by Cassy Roop
“I like that,” I admitted to him. This man had been so tender with me and helped me when I was at my lowest since the night of my parents’ murder. I could no longer deny the fact that I was falling in love with him.
“Like what?” he said quizzically.
“I like it when you call me baby. It makes me feel like...like I am yours,” I whispered the last part.
He turned to face me, “Kendall listen to me. You. Are. Mine. We are going to establish that right here and now. I will never allow another man to have you…to have this body. You have possessed me completely, Angel. There was no going back from this. All I could hope for was that you feel even a small amount of these feelings I have for you.”
“I do, Tristan. I do. I was scared at first. Afraid to let go again. You have changed that for me. I do not want anyone else. I only want you.”
He wrapped his arms around me and I relished his scent. I felt safe there in his arms. I felt that as long as I had him next to me I was going to be fine. He had been my lifeline. I feel like our souls are deeply connected somehow.
“Make love to me, Tristan. I need to feel you. I want to feel you. I want to forget and lose myself in you.”
And that was exactly what he did. We made love with a tenderness that was never there before. It was slow, sweet, and the most erotic feeling I had ever had in my life. When we both reached our climaxes simultaneously, I knew that I had found my forever with this man. Only, I was scared to tell him. I was scared to lose this feeling that I had with him. Somewhere deep down, I could not help but feel that this glorious happiness that I felt with Tristan was only temporary.
Saturday night was spent at the grand opening ball for Luxe London. I had a hard time feeling celebratory, but I put on a facade so that I did not worry Tristan. I was still reeling with the emotions of finding out about Brett’s early release from prison. I could tell that Tristan’s thoughts were not completely with me all evening as well, and wondered if he was worrying about Brett trying to contact me.
I noticed throughout the evening that Cassie and Jackson seemed to be off somehow. They did not spend as much time dancing with each other. I gave myself a mental reminder to ask her what was wrong later.
Tristan did not leave my side the entire night. He was treating me like a fragile wounded bird ever since yesterday. My stomach still felt queasy and was tied up in knots, no doubt from my news about Brett. My nerves were keeping my stomach twisted like a Celtic knot.
After we left the ball that night, Cassie asked if she could stay with me in my suite and if Tristan did not mind staying with Jackson. I knew something was going on when she asked to trade. Tristan was reluctant to leave me even for the night, but I told him that Cassie and I needed a girl’s night to talk.
Cassie was lying in bed next to me, staring up at the ceiling. I remained quiet for a few moments as I laid there quietly next to her.
“Are you going to tell me what is wrong, Cass?” I finally asked after it was obvious that she was not going to say anything.
She sighed heavily before she spoke. “It’s Jackson. I feel like he is keeping things from me. He has become distant and is on the phone a lot. I know we haven’t established that we are in a relationship or anything, but I thought that we were getting close.”
I knew how she was feeling. I felt like there was something that Tristan was keeping from me as well. I had a gut wrenching feeling that whatever it was wasn’t good.
“I think he and Tristan both have secrets, Kendall. It is just strange. I have seen them both whispering a lot lately. I don’t know. I just feel like there is more to those two men than what we know or what they are telling us.”
I couldn’t help but agree. What do we really know about these two men? Sure they are gorgeous, sexy, and could bring any woman to their knees, but are they the type of men that we could trust unhesitantly? Are they men we could trust with the most precious thing a woman could give them? Her heart.
“So do I, Cass, so do I.”
I have never felt more hatred for someone than I do right now. Seeing the pictures of Kendall in Tristan’s arms was nearly my undoing. I know that bastard is doing this on purpose. I see the signs in his eyes that he is falling for her. I can tell by the way he looks at her in the pictures that he may already have fallen.
Even though the thought sickens me, it will make it so much sweeter when I rip her away from him. I will enjoy seeing his anguish at the thought of her returning to me and leaving him.
I know she has been receiving my notes. I made the couriers confirm their delivery. I never signed my name to them, but I know she knows they are from me. She cannot deny the connection that we have. The pull we feel toward each other. Now that I am out of prison, nothing will stop us from being together.
Tristan thinks that he can keep her away from me. Taking her overseas will not stop me. I know they are headed for Paris. The city of love. Maybe it will be the city of heartbreak for Tristan. I will just have to put my plan into motion to get her back to Texas. Once she finds out how deceiving dear Tristan has been, she will be joyful to return back to me. We have spent too much time apart, now it is time to bring my girl home where she belongs.
Chapter 18
Tristan
We boarded the flight to Paris early Sunday afternoon. I could honestly say that I was glad to escape London and the images I had of seeing Kendall break down after finding out about Brett’s release. Seeing her like that only makes me want to protect her even more. Maybe it was not only Brett that I need to protect her from.
There was no doubt in my mind that I was in love with Kendall. She was like my shadow. She touches me wherever I went, never distancing from me. I cannot imagine living without her smile. If those thoughts made me a fucking pansy, then so be it. I would stop at nothing to make her happy, even if it meant that she wasn’t with me in order to do so.
