Page 16 of Inadmissible
“Uh, wait.” Laughing nervously, Taj stood and pulled Emilia away from our table.
“Where do you know her from?” Kaos’s overprotective ass asked as soon as she was out of earshot.
“That’s my sweetheart.”
Realization settled over the table, because I’d shared with them how we met.
“I see why you didn’t want Zander talking to her,” Serenity teased.
“Wow. Y’all act like I’m Mr. Steal Your Girl or some shit,” Zander said with faux offense.
I waited until my laugh died down before I said, “You definitely try to be.”
Taj groaned and pouted as Emilia gripped her forearms and planted a kiss on her cheek. She gently scooted Taj back over to our table.
“Take care of my girl,” Emilia commanded, keeping her eyes on me.
“I most certainly will. I think she knows she’s safe, if nothing else, with me.”
I stood and helped Taj back into her seat, and I couldn’t stop myself from dropping a kiss on her shoulder as I sat back down while Destin watched us.
“Your boy is visibly boiling over with anger,” I told her. “Wanna have some fun?”
Taj
When Tristan mentioned Destin staring us down, the rebel in me wanted to make him jealous. Seeing him here was already difficult enough to process, but seeing him with Trenae was even more uncomfortable. I did agree with Emilia’s logic about not running from things or people that were uncomfortable. I didn’t want my healing to be conducive to isolation, or at least avoiding him. If I could make it through the night without calling my brother or turning into a puddle of feelings, I would be able to go home knowing I was really healed and over this man. But even with me being healed, I knew the scar would remain. I was just grateful it was no longer an actively painful wound.
Tristan stood and pulled me into his embrace. His hug felt like a deep breath. A deep breath after a year of feeling low on oxygen. And he smelled so damn good . . . like a warm, spicy embrace. The feel of his lips on my neck made me shudder, and when he held me even closer, I moaned.
“Oh he’s really mad now,” Tristan informed me, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Trenae is talking to him and he’s looking right at us. She just shoved him to get his attention.”
I snickered as he released me. We walked over to the dancefloor, where we swayed to a Kem song that I was familiar with but couldn’t place the name of. As I stared into his eyes, the same security that washed over me the first night we met returned.
Tristan was unarguably the most handsome man I’d ever encountered. His tall, toned body was wrapped in golden caramel skin and tattoos. I didn’t see them tonight under his suit, but I remembered them from a year ago. He had pomegranate hued, medium shaped lips that were encircled by a shiny, short, thick beard. Naturally arched brows hovered over dark, caring eyes that had the prettiest long eyelashes. His lashes reminded me of Tupac. And he had a warm, inquisitive smile. This man, physically, was literally perfect.
“Is she his wife?” I couldn’t help but ask. My head shook before he could even answer. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t care.”
“It’s okay to be curious.” Tristan pulled me closer, compelling me to focus solely on him. “They are engaged. Have been for about three months. Their wedding is in a week or so I believe. They have a son, and he’s a junior. Any other questions you have, get them out now. I’m not spending my first night with you talking about another man. He got about three more minutes of your focus before I demand it lies solely on me.”
My smirk spread into a complete grin. “That’s all I need to know. You have my undivided attention now, angel.”
Tristan licked and bit down on his bottom lip, and the feel of his dick growing against me made my lips part.
“I can’t hide my attraction to you obviously,” he said through a gentle chuckle, “but I want to make sure you understand I’m not trying to use you or have sex with you.”
“Me calling you angel did that?” I confirmed.
“Everything about you does that. Smelling you, holding you, looking at you, thinking about you. I would probably cum a little if I kissed you.”
His declaration, combined with his serious expression, made me swoon. I giggled like a little schoolgirl as I ran my hands down his arms.
“Let’s see,” I challenged, pulling him down to me by his jaw.
“Oh, you tryna get fucked handling me lik—mm.”
His words were replaced with the sexiest moan that made my pussy throb. That hadneverhappened before. A sigh escaped me when his hands lowered to my ass and squeezed. I hadn’t had sex in over a year, and I hadn’t desired to share myself with a man . . . until now.
When we pulled away from each other, our eyes remained locked. The customary countdown until the new year was announced, and we both grabbed a glass of champagne from the server that passed us. As the crowd around us cheered, all we did was gaze into each other’s eyes. It wasn’t until confetti fell from the ceiling that I was pulled from his hypnotic spell.
