by Jenika Snow
Her body reacted to the sight of him in nothing but a towel slung low on his hips. A light sheen of perspiration formed between her breasts, her breathing quickened, her nipples grew hard, and the most intimate part of her grew wet with desire. He was formed like a Greek god, like Hades waiting to cause destruction. All she could do was stare. He took a step out of the bathroom, and before she knew it he was standing before her. The smell of him, darkly rich and intoxicating, washed over her, and she found herself closing her eyes and humming in approval. When she was able to open her eyes again, she felt her cheeks heat at the embarrassing noise that just came from her.
He was so big, so tall, so…intense. His masculinity and testosterone surrounded her, and she felt wholly feminine in his presence. Inappropriate thoughts slammed into her mind and she felt her mouth go dry. He didn’t move, just stared down at her with his eyes at half-mast. Tristan found herself lifting her hand and slowly bringing her fingertips to the small, swollen area right below his eye. He didn’t flinch when she lightly traced the edge of the wound. It was warm beneath her fingers. He exhaled and she watched as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. When she realized what she was doing she went to remove her fingers, but as if he anticipated the act, his hand covered hers, securing it on his face. Her palm now covered his cheek. The feel of smooth, freshly shaved flesh rubbed against her hand. She licked her lips and saw Kash’s gaze dip down to watch the motion.
At that moment she wanted to be kissed, badly. The arousal she felt was like a thunderstorm inside of her, like nothing she had felt before.
This is wrong. Step away, Tristan. You’ll ruin everything, like you always do.
Finding a strength she didn’t know she possessed, she took a step back, but Kash moved with her. When she took a step back, he took one forward until she felt the wall behind her. She continued to stare up at him, knowing that what she wanted to do with him was wrong on so many levels. The words to tell him just that were there, in her mind, but she couldn’t force them past her lips. His hot breath skittered across her face, and the scent drove her desire higher. She could smell the hops from the beer he drank, could even smell a hint of whiskey beneath that.
He let her hand drop from beneath his, but he didn’t move away. “Kash.” She whispered his name and watched as he closed his eyes again.
“Tristan.” He said her name like they were having sex, raw, powerful, erotic. When he opened his eyes again they glowed like emeralds on fire.
He moved an inch closer and Tristan gasped when she felt his erection press against her belly. He felt huge, but Tristan wasn’t surprised. He was big all over. He lowered his head until their lips were mere inches apart. Their breath mingled together as their eyes stayed locked. She knew that if she leaned in just a little, her lips would press against his. The idea was tempting, but Tristan reminded herself how things could go terribly wrong in the next instant. She didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Zac, yet she couldn’t move away from his hypnotic stare.
Kash lifted his hands and placed them on her shoulders. The act itself wasn’t overly erotic if an outsider were to see, but when she felt his palms touch her, a bolt of lightning sang through her body. Her pussy clenched involuntarily and she had to hold back the groan that would have spilled forth. The knowledge of what he wore wasn’t lost on her. All she would have to do was reach down and yank the terrycloth away from him.
“If you knew who I truly was, you wouldn’t be so aroused.” With that he pushed away from her and stalked back to his room, shutting the door behind him.
She stared at his now-closed bedroom door and tried to catch her breath. What the hell was that about? Had she misinterpreted what had just happened? She had most definitely felt his hard shaft pressed against her, and the heated look he had given her had said he wanted her, but his comment confused her. She should be happy he stopped before things escalated, but there was something inside of her, that feeling that she had been trying to smash down since he first moved in, that screamed she needed more, wanted more.
She moved away from the wall with unsteady legs and slipped into her room. When the door was shut behind her she leaned against it and closed her eyes. They may not have done anything, but what had just happened out there certainly made things more difficult.
* * * *
Nice way to keep your fucking distance! The urge to slam his fist into something was strong, but he closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. When he had come out of the bathroom and seen her standing there, her desire for him tangible, all rational thought had fled his mind. He had stalked, fucking stalked toward her like she was his prey. Her scent had been so incredibly addicting, so arousing that his cock had stood straight at attention and nearly ripped right through the towel slung low on his hips. Oh, he had seen her eyes grow wide and innocent like when she had dipped her gaze to what was hidden behind the material. All he could think about was ripping it away from his body, pinning her to the wall, and slamming all his hard inches into her. The sweet torture of his thoughts was painfully intense.
When some of his self-hatred had ebbed, he opened his eyes and stared at his bed. How many times in the past week alone had he pictured her sprawled out on that very mattress? Way too many times to count. Even now he could still smell her, sweet, potent, like strawberries and vanilla. Yeah, he had always been a fan of that combination.
His shaft ached something awful and he parted the towel with his hand and gripped himself. Teeth gritted, all he could think about was Tristan. Sweet, innocent Tristan that looked at him with lust and need. Sweet Tristan that didn’t know half of the monster he truly was. He could just picture her reaction when he told her that little bit of information about himself.
Frustrated, he let go of his erection and dropped the towel. No, there would be no release for him tonight. He climbed into bed naked, wishing that things were a hell of a lot different.
