Enduring Retribution e-book (6 page)

Tristan thought that was an understatement and he left the building to find her. She was going to have to learn some ground rules. Somehow, though, he didn’t think she was going to like that any better than being pushed.

Tristan hid in shadows when he got to the place of their last contact. There was police tape encircling the area where she went down and the police were still milling about. Her blood was in a dark pool within the tape and his only means of finding her. It took him an hour to track her scent from the blood, as he had never tasted hers before and that made it slightly more difficult.

She was still alive and currently in a local hospital, the officer told him. He hadn’t actually told Tristan, but it was in his mind. The officer also thought she was very beautiful. For reasons Tristan didn’t want to think about, that pissed him off royally. He materialized there next.

Staying shadowed, Tristan went into her room, having followed her scent to the correct one.

She had a policewoman in the room with her, and was handcuffed to the bed by her right ankle.

Her arm was tied down by a soft cloth restraint with an IV in the back of her hand. There was bleeding a little from her surgery and there were staples holding the wound closed. Her left leg was propped up with a pillow and wrapped up as well. He could smell the gun residue there. She was still sedated, but only slightly now, having come from surgery an hour ago.

Tristan pushed the officer into going out of the room with the need for a smoke break.

Tristan could smell the tobacco scent all over the woman. He could also smell the beginnings of lung cancer, and promised himself when she returned he would stop her need for the nicotine once and for all.
Stupid humans.

He stood over her for a few minutes just looking at her. This was only the second time he had seen her if he didn’t count taking her to his home in Paris, and the both times she had been unconscious. He’d have to claim her soon if he wanted to spend any time with her. At this rate, she wouldn’t last very long the way she got into trouble. It didn’t occur to him that he was planning their future and would have denied it if he’d been asked.

Putting his wrist to his mouth, he opened his vein for her again and put it to her mouth. She resisted harder this time, her body not as broken, nor near death, but finally gave in and drew him in when he closed off her nose again. He only gave her a few sips, not wanting to alarm anyone with her miraculous recovery. Once he sealed the tiny opening with his saliva, he studied her. She really was very beautiful.

Her hair had been put into a haphazard knot on top of her head, and its rich fall colors brightened against the white of the pillow. Her face was oval-shaped with brows that were perfectly shaped, arched just enough. Her nose was small and sloped with a small bump in the middle where it may have been broken once and knowing what little he did of her, probably more than that. Her mouth called to him with its fullness and shape. It begged for kisses, deep, exploratory ones, and he wanted to do just that. Her jaw was strong and stubborn-looking, which in light of recent events, was probably as true a statement as anything else. Her right shoulder was bare, allowing for the wires from the heart monitor and other equipment to do their work. It begged to be bitten. He found himself leaning down to give in to temptation and brushed his lips across hers. He moaned aloud, her taste exquisite, her breath warm. He ran his tongue along her jaw and then down the long column of her neck. He paused over her pulse. Feeling it beat against his tongue sent tremors throughout his body, centralizing at his cock. He needed to taste her, he justified to himself, so that he could find her quicker if she needed him, when she needed him, he amended. Just a taste, just to find her. Even as he bit, he knew it for the lie it was.

His cock surged at her taste when her blood entered his mouth, his need to be inside of her blotting out everything around him. He drew deep from her, her essences filling him, completing him. He rubbed his hand hard against his cock, hoping for some relief of the sudden and overriding need to come, but to come deep inside of her. She moaned and he felt it as surely as he tasted her. Suddenly, he heard the voices just outside of her room seconds before he gave in and pulled his cock free to…he wasn’t sure what his plan had been. It was as though he had been jolted awake from a dream that he didn’t know how would end. Panting hard and aching, he sealed the wound to her throat and pulled back into the wall just as her door opened.

“No, I don’t know who she is. As I have said numerous times already, she had no identification on her at the time we found her body.”

Two men entered her room, oblivious to Tristan only a few feet from them. Luckily, he understood enough German to know what they were saying, as it was his second language.

