Chapter 140: Nothing More Than A Kiss

With disbelief evident in her eyes she gasped at him as he slowly undid the buttons on her shirt, rationality would have her stop his hands but she was too shocked to move as she could only ask, “What are you doing?”

“It’s too hot, there is no ventilation, if you continue wearing that shirt you might just get a heat stroke.” He said, finally undoing the last button on her shirt.

Thankfully she was wearing a white tank top underneath her shirt but he probably already knew that which was why he took the liberty to undo the buttons himself.

“Take it off.” He said softly then got up leaving her still gaping in a daze.

Did he have to say it like that? It sounded to her more like seduction, him slowly undoing her shirt buttons then telling her to take it off. She shook off that thought and shrugged the shirt off her shoulders. She was quite thankful she did because she could finally breathe in relief, though it felt a bit better than when she had the shirt on, it didn’t lessen the heat that much.

It was already dark outside, but the distant lights from other buildings seemed to cast a reflection into the room, not leaving them in complete darkness.

“Is Kaleb coming at all?” The lights in several departments had been turned off by now, an indication that work hours were over. Only a few places had lights on, probably from people working overtime.

She knew Kaleb should have left the company by now since he never showed up at all.

“Probably not.” Tristan stated.

The damn idiot must have already gone home by now, Tristan knew better than anyone how much he hated working overtime. He would go on about how his girlfriend wouldn’t be able to fall asleep because she was missing him and how he couldn’t function the next day without sleep, Tristan usually let him go a few hours past normal office closing time. Though he would remain in the office to work and did enjoy the distraction that being focused and working provided, he knew that Kaleb saw that as misery, he only dragged Kaleb with him on important days where work was absolutely essential.

He wondered what the idiot had in his head to have just left like that without even…

“May I use your bathroom please?” He suddenly heard her ask breaking him from his thoughts.

“Sure. It’s over there.” He replied, pointing her in the right direction.

He heard the soft creak of the bathroom door as she went in, his fingers dove into his hair in one frustrated sweep.

He would have to probably spend all night with a woman he was irresistibly attracted to in the same space without doing anything at all, this was a strict test for his self control.

Tristan was painfully aware with each passing second of her presence around him, every slight movement she made, every glance she sent his way, every soft intake of breath she took.

It was desire…rolling in a sharp pool in his body. He wanted her in every way a man wanted a woman, but he knew she was an addictive drug he would never be able to quit.

Five years ago, he had felt this same unstoppable attraction towards her, he had assumed if he had her he would get over it, little did he know that single night had only fanned the flames of his desire for her. If he were to make the slightest mistake of giving in now, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to curb the wild hunger for her anymore, he had a feeling that if he was to have her one more time then he would never be able to quit…not in five more years, not in ten, not ever.

He had always been a person who hated the strong pull of commitments, a situation where you would dedicate your whole life and everything for someone else. The concept to him felt like being forcefully imprisoned, just like… just like his mother had once been forcefully imprisoned.

The recollection of his past made a sigh drop out of his lips, he closed his eyes tight willing those past memories not to return to him again, he did that often.

Tristan knew he had been avoiding this for a long time, refusing to admit to himself that for the first time in his life he had met someone who made him want to commit wholeheartedly, to give himself and everything to her.

How it had happened, he had no clue…he only knew that with her, he didn’t hate the idea of being tied down or bound. Such a feeling was foreign to him, yet not quite either because he had felt that way for the past five years. There was something else he didn’t want to admit to himself as well, this feeling… it frightened him.

He had renounced the name but he was a Blakewood man, that man…his father’s blood rushed through his veins, the heartlessness of a man who couldn’t commit to one.

His father, Aldrich Blakewood had ruined his mother with the so called words of love. He swore his eternal love to her, yet he ruined her in the end.

People exaggerated love and marriage to be a beautiful relationship that lasts forever, but in his life what he’d seen about love and marriage was nothing short of a nightmare, and all his life he hadn’t once witnessed anyone who achieved the love of forever.

