Chapter 5.

Although it was July, the night air off San Francis...o...b..y was cool, so Danielle wasn't surprised when they exited the restaurant and Tristan took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

And then they walked toward the car with his arm around her shoulders, which wasn't an uncommon thing for them to do. She couldn't help but reflect on other things they had done that could have put ideas in other people's heads besides Alex's and Renee's.

Port St. Lucie wasn't a huge town and most of the people knew of Paul and Tristan's close friendship, just like they knew of her and Tristan's close friendship. Even Marc had questioned her about it once, and she had explained that Tristan was like a big brother to her. At least he had been at the time. When had that stopped?

"You're quiet."

Tristan's words broke into her thoughts as he opened the car door for her. "I'm just thinking," she said.

When she slid into the seat he bent low to place the seat belt around her, bringing his face close to hers. "About this, I hope." And then he kissed her, just as easy and just as quick. It was over before she could sneak in some tongue time. She was tempted to pull his mouth back to hers, but he had closed her car door and was moving around the car.

When he slid into the driver's seat, she narrowed her eyes at him. "That wasn't fair."

He smiled as he switched on the engine. "What was unfair about it?"

"Too short."

His smile widened as he pulled out of the parking lot. "I'm saving the longer version for when we get behind closed doors."

"Very well, then," she said, finding a comfortable position in her seat. "I plan to hold you to it."

"Trust me, Dani, it will happen."

She believed him, and that was what she thought was the weirdest thing. She and Tristan were always a pair. They had traveled together numerous times and had even shared hotel rooms during most of them. But nothing had ever happened between them. Again she couldn't help but wonder, why now? Part of her believed it had a lot to do with her asking him to be her lover. Since then, things had certainly gotten hot between them. They were contemplating sleeping together as if it was nothing.

Well, to her her it was certainly something. She had gone without for almost eight months. Marc had been just that neglectful. She had been satisfied with the promise he'd made, so she hadn't nagged him about the times they hadn't been intimate. But now she knew he hadn't been with her because he'd had two other wives to sleep with. How could she not have detected something? it was certainly something. She had gone without for almost eight months. Marc had been just that neglectful. She had been satisfied with the promise he'd made, so she hadn't nagged him about the times they hadn't been intimate. But now she knew he hadn't been with her because he'd had two other wives to sleep with. How could she not have detected something?

"You okay?"

She glanced over at Tristan. There was no way she was going to tell him what she was thinking. Mentioning Marc might dampen the mood and she didn't want that. So instead, she said, "I was wondering why it took me so long to seek you out as a lover."

He glanced over at her when the car came to a traffic light. "I think the main reason, Dani, was that you were married."

"Before then, when I was single and living in New York. You even came to see me a few times, spent the night at my place."

"Yes, but if you recall most of the times I showed up, Paul was with me. That one time I showed up by myself you were sick."

She nodded, remembering, surprised that he did. "I thought I was going to die."

He chuckled. "It was a toothache. Most people don't die from it, Dani."

"Well, there was more to the story than I was telling at the time."

"You don't say? What else was there?"

She turned toward him. "Because of the toothache, I had to be replaced for a photo shoot by the one person I hadn't wanted to replace me. I think she deliberately wished that toothache on me."

He raised a dark brow. "Boy, that's deep. She must have been a real witch."

She knew he was teasing her, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, she was serious. "Yeah, I thought so at the time, but it doesn't matter. She can have all the photo shoots she wants. That's not my life anymore."

There was a lot of traffic flowing in their direction, which caused Tristan to slow down again. Keeping his eyes on the cars in front of him, he asked quietly, "And what do you see as your life now, Dani?"

She gave a small shrug. "First I want to make sure I have one. Once I can finally put the past behind me, then I want to move on. I like what I'm doing at A&T, but I want to do more."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Possibly start a foundation in Paul's name. He was a big soccer fan, so I might give a soccer scholarship each year to a deserving student who needs it for college."

"That's very generous of you."

She grinned. "It will be generous of you, too, since it's also your money. I wasn't going to just give it out of my share but ours."

