Heads or Tails (15 page)

Lincoln braced himself but Tristan’s arm curled around him then merely tugged lightly so Lincoln ended up looking at Sahori, who was on his left. Then, the arms fell away and there was a pat on his back. ‘Got it kiddo?’

‘I do.’ Lincoln stepped out and away, heart pounding as post-traumatic adrenalin shot through his veins. ‘But say I don’t have the strength to break his neck, what else could I do?’

Tristan shrugged. ‘Heaps of things. Bring a knife across his throat in the same motion, or push the muzzle of your gun into the top of his spine and pull the trigger-but
up
, like you want the bullet to come out of the top of his head-that way, it won’t pass through him and take out somebody else.’ He grinned that toothpaste-ad grin. ‘Or just bring your knee up between his legs and take his balls out. That’ll stun him long enough to finish the job off another way.’

Lincoln got it. ‘Thank you-though I don’t know if I’m lethal enough yet to go for another guy’s balls.’

Tristan grinned at him. ‘If you want, I can help you get some anger issues.’

‘You’ve done enough.’ Lincoln said dryly. ‘
Believe
me.’

Tristan chuckled. But his laughter died when a blur of white and gold exited the house, near the pool. Lincoln turned with him to see Ivyanne emerge, blinking into the morning sunlight in a figure-hugging gold and white printed wrap dress that showed plenty of leg and pooled prettily at the lowest point of her cleavage, stopping just before it became indecent. After her came Adele, looking spring-blooming beautiful in a pale pink maxi dress that clung to her legs like a skin as she walked. Their golden hair shone, and dark glasses covered both faces but not their smiles as they whispered to one another.

Lincoln swallowed. It was strange seeing them together like that, so...chummy. He thought of the stories they could trade and scratched the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious. Did Ivyanne need to know that he left the cap off the toothpaste and would sooner  eat off the table than do the dishes?

‘Don’t mind us…’ Ivyanne cooed, setting herself down on the grass next to Bane and Marcus. Marcus was rubbing Bane’s shoulders, and Bane looked like limp lettuce under the other man’s hands. Clearly, their relationship was progressing.

Adele sat on the other side of the boys and looked amused to see Marcus, the world’s most stoic lifeguard, worshipping her new manager like a pool boy/groupie. She looked to Lincoln and shook her head to convey exactly that.

Lincoln smiled back, and for a moment, it was almost as if they were still a unit, instead of two severed halves, equally confounded by how their lives had changed.

‘...just part of the judging for the elimination round.’ Ivyanne went on.‘I mean, I really only need the three best fighters….’

Lincoln’s heart dropped, knowing he fell short of that.

But then Ivyanne winked at him. ‘
Kidding
.’

Lincoln didn’t know if he wanted to kiss her or kill her. But he couldn’t help his relieved smile.

‘Did Link freak?’ Bane asked in a slurred voice, not raising his head.

‘White as a sheet.’ Ivyanne confirmed.

Bane lifted his hand lazily, waiting for the high five Ivyanne delivered. Lincoln flushed, hating himself for being so predictable.

‘If I wasn’t gay and getting a massage from the hottest lifeguard in Australia…I’d
so
be trying to play footsie with you right now.’

‘Naw, you smooth talker you.’ Ivyanne gushed.

‘Hey!’ Lachlan said, feigning hurt. ‘Hottest lifeguard? Offensive much?’

‘Sorry bro,’ Bane responded. ‘Blonde guys just aren’t as delectable as the tall, dark kind.’

‘Oi!’ It was Tristan’s turn to look offended while Marcus beamed proudly.

Bane finally lowered lifted his head and smiled. ‘What? You’re that
creepy
uncle now?’

Lincoln joined everyone else in laughter, glad that it wasn’t directed at him for once. Then he noticed that Garridan was exchanging an exasperated look with Camus. Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of the banter cutting into their training time.

But before Lincoln could point that out to his peers, or catch sight of Ivyanne’s cleavage again, Sahori bounced lightly to her feet, drawing everyone’s eye with the fluidity of her movement.

