Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (28 page)

We avoided
the volleyball court this time and instead cut through the pool area. Just our
luck, there was a water volleyball game in full swing. Fortunately, there were several
women playing as well, so the men didn’t pose as much of a problem.

Suddenly
Leah froze in place, pointing. “What the hell is going on over there?”

I focused my
gaze on where she was pointing. There were two blonde girls in bikinis sitting
on our lounges, leaning in close to
our
men
. A white-hot spark sprang to life inside me, and I quickly closed the
distance between me and the unwanted visitors.

When I was about
six feet away, the girl leaning closest to Talon had her glass explode in her
hand, spraying her drink everywhere. She jumped up from her perch and everything
around me spun as I fell in heap. Talon jumped up, catching me before my head
could hit the ground.

Leah glared
at both girls through narrowed eyes. “As you can see, they are taken.” She
waggled her ring in their faces. “I think you should leave.
Right
now
.”

The two
girls frowned at her before flouncing away and my eyes closed against my will.

Talon sat
down on the chaise and gently laid me down next to him. He dipped a napkin in a
glass of ice water, pressing it to my forehead.
“My
Ves’tacha
.
Please open your eyes
and look at me,” he begged.

I slowly
opened my eyes. My lids were so heavy. “I’m sorry.” I said. “I just got so
angry.”

He brushed
my hair back from my forehead. “I must insist you lay here with me and take
that nap. Otherwise, you will not be up to dinner, your special
drinks
and chocolate-dipped strawberries tonight.” He smiled
lovingly.

I stuck my
lower lip out. “Okay, you win. You’re older and wiser, not to mention being
much larger than I am. I’ll rest, but only if you promise to stay with me.”

“I will deny
you nothing.”

He lay back
on the cushions pulling the canopy over as far as it would go, and drew me down
so I was lying across his chest. I sighed happily and promptly fell into a deep
dreamless sleep.

I awoke
sometime later to the resonant rumbling of Talon’s laughter. I shifted in his
arms and peeked up at him

“I’m sorry,
did I wake you? You were sleeping so soundly. I knew you were exhausted.”

I sat up
rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “You were right. I do feel much better now.”

“You look
much rested. Your eyes have a sparkle in them again. I was worried I had pushed
things with you too far last night.”

I shrugged a
shoulder. “You didn’t push anything. I was the one who got greedy. Anyways, what
were you laughing at?”

He pointed
out to the ocean. I glanced up just in time to see Leah knock Jace off his
surfboard. I gave a chuckle.

“What time
is it? I feel like I was sleeping for days.”

“Not days, just a couple of hours.
It’s only three o’clock.
There’s plenty of time for us to play in the surf and still be able to get
ready for dinner.”

I flashed
him a brilliant smile and kissed him soundly. “It’s a deal. I’ll race you.”

I jumped up
and took off for the beach. He caught up with me as I took my first step into
the water, picked me
up
and swung me around. As soon
as he let my feet touch the sand, I took off running into the surf. I ducked
under the next wave and came up, throwing my hair back like a scene out of
The Little Mermaid
.

Talon
growled and quickly closed the distance between us. By the time he got to me,
his eyes matched my swimsuit. He crushed me to his chest and kissed me
thoroughly. I watched him through half-closed eyes, ran my mouth across his
jaw, down his neck, and finally nipped the skin below his ear. He reared up and
bent me backward, running his mouth down my neck toward his favorite spot just
above the top of my bikini.

“Talon!”
shouted Jace.

Talon was so
startled he almost dropped me into the surf. He straightened up and looked at
me apologetically. Picking up my hand, he kissed my finger just above my ring. “I’m
so sorry my love. I have a very difficult time controlling myself around you.”

Wrapping my
arms around his neck, I whispered into his ear. “I don’t want your control. I
want to know you want me.”

A tremor hummed
through his body causing him to tremble. Jace and Leah joined us.

