Chapter 2 Tristan
TRISTAN
Fuck this annual charity event. I don’t care that it’s the only day of the year when my enemy and I put aside our animosity.
Usually, it’s a silent competition of whose ass gets kissed more by the New York elite.
Demyan can let the leeches suck him dry for all I care since he’s the official host this year.
I am bored out of my damn mind. The only challenge is not killing everyone who keeps pestering me.
Pretending I am more civilized than I am.
Pretending I am more businessman than killer.
Attending these damn galas takes inhuman willpower to keep the mask intact.
Meanwhile, that fucker couldn’t give a shit about keeping up appearances.
He displays who he is to everyone: a Bratva prince.
We have created a fragile alliance under the vision of Enzo and Mikail, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take every opportunity to fuck with each other. It is our sport, our entertainment. But even that barely excites me anymore.
All I want is to go home and bury myself in work, expanding my empire. There is not enough power or money I can get, striving to own everything and then some. I don’t want to socialize with these people that I bought a long time ago. They’re all under my thumb and in my pocket, anyway.
The money we will raise tonight is the only thing that makes this whole charade worth it. It is Demyan’s year to decide where the funds we raise will go—funding two preschools within the poorer communities of New York. Since when the fucker cares about children is beyond me.
People part for me as I make my way to the terrace. Once outside, I breathe deeply, filling my starved lungs with fresh air, releasing the fake entitlement that permeates Demyan’s penthouse.
The mask scratches my skin, so I yank it off and throw it down.
I lean against the glass railing, sipping my scotch, the rich taste sliding down my throat, when I hear someone approaching, disturbing my solitude. I grip my drink hard enough that it might crack under the pressure. Five fucking minutes of peace.
I am not asking for much, am I?
“Wow, beautiful,” she says in the softest voice I’ve ever heard.
Even women’s voices have started to grate on me, a fake inflection attached to their intonations. Not in hers. She seems genuinely impressed. That piques my curiosity, and I cock my head to observe the intruder.
Damn, she’s beautiful, and the filigree mask can’t hide her delicate cheekbones, a luscious mouth, and mesmerizing green eyes. Her long hair cascades down her back in a ponytail, making me want to thread my fingers through it and see if it’s as silky as it appears.
It’s been so long since I’ve been with a woman, I wonder if I’ve fucked her. Doubtful since I am certain I would remember her. That sweet voice and her beauty make her unforgettable.
Incapable of taking my eyes off her, hers widen in response. The “deer caught in the headlights” look puts a smirk on my face. We definitely don’t run in the same circles.
“Sorry, I…I thought no one would be out here.”
Eyes locked, neither of us able to escape the trance.
“It’s a better view from over here.” My voice sounds hoarse.
What the fuck?
Her full lips arch into a soft smile, going straight to my chest and causing my heart to beat out of cadence. The organ behaves so out of the ordinary that I question if it’s a health issue.
She takes cautious steps toward me—nervous yet determined. Interesting.
When she reaches the glass railing, her intoxicating scent invades my nostrils—something sweet and floral that causes an instant hunger. Truly disconcerting.
Who is this woman captivating my attention and teasing my senses? That’s not good for either of us. I want to indulge, but something tells me a taste won’t satisfy me.
“You’re not wearing your mask,” she murmurs.
She’s refreshing. While some women go for the whole innocent look, thinking men desire that, it has never worked with me. But not her. Her innocence is genuine.
“There’s no one else here to see that I’m not following the rules. You won’t tell, will you?” I ask low as if sharing a secret.
She chews on her lower lip. It’s so plump, enticing me to take a bite, to smudge that red color so she doesn’t appear so pure anymore.
What the fuck is wrong with me, entertaining this delusion when I should just leave. I shake my head as if to clear it, not understanding my visceral reaction to her.
“No, I’m good at keeping secrets.”
I arch a brow, jerking my chin at her. “Only people with their own can keep others.”
She tilts her head, baring a delicate, elegant neck. The vein pulses and flickers, betraying she’s just as affected by me.
I am convinced she has no idea who I am. She would have been all over me by now. Instead, she glances my way as if not knowing whether to stay or run. She should run, but it might tempt me to chase her. That wouldn’t end well for her.
She must sense the predator in me, telling me she knows those well, capturing more of my interest.
Who the fuck is this woman?
