This bed. As in the one I wished he would lay me down on and make love to me on at that very moment.
"Oh." That was all I could muster as a response because if I'd said anymore I'd have sounded like some drunken prom date looking to give it up easier than the town tramp. He was driving me mad with desire, but until he made the move, I planned to do my damnedest to keep it together.
"It's getting late and you have a big day tomorrow."
I sat stunned as he leaned back away from me and smiled. "Take the letters. Maybe they'll help you remember something."
"Yeah. Maybe. Thanks," I muttered as I stood on shaky legs to go back to my room. After all that, he didn't even try to make love to me. I couldn't tell if I was exhausted because of the emotions I'd experienced that day or because of the rollercoaster he'd taken my body on just waiting for him to make a move.
I opened the door and behind me from his place on the bed he said, "Nina, I'm glad you came over."
Turning around, I saw he was rock hard. His cock was nearly peaking out of his pants. Why was he playing with me like this?
"Yeah, it was nice. Thanks." I pressed a smile onto my lips and hoped he didn't see how frustrated he'd made me. "Have a good night, Tristan."
I slid my gaze over his body one last time and made my way back to my room. As I climbed into bed, I couldn't say for sure, but I didn't think I'd ever been so turned on merely by talking in my life.
If this was what life with Tristan Stone was like, it was no wonder I'd fallen in love with him before. I was halfway there already.
Chapter Four
Nina
At nine sharp, I stood in Tristan's office on his side of the house ready to get to work, even if I wasn't entirely sure I could do the job. Being a curator was far more than I ever remembered doing, but if what everyone was telling me was the truth, I'd done this job before and pretty well, so all I had to do was remember that and I'd be fine. I had the education and the experience. That was what I told myself about a hundred times over as I'd made my way to see Tristan.
I wore a green cashmere sweater that felt like heaven against my skin, a black pencil skirt, and a pair of black pumps that made my legs look damn good, if I did say so myself. While I may not have been able to remember anything since college, I was sure I'd never worn anything so luxurious in my life as what I was in as I stood there in front of him.
Tristan sat behind his enormous cherry wood desk looking breathtaking in a dark grey suit, black dress shirt, and a stunning red and black tie. After what had happened the night before, I wasn't sure I could work side-by-side with him, and looking like that only made it more difficult.
Why couldn't he work at home in sweatpants and a T-shirt? Who am I kidding? He'd probably still look stunning.
He looked up from his laptop and smiled. "Good morning, Nina. Come sit next to me."
I approached him on wobbly legs and sat down in a chair he slid next to his. As if it wasn't bad enough that I was unsure about my ability to do the job of curator, now I had to deal with him sitting as close to me as he had the night before.
This was going to be a long day.
"Ready to work?" he asked, his deep brown eyes staring into mine.
"Yes, sir," I joked, hoping to ease my jitters with some workplace humor.
He arched one dark eyebrow. "Sir? You don't have to be so formal, Nina. Remember, we're more than just employer and employee."
His deep voice spoke the words that should have put me at ease, but there was a sensual undertone to it that made me need to squeeze my thighs together to ease a desperate, sweet ache that had formed between them the moment I saw him sitting behind that desk.
"Okay. I was just trying to calm my jitters. I'm a little nervous about this," I confessed.
Smiling, he shook his head. "There's no need to be nervous. You're a natural at this. Trust me."
Trust me. He'd said that day after day since I'd met him in the hospital, and I still wasn't sure I could. In truth, it wasn't a could thing. It was an I-was-afraid-to thing. I'd never had much success with men, as far as I remembered, and the memory of what others had done to me was always uppermost in my mind when my heart felt even the tiniest tug in Tristan's direction.
He turned his laptop toward me and began clicking on pictures. "I thought I'd show you the work you'd done already so you could see just how great you've been at this." There was a moment of silence as I focused on the pictures and then he said something in that silky, deep voice that made that ache between my legs rush back with a vengeance.
"Relax. I promise you're great at this."
If only I could focus on the artwork on the screen instead of how close he was sitting next to me.
I took a deep breath and nodded as I examined my previous work, pretending that I wasn't already excited at shortly after nine in the morning. "Okay. These look pretty good, if I do say so myself."
Leaning in next to me, he pointed at a picture full of the color gold. "This one is especially good. I love those owls. Those were a great choice, Nina."
Love. He seemed so comfortable using that word when it came to anything involving me. It was unnerving. Nobody I'd ever dated before had been so free with that word. If anything, the L word was something I was uncomfortable saying, at best.
"Thanks." As I looked at the picture, I couldn't imagine how any art with a few blue and white owls I'd chosen had improved that room so overdone in gold. "That's a lot of gold, isn't it?"
"You should have seen it before the owls," he said with a smile, leaning in closer to my left shoulder. "It's more impressive in person. Maybe we should return to Dallas so you can see your handiwork."
While he spoke, I got lost in the scent of his cologne. I had no idea which one it was, but it was very possibly the sexiest fragrance I'd ever smelled. Fresh, the scent was woodsy and almost citrusy, making him smell delicious. How was I supposed to work like this? While he talked of hotel rooms, my mind was distracted and wondering the name of the cologne he was wearing. He was driving me crazy!
"That will have to wait until after the holidays. I thought we'd stay home for Christmas."
Christmas. The mention of the holiday made my brain switch gears. I hadn't thought much of the holidays because of my accident, but he was right. Christmas was just weeks away.
I turned to look at him and nearly touched his cheek with my lips. Startled, I leaned back away from him and muttered, "Do you do anything special for the holidays?"
A look of sadness crossed his face before he turned to smile at me. "No. I haven't really celebrated Christmas for a long time. I usually work."