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  “Look at that. Chivalry isn’t dead,” he teased.

  “If you can be a knight in shining armour, then I can be chivalrous.”

  “I’m more big, bad wolf than a knight.”

  “Not tonight you aren’t.”

  Tristan wanted to kick himself for his stupid arrogance. While he enjoyed tackling challenges – and that was all Vesper was supposed to be – he wasn’t a masochist; he liked things to be predictable, especially after his last relationship. But if the feeling of uncertainty and nervous anxiety Vesper evoked in him was anything to go by, he knew without a doubt this girl was going to fuck him up. Unfortunately, he’d offered her a ride and couldn’t exactly back out now. Taking the keys from her hand, he slipped inside the car, watching Vesper as she circled around to the passenger’s side before sliding in next to him.

  Fuck.

  He should have gone home with Glinda.

  *****

  Out of the corner of her eye Vesper watched him while Tristan drove silently past the sleeping streets in her neighbourhood. He was quiet, unusually so compared to the last few conversations they’d shared, leading her to wonder if she’d done something to piss him off. Maybe he finally grew tired of her snarking at him which was a bit of a disappointment; she had started to enjoy taunting him and had really begun to appreciate his self-deprecating sense of humour. Then again, none of that mattered because he was the only one to help her out and save Jessica, and that was a lot more important than his sense of humour. “Thank you,” she said softly, breaking the thick blanket of silence that enveloped them.

  He kept his eyes straight on the road. “Don’t mention it.”

  “No, I have to. Most people wouldn’t have bothered to help me out with Jessica but you did.”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do.” They came to a stop at a red light. “I would have done it for anybody,” he said with a slight edge to his voice, finally turning to look at her. “It wasn’t about you.”

  A soft smile shaped her lips. “I know.”

  There was a surprise glint in his eyes, making her wonder if he had meant his words to be an insult. Except she didn’t consider them to be one. If anything, she appreciated that he would’ve helped anybody in that position and not just a girl whose pants he was trying to get into.

  “I’m the last building on the left,” she said, directing him.

  They started moving again, and the silence returned once more.

  *****

  With Jessica snoring softly in Vesper’s bed, Vesper shut the bedroom door behind her. Tristan stood a few feet away, looking uncomfortably overpowering in her tiny little apartment. He seemed to take up all the free space without even trying, and it was simultaneously amusing and nerve-wracking.

  She shifted her weight from one leg to another, biting her lip. “Do you want a drink?”

  “No, I’m alright. I should get going.”

  Disappointed, she led him to the door. “Thanks again,” she said when he stepped out to the hallway.

  His gaze was sharp, piercing, his eyes a striking combination of blue and grey, “I told you, I would have done it for anybody.”

  “I know.” The pull between them was magnetic, strong enough to erase her common sense and hesitations. She leaned in closer and stood on her tiptoes to place a soft peck on his right cheek.

  “Do you want to grab a drink some time?”

  Immediately, he backed away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she felt like a fool.

  “I mean, I’m pretty busy this month and–”

  “Yeah, sure. Whatever,” she interjected. “Have a good night. Get home safe.”

  “Thanks.”

  She shut the door quickly, her cheeks still flushed from the sting of rejection. Idiot. What the hell was she thinking? She knew better than to fall for his charming act and yet she’d succumbed to it like a moron. Of course he was one of those guys who liked playing head games. If only she’d listened to her instincts.

  Oh well, she mused a second later. Rejection wasn’t the end of the world. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to see him anytime soon. Anyway, she had more important things to worry about – like Jessica puking all over her room or, worse yet, choking on her own vomit. Vesper headed to the kitchen to grab a plastic bag.

  Chapter Five

  After working a long shift the following Friday, Vesper was at Jessica’s to celebrate her friend’s birthday. Walking in, she realised this wasn’t going to be a small gathering; the place was full, the music booming. Vesper spent a few minutes searching for Jessica but the redhead was nowhere to be found; stifling a yawn, she grabbed a drink from the kitchen and headed out to the deck.

  Half an hour later, a familiar voice called out from behind.

  “Vesper!”

  She turned around.

  “You made it!” Jessica gave her a warm hug.

  “Of course I did. I wasn’t going to miss your party. Happy birthday!”

  “Thank you!”

  “There’s a lot of people here, Jess. Didn’t realise you were this popular.”

  Jessica laughed. “I don’t even know most of these people. My roommates probably just sent out random invites on Facebook.”

  “And you’re okay with everyone showing up here?”

  “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

  “I don’t know. Because they’re strangers? What if they start messing up the place?”

  “No biggie. We’ll just clean it up tomorrow.”

  Sometimes Vesper really envied Jessica’s carefree attitude. It was refreshing to be around someone so relaxed while everything in her life was about control and order.

  “Are you having fun?” Jessica asked.

  “I am.”

