Tristan's Loins (24 page)

Tristan allowed her to lead him into the area
where they waited to get into the little brightly painted car. His
expression was grim as the bar came down across their laps. When
the car began to move so others could get on, he was white-faced,
gripping the bar for dear life.

"Relax, I promise you this will be fun."

Once they were seated in the brightly painted
car, he looked like he was having a full-blown panic attack. By the
time they rolled to the top, he was sweating and breathing in
shallow gasps.

Not all was well at all. She could see that.
He looked ashen-faced and refused to open his eyes. It was then she
realized he was afraid of heights, deathly afraid by the look of
him clinging to the bar.

Selene was angry at herself for pushing him
now. He looked like he would be ill when the Ferris Wheel began to
move. She held onto his arm tightly, whispering reassuringly to him
until he looked to be a more normal color.

When the ride ended he was clawing at the bar
before the ride attendant arrived to whip it back. She frowned as
she climbed out and followed him, her eyes filled with concern. She
reached out to touch him and he was shaking from head to toe.

"Tristan, are you alright?" she whispered and
his head came up off his chest, his face filled with fear.

"I did not enjoy that, Selene. High places
have always been a problem for me."

Selene shook her head, trying to grasp how
one of her characters had a fear of heights and she had not written
about it. She shrugged; aware she had left enough holes in her
story for him to have a whole barrage of phobias apparently. She
went and got him a cold soda and soon he was back to normal.

"We can skip anymore rides, Tristan," she
said as they made their way down the midway.

Tristan might have a problem with the rides,
but he was gifted when it came to the games. He amassed a pile of
huge stuffed animals for her, earning a glare from the guy who ran
the game as he fetched yet another large toy dangling above their
heads. She took pity on the man and told Tristan they could fit no
more in the car.

He carried them back to the car in triumph.
She shook her head when she could hardly see out the rearview
mirror there were so many in the backseat. He looked smug as he
held her hand on the ride home.

Selene put firewood in the fire pit when they
got home. Soon they had a roaring fire within the ceramic urn. They
lay in the hammock there while Daisy lay next to them. She stared
up at the clear night sky filled with stars, so content she did not
wish to move.

"Selene, how did you come up with the idea
for your book?" he asked finally as she lay against his chest.

She frowned, trying to recall how she had
developed him and the others. It was after Christmas the previous
year. Jim had been working late or sleeping at his office since
Thanksgiving. She was making notes of qualities Jim did not ever
have, picturing a man she could admire. Tristan seemed to have been
born that night. The other characters were developed around him.
Her depression over her marriage and her unfulfilled desires had
sparked the decision to write. Her loneliness had made her
desperate to find an outlet.

"I realized I did not have anything in my
life that made me happy and I made you," she recalled and snuggled
against his chest for warmth.

"Can you send me back so easily, Selene?" he
asked with hurt in his voice.

She looked up at him and saw his torment. "I
wish I could keep you forever, Tristan, but we both know it isn't
possible! You said the power of the ring is what keeps you here.
What if it doesn't last? I’ll not have my whole life disappear if
that is the case."

"What if it were possible for me to
stay?"

"What about Rhiannon and your promise to
her?" Selene asked and glared at him. "You’re not that kind of man
to abandon a woman you promised to marry and leave her to her fate.
Have you thought of her at all? Her father is dead now. Her cousin
seeks to use her, as well as Stephen. Is that fair to her? We have
our happily ever for however long it lasts and she gets a
monster!"

"Rhiannon is far more clever than you give
her credit for, Selene. She will not roll over and accept her fate
if I do not come back. She is likely to go to the king for
sanctuary. Her huge dowry alone should keep her safe, if nothing
else," Tristan protested and held her tightly. "I could never love
her as I do you, Selene. Is that fair to her?"

Selene thought about what he said as she
relaxed and lay against his chest. Sending Tristan back did not
insure he would make Rhiannon happy, or that they would ever feel
for one another the way she had intended when she started the book.
She was disgusted she stole her heroine's man.

