CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (34 page)

She was in my place, I know she was, but
it’s not like I can simply come out with it and say that Bob saw her, talked to
her, I know for a fact she’ll deny it. It has taken all my will power to stop
myself from dragging her sorry ass into the ladies and beating her until she
relents and tells me where my photograph is!

And I have tried not to watch her, but
something keeps nagging away at me. It’s like, the way she looks today is similar
to the dream I had, and I can't help thinking about the fact that she might
move here. It’s like my inner voice is telling me that she’s up to something, I
just don't know what it is? I clench my jaw and stare at the screen,
castigating myself –
I must not let my imagination run away with me!

However, as hard as I try, I can't push the
fear away that I'm feeling like this because deep down inside, I know she wants
Tristan, loves him even. For some strange reason, she’s got it into her head
that they are together and I have to wonder –
Does Tristan have any idea who
this woman really is?

As eleven o’clock comes around, I ask her
if she wants a coffee – just to cover myself and seem like I'm the one that’s
acting normal – but she turns and looks up at me in such an odd way, it makes
me take a step back. Shaking my head at her, because I get no reply, I storm
off to the kitchen, trying my best to reign in my escalating temper.

AT LUNCHTIME, I HEAD INTO TOWN,
feeling utterly grateful for the break. The atmosphere in the
office has been less than desirable, tense even, and it’s all coming from
Susannah, well at least I think it is. It’s been very odd for me too, being in
the same room with a woman who has threatened me, stolen from me and is trying
to steal my very reason for existing has felt extremely uncomfortable,
especially given my anger issues.

If this had happened five years ago, I
would have had no self-control. I would have beaten the crap out of her, so I
guess she’s lucky it’s happening now! Shaking my head at myself, I continue
north along St James’s Street and pick up Tristan’s present.

When I return to the office, I ask Joe to
hide the present behind her desk. I can’t risk Susannah seeing it – I'm sure
it’ll be safe in reception.

The rest of the afternoon drags like crazy.
How can a few hours seem like months? It almost like someone has got hold of
the atomic clock and slowed it right down. Time, I'm discovering, is a weird
thing when you’re in-love. Almost as though it purposely tortures you, passing
too quickly when you’re together, and slowing almost to a stop when you’re
apart…

AT EXACTLY FOUR O’CLOCK
,
Susannah suddenly jumps up in a frenzy, shoves her laptop into her bag, throws
it over her shoulder, grabs her handbag and without saying a word to me, she
runs out of the office.

I stare open mouthed at her retreating
figure.
She is one crazy woman!

Joyce comes out of her office, and stops when
she sees the look on my face. “Coral, you ok?” she asks. “You’re very pale,”
she adds.

I turn and look up at her. “Yes Joyce, I’m
fine. Susannah’s just gone,” I muse.

“She has?” Joyce says, peering down the
hallway to reception, tapping her long manicured fingernail against her front
teeth.

“Yes, she just got up, grabbed her stuff
and ran for the door, without so much of a goodbye.”
Ha! That will
definitely make her out to be the weird one!

“Yes, she did look a little bewildered today.
I wonder why?” she muses. “Well at least she’s gone now,” she adds, sounding a
little relieved.

I nod and smile up at her. Joyce frowns
down at me, then cocks her head to the side.
Uh–Oh!
I know that look. What
am I in trouble for?

“Are you sure you’re alright Coral? You
look like you’ve dropped a stone in weight. Are you feeling unwell?” I swallow
hard.
I can't have lost that much weight, surely?

I suddenly feel nervous about seeing
Tristan. I really don’t want him to give me a hard time about it. What the fuck
am I talking about?
When has a man ever told me what to do?
Never
–
Exactly, tell him to take a hike if he hassles you
– I nod my head in
agreement with myself.

“Coral?” Joyce says, still peering down at
me.

“Sorry, no, I’m not ill, I’m fine – really,”
I add seeing the worried expression on her face. “There’s just been a lot to
deal with this week.”

I almost tell her about someone –
Susannah!
– getting into my studio, but I decide against it. Joyce would completely flip,
and I want to handle this my way. I need to handle this my way, otherwise I
might lose Tristan altogether, and that...that is something I cannot even imagine.
It’s too horrifying to even think about.

Joyce narrows her eyes. “Alright then, off
you go young lady, home time.” Joyce smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach her
eyes.

“You sure you don’t need anything finishing
off?” I ask. I hate leaving work undone.

“No, it can wait till Monday,” Joyce
answers waving her hand at me, but her attention has gone back to staring down
the hallway, her eyebrows pulled together as though she’s concentrating really
hard on something.

Picking up my handbag, I stand up walk over
to Joyce and kiss her goodbye.

“Have a great time tonight,” she beams.

“Thanks,” I squeak and smile like a love
struck teenager –
Tristan’s coming home!

Joyce chuckles at my reaction then turns
and heads back into her office.

I take a deep breath then head down the
hallway. Reaching reception, I see that Joe’s already gone, walking round the
desk I pick up Tristan’s present. As I reach the doors to the building, Tom
wanders over and holds it open for me.

“Thanks Tom, have a great weekend,” I tell
him, he smiles fondly at me.

Stepping into the warm afternoon sunshine,
I begin walking towards the main road, almost dropping Tristan’s present twice,
it’s so big and cumbersome. I definitely need to get a taxi home tonight!

As I attempt to get my mobile out of my
bag, whilst keeping a grip on the present, it slips from my hands again –
Shit!
As I reach down to catch it, strong hands encase mine, stopping the present
from hitting the floor. My eyes dart up –
Tristan!

“Hey beautiful,” he croons.
My Hero!

His eyes crinkle, and his dimples deepen as
his enigmatic smile captures me, I feel all the air leave my lungs.
God he
looks good!