"Ours?" Tristan asked, coming to a stop at a traffic light and looking over at her.

She met his gaze. "Yes, ours. ours."

Their gazes held and for some reason she felt there was a deeper meaning in what she had said and she didn't know why. Since she had stepped in after Paul's death, they had always thought of the company as theirs. They were partners, true enough, but she never considered that she had just a share of the company. In her mind it was theirs. Together.

Tristan released Danielle's gaze when traffic began moving again. He figured she might not have realized the significance of what she'd just said, but he had. Whether they had acted on it previously or not, they had always shared everything, and tonight they would share each other in the most intimate way. He got turned on just looking at her. And he had no idea what perfume she was wearing, but the scent was like an aphrodisiac, making him fully aware of just how breathtakingly s.e.xy she was. Even when she had sipped her iced tea at dinner, he had gotten aroused. Seeing that straw between her lips, watching her suck on it, had sent all kinds of erotic images crashing through his brain. He could imagine those same lips on- "Tristan?"

Her voice cut into what he was thinking, and it was a good thing it had. He was fully aroused. He glanced over at her as he pulled into the hotel's parking garage. "Yes?"

"I asked whose bed we're sleeping in tonight."

He brought the car to a stop and cut the engine. He shifted his body to give her his absolute attention. "It really doesn't matter, sweetheart, because I can guarantee you that neither of us will get much sleep."

A short while later while riding the elevator up to their suite, Danielle remembered Tristan's words and shuddered in antic.i.p.ation. Earlier that day, kissing him back had been natural, as if it was something her body had wanted to do for a long time. It had been one of the most mesmerizing things she'd ever done in her life. She was being swept up in a storm of excitement thinking about what was yet to come. If those subtle hints and s.e.x-laced innuendos he'd made all evening were true, then she was in for the time of her life. And for her it was long overdue.

"You okay?"

She glanced up at him. "Yes, I'm fine."

They had stepped out of the elevator and were walking down the long hallway to their room. Tristan was always asking about her well-being; her physical and mental state had always been of concern to him. They still were. He hadn't known just how she would react when she'd discovered the extent of Marc's deceit. A part of her still didn't want to believe it. She just couldn't accept that any man could stoop so low and be so devious. But her dead husband had, and now she felt obligated to clean up the mess he'd left behind. Chris still wouldn't say which of the three wedding bands Marc had choked on. She figured Chris didn't want her, Alex or Renee feeling guilty. If only he knew just how non-guilty she felt. As far as she was concerned, choking on one of the rings seemed like a fitting way for him to go.

"Let it go, Dani."

She s.n.a.t.c.hed her gaze up to Tristan, wondering how he had known what she'd been thinking. As if the question was in her eyes, he said, "Your breathing shifted from calm to turbulent. At first I thought it was for another reason-until I looked down and saw you frown. Whatever you were thinking about him were unhappy thoughts. Let it go. When we cross over that threshold into our room, I want your complete attention. I don't want to compete for it."

"You won't have to," she a.s.sured him, trying to redirect her thoughts and dismiss Marc from her mind. She turned her attention to Tristan and what lay ahead. "Other than the fact we won't be getting much sleep, what else do you want to tell me about tonight?" she asked, smiling.

He looked down at her with those dark, intense eyes she'd always thought were gorgeous. "I intend for it to be special."

"And I have no doubt that it will be," she said.

"And for us things will go beyond me satisfying your needs, Dani."

That statement somewhat confused her, since she thought that was the main reason they were doing it. He would be satisfying her needs and she would be satisfying his. They had both admitted to being in desperate need of a lover and had turned to each other because they trusted each other implicitly.

"I don't understand what you mean," she said truthfully.

He smiled at her when they stopped in front of the hotel door. "That's fine, but one day you will, Dani. I'm going to make sure of it."

She pondered his words and could only come up with one answer and hope she was right. He knew more than anyone what she wanted, what Marc had cheated her out of. Was Tristan hinting at the possibility he would give her the child she'd always wanted?

