by Munt, S. K
Tristan’s lip lifted in amusement. He swung his leg over the side of the bed, resting his muscular arms on his knees, and regarded her curiously. ‘Your words say one thing-’ he gestured to the space between them. ‘But the gap between us...that says another.’ He cocked his head to the side. ‘And it represents Link, doesn’t it?’
Ivyanne looked down, trying to get a handle on her thoughts. ‘He’s there.’ She confessed, in little more than a whisper. ‘But there are other things too..’
‘Like your dad’s opinion of me? Ardhi’s? My reputation?’ Tristan guessed.
Ivyanne half-shrugged. ‘Amongst other things.’ She lifted her head. ‘You’re...you’re a heartbreaker, Tristan. Have I got issues with you? Yes. And when a girl meets a guy like you, clinging to those issues is a survival instinct, because you’re too easy to fall for otherwise.’
‘Flatterer.’ Tristan said with a wicked grin. He crossed his arms. ‘Well...what have you got against me? If there’s a wall to be torn down between us than I’ll have to do it one brick at a time.’
Ivyanne stared at him. ‘Well...you’re a player. How do I know that you won’t get bored within weeks of settling down with me?’
‘Look in a mirror. I could keep myself entertained with just your bottom lip for a decade.’ He shot back. ‘What else?’
Ivyanne smiled, despite herself. ‘Well, you’ve slept with so many women…’
Tristan blanched. ‘Isn’t that like saying you hold my tail against me? I am what I am, Ivyanne. Most merman have whittled their headboards down to splinters-the only difference between me, and them, is that I get rave reviews.’
Ivyanne hugged herself. ‘I know that. And I don’t hold your nature against you. But virgins in our kingdom are rare, Tristan. It’s just the unmarried Marked daughters, and me. I feel like you’ve had so much sex that going to bed with me will be completely unremarkable for you.’
Tristan’s eyes widened. ‘Oh wow, you literally have no idea.’
Ivyanne snorted gently. ‘You’re right-I don’t. And that’s another problem. Our strengths and weaknesses are at opposing ends of the scope. You have all the confidence in the world, and the arrogance. You can be downright callous-’
‘Callous?’ The word was heavy with disbelief. He frowned. ‘Isn’t that a little overboard? I’d say flirty, cocky, direct, yes...but if you’re trying to imply that I’m devoid of empathy or emotions then you’re way off.’
‘Am I?’ Ivyanne countered, sitting on his bedside table. ‘You’ve been disposing of women for years! And your e-mail was so blasé about this whole situation, like you’d do me the favor of marrying me if the arrangement suited you. You wait six whole months and then just show up like a-’
‘Forced volunteer?’ Tristan’s tone was weary, and his eyes had lost some of their sparkle. ‘Like maybe the queen called me and begged for me to intervene before either of us was ready?’
Ivyanne let out a breath, not overly surprised by this revelation-yet furious with her meddling mother all the same. ‘So she summoned you, huh? I knew it!’
‘Yes. But only because she knew she had to do something to stop you from jumping into a marriage with Ardhi out of kindness.’ Tristan leaned forward, bending his knees slightly and resting his arms across them. His deep brown eyes had darkened to charcoal. ‘And as for the six months, well, what did you expect? I was in mourning too, Ivyanne.’ He frowned. ‘Have you stopped to consider that while you’ve been breaking down over the loss of a fiancé you barely knew-I’ve been trying to hold it together after losing a brother?’
Ivyanne blinked. Actually, she hadn’t.
Tristan swallowed before continuing. ‘Nigara meant the world to me...and yet you’re going to lecture me for not swooping down to seduce his widowed fiancé right away? For testing the waters with some vague e-mails first? I don’t want to sound callous-but not everything is about you and your troubles. And not once have you said : ‘I’m sorry for your loss, Tristan.’
Ivyanne blinked, surprised. ‘I haven’t?’
Tristan shook his head. ‘No, your highness. You were too busy telling me to keep my hands to myself.’
Ivyanne stared at him, and the reflection of herself in his sorrowful gaze was gut-wrenchingly unattractive. ‘Tristan I....I feel wretched.’ She reached out and touched the back of his hand. ‘I’m sorry. Really. I can’t even imagine what you have been through-’
‘Not just me. My mother, father and sister as well. And the girl he was living with. And his son.’ Tristan took his hand from hers and rubbed his forehead. ‘It’s been depressing. Pursuing you has distracted me, and being near you has made me happy again.’ He furrowed his brow. ‘But I haven’t forgotten the part where you admitted that Lincoln is an obstacle, princess-so before I break a sweat pulling down the wall between us, I want to know how much of that wall is there for him.’
Ivyanne sighed. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She wanted to be honest with Tristan, but she also feared that if he knew too much, he’d run screaming from her. ‘He’s not an obstacle’ That was true. She loved Lincoln, but she wasn’t deluded enough to think a future with him was a possibility. ‘I have feelings for him, and I’m weak when it comes to letting him down. But if you’re insinuating that I might pass over a Marked Son for a human, I’m really insulted.’
‘But you are into him? And he’s getting to you where I want to be getting to you?’ Tristan asked, frowning. ‘Damn. Now I don’t feel like a player, but the playee.’
‘Maybe I am a player.’ Ivyanne said, frowning down at her hands. ‘Ardhi had his hopes way up, you’re cut up over Lincoln, and Link’s gone into self-destructive mode over me.’
Tristan shrugged. ‘Two of us know you’re a siren, and the fight we were in for when we signed up. And as for Lincoln, he’ll get over it. It’s infatuation caused by your pheromones, not love.’
Ivyanne wished she could believe that-but if her feelings for Lincoln were still so strong, then how could she write his off as infatuation? ‘It goes a little deeper than that.’ Ivyanne hedged. ‘But the bottom line is that a flat-out rejection from me will crush him. The pain I’ve caused Ardhi, and the stress I’m causing you is one thing-you’re mer-you can soothe yourselves with a decent swim. But Link’s human. And I feel like a horrible person because something in my eyes keeps giving him hope that my words can’t retract.’
‘You’re not a horrible person Ivyanne, you’re a mermaid.’ Tristan’s hand caressed the top of her hair. ‘You’re going to break hearts your entire life-from the postman on your route to your future kid’s mates who are still going to be eyeing you off when you’re two hundred. You can’t make every one of them your personal cause, or beat yourself up over each shattered and fleeting dream.’
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 h
im, 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?’
