyanne reached up and pulled her wet shirt off over her head, dropping into the floor. She then reached behind her, fumbling for the clasp of her bra.

But Tristan’s hand caught hers, stilling it. His eyes were wide. ‘What are you doing?’

Ivyanne smiled. ‘Getting to know you a bit better. And taking you at your word. You said you wouldn’t take advantage of me until I accepted your proposal, so like the naïve fool that I am, I’m going to trust you to honor that.’ She cupped his face, smiling at his surprised expression. ‘You’ve been upfront with me, and forgiving of my mistakes, so it’s time I overlook your past and try and get a handle on what kind of future we might have instead.’

Tristan groaned. ‘Dammit!’ He took her hips in his hands and lifted her clear, depositing her back on the bed next to him. He got to his feet, went to his suitcase and withdrew a shirt, tossing it at her. ‘Put that on.
Now.’

Ivyanne blinked, shocked. ‘
What?’ Her face was burning with the rejection. ‘Why? You said-’

‘I meant what I damn well said. Including the part where you won’t stop me when it comes down to the crunch. You
will agree to marry me, I will take your virginity, and then I’m going to feel like shit afterwards.’

‘
Why?’

He turned to her, his expression pained. ‘Because there’s something I need to tell you before we do this. Something about my past that I don’t want to interfere with our future.’

Ivyanne clutched the shirt to her chest, feeling the heat of her arousal chill around her foolish heart. What on earth was he going to say?

⁓

Tristan studied Ivyanne as she dressed in his pale blue bed shirt, running his index finger rhythmically across his lower lip, wondering if he was the stupidest man on the planet for choosing now of all moments to play true confessions. His body was aching for her, and knowing that the feeling was mutual was intoxicating.

But she was naïve. She didn’t realize that giving him a inch, would lead to her
handing him a mile. She still thought his rep was mostly talk, and was trusting herself to be able to say no when it counted. Which she wouldn’t. No woman ever had. He could warn her all he wanted, but the only way he could proceed with his seduction and not feel like hell afterwards, was if he cleared his conscience first. At least that way, when he succeeded in bedding her, she’d wake up to the same man she’d gone to sleep beside. Not next to a man keeping a secret he knew she deserved to know.

Maybe she’d be okay with what he’d done with Adele. She ought to be, if she was as forgiving of his past as she claimed. But it would affect her-he couldn’t lie to himself about that. Ivyanne had never had been exposed to the dramas involved with dating- and she was going to be jealous when she found out that
both the human she wanted, and the man she was considering marrying-had been with the same girl. It would probably even break her heart a little.

Tristan sighed at the thought. He’d come so far, and he didn’t want to take three steps back now. But Ivyanne had confessed about her feelings for Lincoln knowing it might turn Tristan off. He had to reward her trust with a little of his own.

‘What is it Tristan? You’re freaking me out!’

Tristan shifted uncomfortably. He’d never had a relationship and therefore, had never had to justify himself to a woman over
another woman before, so he didn’t know how to go about it. He cleared his throat, and hoped for the best.

‘Well, as much as I can guarantee that the odds of us bumping into someone I’ve, uh, bedded, are slim to none in the
future-there is one dalliance I need to warn you about, and it’s probably going to piss you off, because you know her.’