After the captain turned off the seatbelt light, Kendall went back into the bedroom of the plane to lie down. She said she still was not feeling well. I knew that she was anxious and jittery. Her nerves seemed to be keeping her sick. I may have a doctor visit her in Paris was she did not improve.
Jackson and Cassie had gotten even more distant. I knew it had to do with the secrets that Jackson and I were keeping. She was beginning to notice that we were keeping things from her and Kendall. I hate to see their blossoming romance meet an ill fate because of my secrets and the fact that Jackson knew them. He was nothing if not loyal. He would sacrifice his happiness in order to keep my secret. I was both sickened and grateful to him for that at the same time. I knew he had issues with relationships. I saw him nearly destroyed when he lost Sarah. He still blames himself for what happened with her.
I could only hope that my dear friend could one day find the happiness that I had found in Kendall. Unlike me, he deserves the happiness of having a good woman by his side. I really thought Cassie was good for him. I hoped they could look beyond their pasts and find love in each other.
Kendall
Cassie joined me to lay down after I complained about still not feeling well. I knew she was concerned about me, but I also think she wanted an excuse to get away from Jackson.
“Ugh…” I moaned as a wave of nausea overcomes me.
“Kendall, I think maybe you should see a doctor when we get to Paris. You haven’t been feeling well for about a week now. Maybe you can get some medicine that will help calm your nerves so that you don’t feel so bad.”
“I’m fine Cass, honestly. It comes and goes. I feel ok one minute and the next I just feel a little woozy. Once the initial shock of the news wears off, I am sure that I will feel better.”
“Ok love. Just promise me that if it continues, you will get checked out,” Cassie pleaded.
“I promise.” I lied.
Luxe Paris had to be the biggest hotel I had ever seen. It was decorated with a beautiful French elegance. I asked Tristan we could stay in one of the normal suites so that I could giv
e a review for those who would stay at the hotel, but couldn’t afford the penthouse. He thought it was a fair idea and agreed.
Tristan had to leave for meetings as soon as we arrived, taking Jackson with him, which left Cassie and I by ourselves for the remainder of the day. After we unpacked, we worked on emails and got together on a topic for our review this time. We wanted to take a different approach.
I was feeling giddy with the feelings that Tristan invoked in me when he confessed his feelings to me in London. I had fallen so deeply and irrevocably in love with him. Being in the city of love only made those feelings that much stronger. I wanted to put those feelings into our review. I wanted to give our readers a review from a lover’s perspective. I wanted to experience romance in Paris and I wanted to experience that with Tristan.
While Cassie and I were going over ideas for our piece, my phone rang. Thinking it was Tristan, I picked it up without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey!” I said enthusiastically.
“Hey yourself flower,” a deep raspy voice said over the phone. My heart froze. My breathing seized.
“Brett…” I said breathlessly. Cassie’s head snapped up and her eyes met my panicked ones.
“Wh-what do you want?” I whispered. His voice sounded the same it had those eight years ago.
“I’ve missed you flower,” he said seductively.
I could feel the blood in my veins turn to ice. I could feel the bile start to rise up in my throat.
“How did you get my number?” I asked him with a crack in my voice.
“I have my ways. I called to check in after all these years. I wanted to see how your life is going. How are you enjoying your new boyfriend?”
I started shaking out of fear. My hands were trembling so hard I could barely maintain my grip on my phone.
He knows about Tristan.
“Speechless, I see,” he taunted. “Well must not be that great then huh? You see flower, you belong to me. You always have and always will. Your man knows that. He was scared and that is why he ran with you.”
There was a brief pause before he chuckled and continued, “Do you know he is lying to you? Do you know the real Tristan Price, flower? Because I do.”
I couldn’t take anymore. I was going to be sick. Cassie was frantically trying to get the phone away from me. She knew who was on the other line from the expression on my face. I finally let her have it as I took off toward the bathroom. As I emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet I could hear Cassie screaming at Brett through the phone.
“You sick, sadistic son-of-a-bitch! If you try to contact Kendall again, I will rip your balls off, put them in a blender and then make you drink it through a straw!”
She came running down the hall to check on me. When she entered the bathroom, she found me lying down on my side against the cool tile floor. I felt weak and almost like I could be sick again. My heart pounded in my chest. A thick sheen of sweat seeped out of my pores.
“Kendall, oh my God. Kendall, are you ok, sweetie?” she asked as she crouched down to kneel beside me. She reached for my hands and rubbed the back of them with her hands trying to offer comfort.
“I-I’m o-ok-kay,” I stammered between sniffles.
“Come on love, let’s get you off the floor and into the bed.”
Cassie placed her hands under my arms to help lift me to my feet. Once there, I felt all the blood rush to my head. I was feeling worse. Huge tears streamed down my face as I looked up at Cassie.
“Cass, I don’t feel so good.” I said right before I collapsed in her arms and passed out.
I woke up in the bed of my suite. Cassie was sitting next to the bed with her leg bouncing up and down at ninety miles an hour. This was her usual reaction whenever she was nervous or worried. Her head propped up by one hand and she was nervously chewing on a fingernail of the other.
