CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (48 page)

“
It
’
s fine
,”
he states firmly.

I ignore him, take his hand in mine, and
inspect it. The three knuckles starting from his forefinger are split, a small
amount of dried blood caked to each one. I instantly forget about how I’
m feeling. Standing to my feet and yanking the throw off me, I take
his hand and march him into the kitchen. I turn on the tap and put his hand
under th
e water.

“
Keep it there
,”
I tell him.
Finding
the small first aid kit we bought. I unlock it, yank it open and find what I
need. Antiseptic wipes, Savlon, a bandage and some tape. I quickly rip open the
antiseptic wipe, take it out and unfold it.

“
Give me
your hand,”
I tell him
firmly, he reluctantly does so. “
This
might sting,”
I say and start gently wiping
across his knuckles.

Tristan hisses a couple of times as I go
deeper into the cuts. I can feel him watching my face as I do this. Keeping my
eyes firmly fixed on what I’
m doing, I throw the wipe
in the sink. Opening the Savlon cream, I pinch a little onto my finger and
smooth a little over each knuckle. Then I open the bandage and start wrapping
it around his hand, when I
’
m
satisfied it won
’
t come off,
I cut the end, and add a little tape.

I finally look up at him. “
Ok?
”
I ask.

“
I am now
,”
he answers, his broody look is back.
“
What happened?
”
he questions
. “
Why
did you leave Coral?
”
I look at the floor and hesitate for a moment. “
C
oral!”
he bawls.

My eyes dart up to his, I can see he’
s mad! Well so am I.

“
I left, because
you were busy feeling Susannah up when I came out the ladies
,”
I shout.

“
W
hat?”
he bellows.
“
I can
’
t believe you
just said that
, you know I have no feelings for her,”
he adds
, shaking his head.

I grit my teeth feeling guilty I said it
like that, then I question it. “
How would you feel if
the moment you disappeared I was
being like that with
Stu, or one of your team?”
I bark back.

“
That
’
s not the point
,”
he bellows.

I shake my head in disagreement. I can’
t believe this is happening on the
night
Tristan proposed to me, gave me a ring –
It’
s
all her fault!

“
I hate her
,”
I mumble.

“
Let me guess,
Susannah?
”
Tristan barks
at me, crossing his arms.

“
Yes!
”
I screech.

“
This is fucking
ridiculous,
”
he s
houts, running a hand through his hair.

“
Well,
she’
s got us fighting already, hasn
’
t she
,”
I say wearily.

I suddenly feel bone tired. His face falls
as he catches my expression, then he shakes his head and stares
down at the floor, deep in thought.

“
Tristan
, I don’
t want to fight
,”
I tell him softly.
“
And I
’
m sorry, I didn
’
t
mean for it
to come out like that. I just…I walked out
of the ladies and there you were, holding her hand,” I start to choke up. “
C
omforting her, touching her, being close to
her,”
I sniff loudly
. “
I know it sounds stupid, but I do
n’
t want you being close like that with another woman, no matter who
she is. It really twisted me up inside, I didn
’
t know how to react, so I just ran
.”
I say feeling totally deflated,
Tristan
gazes down at me with wide, cautious eyes.

We stare at each other for the longest
time, neither wanting to back down. Then he runs a hand through his hair and
sighs deeply.

“
Jesus Coral, I
never looked at it that way. I don
’
t want you being like that with another man either. It won
’
t happen again
,”
he tells me
firmly, I absolutely believe
him.

“
I
’
m sorry I made you feel like that
,”
he adds.

I sniff loudly. “
I
’
m sorry too, for running
,”
I croak.

Looking down at me with his brooding look,
he pulls me into his body and crushes me against him. It’
s almost painful, but
I don’
t care. I feel safe, protected.

“
Thank you
,”
I whisper
. “
For saving me
,”
I
add, pushing back the tears.

“
I didn
’
t scare you did I?
”
he asks.

“
No, not at all,
you
’
re my hero
,”
I tell him.
Then
I think about what could have happened, and grit my teeth feeling angry. “
I can
’
t believe I
panicked. All that work I
’
ve
done with Will, all that training
…”
I shake my head in disgust. “
W
hat’
s the point if
I
’
m just go
ing to freeze?”