Amanda Blakewood, his aunt, his father’s younger sister was married to Gary Sanders, a so called whirlwind romance that led to marriage and the man changed his name to adopt Blakewood just for his own benefits. A marriage said to have started based on love ended up becoming a transaction of greed and hunger for power, that so called love dissipated over the years.

Fiona Blakewood, his father’s youngest sister, married to Harry Devlin, a man who also decided to change his name after marriage just so his children could carry the Blakewood name in the future. Also a love marriage, ruined into hatred, both keeping the relationship for the children and future inheritance.

The so called romanticized marriage was nothing but a bunch of lies and a commercialized commodity, it was a dream sold to billions of human beings who longed for a fairytale that could never be found in reality. Movies and books continued to push this dream because it sells, the market scaling over a hundred and fifty billion dollars a year…the truth of the matter was…love didn’t exist. Or so he had always thought.

Right from the moment this whole thing had started, from the very first moment he’d felt this strong attachment to Celine, he knew he had to let her go. Everytime he saw tears in her eyes it would bring him this scorching pain in his heart. It reminded him of his own mother…

He knew he would hurt her someday, he knew just like his father he would ruin her.

Even if he ignored it, Tristan knew that what he truly wanted was her, to make her his in every way, but what use was having something one would lose in the end?

He understood logic and business but emotions and feelings, he had no understanding of those, he couldn’t risk it, he couldn’t risk her heart for his own selfish desires.

Celine repeatedly splashed water on her face to awaken herself to reality. She was probably going to have to spend a whole night locked up with a man she was uncontrollably attracted to.

That realization made her heart race even if she didn’t think of anything at all. With a dragging sigh she calmed herself, there was no need to get worked up. It was just tonight, tomorrow morning someone might come and let them out.

She just wished she could have gotten a way to contact Natalia to inform her she might not be back tonight but she felt relieved that Natalia was staying over and she would be there with the kids.

She walked out of the bathroom and immediately she emerged, Tristan coincidentally turned around in her direction and their eyes locked for more than a second before she quickly looked away.

His shirt was completely unbuttoned and his muscular chest was in full view.

Oh heavens! She swallowed dryly as her eyes trailed the length of his form. His fully ripped chest was sleek with sweat, making her unable to look away, it added to the allure for some reason that she felt the urge to run her fingers down his pecs just to remember how it feels.

She quickly snapped herself out of those thoughts as she moved back to sit on the sofa. She stiffened as she heard him slowly come over to sit beside her.

“Will we really be here all night?” She asked softly.

There was still no sign of the security guards doing their rounds tonight.

“Maybe not, the guards might get here anytime now.” He replied and that somewhat reassured her, making her hope fervently that they would get here really soon.

But her internal prayer suddenly halted when she felt his hand draw a small circle on her left shoulder.

“Where did you get that?” He suddenly asked. It took a second for her to realize he meant the birthmark on her shoulder as his hand left her skin, she let out a silent sigh of relief.

“I’ve always had it, it’s a birthmark.” She said, then added as she recalled something, “My stylists used to cover it up with makeup for shoots if I had to show my shoulders. They used to tell me that It shouldn’t be seen.” She said with a reminiscent smile.

“Why not? It’s beautiful.” His words made her freeze, unable to react as he added, “Everything about you is beautiful.”

Her heart skipped a beat, beginning a marathon in her chest.

She slowly tilted her head to look at him, his hazel eyes had a certain luster in the darkness, his hair was a bit messy making him look ruggedly alluring.

He frowned slightly, and she could see a tortured look in his eyes as his hand slowly came up to caress her face. The moment he touched her a delicious warmth curled into her and her eyes closed momentarily, when they opened again she seemed to see repressed longing and a kind of heated flame that seemed to be forcefully suppressed in his eyes.

Slowly, he leaned towards her and her breath hitched. All the rational cells in her brain were telling her to move away, the closer he came, the harder it would be to resist him. Thankfully she listened, and she leaned backwards slightly but his other hand came up, cupping her face, “Relax, I won’t do anything, I just want to kiss you.”

Heat rushed up her cheeks, and she wanted to move away again when she heard him say, “I promise, nothing more than a kiss.” His whispering voice leaving a tickling trail on her lips as he leaned closer and his mouth sealed her own softly.

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