"I don't want to spend what little time we
have fighting, Tristan. I want to cherish these moments for the
rest of my life. Do you think I’ll ever find someone I could ever
feel this way for?" she asked as she looked up into his handsome,
brooding features. "You’re irreplaceable."

"I feel the same." He looked up at the night
sky with a tormented look. "I cannot feel for her as I do you,
Selene. What you ask of me is impossible."

Selene did not answer him. She refused to
spoil the evening going back and forth with these scenarios.
Tristan might have been her creation, but he did not belong to her.
A woman waited within the pages of her manuscript who was worthy of
him in every way. Somehow he had to go back and be made to see
it.

Time seemed to fly and soon she and Tristan
were shopping for extra groceries for the next holiday weekend when
Darcy, Sal, and her kids would be coming up. Maggie had not yet
committed to it. She was holding out for a better offer, even if
she was dying to meet Tristan.

Selene knew Maggie would cave and come, so
she made sure she aired out and readied another bedroom just in
case.

The last month had been perfect in every way.
Selene looked to her right where Tristan read the label of the can
of mushroom soup. It was a habit of his now. He read everything he
came across. Selene was impressed with his writing skills as
well.

Tristan was quite accomplished now at
reading. He seemed to favor James Patterson and gobbled up the
novels as fast as she got them for him. On impulse she bought him
an IPod and saw his look of elation as he opened it. She helped him
load music on it, shaking her head at his choices. Tristan was a
sucker for country music. Gunsmoke had made him a cowboy, it
seemed. When it was loaded with as many songs as it could hold, he
seemed content. It went with him everywhere.

He cooked now every night, mastering recipes
like a Julia Child disciple. He seemed to want to make himself
indispensable in every way and it broke her heart to know why. He
wanted to stay.

"Why does the Fourth of July hold such
significance?" Tristan asked as she loaded up on chips and goodies
for the party on Saturday.

She explained the whole celebration and he
nodded as though he understood. She could bet when he saw the
fireworks, he would never be the same. She could not wait to see
his expression. The lake community put on a pretty good fireworks
display. They had a front row seat on the deck.

Darcy had begged her to be allowed to bring
Sal and she reluctantly agreed. Darcy and the biker had been
inseparable since her date with Axel. She had heard from Darcy
Axel's ex- girlfriend Jenny had come back in the picture. She was
happy for Axel. She hoped his daughters were minding their business
and letting their Dad be happy.

Selene did not want to think about her life
when Tristan left a month from now. She did not trust herself not
to burst into tears. Her emotions were in overload now. Darcy had
also informed her Ginny moved out of Jim's house. She had seen Jim
at the dry cleaners picking up his suits. He had asked about her,
and Darcy enjoyed telling him she and Tristan were in love.

Darcy said Jim was not handling the divorce
well and seemed to have lost a great deal of weight. He said Ginny
was living with her personal trainer now and he was well rid of
her. It was astounding how different her life was in just a few
months.

"What are you thinking about?" Tristan asked
as they made their way down the frozen food aisle.

She shrugged and smiled at him. "Just that
life is unpredictable."

"How so?"

"I never thought to be this happy, ever."

"Did you ever think you deserve it?"

"Never, not once," she replied and chuckled.
"That's why I made you. People who cannot be happy write about
those who can."

Tristan refrained from making any comments
when they went through the checkout. When the groceries were loaded
into the trunk he spoke.

"I want you to write another book, Selene.
Write about us." He looked out the window. "That would please me.
you must promise me you will do this."

"Write a book about all of this?" she asked
doubtfully and thought about it. "It could work."

"If you cannot give us a happy ending in
life; give us one in a book."

"Promise me you will write the book, Selene,"
Tristan said and looked at her with troubled eyes.

"I promise, as soon as I finish this
one."

