“Riston, what’s going on?”
“Go,” he said, refusing to look at me.
Puzzled, I reached for him. “Riston?”
He growled and Eric pushed me back. “Take her and go,” he said to Branson.
Branson took my arm and I reached for Riston. “I’m sorry.”
He let out a soft laugh but didn’t turn to face me. “Go see to your vampire, Lynn.”
“Riston, please just look at me.”
Eric shook his head lightly with a sad look on his face. “Go, I’ll make sure he gets home.”
“I’m sorry about everything. I shouldn’t have blamed you. I know that you....”
Riston turned his head and glared out through pits of icy blue. His eyes were so light that they almost looked white. He curled his lip, revealing a set of teeth that were anything but human. “Go see to your vampire. As soon as he’s feeling better he can break that bond for you.”
“RJ.”
“What?” he asked, snarling as he did.
“I wasn’t lying.”
“You weren’t lying about what?”
“I really do love you.” Not wanting to see his disgust for me, I turned quickly and went with Branson.
“You have no idea what love is, Lynn.” He squared his shoulders. “Go back to your own life.”
Chapter Ten
I pulled into my driveway and couldn’t help but stare at Riston’s house. There was no sign of him. I exhaled and decided it was safe to stop white-knuckling the steering wheel. As I opened my car door I sensed someone close by. Turning, I found Amber standing there, her face blank but her emotions raging enough on the inside that I could actually feel it. It didn’t surprise me. I’d earned it.
“Here to stay or stopping in to pick of a few things before you disappear for another three and half months? Hey, why not go for seven years?”
“Hi, Amber.”
“Hi Amber? That’s all I get?” She put her hand on her jean-clad hip and folded her arms across her chest. The light blue sweater she wore looked great on her but I didn’t think it was a good time to point that out. “You leave, again and that’s all you have to say to me?”
“Aunt Karri!” Hilary shouted, running across the street with a ponytail bouncing madly as she came.
Amber stilled. “Go home, Hilary.”
“No,” she said, plain as day. “I told you that she’s come back. I told you that she wouldn’t miss my birthday party.”
“Honey, I don’t think Karri came back for that.”
I winked at Hilary as I walked to the back of my car and opened the trunk. Reaching in, I pulled out a large wrapped box. It was heavier than I’d been lifting and had been placed in the trunk by Matty.
“Hey, let me help you with that.” The sound of Eric’s voice was music to my ears. He pushed in and took the present from me. “Geesh, tell me that you didn’t get her a ton of bricks.”
I laughed. “I didn’t. I promise.”
“Eric, don’t stand there like nothing happened,” Amber spat.
He glanced at me and then towards Amber. “It’s not our business, Amber. It’s between them. Leave it that way.”
She shook her head. “No. You can’t stand there and tell me that. Not when you’re the one who has to convince Riston to come out of his house anymore. To bother to live. You’re the one who has had to shoulder everything because she left him a wreck. How could you just leave, Karri?”
A slight breeze blew past, reminding me that summer was nearing an end. I shivered and second guessed my decision to wear a long, gypsy-like red skirt. The long-sleeved white peasant blouse I wore was loose fitting and provided a bit of protection from the cool breeze.
Eric sighed. “She left because he told her to, Amber.”
“Uncle Riston was being a bird head,” Hilary said, shocking all of us.
“Hilary.”
Eric laughed. “Well, she has a point.” He nodded towards the bags in my trunk. “Let me take this over to the party and I’ll help you in with all of that.”
“Thank you.”
“Eric.” Amber stood rooted in place looking as though she wanted to spit fire.
Eric swallowed hard and cast me a wary glance. “This is going to leave me being yelled at for weeks but, Amber, knock the attitude off and spend some time with your best friend.” He looked down at Hilary. “Come on, pumpkin, we need to get back to your party.”
“But isn’t Karri coming?”
I glanced at Amber. “I’ll be over in a minute, sweetie.”
