Brennan got off the desk and then searched out his pants. By the time he was dressed and I’d managed to straighten my clothes, I felt more in control of myself. Brennan wrapped his arms around mywaist and then kissed me softly. “I was hoping I’d get to see you again today,” he murmured. “I don’t want to leave Tristan alone tonight…”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’m going to get checked into the hotel and do some work.”
“You okay?” Brennan asked as he released me and stepped back.
“I’m fine,” I said as I began picking up some of the items I’d knocked from the desk. Brennan helped me clean up. “You almost finished here?” I asked as I handed him a stack of papers.
“I was,” Brennan said with a chuckle as he began putting the papers into some kind of order.
“Sorry,” I said as I realized I hadn’t given much thought to all the stuff I’d scattered across the floor in an effort to get Brennan beneath me.
“Don’t be,” Brennan said huskily. “I’m not.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I should probably go wait for you outside,” I said even as I felt my sated cock trying to resurrect itself.
“Probably a good idea,” Brennan said with a rueful smile. “Hey,” he called as I headed towards the door.
I turned back to see him watching me thoughtfully. “Are you interested in joining me and Tristan for dinner tonight? It’s nothing fancy…I was just going to make some spaghetti or something.”
“No, I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
I hated the look of disappointment that flashed in Brennan’s eyes, but he quickly covered it with a smile.
“Sure, no problem.”
“I’ll see you out front,” I managed to say before I left the office.
Fuck, how had things gone this wrong this quickly?
Chapter 13
TRISTAN
“Doyou want to talk about it?” I asked as I watched Brennan play with the food on his plate. He’d told me when I’d started making dinner that he wasn’t particularly hungry, but I’d urged him to join me at the table anyway as I’d filled his plate with two pieces of roasted chicken and a baked potato. He’d managed a couple of mouthfuls, but they’d been forced. I couldn’t really blame him because I hardly felt like eating either. Only I didn’t have a choice since I had to take my medicine.
“What?” Brennan asked as he lowered his fork and looked up at me.
It had been four days since Memphis had dropped me off at the apartment after the drive up from Oregon. I hadn’t heard from him since then and Brennan had been quiet that night too, but not as distracted as he was now.
Things had been off between me and Brennan from the time he’d left me with Memphis in Oregon…well, in truth, they’d been off for a lot longer than that. But I had no idea if I was the cause. Maybe he’d regretted getting involved in this whole thing with the guys that were after me. Maybe he resented the fact that he was virtually a prisoner in his own home.
“Is it the guy you’ve been seeing?” I risked asking.
Brennan stilled for a moment and then said, “Why would you think that?”
“Because you seem off somehow. And you’ve been spending all your nights here with me instead of with him…”
Brennan dropped his eyes and I realized the truth. “You’ve been doing that for me,” I murmured. “So I wouldn’t be alone.”
“Tristan.”
I hoped like hell I’d eaten enough to keep my medication from making me sick because there was no way I’d be able to force another bite down. I got up and took my dishes to the kitchen and emptied the leftover food in the garbage. But I couldn’t stop from flinching when Brennan’s hands closed around my arms from behind. And it wasn’t because his touch bothered me.
Well, at least not in a bad way.
“Tristan, it isn’t that,” he said and he forced me to turn and face him. “Did you mean it?” he asked. “About listening if I wanted to talk?”
Surprise went through me and I quickly nodded. Because as hard as it would be to listen to Brennan talk about someone else, I would do anything to see the joy back in his eyes that I’d seen there in the weeks after I’d returned home from New York.
