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“No. He smiled at the reliquary and left.”
“It must have been him.”
“Why come and stare at me and the reliquary like that if he knew it was there?” I rubbed at my head. “Is this how you live? Always watching for threats?”
He shrugged. “I've learned to be careful.”
I sat there, staring at him a moment.
“What?”
“Thank you for trusting me,” I whispered.
Tristan smiled and lifted my hand to kiss it. “I told you, I saw your heart. I didn't have to wonder about you.”
“Still, I'm flattered.” I shook my head. “Sorry, this isn't the time.”
He squeezed my hand. “Any time is the time to talk about us.”
I laughed despite my anxiety. “Stop it. We need to talk about today.”
“Yes, you're right. Osric wants us to know he's watching. This changes things.” He paused. “You're vulnerable at work.”
“I need my job.”
“I know. I think I may have a solution, but I don't know if you'll like it.”
“What?”
“If you give me a lock of your hair, I can use it to find you in the event that someone takes you.”
“Takes me?” I gaped at him. “You think he's going to abduct me?”
“I don't know. I plan on watching over you, if you don't think it's too creepy, but in case something happens, I'd like to be able to find you.”
“Watch over me how?”
“Become an obsessed patron of the Conservation Center.” Tristan grinned. “Basically loiter.”
I chuckled. “I had to tell my boss we were on a date to explain why you were with me last night. People are going to think you're obsessed with me, not with the center.”
“Maybe they'll be right.” He winked at me.
“Ugh! Did you just wink at me? I believe the kids call that cringe.”
Tristan burst out laughing. “The wink is cringe, but not my possible obsession?”
“I don't think you having an obsession with me is possible.”
He slid off the couch, spinning onto his knees before me in one smooth movement, and pressed forward to split my legs around his chest. “You don't?” His hands went to my neck, bracketing it while his thumbs stroked the underside of my jaw. “Because from my position, it seems very possible.”
I took his wrist in hand. “I've thought about things. The risks.”
Tristan went still, then drew back his hands. “And what is your decision?”
I slid off the couch, onto my knees to straddle him and take his face in my hands. Closing my eyes, I leaned forward and kissed him. With a groan, Tristan wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. Thoughts of the future and his past left me. All I was concerned about was our present.
As we kissed, shivers ran down my spine. I held Heartbreak in my arms, but I wasn't kissing a Curse, I was kissing a man. Tristan had been born like any other man. He wasn't a thing created by a sorcerer or a monster born of hell. He was warm and real, his heart pumping in his chest. Drawing back from our kiss, I leaned against the couch.
