"Nina, come. I have dinner waiting for you."
I turned to see Tristan standing in the doorway of the formal dining room. He was dressed in his suit and tie and looking like he had all the times before, except now he was my jailer or my owner. I hadn't decided which title sounded better.
He extended his hand and smiled that warm smile that had never failed to charm me. Even now, it had the desired effect and I walked toward him, almost as if my legs were controlled by him directly.
I attempted to walk past him into the dining room, but he stopped me short with his arm in front of me. Turning to look up at him, I saw a look of hurt in his eyes. As if he had something to feel hurt about!
"Did you enjoy shopping?"
I didn't know how to answer his question. I had enjoyed it and everything we'd done in that dressing room until I found out I had signed my life away, even if it was to someone as gorgeous as him.
He tilted my chin up with his index finger and stared down into my eyes. God, those brown eyes could just melt my heart sometimes. I wondered if he knew that and used them to manipulate me or if they were just the windows to a soul that was as lonely as I suspected it was.
"Nina, I want to make you happy. Will you let me?"
I closed my eyes to avoid looking into his as I spoke. "You don't want me to be happy. You want someone you bought to do as you command. There's a difference."
My eyes still closed, I felt his lips brush mine in a tender kiss. Then he spoke again, and my heart broke. "I can't be anything but what I am. I can give you everything your heart desires, but I can only do it this way."
I opened my eyes and tears slid down my cheeks. He softly swiped the pad of his thumb under my eyes to dry my tears and kissed me again. "I had the cook make a meal I hope you like. Let's eat."
We sat at the end of a long dining table with him at the head and me seated to his left next to him. In front of us were five main courses, all my favorite foods. There was shrimp scampi, roast beef, turkey with stuffing, sausage and peppers, and a cheese pizza. I scanned the heaping plates of food and looked over at Tristan.
"Did you know these are my favorite things to eat?" I asked, unsure I wanted to know the answer.
"Yes," he said in that innocent tone that seeped into his voice every so often.
"How did you know these were my favorites?"
He smiled proudly. "I asked."
For the first time, I asked the follow-up question I had never given voice to before. "Asked who?"
"Jordan. I asked her to tell me what you liked when I went to see her today."
He'd gone to my house while I was shopping? "Why?"
"Why did I ask her to tell me what you like or why did I go to see her today?" he teased.
"Please give me a straight answer, Tristan."
He knew I wasn't happy, and I saw the joy slide from his expression. "I asked her what you liked because I wanted to make sure you were happy. I visited Jordan today to give her the rest of your portion of the rent for this year. Now what would you like to eat?"
There was no point in fighting him on this. Jordan would be helped by what he'd done and I had a hard time finding fault with that. His behavior didn't seem to be intended to be manipulative, and as I accepted that, I accepted him.
"Turkey," I said with a smile.
"Excellent choice," he said as he pulled the platter toward him. He carved a slice of turkey off the breast and placed it on his plate. I waited for him to pass the plate to me, but instead he began cutting the slice into smaller pieces. He stabbed one piece with his fork and held it in front of my mouth.
"Eat, Nina."
The meat was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender with just a hint of seasoning I guessed was rosemary and thyme. He scooped up another forkful of meat and placed it on my tongue. Turkey had never tasted as good. I swallowed my food, and he wiped the corner of my mouth with the pad of his thumb.
"Do you do this all the time with women?" I asked, knowing I probably didn't want to know the answer but needing to ask anyway.
He shook his head slowly. "No."
As he readied another bite for me, I asked, "Aren't you planning to eat?"
He smiled and shook his head again. "No."
I ate another bite of turkey, and all the while he watched me as if my happiness was of the utmost concern to him. When I finished, he pushed the platter of turkey away and pulled the plate of shrimp scampi toward him. Scooping up a forkful of shrimp and rice, he turned toward me and brought another of my favorites to my mouth.
The scampi was just as delicious as the turkey, but all I could think of as I ate it was that my breath would stink of garlic. Looking around the table, I saw a pitcher of water and a bottle of wine. I reached for the water, but before I could grab the pitcher, Tristan was filling my glass.
"You don't have to do that. I mean, it's nice, but I can get it."
Handing me the glass, he said, "I don't have to do anything. I want to."
I drank all the water and placed my glass on the table. "This is very nice of you. Thank you for doing this."
"I just want you to be happy, Nina. Are you happy?"
He stared into my eyes as he waited for the answer to his question, and I didn't know what to say. No one had ever worked to find out exactly what my favorite foods were and as he'd fed me, I was sure it was the most erotic experience I'd ever had in my life. His gaze never left mine, and I felt like I was the most important person in the world—the center of his universe. With each forkful of food, I felt cared for.
"I am happy, Tristan. I guess I'm just not used to anyone being so attentive."
He turned away from me to pull what looked like a silver ice bucket toward him. Taking his spoon, he sunk it into the inside of the bucket and pulled out a spoonful of green ice cream. "Mint chocolate chip is your favorite, I believe?"
He'd even asked Jordan about my favorite ice cream. As I savored the sweet taste of it on my tongue, I couldn't help but smile. "Is there anything you don't think of?"
Shaking his head, he scooped out another helping of ice cream and slid the spoon between my lips. "Not if I can help it."
"Is it just with me that you do this, Tristan?" I asked, only half-joking.
"Is it just with me that you ask so many questions, Nina?" he asked in return, once again not giving me a straight answer.
"I liked the way you spoke to me this afternoon. Not only what you said but how much you said. One of these days, I hope you'll want to say that much to me about other things."