I close my eyes and swallow hard, I dread
to think what would have happened if Tristan hadn’
t
turned up
. I start to tremble all over as all these
scenarios start running through my mind, what would they have done to me?

“Coral,”
Tristan
breathes, tightening his hold on me. I feel him kiss my hair. “
Most people freeze
baby,”
he adds.

I look up at Tristan…
my hero…my love, my
future husband.

He takes my face in his hands. “
Baby, no matter how mad you are with me, don
’
t ever do that to me again, don
’
t disappear on me. For a start look what happened
, what could have happened…” Tristan shakes his head and grits his
teeth. “
Y
ou had me worried
sick. I had no idea what had happened to you, or where you’
d gone –
“
I
’
m sorry
,”
I say
interrupting him. “
It will never happen again
,”
I add staring up at him.

Tristan closes his eyes and lets out a long
deep breath. I rest my head against his chest again.

“
Lucky for me you
really can box
,”
I squeak,
looking up at him.

“
Ye
s, Gramps did well,”
he says sighing
heavily.

“
I
’
ve never seen a boxer hit so fast though,
it looked more like
martial arts,”
I say.
Tristan frowns looking guilty. “
Was it martial arts?
”
I question.

He nods once. “
You…you
know martial arts a
nd you never told me?”
I squeak. We
’
ve
talked about this, he knows I love Bruce Lee and martial arts films,
I don’t understand why he hasn’t told me!

“
Coral I
…” Tristan looks lost again, and runs a hand through his hair. “I
didn’
t want you to have any reason to fear me
,”
he says.
What?

“
That doesn
’
t make
any sense?”
I say.

“
I still train in
boxing and mixed martial arts, but for all I knew it could have been something
that
would have scared you away, so I kept it to myself,”
he tells me softly.

“
So I wouldn
’
t have any reason to fear you?
”
I clarify.

Tristan nods solemnly, his eyes bleak.

I shake my head at him. “
We could have done some sparing you know
,”
I scold.

He gazes down at me again with his broody
look. Raising his hand, he softly strokes my cheek. “
I
’
m sorry you had to see that
,”
he says. I think back to the guy out cold
on the floor.

“
You don
’
t think he
’
s…
”
I stop, I can
’
t say the word.

“
What?
”
Tristan questions the
n rolls his eyes at me. “
Tell me Coral, what
are you thinking?
”

“
You don
’
t think you k-killed him do you?
”
Tristan
’
s eyes go dark.
“
Tristan?
”

“
He attacked you,
so I don
’
t give a fuck! But I
doubt it, I didn
’
t hit him as
hard as I could have
,”
he
growls.

“
O
h,”
I whisper. The enormity of it hits me
again and I start to choke up. “
It
’
s not fair, why me? Why do I feel like I
’
m walking around with a big sign on my
head, all fuckers this way
,”
I
croak.

Tristan squeezes me even tighter, and
kisses the top of my head. “
Well nothing like that is
ever going to happen to you again Coral, you give me your word you won
’
t run, I
’
ll give you my word I
’
ll always protect you
,”
he tells me firmly.

I look up at him. He closes his eyes and
rests his forehead against mine.

“
Deal
,”
I say fe
eling a
lot better about it all. Tristan’
s right, if I hadn
’
t run off…

“
Deal
,”
he
says, opening his
eyes and smiling down at me. “
Let
’
s not allow it to ruin our
evening,”
he adds.
Then lifting my hand with the ring, he brings it to his lips, and gently kisses
it. I feel all the frustration, the fear, and the anger drift away, I’
m not mad at him anymore.

“
You know, when I
first came out the ladies and I couldn
’
t find you, I thought you
’
d ditched me
,”
I
smile nervously
at him.

Tristan cocks his head to the side then
shakes his head at me in wonder. “
Let
’
s get a drink
,”
he says…

AS I WATCH TRISTAN POUR US
both a Brandy, my heart swells with love for him. I still can’
t believe he can
punch like that, and he was
so calm with it too, wish I’
d have been that calm.
Tristan hands me a glass, clinks his against mine and knocks his
back in one go.
Whoa!

