Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone) (4 page)

My
eyes drifted down over his muscular torso, and I saw the outline of his cock
through his pajama pants. I couldn't deny I too was excited by his words. I was
pretty sure all it would take was one kiss and I'd be more than willing, but I
didn't want to make the move on him and he seemed content with just talking.

"I
wish I remembered those things, Tristan," I said apologetically.

He
leaned in and I waited for him to kiss me. His face was so close to mine I
could feel his warm breath on my cheek. Instead, he took a tendril of hair and
wrapped it around his middle finger. "There are always new memories,
Nina."

I
closed my eyes and willed myself not to react to the sound of his husky voice
right next to my ear, but it was a lost cause. An involuntary whimper escaped
from my mouth as I waited for him to touch me again. God, I wanted him to do
something so we could get started on those new memories right then and there!

"Yes,
there are," I croaked out as he sat there still as a statue, his breathing
the only sound I heard.

He
released my hair from around his finger and repeated the action, twirling the
strand from the bottom up to next to my ear. When he stopped, he gently tugged
on it, sending a twinge over my scalp and making me flinch.

"I
didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, but I had the distinct impression he
didn't care if it had hurt.

In
truth, it hadn't. The tiny bit of pain he'd caused by pulling my hair was
intermingled with the pleasure he was creating in me just by being so close that
I almost wished he'd do it again.

"No.
Is this how you used to play with my hair?"

He
shook his head, sighing heavily near my neck, and his warm breath flowed over
my skin. "No," he whispered. "I'd play as you rested your head
on my chest while we lay in bed. This bed."

This
bed. As in the one I wished he would lay me down on and make love to me on at
that very moment.

"Oh."
That was all I could muster as a response because if I'd said anymore I'd have sounded
like some drunken prom date looking to give it up easier than the town tramp.
He was driving me mad with desire, but until he made the move, I planned to do
my damnedest to keep it together.

"It's
getting late and you have a big day tomorrow."

I
sat stunned as he leaned back away from me and smiled. "Take the letters.
Maybe they'll help you remember something."

"Yeah.
Maybe. Thanks," I muttered as I stood on shaky legs to go back to my room.
After all that, he didn't even try to make love to me. I couldn't tell if I was
exhausted because of the emotions I'd experienced that day or because of the
rollercoaster he'd taken my body on just waiting for him to make a move.

I
opened the door and behind me from his place on the bed he said, "Nina,
I'm glad you came over."

Turning
around, I saw he was rock hard. His cock was nearly peaking out of his pants.
Why was he playing with me like this?

"Yeah,
it was nice. Thanks." I pressed a smile onto my lips and hoped he didn't
see how frustrated he'd made me. "Have a good night, Tristan."

I
slid my gaze over his body one last time and made my way back to my room. As I
climbed into bed, I couldn't say for sure, but I didn't think I'd ever been so
turned on merely by talking in my life.

If
this was what life with Tristan Stone was like, it was no wonder I'd fallen in
love with him before. I was halfway there already.

Chapter Four

Nina

At
nine sharp, I stood in Tristan's office on his side of the house ready to get
to work, even if I wasn't entirely sure I could do the job. Being a curator was
far more than I ever remembered doing, but if what everyone was telling me was
the truth, I'd done this job before and pretty well, so all I had to do was
remember that and I'd be fine. I had the education and the experience. That was
what I told myself about a hundred times over as I'd made my way to see
Tristan.

I
wore a green cashmere sweater that felt like heaven against my skin, a black
pencil skirt, and a pair of black pumps that made my legs look damn good, if I
did say so myself. While I may not have been able to remember anything since
college, I was sure I'd never worn anything so luxurious in my life as what I
was in as I stood there in front of him.

Tristan
sat behind his enormous cherry wood desk looking breathtaking in a dark grey
suit, black dress shirt, and a stunning red and black tie. After what had
happened the night before, I wasn't sure I could work side-by-side with him,
and looking like that only made it more difficult.

Why
couldn't he work at home in sweatpants and a T-shirt? Who am I kidding? He'd
probably still look stunning.

He
looked up from his laptop and smiled. "Good morning, Nina. Come sit next
to me."

I
approached him on wobbly legs and sat down in a chair he slid next to his. As
if it wasn't bad enough that I was unsure about my ability to do the job of
curator, now I had to deal with him sitting as close to me as he had the night
before.

This
was going to be a long day.

"Ready
to work?" he asked, his deep brown eyes staring into mine.

"Yes,
sir," I joked, hoping to ease my jitters with some workplace humor.

He
arched one dark eyebrow. "Sir? You don't have to be so formal, Nina.
Remember, we're more than just employer and employee."

His
deep voice spoke the words that should have put me at ease, but there was a
sensual undertone to it that made me need to squeeze my thighs together to ease
a desperate, sweet ache that had formed between them the moment I saw him
sitting behind that desk.

