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“No,” Tris said.
“But maybe—”
“Absolutely not,” Tris said. “You’re staying with Grandpa tonight, and he’ll take you to Miss Livie’s tomorrow morning, then we’ll all go to Roan’s.”
“When?” Nell asked.
“Whenever I get out of bed,” Tris said as he hurried her to the door.
“You love to stay in bed,” Nell said in disgust and looked at Jecca. “Sometimes on Sundays when Mom and I get back from church he’s still in bed.”
“He sounds like a very lazy man,” Jecca said.
“He is.” Nell obviously didn’t want her uncle to send her away for the night.
Jecca couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious as Tris drove Nell to the rented house his father was using. This is it! she thought. While he walked Nell to the door, Jecca sent a text to Lucy saying she wouldn’t be home tonight.
WE’D BE DISAPPOINTED IF YOU WERE Lucy wrote back.
By the time Tris got back to the car, Jecca was as nervous as a high school girl on her first real date.
But she needn’t have worried because Tris immediately put her at ease. On the drive back to his house, he got her to talk about her afternoon workouts. By the time they were at his front door, their shared laughter had relaxed her.
Once they were inside, he turned to her. “I wanted to have champagne chilled and rose petals for our first time,” he said. “But when I heard about you and the dress and the party . . .” He shrugged.
“You ran to get on a plane.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t want to drag Nell with me, but she has a way of persuading a person . . .” He broke off when Jecca took a step toward him.
He held out his arms to her and she went to him, his mouth capturing hers in a deep kiss. In every other kiss they’d shared she’d held back. They were too newly acquainted or the time wasn’t right. There always seemed to be some hindrance. But now they were alone and had the whole night together.
His tongue found hers as his hand on the back of her head turned her so he had better access to her lips.s te t His hands ran over her body, down the silk of her dress.
“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you,” he whispered against her ear. His lips nibbled the lobe.
“And when was that?” she asked, her head back as his mouth claimed her neck.
“Years ago, but this time it was when you arrived. I saw you get out of your car and you were as beautiful as I remembered.” He kissed the skin just below her ear. “I liked the way you stretched.” He kissed the base of her throat. “I liked that you closed your eyes and breathed the air.” He bent her head down to his shoulder and kissed the back of her neck. His hand was on her zipper and as he lowered it, his lips followed it down, inch by slow inch.
As he reached the bottom, the dress fell away, leaving her standing there in lacy black underwear and some very high heels.
“Beautiful,” he said as he turned her around, his eyes and hands caressing her.
His arm was around her as they went up the stairs. There was a dimmer on his bedroom lamp so the light was soft and warm.
Tristan led her to the bed, then stood back and looked down at her.
Jecca was glad she’d worn the stockings, glad for all the lace and the silk.
Tristan stepped back from her, his eyes never leaving hers as he began to undress. First the tie, then the jacket. When he came to the shirt, Jecca sat up and motioned for him to come to her. Her fingers were trembling as she unfastened the buttons of his shirt.
Part of her wanted to leap on him, to let out all the passion she felt, but the larger part wanted their first time to be slow, languorous. Most of all, she wanted to see him, to fill her senses with the sight of him. She knew the sounds of him, the sweet fragrance of his breath, and the feel of his body against hers. The missing part was looking at him, drinking in the color of his eyes and hair and skin, seeing the way the whiskers grew on his jaw, the way his hair curled about his neck.
She kissed his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it out of his trousers. He started to lean forward to kiss her, but she put her hand on his chest and held him away. She wanted to look at the way his muscles played under his skin. She ran her hands over his chest, curved down over his well-developed pecs, felt the ridges of his stomach.
“All right?” he asked.
She thought he was joking, but when she looked back at his face she saw that he was genuinely concerned that she found him pleasing. He had to know he was beautiful, but at the same time his only concern seemed to be that she found him attractive. Not the world in general, but her, Jecca Layton.
