Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.)

  And then there was the heat reaching my cheeks, letting me know that I was being watched.

  “Maya, come here,” Tristan said.

  Hesitantly, I looked back to him. The pillow—that was on his lap before—now rested behind him. I slowly took the steps towards the bed all while contemplating what was going to happen, in my head. As soon as I was sitting crossed-legged in front of him, he moved so he was facing me. The next that happened not only made me more nervous, but it caught me off guard.

  His thumb glided over my brows—the way I did with his—and he watched me intensely. “I want to know what's going on in your head,” he murmured.

  “How can you touch me or even look at me knowing what I am?” I asked without even thinking. His thumb stopped and I wanted to tell him to not stop.

  His eyes met mine. “How can I judge you knowing what you do is what we all do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  His thumb starting moving again, and he gradually ran it over my temples, lightly dragging it down my cheek. “What you do... feeding off humans. It's not exactly normal.” He smiled. “But hurting people—hurting things in that fact—it happens everyday.”

  “I'm still not following.” And I wasn't. Where was he going with this?

  Taking a deep breath, his fingers reached out and trickled behind my ear, his palm resting on my cheek now. “We—humans—kill animals, all the time. We do it because we need to eat. We need food to live—unless you're vegetarian then that's a different story.” Another smile from him, and I knew he was trying to make this easier for me. “What I'm trying to say, is that I can't judge you for wanting to live. I can't hate or even dislike you for what you do because it happens everyday. Maybe not in your case, but it does happen. Telling me to judge you for what you are is like telling you to judge me for eating meat. And there are people out there that do have a problem with it, but...” He paused and slowly, he shook his head, letting out a long breath. “I can't, Maya. I can't hate you.”

  My breathing pattern was fucked, my mind scrambling to find some sort of lost cause within his words. I couldn't though. This man right in front of me was accepting this, because he understood. The way he was staring into my eyes with great intensity, and the way his hand stayed planted on my skin only proved that. My heart probably skipped a few beats in the time he was talking too. It only confirmed Ethan's words. Tristan is a good guy. Why would I even let that slip? “You don't find a single bit of it weird?” I asked, giving him another chance to back out of this now.

  “That’s the second time I’ve been asked that tonight. Trust me, I still have to get used to it all, and eventually I will. I just want you to be honest with me from now on.”

  With nothing to do with the subject at hand, I suddenly felt like being honest about everything. More importantly one thing though, and I don't even know how I came to think about it. “I was jealous, you know.”

  Confusion showed on his face and his brows furrowed. “Jealous? Of what?”

  I was back to not looking at him, and the nervousness of the situation came. “You and Tori,” I mumbled.

  The response I got was something I actually expected. He chuckled softly. “I kind of knew.” Perfect, I am apparently transparent. “It's mostly my fault though.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “It's immature and stupid of me, I know. But being with Tori was my way of trying to get you to finally admit it. Actually, it makes me sound like a dick, but I swear she wasn't exactly a saint either.” I could have told him that, actually I'm pretty sure I did but whatever.

  “What were you waiting for me to finally admit on?” I asked.

  “That you wanted me as much as I wanted you,” he replied, the humor falling from his face. “I could see it. Anyone who couldn't see it was blind. Admittedly, at first I denied it. Noah eventually pushed it out of me.”

  I partially understood. “That's why he always asked me about you.”

  “Yeah, he pretty much thought that we were being idiots. I guess sitting beside us in English is a bad mistake on his part.” This time when he grinned, I couldn't help but grin with him. It was obvious that English was 'Maya and Tristan flirting' hour.

  Silence fell between us, and the curiosity over Tristan and Tori soon came. “Did you really have sex with her?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “Yet another lie that I find stupid now.” He sighed. “Another mistake that I'm willing to man up about and admit that it was wrong of me to say that to you. Sometimes I don't think about the things I say. But right here, right now isn't a mistake for me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were mad at me.”

  Why would I be mad at him? I was still surprised that he actually didn't have sex with Tori... or Penelope... I wonder what her agenda was then, because right now, it's confusing. Maybe she just wanted Tristan all to herself. Maybe she just wanted to keep us apart. Oh how that plan didn’t work out.

  No matter how much this conversation was starting to relieve me, there was always going to be that stupid subconscious thought that was bound to come up. “I'm not mad, we've all lied,” I started. “But as much as I admire that you're doing this, the fact that I still have to feed on people will always damper...” What was this? “Our relationship.”

  His hand moved from my face, and my hands were engulfed with his soon after. The same warmth that I felt in my dream was back, and it comforted me. “Maya, this is where the time thing comes in. I've thought about it. I know that you have to... do what you do.” I could tell that he was finding it hard to even admit what I did. “But like I said, I will eventually get passed it.” He sounded unbelievably confident about this. “I'm not saying that it won't take a while, because it will. I just need you to keep being you and I am willing to be as open-minded as I can. I love you, Maya, and I don't think I could handle losing you.”

  My muscles tensed when those three words were said. I didn't hear anything after that nor did I really remember what he said before it.

  My words chocked in my throat and I felt a large ache inside my chest open. “You... you love me?”

