Always. Krystle Triplett
just as sudden, a soft cry bursting from her lips. His hands pulled her close, and hers clutched at his shoulder. He groaned into her mouth. One of her hands ran up to tangle in his hair. He backed her into the wall. A soft oomph the only indication he was being a little too rough with her. Tristan tried to slow things down a tad. He peppered little kisses across her face, hearing her heavy breathing in his ear was like the sweetest symphony. She was all passion and desire—everything he could ever want in a woman, and she was all his. His hand started to slide up over her bodice, intending to find out if she was as soft there as she appeared when he noticed the music fade.
The sound of laughter drifting from the ballroom jerked him back to his senses. Tristan pulled back enough to look into her eyes as they fluttered open. She took one of her arms away from him to touch her lips. Her eyes were wide and glazed over with passion. He could tell this was a first for her; she was very innocent in the ways of man.
What was he supposed to say to her now? An apology? The only problem was he wasn’t sorry. The last few minutes were the best of his entire life. “Lily… I don’t…that is to say…we shouldn’t—” Words weren’t coming to him again.
“We should get back before someone notices our absence.” She pulled her hands away from him to straighten her bodice. She glanced up at him, a wary look on her face. “I’m sure William will already have sent out a search party. How do I look?”
“More beautiful than one person should have the right to look.” Tristan didn’t want to go inside. He didn’t want this to end. How was he going to get her alone again? “Look, Lily, before I take you back inside, we really need to talk about this.”
She opened her mouth, but he didn’t find out what she was going to say because at that moment her brother rounded the corner. He scanned the balcony. In the darkness Tristan knew a mortal would have trouble seeing them, but William’s eyes could make out everything. His face darkened with anger as he made his way toward them.
“What do you think you are doing out here?”
“We were just talking, William,” said Lily as she stepped in front of her brother.
“Oh really?” he asked sarcastically. “If you were just talking, then why is his hair sticking up in all directions and why does your dress look like you were rolling around on the ground?” He turned to Tristan. “I’m going to kill you.” He started to take a step toward him, but again Lily got in the way.
“Stop, Liam,” she said as she put her hands on his chest. Liam was the nickname she used for him when she was younger. It always made him smile and give into anything he wanted. At this moment, it wasn’t having much effect. “If we don’t go inside right now, then someone is bound to wonder where we are. I’m sure my next partner is already looking for me.” She started to pull him away, heading for the door. She glanced back at Tristan, a small frown on her face again. “We can discuss this later.” Tristan knew she was referring to the conversation that the two of them needed to have, but her brother assumed otherwise.
“Oh, there won’t be a conversation later. I’m going to pummel him.” He was still radiating anger, but he let his sister lead him into the ballroom, never taking his eyes off Tristan. “Stay away from us the rest of the night if you know what’s good for you, friend,” he growled.
Tristan watched as his best friend and his future walked away from him. It was all he could do not to try and drag her back. He would have to talk to William about this, he realized, otherwise his friend was going to make this situation harder than it needed to be. With that thought he turned and headed out into the garden, intending to leave the ball. A laugh from behind stopped him.
“Well, well, well,” said Douglas as he stepped out the rest of the way through the balcony doors. “Trouble in paradise?” He pulled out one of his hand-rolled clove cigarettes and lit it, the smoke billowing toward Tristan. “Why in the world would William be in such a mood, hmmm?” He was grinning from ear to ear.
“Shut it, Hale,” rumbled Tristan. He wasn’t in the mood for his friend’s good-natured ribbing. Besides, he was afraid the other man had seen more than he needed to see. “What are you doing out here? Miss me that much?”
Douglas clutched his chest. “I was about to perish; it had been so long since I looked upon your angelic face.” He was still grinning.
This made Tristan laugh as he rolled his eyes. “Seriously, what are you doing out here?”
He took a drag off of his cigarette. “I figured I had better come find you before a certain aggravated redhead beat me to it.” He chuckled. “You really put her in a mood, Tris.”
Tristan shook his head. “I forgot all about her to be honest.” He pursed his lips, a thoughtful look on his face. “Do me a favor and take her off my hands the rest of the night, will you?” He wanted nothing to do with her or any other woman. Lily was it for him. He still couldn’t believe it. “Actually, you can keep her if you are both open to it.”
Tristan had always heard that when you found your promised one, that that was it. No other would ever do. Some immortals were lucky enough to find them early, but most it took hundreds of years. It was possible to find more than one, but it usually only happened if one of them died. Nature’s way of not complicating their lives, he supposed.
Douglas put out his cigarette. “Gee, thank you for your generosity.” He shook his head. “To be honest, I think I’ll pass on that. The woman scares me.” He saw Tristan about to protest, so he waved his hand to stop him from talking. “I’ll handle her tonight, but in the future, I suggest you find another way to dispose of your ladies.”
“Don’t worry, this will be the last time, believe me.” Tristan realized as soon as he said it, that it sounded very final, like a declaration.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Douglas with a curious tilt to his head.
“Nothing,” he said, trying to avoid the other man’s eyes. “I just won’t bother you like this again. Thank you for doing it, by the way.” He clapped the other man on the shoulder. “I’m going to take off. Tell William I will be at home tomorrow if he wants to finish our conversation. If he doesn’t stop by, then I will come to him.” With that he turned and walked back out into the garden, letting the shadows surround him.
*****
Lily
As she dragged her brother the rest of the way into the ballroom, she kept glancing over her shoulder, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Tristan. What had just happened between them? One minute they were talking and dancing, the next his tongue was in her mouth and she couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. Lily wanted his hands all over her body, nothing between them. She was having trouble walking because her legs felt like jelly. She looked over at her brother; he still had a murderous expression on his face.
“William, you have to calm down,” she said as they headed toward their friends.
“Don’t start with me, Lily,” he growled at her. The harsh look on his face surprised her. “I trusted him to be a gentleman and instead he took advantage of you.”
“He didn’t take advantage of me. Nothing happened that I didn’t want to happen, I promise.” She was hoping this would calm him down, but instead it seemed to only anger him further, except now his ire was directed at her.
“I can’t believe you just said that!” They had stopped a few feet from her friends, but they were all watching them, clearly intrigued by the confrontation between the siblings. “You barely even know the man and you let him lead you outside where you behaved like a common strumpet.” At least he wasn’t talking loud enough for others to hear, but Lily still blushed at his words.
Lily took a deep breath before she answered him. “Nothing happened, William. We kissed. It’s not the end of the world.” She didn’t mention that it felt like that now that they were apart. “Just try to enjoy the rest of the party. Forget your anger for now, we can talk about it later.” He didn’t