BetweenTwoBillionairesCompleteStripped (18 page)

We make not-so-idle
chitchat while we wait. She teases me relentlessly about the hundreds
of things I'm embarrassed to talk about, asking about Tristan's penis
size and fishing for details about our sexual activities. By the time
Shawn's black sports car pulls up into the driveway, my cheeks are
bright pink.

“
Holy
shitake, that's a nice car.” Ethel's focus snaps to Shawn's
car.

“
You
should wait to see what gets out of that car,” I whisper with a
smirk, as if Shawn could actually hear me through the glass and the
distance between us.

When Shawn steps out
in full business attire, Ethel hoots. “Hot damn! Yeah, I want
that one.” She nods excitedly at me, and I can't help but laugh
while I pull myself off the floor and smooth out the wrinkles in my
dress.

I'm at the door
before he even has a chance to ring the doorbell. Ethel peeks over my
shoulder, grinning ear-to-ear as she waves at him and says, “Hi.”

Shawn casts a
disinterested glance at her before turning his attention to me. “Are
you ready?”

“
I
guess.” My happiness melts as I realize I'm about to be whisked
away into an awkward situation.

“
You
guys have fun.” Ethel makes a strange face at me as I walk out
the door and follow Shawn to the car. I can't tell if it's concern or
jealousy, but it's the last thing I need to worry about right now.

“
That
was your sister?” Shawn asks as we pull out of the driveway.

“
Stepsister.
And she thinks you're hot.” Might as well throw it out there.

He grunts in reply.

“
Where
are we going?” I stare across at him. If he's nervous, I can't
tell. I certainly am though.

“
Back
to the house.” He doesn't even glance at me.

“
Is
Tristan there?”

“
No.
He's on a business trip.” He shakes his head lightly.

“
Can't
we go somewhere public instead?” The idea of being alone with
Shawn makes me uncomfortable.

“
The
things I need to talk to you about shouldn't be shared with others.”
And that's the end of conversation until we get back to his house.

***

“
Would
you like something to drink?” he asks once we're inside.

“
Water,
please.” I offer him a soft smile of appreciation.

“
Wait
in the living room for me.”

He leaves me without
another word, and I continue toward the living room. To my surprise,
the large open space has been redecorated. Where there was once an
area left bare for dancing, there's now furniture, a living room suit
that matches all the other décor in the house.

I sit down on the
sofa and wait for Shawn, staring out the large windows that overlook
their backyard. The sun is setting, but I can see it better than I
did the first time I was here. It's so breathtakingly beautiful.

“
Here
you go.” Shawn appears in my peripheral vision, handing me a
bottle of water. I take it from him, trying not to seem too startled
when he sits right beside me. There is plenty of seating around us.
It's not necessary for him to be so close.

“
Thank
you.” I scoot a few inches away from him.

“
Do
I make you uncomfortable?” He smirks.

“
Honestly,
yes.” I avoid looking at him. Right now, I'm extremely
uncomfortable.

“
That
will change over time,” he assures me.

“
What
did you want to talk about?” I cut to the chase.

He takes a deep
breath. “How did you enjoy your first taste of how Tristan
really is?”

How he really is?
The way Shawn words it makes a cold chill roll down my spine. He's
implying that Tristan is usually an asshole. That what I saw in the
car was the real thing. That everything up to this point has been an
act.

“
He
had a moment,” I say firmly. I have to believe that.

“
He
has a lot of moments.” Shawn leans back, stretching his arms
out.

“
I
shouldn't have asked about Kelly.” I twist the top off my
bottle of water.

“
No.
You shouldn't have.” He looks at me, and I can feel his eyes
boring into me.

“
He
said he killed her. Is it true?” My body tenses as I ask the
question.

“
No.”

Relief rushes
through me at the answer. I had thought it was a lie. Thank God, I
was right.

“
So
tell me what happened?” I glance over at him, feeling a bit
vulnerable. He's staring at me, but there's no emotion behind his
eyes.

“
Kelly
killed herself,” the words come out as casually as if Shawn was
talking about the weather.

“
Why?”
I furrow my brows.

“
Because
Tristan's not whole.” There's a sadness in his tone that's
misplaced. It should have been there when he told me about Kelly.
This is for his brother though. He didn't care about Kelly. He cares
about his brother.

“
What
do you mean he's not whole?”

“
You've
seen the way he gets.” Shawn shifts his weight. “The kid
isn't right in the head. He hasn't been right for a long time. He's
not stable like I am.” He glances at me when he says it.

“
Has
he gone to counseling?” I ask hesitantly.

“
He's
still going to counseling. They can't help him though. Change only
happens when you want it to.” He shakes his head. “Don't
get me wrong though. Tristan has his own way of coping with things.
It's not the most conventional way, but it's his.”

“
He
copes by yelling at people.” I mean to huff, but I end up
hiccuping instead. The memory of Tristan getting angry at me rushes
back like a foul wind. Is that really what I have to look forward to
if I stay with him?

“
As
I said, he's not the most stable person. I thought you needed to know
the truth though. He's not capable of talking about it without
something like . . . that happening.” His eyes scour my face
sympathetically.