She would not have asked that of him, no matter how much she wanted to become a mother. Asking him to be her lover had been bold enough, but she knew where to draw the line. However, the sheer excitement of that possibility had her mind racing, her heart overjoyed, to the point that she felt all misty-eyed. She reached out and touched his hand. "It's a baby, isn't it? You're going to give me a baby?"

Tristan blinked, trying to keep the shock of her words from his face. Making a baby with her had been the farthest thing from his mind. He had a wallet packed with condoms to prove it. The subtle hint he'd given her a few moments ago, when he'd said that what they would share would go beyond satisfying their needs, was mainly about the love he felt for her. A love that he had held inside for years. He had wanted her to eventually see that their lovemaking had nothing to do with just enjoying s.e.x together. In his mind they would be making love in the purest sense of the word.

But a baby?

On more than one occasion he had thought about being the one to give her the baby she wanted, especially when he'd seen how discovering Marc had been sterile had left her broken, nearly destroyed her spirit. That's when the idea first took shape in his head and it had stayed locked in the back of his brain. Now she was bringing it to the forefront. Personally he wanted more between them than satisfying needs and making a baby. He wanted her to come to the realization that he loved her. That was what drove him to do whatever it took to make her happy. On the other hand, he knew more than anyone that a baby would make her happy.

He inhaled deeply; deciding not to burst her bubble by telling her that making a baby with her before they got married was not part of his plan. But then, he wasn't ready to tell her exactly what what his future plans for them were until she got the closure she sought concerning Marc. his future plans for them were until she got the closure she sought concerning Marc.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. There was no need to ask her if she was sure she really wanted a baby. But he had to make sure she truly wanted his his baby. "Do you really want my baby, Dani? What if he or she is born bad-tempered like me?" baby. "Do you really want my baby, Dani? What if he or she is born bad-tempered like me?"

He watched her smile. "Tristan, you are the most mild-mannered person I know, and yes, I truly do want your baby. Just the thought of being pregnant fills me with profound happiness and joy."

There was something about her that let him know what he'd always known. She would make any child a good mother. She would make his child a good mother. She'd had a good role model. Her parents, especially her mom had been the best. He had spent many a night over at the Timmonses' house. And when the grandmother who had raised him died when he was in his senior year of high school, it had been the Timmonses who had taken him in. He never knew his father and his mother. They'd been teenagers who, after he was born, only showed up when looking for a handout. Nothing about that had changed, except now when his mother came looking for a handout she usually had some man trailing behind her.

"Aren't we going inside?"

Tristan heard the anxiousness in her voice and couldn't tell whether the thought of them making a baby was the driving force behind it. Did he really care? The answer came quick. No, he didn't. He loved her and wanted to bring peace and happiness into her life. It was happiness that she deserved.

He tried to downplay the trembling in his hand when he inserted the card into the lock. How long had he dreamed of this moment, actually thought it would never come after she'd gotten married? Now it seemed he was being given another chance.

He took a step back so she could walk in ahead of him. And then he entered and closed the door behind him, locking it.

Danielle wished she knew what Tristan was thinking. She breathed in, detecting the s.e.xual chemistry that was heavy in the air. She no longer wondered how in just a short span of time they could move their friendship to this level. The important thing was that they had. And what had her feeling as if she was floating on air was the thought that with him, she could have the thing she desired most.

"I want to know the name of the perfume you're wearing."

She met his gaze. He was leaning against the closed door with a look on his face that could only be described as downright enticing. Even his smile seemed to be deliberately stroking her.

"Why?" she asked, taking off the jacket he had placed across her shoulders. She held it in front of her, against her stomach, liking the heat she still felt in it.

"The scent. It's different."

A smile touched her mouth. She wasn't surprised that he had picked up on something, which proved he was a pa.s.sionate man. "It's called Arouse," she said, watching the darkening of his eyes when she said it. "It's supposed to-"

"No need to explain. I have an idea what it's supposed to do," he said, moving away from the door and walking slowly toward her. Her gaze traveled over him and immediately noticed something.