“So, let me get this straight, because if I’m hearing you correctly, you were chasing a man who had shot and killed another man and ran across this woman lying there bleeding. Is that about right? She was just lying there with nothing on her, not even a purse or anything?” The detective growled low in his throat. Tristan could feel that he hated the other man, really and truly hated him. Touching the other man’s mind, Tristan could see why. The man was by and far the most stupid man he’d ever known and quite possibly the most incompetent.

“Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. If you want my opinion, I think that…”

“I’m not paying you to think, you fuck wad. I’m paying you to catch the bad guys. Does this little bit of a thing look like a bad guy to you? Hell, my wife won’t go to the fucking mail box without her purse. Let me tell you what happened. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That’s all. Whoever you were chasing took her purse and shot her when she made a noise.

Understand me? I want you to take these cuffs off of her. Leave the guard. Poor mite, he has her address and things so I want her safe.”

“I…she’s my wife. I can protect her. The officer, I won’t need her. I have my own bodyguards for her safety.” Tristan stepped out of the corner and was talking before his mind knew what the hell his mouth was doing.

Both men jerked around at the voice behind them. Neither man had known that he was in the room, and they wouldn’t have until he was ready. Tristan was trying to think fast. He’d never been much for lying and had thought he was really terrible at it.

“I’m sorry, Mister…?”

“St. James. Tristan St. James. This is my wife…err what happened? I…when she didn’t come home, I called a few of her friends and they told me where she had gone after lunch. I followed her…I looked that way and found the crime scene tape and came to the hospital. They told me they had a Jane Doe fitting her description and it’s her. My wife, that’s her.” He sounded like a moron, he thought.

He looked over at her at that moment and saw that she was looking at him. His breath caught in his throat. The moan he just barely caught before it had escaped was frozen in place. Her eyes, they were…well, green just didn’t do justice to the color, and hers were radiant. Emeralds were the first thing he thought of then dismissed that as well. They paled in comparison to the beauty that now glared at him.

“Your wife, huh? If I’m your wife, you should at least show some concern that I’m awake,
shouldn’t you, honeybunches?” T
ristan didn’t like her tone, nor, for that matter, her calling him names.

“Are you going to play along, or do I let them know that you aren’t as innocent as they
think? Because by accounts, there is no way you fit the ‘poor mite’ description either.”

“Hummm, good point, but what makes you think I’m not innocent? The ball is in your park,
bloodsucker. What do you wanna do? If you leave, I can make sure they never knew you were
here. And in actuality, I’d prefer that you did leave. Shoo.” T
ristan felt the strong compulsion in her voice and had to work hard at ignoring it.

He didn’t know whether to laugh at her or to spank her. No one had ever “shoo-ed” him before and he was reasonably sure that he didn’t like that either. He decided to set her straight on a few things.

“My name is Tristan, not honeybunches, or bloodsucker, if you don’t mind. I absolutely hate
pet names. And I’ll play this out for now, if you behave, or is that not within your scope of
understanding?”

“Fuck off, dick weed.” S
he spoke out loud next, putting as much pain and agony in her voice as she could. Tristan didn’t think he could stomach much more so was glad when she only did it for a minute.

“Sweetums, is that you? Oh my, love buckets, I’ve had such a horrible experience. I was so
frightened. That man, he was so bossy to me. You know how I hate to be yelled at, doddle butt,
and he was so beastly to me.” S
he gave a little sob and a sniffle.

“Stop calling me those ridiculous names! And don’t quit your day job, you’re a horrible
actress. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Fuck off, pookie bear. You’re the one who started this. And none of your business.”

The police left shortly afterwards, assured by Tristan that his “wife” would be protected and safe. And no, she didn’t—
sniffle, sniffle
—see the gunman, but he did have a “big old gun,” and if she thought of anything, anything at all, she would be sure to call them. As soon as the door closed behind them, she turned on him, the ungrateful wretch.

“So, you wanna tell me how I just happened to be in your mother’s care a few days ago?”

