Promise

reaction to what he said. Or perhaps I was going into complete shock, overwhelmed with everything happening on this insane night.

'You… heal? ' I gasped. The towel jabbed deep, hitting a raw nerve and making me jump. 'Holy crap, ouch !'

'This isn't working,' he said with a sigh. He glanced down at my hand on his leg. My fingernails dug into his thigh.

'Sorry,' I whispered, loosening my grip.

'You're not hurting me , but you are hurting and I don't like that.' I could see my pain reflected in his eyes. He lay the wet towel over the wound, apparently giving up. 'Yes, I heal, among other things. And you, ma lykita , are not. At least, not quickly enough.'

I sighed heavily. 'Call Sophia. She can sew it…I think.'

He shook his head. 'There's no way she's done already. The police can't know you were there and hurt or they'll make you go to the hospital. And you can't do that, right?'

I sighed again. 'Right. So what do we do?'

He stared at my leg for a long moment, seeming to think about our options. Then he placed one of his knees on each side of my legs and leaned over, placing a hand on the floor on each side of me so he knelt on all fours, his face very close to mine.

'You really love me?' he asked with a stunning smile.

I could smell his delicious breath when he spoke. He gazed intensely into my eyes. My mind started to fog.

'I…think so,' I whispered.

'You think ?' He rocked back onto his heels and stared at me.

'Well…you just…you can…you heal ,' I stammered.

'So…that is a deal breaker for you?'

Is it? I couldn't think straight. My thigh throbbed even harder now after he'd been poking around in it. And here he was, all perfect and beautiful and half-naked, straddled over me with that breathtaking smile, his delicious scent enveloping me. I tried to focus. How could I mind him being able to heal? But, I knew, that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was our whole relationship was built on secrets and lies…more than I ever realized.

'Not that you can heal,' I finally said. 'But you didn't tell me.'

He raised an eyebrow.

'You've been holding back, too,' he pointed out. 'We've both known that about each other.'

'I know,' I admitted. 'It's just, well, it seems you've known all my secrets. At least the two biggest ones. You're not surprised at all by my ability to heal. And I know you know Sophia is really my mom.'

There. That's out now. He narrowed his eyes for a second, then nodded. 'You're right. But a secret is a secret. A lie is a lie. You didn't tell me either.'

I lay back on the floor with a groan and stared at the ceiling, tears stinging my eyes again. He's right. Now what? His face came into my vision as he leaned over me again. He smiled and the gold sparkled in his eyes.

'I don't care, though,' he whispered. 'I love you. I've known Sophia for a long time and I know these things about you and I don't care. Even the secrets and the lies. I know it comes with who we are.'

I looked into his eyes and felt my brows knit together.

'I don't even know who we are, though,' I admitted. 'I don't know who I am and I really don't know who you are. I know I have these stupid, freaky things about me and I'm glad you don't care. But you apparently have weird things, too. I love the person I've known for the last several months, but…' My voice trailed off.

'But you want to know the rest of me,' he finished.

' Yes . I want to stop the lies and the secrets. I want a real relationship with you, Tristan. But I need to know .'

His eyes darkened. 'You'll change your mind.'

I shook my head, rocking it on the tile floor. 'I'm not changing my mind. I need to know. For us .'

'I meant about loving me,' he muttered, his eyes dropping so I couldn't see them.

Is it really that bad? I couldn't imagine it being too horrible—he was just too good . Good like Mom good. And I knew he wasn't just good to me, but good for me. Whatever secrets he kept, I thought I could get over them. And regardless, our relationship just couldn't go on any longer like it had been.

'Just tell me,' I whispered. 'Tell me who you are. Tell me everything .'

He raised his eyes and held mine so I knew he was serious, then simply said, 'Okay.'

' Okay? For real?'

'Yes. Okay. You deserve to know…and I'll deal with whatever happens.' He smiled, but it was sad. 'But…'

'Of course there's a 'but',' I moaned.

' But ,' he continued, 'I can't do it alone. You have to get Sophia to agree, too.'

' Why? What does she have to do with it?'

'Well…to understand me, you need to know more about yourself. And only she can tell you that.'

I groaned with frustration. Of course, it had to be the ultimatum I knew would not be met.

'Trust me, she'll do it,' he said.

'I doubt it,' I muttered.

'She knows it's time. She'll do it.' He sounded more confident than he should. I wondered how he could know, but he distracted me with his intense gaze again. 'Right now, though, I really need to know if you love me.'

As I looked into his eyes, I knew what I felt, at least for now. And I didn't know if anything could change my mind.

'Yes, Tristan, I love you.'

He leaned down and kissed me. 'Good. Because I'm going to make you better…but now things are going to get really weird.'

Tristan removed the towel from my thigh and I propped myself on my elbows to watch. He lowered his head and placed his mouth over the wound.

The pain immediately subsided, replaced by those strange but pleasurable jolts shooting up and down my leg. His hands gently held my upper thigh and calf, spreading electric tingles along my skin, as his mouth moved around the edges of the gash like passionate kisses. It was the most sensual thing we'd done so far—this was so unlike him. He looked up at me, sparks in his eyes.

'There's so much blood,' he groaned quietly.

He lowered his mouth again and I felt a stimulating, tugging sensation as he sucked. A distant voice way back in a far corner of my mind tried to tell me something, but I ignored it. I wanted his mouth on me, doing whatever he was doing because it felt so good . Warmth spread through my lower body, his hands caressing my leg. I'd never had an orgasm before, so I didn't know what it felt like. But I thought this might be close.

'Tristan!' Mom gasped, suddenly behind him in the hallway, yanking me out of the oblivion.

'Oh! What the hell are you doing?' I shrieked, lurching my whole body away from him.

I stared at him, my eyes bugged as I realized exactly what he'd been doing. My stomach tilted. He stared back at me, an unreadable expression on his face, the sparks in his eyes dimming to just gold flecks.

'Tristan, what were you doing?' Mom asked.

'He was sucking my blood like a freakin' vampire !' I answered for him.

Tristan actually laughed. Laughed .

'I thought you liked vampires,' he said.

'Not for real! Is that what you thought? That I'd like it?! You're a bigger freak than I am!'

He shook his head as he rocked back on his heels at my feet, a smile still on his face.

'I didn't purposely suck your blood. It was just…in the way.' The smile disappeared as he turned to look at Mom. 'She's not healing, Sophia. At least not fast enough. I was trying to help.'

'What? You think your saliva heals? Like a dog ?' I snarled.

'Actually, yes…it does,' Tristan said quietly. I stared at him, waiting for the humor to return. It didn't.

'He's right,' Mom confirmed with a nod.

' What? ' I shrieked. 'How do you know?'