‘You need to learn defense too,’ she said, over enunciating her words in her pretty, exotic way as she sauntered towards them. Though her accent was thick, her English was flawless and beguiling. She was the only one who hadn’t demonstrated a technique yet, and Lincoln was curious to see her in action. ‘Tristan, do you mind being
my
guinea pig?’

Lincoln backed off, smiling at the surprised expression on Tristan’s face. But when Lincoln glanced over at the queen to see that her smile had flattened out, as had Adele’s, he clenched his jaw in aggravation. Did they have to be so damned obvious in their jealousy?

‘But it’s Lincoln we’re teaching.’ Tristan protested, glancing over at Ivyanne briefly, before turning back. ‘I don’t really need, um, your assistance Sahori. Not like Link does.’

‘Or me! You could use me!’ Lachy loudly and eagerly volunteered. ‘I have heaps to learn! In fact, private lessons wouldn’t go astray...’

‘We will see…’ Sahori said, not taking her eyes off Tristan. ‘But it is Loveridge I desire to test at the present. He has a weakness, everyone does. We must find it, and expose it, to prevent Ardhi surprising him by finding it first.’

‘I don’t know about that….’ Tristan backed up another step, his expression skeptical. ‘My weakness is sitting next to my nephew at present, so unless you’re going to attack her highness-this might be a bit futile.’

‘I guess we’ll find out,’ Sahori said, stepping forward again.

Lincoln snorted at that. He didn’t blame Tristan for being nervous, or Lachlan for being eager. Sahori looked like she could make
any
man sweat, mer or not, and she’d been inching closer to Tristan all morning and seemed unfazed by how he inched away in response. And Lincoln had to admit that after Ivyanne and Grace, Sahori was the most beautiful mer he’d encountered yet-and she had an edge to her that was exciting and dangerous. Was it making Tristan nervous because he didn’t want Ivyanne upset? Or because he didn’t want such a luscious temptation zeroing in on him?

The conversation with Ivyanne the weekend before had been at the forefront of Lincoln’s mind since, and when Sahori had arrived on Wednesday, he’d said a silent prayer that she would be the one to break the spell between Tristan and Ivyanne, by pulling his focus and hopefully, his energy long enough for Ivyanne to see him clearly.

‘Besides- you’re the only man here who can handle a full powered demonstration of mine.’ Sahori turned around, facing Garridan, but addressing Tristan over her shoulder. ‘Are you afraid of getting hurt, Tristan?’

‘Please.
No
.’ Tristan scoffed. ‘It’s just that I
know
that I’m not going to hit a woman in a situation like this so the fight isn’t fair.’

‘I
know
you’re not going to land a hit.’ Sahori said. ‘And in a second-you’ll see exactly
why
.’

There were a few chuckles. Tristan shook his head wryly and came up behind her, obviously resigning himself to the inevitable. ‘I’ll overpower you, my Asian friend.’ He warned her. ‘I have a way of leaving the ladies dumbstruck and on their backs.’

Lincoln rolled his eyes. ‘Man, now I really want to see you get your ass handed to you by a girl,’ he admitted, ‘I mean, you have no
idea
how much.’

‘That makes two of us.’ Ivyanne dead-panned. ‘I’ve been too nice to do it myself.’

Tristan cast her a disdainful look. ‘Like you could get close enough to do it without drooling on me, woman.’ He turned back to Sahori. ‘Or
you
, for that matter.’

‘Then put your money where your mouth is Loveridge,’ Sahori teased. ‘And don’t hold an inch of that muscle back. I won’t have you saying that I didn’t take you on at your best.’

‘As you wish.’ Tristan crossed his arms across his body and tore his shirt over his head, casting it behind him. It landed on Ivyanne’s head-a move he’d clearly planned though Lincoln couldn’t fathom how he’d managed it. The guy was too orchestrated to be real. How frustrating that the universe not only co-operated, but collaborated with the Tristan Loveridge show!

Ivyanne didn’t look impressed however. In fact, as she tore it off her face, she looked downright irritated. But when she opened her mouth to say something, froze, gaping at Tristan instead.