  “Really?” Jessica scowled at her. “You’re standing here in the corner by yourself. Doesn’t seem all that fun to me.”

  “Actually I was talking to a whole bunch of people. They went inside to grab a drink.”

  “And they’ve just magically disappeared now? I bet they were imaginary.”

  “Not all of them,” Vesper retorted.

  “Josh said he’ll drop by.”

  Vesper noted the enthusiastic smile on her friend’s face. “Excited, are we?”

  “Whatever. Anyway, I should go inside. Mingle with the little people, you know.”

  “Got it. Do your thing.”

  “Promise we’ll do some shots later?”

  “Probably not. I drove here.”

  “Buzzkill,” Jessica teased before heading back inside.

  A few minutes later Vesper was on her way back to the kitchen for a drink when she caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. Not like she could have missed Tristan anyway, considering he always stood out. Casually dressed in a black sweater and grey dress pants, he was whispering in some blonde’s ear. An unfamiliar twinge of jealousy passed through Vesper and she immediately scolded herself for the reaction. Really, what the hell did she have to be jealous of? He obviously wasn’t interested in her anymore and had every right to flirt with whomever he wanted. It was just surprising to see him there, considering Jessica hadn’t mentioned anything.

  All of a sudden Tristan looked up, their eyes locked, and immediately she felt her stomach twist into a tight coil. He didn’t acknowledge her in any way, simply watching her. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to walk away but she was caught in a trance, unable to move. The moment ended as soon as the blonde wrapped her arms around his waist, and his attention shifted from Vesper to the blonde.

  Chastising herself for her foolishness, Vesper continued on her way to the kitchen where she found Josh. He greeted her with a beaming smile.

  “Vesper, hey!”


  “Hey, you.”

  He leaned in to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek, surprising her. A consummate professional at work, it was strange to be this familiar with him.

  “You having a good time?” he asked.

  “I am, actually. You?”

  “Yeah, me too. Do you know a lot of these people?”

  “Just you and Jess.” She grabbed a beer from the cooler. “You want to go outside? It’s kinda stuffy in here.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She led him through the crowd, her eyes instinctively searching for Tristan again. This time, however, he was nowhere to be found.

  *****

  As soon as he spotted Vesper, Tristan knew he was fucked. When Jessica had texted him the invite, he ignored it. Although a nice girl, she was way too immature for him, but then the thought of seeing Vesper had planted itself in his mind, growing over the past few days until he found himself actively looking forward to the party in the hopes of running into her. Then he saw her standing a few feet away and realised why he’d avoided her in the first place. She was a fuckload of trouble, plain and simple.

  Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  What the hell was it about her anyway? It’s not like she was hot or had a banging body. Tonight she was covered from head to toe, dressed in jeans and some kind of shirt/cardigan combo, but even then he couldn’t stop gawking at her, wondering what she looked like underneath all those layers. And it wasn’t as simple as only wanting to fuck her. There were so many things about her he wanted to find out – what were her interests, what was she like when she wasn’t biting his head off, Jess had mentioned Vesper was in college but didn’t seem to know for what when he’d asked – but it was also that very curiosity that scared the fuck out of him. Last time he was this preoccupied with a woman, she ended up breaking his heart.

  “Hey,” Iris whispered in his ear, pressing herself against him.

  He fixed his attention on the woman in front of him. Iris was gorgeous, fun and carefree, and if he had any kind of sense he’d be paying attention to her instead of the brunette who looked at him like he was trash.

  “Want to dance?” she asked, smiling.

  “I don’t dance.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll dance and you watch.”

  He smirked. Now Iris, Iris was the kind of woman he needed to be around. So fuck Vesper and that snarky little mouth of hers because he had better things to do than think about her.

  *****

  Later that night Vesper was conversing with Josh when her gaze fell on Tristan once again. He was walking – no, swaggering – towards her, mouth curving into a smirk as soon as their eyes met. What the hell did he want now? He seemed more than happy to ignore her earlier.

  “Oh god, not you too,” Josh groaned.

  Her focus settled back on Josh. “What?”

  “Half the staff seems to have a thing for that guy.”

  “I do not have a thing for him!”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  As if on cue Tristan came to a stop in front of her, mischief brimming in his blue eyes. “Hey.”

  She returned his greeting with a polite smile.

  Gaze still on her, he took a swig of his beer. “Having a good time?”

  “I am.”

  “Really? You don’t seem to be.”

  “I’m having a blast.”

  “Your face says otherwise.”

  “I always look like that. Blame it on resting bitch face syndrome.”

  “Wow. Sounds serious. Is it contagious?”

  “Yup. Keep your distance.”

  “Nah. I like living dangerously.”

  A flirtatious grin shaped his lips, he winked at her and she flushed with embarrassment remembering Josh was witnessing their exchange. Tristan seemed to realise they weren’t alone either because he finally turned to Josh, acknowledging him. “You work at the restaurant, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m Josh.”

