CHAPTER TWO #2
I answered by looking down at what remained of my melting ice cream, but my attention drifted to his hands again.
Tristan noticed.
“There you go,” he said lightly.
“What?”
“Looking at them again.”
I glanced up innocently. “Maybe I’m trying to decide whether they’re as dangerous as the rest of you.”
“I can help you decide.”
Those other places tightened even more. “How?”
He stepped even closer, leaving only a narrow space between us.
“I’d put one here,” he said, his gaze lowering to my waist.
My skin tightened beneath the thin fabric of my dress, though his hand remained at his side.
“And the other?”
His eyes lifted to mine. “At the back of your neck.”
“What for?”
“To keep you close while I found out what your mouth tastes like.”
Heat rushed through me so quickly that I nearly forgot where we were.
“How long have you been thinking about this?”
“Since the patio.”
I turned and continued along the path before he could see exactly how much his answer had affected me, but he fell into step beside me immediately.
Talking to him was fun. Effortless, even. It felt strangely natural despite how self-conscious I was. He didn’t pull away. His attention remained fixed on me, and whenever he moved closer, I let him.
Another group approached, taking up most of the narrow path. Tristan stepped closer and placed his hand at the small of my back, guiding me gently aside.
The touch didn’t hold weight. It could have meant nothing.
But his palm remained there after the path had cleared.
I was very aware of his touch. It was so light, I knew the question he was asking.
I could have stepped away and answered with distance.
Instead, I moved closer, allowing my arm to brush his side.
I didn’t look at his expression, but his fingers flexed once against my dress. His touch pressed a little more into my back. We walked a little further, and then he dropped it.
I finally surrendered the remains of my ice cream cone. Eating it before it melted had become a losing battle.
“I tried,” I said, stopping beside a bin.
“It was a worthy effort.”
Tristan’s cone was nearly finished when I threw mine away. My hands were sticky, and my skin felt damp from the heat. He passed me another napkin, his fingers brushing mine.
The warmth of his skin lingered longer than it should have.
I wiped the sticky trail from my wrist, but the slight tremor in my hand wasn’t caused by the ice cream.
I blew out a breath and tossed the napkin away. Then I pushed the loose strands of hair from my face. My skin was damp, and my dress clung uncomfortably in the heat.
It didn’t help that I was under the effects of this man.
I must have looked like a mess.
“You look out of breath,” he observed.
“It’s very hot.”
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he looked toward the water. Then he said, “I can help with that.”
The way he said it made my stomach tighten.
“How?”
He hesitated.
“My van is in the parking lot. I could turn on the air conditioner.”
I eyed him. “You have a van in the parking lot?”
“I do.”
“Is it white with tinted windows?”
His eyes clouded with amusement. “You’ll be delighted to know it is neither of those things.”
“I’m very happy to hear that.”
“It’s also parked in a very public place.”
“The sun is about to go down.”
“It stays busy around here at night.”
I took a moment to consider it.
Tristan watched my face and immediately shook his head.
“Forget it.”
“Why?”
“I just invited you into my van to cool off. It sounds dodgy as hell.”
I smiled. “It’s only dodgy if you make it dodgy.”
His expression grew serious. “I wouldn’t. I’m not that kind of man.”
“What kind of man are you, Tristan?”
He went quiet. His gaze moved over my face, as though he were trying to determine how much honesty I could bear.
“I could tell you I’m a good man,” he said. “You might even believe me.”
“But?”
“But I’m impulsive. I don’t always think about what comes afterward.” His eyes lowered briefly to my mouth. “Sometimes I want something badly enough that afterward stops mattering.”
My pulse moved everywhere at once. “And you think I’m one of those things?”
His gaze returned to mine. “I know you are.”
The certainty in his voice unsettled me more than hesitation would have.
“You don’t know me,” I whispered.
“No.”
“You might not like what’s beneath the surface.”
A quiet laugh left him, but there was no mockery in it. He stepped closer, his expression darkening with something I couldn’t quite read.
“If you’re wicked, I’ll meet you there,” he said. “If you’re sweet, I’ll be sweeter.”
My breathing picked up. “And if I’m neither?”
“Then give me whatever you are, Daze.” His voice dropped. “I can handle it.”
For a second, something shifted in his face. A strange stillness. As though the words had come from somewhere deeper than he intended.
Then it was gone.
I searched his eyes, but he only watched me with that same unwavering focus.
“Just let me have the chance to find out,” he said.
My heart clashed with my mind. They had been at war since I left the tiny nook in my home, leaving me perpetually balanced on the edge of a frightening fall.
There was no going back.
There was only this.
Just me. Just Tristan. Existing together in this beautiful town while the world of rules and order fell away.
I wasn’t inviting him into my life. I had no life to offer him.
But I could invite him into this night.
“Your van is in the parking lot,” I said.
“It is.”
“My room is closer.”
The words left my mouth before I could second-guess them.
I watched his face change—surprise first, followed by something hotter. His gaze searched mine, making certain he had understood.
There it was.
The invitation.
And with it, the point of no return.
He drew in a sharp breath. For the first time all evening, I had managed to catch him completely off guard.
Then his mouth curved into a heart-stopping smile.
“Your room, then,” he whispered.