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He doesn’t.
Tristan unleashes himself against me, his mouth crashing against mine like a wave onto the shore, washing everything away until nothing exists but the two of us in this moment. His kiss is hungry, sucking and licking at my lips until my head is spinning, and I swear, in spite of the daylight, I see stars.
His arm wraps further around my waist, gripping me tightly as I meet his passion, his other hand still holding my hips tightly against him. I feel him harden beneath me, and a little moan slips past my lips in between his kisses, the sound only fueling the fire that burns between us.
The pain returns.
I don’t know if the mark on my chest is glowing, but I feel its power and recognize it this time as an icy shock course through me, but I push past it.
‘Not now,’ I silently beg. Pain and I are old friends, and I speak to it in my mind as if I could pray to it. ‘Don’t hurt me now. Just wait. You can consume me later.’
The sensation persists, and a chill runs through me as I feel like I’m both freezing and burning alive all at once.
‘Please... just don’t take this away from me. Not this. Not now. Not him,’ I think to myself, holding on to Tristan with a fierce and desperate need that makes me want to push back against the pain.
But I’m getting dizzy, my breathing labored as the shocks of agony continue to spread through me, my chest screaming from the sensation.
The last thing I see is Tristan’s worried face as I pull away with a gasp, and everything goes back.
Chapter Four
When I wake up, I'm back in my room. Tristan must have carried me up and tucked me into the bed. When I roll over with a groan, I feel someone shifting beside me.
"Hey, take it easy, flower," Tristan whispers. His worried expression comes in and out of focus, my head throbbing and my thoughts muddled.
“I’m fine… I don’t…”
Tristan shushes me before I can even figure out what I'm trying to say, his fingers brushing a strand of blonde hair away from my face with astonishing tenderness.
"Save your strength, little one," he says soothingly. "We'll take it easier in training from now on."
I shake my head, trying to get my thoughts in order. My tongue is leaden, and my head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton.
He thinks I overexerted myself in training, but I didn't pass out from sparring.
"That's not…." I start, but my eyelids are heavy, his voice growing distant.
"Shhhh… it's okay… rest now."
I want to argue, I really do. But pain has a way of sucking the fight out of you, and exhaustion drags me under into a blissful oblivion.
When I wake up again, I'm alone, and the light in the room has changed. Night is falling outside, the sky somewhere between grey and dark blue. Did I sleep through the entire day?
I feel like I've been run over by a train… carrying a truck… full of elephants… made of concrete.
I rub my eyes, taking a deep breath as I struggle to gather my bearings. I look around the room, my gaze falling on a scribbled note on the nightstand that reads:
GONE TO TALK TO THE HEALER. WON'T BE LONG.
LUCY AND NICO ARE IN THE PATIO DOWNSTAIRS IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
WAIT FOR ME.
- T.
I smile slightly despite the nausea and dizziness. When he returns, I'll have to explain what really happened on the veranda.
I rub the birthmark under my collarbone, glancing down at my chest with more than a little annoyance. It's not glowing, but I can almost feel it staring back at me, and I have to resist the urge to scratch it off.