“What’s your name?” I ask, overcome by the need to uncover her.
“Isn’t anonymity the entire point of wearing a mask?” She smiles so brightly that for a moment I forget it’s nighttime.
For fuck’s sake, I am twenty-nine years old and thought no woman could affect me. Yet I am staring at the exception.
Not ready to end our conversation, I ask in a playful tone, the sound unfamiliar to my ears. “Is that so? What are you hiding?”
“What are you hiding? You must be someone important. Important enough not to play by the rules.”
She’s astute.
Sipping from my glass, I lean against the railing, facing her.
She eyes the skyline, enraptured by the view, while I am fully captivated by her. Not even my latest and biggest deal engrossed me like she does. With her, there’s this pressing feeling that if I blink, she will slip through my fingers, and the night will take her away.
A groan rumbles in my chest, not liking that something else holds her attention. My reaction redirects her focus, and she arches a brow. “And you’re someone who can’t stand not getting his way.”
I chuckle, feeling an odd sense of ease. “You think you have me figured out?”
She shrugs, a shy smile teasing her lips. “The basics? Sure.”
“And who are you?” I ask again, the urgency in my voice betraying my interest.
Damn, it takes everything in me not to erase the distance between us, but I am afraid it would be too much too soon, and strangely, I am enjoying her presence too much to sabotage my chance.
“No one.”
“Only someone would say that.”
Who the fuck is she?
The mystery might make me lose my mind. While the mask hides her features, those light green eyes would be impossible not to recognize. It’s a shade I’ve never seen before.
“We all have our secrets, don’t we?”
“I’m Tristan,” I say, stretching out my hand.
She slips her delicate hand into mine, my bigger one engulfing hers. Holding her, there’s this inner voice urging me not to let her go.
“Viviana.”
A beautiful name for the most gorgeous woman.
We shake hands for a long minute as if neither of us wants to break the contact.
Needing to find out more about her, I say, “You’re not from here.”
She eyes me intently. “Not even a question.”
Our conversation carries something intimate, laced with both playfulness and depth, surprising me. I don’t want it to end.
“You wouldn’t have reacted with that awe at seeing the skyline.”
“I don’t think it would ever be something I would get used to.”
I wave a hand through the air. “Things become matter of fact.”
“And that’s the issue,” she says, sounding sad. “We forget the worth of things…of people.”
Incapable of resisting her, I pull her to me by the back of her neck, and she crashes into my chest. I feel her heart beating wildly, or maybe it’s mine. I don’t know.
Lowering my forehead onto hers, I whisper above her lips, “What is it about you?”
Only an inch separates me from diving into euphoria masked as madness.
She doesn’t push me away. Maybe she feels this strange thing too, whatever the fuck it is, driving me insane. Here I thought nothing could astound me, yet she was hurled my way like a curveball to teach me some humility.
“You tell me,” she breathes out.
A grin tugs at the corner of my mouth, and I brush my nose against her cheek. “Sure you want to play the seduction game with me?”
“It might be my only chance to do so…”
I feel my brows furrowing. “That sounds like no fun.”
She sighs. “Fun, what is that?”
Not that I would know, but I would like to show her all the things that could be fun.
“You smell so good.” She gulps and looks up at me.
I need to see all of her, unravel and discover her, or I will go mad. This concept of instant gratification is a foreign one to me, since I’ve practiced patience my entire life.
I cup her cheeks and push up her mask an inch, giving her the time to stop me.
She sucks in a breath, staring at me with her enchanting eyes, bespelling me. It must be witchcraft. I am in deep trouble if that’s my logical explanation for what is transpiring between us.
I reveal her face, and her beauty hits me square in the chest so that I forget to think straight.
“I want you,” I say in a guttural voice, ringing with unfiltered desire.
Even though my craving goes deeper than the physical. It’s something I can’t name but need to figure out or face insanity.
She licks her lips, the gesture stirring a longing in my groin that twitches with raw need. “You always get what you want, don’t you?”
I nod, incapable of stringing together a coherent sentence. “I’ve never craved something as much as I crave you.” The sincerity in my voice unbalances me. I don’t recognize myself. The so-called king of deception being truthful for the first time in his life.
A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “For a night.”
“For a night.”
Something crosses her eyes before she looks back at the skyline. “I might not be the woman you think I am.”