Hazel St. James - Fighting For You (Redemption#1)[ (16 page)

Peyton moaned when he nibbled on each of her swells after cleaning up the crumbs. She tipped her head back and playfully mewled in frustration when he stopped.

Tristan nonchalantly picked up the cake again, and said with a smile on his face, “Second question…You don’t require a pre-nup before I make you scream, do you?”

Peyton recoiled as if he’d struck her, and then moved from her reclined position, to up on her knees directly in front of him. “That was mean, asshole. I would think being safe rather than sorry with sex would have been something that you would value. I know that you used to fuck everything that moved, but I’d hoped that if you stayed with me, even when I didn’t put out, then maybe I meant something to you.”

Tristan realized he’d boxed himself into a corner with this one, and what was supposed to be light-hearted had escalated into a conversation he wasn’t ready to have. He knew that he wanted a lot more with Peyton, but there was no way that he was ready to go for it; there were too many issues in his brain he couldn’t handle yet, and didn’t want to bring her fully into the fold. He needed to lighten up the conversation, or this was going to put him in the middle of something he wouldn’t be able to walk away from anymore.

Steeling up his nerve, Tristan casually told her, “I was just playing around, baby. Don’t get all worked up.”

“Damn it, Tristan! I told you from day one that I don’t just fall over with my legs up in the air. I have to know that you feel something in here,” Peyton gently laid her palm over his chest. Time stood still as Tristan lowered his eyes to see where her palm was connected with his chest. Clutching his eyes shut tight, he desperately tried to hold back the feelings that were trying to escape from the fortress deep within his soul. He knew that he wasn’t good enough for Peyton. There was no way that his battered mind, body and soul could handle the mental intimacy that she deserved…that she needed.

Tristan watched as Peyton lifted her other hand to rest on the other side of his chest, and then she splayed her fingers on top of his shirt. She took a deep breath, slowly letting it go, before she quietly continued, “I’m not saying that I won’t sleep with you unless you love me. I’m not that naïve, Tristan. Can you give me some indication that I mean more to you than the trash that you would pick up from a bar?”

The word coming from Peyton’s mouth made him wince, as it was almost too painful to hear. She had summarized with one word what Tristan had accomplished with the last few years of his life.
Trash
. Never had he ever felt bad about being a
love ‘em and leave ‘em
kind of guy, until this very moment.

Willing his body to move, Tristan carefully peeled his lids open, and focused on the sultry green eyes that were staring back at him. Peyton was studying him carefully, waiting for him to answer. There was a longing coming from those emerald green orbs, but it was mixed with something else. Peyton was looking at Tristan with more than just a physical longing, but a mental longing, too. She saw something in him that was worth all the pain, and the heartache that he was bound to give her.

Peyton was seeing in him what no one else ever even dared to look for. When she relaxed her shoulders and added a small smile to her lips, Tristan knew exactly what he was seeing in her eyes. She was able to see the good in every person, and Tristan was no exception. Deep in the dark recesses of his mind, he knew he wanted to have more with Peyton, wanted to see that light in her eyes keep getting brighter.

Tristan finally answered her question, “You will always mean more to me than anyone else ever has. I gave up a long time ago on feeling anything other than lust. But with you, I know that I want more, but how much more…I honestly don’t know. I can’t handle forever, Peyton. Just say you’ll give me right now.”

Peyton closed her eyes, letting her smile spread all the way across her face, giving him all the answer that he needed. She hadn’t moved her hands from where they lay on his chest, making it easy for Tristan to close the bit of space there was between them. As he pulled her in closer, Peyton’s hands inched up his neck and wove into his hair. He could feel her hot breath on his face as he leaned down to her lips. He hesitated at the last second, and whispered, “I care about you more than I have about any other person on this entire earth.”

Tristan softly brushed his lips against Peyton’s at first, and then he deepened the kiss when he tilted his head to the side and used his tongue to part her lips. Peyton had moved her hands from his hair, and instead was using them to stroke up and down his covered back. The slow and sensual kiss was quickly becoming a catalyst for all the sexual energy that the two of them had worked up over the last month. Peyton released a soft moan that Tristan gladly drank from her mouth and then he gave her lower lip a quick tug in between his teeth before he released her. They were both panting, but Tristan wasn’t ready to move on.

However, Peyton had her own ideas. She slipped out of his arms, and yanked her shirt over her head and was working on her tennis shoes and socks. He’d seen her breasts before, but the red lacy bra that encased them tonight was a thing of beauty, and he wanted to savor the view. Tristan was left stunned by her excitement to undress, and wondered how he’d lost control of the moment. This was supposed to be a long, delicious love-making session that left them both completely exhausted and sated. The way Peyton was currently ripping off her own clothes, she was trying to speed things along.

“Hey, baby girl. Wait…” Tristan stilled her movement with his hands. “Slow down.” He took her other foot in his hand, and Peyton tipped herself back onto her elbows. He slipped her foot out of her converse and laughed at the bright pink socks that she was wearing. His mood shifted back to highly turned on when Peyton brushed her other already bare foot against his jean-covered erection.

He growled from somewhere deep inside his chest and told her, “I plan on worshipping every inch of your body for the next few hours. Hell, maybe even until the sun comes up.”

Chapter Eighteen

T
he moonlight was highlighting her dark tresses from behind, and she was looking at him almost as if she was all of the sudden shy. He finished removing her socks and tugged on her jeans as she lifted her hips, and they slid down her legs. His breath caught in his lungs when he caught a glimpse of the lacy red boy shorts that she wore; they perfectly matched the red bra that she had on, and the color was highlighted by her dark skin. The sight nearly made him lose his mind, but what he could clearly see now, was the brightly colored lotus flowers that covered her ribs and went all the way down to her hip, tucked into the band of her panties.