“
I
wish Ethel and I were like you and Tristan.” I look down and
fidget with my fingers. Our relationship has gotten better since I
started seeing Tristan, but I keep feeling like it's only a matter of
time before we revert back to our old ways.

Actually, now that I
think about it, maybe Shawn and I aren't so different after all.
Ethel is unstable. I'm the level-headed one.

“
Want
to watch a movie?” Shawn asks, catching me off-guard.

“
A
movie?” I parrot back stupidly.

“
Yeah.
It gets lonely around here without Trist.” He gives me a
hopeful look.

It's strange how in
a matter of a few minutes, I've begun to relax around him. I'm still
a bit wary, considering what happened in the shower, but I don't
think he's quite the bad boy that he tries to project himself to be.

“
A
movie.” I nod. “Alright, I think I can do that.”

“
Great.
I'm going to go get changed. You pick something for us to watch.”
He stands and hands me the remote before leaving me alone to turn on
the television and flip through the channels.

I take my shoes off
and kick my feet up onto the sofa, trying to get comfortable as I
search for something we'll both enjoy. It's hard to focus though when
my mind is stuck on everything that Shawn just told me about Tristan.
Will we ever be able to talk about Kelly without Tristan going off on
me? He can't keep allowing the memory of what happened to destroy
him. It's obvious that there's so much pain attached to it.

I want to help
Tristan heal, but I'm not sure how. More than that, I'm not sure if
I'm emotionally prepared for being pushed away every time he gets in
a bad mood. It's a bit heartbreaking. He was so perfect. I knew that
wasn't true though. No one is perfect. Everyone has skeletons in
their closet—problems. His will directly affect me emotionally
though, and from what Shawn said, Kelly probably isn't the only thing
he'll go off on me about. If we stay together, I'll have to learn his
triggers. I'll have to learn how to avoid them.

It's Sunday, so
there's nothing good on TV. Five minutes have passed, and I know
Shawn will be back soon, so I need to settle on something. The only
thing I actually want to watch is a Nicholas Sparks movie, but it
doesn't take a genius to tell that Shawn isn't into romance. That's
not the kind of guy he is. He's the seduce and destroy type. Tristan
is the good one. Or is he?

I bite my bottom lip
as I stare at the screen. Even in the movies, couples have problems.
It's getting through them that makes people stronger. My finger
lingers on the change channel button, but I don't press it, lost in
thought, wondering if Tristan and I will have a happy ending, or if I
should just cut all ties now and save myself some grief.

Shawn rounds the
corner and tosses himself down on the sofa beside me. My eyes land on
delicious naked flesh. He has stripped down to his boxers, though I
don't know why. He still has to take me home later.

“
Getting
a bit too comfortable, don't you think?” I quirk an eyebrow at
him.

He glances at me for
a moment before taking the remote from my hand and setting it down on
the coffee table in front of us. “You'll learn very quickly
that I try to wear clothes as little as possible.”

My cheeks brighten
at his admission. In all honesty, I like him like this, but it feels
horribly wrong for me to think that. I want to be with his brother,
don't I? I shouldn't be ogling his beautiful muscular torso.

“
We
don't have to watch this. I was just flipping through channels.”
I shake my head, trying to clear away the perverted thoughts going
through my mind.

“
We
can watch whatever you want. Television on Sundays sucks. This is
probably the best thing on.” He leans back, draping his arm
over the back of the sofa. My eyes flit from his wrist up to his
shoulder, admiring the muscle tone. Shawn catches me looking and
smirks. “You like these kinds of movies, don't you?”

“
What
girl doesn't like romance?” I shift my weight in discomfort.

“
Care
to cuddle? I know I don't seem like it, but I'm quite the cuddler.”

“
No.
You definitely don't seem like it,” I laugh. My heart speeds up
at his offer. I want to touch him; I know it's wrong though.

“
We
really shouldn't.” I scrunch up my face.

“
It's
cuddling, Sarah. It's innocent.” He gives me a sarcastic look.

“
Well,
if you say so.” I relent, scooting against him and allowing him
to wrap his arm around me. He's so solid, so warm, and he smells
amazing. I try not to smirk to myself as I think about how both Ethel
and Jennifer want him. Now I'm here, cuddled up under his arm,
stealing his body heat. My own body is disturbingly aroused just from
touching him. This isn't right. I shouldn't be feeling this way.

We watch the movie
in silence. Shawn is being surprisingly well-behaved. Occasionally,
he rubs my shoulder with the back of his thumb, but that's the only
thing he does.

I'm caught between
concentrating on the movie and his body. My eyes keep diverting from
the screen to look at his tanned stomach or lower. He's wearing blue
plaid boxers. I wonder if he plans on changing again before he takes
me home. I imagine he would have to.

A romantic scene
starts playing, and my heart melts, wishing I had a love so strong.
Could Tristan and I be like that someday? Could I eventually heal
everything that's wrong with him and make him whole again? Or should
I move on to someone else, someone stable who wouldn't hurt me like
he has?