Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (24 page)

She put her
hand on my forearm. “Caiti, be careful with him. I think he really loves you. I
believe if he thought he could get away with it, he would make this a true
honeymoon.”

I blushed to
the roots of my hair.

“Leah, I
think I may feel the same way. However, I give you the same warning with Jace. Be
gentle with him; he adores you.”

She motioned
toward the open lanai doors. “I know. I would give up everything for him.”

I smacked
her on the back before giving her an impish grin. “We’ll have to exchange notes
in the morning over breakfast.”

She burst into
a nervous twitter that resembled a braying donkey.

“Is there something
you ladies would like to share with the class?” teased Jace.

We looked up
guiltily. We knew we
’d been caught
talking about them.

I quickly
downed my glass, walked over to the chaise where Talon was sitting and plopped
down into his lap. He slid his legs over each side of the cushion, making room
so I could lean back against him.

“Do we still
have any of those strawberries left?” I held his attention with my eyes, which
were currently wide with innocence.

Talon shot
Jace a meaningful glance.

Jace
stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He wrapped one arm around Leah. “I’m
beat. Let’s go curl up on the couch and see if we can find anything good on
TV.”

Leah winked
at me.
“Sounds good.
See you kids later.
Night, Cay-bear.
Night, Talon.”

I jumped
slightly when her voice probed the edges of my mind.
Remember what I said, Cay. He loves you. We may never get another
chance to be alone with them like this again. Make the most of it, but take
things at your own speed.

I nodded in
her direction.
I know. I’m going to appreciate
what I can and we’ll deal with the repercussions in the morning. Enjoy your
night to the fullest. I’ll never judge you. You’re more than my best
friend
; you’re like my sister. We’ll see you around ten for
breakfast - let’s have it delivered to the rooms.

Leah shot me
a big grin over her shoulder and nodded vigorously.

Talon massaged
my neck. “So, what was that all about?”

I groaned. I
hadn’t realized how stiff my neck had become. “Oh, that. Leah and I would like
to have breakfast delivered to the rooms around ten tomorrow morning. Can we do
that?”

Talon
chuckled. “Anything you want. When we go inside, we’ll fill out the order and
put it outside our door.” He gave a small sound of disapproval. “
Ves‘tacha
, you are so tense. Are you
okay? Does being here like this with me make you uncomfortable?”

Hell yes, it
made me nervous, but I wasn’t going to provide him with an excuse to leave.

I spun
around to face him. “Oh, no, please don’t think that. Everything you have done
for me tonight is the stuff fairy tales are made of.”

Talon chuckled.
“Well, it seems appropriate considering the audience, my little pixie.”

I grimaced. “Seriously
I couldn’t be happier. The only thing to stress me out right now is that
eventually the
Accendersi
or my
mother and Johr are going to show up and completely ruin my fantasy world. This
is exactly why I’m going to enjoy every second of this to the fullest!”

Talon
reached over and fed me another strawberry. “I’m very glad to hear it.” He
leaned over and licked the juice that had trickled down my bottom lip.

I sucked in
my breath and my heart raced. His eyes pulsed in time with my heartbeat. I
wondered if there really was something to the Blood
Bond
he’d spoken of earlier. I couldn’t imagine anything more amazing than being
with him, like this, forever.

A small bead
of sweat trickled down my spine – effectively ruining my perfect daydream. It
was bound to happen, since I was wearing such a thick robe. I slid off the
chaise and stood up, stretching my back. Talon observed me as I moved.

“I’m sorry,
Talon. Would you mind if we went inside? It’s getting a little hot out here in
this robe.”

Talon
immediately jumped up. “No, I don’t mind at all. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find
something good on TV as well. I’m not ready to turn in just yet. Are you up to
watching a movie with me, or would you like to get some sleep?”

I shook my
head shyly. “No, I’d love to watch a movie with you. It might sound stupid, but
I’m afraid if I close my eyes, I’m going to wake up and realize this was
all
a dream.”