"Okay.
I was just trying to calm my jitters. I'm a little nervous about this," I
confessed.

Smiling,
he shook his head. "There's no need to be nervous. You're a natural at
this. Trust me."

Trust
me. He'd said that day after day since I'd met him in the hospital, and I still
wasn't sure I could. In truth, it wasn't a could thing. It was an
I-was-afraid-to thing. I'd never had much success with men, as far as I
remembered, and the memory of what others had done to me was always uppermost
in my mind when my heart felt even the tiniest tug in Tristan's direction.

He
turned his laptop toward me and began clicking on pictures. "I thought I'd
show you the work you'd done already so you could see just how great you've
been at this." There was a moment of silence as I focused on the pictures
and then he said something in that silky, deep voice that made that ache between
my legs rush back with a vengeance.

"Relax.
I promise you're great at this."

If
only I could focus on the artwork on the screen instead of how close he was
sitting next to me.

I
took a deep breath and nodded as I examined my previous work, pretending that I
wasn't already excited at shortly after nine in the morning. "Okay. These
look pretty good, if I do say so myself."

Leaning
in next to me, he pointed at a picture full of the color gold. "This one
is especially good. I love those owls. Those were a great choice, Nina."

Love.
He seemed so comfortable using that word when it came to anything involving me.
It was unnerving. Nobody I'd ever dated before had been so free with that word.
If anything, the L word was something I was uncomfortable saying, at best.

"Thanks."
As I looked at the picture, I couldn't imagine how any art with a few blue and
white owls I'd chosen had improved that room so overdone in gold. "That's
a lot of gold, isn't it?"

"You
should have seen it before the owls," he said with a smile, leaning in
closer to my left shoulder. "It's more impressive in person. Maybe we
should return to Dallas so you can see your handiwork."

While
he spoke, I got lost in the scent of his cologne. I had no idea which one it
was, but it was very possibly the sexiest fragrance I'd ever smelled. Fresh,
the scent was woodsy and almost citrusy, making him smell delicious. How was I supposed
to work like this? While he talked of hotel rooms, my mind was distracted and
wondering the name of the cologne he was wearing. He was driving me crazy!

"That
will have to wait until after the holidays. I thought we'd stay home for
Christmas."

Christmas.
The mention of the holiday made my brain switch gears. I hadn't thought much of
the holidays because of my accident, but he was right. Christmas was just weeks
away.

I
turned to look at him and nearly touched his cheek with my lips. Startled, I
leaned back away from him and muttered, "Do you do anything special for
the holidays?"

A
look of sadness crossed his face before he turned to smile at me. "No. I
haven't really celebrated Christmas for a long time. I usually work."

"You
can't work on Christmas! If any day of the year should be a day off, that's
it."

That
warm smile he offered far too infrequently brightened up his face all the way
to his eyes. "Then I guess I'll be taking that day off this year."

Overcome
with enthusiasm for the holiday, I began to tell him all about how I'd always
celebrated, complete with tinsel, egg nog, and homemade ornaments. "We can
trim the tree on Christmas Eve and make cookies."

Suddenly,
as I spoke of all the ways I'd celebrated the holiday with my father, the
reality of his death settled into my mind. There wouldn't be any more
Christmases with him at home around the fireplace as we opened our presents on
Christmas morning. No more holiday dinners with him and my sister and her
family. No more surprise stocking stuffers.

"Nina,
what's wrong?" Tristan asked as I looked away so he couldn't see the tears
in my eyes.

I
shook my head as I wiped my cheek. "Nothing. It's just that this will be
the first Christmas without my father." Turning to face Tristan, I said in
frustration, "Well, not really since he's been gone for four years, but
since I can't remember that or anything else that meant so much to me, it all
feels like it just happened."

"I
know. My first Christmas without my family was hard. I felt like I was all
alone, that everyone I'd cared about was gone now. But you're not alone."

I
took a deep breath and pushed the sadness away to a place in my head I'd deal
with later. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this during work. It's not
very professional."

He
lifted my chin with his fingertip and looked deep into my eyes. "You don't
have to worry. That's one of the great things about working from home. It's
more relaxed."

Jesus,
just the feel of his touch on my skin made my heart race! At this rate, I
wouldn't get to lunch before I jumped his bones. Leaning away from him, I
caught my breath and checked out his relaxed home office look.

"If
this is more relaxed, why are you in a suit and tie?" I joked, hoping to stall
for enough time to get my bearings.

"I
always wear a suit and tie to work, no matter where it is," he said in a
fake serious tone I could tell was slightly defensive.

"So
you've always worn a suit and tie? I'm trying to imagine you as a twenty year
old guy hanging out looking like this."

His
brow furrowed, and he shook his head. "Nina, I haven't always been this
man you see in front of you. This is the person I have to be now. A long time
ago, I was like every other guy you've ever met."