Even after
the rest, my eyes remained leaden. “Hey everybody, I’m sorry to be such a
party-pooper, but I’m still really tired. I’m going to go back to the room for
a while.” I turned to Talon. “Talon, you don’t have to come with me. I hate to
think of you stuck in the room when you could be out here enjoying yourself.”

His eyes
were blinding. “I’ll be happiest wherever you are.”

Leah sighed
happily and suddenly hugged Jace. “That was so sweet! Don’t worry, Cay. We’ll
be heading up before too long. I want to lie down for a while before we have to
get ready for dinner.” Leah gave me a quick hug. “We’ll see you in a few.”

Chapter 21

New
Revelations

I
gave Talon a smoldering
look and walked out of the surf, swaying my hips seductively—or at least I
hoped it appeared that way. I was
really insecure
due
to all the attention Talon was getting from other women at the hotel. I wanted
to make sure I measured up to them and it was still all
really
new to me. I could feel his hot gaze on me as I approached the pool area.

An
appreciative whistle came from a chair to my right and within moments, Talon
was at my side, putting my hand in his. We walked the rest of the way to our
suite hand in hand. My pulse was racing. Would I ever stop feeling this way
around him? My one consolation was my presence affected him the same way. We
stepped into the room and he reached back to lock the door.

As soon as
the latch closed, I found myself pinned to the wall and he kissed me
passionately. My legs became unsteady. Talon reached down with one hand wrapping
my legs around his waist, without my back ever leaving the wall.

I put my
lips to his ear and whispered. “I love you.” I knew my behavior was out of line
and utterly out of character, but Talon had this effect on me. He growled deep
in his throat, picking me up and carrying me to our room placing me on the bed.
He lay next to me propped up on one elbow and studied me for a long time.

I searched
his face. “What’s wrong?”

He caressed
my face. “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to find you after all the
centuries of darkness. I’m so possessive of you and get so angry when the men
around here look at you with longing.”

I pulled his
head down to mine. “
There’s
only you for me.” I rubbed
his chest, bent down, and bit him hard enough to draw blood.

He roared,
pushing me back on the bed and covering me with his body. I kissed him with all
the passion I possessed. I reached back one hand and attempted to untie my
swimsuit top. He covered my hand with his.

“No
,
‘tacha
. This is
one instance where my control will not falter and I’ll not give in to you. We’ll
not do this until you are mine forever in the eyes of your family and the
Ethereal
law.”

I pouted, sliding
off his chest until I was on my side. He rolled to his side looking at me with
sad eyes. It tore my heart out. I could feel his pain as if it were my own. A
single drop of blood was running across his chest from where I had bitten him. I
knew I was taking a big risk and gently licked the line of blood back to my
bite mark and sucked. I heard him moan deeply then something in him snapped.

He pulled me
back, saw the blood covering my
lips
and kissed me
deeply. He lowered his head and bit down on the hollow between my neck and
shoulder drawing blood in long pulls. I screamed with the pleasure of it and he
collapsed on the bed next to me.

“When am I
ever going to stop losing control around you?” he sighed, running his hands
through his hair.

I was
positively glowing with happiness.
“Hopefully never.
I
want you to always feel this strongly about me.”

He shook his
head in disbelief. “How could I ever want another? Your beloved smoothies have
made your blood so sweet.”

I sat up in
the bed and my head was swimming again. Talon jumped up carrying me into the
living room and placed me on the couch.

“One moment,
Love. Let me get you some orange juice.”

I watched him
retreat. He was so attentive. To be honest, he was more than I’d ever dreamed
of having. I couldn’t imagine married life with him. Could a lifetime of this
really exist? What would I have to give up
to be
with
him forever?

School?
It wasn’t a big deal, since I could learn more from
him than I’d ever learn in school.

What about children?
Do
Varyo
have children? Imagining Talon with an infant in his arms made me teary-eyed. I
quickly wiped the moisture from my face away before he caught me. Talon came
back in the room and handed me a large glass of juice. He sat next to me on the
couch and stroked my hair as I twisted to face him.

“Talon, can
I ask you a personal question?” I asked timidly.

