"What are you going to do if she is?" she demanded.
"I'll figure that out when the time comes."
"Ethan..."
"That's enough Isabelle," Stefan interrupted kindly. "Ethan is well aware of what being mated entails, if that's even what this is. There's no reason to harp on it until he knows for sure."
Ethan gave Stefan a grateful nod before focusing on his sister again. "See, there's nothing to be concerned about." It wasn't exactly the truth, but her worry wasn't going to do any of them any good. He stepped forward and squeezed her shoulder. "I'll see you later."
"Where are you going now?" she inquired.
"You do realize you are the younger sibling right?" he reminded her.
"Just a question."
"I'm taking Emma away for the day, I've found a place on the island that I think she'll enjoy."
"Oh ok," she muttered but she didn't look at all appeased.
Ethan slapped Stefan on the arm as he walked out of the kitchen. He grabbed the helmets that were sitting next to the door and hurried down to the motorcycle parked against the curb. Stefan had told him it was in the garage a couple of days ago, and since he knew traffic was often congested on the island, he'd decided to grab it for today. He hoped Emma didn't have a problem with riding on a bike, but if she did they could always come back for the Jeep or even rent a scooter. The idea of having her hold onto him as he drove through the island had been too tempting to refuse though.
CHAPTER 10
Emma eyed the motorcycle warily as she stepped out the door with Ethan. She'd never ridden on one before and though it had always looked like fun, she'd never really pictured herself doing it. However, until she'd met Ethan there was a lot she'd never really pictured herself doing before but would be willing to try now, including riding a bike.
"Are you going to be alright on this?" he inquired when they stopped beside the bike.
She took the deep blue helmet from his hands and settled it on her head. It was probably going to give her some major helmet head but it would be worth it to ride behind him. "I've never done it before but it looks like fun and it can't be much different than a four wheeler."
He nudged her hands aside when she fumbled with the strap and buckled it under her chin. "I think your friends are watching us," he told her as he made sure the strap was tight.
"Oh I'd bet on it!"
"Are they trying to make sure you're safe?"
"Nope, they're just nosy, but I love them."
He chuckled as he tapped the sides of the helmet. She looked adorable with the large helmet on her head and her hair curling out around the sides of it. He briefly contemplated forgoing the trip and taking her back inside to spend the rest of the day in bed, but he wanted to take her somewhere that they could be alone, have some fun, and do something she might like.
"All set," he told her and stepped away. He put on a red helmet before settling onto the seat. He held his hand out to her and she took hold of it. "Swing your leg over." Emma was careful not to kick the bike as she swung her leg up and over it. It was taller than she had expected, but with Ethan's help she was able to settle herself onto the seat behind him. "Wrap your arms around me."
Emma moved a little closer to him and slid her arms around his waist. She gasped when he grabbed hold of her arms and tugged her forward until she was snug against his back. "I'll only bite if you ask me too," he told her with a wink.
That wink, and the images his words conjured in her mind, caused her heart to do a strange little flutter in her chest that the heat of his body against hers did nothing to ease. She realized if she didn't watch herself here she could fall head over heels for this magnificent man as she continued to hold his amused gaze.
"I'll have to remember that," she told him and forced herself to relax against his back.
"Please do." Ethan heard the hoarseness of his voice but he couldn't help it. Not when thoughts of biting her and tasting her were churning through his mind.
"Where are we going?" she asked him.
"It's a surprise," he told her.
She continued to hold his gaze until he turned away to start the bike. A delicious shiver worked its way through her as her breasts pressed firmly against the muscles of his back. They strained against her as he fired up the bike and pulled away from the curb. He kept his speed under the thirty-five kilometer speed limit as they drove down the road on the left hand side. She was glad she wasn't driving as even watching him do it was disconcerting to her; she had to fight the urge to jerk him back to the other side of the road when cars and scooters approached.
Even at their relatively slow speed, the wind rushing around her and blowing her hair back gave her a sense of freedom that she found enthralling. It was taking everything she had not to release his waist and throw her arms out to the side as he weaved expertly in and out of traffic. She couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her as they hit an open expanse of road and he opened the bike up a little more.
Over his shoulder, she watched as the world rushed by in a blur that made her eyes water but she still wished that they could go even faster. The motorcycle eased back as they came to a highly congested area of traffic. Though she wanted the speed again she found she wasn't disappointed as she nestled closer to him and rested her cheek against his back. He smelled of Irish Spring soap and the fresh ocean air that had just been blowing around them. Coming to a complete stop behind a line of vehicles, he put his foot down. His hand rested against her joined ones on his waist while he waited for traffic to start moving again.
Yes, she could most certainly lose her heart to him she thought as a feeling of peace and security stole through her.
It took some time but eventually he found a parking spot and stopped the bike. Emma reluctantly slid her arms away from his waist and climbed off of the bike to examine the area. She pulled the helmet off and shook out her hair before trying to finger comb out the helmet hair she knew she had to have. It didn't matter; she would take a bad hair day every day for the rest of the year if it meant she got to climb onto that bike, with him, again.