‘Whoa!’ Marcus cried, his hands on bane’s lower back stilling. ‘That is awesome!’

‘Agreed! When did you get
that
done?’ Bane looked alert now, scoping out his uncle. Lincoln followed their gazes and was equally shocked to see that Tristan’s once  unmarred bronze waist was now decorated with inky green-black leaves that seemed to swirl in an unseen wind from the middle of one shoulder blade, around his upper ribs before curling to an end over the center of his chest. Not much of his flesh was covered by the artwork, and yet it drew the eye to his perfect form.

Lincoln’s own abdomen tightened in envy, knowing he wasn’t broad enough yet to pull such a masterpiece off, even though he’d been contemplating getting a tattoo for weeks. He really liked Bane’s, and now, he knew he couldn’t get one without looking like a copy-cat.

‘Last week,’ Tristan said, glancing down at himself. ‘That scar was bugging me, so I decided that If I couldn’t get rid of it completely, I’d cover it.’

Ivyanne had still said nothing, and her lips were still parted in open-mouthed shock.

Please god...let her hate big tattoos!
Lincoln silently prayed. She only had that tiny one of her own-it was a good sign.

‘It looks
wonderful
..’ Sahori breathed. She’d turned and now stepped to Tristan, touching her fingertips gingerly to the design over his heart. Her lust was unmistakable. ‘It
suits
you.’

‘Is it a vine?’ Adele asked, leaning forward and squinting.

‘It’s Ivy.’ Garridan said quietly. ‘A vine of
Ivy
.’

Sahori hand snapped back like a puppet master had pulled on her realization string.

‘Well...holy shit.’ Adele muttered, reclining back on her hands and shaking her head. ‘I guess that makes it official...’

It took two seconds for the tattoo’s significance to resonate with Lincoln after that, and when it did, he was almost crippled by the rush of anger which bore down upon him.

An Ivy tattoo? As in Ivyanne? Over his heart?
Fury splintered his vision with red spots. The man was out of control! He wanted to grab Tristan and shake him screaming:
‘Isn’t your neck tattoo enough?! Why don’t you just piss on her leg?!’

‘Oh my god!’ Bane hooted, slapping his leg. ‘Uncle you are too much on a good day!’ He elbowed Ivyanne. ‘Can you feel the pressure sweetie? Can you
feel
it? He’s Marked twice now! Jeez!’

‘Shut up Bane,’ Ivyanne managed through gritted teeth.

‘Or…?’ Bane demanded.

‘Or you’ll find out why you
ought
to have.’ Ivyanne got to her feet, crossing her arms, looking like she didn’t know what to do or say as she eyed the expectant looking-Tristan who’d turned to reap in his own damn glory. He’d planned it that way of course. Like he did everything.

‘Tristan….’ Ivyanne pulled on the ends of her hair, looking exasperated. ‘You better have gotten that tattoo out of affection for a
plant
or you and I are going to have
words
.’

‘What kind of words?’ He asked, eyes alight with delight. ‘Given the commitment I just made to
said
plant on my skin, I’d expect it to blossom a little, or part with three very
specific
words.’ He paused. ‘Or at least be a bit flattered…?’

‘Or maybe you’re about to get
flattened
.’ Lincoln snapped. Tristan smartly ignored him.

‘She’s as flattered as a mother-fucker. She just shows it differently.’ Bane pointed out gleefully as he ticked off his fingers. ‘First comes the disbelief.
Then
the anger. Then the dramatic stomping up to her room, where she’ll shut the door behind her, lean up against it and
blush
like a
tomato plant
instead of Ivy!’

Tristan laughed gaily, as did everyone else but Lincoln and Ivyanne.

Ivyanne whirled on Bane. ‘Londeree…! You’re about to become
cactus
! One more word and I’ll tell Marcus about that dream you had-’

‘Whoa!’ Bane’s hands flew up. ‘Let’s not be hasty!’

‘
What
dream?’ Marcus asked, looking curious.

Ivyanne returned breezily: ‘Oh let’s just say it involved three people, not two.’ She turned to Lincoln. ‘In fact,
you
might want to hear this too, being the guest star-’