He reached
over, grabbing me in a big hug. “I have been called a nightmare before, but
never a dream–that was a first.”

My blushing
was almost uncontrollable as he led me into the living area.

I dropped
down onto the couch and tried to find a way to arrange the robe, so I was
comfortable, but it just wasn’t cooperating.

Talon walked
up and handed me something dark. I glanced up and realized he was shirtless. My
pulse went into overdrive and I had trouble swallowing. I had imagined him like
this many times, but had never seen it, and my imagination hadn’t remotely done
him justice.

“Caitlin,
here—go put on my shirt. You’ll be a lot more comfortable and I don’t really
get cold…certainly not in Maui.”

I ran my
hand down his jawline and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “Thank you. You
really do take good care of me.”

I walked
into the bedroom, lightheaded. I could feel two sets of heartbeats and they
seemed to be beating in unison. Did one of them belong to Talon? I could really
get used to this. I slipped off the heavy robe and pulled his T-shirt over my
head. It came down almost to my knees and smelled like him. He had the most
amazing smell. I took several deep breaths and ran my hands across the surface
of his shirt, reveling in its softness before opening the door.

I stepped
out of the bedroom and Talon shot me an approving look.
“Much
better.
You look a lot more comfortable.”

I tugged on
the hem of the shirt. “I feel much better. I didn’t realize how warm that robe
was until I slipped into this.”

He growled
clenching his hands at his sides. “You have no idea how good that sounds. I
have dreamed of you like this so often, I never thought I would have the
pleasure of seeing it in real life.”

“Well, I’ll
put my other clothes back on in the morning, so we can go into the shops. You
have to let me pay you back for any clothes I get.”

“Absolutely not.
I’m looking forward to treating you like
the princess you are. Anything you want. First thing you are going to need is a
swimsuit.”

“And a bat.”
I added sarcastically.

“A bat?” he appeared
perplexed.

“I’m going
to need it if you’re going to take your shirt off on the beach.”

Talon roared
with laughter. “I’m more concerned at what the sight of you in a bikini is
going to do to the men down there.”

I snorted. “I
think there’ll be better things to watch down on the beach than me.”

He shook his
head in disbelief. “I don’t think you see yourself accurately. You’ve always
caught the attention of the men around you. Now that you are potentially Blood Bound
to me, it’ll be worse. I think I need to buy you a ring to wear to help deter
them. I mean, we
are
supposed to be
on our honeymoon, right?”

I gasped and
absently twisted a piece of hair around my finger. “Talon, I can’t let you
spend that kind of money, just for appearances.”

He took my
hands in his as I stood in front of him. “This isn’t just for appearances. There’ll
never be anyone for me, but you. If you don’t want to wear it when we return home,
I’ll understand. I’ll simply hold it for you until you’re ready to put it back
on for good.” He caressed my cheek. “You must remember - I’ve waited for you
for centuries. I can wait a little longer. My love for you is timeless.”

My knees
buckled, and Talon caught me, as always. He lifted me onto the couch, tucked me
into his
side
and put his arm around me. He had the
remote in his hand, flipping through the channels until he found something he
liked.

I peeked at
him from under my lashes. “I would be proud to wear it,” I whispered.

He grabbed
me, crushing me in a bear hug. When he finally released me, there was a moist
spot on his shoulder from my tears. He kissed me soundly and tucked me back in
beside him. I finally glanced up at the TV.

“OH!” I
exclaimed while clapping my hands together excitedly.

“Is
something wrong?” He asked, eyebrows drawn together.

“No, this is
one of my favorite movies in the whole world.”

“Me too” he
said sheepishly.

I punched
him lightly in the chest. “Who would have thought a giant like you would appreciate
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
”

“Yeah, well,
I’m just full of surprises.” He winked.

“I’m
starting to see that. You won’t hear any complaints from me.” I grinned widely.
“I could get used to being a princess.”

He tousled
my hair. “Good because I’ve every intention of spoiling you.”