"Have fun?" he asked as he settled the helmets onto the back of the bike and locked them into place with a chain.
"I could do that every day," she said honestly.
"I'll have to remember that."
She wasn't entirely sure how to take that but she wasn't going to spend all day trying to puzzle it out either. With him, she could simply just be and that was exactly what she intended to do as they walked down the street together. "Can you tell me where we're going now?" she inquired.
He pointed up the hill to a large house set in the center of an open green field, surrounded by a massive stonewall that overlooked the ocean. Large cannons were positioned to face the sea on the hill around the house. It was an old military fort, she realized. "It's the Bermuda Maritime Museum," he explained. "I thought you'd like to look around it."
Emma couldn't find her voice for a minute as tears suddenly began to burn her eyes. The urge to cry was silly but he'd remembered her love of history. It was one of the sweetest and most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for her. She blinked back the tears as she focused upon him once more. "I'd love to," she said honestly.
He took hold of her hand as he led her toward the large front gates and the ticket booth tucked within the rock walls. She took hold of a map as he paid for the tickets and they entered the museum. They explored the grounds and the small waterfall as they made their way toward the old keep at the top of the hill.
The smell of must assailed her as they stepped into the cool and shadowed interior of the massive home. All of the windows had been opened to allow the breeze to drift through the home. The dark wooden floor beneath her feet creaked as they moved through the rooms of the building. She examined all of the pictures hanging on the walls and read the plaques beneath them that told about the history of Bermuda and the events that had taken place here. She ran her fingers over the large tables and chairs that f
illed many of the rooms, examined the coin collection, book collections, and spent nearly two hours admiring everything within each room of the house.
Ethan remained patiently by her side as she explored every inch of the seemingly endless home. If he'd been with anyone else he probably would have been bored out of his mind and left by now, but he relished in her endless fascination of the things within the house and her enthusiasm as she excitedly told him about the things she was reading on the plaques. She really did have a sincere fervor for history and he was incredibly glad that he'd found out about this place after their talk on the boat.
Stepping onto the balcony that ran around the entire upper floor with her, he stared across the glimmering aqua sea to the cruise ship parked at the wharf. People walked about the house below them but he didn't pay them any attention as he stood behind Emma and slid his arms around her waist. Resting his chin on her head, he watched the boats and jet skis skimming across the water as he savored in this moment and this woman.
"This is amazing, thank you for bringing me here," she said.
"Anytime, you actually make history enjoyable."
She laughed as she turned to face him. He kissed her cheek and took hold of her hand as he led her back into the building, downstairs, and outside again into the powerful rays of the sun. They walked a different pathway down to the pool where the dolphins and sea turtle were kept. Emma's face was filled with delight as she watched the mother and baby dolphins swimming through the water and then the sea turtle as it was being fed. After a half an hour they moved on to explore the rest of the fort.
They walked through a couple of side tunnels before climbing up to stand beside the massive cannons. He'd brought his phone to take photos with and snapped pictures as she posed and smiled. A passing tourist offered to take their picture together and he gladly accepted, which was something he'd never done before, but no matter what happened he knew he would always want a picture of the two of them together. They went through another building that told of the wild animals on the island and the numerous shipwrecks around it before exiting the gate.
He kept hold of her hand as they explored the shops and peeked in the windows of the stores in the area. There were so many beautiful and unique things that she would like to take home with her but the limited space in her suitcases, and the limited funds in her wallet, kept her from picking up most of it.
Ethan was examining a chess set carved from stone as she stopped before a dress that was a deep purple and swirled through with vivid blues and greens. The sleeves were short and off the shoulder, the waist cinched and high. She ran the soft material through her fingers before grabbing hold of the price tag. Her eyes widened at the price and she dropped it as if it had burned her. She cast one last look at the dress before strolling over to join Ethan by the board.
"Do you play?" she inquired.
He shook his head as he straightened away from the board. "My father does though and I think he'd really like this. I'll come back and buy it for him when we're ready to leave."
"You're really close with your family," she said as they exited the store.
"I am."
It was strange to hear him be so open about it. Tristan had always hated to talk about his family, the only time he would mention them was if she asked a question, and even then he'd been terse and uninformative. She'd never met his parents and she wasn't sure if he had any siblings. He'd mentioned a sister once, but she'd gotten the impression that she may have been dead as he'd spoken about her in the past tense.
Emma slid her hand into Ethan's again as they made their way through a few more stores before stopping at a restaurant. "Ready to take a break and get something to eat?" he asked.
"Am I ever," she told him. Her stomach was rumbling and though she was wearing her comfortable pair of flip-flops, her feet were tired. It would be nice to sit down and take a break for a little bit.
