Her Sweet Temptation

by Nina Crespo

  “Be sure to tell that to Tristan.”

  “Why? They seem to be getting along.”

  “I guess. Tristan was acting weird this morning when we ran into the two of you at the stable.”

  Chloe chuckled. “Yeah, he was kind of shocked to see you and Scott kissing in the parking lot. So how serious is it?”

  “We’re still figuring things out which is why I don’t need Tristan feeling he has to be protective of me.”

  Chloe waved away her concern. “It’s a guy thing. If it’s any consolation, my brother was the same with him.”

  “Seriously? What happened?”

  “They went outside and had a private conversation in the backyard. Just like you’re doing now, I watched from the window. When it ended, they did the whole nod, clap on the shoulder ritual.”

  As if on cue, Tristan and Scott clapped each other on the back and clinked the top of their beer bottles together.

  Chloe snorted a laugh. “See? I was close. Guy thing.”

  “Did Tristan tell you what your brother told him?”

  “Are you kidding? And risk losing his man card? Guys have their own version of the sister solidarity code.” Chloe nudged Rina’s shoulder with hers. “Don’t worry about their conversation. I know the way Tristan is acting feels archaic, but I’m sure Scott will take whatever he’s saying for what it means—Tristan cares about you.”

  “I know.” Rina went with Chloe to check the cookies.

  It was just strange to see Tristan act this way about a guy she was seeing. He’d never been around to play that role in her life.

  As Rina prepared dessert and Chloe washed dishes, a realization crept in. This place was no longer just a house but a home. And possibly a fresh start and a continuation of their family’s legacy.

  A daydream formed in Rina’s mind. More couples’ dinners. Having long chats with Chloe in the front sitting room. Holiday get-togethers, including a family tree trimming at Christmas. All of the wonderful moments they’d stopped celebrating fully, years ago, after too much tragedy had taken hold in their lives. But it was too soon to dream about that. Tristan and Chloe were serious about each other, but not engaged. And she and Scott had just acknowledged they wanted more than a basic friendship. And as far as she knew, Zurie wasn’t even seeing anyone.

  The sliding door opened and shut in the living room. A short time later, Tristan and Scott strolled into the kitchen.

  “It smells good in here,” Tristan boomed out. “And it looks even better.” Smiling, he went over to Chloe at the sink. As she glanced over her shoulder, he kissed her.

  Scott joined Rina at the counter by the stove. He didn’t appear to be ticked off or intimidated by whatever Tristan had said to him. That was a good sign. As he curved his hand into her waist, Scott kissed her temple and murmured. “He’s right about the view.”

  A short time later, Rina doled out the impromptu dessert: sugar cookies nestled in a bowl with berries flavored with the blackberry wine, topped with cookie crumbs and whipped cream. They took them to the living room, where Chloe and Rina chose a rom-com flick that the guys mildly grumbled about having to watch. Afterward, Rina and Scott decided to head home.

  In the driveway, Chloe and Scott walked ahead to the SUV, talking about Nash and changes to the shooting schedule.

  Tristan wrapped an arm around Rina’s shoulder, slowing their pace as he walked beside her. “So you and Scott are going to be seeing a lot of each other?”

  “I don’t know.” She wrapped an arm around his waist. “What did Scott say when you threatened him into telling you his intentions?”

  “Our conversation wasn’t that deep, but I’m sure he knows I have an expectation about how I’d like him to treat you.”

  “Wow, thanks Dad. Can I please stay out an hour after curfew?”

  “Nope.” He grinned. “I still expect you home by ten.”

  Rina playfully poked him in the ribs. “In answer to your first question, Scott and I started out as friends and we’ve just recently decided to become more than that. Mainly, we just want to enjoy spending time together while he’s here.”

  “Well, whatever spending time together means, and please don’t elaborate, can I make a suggestion?”

  “What?”

  He slowed their pace even more. “Be honest about you and Xavier up front. You might not think telling him is relevant, but it is, especially for you.”

  She halted and faced him. “Why? Because I was injured in the accident?”

  “No. Because Xavier broke your trust, and you haven’t let a guy into your life until now with Scott. It’s a big deal, and I think Scott needs to know that so he can act accordingly and you can, too.”

  Act accordingly? Irritation sparked in Rina. “You mean reevaluate whether or not I can handle us being more than just friends. I’m not a fragile piece of glass.”

  “I didn’t say that. But a short-term thing, no strings attached, I just can’t see you doing that.”

  Tristan may have been intervening from a caring place, but he didn’t know what she could handle. Rina softened her tone but not her conviction. “I know you feel you have to worry about me, but don’t. I can handle my personal life. I’ll be with who I want for as long as it’s right and right now, I’m happy with Scott.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  On the way back to Tillbridge, Scott drove and Rina sat in the front passenger seat.

  When he and Tristan had walked off the deck while Rina and Chloe were making dessert in the kitchen, he’d already anticipated what Tristan wanted to talk about.

  So you and Rina are seeing each other? Tristan had asked.

  Yes. And if you’re worried about her, you don’t have to be.

