An Unbreakable Bond (16 page)

Leading them upstairs, he opened a door at the far end of the hall. “I thought you might like this room April as it looks out over the stables.”

April dived on the bed. “This is so cool, thank you!”

Turning to face her, he gave her a mischievous grin and waggled his eyebrows. “And your room is further down the hall, right next door to mine.”

So much for the space to sort out her emotions when he’ll be right next bloody door! Giving him her very own sarcastic smile, she replied, “how thoughtful.”

 Chuckling, he opened the door to her room. It was lovely. Decorated in pastel shades of violet with a huge canopied bed and arched windows. She moved towards them and looked out at the blackness, jumping slightly as she felt his breath on her neck.

“It overlooks the back of the property and one of the smaller lakes.”

The warmth of his voice melted her insides. It would just take a small rock backwards on the soles of her feet to meet with the hard of muscle of his chest and be enfolded within the circle of his arms, but she resisted.

Turning round to face him their eyes locked and everything in the room faded away. The air intensified and her fingers itched to reach out and touch him. There was no mistaking his look. Pure unadulterated lust and she knew she was looking at him with the same lust.

The resolve from earlier dissipated, as her mouth salivated. Just one little bite, surely there’s no harm in that? Leaning forward slightly, she licked her lips. Kiss me, she thought to herself.

Looking down at her half-closed eyes and moist lips sent the bulge in his pants into over-drive. It would only take one tiny step forward and she would be exactly where he wanted her, but he’d felt her resistance as she’d looked out of the window. No, the time wasn’t right yet; she needed to come to him without one iota of defiance. Swiftly, he turned away. “I thought you could use something to sleep in, so I had some nightwear set out for you.”

Whoa, what just happened? One minute she was on the verge of giving in and the next thing she knew the moment was broken and she was left blinking furiously. Feeling foolish, she looked to the bed and saw the cream flimsy silk nightgown and robe laid out for her. Heat infused her cheeks as she replied, “Erm, thank you.”

“You’ll find other things in your bathroom.”

The tension in the air felt suffocating. It felt like he was waiting for something, but she didn’t know what it was. It was pulling at her insides like a magnet, making her question what she believed about him. “Well, I guess this is goodnight then?”

Smiling slowly at her, he was pleased with himself. Confusion was running across her face like a steam train. Over the years he had broken in many a wild skittish horse and she was showing the same traits of resistance verses trust. Now that the shock of the last few weeks was wearing off and he finally had Annabelle in his territory, the rules were about to change. “Goodnight Ma Belle.”

The door closed quietly behind him and she stood there in a trance. What has she done? In less than five minutes she’d been through a whirlwind of emotions! Even when she opened herself to him, he’d walked away. Damn him! She was no puppet to be played with. Resisting him was going to be an arduous task, but resist him she must. Either that or be vulnerable and that was not an option.

Chapter 10

“Urgh!”
To be jumped on by your daughter after endless hours of tossing and turning, whilst trying to fathom out why Tristan pulled away was the last thing she needed.

“Mum, guess what?”

She yawned. “What?”

“Dad took me to the stables and I picked out my very own horse called Firecracker. It’s a dappled mare.”

“Uh huh, that’s nice.” Groggily, she climbed out of bed and did a slow stretch facing the window. Her muscles ached from yesterday’s travelling. A slight breeze from behind her caused her to look over her shoulder. Tristan was standing in the doorway with a case in each hand.

Gobsmacked, he drank her in slowly as she turned to fully face him. The sight before him was like a scene from an erotic dream and he carelessly dropped the cases at his feet with a loud thud. The light from the window behind her allowed all of her curves to be silhouetted through the flimsy material of the nightgown. Curvaceous hips, a tiny waist and heavy breasts with erect nipples poking through the silk. This was absolute torture. All of the blood in his body raced to his growing arousal and his mouth went dry. Gruffly, he spoke, “Erm, I erm, brought you your stuff.”

Cocking her head in confusion at the pink spreading across his cheeks, she couldn’t recall ever seeing him blush before. Then it dawned on her, he could see right through what she was wearing.
“Eek!”
Throwing her arms around her middle she darted a look around the room for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere to run to.

“Wow, mum, you have padded coat-hangers in your wardrobes.”

Shocked out of the intense moment by April’s voice, they both turned to where she was rummaging in the deep closets and when she turned back, he’d gone. Embarrassment flooded her cheeks.

After shooing April out and slinging her cases in the closet, she dived into the shower, staying under the spray until she felt relatively normal. But all that effort of bringing herself back into a calm state went down the tube the minute she stepped into the kitchen. Tristan had his back to her over the stove, cooking what smelt like pancakes, but it was the sight of his behind in a pair of Levi’s that virtually made her drool.

The last time she’d seen him dressed in jeans had been ten years ago. A stream of memories popped into her mind and all the feelings of longing that were tied into those pictures of the past smacked her in the gut. She couldn’t breathe.

At that exact moment he chose to turn round. Seeing her bent over with her hands on her knees wheezing wasn’t what he’d expected. “Are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“Uh huh,” she flicked her hand at him in response. Straightening up, she shuffled her way to the table and sank into a chair.

Shrugging off her mysterious bout of breathlessness, he smiled. “I hope you like pancakes. I’ve made enough to feed the whole ranch.”

Him
standing there with a spatula in his hands, looking like a god and showing his dimples, was her final undoing. Ten years ago she’d closed a door on a part of herself. Shutting away the young girl who dreamed, hoped and lived for her prince charming. Somehow, the sight of him this morning had opened that door a crack. Bewildered, she absently nodded and he placed a plate of hot pancakes in front of her.