His crisp white shirt is folded up at the
sleeves, with the top three buttons open, giving me an eyeful of his strong
masculine chest, he’s wearing those dark blue suit trousers that make his legs
look long and lean, and his aviators are tucked into his shirt pocket. My heart
has stopped, then restarted at a ridiculous rate –
Oh I’m so in love with
you Tristan, so in love…

Like an idiot, I just stand there, totally
paralysed
. Then my brain fires up.

“Hi,” I squeak, reflecting his deepening
grin.

Tristan’s smile gets broader, his dimples
on full wattage. “Need some help?” he asks all husky and sexy.

“Yeah, I think I do,” I chuckle. Tristan
takes the present out of my hands and leans it against his leg. “Thanks,” I
whisper.

“You’re welcome,” he teases.

“Shall we go?” I ask. Hoping he’ll say yes
–
I want him and I want him now!

Tristan shakes his head at me and softly
caresses my cheek.

“First, I want a kiss,” he murmurs, his
thumb tracing my bottom lip, he slowly leans down to reach my lips. I'm instantly
overtaken by his hypnotic scent, it invades my senses again, making me loose
all thoughts. Then softly and slowly his lips meet mine – All the worries, the
anxiety, and the fears I’ve had over the past week, simply disappear as his
soft, full, warm lips brush tenderly against mine.

I close my eyes and surrender to it. “Tristan,”
I whisper against his lips.
I'm so glad he’s home
.

“Missed you,” he whispers against my lips.

“I’ve missed you too,” I answer softly, tears
pooling in my eyes –
Fucks sake!

“Hey.” He gently wipes a stray tear away. I
shake my head and laugh at myself. “That’s better,” he coos. I smile up at him,
but as we stand gazing at one another, I'm suddenly gripped with the fear that
Susannah may have seen us –
We need to get out of the public eye!

“What’s wrong?” he asks, taking my free
hand in his and squeezing it tight. I shake my head, I can't tell him about
Susannah, not yet.

“Just want to get you home, so I can have
you all to myself,” I tell him.

“Ditto,” he breathes leaning down for
another kiss.

I smile against his lips. “You really have
missed me,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.

“More than you will ever know,” he answers
softly, embracing me tightly. Then he pulls back, and we smile broadly at each
other, like two loved up fools.

“Come on,” he says and picking up the
present, he tugs on my hand and we start walking.

I grip his hand even more tightly, and hope
that Susannah, or any of the other secretaries aren’t around to see this.

“I didn’t think you’d be back this early?”
I say. Glancing across at him -
Damn he looks too good to be true! So sexy!

“I managed to leave early,” he answers
smiling broadly at me.

“Oh!” I murmur.

“What have you got in here?” he asks,
struggling a little with the awkward shape of the present.

“You’ll see,” I say sweetly, batting my
lashes at him and wondering what his reactions going to be.

He chuckles at my vain attempt to be
flirtatious, and we head down towards the coolness of the multi-storey car park.
Reaching his F-Type, he places the present in the boot of the car, then opens
my door for me –
He’s such a gent
.

Smiling broadly at him, I take his hand and
he helps me slip into the low seat. I watch him walk around to the driver’s
side, and sliding gracefully into the driver’s seat, he starts the engine. I
feel its low rumble vibrate beneath me. Tristan slips his aviators on, pulls
out of the dark car park and heads into traffic.

Taking my hand in his, he squeezes it
tight. “Do we need to stop at yours?” he asks.

I nod at him then start giggling.

“What?” he chuckles.

I shake my head. “Nothing, I'm just really
glad you’re back.”

He brings my hand up to his lips and kisses
my knuckles. “Me too,” he says.

When we reach the Marina. Tristan parks the
car at the gym, turns off the engine and comes round to help me out of the car.
We walk hand in hand down the concourse, stealing glances at one another.
Finally reaching my studio, I pull my keys out and unlock the patio door.

“Have you packed for the weekend?
Tristan
asks as we step inside. I nod shyly at him and smile, his answering grin is
infectious. “Where are your bags gorgeous?” he asks, pulling me into him.

“Upstairs, on the bed,” I whisper.

“Ok,” he says. He kisses me briefly and
goes to move, but I stop him. “You ok?” he questions.

I swallow hard against the lump in my
throat, being here back in the studio with Tristan next to me, it all comes
crashing down on me, everything that’s happened this week.

I shake my head and crush myself against
him, my head on his chest, my arms wrapped tightly around his back. Tristan
doesn’t say anything, he simply wraps his arms around my shoulders, squeezing
me tightly and resting his cheek on my head, then I feel him kiss the top of my
head several times. I close my eyes and surrender to the feeling – This is what
I need, what I’ve missed. I sigh blissfully –
I could stay here forever.

“Baby,” he croaks, rubbing his hands across
my back. I don't want to open my eyes, but I do and look up at him.

“Yeah?” I croak.

“It’s really hot in here,” he says. I look
up at him, and see he’s melting. His cheeks have flushed, and tiny beads of
sweat have formed across his brow. Then I realise he’s right; the studio has
got toasty hot without the air-conditioning on.

“Oh, sorry,” I chuckle and release him from
the hug.

“Don’t be,” he laughs. “That was really
nice, let’s get going so we can do it again,” he adds tracing a finger down my
cheek.

I nod and pull on his hand, Tristan follows
me up the stairs.

“Now there’s a site I could look at forever,”
he says with delicious delight.

I stop halfway up the stairs and turn to
him. “What is?” I chuckle. Tristan cocks his head to the side, leans forward
and bites my right butt cheek.

I yelp in surprise. “Tristan!” I scold in
laughter.

“What? You have the most amazing ass, it’s
the perfect shape,” he tells me.