She swallowed hard and got to her feet, furrowing her brows.
He continued, “It doesn’t feel like I have to get pissed off to lose it. It doesn’t feel like I have to taste or smell blood, even, for this Hyde to get out. It feels like it’s just below the surface, just. My physical strength has almost doubled in intensity and there are new ones. And it, whatever monster you woke up, is very close to the surface right now, always, but especially right now, like I’m sharing my body with someone else, someone who wants to take over,” he swallowed hard, “We have to get to Adrian’s, figure out what I’m really dealing with here. Then we can go from there.”
“You’re going to spend the next few days with me, not drinking my blood, not having sex at all?”
He shook his head, “I almost lost it this morning. More than once. I can’t.”
“Tristan, maybe I should just hide. I’ll stay here. You go. Go to Arizona. Then come get me when it’s all figured out. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be in close proximity if, if…”
If I don’t even know if you’re about to lose control!
“I’m not leaving you.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“I won’t take off. I promise.”
“I know that. It’s not that. I won’t leave you unprotected.”
“Then let’s fly. We’ll be there in a few hours.”
“No, no paper trail. It’s bad enough someone can find out I crossed the border from the ferry manifest. I didn’t have time to get us new identities.”
“But what if you can’t hold it in?” She flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He flopped beside her.
Something rose in her, “Maybe I can help you control it,” she said.
He was about to speak and he didn’t look happy.
“Hear me out.” She put her index finger over his lips and started to speak quickly, “I think I talked you down last time. It might’ve been the tranquilizers but it might’ve been me. You remembered what I said and as soon as I said it, you were becoming you again. Maybe if you…” she shrugged, “I could---” He grabbed her wrist and flipped so that he was pinning her on a bed.
His eyes darkened, “You think you can control this? I’m not sure how much longer I can fucking control this!”
He stared at her for a beat and then blew his hair out of his eyes, rolled off her and got to the floor and started to do push-ups.
What’s wrong with me?
Kyla knew she sounded ridiculous, asking him to put her at risk like this. She sounded like a junkie begging for a hit. She decided to just shut up. She stared at his muscular back for a second. His muscles flexed as he went up and down and up and down. She imagined being underneath him as he did that. She shook herself back to reality when she heard him growl her name.
“Get out of my head,” she told him, covering her eyes.
“If I knew how…” he mumbled and started doing the push-ups faster.
“Would you? If you knew how?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
There was a pregnant pause. She got to her feet, “I’m going for a bath.”
She figured it’d be a good idea to leave him alone for a few minutes.
“Wait. That scent is nagging at me. I need to know what it’s from. I need to make sure. Follow me.”
“Huh?”
“Now,” he growled and grabbed her hand and the room key card and then they left their room and headed toward the front office. Tristan got right in the space of the desk clerk, a young guy, maybe 25, who looked like he desperately needed a shower.
“Who was in our room?”
The clerk went into what Kyla could see was an instant trance,
“Marabelle. Maid.”
“Where is she?” Tristan demanded.
The clerk pointed to a hallway adjacent to the front desk.
Tristan moved in that direction, taking Kyla with him. Down the long hall were a few closed doors and one was slightly open. They stepped in. It was a utility room with motel supplies and a washer and dryer. There was a woman in a maid’s uniform putting towels into a washing machine. She turned around and her expression on Tristan was instantly carnal.
She had short dark hair cut in a pixie style and big hazel eyes. Tristan let Kyla’s hand go and got instantly in her space. He sniffed close to her hair and Kyla felt every hair on her body rise.
The woman’s eyes went hooded and her lips parted. She looked like she was ready to be kissed.
“You were in our room. Why?” Tristan said to the woman.
Kyla felt prickling at the back of her neck at how close Tristan was to the maid.
“I was just ensuring you had everything,” she replied and looked at Tristan like she wanted to eat him for breakfast.