Then he leans down to me, his lips almost
brushing mine. I feel the room charge, the atmosphere change.

“
I want you
,”
he whispers against
my lips.
Oh Tristan, you had me the moment you met me!

“
You know what I
was thinking in the ladies?
”
I
say, trailing soft kisses down his neck.

“
What were you
thinking?
”
he asks his hand
moving slowly up my leg, right to my thigh, his breath catching as hi
s fingers reach my lacy hold-up.

I slowly snake my way down his torso and
reach his erection, it feels hard and heavy against his suit trousers -
I
want him and I want him now!

“
I was thinking
about you making love to me in front of the fire. I was thinki
ng about you discovering what I'm wearing under this dress.”
I lean back and gaze up at his dilated eyes.
“
I want you
,”
I whisper squeezing his erection just a little harder, his breathe
catches again
as he groans deeply with desire, then he leans
down and kisses me hard.

Then he pulls back, and marches off into
the living room, I take a sip of brandy, then I see flames start to flicker.
Moving around the breakfast bar, I see Tristan standing in front of the fire.
He silently beckons me with his long forefinger; his look is so hot, so sexy. I
feel my blood instantly heat. With trembling legs, I walk over to him. As I
take his outstretched hand, he pulls me into him and kisses me hard again. I
moan with pleasure as his hands work their way up my legs, past my hold-ups,
finally gripping my backside.

“
Damn you
’
re one sexy woman
,”
he whispers.

Stepping back, I unhook the back of my
halter-neck and shimmy out of the dress.

Tristan gasps loudly. “
Dear God
,”
he
breathes, swallowing h
ard.

“
You like?
”
I smile holding my arms out for the
offering.

“
Oh yeah baby
,”
he says in his deep husky voice, it sends
shivers to all the right places.
Pulling me into him he
kisses me passionately as his hands caress the lace across my hold-ups, working
their way across my lacy panties and up across my new corset.

“
I didn
’
t think th
ey could
look any sexier.”
He says gazing down at my bulging
bosom. I smile in delight at his reaction, and reach down for his erection.

“
I'm yours, take me
fiancé,”
I
whisper.

He gazes at me in awe for a moment then
gently takes me in his arms and lowers me to the floor. I close my eyes and
surrender to the sweet sensation…

“WAKE UP SLEEPY.”
I open
my eyes to sunlight pouring in through the floor to ceiling window
s and instantly squeeze them shut, it’
s too
bright and my head hurts – Wine at lunch and dinner, sipping Brandy by the fire
till the early morning and god knows how much making up sex, was too much in
one go!

“
What time is it?
”
I groan, still feeling sleep
y.

“
Eight o
’
clock
,”
Tristan answers.

“
Why so early?
”
I grumble, my head really starting to
bang.

“
Because we are
booked for ten o
’
clock, and I
knew you
’
d need some time to
get ready.
Baby, open your eyes.”
Booked? For what?
I do as Tristan asks, and see he’
s got a big
glass of veggie juice in one hand, and two Nurofen sitting in the palm of his
other –
How sweet!

“
Thanks
,”
I smile sweetly at him and swallow the
tablets with several gulps of juice. Putting the glass down on the bedside
cabinet, I close my e
yes again and rest my head on the
pillow.

Tristan chuckles at me. “
You want to go back to sleep?
”
he surmises.

“
Uh-huh
,”
I answer feeling myself drifting back
off.

“
Ok, I
’
ll come and get you in a while.
”
I hear him say, but it
’
s already muffled a
s
I lose consciousness...

WHAT FEELS LIKE MOMENTS LATER
I’
m rudely awoken
by Tristan jumping on top of me, and I hear music blasting. It’
s Phil Collins,
Find A Way To My Heart – I
know it well, it’
s my favourite song of his.

“
You like Phil
Collins?
”
I gi
ggle.

“
Yes
,”
Tristan chuckles back, playfully kissing
me all over.