“Hey, you’re awake,” she says to me as she looks up from chewing her fingernail. “You scared the hell out of me Kendall.”
“How long have I been out?” I asked her with a crack in my voice.
“About half an hour. The only reason I did not call the ambulance on your ass is because I knew why you passed out and you were mumbling, so I knew you were ok.”
“You didn’t tell Tristan did you?”
“No, he and Jackson are still in their meeting somewhere.”
Good. I did not want Tristan to know about Brett’s phone call. I did not want him to worry or worse be turned off by all of my life drama. I feared him seeing me as too high maintenance. The thought of him rejecting me made my heart ache.
“Kendall,” Cassie said interrupting my thoughts, “something is going on with you. I’ve been thinking while I have been sitting here and I see signs.”
“Signs of what?” I ask her hesitantly.
“Kendall, are you pregnant? You have been dizzy, nauseous, and haven’t eaten much in the last few weeks. ”
Woah.
“What?” I said with a squeaky voice, “No, of course not!”
“Are you sure?”
Truth is, I was not sure. Cassie’s words had my head spinning again. Could I really be pregnant?
“Kendall, by the look on your face I can tell you are thinking about it. I think you should just test to be sure.”
“I, I can’t be pregnant Cass! What will I do? What will Tristan think? Oh God, Tristan!”
My breathing started to speed and Cassie had to remind me to relax or I could quite possibly pass out again.
“Maybe it is just stress from Brett’s release and the phone call.”
“It very well could be Kendall, but I still think we should find out.”
I nodded. She was right. I had been feeling nauseous and dizzy. Come to think of it, I cannot remember the last time I had my period. I had all these thoughts swimming through my head. What if I’m not ready to be a mother? What if Tristan didn’t want to be a father? What if he hates me if I am?
“I’ll give you a few minutes to get cleaned up and we will go see if we can find a drug store close by.”
I did not say anything as I rose from the bed. Cassie walked over to the door to my room. Before she stepped over the threshold, she turned, “Everything will be ok Kendall. I’ll be here for you no matter what.”
I smiled as tears welled up in my eyes. Cassie had been with me almost from the second my parents died. Not only had she been my best friend, but my sister as well. She was my family. If I was pregnant, that would add one more person to my family, my future. The one thing I was uncertain of though is, would Tristan be a part of that future?
There they are. Two symbols that would now determine my future. Two lines that will forever change the events of my life. I sat staring at the test on the bathroom counter like it would spontaneously combust.
Pregnant.
It was funny how two little pink lines could say so much. Cassie came over to where I was sitting on the edge of the tub and reached for my hands. She knelt in front of me so that I had to look down at her
“Everything is going to be fine, Kendall. I am here no matter what.”
I look down at her as huge bulbous tears streamed down my face. I was feeling so many emotions right now I did not know what to do or say. I was elated, joyed yet wary and uncertain. I was excited, but scared. I was scared that I would lose Tristan.
“I cannot tell him right now, Cass. Please, please do not say anything right now. I will tell him, soon I promise. I just need a day or two to figure out how. I think we should keep from telling him about Brett’s phone call too. I do not want him to worry.”
She nods as she went to stand. “I will do whatever you want me to do, Kendall, but you need to see a doctor soon. I will only promise not to tell him about Brett for right now, but if that son-of-a-bitch starts calling you again, I will Kendall. I will not allow him to start getting back into your head again.”
“I know, and I will. I cannot tell him about Brett right now and I just need to
find out where Tristan and I stand before I go blurting out to him that I am pregnant with his child. What if he doesn’t want this? What if he doesn’t want a baby?” I asked her as I placed my hands on my stomach.
“First of all, Kendall, the man is obviously head over heels in love with you. He may not have said the words yet, but he does. Second, if he does not want you or this baby, he is a fucking idiot.”
Cassie always had a way of providing comfort to me when I needed it. I do not know what I would do without her.
“Come on. The boys will be back soon. We can work on the piece to help take your mind off of this for right now. But Kendall, he needs to know.”
“I know, Cass. I will.” I said, but as I said it, I was not so sure. I had a feeling that when he finds out, it would be the end of us and I would lose him. I did not think I could let go of him yet.
Chapter 19
Tristan
I thought that my day full of meetings would never end. The only thing I could think of was getting back to the hotel to Kendall. I had big plans for her tonight and I could not wait to put them in motion. I knew that I do not deserve her. I knew that she would be better off with someone who did not have a direct impact on her past. All I could think about was how much I wanted her, needed her.
I planned on putting everything I felt for her into words and motions tonight. I was going to let Kendall know that she was the only one for me. She was the every beat of my heart. I did not want to be apart from her, ever. Tonight I, Tristan Price, was going to tell Kendall Jones that I love her.
I was thinking about my plans as Jackson and I rode in the cab on the way back to the hotel. Here we are in the city of love, what better place than to tell the woman who consumes nearly my every thought that I love her.