Chapter Nine
“You know what I heard?”
Tristan leaned against the counter and stared out the window. She held her phone between her ear and shoulder as she fixed herself something to eat. “What?” She was only half listening to Kylie. The majority of her attention was stuck on the other night. Several days had passed since her run-in with Kash in the hall. Even thinking about it now had her stomach dropping and her heart racing. Of course she hadn’t seen him since. His ridiculous work schedule had him locked away sleeping during the day and gone all hours of the night. She kept replaying what he had whispered against her mouth right before he pulled back, “If you knew who I truly was, you wouldn’t be so aroused.”
Had that been a warning that he wanted her to stay away? Was he hiding some criminal background? A plethora of things that he could have meant by that statement played over and over in her head.
“Tristan? Did you hear what I said?”
She snapped out of her musing and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, no, I didn’t hear you.” Kylie sighed loudly and Tristan rolled her eyes at her friend’s exaggeration.
“I heard Jayson talking on the phone about…Max.”
Just the sound of his name had her stomach growing queasy. It had been over three months since she had the encounter with Max, yet it was still so fresh in her mind.
“Oh?” Her voice was soft, distant. What had happened had been her fault, too. She had been a fool. She should not have taken the beer he gave her, and she should have not gotten in his car.
“Yeah. I guess Michael, you remember him, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Michael said he saw him at Emilio’s Pizzeria, practically molesting some woman against the side of the building.”
Tristan swallowed. “How does he know it was him? I mean I thought no one really knew him or saw him.” Tristan closed her eyes and tried to not puke. She didn’t want anyone knowing about what happened. She didn’t want the attention. “Please tell me Michael doesn’t know about Max, please.” Tristan had made Kylie pr
omise not to go to the police. It had been a hard argument, but in the end Tristan had won. She didn’t want this being dragged out, especially since she didn’t even know the guy’s last name. She and Kylie both knew there was nothing the cops could do. Aside from filling out a lousy police report, which wouldn’t help them catch the would-be rapist.
“God, no. You know we would never tell people about what happened.” A moment of silence passed between them. “He just said he remembered Jayson asking about him and how Michael remembered him from the party. I guess when Michael approached him and asked him about the party, Max got all defensive and up in his face. Michael said he was pretty trashed and the girl didn’t look any better.”
Tristan instantly worried that he had somehow drugged the girl as well, but Kylie cleared her concern about that with her next sentence.
“The girl told Michael to fuck off and they both walked away. They haven’t seen him since.” Kylie gave a short laugh. “Can you believe someone telling Michael to fuck off? That’s like someone telling Kash to go fuck himself.”
Michael was a beast of a man, but no doubt he was more dumbstruck than angry that someone had talked to him like that. Tristan breathed a sigh of relief. When he had drugged her she couldn’t even stand straight, let alone look someone in the eye, tell them to fuck off, and saunter off. Tristan felt marginally better. She was also glad Kylie had no intentions of telling anyone, not that Tristan thought she would, but when Kylie was pissed she was known to let things slip. She just wanted to forget about it.
“Jayson took a call at, like, ten last night. I didn’t know it was Michael at the time, but as he continued to talk I could see Jayson getting angrier. I questioned him about it when he got off the phone.”
The sick feeling in Tristan’s stomach intensified at the realization that Emilio’s was a ten-minute drive from her house, and far too close for comfort. He was so close. Too close. What if he came back looking for her? He knew where she lived after all. Fear reared its ugly head inside of her, but she reminded herself it had been three months since that happened. If he wanted her he would have come by now. Besides, Kash was here, which made her feel safe.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to let you know that they are not going to let this son of a bitch get away with it.”
Tristan breathed out roughly and she could practically see Kylie scowling. “I don’t want anyone doing anything about it, Kylie. I just want to forget that night ever happened.” The other end of the phone was silent and Tristan closed her eyes.
“I know, hun, but what he did to you, what he was about to do to you, doesn’t sit well with a lot of people.”
“Kash handled it.” The memory of Max’s face looking like raw meat slammed into her mind. Kash had been a monster, and he had done it for her. No fear could come from that moment, not when he had done it to protect her. She just wondered where in the hell he had learned to fight like that. Even through the haze of her drugged memory, she had seen how calculated his moves were, how he had expertly dodged Max’s feeble attempts to swing back. Kash had known what he was doing very well.
“I just want to forget.”
Kylie finally, if grudgingly, got off the phone with her. Tristan stood there for several minutes, thinking back on everything. Her feelings for Kash were not dimming in the slightest, despite his continuing absence. It was like the longer she didn’t see him, the more she wanted him. She shook her head, knowing damn well that nothing would ever happen between them. He had said as much, but she told herself she would have stopped it anyway, once it had gone too far.
That was what she told herself anyway.
