Page 11 of The Wedding Ruse

Chapter Six

Tristan felt her breathingeven out and knew Grace had fallen asleep. Reluctantly he rolled over and got out of bed. Never one to sleep immediately after sex, he put the room back to rights after tucking blankets around Grace.

Quietly he rummaged for some clothes in his suitcase and went to shower. This weekend was everything he wanted and more. Grace was amazing, and when she stopped being nervous around him, the conversations they had were amazing.

As he got out of the shower, he heard Grace walking past the door. “I’ll be out in a moment.” He yelled.

Quickly, he finished toweling off and opened the bathroom door to let her know she could have her turn. Instead he saw Grace wrapped in a sheet putting their forgotten dinner on plates in the kitchen.

“Hungry?”

“A little.” She blushed but didn’t look at the floor, and Tristan gave a prayer of thanks that she was relaxed around him still. Not completely, but her loved her blushes.

“Well, let me help. Did you want to shower or eat first?”

Her stomach growled and they both laughed. “Eat, I think.”

“I think so too.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist as he approached her back in the kitchen. Nipping at her shoulder, he felt her shiver.

“Stop, you’re going to make the sheet fall.”

“My dear, that does nothing to deter me.” He backed away anyway and walked to the fridge. “Beer or water?”

“Water, please.”

Joining her at the table, he set two water bottles down. She had put the salad together on the plates and added one of the steaks to each one. She was putting dressing on her salad when she stopped and looked back at him.

“Is everything okay?”

Tristan nodded. Everything was great. He dug into his meal. The storm was still going outside, and the thunder rumbled in the distance as they sat in silence. It was a peaceful quiet, no stress, just enjoying their meals.

A short while later, Grace rose and carried her plate to the sink before announcing she was going to shower. Passing the time while she did, he cleaned up from their dinner and straightened the covers on his bed.

It was still early as far as things went. Pulling out a deck of cards, he hoped to talk her into playing a game with him when she came out. Instead as she stepped out of the bathroom, the scent of her hit him and his mouth went dry.

She was wearing shorts and a tank top, no bra, clearly just her usual sleepwear, but her hair was still wet, resting on her shoulders. She looked refreshed and he just wanted to take her again, breathe in her peachy scent. He may have to snoop and see what she used that smelled so good.

“Cards?” She asked him.

Tristan roughly cleared his throat, “Yeah.”

“Let me brush my hair and I’m game. What are we playing?”

They discussed a few different games as she did her hair in the bathroom mirror. It was such an intimate feeling to be having a causal conversation as she brushed out her hair, cutting a look at him every now and then.

In the end, they settled on a game of Rummy and established the rules. She beat him in 4 games before she started yawning. It wasn’t until she did that, he considered he had no idea what their sleeping arrangements would be after earlier. He certainly hoped she wanted to sleep with him, it was definitely what he wanted.

Tristan put away the deck of cards and held his hand up to help her out of the chair, only a little disappointed that she wasn’t still wearing the sheet that could slide off at any time.

“Ready for bed?” he asked.

“I think so.” Grace followed that with another yawn and a laugh.

“Sleep with me?” He watched her reaction to see if she really wanted to.

She shook her head and his heart dropped to his toes. “No, you sleep with me, my bed’s clean.”

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