  I’m not worried, Tristan had said, looking out over the yard before meeting him eye to eye. I’m sure she wouldn’t get involved with anyone who thought they could take advantage of her.

  I know where you’re coming from. I have a younger sister. I’d want anyone she was with to treat her with respect, too.

  After reaching that understanding, the conversation had switched to horses. The horse trainer for the movie had talked to Tristan about Showdown, one of the horses brought in for the production. He was the horse Nash and Scott were supposed to ride during filming and was the one that had wandered from his mark the day Nash had gotten injured. For some reason, Showdown had decided he no longer wanted to perform.

  Rina reached over and laid her hand on his thigh. “Thanks again for agreeing to dinner.”

  “No need to thank me. I enjoyed it.”

  “Even after Tristan decided to grill you about our relationship.”

  Chuckling, he intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of her hand. “We came to a mutual understanding.” Rina and Tristan talking just before they left flashed in his mind. “What about the two of you? The conversation you were having in the driveway before we left seemed kind of serious.”

  “Maybe a little.” She slipped her hand from his to adjust the cross belt near her shoulder then stared out the front windshield.

  Their conversation faded to silence. Rina turned on the radio and pop music filled the void.

  She was preoccupied. Was it something that Tristan had said? Maybe he’d misread the situation, and Tristan did have a problem with him and Chloe being together.

  By the next mile, the debate to ask her whether or not there was an issue had concluded in Scott’s mind. He was letting it go. Rina knew where he stood about wanting to be with her. If something Tristan had said changed her mind, he’d be disappointed, but he’d meant it when he’d said that whatever happened outside of them being friends was up to her.

  She switched off the radio. “Tristan said I should talk to you.”

  “About?”

  “My past.”

  The tone of her voice and
a quick glance at her face revealed a lot. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “No, he’s right. I do.” She looked straight ahead during the pause. “After I lost my mom, it was hard to see my future. My father bought Noble Wind and encouraged me to get serious about competing again.”

  “Was that the horse in the photo with you in Tristan’s office?”

  “Yes. From the start we were a good fit for each other. Right away, we started winning competitions. My trainer at the time felt we had a chance of making the US equestrian team.”

  “That says a lot. You must have been really good.”

  “We were, but we didn’t make the team.”

  Farther up, the one-lane road opened up and he shifted into the right lane. “That must have been tough for you.”

  “It was, and I had a hard time handling it.” She stared out the windshield as if looking into the past. “I started partying a lot.”

  Scott set the cruise control at a moderate speed. Rina had something important to say and he wanted to listen.

  “That’s how I met Xavier. He raced street cars as a hobby and liked to bet on anything that moved. His father was co-owner of a casino in Vegas so money and access wasn’t a problem for him. Being with him was new and exciting because his life was so different from mine.”

  He tried to imagine a younger Rina running reckless with a bad boy. He couldn’t. The Rina he knew was so careful with her decisions, maybe overly cautious at times. “How did your family take it?”

  “Not well. My dad and uncle urged me to stay away from him, but that was all they could do. I was eighteen and legally an adult. Tristan was serving in the army and had his own concerns. From Zurie’s point of view, I was just being an irresponsible brat.”

  “So what happened?”

  “I married him.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rina paused to let Scott digest that bit of news as she took in how it felt to tell him. She hadn’t planned on doing it. Tristan’s reasoning didn’t line up with hers, it made sense for a different reason.

  As her friend, she had let Scott in further than most, sharing her fears about the cafe and her struggles with Zurie. Now that they’d agreed to be more than just friends, sharing the hardest moment of her life felt less like a big reveal and more of a natural progression. And besides that, when it came time for her and Scott to become intimate, he’d see her leg and wonder how it happened.

  Scott glanced over at her. “You eloped?”

  “Not exactly. One morning, before everyone woke up, a transport service Xavier had arranged picked up Noble Wind and a few hours later, we were on the road. I called home to let everyone know I was okay. A few days after that, when we arrived in Vegas, we were married at a 24-hour chapel.”

  With this ring, I thee wed... for richer or poorer... in sickness and in health...

  When she’d made those vows to Xavier, she couldn’t have imagined what was ahead for them.

  Memories filtered through her mind, but they seemed distant, as if belonging to someone else. “At first, living one big party and having no responsibilities was fun, but after a few months, it grew tiresome. The cars, the condo, the furnishings inside of it, they didn’t belong to us. Everything was in his father’s name. We lived off of an allowance he gave us. We were supposed to make a life together, but we couldn’t. I needed some sort of independence so I got a job teaching horse riding at the stable where we were boarding Noble Wind. That’s also when I started baking pies. It reminded me of home.”

  “How much of this did your family know?”

  “None of it. I thought I could change him. And I was too proud to admit I’d made a mistake.”

  “How long did you stay?” His low tone didn’t hold judgment or accusation. It was a fair question.

  “Eight months. By then, his gambling had grown out of control. He’d started going to private poker games with high stakes. What I could save from the allowance his father gave us, after he paid his debts, plus teaching horse riding and selling pies barely kept the lights on and food on the table.”

  Tillbridge just up ahead in the dusky sunset forced a pause.

