Читать книгу Always - Krystle Triplett - Страница 10

4

Tristan

Tristan’s steps faltered slightly. Holy hell. Her smile just then was like a revelation. It lit up her entire face. Before now he only saw her give him small grins, but this one was a full-blown smile. Once he recovered, he made his approach the rest of the way across the room. “My lady,” he said as he bent over her hand again. “I believe this dance belongs to me.” He turned his head toward his friend who was about to lead Jane onto the dance floor also. “Will, don’t tread on her toes.”

They all laughed. “Oh, I am an excellent dancer,” said William with a lofty look on his face. “You just make sure to not knock my sister over when you trip over your two left feet.” This got them all to laugh again.

As they made their way to the dance floor they separated into pairs. Lily turned to Tristan, a smile still on her face. “Thank you for teasing him like that. He had a look on his face like he was going to make things difficult again.” She glanced over at her brother and Jane. “And he thought we were dancing close.” She looked back at Tristan, and her smile faltered a little.

Tristan didn’t know what she saw on his face, but it must have startled her. “Sorry for staring, I just can’t seem to help it.” He looked over to where their hands were intertwined. “Lily, there’s something I think we need to talk about.” He paused again. This was going to be a tricky conversation; one he didn’t want to have in front of others.

He looked left. They were only about ten feet from the balcony doors. Tristan knew that if her brother noticed them gone there would be hell to pay, but he didn’t care. He twirled them toward the open French doors. Once they were outside, he moved them to the side of the balcony, away from prying eyes. They stopped dancing and he just looked down into her eyes. He was still holding her, their hands still clasped. “Lily… I…we—” Why was this so hard? Never in his life has he been unable to say what he needed to say. He opened his mouth again, hoping that this time he could get the words out, but before he could say a word, she beat him to it.

“We’re promised,” she whispered. Her head was down, so she was looking up at him through her lashes. He took his left hand and tilted her head back the rest of the way so that their faces were lined up. He then brought his mouth down to hers, giving her time to pull back if she wanted. She didn’t stop him.

It was just a feather light touch of lips, innocent and sweet. Or that’s what it started out as. Once their lips met both of their eyes popped open, and they broke apart. The heat that had flashed between them was instantaneous. It was like a wildfire. They came back together 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 respond, he was looking at anything but her. “Please?” She touched his arm.

He looked down at her, a frown on his face. “Fine, we can talk later. Just try to stay out of trouble the rest of the night, will you?” With that he nodded to her friends and turned and walked back to his.

As she watched him walk away, she felt an answering frown form on her face. He was behaving like an ass. Like she told him, it wasn’t as if she had turned her skirts up in the middle of a crowded room. She kissed a man. Her first kiss. Granted it was a monumental one, but it was still just a kiss. She thought back, remembering the feel of being in his arms, having his lips on hers. She pursed her lips now. Okay, so if she had stayed out there much longer, it might have gone a little further, but it hadn’t. Unfortunately, she thought with a small smile. With a final glance at the balcony doors she turned and walked the rest of the way to her friends.

The rest of the night passed pretty uneventful. She danced with other men, she laughed with her friends. All the while, she kept looking around the room, searching for a pair of scorching blue eyes. After the first hour of not seeing him, Lily had to assume Tristan left after their kiss. It was understandable. He was probably trying to keep the peace between her brother and himself.

After another lively dance with a rather clumsy partner, Lily made her way over to where her brother was. She tapped him on the shoulder. As he turned around, she could see his jaw clench. Great. He was still upset with her.

“Sorry to interrupt, William, but are you almost ready to leave?” She gave each of his friends a smile before turning back to her brother. “My feet are killing me and I’m getting rather tired.”

He eyed her for a second, then turned back to his friends. “Well, gents, looks like the night’s over for me.” He shook each of their hands. One came forward and Lily overheard him say to not forget what he told him. This made her frown. Not so much because of what he said, but because of the way her brother reacted. If possible, his jaw clenched even more. “I’ll go to him.” He glanced at Lily as he said this. They made their final goodbyes, William promising Jane that he would call on her tomorrow.

Once they were outside, they had to wait for their carriage to be brought around. It only took a few minutes, but they were spent in awkward silence. The carriage arrived and he, ever the gentleman, helped her inside. Once she was settled, she looked out the window, watching the lights from the house glow. It was a lovely home, one that would always mean something to her now. It was the place her life changed forever.

As the carriage rolled away from the house, she chanced a peek at her brother. He too was staring out the window, his expression troubled. She took a deep breath. It was time to start this conversation.

“William, we really need to talk.”

He glanced at her, then his eyes shifted back to the curtain. “There’s nothing to talk about, Lily. It’s not your fault. I knew what kind of man Bradley was, that’s why I didn’t want the two of you meeting. I just hoped our friendship would be enough to keep him from treating you like he does every other woman.”