He opened
his arms wide.
“Of course.
What do you want to know?”

I blushed furiously. “Well, what
I wanted to know—well, um…is…can the
Varyo
have children?”

He chuckled
softly. “Is that what you wanted to know? Yes, love. We absolutely can have
children, but you don’t have to worry about it right now,
‘tacha
. It’s a deliberate action for my people, and I’ll not allow it
to happen just yet. As I said, we’ll save it for our next honeymoon.” He grinned
wickedly.

I waved my
hand. “No. No. Please
don’t misunderstand
me. I wasn’t
worried about that. I’d be honored to carry your baby someday,” I said quietly.
It embarrassed me a little to have this conversation with him. “I’d love to see
a little girl or boy with your flashing blue eyes one day. I just didn’t know
if it was even a possibility considering I’m
Feydall
.”

He gazed at
me seriously and pulled me into his lap holding me tightly. He had a single red
tear rolling down his cheek. “I never even thought to dream of children. The
thought of a little girl nestled in your arms makes my heart want to burst. However,
the
Varyo
are special in the fact
there are
no unplanned
children in our world. Children
are only possible if both parties truly desire them. I’ll never take the chance
of them not having my name, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so adamant about
waiting.”

I snaked my
arms around his neck and squeezed. I couldn’t believe my good luck. I thought
men like him only existed in books.

He reached
over to the table and handed me the glass of orange juice. I accepted the glass
and took a big swallow.

Jace and
Leah’s door shut with a bang then there was a light tapping on the connecting
door. Talon gently set me aside and went to open the door.

Leah poked
her head inside. “Did you get some rest Cay-bear? Are you going to be up for
dinner?”

I nodded at
her. “I’m feeling much better now. I was just about to start getting ready.” I glanced
around the room in confusion. “What time are we leaving? For that matter, where
are we going?”

“We are
leaving at six o’clock, and the location is a secret.” Jace called from the
other room.

I whined and
threw my hands in the air. “How am I supposed to know what to wear if you won’t
tell me where we’re going?”

Talon chortled
and grabbed me around the waist. “I have you all taken care of, my love.”

I beamed at
him.
“As always.”

Jace called
out. “We’ll see you at 6:00pm. Just knock when you are ready.

Talon led me
over to the couch and sat me down. “Wait here. I have something for you.”

He walked
over to the pile of bags still sitting on the floor and
dug
furiously through the one that held his shirts. He pulled out a long length of
jade green material.

“Oh
my gosh
” I gasped. “How did you…when
did
you…?”
It was the dress Leah had shown
him on our very
first date. I caressed the silky material with my fingertips.

“Wait, I’m
not done.” He pulled a pair of tall wedges out of the same bag with a sheepish
expression. “I love the way you look in heels.”

I jumped off
the couch and hurried to the bedroom before quickly pivoting around and grabbing
the bag of makeup off the floor. “I’ll be right back.”

I took a
quick shower and slipped the dress on over my head. It was gorgeous–clinging to
my curves and falling in neat folds around my feet. I debated on my hair and
determined I would straighten it so it hung down to the middle of my back.

I carefully
applied my makeup, giving silent thanks I’d thought to get some jade green
eyeliner. It really was a nice effect. I reached up to smooth back my hair and
the light reflected off my ring. I sighed happily. Everything would have been
absolutely perfect
if it wasn’t for the scraped-up elbow. I
silently cursed Todd under my breath before chuckling to myself. Slipping my
feet into the wedges and stepping out of the bathroom, I took a deep breath and
walked into the living room fidgeting with my necklace. I desperately wanted him
to like the finished product.

Talon was
out on the lanai and already dressed in some cargo pants and a black button
down resort shirt. He looked amazing. He stepped into the den with two glasses
of the frothy orange drink again. He stared at me and exhaled slowly.

“Wow. You
look amazing.” He strolled over, handed me a glass and stroked my hair. “It
feels like silk.” We stared at each other until there was a knock on the door. Talon
strode over and opened it wide.

