Warrior (Relentless #4)(128)

I wanted to tell her she couldn’t be more beautiful to me.

“Are you going to look at me?” I asked after several minutes of her staring at the window.

“I hadn’t planned on it.”

Chuckling, I sat up, facing her at the other end of the couch. “You know you can’t avoid me forever.”

“What makes you think I can’t?”

I remembered what she’d said last night, and my smile grew. “Because you like me…a lot.”

That got the reaction I wanted. She shot me a glare that might have looked fiercer if she wasn’t blushing prettily.

“See, that didn’t take long,” I teased, earning another hard stare.

“Shut up.”

Her attempt at a scowl drew another laugh from me, and I wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull her into my arms again.

“Are you okay? With us?” I asked her.

She nodded shyly. “Are you…okay with it?”

“Yes,” I said even though okay couldn’t come close to how I felt in that moment.

She jumped to her feet and blurted, “Excuse me; I need to use your bathroom and about a bottle of mouthwash.”

I couldn’t hold back my knowing smirk. “Help yourself.”

She shut herself in the bathroom, and I got up and went to see what I had in my refrigerator to offer her. I didn’t keep much food there, but I had plenty of water and juice. Looking around my rarely-used kitchen, I had an idea to invite Sara for dinner soon. I wasn’t much of a cook, but the kitchen could make anything.

The knock at my door surprised me because it was still fairly early. I opened it, and Tristan entered looking worried.

“Jordan just told me Sara left their party last night and never returned. I went to Sara’s room, and her bed hasn’t been slept in. She’s upset about Nate. You don’t think she –?”

I put up a hand. “Sara’s fine. She’s here with me.”

“With you?” His eyes swept over the living room and landed on my bedroom door.

“Yes, with me. She got a little too drunk at the party and came to see me. She was in no shape to go anywhere.”

Tristan frowned. “You should have taken her back to her room or to my place. People will see her leaving here and –”

“And think a bonded couple spent the night together,” I said. “My relationship with Sara is no one’s business but ours.”

He pressed his lips together. “Is she okay?”

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” I walked over and knocked on the bathroom door. “Sara, do you mind coming out here for a minute?”

“Sure,” she called hesitantly.

She emerged from the bathroom, and her eyes immediately went to Tristan. A flush crept up her cheeks, and she blurted, “Nothing happened. I got drunk and Nikolas took care of me. That’s it.”

“Nikolas already explained it to me,” Tristan said. “And I told him he should have brought you back to your own room or to my apartment down the hall.”

I smiled at her, trying to ease her discomfort. “And I told him that whatever transpires between the two of us is no one’s business but ours.”

Tristan sighed. “Sara is not yet eighteen, Nikolas, and her uncle trusts me to take care of her. That includes her virtue and –”

“Oh my God, you did not just go there!” she yelled at him, and he darted a glance at me for help.

I had to swallow a laugh, which earned me a scorching look from Sara. For once, I was staying quiet.

Tristan, on the other hand, kept digging that grave.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to embarrass you, but in your situation, you cannot take sex lightly. It would –”

She made a choked sound and fled.

“Sara, wait,” I called, but the only answer I got was the door slamming behind her.

I turned and slapped Tristan on the back. “Great job, Grandpa.”

He gave me a sheepish look. “I didn’t handle that well.”

“You think?” I sank down on the couch, my eyes falling on Sara’s shoes beneath the coffee table. “I just hope she remembers to be mad at you and not me this time.”

He took the spot Sara had vacated. “I take it you and she worked things out.”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He gave me a questioning look, and I smiled.

“We’re together and we’re taking it slow,” was all I said.

His brows drew together. “Not that I want you to rush into anything, but does Sara know this will get more difficult for you the longer you wait?”

“No, and we’re not telling her,” I stated firmly. “I’m fine as long as I’m with her.”

He nodded then sighed. “Do you think she’ll forgive me by dinner?”

I laughed at his forlorn expression. “Maybe, as long as you don’t bring up her virtue again.”

He groaned. “Never again. And quit smirking.”





Chapter 24





The dining hall was already full by the time I walked in, and after a quick scan of the room, I located Sara sitting beside Tristan at the back of the room. Our gazes met, and her expectant look told me she’d been waiting for me.