Not moving from her side he spoke, “April ate thirty minutes ago. She’s in the stables waiting for us. I thought we could do a horse riding tour of the estate this morning.”

She nodded and popped a piece of pancake into her mouth.

Highly aware of his body heat next to her, she took a quick glance out of the corner of her eye and she could see her face was level with his crotch.

“Have you lost your tongue?” he asked in an amused tone.

She choked on the pancake. A vision of what she’d like to do with her tongue and his crotch flashed across her mind and she choked some more. Finally, she gravelled out a husky voice. “Sure, would love to.”

****

The estate was vast and they’d only covered a small portion of it. Sweating in the rising heat, she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. For the last few hours they’d ridden with April in the middle of them on her new horse and now they were returning back to the stables. Conversation had been minimal between them, but it had flowed effortlessly between Tristan and April as he pointed out all the wildlife and history.

She sighed…again. On one level she was glad to be ignored, on another level it made her restless. There was a conflict warring between wanting him and rejecting him. If she gave in she knew it would be good between them, but it was the thought of her having to leave or him rejecting her at the end of the trip that made her keep him at arm's length. The real fear was in falling for him again. There was also another burning question that had her insides churning. If April didn’t exist would he have still married Cara? Biting down hard on her lip, she felt out of her depth. Perhaps she could ask him? But would he lie just to have a fling?

Watching the array of emotions flit across her face made him smile.

If she sighed one more time he was going to smack the rear end of her horse and send her off galloping! Secretly, he was pleased with himself. The plan was beginning to work and he could feel her inner battle of whether to trust him or not and he also knew she felt miffed by his lack of attention. Now it was time to turn the pressure up.

They arrived at the stables and as he dismounted he spoke, “I’ve arranged a welcome dinner this evening so that you can meet all the ranch hands. I didn’t know if you’d brought a formal dress, so I had someone fly in this morning with a few to select from. They’re in your room. Dinner is at eight.

Taken by surprise, she replied, “Oh, I erm, thank you.”

With a final nod, he handed his horses reins to the head groomsman and strode out of the barn.

Peeved that he hadn’t stayed to help her unsaddle, she shakily climbed down. It had been a while since she’d ridden a horse. Walking up to the house she felt completely thrown off kilter. One minute he was ignoring her and the next he was arranging a dinner and having dresses flown in especially! It seems that this older version of Tristan blew hot and cold.

After lunch she spent the afternoon in her room trying on the selection of outfits. Eventually, she settled for a red dress. It ended mid-calf and fitted tightly to her skin, cinching at the waist before finishing with a sweetheart neckline that showed off a peek of cleavage. She’d combined it with red stilettos and pulled back her hair into a Spanish style sleeked bun at her nape. The only make-up used was a smattering of mascara and matching red lipstick. The effect was understated, yet dramatic.

At eight she made her way down the wide staircase. A throng of two dozen people milled about in the open plan foyer and lounge of the ranch. She spotted Tristan or rather she felt his eyes boring into her from the other side of the room. Meeting those eyes was like walking into an inferno. It was one searing hot look! Warily, she lowered her eyes in response. It felt like déjà vu from ten years ago. Only this time she wasn’t a naïve teenager out to seduce him. No, there was no reeling him in like a fish with a Grecian style gown. This time he was reeling her in and she was fighting him all the way in order to keep her sanity.

Tristan stood rooted to the spot. Seeing her walk down those stairs in the striking red number nearly brought him to his knees. How was he going to remain aloof all night with her looking like that! He’d noted her reaction of fear to the feral look he’d given her. It was time to shutter it. If she got one whiff of how powerful his attraction to her was, she would run like a frightened doe.

Most of the men stood around him were also gawking and nudging each other. Taking a step in front of them, he felt like storming over there and taking her mouth in his, laying claim to her, so no-one in the room was mistaken about who she belonged to. Mentally, he kicked himself - that would be the quickest way to send her running. Pasting a slight smile on his face as she approached, he greeted her, “Good evening Annabelle. You look nice.”

Nice!
I’ll give him
nice!
“And you look so
sweet
in your dinner suit Tristan.” She smiled as he grimaced. In truth, he didn’t look sweet at all. More like a tall, dark, powerful force of a man. Something primal, like a man on a hunt, out to devour. Without waiting for him to introduce her, she turned to the muscular man on Tristan’s right, who was good-looking in a Hugh Grant kind of
way.
She held out her hand in greeting. “Hi, I’m Annabelle.”

Taking her outstretched hand, he brought it to his lips and left a butterfly kiss across her knuckles, making her blush.

“I’m Niall, main head ranchman at your service Miss Annabelle.”

Oh my!

Before she could blink several other men were taking her hand, kissing her knuckles and making introductions, all strong and muscular from out-door work.

Tristan was seething. This was not how it was supposed to pan out. The plan was to draw her in, not have men fawning all over her to distract her. Taking her elbow, he roughly guided her out of the accumulating male admirers and over to a group of chatting women. Promptly, he deposited her in the centre of the throng, mumbled her name and then walked away.

The women went silent before looking at each other and bursting into muffled laughter.

“So, you seem to have our Tristan all in a bother,” said one tiny elf-like woman.

“Erm, well, not exactly, I –”

“My Frank said he hasn’t been the same since he got back. Acts all
primate
as soon as he’s around you, and now I’ve just seen the proof with my very own eyes,” said a willowy blonde.

“Primate?
I don’t know about –”

“Well, I heard from my Ethan,” said a curvaceous Spanish looking woman, as she pointed to a tall fair-haired ranch-hand on the other side of the room. “That Tristan called off his engagement to that cold-hearted ice-queen Cara for you. Is that true?”