“Come on in.
I ordered us some strawberries. They’re all set up on the lanai.”

Leah ran
over to me crushing me in a bear hug while hopping around in a circle. “You
look gorgeous. I can’t believe he remembered.”

I took a
step back and admired her dress. “You look beautiful too!” Leah had on a long
tank dress in a beautiful deep purple and the color really set off her hair.

She winked
at me and sauntered outside where Talon was pouring a glass for her.

“Talon?”
Leah asked. “What is this?” She pointed to the
glass he was pouring.

“Yeah” I
agreed. “I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

Talon
shrugged. “It’s nectar – something very precious in our world and saved for
only the most special occasions.”

Jace strode
into the room and grabbed me in a big bear hug, swinging me off my feet.
“Hey pixie girl.
You are breathtaking.” He whispered in my
ear. “The way you feel about him shows all over your face. You truly make him
happy. Did you know that? I’ve known Talon for many, many years, and I’ve never
seen him so happy.”

Talon stuck
his head in the door. “What are you two whispering about?” he teased.

I wrinkled
up my nose. “You of course–nothing else
interests
me.”

He came over
and picked me up. “I adore you.”

Jace thumped
me on the arm as he went to join Leah. “See? I told you so.”

I leaned
over and put my lips to his ear. “I think I know what we should name our first
son.”

His eyes burst
into blue flame and his assault on my lips was almost violent.

Leah gasped
before she giggled. “Do you two think you can separate long enough for us to
eat dinner? Caiti, you haven’t eaten anything solid since breakfast. You’re
going to end up getting sick.”

Talon gazed
at me with deep concern in his eyes. “She is right
‘tacha
. We need to keep your strength up.”

Jace snorted
and Leah shot him a dirty look. She kissed him quickly and grabbed him by the
collar. “Come on, you turd. Let’s go.”

Talon took
me by the good elbow and led me out the door. He shut the door and took me by
the hand as we strolled through the lush gardens and pools full of koi and into
the main lobby. By the time we got through the lobby doors, Leah and I were
walking a few steps ahead of them. There was a large group of good-looking men
in their 20s having some sort of gathering in the Botera Bar. They were
fairly loud
and appeared to have been drinking for quite
some time.

As Leah and
I walked past the bar, the room went silent. The two men who had approached us
earlier on the beach were part of the group. I glanced at her in surprise as we
heard low murmurs coming from the bar.

“Daaayum.”

“Do you see
that?”

“Holy Crap.
I think I just died and went to Heaven.”

“Are they
staying here? Oh my God…could we really be that lucky?”

“I’d love to
buy them a drink, especially that redhead.”

“Yeah, well
you are going to have to wait until those gorillas aren’t around.”

I spun
around and sauntered right up to Talon, pressing myself against him and giving
him a deep, passionate kiss that left us both breathless. I glanced at the
party in the bar and winked, letting them know I’d heard everything. The entire
group of men sat in silence. I walked back to where I had left Leah, who was
now shaking with laughter.

“Oh God, Caitlin.
What got into you?
Not
that I’m complaining.
They totally had it coming, but it was so out of
character for you and I think Talon has yet to recover.”

I peeked
back at Talon and sure enough, he was rooted to the spot. I walked over and
took Talon gently by the hand.

“I’m sorry,
Talon. They just made me mad and I thought I would try something different,
instead of just making things blow up,” I whispered.

He picked me
up and swung me around. “
Ves’tacha
,
don’t worry. It was totally worth it. Maybe they’ll still be here when we get
back and you can do it again.” He teased.

We stopped
at the front drive and a bellhop ran over to greet us.

“Good
evening, Mr. Raikaa, Mr. Adair. Everything is prepared, as you requested.” He
handed them a set of keys.

Talon turned
to Jace and grinned. “I’ll drive out there, but you’re driving back.”

Jace smirked.
“You got it, as long as we get to go back to your balcony after dinner for
dessert.”

Leah and I stared
at each other and shrugged our shoulders. We still had no idea where we
were headed
.