Ambrosia (Nectar Trilogy, Book 2) (5 page)

~~~

“Our first date, kinda,” Kyla said, smiling as they sat. The scent of cinnamon in the attached country store was inviting but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the cinnamon toast taste of him in bed that morning. She was suddenly anxious to get back to the motel and get to bed. Her face flushed.

He smirked across the table and when she caught his expression she flushed brighter.  He seemed to be fully aware of what she was thinking about.

“Hey,” she said sultrily, “What are you in the mood for?”

He lifted the menu and gave her a sexy look right back, then said, “I’m thinking ham and mac & cheese with some cheese grits and corn bread.”

So not sexy but still sexy, strangely.

She wiggled her brows, “Very southern of you. I think I’m having the country fried steak.”

“What about dessert?” He arched a brow at her, and now there was an innuendo on the table.

She moistened her lips and used her phone sex voice, “I’d like to binge on dessert. I haven’t binge indulged in dessert in too long. Way. Too. Long.”

Tristan chewed his cheek and Kyla felt heat prickle along her spine as his gaze heated. Then he swallowed hard and looked down, his expression dropping. Kyla frowned.

Was he afraid of being intimate with her? Was he afraid he wouldn’t have self-control?

She reached across the table and wiggled her fingers, motioning for him to give her his hand. He did. She squeezed it and tried to give him a reassuring look. This guy was always trying to be so strong for her and she could see underneath the mask of confidence was a man who was a mess. He was obviously afraid of what he was capable of as well as afraid of outside sources that could harm both of them and through all that he had to search for her, knowing that she was hiding from him and afraid of him.

She wanted to burst into tears. She didn’t. She held it together. He was smiling all of a sudden.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head, “I love you,” he squeezed her hand tighter and then leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.

“I love you, too.” It was getting easier to say. She added, “So much, Tristan.”

He closed his eyes and he let out a slow breath, appearing to savour her words.

Dinner was pretty good and they talked like a couple getting to know one another.  Kyla loved how normal it felt. He was more than a pretty face, too; he was smart, well-read, they had similar political views, and she could see how he’d make a good choice to run a company --- even if that company wasn’t exactly mainstream. The conversation was easy, normal, fun.

She knew it wasn’t a normal date, of course; they were on a mission, a potentially life-altering one, and he was a vampire and she had some coveted vampire elixir blood but it felt almost normal tonight. Two people enjoying a hearty meal in public and being happy for a moment. She knew Tristan was hyperaware of their surroundings. He could see the entrance and looked narrow-eyed at everyone who entered the restaurant but he seemed to be enjoying their time together, too.

When the server offered dessert menus they both stared at one another as if they shared a private joke. Kyla chewed her lip, thinking about tasting him, about having him taste her.

His gaze heated under her stare and the waitress finally cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable at being smack dab in the middle of what must’ve looked like imminent intercourse. Tristan thanked her but declined dessert and then dropped money on the table. They then walked hand in back hand to the motel where he checked them in.

The room was a standard motor inn type place with two queen sized beds, a TV, dresser, and a bathroom. It was pretty unremarkable but it was clean and definitely a step up from that RV Kyla had slept in back on Vancouver Island.

He dropped the duffle bag on a bed. “Shall we go on a shopping spree?” he quirked up an eyebrow at her.

~~~

Walking through a discount department store with him was so far-fetched she found it comical.  He eyed large skid loads of household items with the curiosity of a tourist at a museum.  Kyla chuckled at the scene, thinking that the whole package that was Tristan Walker did
not
say discount department store; that was for sure.

She was more than certain she didn’t look out of place in her jean shorts and summer hoodie with her messy braid and sneakers. He wasn’t dressed up and just in jeans and a t-shirt but still, every inch of him screamed hot sex and money in the sort of way that just didn’t say shopping at your local discount department store.

Almost every woman in the restaurant and now in the store seemed to look twice at him.  Some were slack jawed and some flushed red, probably from the instant carnal thoughts that invaded their minds. She knew how drop-dead gorgeous he was. He had magnetism. She was under no illusions about the fact that she probably looked like a total plain Jane in stark contrast. Tristan belonged in a corner office of a high rise office building or on a red carpet with supermodel arm candy. Not in a discount department store in some suburb somewhere in Oregon with the likes of
her
.

She stopped in the accessories section, picked up a pair of sunglasses, and popped them onto his face. She screwed up her face and took them off and then popped on another.

“Having fun?” he asked, looking mildly amused.

“Yes. So much. Here, let’s try these,” she found another pair. “Perfect.”

He shook his head, “You’re crazy.”

She found him a nice pair of cargo shorts, “Try these on?” she asked.

He glanced at the size, “They’ll fit.” He looked at the tag again. “Bum? Seriously?”

Kyla gave him a loud kiss, cracked the gum in her mouth, popped the shorts into the basket he was carrying, and pulled him along.

“We need a cart.”

By the time they left, they each had extra clothes and toiletries, sunglasses, plus flip flops, there were drinks and snacks for the motel room and the road, and they hadn’t even spent $200.

“Wow. Who knew? I’ve been missin’ out!” Tristan looked at the receipt, “Walmart
is
frickin’ awesome.”

“
You’re
crazy,” she said and bumped him with her hip. Then she climbed into the cart with their bags and said, “Push!”