“Are you here to stay?” she asked, touching her father’s leg.
I held Amber’s gaze. “That’s not up to me anymore. But I’d like to stay.”
Hilary smiled wide as she walked back across the street with Eric. Amber on the other hand, didn’t crack even a slight smile. No. She gave me a hard look and for a minute I thought she’d yell. She didn’t. Instead, she cried.
The instant I saw her tears I went to her and wrapped my arms around her tight. As she went t me, her hand brushed over my stomach and she let out a choked laugh. “I see you finally started eating. It’s about time you....” She stopped and stared up at me through her tear filled eyes. “Karri, are you?”
I nodded and couldn’t help but tear up a bit too. I lifted my blouse a bit, revealing my slightly swollen abdomen and she squealed. “Holy shit! You really are. Oh God, you need to tell Riston. Come on.”
Amber tried to pull me across the street but I stopped her. “Amber, no.”
“No? Karri, he’s the father, right?”
Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. “Of course he’s the father but wait a minute. I want to talk to him privately, not in front of all the birthday party guests. Okay?”
She nodded. “Sorry, I’m just excited. Gawd, I’m going to be an Aunt. You’re going to be a mommy. I can’t believe this.”
“Yes you are. And you’re also going to be a godmother.”
Her eyes lit as she hugged me again. “Here I am yelling at you and ... hey, you should have called and told me.”
“I needed time to think. Time to get things in order.” And heal, but I didn’t tell her that.
Her brow furrowed. “Get things in order? Like what?”
“Like, quitting my job or rather, stepping down as team leader and handing it over to Seger.” I smiled as she hugged me tighter. “You were right, I don’t need to work and I refuse to put,” I ran my hand over my stomach, “anyone else’s life at risk.”
“Are you really back for good?”
I shrugged. “That depends on you. If you’ll let me back into your life, I’d like to stay.”
“Karri, of course I will. In fact, I’ve never shut you out of my life.” She gave me a good squeeze before she let go of me. “You know, Riston isn’t doing so good.”
My chest tightened at the mere mention of his name. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that he’s worse than when Paula died, Karri. He shuts himself away for weeks at a time and no one can get through to him. He even stopped going on missions. Eric’s concerned. We all are. I know he told you to go but the fact that he has fallen apart should tell you that he didn’t want you to.”
I kept my head held high even though all I really wanted to do was hang it and cry. “We should get over to the party. I meant to be here an hour ago but traffic was heavy.”
“You’re changing the subject,” Amber said, not cutting me any slack.
“And you’re very perceptive.”
I took her hand in mine and headed towards Eric’s house. The sound of music and laughter filled the air the closer we got to the backyard. As we headed around the house balloons and streamers seemed to be everywhere. Hilary spotted me and was running straight towards me before I could even get my bearings.
Amber stepped in front of me and caught her a second before she would have slammed into me. “Hey there, birthday girl, take it easy.”
“Aunt Karri, come show my friend M
indy how you can flip around like me.”
“Oh, umm, Aunt Karri can’t do that now,” Amber said, clearing her throat. “Go play with your friends. It’s present time soon.”
“But ... ?” Hilary’s smile fell.
I put my hand out and touched her cheek. “I missed you and I missed seeing you do your flips. Have you been practicing what I showed you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How about you head back and play with your friends and I’ll come over in a little bit to see how good you are it at now?”
She beamed. “Okay.”
Amber took my arm in hers. “I’m going to steal Karri to help me in the kitchen.”
Hilary seemed to accept that excuse as she ran off to play with her friends. Amber led me towards the back porch. I glanced around the large yard and stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted Riston with his back to me, flipping hamburgers on the grill.”
I watched as he stood there, a beer in one hand and spatula in the other. Any other man would look like he was doing something not too out of the ordinary but for Riston to be drinking beer it meant he wanted to sleep--wanted to forget.
“Uncle Riston, look at this,” Hilary yelled as she and her friends did summersaults.