Tristan held open his arms, and she slowly rose back up and slipped into his embrace. “No words tonight. Let me show you my feelings, Peyton.”

She nodded, and Tristan delved back in, encasing her mouth with his own. Within seconds, she relaxed into his arms, and he eased them both back down to the blanket. There were goose bumps on her skin, so he grabbed one of the extra blankets and covered them both with it. It had gotten cooler, but it was still fairly warm. He hoped that she was shivering from anticipation and excitement rather than being cold, but he didn’t need her focused on anything but him.

Tristan knelt over the top of her, and pulled his shirt up slowly and over his head. He was aware that Peyton had not really seen him with bare chested, and she was going to want to ask questions about all the ink that covered his chest and abs, as well as his piercings. That was one of the reasons he’d asked for no words. He didn’t need to elaborate on his past right now.

Peyton was working on sitting up and was reaching for his chest, with a smile on her face, but Tristan just shook his head and laughed. She fell back on the blanket, and laughed with him.

Tristan crawled in between her legs and pushed her legs out further, grabbing her left ankle and placing feather lite kisses all the way from her cute toes, up the inside of her leg, and back to her hip bone. He completely bypassed the apex of her thighs, knowing that once he got close enough to smell her excitement, he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else. He was an ass man for sure, but fuck if he didn’t love the way a woman squirmed underneath him when he used his mouth to bring them to the edge.

Continuing his progress up her stomach, Tristan nipped and licked the swells of her body until his face was over the top of her sexy red bra and perfect breasts. He used his nose to press into the flesh of the mounds, slowly brushing it back and forth against her skin; he snaked his hands around her back, and undid the clasp on her bra and the material loosed enough so that he was free to dip underneath the material. He could clearly see the silver beads on either side of her erect nipples, and smiled before nibbling on the sides, and tugging first one, and then the other, outward just enough until she gasped.

Tristan pulled her bra from her arms, and tossed it to the side. He lay on his side next to Peyton and covered them both with the blanket. She was watching him with wide eyes, and every breath she took seemed labored. Tristan didn’t take his eyes off her face, and used the tips of his fingers to caress her face, and her neck and then languishly ran them over her breasts and nipples, barely touching them on each pass. Peyton closed her eyes, and gave him a quiet moan, but he quickly told her, “Open your eyes, baby. I need to see you.”

Her eyes shot open again and she kept them trained on Tristan as he continued to skim his hands down her belly, and sides and then down to her mound. He cupped her gently and could feel the heat rising between her legs. Peyton’s back arched from the simple touch, and he knew that she would be writhing with need if he kept toying with her. Still he wasn’t ready to stop his exploration of her body, but she needed some relief.

Tristan settled his fingers just barely underneath the band on her panties, and Peyton whimpered. He moved his hand back and forth from hip bone to hip bone, revealing the feel of her silky skin. With slow and steady movements, his fingertips played in the nest of curls covering her sex, until she squirmed. His fingers easily slid in her folds and Tristan nearly lost control when he realized how wet and ready she was.

Their eyes were locked on each other when Tristan found her protruding clit, and felt her shudder when he flicked it a few times, but she didn’t lose his gaze. Tristan scooted in closer to her and moved his index finger to her channel, and easily slipped inside. Peyton cried out, but kept still otherwise when he added another finger and pumped them in and out in slowly. Her hips were moving with his thrusts, and he knew she wasn’t going to hold on much longer. His thumb landed firmly on her clit, and he pressed down as he bit her naked shoulder, telling her against her skin, “Come for me, baby.”

Her answer was a staccato whimper and he could feel her core clutching at the intrusion as she panted her release. When her body stopped moving, and she relaxed against the blanket, he removed his glistening fingers. He was content to let her come back down and just rested his head against her body as she calmed.

Peyton started to stir against him, and Tristan raised his head back up and looked into the sated eyes of the woman that was the center of his world. Saying the words in his head didn’t scare him as much as he assumed it would, but it was still hard for him to feel so connected to someone. His little spitfire must have sensed a change in his mood because she was moving to straddle his right leg, keeping the blanket over her bare shoulders.

She unhooked the fly of his jeans, and tugged them down; he lifted his hips up so that she could free them. She moved off his leg and finished pulling until they were all the way off his body. She growled at him in a deep sexy way as she crawled over his body and grasped the edges of his briefs. After a few tugs, his erection sprung free and she grinned at him with the effort. She added his briefs to the pile of clothes on the edge of the blanket, and settled back down next to him.

Tristan kissed her softly a few times, feeling his cock tapping against her belly as he moved to his side. Their mouths mated casually while he pulled off her panties and tossed them to the side. He held her hip in his hand, and pulled her close, then rolled so that her naked body was pressed into his. Barely able to reach, he grabbed for the blanket that had fallen off, and he wrapped it around them both again.

Peyton didn’t need any instructions on what he wanted, and she leaned her face down to his neck, tickling his skin as she lightly moved her lips back and forth over his upper body. She paused long enough at his nipples to give them a quick tug in between her teeth and when Tristan didn’t respond, she did it again, with just a little more force. The combination of pleasure and pain shot straight to his cock, and he growled, “I need you…Now.”

She smiled at him smugly and waited as Tristan grabbed a condom from his discarded jeans and rolled it over his cock. Peyton then positioned herself over his shaft and eased herself down. Her face was visible in the moonlight and he could see her expression morphing in between pleasure and surprise. When she was fully seated, her face relaxed and she gave a tiny mewl.