That seemed to keep him happy the rest of the
day. They made quite a few cold salads for her friend's arrival.
Selene knew they had more than enough food. Tristan was next door
at the neighbor's house. The man had a knack for making friends.
Her neighbor's adored Tristan. He was quite proficient driving the
pontoon and took the neighbors out while she rested. Her energy
level was not what it used to be. Just a trip to the grocery store
exhausted her.

Selene took the camera out, knowing it was
full. She needed another memory card. She went through her pictures
and was startled. All the pictures of Tristan were gone. Daisy
slept alone on the couch. She was shaken as she flipped through the
whole card to see not one remained. The power of the ring was
fading. That was the only explanation she had. Tears of frustration
filled her eyes as she set down the camera and went to sit out on
the deck.

She watched Tristan maneuver the boat around
the lake with her neighbors and their kids aboard. The tears fell
unchecked down her face as she watched the pontoon chug across the
lake. Soon, she was sobbing brokenly, leaning against the deck rail
for support.

The stress of not knowing what to expect
finally overwhelmed her. He was already fading from her life. The
reality made her tense and think of the child inside of her. Would
the baby disappear when it's father did? Gut-wrenching sobs escaped
her as she took off down the beach for a walk. She could not let
Tristan see her like this.

Tristan parked the boat into its berth and
called to Daisy. The dog hopped off the boat and followed him down
the dock. When he went inside, he called to Selene. He frowned as
he looked for her. She was not in their room. The camera was laying
upon the dresser and he picked it up. The last frame she had been
looking at was still visible. It was a shot of them in bed, taken
by her. She held the camera over them and they had crammed in for
the shot. She was there, face flushed, arms outstretched to snap
the picture, but she was alone in the digital photo. He was gone.
He was grim as he set down the camera and looked at the ruby ring
on his forefinger. It had begun to burn again of late. He did not
tell her. She would be upset to know the power of the ring was
calling him back to his world.

Tristan felt helpless now, knowing there was
no choice. Even if he wanted to stay, he could not. The signs he
even existed in this world were beginning to fade already. The
writing he did vanished as well. He did not tell Selene his earlier
workbooks were all blank now. He wrote a note to himself every day,
and every day it disappeared. He opened a blank piece of paper
every morning.

He had never felt such helplessness or such
anger. To have found love in such an incomprehensible way; it
seemed cruel enough to have it snatched away. That was the curse of
the ring. It promised much, but at a price. Selene assured him once
he went through the portal again, she would make the changes and
take the ring out of the book.

Whatever curse it had, it seemed to be
wanting something from him now. His finger ached from where the
metal burned into his skin. He knew his return to his world was
going to be sooner than they had planned.

Tristan closed his eyes in torment, knowing
he had no control over it at all. He prayed Selene did as he asked
and wrote the book about them. He had some theories about why the
ring would not let him stay here. Just in case he was wrong, he
intended to leave a certain item behind. The ring could be removed.
He tensed, thinking about what he planned to do.

The Fourth of July arrived with beautiful
weather and frantic phone calls from her friends. Traffic going
north was a nightmare and they would be late arriving. She hung up
the phone and giggled as Tristan reached over and shut it off.

He rolled over in bed and snatched her to his
chest, his eyes burning into hers. "We have time now, woman," he
said huskily as he rolled her under him.

"You’re impossible!" She sighed as he settled
between her thighs, his hand stroking her cheek. Soon she did not
care that they had no gas in the pontoon or charcoal. He made her
forget everything just with a touch.

"No, I just do not see the need to waste a
precious moment alone before your friends get here." He stared down
into her eyes. "I’ll not waste a second, Selene."

She gasped and closed her eyes as Tristan
proceeded to remind her of his promise to keep her in bed all day,
gripping the headboard for dear life as he pumped within her
urgently, murmuring her name and crying out at the last, his lips
covering hers in a hungry kiss. She sighed in delight as he lay at
her side some time later, holding her close.