As he turned he head to watch her, I saw that he’d stopped shaving and had a full beard. He had also apparently given up cutting his hair because it was to his ears. While he didn’t look bad, he didn’t look like the Riston I’d last left.
“Good job, sweetie,” he said, his voice lacking any real emotion.
It broke my heart to see him that way. I would have gone straight to him but I wasn’t sure if he’d cause a scene or not. We’d parted on bad terms. So bad that he’d been partially shifted when he told me to get out of his life.
“Go to him,” Amber whispered.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to cause any problems, Amber. I’ll talk to him after the party. Let’s just go in and finish what needs to be done in the kitchen and I’ll tell him I’m here in a little bit.”
“Aunt Karri, Aunt Karri, are you coming to watch me flip now? I told everyone you’d come but they didn’t believe me. Uncle Riston said that he didn’t think you’d ever come back--ever. I told him he was wrong. I said you’d come and you did.”
Amber snickered. “Or, Hilary could just announce that you’re here now.”
Riston stood tall and turned ever so slowly. Our eyes locked and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even think. He didn’t have his glasses on so there was nothing between his blue eyes and me. The way he stared at me left me feeling like he wasn’t pleased to see me. I’m not sure what it was I’d expected him to do when he saw me again but just staring at me wasn’t it.
“Go to him, Karri.”
“He doesn’t really look like he wants me to, Amber. I’m not about to piss him off in front of a backyard full of guests. It’s fine. I’ll, umm,” the threat of tears hit me hard, “I think I’ll head back across the street for a little bit. This was a bad idea. I....”
Amber touched my arm lightly. “Karri, go to him. You know you want to, don’t you?”
“More than you’ll ever know.”
“Then go.” She gave me a tiny push but I held my ground.
“Amber, he looks like he hates me. I can’t....”
Hilary waved her hands madly. “Aunt Karri, come on!”
I backed up a bit. “Oh gods, Amber. What was I thinking? I can’t do this. I can’t face him and hear him tell me to go again. I just had to see him. I had to know he’s okay. I....”
“You are forgetting that he’s a lycan and can hear every word you’re saying,” Amber said, drawing me out of my mini-freak out. She was right.
Looking up, I found that Riston was no longer manning the grill, Seaton was. He wagged his brows at me and nodded his head. Confused, I scanned the yard for Riston but didn’t find him. Instantly, my stomach churned and I had to take a deep, calming breath. “He left. Amber, I didn’t mean to hurt him. I swear I didn’t. I only asked Jean-Paul to break our bond because I didn’t want Riston to die. I never did it because I didn’t want him. That wasn’t it at all. I swear to you that I love him and didn’t mean to hurt him.”
Amber seized hold of my arms. “What do you mean that you wanted your bond broke because you didn’t want Riston to die? I thought he’s immortal.”
“He is.” A sinking feeling came over me and I knew that I couldn’t hold it together any longer. Turning to run, I slammed into something big and hard. Large arms wrapped around me as I went backwards, preventing me from falling. As I looked up I found myself staring into a pair of crisp blue eyes.
Riston stared down at me, his face neutral. “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I said, without thought.
“Aunt Karri!” Hillary called out.
Riston ran his hand down my arm slowly. “I tried to explain that you aren’t her aunt but she doesn’t want to hear that.”
“Why am I not her aunt?” I asked, doing my best to keep from throwing myself into his arms.
A puzzled look came over his face. “Uhh, because you had your vampire friend, who, by the way, I heard made it thanks to your blood, break our bond, Karri. That means you divorced me the same day I took you as my wife.”
“Who did you hear that I gave Jean-Paul blood from?”
He motioned towards Seaton. “I sent him to check on you, after I,” he averted his gaze, “lost my temper and said things I didn’t mean. Things I was too late to take back, Kars.”