  “Tristan.”

  “I know.”

  “Hey Josh, would you mind getting me another beer from inside?”

  “Get it yourself!” Vesper snapped. “He’s not your assistant!”

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I was gonna get myself a drink anyway,” Josh replied, already walking away.

  She glared at Tristan. “I can’t believe what an asshole you are.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t really care about the drink. Just wanted him to leave us alone.”

  “You could have just said that.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Coulda, shoulda, woulda.”

  “What do you want? Why are you here?”

  “Jessica invited me.”

  “I don’t mean the party. Why are you here talking to me? Shouldn’t you be inside with your date?”

  The smirk returned along with the twinkle in his eyes. “You sound jealous.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t give a shit about your love life.”

  “Sure you don’t,” he replied with a smug smile. “You should be thanking me, Vesper. I came out here to rescue you from boredom. You were falling asleep talking to that dude.”

  “I wasn’t bored, just exhausted.”

  “Then let’s get out of here.”

  She stiffened. “What?”

  As he advanced forward, she retreated. The wicked glint in his eyes was gone, replaced with something far more predatory. Suddenly she found herself trapped between Tristan and the deck wall behind her. Anxiety unfurled in her stomach with him standing so close and invading her personal space – yet there was also the unmistakable thrill of excitement that rushed through her blood.

  “You heard me, Vesper.”

  Every time he said her name in that languid, sensuous drawl, her spine tingled. “When I asked you out, you turned me down,” she reminded him.

  “Because I’m not interested in dating.” There was no hesitancy in his tone. “I want to fuck you.”

  “Oh, really?” she retorted, trying to hide her nervousness.

  “You’ll have a good time.”

  “Can I get that in writing?”

  He reached out to play with her hair, twisting his fingers around her loose curls, and her heart started racing.

  “You can have whatever you want, sweetheart.”

  Even though it was she who was trapped, Tristan was the one behaving like a caged animal. Heat emanated from his body. “Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like it.”

  “Liar.” His eyes gleamed with a raw intensity that belied the soft tone of his voice. “It’s not life or death, Vesper. I’m just asking you to have some fun with me tonight.”

  If her circumstances were different, she would have said yes in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to take him up on his offer, she couldn’t. “I don’t think so.”

  Her breath caught in her throat the second his index finger started to trace the shape of her lips. There was stark desire written all over his face, his sexuality playing havoc with her resolve. A heated blush spread across her cheeks, her body flushed with anticipation, and it took every bit of discipline she possessed to remove his finger from her lips.

  “Why do you have to make this so difficult?” he murmured.

  “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to go home with.”

  “They won’t be you.”

  “That’s probably a good thing.”

  He exhaled a resigned sigh, finally stepping back. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised you turned me down. Women like you tend to get all holier than thou about casual sex.”

  His patronising tone immediately pissed her off. “I don’t ha
ve to explain myself to you. You don’t know anything about me.”

  “And I really don’t want to,” he remarked coldly. “The only thing I did want was to have a good time but of course you’re too close-minded for that.”

  Whatever hold he had on her snapped right away. “So is this the part where you insult me because I rejected you? Why am I not surprised?”

  “Rejected me?” he sneered. “Get over yourself. I was asking you to hang out, not fucking marry me.”

  “Either way, not interested.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.”

  She shook her head with resignation. “You’re an asshole.”

  “Yeah I am, and you’re a fucking liar, and a coward who can’t even admit what she wants.”

  He turned around and swaggered away, his gait arrogant, and she had to hold back from throwing her drink at him.

  Chapter Six

  Vesper was in the middle of finishing her assignment due in a few hours when she heard a knock on the door. It was close to one in the morning. At first she ignored it thinking someone was there by mistake but then the knocks persisted, finally forcing her off the couch. A quick glance through the peephole revealed a frustrated Tristan waiting on the other side. What the hell was he doing here? Last time she saw him he had acted like a jerk, and now here he was, at her doorstep, a week later. She had no idea what kind of games he was playing at but she wasn’t in the mood to put up with his antics, especially when he seemed so agitated. “What do you want, Tristan?” she asked, refusing to open the door.

  “Can I come in?”

  “No. I’m not looking for a fuck buddy, remember?”

  “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “Why don’t you go bother someone else?”

  “Look, I just… I need to talk to someone. That’s all.”

  As much as she didn’t want to be alone with him, there was a helplessness in his voice she couldn’t ignore.

  “You know what, it’s okay. Forget that I was here.”

  Watching him leave through the peephole, she contemplated staying put but knew she couldn’t forgive herself if he was in real trouble and she had done nothing to help. By the time she stepped out onto the hallway, he was already at the elevators. “There’s a coffee shop across the street. I can meet you there after I change.”