We filled
out our breakfast order and Talon put it on the door. We snuggled up on the
couch and watched Holly Golightly and Cat. Soon, I dozed off.

I was
faintly aware I was being picked up and then the sensation of cool sheets touching
my cheek. I opened one eye in time to see Talon walking back to the den with a
pillow under his arm.

I sat up in
the bed in alarm.
“Talon?”

He
immediately spun around and came back. “What’s wrong
‘tacha
? Did I wake you up?”

“No, not really.”
I plucked at the blanket. “Where are you
going?”

He shrugged.
“I was going to make up the couch for myself. I could sleep in one of the other
rooms, but would feel better if I could keep one eye on your door.”

I stared at
him crushed. “But, I thought you were going to stay here with me?” I said
quietly.

“Do you
really want me to stay here with you?” He seemed surprised and hopeful at the
same time.

I clutched
the satin binding on the blanket with shaking hands. “Please stay with me. I
don’t want to be alone.” I pleaded with my eyes. I hated to feel so needy, but
it had been a
really crazy
night.

“There’s
nothing to fear
‘tacha
. I will not
allow anything or anyone to harm you.”

“It’s not
that I’m scared. I want you to stay with me—it hurts me to be away from you.” I
wrinkled my nose at him. “Anyways, I thought this was supposed to be my
honeymoon.”

He stared at
me startled. “I didn’t realize it affected you that way. I feel the same. It’s
settled. I will not leave you this night.”

He pulled the
sheets back and slowly slid in beside me. I twisted in the bed so I had my head
on his chest. His heart raced, and mine sped up to match his. I leaned over,
kissing him timidly on the chest.

He gently
picked me up under the arms and lifted me so my face was level with his. I
caught his bottom lip with my teeth and kissed it. He threaded his hands through
my hair and kissed me gently. I parted my lips, deepening the kiss. I could see
his eyes flare brightly in the night. We
were soon surrounded
by small sparks of light, like glitter raining down from the ceiling. I rolled
to my back, pulling him with me. I pulled down the neckline of my shirt and gazed
at him with yearning.

He bent down,
and as soon as his teeth sunk into my skin, I whispered, “I love you.” His
feeding was frantic and it was far more intense than anything we had shared
before. He ran his tongue over the tender skin below my collarbone and leaned
in to kiss me.

As before, I
could taste my own blood on his lips. It was completely foreign and forbidden,
but excited me nonetheless. I reached down and started to pull the hem of his
shirt over my head, but he put his hands over mine to stop me.

He shook his
head. “No
,
‘tacha
.
That’s where I must draw the line.”

I blinked
rapidly trying to focus. “I don’t understand.”

His eyes
were kind and seemed to hold infinite patience. “That we will not share until
you wear my ring permanently. I want you to know everything about me, and I
want to know all of you before we do that. I need to know you are
mine
- forever.”

Was he serious? He was really telling me he
wanted to
wait?

I was
speechless and frustrated, but at the same time deeply touched. I think Leah
was right and he really did care about me.

“Talon, why me?
I still can’t understand why you would want
to be with me over all the other girls who throw themselves at your feet – like
Tami. They definitely have to be less trouble.”

“Caitlin. There
are no others. It’s you and only you. The stars themselves couldn’t shine as
brightly as you do for me. I’ll spend forever with you, or no one. My ring will
fit no other. Can’t you understand? I love you.”

It was the
first time he had said those words when I was willing to hear what he was
really saying.

I tilted my
head up, kissing him gently. “I love you too. I’ve never felt this way about
anyone. I can’t see me loving anyone else for the rest of my life.”

He grinned
at me in the dark. “Well, Mrs. Raikaa. Looks like you are stuck with me.” He
gathered me in his arms forming a protective cocoon.

I snuggled
into his embrace.
“Sounds great to me.”
I raised my
head to look him in the eyes.
“Hey, Talon?”

“Yes, love?”

“Can I have
two swimsuits tomorrow?” I asked, giggling.