Page 84 of Lust
Initially, I slept with Tristan to somehow hurt him. In the snap of a finger, he had killed his lifelong dreams. My heart lurched for the sacrifice he made here today. I hadn’t wanted it that way. I didn’t want him to choose this shelter because I believed he was meant for bigger things. It was improbable he’d win without the support of blood-sucking corporations. Yet, he didn’t even bat an eye.
Tris had finally become the man he was meant to be.
For the last few days, I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off him because he evoked something in me that I had repressed for years. Now, Tris had made a different place for himself… in my heart.
Which meant that the fear of the damned curse had returned. Tristan told me that he was invincible. After days of insatiable sex, he hadn’t been injured, but that didn’t mean the threat had dwindled.
Just the mere idea of it sprung tears to my eyes.
“Hey!” He lifted and turned me around.
Grabbing a Kleenex off the dispenser on the table, Tris cleaned me up before carrying me to the sofa. He kept me cradled on his lap as he took a seat.
“What’s wrong, Angel?”
I wrapped both hands around his arms. “I’m so happy that I feel sad.”
He chuckled warmly. “You might have to help me out here.”
I lifted my head to peer at him. “I’m so happy right now that it hurts, but I’m sad because happiness doesn’t last for me. I know that you don’t believe me, but if we keep this up, you’ll get hurt sooner or later.”
Tristan rolled his eyes. “Not this damn curse thing again. I have fucked you so many times this week that according to your theory, I should be dead.”
I cracked a smile. “Please don’t dismiss this. If you get taken away…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. If he got taken away, everything in life would turn desolate.
He stroked my hair. “No one’s taking me away.”
“Our parents are coming home next week. We both know that I have zero capability of lying. They only have to ask me once before I crumble. Most likely, I’ll offer up the information willy-nilly.” Yeah, that’s how terrible of a liar I was. I couldn’t look at a person and fib. “Then what? Dad will bring out his gun and murder you for real. Bam. Curse proved real.”
The bastard seemed amused by my internal struggles. “Let’s tell them about us before they find out.”
“What? You can’t.” We had a significant age difference, and he was supposedly my brother. Dad would never accept what was between us.
“We had to tell them someday.”
“But Dad’s going to—”
He kissed my forehead. “Leave it to me, Angel. I promise I’ll find a way. No one’s taking you from me.”
I shook my head. He didn’t understand the whole predicament of our situation. “I know you don’t believe me, Tris,” I said quietly. “But as long as you’re with me, you’re not safe—”
“I know where this is going, and I’ll stop you right there,” he warned, his voice suddenly serious. “Everyone out there is against us.” He pointed an accusatory finger toward the office door, voice shaking. “But in here, when it’s just the two of us, I don’t want to hear one single thing that’ll keep us apart. Is that understood?”
“If something happens to you—”
“Don’t,” he cut me off sharply. “I don’t want to hear more protests about why we can’t be together. So, don’t!”
The sternness in his voice made me swallow my next objection. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck, hoping, praying, for the millionth time that this curse was only inside my head because I had only just found the man he had become, and I’d be lost withoutthisman.
“I won’t voice any more objections, but you have to promise me something in exchange.”
“Anything.”
“Please don’t break my heart again.” I leaned back to search his eyes, silently pleading. “If you hurt anyone else…” I couldn’t finish the thought but hoped he understood its meaning.
I was choosing to forgive him for what happened between us and for hurting Tobias. In exchange, all I asked was for him to bethisman. A good man. We were rebuilding the trust between us, and I wouldn’t survive it if he broke it again.
Somehow, he understood everything I was communicating with only my eyes. “Never,” he promised just as meaningfully.
