Page 15 of Fast-Track Fiancé

Nina felt the tension coming off him in waves as Astrid walked away, leaving them both alone. She took a sip of champagne. ‘I didn’t know you were a photographer.’

‘Briefly...a very long time ago. After my uncle’s untimely death I travelled for a while. I dabbled in portrait photography and published some work in a few magazines under a pseudonym.’

She saw the flash of pain in his eyes at the mention of his uncle, and thought of him, travelling the world in his grief and finding beauty where he could. ‘You don’t take photos any more?’

‘No,’ he said simply. ‘Not in the past few years anyway. I still have most of my equipment but... I just don’t have the time any more.’

‘One should always make time for hobbies you enjoy. Or do you only think of finding pleasure in bed these days?’

He smirked. ‘We’ve barely been alone for three minutes and you’ve already mentioned my sex life. That must be a new record. You truly are obsessed.’

‘That’s probably accurate,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘What was that?’

‘Nothing... I was just thinking...you should shoot the photos yourself,’ she blurted, immediately regretting her words when his eyes flashed a warning at her. He shook his head, downing the rest of his champagne flute in one mouthful.

‘It’s just an idea.’ Nina shrugged one shoulder. ‘Astrid is very observant, and she knows that I’m usually quite awkward about these things. It might help to not have a stranger behind the lens.’

‘Nice to know I’m not a stranger now at least.’ He smirked. ‘But no, I have to be back in Paris once the race is through. It’s a prominent magazine, they will have a reputable photographer in charge. You’ll be fine.’

She nodded. ‘Makes sense that you plan to leave so quickly.’

‘Makes sense how exactly?’

‘Well, after I expressed my curiosity in Milan... You’ve kept your distance.’

‘Perhaps I’ve just been busy.’

‘You were flirtatious, until I mentioned that I was not entirely opposed to exploring the attraction between us and then you backed off.’

‘Nina...’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not about to express the same interest again. I have some self-respect, Tristan. It’s just infuriating dealing with people’s assumptions about me. When the truth is utterly laughable.’

‘The truth?’

‘The media have gone from painting me as an ice queen to wondering if I am some kind of secret sex goddess because I’ve “pinned you down”.’

His eyes darkened and he muttered hoarsely, ‘A sex goddess?’

‘It’s the natural fit for a man described as a deity in the bedroom, no?’

‘Sounds like a match made in heaven.’

Nina rolled her eyes, turning to brace her hands against the railing and look out to where the sun was beginning to dip against the horizon, turning the water a beautiful mixture of orange and yellow. She was aware of Tristan moving closer behind her, but, still, her breath caught when she felt his arm brush against hers. He wasn’t touching her, but he wasn’t exactly keeping his distance either. Her skin thrummed in response and she fought the urge to remain still.

‘You believe that me keeping my distance means that I was turned off by your honesty?’

‘Weren’t you?’

A low chuckle escaped his lips and she saw him shake his head gently in her peripheral vision. ‘I find your honesty to be the single most entrancing thing that I’ve encountered in recent memory, Nina Roux.’

She inhaled a soft breath as he moved closer, his eyes raking down over her skin in a look so scorching hot he might as well have been undressing her with his hands.

‘You think I don’t want you?’ he murmured. ‘You think that I don’t obsess over all the reasons that I want to touch you? And all the reasons why giving in to that impulse would ruin us both?’

‘But...why?’

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