"And as you can see," he said, coming to a stop in front of her, "it works." He reached out and took his jacket from her and tossed it on the sofa. He then took hold of her hand to bring her body flush against his. "But I would be in this state even if you hadn't put it on."

"Why?"

"Because I ache for you."

Tristan knew Danielle a.s.sumed it was an ache that had begun recently, probably just that day. Someday he would let her know that in all actuality, he'd ached for a long time. It was an ache he thought he would never get rid of, but tonight he would.

He regarded her for a long moment, wanting to kiss her, put his hands all over her, trail his mouth across every inch of her skin. He wanted to know the taste of her just like he wanted her to know the taste of him. Going from friends to lovers would be something she wouldn't forget. Neither would he, and he intended to make it so.

"You said earlier today that you're desperate, Dani. I plan to find out just how desperate you are."

Dani stared at him and could feel him pressed against her. His voice had a husky timbre now, one that sent soft chills through her body, while at the same time an enticing warmth flowed through her veins, heated her blood. She wasn't used to such desire, such an ingrained degree of yearning and craving. He wanted to see desperation? She had no problem displaying it to him in living color.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been intimate, and considering the man she'd been with, she didn't want want to remember it. She would welcome any new memories Tristan wanted to make. Tonight was their night. Tomorrow would be their day. For however long it lasted, it would be their time. to remember it. She would welcome any new memories Tristan wanted to make. Tonight was their night. Tomorrow would be their day. For however long it lasted, it would be their time.

She took a step back out of his arms. "You want to see desperation, Tristan Adams? I will give you desperation." And before he could react, she reached behind her and with swift fingers undid the catch of her dress. Before he could blink, it slithered down her hips. As a model she'd learned how to get in and out of clothes quickly, and from the look in his eyes she could tell he appreciated that lesson.

She watched his gaze take in all of her, every inch her black-lace, low-cut pushup bra and matching thong didn't cover. His eyes left a heated trail across certain parts of her body and a lingering hot caress on others. The evidence of his arousal was becoming even more prevalent. Deep within her something seemed to break free. She felt her senses unraveling, replaced by a desire to explore everything and anything with this man.

With that thought imprinted in her brain and feeling compelled to get swept up in the storm of emotions that were descending on her like a whirlwind, she took two steps toward him. Instinctively he reached for her, giving her the warm embrace she needed.

Tristan tilted up her face with his fingertips, letting his gaze linger on it for a long moment before slowly lowering his mouth to hers, kissing the sigh off her lips. There he found a sweetness that touched him to the core. He was driven to lap it up with a hunger he felt to his bones. He needed her like he had never needed any other woman, and wanted her just as much.

He heard her moan beneath his mouth while she kissed him back, making his muscles quiver. Simply put, she had a way of igniting pa.s.sion with fire, the degree of which nearly burned him.

She freed her mouth from his and inhaled deeply, and from the look in her eyes he could tell the kiss had affected her just as much as it had him. He would show her desperation, as well, he thought, taking a step back and kicking off his shoes. Next came his socks and shirt, and he looked at her when he began easing his pants down his legs.

He heard her draw in a shaky breath, and the sound of it sent blood rushing through his veins. Desire, more potent than anything he had ever felt before, filled his mind, made his body tremble in antic.i.p.ation.

They stood facing each other with nothing separating them but their underwear. A long silence grew between them as they stared at each other and then simultaneously they began removing the last pieces of clothing.

Somehow Danielle managed to remove her bra and thong before Tristan got his boxer shorts down his legs. When he straightened, she was staring at him. Her eyes traveled all over his body, taking in his broad shoulders, muscled arms, the flat plane of his stomach and then that part of him in the middle, huge and aroused.

In return, he couldn't help but take in all of her naked body. The perfect curves of her hips, her firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s with the darkened nipples, and especially every detail of her Brazilian wax. Needing to touch her, he took a step forward, reached out and slid his hands over her stomach, her hips, and then firmly clutched her backside, liking the feel of her warm flesh in his hands.