I
looked at him as he busied himself with clicking to the next set of pictures he
wanted me to see. From those gorgeous milk chocolate brown eyes, to his perfectly
shaped mouth, and his ripped muscular body, there was no way he was ever like
any other guy I'd ever met. Add to that the money, the houses, and the cars and
there was no chance. No way.

A
half hour later, even I was convinced I was the right woman for the job as
Tristan's curator. The pictures from the projects I'd completed in his hotels
showed I knew what I was doing. The colors, shapes, and textures I'd chosen
worked well with the decor in the suites, and I'd even come around to believe
that those adorable blue and white Mexican owls had done something for the Dallas suite.

I'd
also settled down and could focus on work, instead of on the way Tristan
looked, smelled, and sounded. The man was indeed the most delicious brand of
sensory overload.

Tristan
leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his short dark hair. He had a
pensive look on his face and sat silently for a long moment before he turned
toward me. "I'm thinking we'll go to Atlanta after New Year's. You can get
a head start on that job beginning today."

"Oh.
Okay. For a minute there, I thought you were going to say you wanted to go to Atlanta for New Year's Eve." I'd never been to Atlanta, so enjoying New Year's there
sounded fun.

"No,
we'll do New Year's Eve at the penthouse."

"In
the city?"

He
nodded. "Yes. It's not as cozy as here, but the views are better."

"Do
you have any pictures of that, or didn't I do any work there?"

His
voice softened as he spoke of his home in Manhattan. "The penthouse is my
home, so it's not like other penthouses at the other properties I own, but you
did choose a piece for there."

"You
sound like you really love it, Tristan. I look forward to seeing it."

Shaking
his head, he twisted his expression into something that looked like he'd tasted
bad food. "I don't care about the penthouse. In fact, I've never liked it.
The only thing I like there is the print you picked out to cover the bare spot
in the bedroom."

"I
must have hit it out of the park with that one then."

"It's
just what that room needed," he said quietly.

"Can
we invite Jordan and her boyfriend to join us on New Year's Eve? I'd love to
see her, and because of my memory loss, I don't feel like I know Justin at
all."

He
seemed to think about it for a moment. "If that would make you happy, then
we'll do it. We can have them over for drinks and dinner."

Left
unsaid was what would happen after drinks and dinner and after they left. I
felt like some teenage virgin who was both anticipating and dreading having sex
for the first time. Thank God I'd had sex before the point in time where my
memory stopped. Even the memory of bad sex was better than going into it blind.

Not
that I thought we would wait until New Year's.

"Thank
you, Tristan. It's nice of you to include them in our plans."

He
smiled at me and shook his head. "There's no need to thank me, Nina. All I
want is your happiness."

I
didn't know what to say to that. Everything he'd done from the moment I'd met
him as I lay there in that hospital bed all broken and bruised showed me that
whatever else I may not know, I could truly believe he did want me to be happy.
It didn't matter that I couldn't completely understand why either.

To
him, I was his Nina, and every moment that passed, I found myself growing more
comfortable with that role. And to my surprise, with each moment I spent with
him, I also found myself wanting to make him happy. He had that effect on me.
Maybe it was because he was my strength in those times when I needed it every
day in that hospital, or maybe it was because he seemed so single-mindedly
focused on me. Whatever it was, I was quickly falling for him and honestly
wasn't sure I shouldn't be sublimely happy about it.

"This
is the property in Atlanta. It's one of the few properties of mine that I've
never visited, so when we travel there, it'll be my first time too."

Tristan
pointed to the pictures of the Atlanta hotel as he explained that he'd visited
most of his properties since becoming CEO of Stone Worldwide four years ago. I
had a hard time imagining him as anything like a CEO. He didn't act like
someone who ran a worldwide business. As I sat there watching him talk about
suites and hotel rooms, he seemed more like someone I might meet at a club.

Except
for the idea that he was drop dead gorgeous and likely preferred clubs I
couldn't afford to get into. I didn't know which one would have been a bigger
impediment to our ever meeting.

"Tristan,
do you ever go to clubs?" I asked impulsively, curious to know if my
mental ramblings had been correct.

He
stopped talking about what kind of art he thought the Atlanta suite could use
and turned his head to look at me. There was a devilish look in his eyes that
made them seem to dance in the light of his office.

"No.
Why? Would you like to go out tonight?"

"Could
we?" I asked excitedly, thrilled at the idea of not only getting out after
weeks of being stuck in the hospital but also seeing him in a different
setting.

He
nodded and stood from his chair. As he passed by me without a glance, he said, "Of
course. If you'll excuse me, I have to arrange a few things and deal with some
work issues, but I'll meet you in the dining room at seven for dinner and we'll
go out after that."

His
leaving was so abrupt I wondered if I'd done something wrong. He hadn't smiled
or even touched my hand as he left. His tone had been decidedly all business
compared to just minutes earlier, but I guessed he had important work to do, so
I set about studying the Atlanta suite in the hopes that I could add something
unique to it.