“So Seaton told you that I gave Jean-Paul blood, okay. I understand that because I did. William had spent so many years feeding me poisons that I was sure I’d been exposed and had overcame whatever Drogo gave Jean-Paul and I was right. But what makes you think I’m not Hilary’s aunt?”
He sighed. “Come on, Karri, you know as well as I do that when you had Jean-Paul sever the bond between us that....”
I pressed my fingers to his lips, rendering him silent. “Riston, answer a question for me.”
He nodded.
“Do you understand why I asked him to do that?”
As he closed his eyes and exhaled I could feel his pain. Oh, he knew. I was right. He’d been in the room the night PJ had visited. He’d heard everything. He nodded.
“Then you should be happy that I asked, right?”
Shaking his head, he took my hand from his mouth and held it to his now bearded cheek. “No, Kars. No part of me is glad that you did it. I took you as my wife, to love for always, regardless how long or short that is.”
“Is it possible for a mate to lay claim to his significant other a second time?”
He looked as though he was in actual pain and that made my chest hurt even more. “Not if his mate had the connection purposely severed of her own free will. If she did that then he can never take her as his wife again.”
“Whew.”
Amber and Riston stared at me like I’d lost my mind. I smiled wide. “Damn good thing I didn’t let Jean-Paul go through with breaking your bond with me then.”
The wide-eyed look I got from Amber told me exactly how shocked she was. As I directed my attention to Riston I realized that her reaction paled in comparison to his. “Riston, are you upset that I didn’t have him do it?”
He lifted me high into the air so fast that my stomach felt like it dropped. “Are you serious? You didn’t have him ... ? We’re not ... ? You’re still my ... ?”
Laughing, I stared down at him. “Yes, I’m serious. I didn’t have him do it. We’re not divorced and yes, I’m still your wife.” I hesitated. “That is, I’m still your wife if you want me to be. I can understand completely if you’re not willing to risk....”
Riston brought me down fast and held me tight to him as he captured my lips with his. Thrusting his tongue into my mouth, he covered me in his power sending the mystical threads that I’d never allowed to be broken into a frenzy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned his kiss wit
h all that I had, letting my tongue trace his. My entire body responded to him. My nipples hardened, my inner thighs tingled and my pussy grew damp with each swipe of his tongue over mine. My heart beat madly, thumping wildly as I ran my fingers through his hair and his beard bit at my face.
“Umm, guys, kids are here and they are all watching the two of you,” Amber said, laughing slightly under her breath.
Riston groaned. “Mmm,” he kissed me again, “I don’t want to stop. Tell them to go away.”
Laughing, I cupped the sides of his scruffy, beard covered face and pulled back from him. “It’s our niece’s birthday.”
He smiled wide. “Our niece. I like the sound of that, Kars.”
“If you like the sound of that imagine how you’ll like the sound of being called....” Amber paused as I shook my head. “Umm, being called a happy guy again. Boy o’ boy for a while there we were just calling you hermit.”
Smooth.
Something tugged on my skirt and I glanced down to find Hilary standing there. She smiled wide and I noticed that her front teeth were almost all the way in. “You looked like you really like kissing a lycan.”
Reaching down, I ran my hand through her ponytail. “Well, birthday girl, I really like kissing your uncle so I guess that’s a big yes.”
“Will you come and show my friends how you flip?” she asked, this time sounding even more desperate.
“Honey, I’m wearing a skirt and this time I don’t have shorts on under it so I’m going to have to pass right now. Plus, I haven’t been doing much flipping around lately.” I traced a line down her cheek and tapped the tip of her button nose.
“Why not?”
Riston cupped my hand in his as I answered, “Because I’ve been very tired lately and have to take it a little bit easier now. The doctor told me to cut down on my flipping for a little bit.”
“Doctor?” Riston asked, concern lacing his voice. “Karri, no. We’ll fix this. I know we can.” He pulled me to him and hugged me tight.
I tried to pull back from him but he kept a death grip on me. I tapped on his arm. “Riston, you’re cutting off my breathing.”
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