been way too long.” He took my hand and led me up the stone stairs, lit by torches affixed to the stone walls.
Two days certainly felt like a long time, for us, anyway. We’d never before gone more than twenty-four hours without making love—if you didn’t count the seven-and-a-half years while he was held captive by the Daemoni. Our eight-year anniversary was less than four months away, but we were still newlyweds in a very real sense, having had a total of three weeks together as husband and wife.
We also had a mission to accomplish: we needed a daughter for the survival of the Amadis—my family, our society. And if the Amadis didn’t survive, neither would humanity. It would be lost to the Daemoni.
“Can’t we flash to our suite?” I asked as we continued up the stairs to the third floor.
“If you flash everywhere, you’ll get lazy, and I won’t have a lazy wife,” Tristan teased. “More importantly, you don’t want to create bad habits. We’ll have to mainstream soon, and you can’t be flashing all the time around the norms.”
“I know. But I’m not being lazy.” I slid my hand down his back and over the perfect roundness of his ass and gave it a squeeze. I finished the thought telepathically. I’m just horny.
“Ah. Why didn’t you say so?” He picked up the pace, and we practically flew through the long hall.
As we entered our wing, I slowed. A door on the left led to Mom’s suite, and I sensed she was still awake, probably reading. I stopped at the door on the right—Dorian’s room.
“I stayed until he was sound asleep,” Tristan whispered, but I cracked open the door anyway, needing to see him. A little-boy snore rattled in the darkness, and his dream appeared in my head—he was swimming with his dad and happily fighting sharks. I could only imagine the embellishments Tristan had added to Dorian’s favorite bedtime story. With a smile, I closed the door.
We entered the front room of our suite at the end of the hall, and once we were alone, I was instantly in his powerful arms, locked into a kiss.
“Not in here,” I reminded him, remembering Mom’s warning of the antique furniture in the front sitting room.
We made our way to the bedroom, which was specifically designed for our kind, completely bare except for a large, stone platform with a two-foot thick pad and lots of pillows—the bed. A stone pillar stood at each corner and blue gossamer hung in curtains between the posts. The bedding was either easily reparable or replaceable—a necessity considering our kind tended to destroy things during sex.
Tristan lifted me with one arm and carried me to the bed, his satiny lips never leaving my tingling skin. Making love with him had always been intense, but since the Ang’dora, my heightened senses made it so much more sensual and our powers made it so much more fun. With expert skills, Tristan quickly took me over the edge. The loss of control crumbled the mental wall I so carefully held up to block out others’ thoughts . . . and to protect my own.
All at once, my feelings flowed out as the mental images flooded in. Thankfully, Dorian still dreamt of sharks, but Mom stiffened in her reading chair then shook her head, thinking, “Alexis!” Solomon and Rina, in their own bed, exchanged knowing looks. Owen felt surprised and confused and . . . excited? The sheet over his lap began to rise. Oh, shit!
My mental wall flew up, feeling more solid than ever, in fact, solid as steel. I could almost hear a metallic clang as it slammed into place, like the thick, heavy door of a vault. Everyone’s thoughts disappeared. Mine were my own again. I panted, my body as rigid as the steel wall in my head, as I still clung to Tristan, who was pressed against the ceiling. I forced myself to relax and let go, fell to the bed, and lay there on my back.
“Oh, shit?” Tristan said as he joined me on the bed, his expression a mix of satisfaction and amusement. “That’s a new one. I think I prefer ‘Don’t stop’ or ‘Right there’ or even ‘Love you, baby’ to ‘Oh, shit.’”
“Did I say it out loud?” I asked hopefully.
“Mmm . . . no.”
I groaned, automatically reaching for the necklace that no longer hung around my neck. Playing with the ruby pendant Tristan made for me had been a nervous habit for