Lily was shaking her head at him way before he even finished. She scooted to the edge of her seat. “William, you don’t understand. It wasn’t like that.”

He tilted his head at her, an indulgent expression on his face. “Lily, you are too young to know when a rake like that manipulates the situation. I’m sure you feel like you wanted to be there, but that’s not true. You’ve never behaved that way before because you’ve never met a bigger scoundrel than Tristan Bradley.” He reached forward and patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“None of that is true, I just…wait.” She paused as all of his words sunk in. “What do you mean you will take care of it? There’s nothing to take care of.”

He got a stubborn look in his eyes, and she could see him grinding his teeth. “It doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, it doesn’t?” She was starting to get angry now. He wasn’t listening to her, and he was planning on doing something that she was sure she wouldn’t approve of. “If you are planning on confronting Tristan, then you better think again. I won’t let you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, then he let a small smile form on his face. “My, my, you sure have found your fire tonight. I knew you had it in you.” He took his gloves off and set them on his leg. “Look, Lily, I know you think Tristan cares about you now, or that the two of you could be together. That’s what he does, but the truth is—”

“We’re promised,” she blurted out, interrupting his slander of his friend. She didn’t want to hear about Tristan and other women. She didn’t like the jealous feeling this stirred in her chest. As the carriage rolled on, the silence got more deafening. He wasn’t saying anything. He was just staring at her, a shocked look on his face. “Say something,” she finally broke first.

It still took him a couple seconds to gather his thought, but when he finally managed to talk it was exactly what she expected him to say. “That’s impossible.”

“That’s what I thought too.” She had never heard of an immortal under the age of one hundred finding their promised. Both she and Tristan were less than a century old, yet here they were.

“You’re too young,” he said, shaking his head a little.

“Believe me, William,” she said with a rueful smile on her face. “No one is more shocked than me. Well, maybe Tristan.” She paused for a second. What if he didn’t want this? It would be a big change in both their lives. He could resent her for this. She thought back to his expression when they first touched. His face showed shock, but then it transformed to wonder. No, he was just as happy as she was. He had to be. Lily was replaying what happened on the terrace, trying to decide if it was more than just a kiss to him too, when her brother interrupted her musings.

“How do you know it’s not just… I don’t know, attraction or something?” He still had a shocked look on his face, but there was also curiosity. Finding your promised one was a very big deal in their world. Nothing could compare to the feeling of being with the person who completed you, body and soul. It was easy to mistake attraction for something more, but not this. This was the real thing; she was sure of it.

“Trust me, Liam. I know what I’m talking about.” She thought back to all the other couples she had talked to. “I’ve done my research.” She knew he was aware of how lonely she’d been because all of her letters had mentioned it.

He looked down, seeming to just realize that he was twisting his gloves in his hands like she had at the beginning of their night. “I just don’t see how it’s possible.” He looked at her. “You’re both just too young.” He shook his head. “No, I need to talk to Tristan. He’ll be able to shed some light on this.”

“That’s a great idea!” She brightened at the thought of seeing him again. “Let’s go to his house and talk to him about this.” Lily turned around, intending to give the driver new directions. William stopped her with a hand on her arm. She looked back at him, a question forming on her lips.

“Lily,” he laughed. “We can’t go knocking on Tristan’s door at one in the morning. I was planning on going to see him tomorrow. If you promise to wait in the carriage till after we’ve had our discussion, then you can accompany me.”

Lily slumped back into her seat, realizing he was right. It was way too late for a social call. Even an important one like this. She sighed. “Okay. I suppose you are right.” She sat up straighter and raised her head. “But we go early. Please?”

He chuckled, shaking his head at her enthusiasm. “If you knew what he was like in the early mornings, then you would not be so eager to see him.” He moved the curtain to peer out the window as the carriage slowed down. “We’re home. Let’s go and get some sleep. We’ll figure out what time to leave in the morning.”

Lily wanted to press the matter but decided to let it drop. She was afraid if she pushed too hard then he would try to leave her at home. Pretty soon the carriage came to a stop and the door opened. She allowed a footman to help her down. As she started to walk up the steps of William’s townhouse, she could hear him climb down from the carriage. She waited at the top of the steps for him to join her. As he got even with her, she turned and surprised him with a hug.

“Whoa,” he said surprised. He awkwardly patted her on the back. “What’s this for?”

As she pulled back to smile up at him, she said, “I just wanted to thank you for everything. It means lot that you’re here for me now.”

William smiled down on her, a fond expression on his face. “I’ll always be here for you, Lily, you’re my baby sister.” And with that they turned and went inside.