~CHAPTER SIX~

“How did…I didn’t…” Tristan took a deep breath and counted to ten. She was the biggest irritant he had ever met. And a slob. He reached over and started to button the flannel shirt she had on over her black t-shirt. Did she own anything else, he wondered, but black? Then he remembered those panties and bras. Those were definitely not black, but fire engine red and bright daffodil yellow. Oh, those were very nice. When she smacked his hands away, he huffed at her.

“I’ve been dressing myself for a long time, so back off.” She sat down on the only chair in the room and began putting her shoes on.

She had tumbled from the bed right after asking about his mother and went limping badly into the bathroom, grabbing the emergency room bag with her clothes in it on the way. He had watched her walk away from him; the gown offered him a perfect view of the long line of her back. It was too bad that she remembered to hold the bottom of it together at the last minute. He wondered what color she’d put on today.

“Why would you wear such a garment and not wear it properly?” He had made the bed while she was dressing. Who made hospital beds before they left? he wondered, and decided he’d muss it before they left. Maybe. Okay, he knew that he wouldn’t, but figured he should get points for at least thinking about it. Somehow, he didn’t think the woman in the chair would give them to him.

“You have on a suit and tie in the middle of the night. Don’t harp on me and my clothing, you nerd. You have enough issues of your own to deal with. What are you doing here anyway?

And you never answered my question about your mom.”

Her shoes tied, she leaned back in the chair. She looked weak and dizzy all of the sudden.

He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, but thought he might be able to keep more of his manly parts if he didn’t.

“My mother was keeping an eye on you while I had other issues to attend to. I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing anything like that to her again. What’s the matter with you, you look pale?” He felt guilty about the taste he had taken of her, but he wouldn’t regret it.

Her taste still lingered in his mouth and on his tongue.

The woman didn’t answer him, but sat there for a couple more minutes before the nurse walked in. She looked surprised the see her up and about.

“Oh my, but you’re up! I didn’t…you were shot only hours ago. I’m sorry, I’m glad you’re up.” Nurse Jenkins was obviously flustered and Tristan hated making her feel that way. When he started to explain how she was a quick healer…the girl in the chair spoke up. Tristan really needed to know her name

“I would like you to get my papers to leave ready please. I’d like to go home with my…”

She waved a hand in his general direction. “Whatever. Could you get them for me?”

The woman stood in front of the nurse and waited for her to look at her. When she did, she captured her eyes, the green of the girl’s darkening to a deep forest color. The nurse immediately seemed to relax, to become unfocused.

“My papers for an immediate discharge, I need for you to bring them to me. And any paperwork that pertains to me must be destroyed after I leave today. You’ll need to get them now, please.”

“Yes, of course. You’ll be leaving us today, right now. I’ll just go and get your paperwork ready. And tomorrow morning, I’ll make sure that they are shredded. If you’ll just wait here, I’ll be right back.”

After Nurse Jenkins left the room, Tristan stared at the girl. She’d just enchanted that woman, and quite easily too. There was definitely more to her than humanly possible.

“What are you?” He was awed by her. Not only that, maybe just a tad frightened. She was more than he’d bargained for.

“A laboratory rat that went horribly, horribly wrong and should have been put out of everyone’s misery. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have people to kill and money to make.” She turned toward the door and slammed her nose into his chest. She immediately stepped back two paces. “What?”

“You are not going anywhere until I have some questions answered. Sit.” He stepped toward her and pointed to the chair.

“Do you want to train me to piss on the newspaper too? I assure you, I’m completely house trained.” She grinned then. “Well, maybe not completely. I do have a nasty habit of ripping hearts out of chests when I’m pissed.”

“You don’t frighten me.”
Not overly much
, he thought. “Now sit down. I don’t have all night, the sun will be up soon, and we have a long way to go before I’m satisfied you understand how I am to fit properly into your life from now on. There will be rules about you moving about the world on your own. That will stop without proper care on your part.”