I froze. My pulse pounded loudly in my ears. Could it be? I hesitated. Although I was Amadis Royalty, there were still boundaries I couldn’t cross yet, and I was sure this was one of them. Especially if . . . Exactly why I need to see for myself! The girl’s voice came louder, more of a wail. I hurried down the steps.
A corridor stretched out before me, most of it dark and dank with a coordinating musty odor, doors spaced evenly apart along each wall. A triangle of light lit the end of the hall, an open door allowing it to shine through. I took a single step, then stopped, once again debating whether to proceed or to enter Ophelia or Julia’s mind first to see what—
Whoosh! Air rushed past me. A bar of steel pressed against my stomach and a board against my back. My body flew up the stairs. Literally. My feet didn’t touch the ground. Then I stumbled as I was dropped into the brightness outside.
“You can’t be down there!” Julia seethed at me, her voice more screechy than I expected. I couldn’t, at the moment anyway, ever remember hearing her speak aloud. I cursed myself for letting her catch me off guard.
“Why?” I demanded. “What’s going on down there? Who is—”
Pop! Tristan appeared by my side.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking from me to Julia. He took in her expression and stepped protectively in front of me.
“It’s too dangerous, especially for you,” Julia hissed at me. And then she disappeared with a pop.
Tristan turned to me. “Are you okay? What—”
“Julia’s hiding a girl down there, Tristan! With Ophelia! What if it’s her? Our daugh—”
Tristan shook his head. “Lex, that’s where they keep Amadis who have broken the law and unstable converts. You probably sensed a young shifter or witch who lost control. Who can hurt you. They’re delivering food and water. That’s all.”
“I want to see for myself. How do you know it’s not the girl—the hidden girl?”
“Right under the Council Hall where anyone can find her? That’s not exactly hidden.”
He had a point. And because I knew he would be honest with me, I gave in, let him take my hand, and lead me for the flash to our suite.
But the girl’s wail continued to echo in my mind.
The morning trip to the village threw off our schedule, and when we returned to the mansion, we discovered Charlotte had been called away to an emergency. So after putting Dorian to bed, Tristan suggested a workout in the gym.
“Let’s see what you can really do with this when you put your mind to it,” he said, handing me a dagger from the practice weapons. His eyes sparked with excitement.
I narrowed my eyes, suspicious of his motives.
“Oh-kay,” I said with hesitation, taking the blade from him.
“I mean, use your mind. Char’s not here. You’re free to use the best defense you have.” He grabbed a sword, the blade as long as me.
I lifted an eyebrow. “You never use a weapon.”
He flicked his wrist, making the long, thin blade bend and twang. “I thought I’d make it interesting.”
He winked at me, and I stared at him in a daze. Until I saw the glint of his sword swinging for my legs.
“That’s cheating!” I squealed, jumping over the blade.
“I use whatever advantage I can,” he said with a sublime grin that made my knees weak. The sword swung at me again, and I parried it with the dagger. “You have a bigger advantage than anyone, ma lykita. Use it.”
Just as I had done when we’d seriously been fighting each other in the Keys, I read Tristan’s thoughts and knew every move before he made it. I ducked, twirled, twisted, and danced around his swipes and lunges, blocking or dodging most of his attacks. We blurred around the room, sprang off the walls, and flipped, jumped, and cartwheeled over each other. Tristan jumped for an overhead beam, and knowing what he planned to do, I landed on it at the same time as he did, and our fight continued. We jumped from beam to beam and through the open skylights, briefly sparring on the roof, then back inside again. Then Tristan threw his sword down and lunged at me. I dove for the floor, planning to tuck into a somersault for the landing, but he grabbed me in midair, encircling me in his arms and turning to take the impact. He rolled me over to my back, pinning me to the floor. I squirmed, trying to break his hold and thought about shocking him.
But then his mouth was on mine, and I immediately surrendered.
“You cheated again,” I breathed when he finally pulled away. “That kiss wasn’t very fair.”
“You know what’s not fair?” he asked, the gold in his eyes sparkling brightly. He leaned his head down again, his lips near my ear, as he took my hand and moved it to his hard groin. He whispered against my ear, “What you do to me isn’t fair.”
His soft lips traveled along my jaw line and to my throat as I rubbed his erection through his thin workout pants. My back arched as his lips moved to my chest, my breasts aching for his touch. He nibbled my nipples poking through the sports bra then moved lower to kiss my bare stomach. His fingers slipped under my waistband, and I gasped. He moaned. He’d moved too low for me to reach anymore, so I took his head in my hands and pulled him up.
“I can’t, Tristan,” I whispered, although my body screamed, Yes, you can!
“Not even out here?”
“We’re too close. I can contact anyone in the mansion from here.”
His eyes penetrated mine, and I could almost see the gears turning in his head. A wide grin spread across his face, then he wrapped his arms around me. “I have an idea.”
He flashed, taking me with him. We appeared in a tiny clearing, surrounded by ancient cypress trees that seemed to touch the black sky, leaving just enough to show a moon uncomfortably close to being full.
“We wouldn’t be able to do this in a couple of nights—too many shifters would be running around,” Tristan said. “But right now, I don’t sense anyone for quite a ways. Can you?”
I dissolved my wall, and the mind signatures I felt were too far away, making them distorted and indistinguishable. However near the closest person was, they were beyond my mind-reaching capabilities. A smile stretched my mouth wide. I jumped into his arms, my legs encircled his waist, and I pressed my lips against his.
My hands tangled into his hair as I pulled him into me, separating my lips to taste his tangy-sweetness . . . mangos, papayas, lime, and sage. Mmm . . . delicious. I thought I might devour him, if he didn’t devour me first.
Keeping my legs tight around him, I only let go with my arms long enough for him to pull my bra over my head. I pressed my naked breasts against his bare chest, but not for long, as he slipped his hand between us, caressing and squeezing. His mouth traveled down my neck, and I leaned backward, his hands supporting me, so his lips could move lower, while I ground my pelvis against him.
“Alexis!” My name thundered in my head, but not in Tristan’s voice and definitely not in mine. I stiffened. My wall had already fallen, and someone had moved into range. I immediately zoned in on the mind signature and picked up the thought. “. . . There’s something about her . . .”
“What’s wrong?” Tristan mouthed against my breast.