  Scott parked and turned off the engine. He unclipped his belt and turned toward her in the seat.

  His silence was her cue to finish, but now that they were standing still, and she could see his face, telling him the rest, the hardest part, felt even harder.

  Stalling, she unbuckled her seat belt as a memory more vivid than the others started to surface. “I decided to leave him. I’d gotten myself into the situation on my own. I thought I could get myself out of it. I just needed enough money to transport Noble Wind. One morning, I walked out of the condo and my car was gone. I didn’t bother calling the police. I already knew why it was missing. But I hadn’t expected to get to work and find Noble Wind was gone, too. Xavier had sold him and the car to pay off a debt.”

  Scott reached over the console and held her hand. “Do you know who bought him?”

  “No. Later that day before the accident, Xavier showed up at the stable. All he’d said was that Noble Wind was safe. That the person who’d bought him owned horses.” Rina swallowed past the tightness in her throat, willing herself to get through the rest. “That’s the last conversation I remember. Days later, I woke up in the hospital. We’d been in a car accident... Xavier was already gone.”

  Scott’s hand closed tightly around hers but he sat in the silence with her as she confronted the gaping hole that still existed in her memories. For months after the accident, she used to silently scream into the void, but all that would echo back was the pain of her injuries and the same accusation. If she hadn’t gone away with Xavier, none of it would have happened. And she would still have Noble Wind.

  As soon as she’d been well enough after the accident, she’d tried to get back on a horse, but it wasn’t the same. She missed the bond she shared with Noble Wind so much she’d stopped riding.

  Tears that wouldn’t fall stung in her eyes.

  The front passenger side door opened and Scott stood there. When had he gotten out of the driver’s seat? He held out his hand.

  She took it and as soon as she got out, he enfolded her in his arms.

  Scott’s long exhale blew over her temple as he tightened his hold. Solid strength seeped into her. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Rina held her breath, waiting, but he didn’t say it. Scott hadn’t said the word she’d forced herself to nod or smile through even though it felt like a dagger in her heart. Sorry for your loss. Sorry this happened to you. Sorry, we have to operate on your leg again. Sorry, the funeral already happened. Sorry, Xavier’s family doesn’t wish to speak with you. Sorry...

  She looked up into Scott’s unwavering gaze and tears escaped from her eyes. In the short time they’d known each other, he always knew what she needed to hear and how to show up for her. Even now, as she looked in his eyes, she could see that he knew.

  Scott covered her mouth with his and the loss of the past started to recede in the firm pressure of his lips. The way he boldly swept in when she opened to him conveyed what she needed to feel. Alive. And what she strived so hard to be. Authentic in who she was now and not governed by her past.

  She’d confronted her worst memory, and for the first time, she felt as if she hadn’t looked into the void alone. Scott had done it with her and he wasn’t shying away or treating her differently. What they felt for each other hadn’t changed.

  As Scott eased back, he stroked her cheek, searching her eyes.

  Rina already knew the answer to the question in his. She was absolutely sure what she wanted. To let go and focus on now. She just wanted to enjoy being with him.

  Upstairs in his room, Scott shut the door behind them.

  She turned away from him to put her purse and phone on the end of the dresser and slip off her sandals.
>
  His high-tops thunked to the floor, and soon after, Scott came up behind her. As he dropped his wallet and phone next to her things, he curved his hand into her waist. As he trailed kisses down the side of her neck, she tilted her head to give him better access. Leaning into him, she trembled with anticipation.

  He retraced the path of his kisses back up to speak softly into her ear. “We’ll go as fast or as slow as you want. We have all night.”

  His promise and Scott gliding his hands up her ribcage to cup her breasts pulled a shaky breath from her. His light feathering touch over her nipples created a longing that made her knees weak. She reached back and swept her ponytail forward over her shoulder, and Scott took his cue to unzip her dress. He took his time, kissing and caressing her shoulders and back as he slid down the straps and helped her shimmy out of it.

  As she stood, still facing away from him in her silky beige strapless bra and lace boy shorts, a tiny voice of doubt crept in. What would he notice first? Her or the permanent reminder of what her past had left behind?

  Rina turned in his arms. As his gaze swept down and up again, his jawline angled with a look of need that incinerated questions...and hesitation. She unbuttoned his shirt, mesmerized and excited by the reveal of tanned skin. As he took it off, the taut muscles in his torso naturally rippled. Drawn to him, she caressed his hard chest. As she moved down his abs he drew in a shaky breath. They became even more defined as she unfastened his jeans and unzipped him. He pushed them down to the floor and kicked them away. The evidence of his need rising behind his boxer briefs sent desire spiraling to her core. She glided her hands up his chest and around his neck and he brought her flush against him for a heated kiss. Feverish strokes and glides fueled caresses that pushed away lace, satin and cloth.

  They fell onto the bed together, and soon she was lost in first touches and first kisses that made her ache. He raised soft emotions inside of her as he swept his lips over her right knee and up her thigh, following the trail of what the worse day in her life had left behind, only to take her to a place of ecstasy that had her chanting his name. Soon after Scott put on a condom, and as he entered her his eyes never left hers.