Page 75 of Lust
Noticing my unease, Tristan took matters into his hands. “That’ll be all, Isabela,” he announced without sparing her a second glance. “We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
Something resembling victory surged when Tristan repeated the word,we.The hostess’ continued denial of my existence had rushed a wish to humble her. The way Tristan, the sex god, solidified his interest in me satisfied that carnal desire, followed by an abrupt queasiness in my stomach.
A horrifying realization dawned on me at the same time the hostess disappeared. The man was sex on a platter with offers in the plentiful, and though he might be discreet, I doubted he lived the life of a monk… andthatwas the man who had unprotected sex with me. Twice.
I had been so consumed with misery that it had slipped my mind. “Condom.” Cold panic clawed my insides. “You didn’t use protection either time… when…”
I couldn’t get myself to finish the sentence.
Tristan rose, the legs of his chair screeching on the wooden floor as he pushed it back. He grabbed my hand to pull me to standing. Two calloused hands caressed my face. “Breathe before you start hyperventilating,” he instructed softly. “I have always used protection other than with you. And in any case, I haven’t had sex with anyone else in a long time.”
How’s that possible? Women walked around with the female version of a hard-on for that man.
“I’m clean,” he reiterated to subdue my panic.
“But what if I am… pregnant?” I asked choppily.
That day, before Tristan had stunned me with his presence in my room, I had visited my gynecologist and got on the birth control shot. She had warned that it could take up to ten days for the shot to be effective. If I had unprotected sex between that time frame, pregnancy was a possibility. So, I had bought condoms in preparation for having sex with Tobias.
Instead, it was Tristan who showed up. He didn’t use a condom, and he came inside me.
How could I have been so stupid as to forget? It was Biology 101.
One man + One woman = One baby (or multiple, depending on your luck).
Liquid ice ran a cold shiver down my spine.
“It’s unlikely that you’re pregnant from only a couple of times,” he pacified.
How could he sound so callous? Tristan didn’t seem freaked out, not even a little. If anything, he was entirely unaffected.
“In any case, it’s difficult to confirm right now… unless your cycle’s about to start.”
I shook my head. My last period was two days before… the incident. “Maybe you can send Steve to pick up a pregnancy test—”
“Drugstore tests don’t generally give you accurate results this quickly after the fact. A blood test would be more accurate. Let’s schedule one before jumping to conclusions, okay? But we might have to wait for a little while to find an appropriate doctor. You do remember what happened to Susie, don’t you?”
Last year, a senator’s daughter, Susie Crony, fell victim to teenage pregnancy. When the opposition party got a hold of this information, they spread the news as part of their negative propaganda. It was popularly believed that someone at her doctor’s office ‘anonymously’ blabbed about the results.
In our circle, it was one thing to call on a gynecologist for birth control; it was entirely another for an unwed woman to even visit a local drugstore to purchase a pregnancy test. With the elections around the corner, Tris’ opponent was searching for any excuse to tarnish the Marcolf name. Our family was being watched, and unless in the confinement of our own home, we kept to our best behavior while in the public eye. It’d only take one person to ruin us. Only one person to further drag my already questionable reputation through the mud.
Oh, God. On top of worrying about a potential pregnancy, I now had to wait until Tris’ staff had vetted a discreet doctor’s office.
“What happens if the test comes back positive?” I asked shakily.
“If it turns out that you’re pregnant, we’ll adjust. You love kids—”
“We can’t give anything to a child between us other than a scandal,” I whisper-screamed. What the hell was wrong with him? We both bore the last name Marcolf, and Tris’ name was widespread. Unless we opted for a life in hiding by changing our identities, we’d doom any child we brought into this world. Even our parents would refuse to acknowledge a child between us.
“I’ll find us a way, Angel.”
He continued to pacify me with soft kisses on the forehead while I took in jagged breaths to calm my racing heart. I felt terrified of going through this ordeal alone and felt suddenly relieved for Tristan’s quiet assurances that he’d find a way. We stayed in the semi-intimate huddle in silent camaraderie.
With his expression neutral, he pulled me close until my head met with his chest. He glanced where I had left a wet stain on his shirt but didn’t admonish me for ruining his expensive brand-name clothing. Nor had he checked out his hair on any surface with a reflection thus far. He hadn’t even said anything stupid like,you look less ugly tonight.
His focus had solely been on me, and I realized that due to our emotionally charged exchanges thus far, I hadn’t pressed him about the most basic question every woman asked herself when graced by Tristan’s attention.
Why me?