  Tristan blinked when he noticed what he said, and in the few seconds that he was silent, I was pretty sure that he didn’t mean to say it. Then he said, “Yeah, I do.” It was like he was saying it to himself more than to me. “I guess I always have.”

  “No one's ever told me that they loved me,” I mumbled. It caused such a new feeling inside me, and those crazy flutters that I received were back and making their way up my chest.

  Oh God, was I going to puke?

  “No one?” he asked confusingly.

  I shook my head. It was true. No one had ever told me that they loved me. Well, I guess I've heard the words from Melinda, Daniel and Jamie, but they were different. The way Tristan said it—it went straight down to my heart, making it pump harder. I could feel passion within it. And I know this might sound crazy, but I could actually feel that he did in fact, love me. “I guess coming from a neglected family, you don't really know what love feels like.” It wasn't until I said that that it really hit me. The sudden hatred for my family showed. I hated that they took that from me. It pissed me off that they could affect me like this, even after fully pushing them out of my life. Before I knew it, there were tears going down my cheeks. “I don't know what went wrong with them, and I hate that.”

  “Maya.” Tristan's hand was instantly up, brushing along my cheeks before he pulled me against his chest. “I'm so sorry,” he murmured against my hair, “don't think for one second that it was your fault.”

  This was a first. Usually it was me who was consoling him about his problems. Tonight however, it was me who was seeking the comfort and he was here to give that. It only led me to press myself closer to him, because whether anyone liked it or not, he was my sanctuary. Every time I was around him, or near him, I felt safe. Even the ache from my parents was almost non-existent when he was around. He took my pain, chained it up to a ton of weight, and dro
pped it into the ocean, along with the key. That's what it was like around him. Just being here—in his arms—made everything that much better.

  His scent traveled through my nose and I slipped my arms around his waist, burying my nose into the crook of his neck. “I missed you,” I whispered.

  I felt his arms tighten around my own waist. “You don't need to miss me anymore, Maya. I'm not going anywhere.” His body slowly detached from mine, and my body didn’t like it at first, but when he only moved so he could hold my face in his hands, I relaxed. “I can't bear to ever lose you, again.”

  A slow brush of his nose against mine made a content sigh pass my lips. Within this single touch, it was as if a wave of comfort came over me, slowly pushing me against the source. A slow movement of the pad of his thumbs on my cheek added a soothing, and I didn't want it to end. The caress started a form of want to run through me. My eyes closed when the touch moved to my lips, his thumb slowly gliding over the skin. He cupped my face, tilting it back and I could feel his eyes on me, watching every reaction I was having. And just as if my thoughts couldn't get anymore non-existent, I felt his lips slowly run along mine.

  To me, I felt like this was our first encounter—that we were doing this for the first time—and it kind of was. Other times, he didn't know who I really was. Now that he did, it somehow made me nervous about kissing him. It wasn't until his scent flowed through me, and the taste of him practically registered that everything kicked in and the hesitance was gone.

  Taking his bottom lip between mine, I applied pressure, only to receive the same reaction from him. The energy that shot through us was nothing you could receive from energy shots, or even a pop of ecstasy, but the urgency grew between us and created a new sensation with it. The taste of him overpowered all my senses, and unlike all previous moments like this, I embraced the passion.

  One hand slid around my neck and his fingers ticked the skin as they lightly threaded through my hair. I felt his other hand land on my hip and didn’t waste anytime to pull me onto his lap, all while keeping his lips locked with mine. Air wasn't exactly on our list of priorities and the feel of his muscles pressing against me caused my arms to wrap around his neck, trying to make sure no space was existent.

  The way his soft lips wrapped around mine perfectly was creating a new adrenaline rush with every touch. And when I felt his lips part mine and his tongue teased the inside of my mouth, my control was gone and I had no intention on begging it back.

  Who the fuck was I kidding when I said I would stay away from Tristan? It was bound to happen really. Jamie even saw it.

  My hands moved back and across his abdomen, my fingers unbuttoning his shirt. A shiver ran up my spine when his hands dipped under my own clothes, running a smooth line up my spine with his fingers before moving them around to tease the skin on my ribs.

  Things suddenly slowed down, but I wasn't sure if it was me or it really was actually slowing down. Tristan's hands slowly crawled their way over my bra, my nipples instantly hardening at the slow touch as his palm glided over the fabric. His kisses had gradually slowed as well, and his tongue was slowly moving against mine. His taste and touch got an instant reaction and I was gripping at his shirt while a soft moan crawled up my throat. I always loved Tristan's kisses. They went through me like an electrical current, and he didn't even have to touch me anywhere else for it to happen, as long as his tongue was touching mine, his lips pressing against mine, nothing else really mattered.

