Promise

better. Stefan said he thought it fine for us to stay, but he'd discuss it with the council and let us know.

'I would highly recommend…well, insist … you stay out of Key West,' Stefan said as he stood to leave. 'You well know that is a prime hunting area for the Daemoni.'

'Yes, it's a favorite stomping ground for them,' Tristan said, making my spine tingle unpleasantly. 'Don't worry. I'd rather they don't know we're even in the vicinity.'

We walked Stefan outside and after saying good-bye, he walked off into a mess of trees and brush. I had no idea where he went from there. While we were outside, Tristan showed me around the three-acre property, complete with its own small, private beach. He said our property shared the tiny key with four other homes. Most people driving through wouldn't even know there were homes at all—it looked like a wild jumble of overgrown vegetation from the highway.

The house was a big square, raised on stilts, with the ground level intended for storage. It had a light gray metal roof and darker bluish-gray stucco siding with white trim. The screened balcony off the family room and Caribbean room stretched across the full west side of the house. I hadn't yet explored the two other bedrooms and bathroom on the east side.

'This wasn't one of your models,' I pointed out.

'No, this is just a beach house. Those models were dream homes.'

'I can't imagine anything better than this,' I said. 'When did you do it? I never even knew.'

'Hmm…I did the drawings last August…when I met you.' He smiled down at me. 'They broke ground in March…after you said 'yes.' I had to push hard to get it done in time since we kept moving the date up, but they did it. The important stuff, anyway. There are a few things they need to finish up.'

'Whoever they are, you'll have to thank them for me.' I slid my arm around his waist and pressed against him as we walked up the stairs. 'And you…well, I'll never be able to thank you enough.'

'You already have, my love. More than you can ever know.' He gave me a squeeze and kissed the top of my head.

'So what are we doing today?' I asked as we entered the cool house, a relief from the heat outside.

Tristan glanced at the clock. 'In about two hours, we need to go sign some papers to make this house officially the property of Katie Andrews' trust.'

'So…we have two hours?' I asked, smiling mischievously.

'Hmm…that's what I'm talking about.' He returned the smile and I led him to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes.

We drove back to Islamorada to an attorney's office to sign papers, Tristan supplying an array of documentation giving us both different names, his as the seller, Katie Andrews as the buyer. Afterward, Tristan took me to a couple boutiques to buy clothes. They were a little too showy for my style, so I let him pick them out as I tried them on. He seemed to enjoy himself as much as a guy could and selected several sundresses. He bought a few things for himself, too, and we stopped for groceries.

Time passed strangely—sometimes charging forward, bringing us toward reality way too quickly, and other times seeming to stand still and it was just the two of us in our own world with no cares. We did what we wanted. We sat on our beach and swam, sometimes skinny dipping. Tristan disappeared for a few minutes one day and came back with snorkeling gear, so we snorkeled around our little beach. Well, I snorkeled; Tristan could hold his breath apparently for hours. We prepared new recipes every night, taking turns choosing what to make. We made love…I lost count how many times, but a lot. We stayed in bed as long as we wanted, just talking.

'When we do have children, how many do you want?' I asked him one morning as we snuggled in bed.

'If it were possible, I'd love to have twenty with you, my love,' he said. 'Making them is a lot of fun.'

' Twenty ? I'd be barefoot and pregnant forever …or at least until the Ang'dora . I was thinking maybe three or four.'

He chuckled. 'Whatever would make you happy would make me happy. However, Amadis daughters usually only have one baby—a daughter. That is all that is needed.'

'Really? Just one?' My heart sunk. 'I want a boy…who is just like you.'

Tristan's brows furrowed. 'Wouldn't be a good idea.'

'What do you mean? You're perfect!' I kissed his chin.

He smiled. ' You are perfect, ma lykita . And I hope our daughter will be just like you. Although, there'll be problems when she gets older, since her old man and her mom seem to have anger issues.'

'Yeah, we'll have to make Stefan or Owen her bodyguard to keep her out of trouble and to keep us from killing any poor, innocent boys.'

'There's no such thing as an innocent boy and that's what I'd be worried about.'

I laughed. 'So…you said we usually have only one baby. Is there any chance I can have a boy?'

'There's a possibility. Boy/girl twins run in your family.'

'Twins? Cool! I wonder what the chances are….'

'I hope not much.' His eyes darkened. 'Trust me—we really don't want a boy.'

'That's not fair. You get your little girl. I just want a little Tristan.'

He grunted. 'If it does happen, we will not name him Tristan Junior.'

'No, we won't,' I agreed. ' You are my Tristan. I just know he'll be like you. But what would you name him?'

He shrugged. 'Never thought about it.'

Of course, I had. 'I've always liked Dorian. I used to use it in my stories a lot.'

He hugged me. 'If you like Dorian, then that will be his name.'

'You're too easy,' I said, returning his squeeze.

'I'm putty in your hands.'

I rolled my eyes. 'What about our daughter's name?'

'Hmm…we don't make that decision. Rina will likely name her. It must carry on the Amadis royalty's tradition.'

I frowned. 'That's not very fair either. We should get to name our own child.'

'We can make suggestions. Alexis had been my idea for you.'

I stared at him open-mouthed. ' Seriously ?'

He nodded, grinning.

'Okay, that's just weird. You named your future wife? '

He laughed. 'We are weird, my love. Rina trusted me even then, had me sit in on council meetings. They asked me my opinion and I gave it to them. It fits you perfectly. It means protector or defender.'

'Yeah, I looked it up once a long time ago and I thought it was an oxymoron for me. At least until I punched that guy in the face. I'm not proud I broke his nose, but no one calls my mom a whore.'

Tristan chuckled and hugged me again. ' Ma lykita. My fierce little protector.'

'And you are my ultimate warrior.'

'I'll fight for you until the end of my days.'

'That would be forever.'

'As long as you are by my side, I hope that is true.'

* * *

We had many similar discussions about our future plans, keeping them on a happy note, avoiding the dark parts threatening our strange lives. It was easy to forget about our dangerous situation, because it felt like we lived in our own personal paradise. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden…before Satan's visit.

By the end of the second week, though, my mood shifted. Classes started soon and the legal wedding approached, too. Unless something changed our plans, we'd have to go home. I cherished our peaceful time at the beach house and didn't want it to end. On the other hand, we both grew a bit antsy, feeling somewhat confined.

'I wish we could go to Key West,' I said at the end of that second week as we ate breakfast. 'It looks like fun.'

'You're not really missing much,' Tristan said. 'And it would definitely not be a good idea for us.'

'I know. I guess I'm just starting to feel a little cooped up here. I don't want to leave, but I'd like to get out for a while.' I pushed the remainder of my pancakes around my plate, the blueberries leaving purple swirls in the syrup.