Page 21 of Deadmen's Captive

"Guess you were a million miles away." Tristan straightened the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "Everything okay?"

"Fine, just... daydreaming."

"Daydreaming can be dangerous on the high street," he teased. "How about we find somewhere safer to occupy your thoughts? Coffee?"

I hesitated for a moment, wondering why he was asking me. Was I another girl he’d set his sights on, wanting to seduce and abandon like the long list of others I’d heard about? He wouldn’t get far with me before he found himself disappointed. I should have said no, but my mother’s threats were in the back of my mind. She wanted me to date Tristan to get closer to other, more appropriate men. I looked up at his warm smile and guilt filled me. I didn’t like the idea of using him, he seemed so nice. Though I supposed that was what he did, he used girls to get what he wanted, so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

"Sure." The word slipped out before I could think better of it.

His smile widened. “Great. Listen, my car is parked just over there. how about I drop your bags in the boot so you don’t have to carry them, and then we can go for a drink?”

“Sounds good,” I said. I extracted my purse and phone from my backpack, and he took the bag and the shopping bag from the art shop, heading over to a sleek pale blue sports car. I followed him, running my hand over the low bonnet.

“Pretty,” I commented.

Tristan grinned. “Isn’t she? She’s the love of my life. A Porsche 918 Spyder.”

“Lovely,” I said, hoping he thought I had any idea what he was talking about. I knew nothing about cars, but I recognised the Porsche name.

“Yeah, I wanted her for a couple of years, but my father made me work my ass off to buy her,” he said as he locked the car, and we started walking back along the street.

“You got a job? What, like in a bar or something?” I asked.

Tristan laughed. “No, though bar work would be fun. I did some extra projects for my father’s company.”

“Your dad has a tech company, is that right?” I asked, glad Kate had done the research.

He nodded. “Yeah, he’s a tech genius and he passed a few of the genes down, so I’m pretty good with computers too. He has me working in different departments, experimenting with different areas.”

"That sounds impressive," I offered, even though anything beyond sending an email was beyond my comprehension.

Tristan chuckled. "It's not as fancy as it sounds. But it means I get to play with some amazing new gadgets before they hit the market."

“I’m terrible with technology,” I confessed. “My laptop is always freezing on me.”

Tristan laughed, a deep sound that made me feel warm inside. "I could look into that for you," he offered. “You might have a virus or something.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

We’d arrived at the coffee shop and I smiled up at him as he held the door open for me, his hand brushing lightly against my back as I walked in. I was hyper-aware of his touch and found myself blushing once again.

The smell of fresh brewing coffee filled my senses, making my mouth water. We found a small table by the window, away from the hustle and bustle of the main counter.

“Do you know what you want to order?” Tristan asked, his eyes scanning over the chalkboard menu.

“Just a regular one. With milk.”

Tristan raised his eyebrows. “I had you down as drinking something horrifically sweet and full of caffeine.”

I shook my head. “Too many calories.”

“Calories?” His eyes trailed down over the top half of my body, but it didn’t feel lewd at all.

“You don’t seem like you need to worry too much about calories, Paige. And besides, I’m sure you worked out enough last night to cover any naughty treats today.”

His eyes sparkled with mischief and I started to smile, then my smile froze on my face.

“How do you know I worked out last night?” I asked.

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