Kristie Cook - Promise

"Are you…okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, now that you're here."

More silence. Then he said, "I'm glad you're ready. That you trust me completely. Why did you change your mind?"

I swallowed. "I didn't exactly change my mind. I just realized the truth that was there all along. When I thought I would lose you forever, I realized I would do anything to keep you. You are more important to me than any part of myself."

He frowned. "I don't deserve that."

"It's not a matter of what you deserve or what I deserve. It just is. I can't live without you. I need you."

He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "It is I who needs you. Without your love, without you in my life, I am nothing but darkness."

"We need each other, then." I caressed his face. "You and me together."

He leaned his forehead against mine. "Forever."

He reached over to the table, picked off my ring and slid it over my finger.

"Think you can stand yet?" He smiled.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "If I have to. But I really like it here."

His fingers trailed lightly up and down my spine and I shuddered. He nibbled at my ear and murmured, "You really need to put your clothes on. Before I lose control."

"You won't, though. I'm sitting in your lap naked and you're fine."

"No, I'm not fine . You have no idea how hard it is for me," he said.

I lifted an eyebrow, knowing exactly what was hard. A small smile played on his delicious lips, but I could see in his eyes he fought something inside—and not, I knew, just normal human desire. I didn't want to do that to him. I reluctantly stood up, picked up my clothes and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" he asked, bemused.

"To bed, if you still have one," I said over my shoulder.

He grabbed the manuscript and followed me. "You're putting some clothes on."

"Yes, sir, I am."

His mattress and box springs leaned against the wall in his bedroom. Everything was in boxes. I looked at him sadly, realizing how close I'd come to losing him.

"It's an easy fix, my love." He started putting the bed back together, lifting the pieces with ease, making me shudder again as his muscles rippled. I turned away before I lost control and found what I wanted—his suitcase. I dug around for one of his shirts, put it to my face and inhaled deeply. I slipped on my panties and pulled his shirt on. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I like it."

We found all the bedding and the big bed was quickly back together and quite inviting. I started to crawl in when I remembered Mom. I called to let her know everything was okay, he was staying, and everyone could relax. Then I finally crawled into bed and snuggled next to Tristan, who sat up against the headboard, already several pages into the manuscript. He put his arm around me. I stroked his chest and kissed his jaw.

"I'm trying to read this really good book here," he said, his eyes not leaving the page.

Not knowing whether he meant it or not—and not wanting to know yet—I ignored him. "Thank you for not leaving me."

He pulled his eyes away from the manuscript, looked into mine and smiled. "Thank you for coming back to me…and for saving me from myself."

He kissed me gently. After nearly two weeks of hardly any sleep, and now finally content again, I was out as soon as his lips left mine.

Sweet breath, wet kisses and a gentle tug on my lower lip awoke me.

"Rise and shine, sweet love of mine," Tristan murmured in my ear.

I smiled and stretched and peeked through my eyelids. He'd opened the window shutters and light flooded the bedroom. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Mmm…do I have to?"

I felt him crawl onto the bed next to me and lay behind me. He snuggled tightly against my back. "I've been waiting too long for you to waste the day sleeping."

I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust to the light. When I could finally focus, I saw blue sky and the Gulf of Mexico spread out forever before me. "Wow. I could wake up to this every morning."

"That could be arranged…."

I turned onto my back and Tristan propped himself on his elbow, gazing down at me, the gold in his eyes sparkling brightly, the green shining like emeralds. I reached up and caressed his face.

"I missed you," I whispered.

"I missed you, too, ma lykita ." He gave me a long, loving kiss, then he scooped his arm under me and the next thing I knew, I was on top of him. He pushed me up into a sitting position, straddling his waist. "That's why I'm tired of watching you sleep."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Almost noon. You've slept over fourteen hours."

"Yeah, well…" I decided not to mention the last two weeks of hell. "How long have you been up?"

"A couple hours. I slept in, too. It's been a while since I've slept at all and then I was up most of the night reading." He grinned and winked. I stared at him stupidly, not even realizing I traced random shapes on his bare stomach until I felt his muscles flex.

" That feels incredible…and distracting," he said, grabbing my hand and entwining his fingers with mine.

"I'll remember that," I said with a smile. "So, what's on the agenda?"

"Whatever you want."

That was easy. "Can we ride to Gasparilla?"

He frowned. "Except that. It's rainy season and the storms will come in before we get back. It won't be much fun."

"Well, if we need to stay indoors, then we should get you unpacked." I glanced around at the boxes.

"We should probably leave that for now. Could be a waste of time."

I stiffened. " Why? "

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere without you." He brushed my lips with his fingertips. I immediately relaxed and narrowed my eyes.

"Don't do that to me." I swung my leg off him and crawled to the side of the bed.

"Don't leave . I'm sorry!" He sounded nearly as panicked as I'd felt a moment ago. I smiled.

"I'm just going to the bathroom."

When I came out, the wall of windows had disappeared and the room opened to the outside. The air was already muggy, but a breeze blew off the water, cooling the dampness. Tristan stood at the balcony railing, still wearing nothing but tan cargo shorts, his bronzed, muscular back to me. Seeing him without a shirt on made me shudder, for more than one reason. Of course, his body was absolutely delightful to look at…and touch…and kiss…and… Yeah, it's quite distracting . But the muscular build also reminded me what he was made for. He might not have looked exactly like you'd imagine the ultimate soldier to look like—bulky and brawny beyond attraction—but the strength and power were obvious.

When I joined him, I saw a cup of coffee, my manuscript in its folder and a rose on the little table. He handed me the cup and the rose. I took a sip of coffee then stuck my nose into the flower.

"Nice," I said. "Thank you. But you do know you're spoiling me."

"I intend to. Every day. Forever."

We stood against the railing in silence, arm in arm. I sipped my coffee while watching the waves crash on the beach. I could do this forever.

"So," I finally said, "why would unpacking be a waste of time?"

"I don't know that it is yet. We'll find out tonight. We need to discuss some things, figure out some plans."

"Like getting married?" I asked excitedly. He smiled down at me.

"Yes, that may be part of it, but we have more pressing issues to worry about." His brows furrowed and he frowned. "Just because you and I are good—"

"Perfect," I corrected.

"—doesn't mean everything else is," he finished, ignoring my correction.

"What's going on?" His concern was contagious and he must have seen it on my face. He changed his expression, smiling again.

"We'll get there soon enough. Let's not ruin our time together right now, okay?" He picked up the folder with my manuscript in it and handed it to me. I flipped through it. Notes marked the margins on many of the pages. "You're very talented."