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Tristan’s eyebrows shot up. “He did? He never mentioned it.”

“When you guys were leaving earlier, he stopped and said he was glad to see I was okay in the end.”

“He does have a great memory for faces. Though I’m not sure I appreciate him showing me up like that since it took me almost three weeks to remember you.” He shot me a self-deprecating look, and I chuckled.

“You’re forgiven. Besides, I was the sneaky one, keeping it secret.”

His expression turned calculating while a grin tugged at his lips. “Yes, you were, weren’t you?” He paused to take me in, and I realised he’d led me all the way to his office. “Now, I really do want you to take a break. Every time I’ve seen you today, you’ve been running around taking care of everything. It’s time for you to rest a while. We’ll order something for you to eat from the restaurant soon, but first …” He trailed off, moving closer, and my breathing quickened.

“But first what?”

“You’ve been working yourself ragged. You need some stress relief.” His voice had grown husky, and I was instantly wet. “And besides, I’m feeling a little caveman-ish after that whole thing with your ex out in the bar. I need to stake my claim.” He waggled his eyebrows and thumped his chest, and I burst into laughter. Tristan was so unserious sometimes, and I loved that about him. I was pretty sure I actually loved him loved him, but it was way too soon to tell if it were real or just hormones.

Well, I wouldn’t be telling him until I was certain.

That was the exact thought in my head when I blurted, “I like you so much.”

His features transformed with a bright, almost radiant smile. “I like you, too, Erin, so fucking much.”

My heart shimmered in my chest, my insides singing with joy because I needed him to touch me, like, ten minutes ago. He sank his hands in my hair, his voice a guttural rasp when he said, “And I really like your hair. I think about it … spread across my pillow …” He kissed me once, featherlight, then his hands left my hair, one sliding under my backside while the other went around my hips. Tristan lifted me like I weighed nothing, and my breathing grew choppy as he carried me over and set me down on his desk, just like he’d promised. I was already anticipating his skilled mouth, the things he could make me feel, how he made me the centre of his entire universe when his head was between my thighs.

He lay me flat on the desk, and I realised that it was surprisingly clear of all the usual office things that normally cluttered it. Tristan was busy ridding me of my trousers and underwear when I asked, “Did you clear your desk in advance for this?”

He didn’t look one bit embarrassed as he lowered his face and pressed a hard kiss to my inner thigh. “Yes, yes, I did.”

A breathy laugh escaped me. “I think that might be the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

His answering chuckle vibrated through me, and then his mouth was on my clit, and I lost all ability to think.

22.

Tristan

“It’s been a few years since I’ve been up here,” Erin said as we neared the top of Bray Head.

She was sweating, her thick hair tied up in a ponytail while the wind whipped tendrils of curls around her face. She was just two or three feet ahead of me as she paused to catch her breath. I stopped, too, but not because I was winded. I was merely distracted by the glistening sheen between her breasts. She wore leggings and a tight zip-up top that cupped her tits to perfection.

She placed her hands on her hips, staring past me toward the sea. “The view is pretty amazing, though. I’d almost forgotten how much you can see from up here.”

“Yep. Incredible view. Kudos to our grand creator,” I said, not taking my eyes off her chest.

She laughed and reached out to swipe me on the shoulder. “Hey, you perve!”

I chuckled. “What? I came for a view, and I’m getting one.”

Erin shook her head, pulling a bottle of water from her backpack and taking a quick gulp. Once again, I was distracted, watching the movement of her throat as she swallowed. It had been two weeks since we’d gotten together, and today was only our second date. It turned out that there weren’t a lot of opportunities for outside activities when you were relaunching a hotel. But things had finally calmed down enough that we could both take the morning off to go on a hike. Our first date was a romantic dinner, followed by a walk along the promenade, then some heavy petting on a bench before we both dragged ourselves back to her apartment.

“Let’s keep going,” I encouraged. “We’re almost at the top.”

Erin nodded and turned around, resuming the hike, and I followed close behind, trying not to stare at her round backside and lose my footing on the slightly rocky terrain.

We reached the top, and there was no one else around, just us, the wind and the view. I had contemplated bringing a picnic, but then Becky had mentioned how windy it would be so high up, so I’d arranged for us to share lunch in my office when we got back instead.

Erin stood staring out across the water. From here, you could see the entire town, the hotel and Erin’s apartment all the way in the distance. Farther out, you could see Howth Head and Lambay Island, both of which were close to where I’d grown up.

I went and stood behind Erin, wrapping my arms around her waist and bending to press a kiss on her neck. “Look, all these years I was over there,” I said, nodding in the direction of Howth Head. “And you were just over here, and I had no idea.”

“I can’t count the number of times I looked over there and thought of you. I imagined you married with a bunch of kids, running your dad’s hotels with your brother.”