The restaurant was crowded when they stepped inside. Ethan stopped at a little desk to talk with the pretty brunette hostess standing behind it. Emma couldn't hear what they were saying over the noise of the place, but she could see the lustful gleam in the woman's eyes as her gaze ran eagerly over him. Anger simmered through Emma, she wrapped her hand around Ethan's arm and took a step closer to him. The woman didn't even glance at her as she started to shake her head but then began to nod along for some reason.
The woman grabbed two menus and gestured for them to follow her. He'd had to use his power of persuasion in order for the woman to give them one of the reserved tables in the packed place. Keeping hold of Emma's hand he stayed protectively in front of her as he led her through the crowd to a deck at the rear of the building. A young man stumbled back and almost bumped into Emma but Ethan managed to move her out of the way in time. He shot the man a look that made him blanch and hurry back toward his friends. Emma didn't seem to notice though as she was looking at the photographs of fishermen and boats lining the wall on their left.
She inhaled the fresh salt air as they stepped onto the large deck. The sea breeze drifted over them and blew the hair back from her face. The hostess sat them at a table in the corner, placed the menus on the table and cast one last lingering glance at Ethan before she hurried away. Emma had no idea how he had managed to get them such amazing seats so quickly but she loved it.
"I could get used to this." Ethan folded his arms over his chest as she placed her hands on the rail of the banister and leaned over to stare at the water. "There's a lot of fish down there," she said excitedly.
Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight when she turned toward him. Something inside of his chest constricted, his hands fisted as he fought the urge to grab her and kiss her. He knew that one kiss wouldn't be enough though and he really didn't think Emma, or anyone in this restaurant, would appreciate anything more than that. Instead, he simply enjoyed watching her as she rose and leaned over the banister to look at the water below.
It amazed him how much joy she found in life. He hadn't realized until now just how much he had taken it all for granted. She danced in the rain and gushed over the fish because to her life was finite and every second of it was to be savored. History fascinated her because one day she would be one of the human ghosts she read about and others would be walking in her footsteps. He'd never been careless about life, but since he was old enough to understand, he'd known that mortality wasn't a concern for him. He'd never been as enchanted with life as she was.
Until now.
What he found enchanting now was her. He admired her backside as she leaned further over the railing and pointed at something that caused the young boy who had joined her to smile up at her. Ethan understood why the child had been drawn to her, she was impossible to resist as her laughter ensnared him and her smile warmed even the coldest recesses of his soul.
Drawn forth by the overwhelming need to touch her, to share in her happiness, he rose from his chair and walked over to join her. He slid his arm around her waist and pressed his chest against her back as he leaned over her to look into the clear water below. The honeysuckle scent of her drifted up to him as she turned her head to smile at him. He was unable to resist dropping a kiss on her silken cheek.
He'd thought that finding his mate would frighten him and, make no mistake, he was terrified about what might unfold between them. He was a monster, he survived on blood and the compulsion to kill was always with him. What would she do when she found out?
His arm tightened on her at the thought, something sinister rippled just beneath his surface. She might run screaming from him and he wouldn't blame her if she did, but he didn't know what kind of reaction that would illicit from him. He couldn't think of that now, if he did he wasn't sure he could stop himself from dragging her out of here and forcing the change upon her.
He would despise himself forever if he did that. If there ever came a time when he told her the truth about himself, and she ran away screaming, he would let her go. He would set her free to enjoy the rest of her
life. There was no way he would ever take from her the simple bliss that encompassed her, no matter what the consequences for him might be.
He nuzzled her neck and leaned over to look as the boy pointed at a silver fish darting through the water. He held onto her waist as she climbed onto the bottom railing and leaned over the top rail to look beneath the deck. The boy wasn't much smaller than she was as he climbed up to join her.
"Teddy, get down from there!" a woman scolded. She grabbed hold of the boy's hand, shot the two of them a look, and hurried away from them with her child.
Emma had to bite on her inner lip to keep from laughing as she turned toward Ethan. "Are you going to yell at me too?" she whispered.
His hands slid over her waist and up to her belly. "I don't think it would do any good."
She hopped off the railing and grinned at him as she turned in his arms. "It probably wouldn't," she admitted.
He kept his arms locked around her waist as her back rested against the rail. Her legs were stretched out between his, her hands rested on his stomach. If she had the foggiest idea of what she did to him, she would move those hands; instead they began to make small circles over him. Her hands clenched in his shirt as he leaned over her and pressed a kiss against her lips.
Her mouth opened to the questing probe of his tongue. His hands clasped either side of her face, he held her tenderly as he tasted her in a tantalizing dance of his tongue that caused her heart rate to skyrocket. He might have found some satisfaction in the fact that he affected her so much, if she didn't do the same exact thing to him.
Her eyes were filled with awe when he pulled away from her. "I think we should probably sit before we give the people here a show," he told her.
Emma didn't particularly care what the people around them thought when he was standing so close to her. "I think we may have already given them a show," she said with a laugh.
Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) Page 10