Chapter Ten
Tristan rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she walked down the stairs. She had worked late last night and didn’t get to bed until after midnight. Of course, Kash’s truck hadn’t been in the driveway, but then again, it rarely was at night. An envelope was sitting on the kitchen table when she finally entered the kitchen. Her name was scrolled across the front of it. She opened it and found a wad of crisp, brand-new one-hundred-dollar bills inside. She felt her eyes widen as she counted them. There was the next two months’ rent inside as well as the utilities.
Holy shit.
She shoved the bills in the envelope and reminded herself to ask Kash about it. He was under no obligation to pay her so much up front. She walked over to the coffeepot and started to brew a pot. Glancing out her kitchen window, she saw Kash’s black truck in the driveway. Her heart instantly sped up at the knowledge that he was right above her. Get a fucking grip. She felt like a hormone-raging adolescent. Could she not fall for her roommates? Zac had strictly been just sex, but she honestly felt something much more for Kash. Their movie nights, those quiet times they had talked, confided in each other. Maybe she hadn’t told him her darkest secrets, but she had been open about whatever they had talked about. She should talk to Kylie about it, but at the idea of confessing how she felt for Kash, a wave of nervousness washed through her. No, she couldn’t admit any of this to Kylie, at least not yet.
The sound of a door opening upstairs had her hands clenching on the counter. Footsteps descending down the stairs had her mouth going dry, and seeing him walk into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers did wicked things to other body parts. He was yawning and stretching at the same time. His eyes were closed and she took that split second when he wasn’t aware to really look at him.
Of all things holy.
If she thought his chest was incredible with a shirt on, the sight of him bare-chested sent her into cardiac arrest. Muscles, definition, that perfectly sculpted V on his lower abdomen that disappeared beneath his boxers, were the stuff porn was made out of. Was a man supposed to even look that good? It should be illegal. When he finally opened his eyes and saw her he stopped. She felt herself blush at the very real possibility that he had caught her blatantly checking him out. They stared at each other a suspended moment, and she wondered if he was thinking about their encounter in the hallway. She sure as fuck was. He snapped out of whatever haze he was in, looked down at his chest and then back at her. He cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, I’m not decent.” He lifted his lips, just a half grin that did funny things to her. “I would have gotten dressed but I figured you were still in bed. It is pretty early.”
Yeah, it was, but she was suddenly thankful that she had pulled herself out of bed. If not, she wouldn’t have gotten to witness the sight before her. He turned to leave and she stopped him.
“You don’t have to change.” She blushed and looked away. “I mean, this is where you live. You don’t need to put clothes on because of me. It isn’t like I’ve never seen a half-naked man before.” The smell of coffee alerted her to the fact she needed to grab a cup and get the hell out of there before she made a bigger fool out of herself.
Her hand was surprisingly steady as she poured herself a cup. When the mug was full she hastily exited but right before she left she stole a glance over her shoulder. Kash was grabbing a cup out of the cabinet. The first thing she noticed was the muscles stretching taut across his inked skin. As she let her eyes travel the rest of him, she let her gaze stop at his big hands. Even from a distance she could see his knuckles. They were raw. Scabs hadn’t even had time to form on them yet. What in the hell does he do for a living, beat the shit out of people? The thought was an idle one, but as she climbed the stairs she felt her brows furrow. There was a mystery to Kash, one she didn’t know if she would ever find out. Did she want to though? She shook her head, trying to wash away…everything. It didn’t matter. The less she thought about it, the better she would be.
* * * *
“I don’t know, Kylie.” Tristan played with an errant string that hung from the kitchen tablecloth.
“I know that”—Kylie paused for a moment before continuing—“incident is still pretty fresh, but you need to get out of the house. You’ve been cooped up in there since it happened. Aside from going to work and straight
back home, you don’t do anything. Hell, I have to come to your house.” Kylie sighed heavily. “I’m not berating you because of it. Really, I’m not. I understand your reservation, but I think a little socialization would do you some good.”
Tristan rubbed her eyes and tried to see Kylie’s point of view.
“It’s only for a few hours. Shannon scored one of the VIP sections, which has its own bouncer. No one will bother us, I swear.”
Kylie was desperately trying to get her to go on a girls’ night out. It wasn’t that Tristan didn’t want to. She just had reservations.
“It’ll just be us girls, well, aside from everyone else at the club.” Kylie chuckled but it didn’t seem authentic. “Please, Tristan.” Her voice had a whiney quality and Tristan rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, okay.” A few happy squeals from Kylie’s end and Tristan hung up the phone. The only sound she heard was her breathing and the clock in the foyer ticking down the seconds. It had been long enough. Hell, three months of keeping oneself sheltered in the house couldn’t be good for anyone. The weather was changing and the chill in the air was starting to make her depressed. No, this was what she needed. At least that was what she told herself as nervousness crept to the forefront of her mind.
Chapter Eleven
The club was hopping when Tristan followed Kylie and four other women through the red, patent leather doors. Music blasted all around her, and the smell of sweat, sex, and something cloyingly sweet filled the air. She had been to The Rabbit Hole before, but it had been years ago and not what she remembered. She felt completely out of place.
