Just Deserts - Brenda Jackson [39]
Chapter 8
Tristan tossed the last of the documents aside, not able to concentrate any longer. The place was quiet, except for the hum of the television coming from Danielle’s bedroom. Evidently she was watching the movie, one she’d invited him to watch with her. Instead, he’d turned her down to read a bunch of boring papers. At least they’d been boring tonight. Tomorrow they might hold his interest.
But not tonight.
Conflicting emotions washed through him. Okay, he might have gotten carried away, might have gotten a little crazy, but he was a man. He’d seen the lust in those two men’s eyes. If Dani had been a piece of chocolate, they would have gobbled her up. They hadn’t even tried to hide their desire for her in a cloak of professionalism. Yet she thought they’d only been “nice.” Granted, they hadn’t made an outright pass at her or anything, but still…
The part she hadn’t grasped yet was that she was his. He had plans for their future and the only involvement Craven or Stewart played in it was selling them the company they wanted to buy. The only good thing that had come from the meeting was that Craven had agreed to sell Shipping Source to them. Tristan would contact A&T’s attorney tomorrow to draw up the necessary papers. After one final meeting, their dealings with Craven and his attorney would be over.
But then how would he handle things the next time a man showed interest in Dani? He’d never had to think about it before, but now he did. He had to give her credit for the way she’d handled herself with the two men, thanking them for their compliments but never leading them on in any way.
She had to know the degree of her attraction, he thought. She was stunningly beautiful and totally desirable. Men of all ages were easily drawn to her. That wasn’t her fault and he hadn’t wanted to make her feel that it was.
Dani didn’t have a clue as to his true feelings. Because of that, in order to save his relationship with her, he would have to examine his actions carefully before taking any from now on.
A shiver went through him at the thought that because of their argument, he could have done irreparable damage to their relationship. He and Dani had argued before, but never about him being jealous of other men. He could only imagine what she was thinking about now.
Easing off the bed, he grabbed for his bathrobe. With no plans to leave his bedroom for the rest of the night, after his shower he’d pulled on pajama bottoms and nothing else.
He crossed the room and opened the bedroom door to the common area at the same moment Danielle opened hers. Their gazes met, and immediately more love than he’d ever felt for any woman slithered through him, as potent as anything he’d ever experienced in all his thirty-four years.
Then another emotion gripped him. Sexual need. Looking so stunning, so incredibly sexy, she totally took his breath away. Like him, she was wearing a bathrobe, but hers was a plush short robe that showed a lot—a whole lot—of her legs. It wouldn’t be much to keep a person warm on a cold night, but it was certainly doing a fine job of heating his blood.
It didn’t take much to recall what was underneath that robe, how it looked, how it felt. He had touched it, tasted it, had gotten all into it and more times than not, hadn’t wanted to get out of it.
He inhaled deeply, not knowing how to proceed. Her spine was straight, which probably meant she was still mad at him. Deciding to test the waters, regardless of whether he ended up sinking or swimming, he said, “I was just about to come looking for you.”
He saw surprise light her eyes. “And I was just about to come looking for you, too,” she said, taking a couple of steps toward him. Following her lead, he took a couple of steps toward her.
“I think we need to talk, Tris.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I agree. Come on, let’s sit on the sofa.”
“All right.”
He let her precede him and tried not to notice the sway of her hips when she walked. She sat on the sofa, and he thought