He pushed the cart fast, jogging through the half empty parking lot.  She felt light and airy. She pushed away that nagging feeling that told her it wasn’t going to last.

~~~

When they got back to the motel, as Tristan was putting the key card into the slot on the door, she felt a whoosh of anticipation in her belly and knew her panties were damp with arousal. She stood behind him and saw his tight buns and goosed him. He was startled and looked over his shoulder, shocked at her. She winked, feeling totally brazen.

His expression dropped as he opened the door, “Someone’s been in here.”

She followed him in.

“Put your back against that wall,” he pointed to the wall.

She felt her heart drop as she backed up into the wall just inside the door.

He looked under the beds and then in the bathroom.

“It’s clear,” he mumbled. A quick inspection of the Puma bag and he seemed satisfied.

“Maybe it was just a maid.”

“Must’ve been,” he said, “It was a woman. Not a vampire.”

“Wow. You can tell.”

“Lingering scent. All of my senses are stronger than ever, especially since…” he stopped, “It’s useful, my ability to scent is sharper than ever.”

She nodded. They hadn’t yet talked much about what happened. She had a feeling the changes after that event were pretty poignant. She just wanted him right now, not baggage, not fear, not knowledge, just him. Hot sex after a fun date. Was that so much to ask for?

They stared at one another, Kyla was against the wall and Tristan standing right in front of her.

“I want you,” she whispered and stepped forward, closer to him.

“I need to hold back,” he pushed her gently back against the wall pinning her by the shoulders warily. His eyes scanned up and down her body and she could see he was fighting his urges.

She whispered, “Just let me. I’ll do it all,” she dropped to her knees and started to undo his jean buttons, realizing she hadn’t given him the pleasure of her mouth on his cock yet.

He took a step back, “No. I can’t right now. I’m too..too…” he stopped talking and took a deep breath.

“But this morning you just let me…”

“Can’t do that again. It took every ounce of my control to hold it back and we both know how disappointing that was. If I let go, this thing in me, it could get out; I feel like I have to hold it back. I don’t know it well enough yet. I’ve got Jekyl
and
Hyde in me and Hyde’s a stranger. I don’t trust him.”

She swallowed hard and got to her feet, furrowing her brows.

He continued, “It doesn’t feel like I have to get pissed off to lose it. It doesn’t feel like I have to taste or smell blood, even, for this Hyde to get out. It feels like it’s just below the surface,
just
. My physical strength has almost doubled in intensity and there are new ones. And it, whatever monster you woke up, is very close to the surface right now, always, but especially right now, like I’m sharing my body with someone else, someone who wants to take over,” he swallowed hard, “We have to get to Adrian’s, figure out what I’m really dealing with here. Then we can go from there.”

“You’re going to spend the next few days with me, not drinking my blood, not having sex at all?”

He shook his head, “I almost lost it this morning. More than once. I can’t.”

“Tristan, maybe I should just hide. I’ll stay here. You go. Go to Arizona. Then come get me when it’s all figured out. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be in close proximity if, if…”

If I don’t even know if you’re about to lose control!

“I’m not leaving you.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“I won’t take off. I promise.”

“I know that. It’s not that. I won’t leave you unprotected.”

“Then let’s fly. We’ll be there in a few hours.”

“No, no paper trail. It’s bad enough someone can find out I crossed the border from the ferry manifest. I didn’t have time to get us new identities.”

“But what if you can’t hold it in?”  She flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He flopped beside her.

Something rose in her, “Maybe I can help you control it,” she said.

He was about to speak and he didn’t look happy.

“Hear me out.” She put her index finger over his lips and started to speak quickly, “I think I talked you down last time. It might’ve been the tranquilizers but it might’ve been me. You remembered what I said and as soon as I said it, you were becoming you again. Maybe if you…” she shrugged, “I could---” He grabbed her wrist and flipped so that he was pinning her on a bed.

His eyes darkened, “You think
you
can control this? I’m not sure how much longer
I
can fucking control this!”

He stared at her for a beat and then blew his hair out of his eyes, rolled off her and got to the floor and started to do push-ups.

What’s wrong with me?

Kyla knew she sounded ridiculous, asking him to put her at risk like this. She sounded like a junkie begging for a hit. She decided to just shut up. She stared at his muscular back for a second. His muscles flexed as he went up and down and up and down. She imagined being underneath him as he did that. She shook herself back to reality when she heard him growl her name.

“Get out of my head,” she told him, covering her eyes.

“If I knew how…” he mumbled and started doing the push-ups faster.

“Would you? If you knew how?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

There was a pregnant pause. She got to her feet, “I’m going for a bath.”

She figured it’d be a good idea to leave him alone for a few minutes.

“Wait. That scent is nagging at me. I need to know what it’s from. I need to make sure. Follow me.”

“Huh?”

“Now,” he growled and grabbed her hand and the room key card and then they left their room and headed toward the front office. Tristan got right in the space of the desk clerk, a young guy, maybe 25, who looked like he desperately needed a shower.

“Who was in our room?”

The clerk went into what Kyla could see was an instant trance,

“Marabelle. Maid.”

“Where is she?” Tristan demanded.

The clerk pointed to a hallway adjacent to the front desk.

Tristan moved in that direction, taking Kyla with him. Down the long hall were a few closed doors and one was slightly open. They stepped in. It was a utility room with motel supplies and a washer and dryer. There was a woman in a maid’s uniform putting towels into a washing machine.  She turned around and her expression on Tristan was instantly carnal.