  His palm continued moving up and soon enough, he was pulling my shirt over my head—that being the only time we stopped kissing. Catching my breath and remembering what I was supposed to be doing, my fingers finished unbuttoning his shirt, and as soon as all were done, the shirt was over his shoulders and joining the floor. Unfortunately for my lips—but good for my breathing—he started pressing open kisses down my jaw and neck, lightly nipping at the skin before his tongue balanced it out. I wasn't disappointed for long before his hands made their way back around my waist. My nails instinctively pressed into the skin of his back when my hips moved on their own and felt the satisfying bulge protruding from his slacks. And it wasn't until I heard the growl come from deep within his chest, that I knew I couldn't—and I wouldn’t—stop this. The fluttering in my stomach only confirmed that.

  Panting, I ran my palms over the nail marks that I made. My cheek pressed against his while his lips continued moving along my neck towards my shoulders, never missing a piece of flesh.

  “You make me feel weird things, you know,” I murmured. Finally opening my eyes, I wrapped my arms around his shoulder blades, my palms moving over his muscles as his arms tightened around my waist.

  “What things?” he murmured, not removing his lips from my skin.

  “I feel weird flutters,” I said, actually surprised that I hadn't stuttered yet. The way his lips were still moving along my shoulders was almost making me forget what I was going to say. “They feel light half the time.” Bringing my hands away from his back, I pressed them against his abdomen. “They're here and always seem to go crazy when you're around.”

  Confusion came to me when he chuckled. What was so funny? “They're called butterflies, and I'm honored to be able to do that,” he finally said.

  These fuckers had a name?

  “Butterflies,” I mumbled, starting to understand. “Odd name, but I guess it fits.”

  He chuckled again and I felt his head move as he kissed behind my ear. I felt a snap coming from behind me, and without much warning he was sliding my bra straps off my shoulders. Slowly and surely, he kissed everywhere the straps went. When the bra was added to the slowly producing pile of clothing on the floor, I felt him wrap his arms back around me, lifting me and slowly placing me back down on the bed.

  “If you think they're going crazy now,” he murmured as he met my lips briefly, his palm slowly moving down the center of my chest, over my ribs before finally resting against my abdomen. “Wait until they start going insane.”

  They were practically going insane now.

  Tristan kissed me softly. Reluctantly removing his lip again, he leaned back, his eyes starting to move over my body. Everywhere they went, a burn followed and this wasn't a bad burn, it was more of sensual heat that ran through me before settling in the pit of my stomach. He was practically starting to create a sauna within me.

  With his hands on my ribs, he leaned down and kissed my nose. “You're so beautiful, Maya,” he said, “not just intoxicating, but you're so fucking beautiful.”

  I was about to have another one of those moments—you know, those emotional ones. How the fuck did this guy find me beautiful right now? I wasn't going to say that he was the first to tell me I was—frankly a lot of people have said this—but they were all under my influence. Tristan wasn't, and I guess that's what I was seeing right now. This guy—who wasn't under anything but pure air—was kissing me. He was touching my skin, his lips were moving down my chest, his hands were drawing lines over my abdomen, and I knew right then that I needed this. I needed him.

  My thoughts vanished and a breath of air escaped my lungs when his tongue ran along my nipple. My back arched when he drew a circle around it before drawing it into his mouth, only adding more pleasure to the ever growing one in my stomach.

  “Fuck,” I panted. My fingers automatically threaded through the strands of his hair, gripping tightly as my chest moved unevenly. I bit down on my lip, trying to fight a moan from passing through my lips when his tongue continued working along my nipple, and it wasn’t until I felt his teeth graze along the flesh that I realized my legs were around his waist, urging him for more.

  I was sure I was going to whimper when he moved his head, choosing now to give the opposite nipple the same treatment.

  “Tristan,” I said, “I can't—” my words cut off when his hips ground into mine, completely erasing my mind from everything.

  Fuck, I'm going to lose my mind soon.

  Nonetheless, he was right. The but
terflies were definitely going insane now, and it wasn't going to be long before I start begging.

  Surprisingly, Tristan moved away from my breasts, but I was only more frustrated when he slowly started to kiss down the center of my abdomen.

  Here comes the begging...

  “Tristan,” I groaned.

  “Maya,” he mimicked in his usual Tristan manner.

  Ignoring it, I tugged at his hair. “You're fucking killing me here.”

  “Hang on,” he said, continuing to kiss until he reached my belly button. Slightly irritated, I released the grip on his hair and shifted my body, trying to relieve some of the frustration from down below. His palms on my stomach didn’t help with my moving, and I averted to gripping my sheets desperately.

  I released a huff and concentrated on the ceiling, trying to distract my body from what was going on before it physically turned this all around to have its way. Tristan must have heard the quick release of my breath and he chuckled. “Hang on, baby. I have to do something.”

  “I'm about to beg for sex soon and right now, I'm so fucking horny that I could just finish this quickly.”

  “Don't even think about it, Maya,” he warned, kissing towards my right side. “This is my moment. I plan on spending as much as I can just tasting you.”

  “I'm sure you had that chance like three weeks ago,” I replied, not really sure why we were having a conversation right now.

  He either didn't hear me—or he was just ignoring my retort—but he lightly ran a short line down my right side, before drawing the same line with kisses. Slightly confused by this, I lifted my head, only to be greeted by his blue eyes again as he moved back up my body.

  “What do you want, Maya?” he asked, his lips purposely out of my reach.