Checking my headache has gone, I smile at
Tristan, and without a word I jump out of bed and start dancing to the amazing
beat. Tristan joins me and starts dancing too, I laugh aloud as he pulls some
sexy moves. I twirl and sing to the words, moving my hips to the beat, as the
song comes to an end, he pulls me into him.

“
I think we just
found our wedding song
,”
he
tells me.
“
I can't wait to see
you in your wedding dress, walking down the a
isle to me,”
he says
his voice all husky, his eyes deep
and intense.

My throat goes dry and my heart pounds
against my chest. I hadn’
t thought of that? Where the
hell am I going to get a dress from?
I really need Rob
right now!

“
Really
?”
I pant as Phil starts to sing
Come With Me.

“
Yes
,”
he states firmly.
I wonder for a second why I haven’
t thought
about any of these things –
Because you’
re a freak of nature!
I laugh
sarcastically at myself.

“
What?
”
Tristan chuckles.

“
Nothing
,”
I chuckle then frown. Why
haven’
t I thought about the kind of wedding
I want, or dress or wedding song?

“
Tell me
,”
he pleads.

I feel panicky just thinking about it and
start squeaking it all out rapidly.
“
I just don't understand why I haven
’
t thought about any of the stuff you keep
bringing up, like wedding rings and dresses and songs’
– “
Ok, take a breath
,”
Tristan
says and walks us over to the bed.
Sitting us both down, he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

“
Does it matter
that you haven
’
t?
”
he asks softly
. “
All I care about is th
at you want to marry
me. Still do?”
he asks questioningly.

I roll my eyes at him.

“
Ok
,”
he laughs
. “
So don't worry about the rest. I know I keep mentioning certain
things because I keep thinking you
’
re thinking the same. Most women would have loads plann
ed by now, I'm sure, but that’
s one of the
many reasons I want to marry you, because you
’
re not like them, you
’
re so different
.”
I
look up at him feeling skeptical about what he
’
s saying.

“
It doesn
’
t matter to me that you
’
re not running around ordering thi
s and that for the wedding, or planning where and what date. All
that matters to me is what’
s most important, that you
want to marry me
.”
I
somberly shake my head, I feel so guilty.

“
I have no idea
what I want Tristan, except you. I have no idea what kind
of wedding, or dress or rings or any of it. I just want to marry you,”
I whisper.

“
Well that settles
it then
,”
he says.

I frown back at him.

“
We hire a wedding
planner
,”
he adds.
What?

“
Really?
”
I squeak in surprise
. “
Aren
’
t they for people who have huge w
eddings?”
I ask.

“
I don't think so
,”
Tristan frowns. I chuckle at him, h
e has no idea, but I like his plan, I’
m
already feeling less nervous.

“
Leave it to me
,”
he says confidently.
“
Now, I
’
ve moved our appointment to an hour later
,”
he tells me
. “
So,
how do you feel, heada
che gone?”
He questions as his lips quirk up at the corners.

“
Why are you
trying to hide your smile?”
I ask.

“
I'm not
,”
he says, grinning broadly.

“
No
,”
I answer sarcastically
, shaking my head. “
Of course you
’
re not!
”

“
Headache?
”
he asks sharply, trying not to sm
ile.

“
Gone
,”
I smirk
. “
What – Are – You – Laughing
– At?”
I ask mock punching his arm with each word.
Tristan really starts tittering and falls back onto the bed.

“
I was thinking
,”
he chuckles
. “
About when you came with me to see this place, you were so i
ll. I think I knew back then that you don’
t
handle hangovers very well
,” he says.
So he did find
my squirming amusing, bastard!

“
Who does
,”
I answer dryly.

“
Well it
’
s a good job you
’
re feeling better
,”
he tells me.

“
Why?
”
I question hesitantly. I may not
like what I'm about to hear.

“
You
’
ll see
,”
he answers smugly.
I look down at his hand,
remembering last night, the bandage is gone and the cuts look like they are
already healing.

“
How
’
s your hand?
”
I ask, taking it in mine. Feeling on top of the world th
at I have such a gentle, yet masculine, tough man who loved me –
Who
knew!

“
Fine
. Now come on, shower Mrs. I’
ll get your
breakfast going
.”
Mrs…Hmm, I like the sound of that!