He joined her a few minutes later and he had a disgruntled look on his face that if Alina only knew it was for her benefit.
“Is there a problem?” She asked as he pushed the button to call the elevator.
“Someone made a mistake with our room assignments,” he told her glancing over at her with hooded eyes. “When I called for our reservations, I asked for two rooms. Unfortunately, for some reason, it was changed to one room with double beds. Since the conference is about to begin, there are no single rooms left.”
Alina flushed at what he was telling her and she offered, “I can always go to another hotel.”
He frowned slightly a little disgruntled that she had thought of it as he said, “If you want…”
“There are no availabilities anywhere,” another woman said with a wave of her hand that had come up to them as the elevator doors opened. “I was lucky to get a room here because there is some parade, or something, going on and all the hotels are booked for it.”
Trystan’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction at the woman’s news although he hid it with a scowl as Alina turned to him.
She sighed before she said, “Well, I guess it can’t be helped. It is only for a few days, right, and the room has two beds.”
He could tell she wasn’t thrilled with the idea although at the same time the look in her eyes told him that the idea didn’t completely disgust her either as the elevator doors closed.
After they reached their room, Trystan quickly unpacked before he told Alina, “I have to get going.”
“All right,” she said walking over to the glass doors looking out at the scenery.
He hesitated briefly before he walked over and wrapped his arms around her like he did at his aunt’s house.
Unlike then, Alina stiffened slightly before she leaned her head back against him with a soft sigh.
“We will have dinner when I get back,” he told her kissing her temple.
She nodded her head at his words and he laughed lightly before he released her, and left the room.
As he closed the door, he drew in a deep breath to steady himself because this was going to be harder than he thought as he shook his head and headed back downstairs.
He pulled his cell from his pocket and called Marla where they were staying as neither she nor Sam had taken their cells with them checking to make sure that they had arrived safely.
Alina unpacked her case and took a shower as her body felt stiff after the flight even though she had taken longer ones. After her shower, she relaxed on the bed watching a movie on TV which unfortunately put her to sleep and she woke up as the sun was going down. She had slept for four hours and it was hitting on eight o’clock when the phone on the nightstand between the beds rung.
Alina answered still half asleep, “Hello.”
There was silence before a sharp voice said, “May I speak to Trystan?”
Alina glanced around the room noticing that there were no changes since she passed out and she told the caller, “I’m sorry, but he is still downstairs talking with other conference members. If you would like, I can take a message for him.”
The woman on the other end laughed before she told her, “That is okay I will call his cell. Enjoy your weekend.”
There was smugness in her voice that Alina still caught even though she was half asleep and the door opened a few minutes after she put down the phone.
“Hi,” Trystan said with a smile as she looked over at him and he could tell that she had just woken up.
“Hi, you just got a phone call,” she told him sitting up and running a hand through her tousled hair.
Trystan frowned as he said, “Did they leave a message?”
Alina shook her head as she scooted to the end of the bed. “No, she said that she would call your cell.”
She stood up and her eyes widened as she lost her balance almost falling back when Trystan grabbed her around the waist pulling her tight into his body.
“Are you okay?” He asked not releasing her as Alina stared up at him with wide eyes and a shortness of breath.
“Yeah,” she breathed out slowly, and Trystan’s eyes narrowed as desire darkened his eyes and he lowered his head until their lips were inches apart when suddenly the silence in the room was broken by the ringing of a cell phone.
“Damn it,” Trystan growled out as he jerked back causing Alina to fall on the bed. She laid there looking up at him her eyes wide with passion and he ignored the ringing of his cell as he followed her down onto the bed.
“Alina,” he whispered quietly one hand coming out to trace her cheekbones and lazy drift across her eyelids causing them to close.
“I knew that sharing a room was going lead to this,” Alina admitted in a soft voice. “I just didn’t realize that it would be the first night.”
Trystan started laughing at the bluntness of her tone and his head lowered until his forehead nestled against her collarbone, and Alina lifted her hands to clasp his neck fingers shifting through his short hair.
“We don’t have to do this, Alina,” he told her his hot breath causing Alina to shiver with anticipation.
“I’m not saying that I don’t want to, which doesn’t say much for me, does it?” Alina said in a rueful voice. “I just think we should…”
“Take it slow,” Trystan finished for her as he lifted his head and he smiled those grey eyes dark with desire but also understanding.
Alina went to go say something when his cell phone went off again and he groaned as Alina giggled pulling at his hair softly. “I think you should answer it. It may be important,” she suggested to him
“I doubt it,” he told her in a grim voice as he pecked her lightly on the lips before getting up and going over to his jacket where he threw it on the other bed. He pulled it out of the pocket and answered with a sharp, “Hello” watching as Alina pushed herself up into a sitting position.
He frowned as he listened to Bea complain about not being able to get hold of him and how Alina wouldn’t tell him where he was at only to stop when Trystan said, “I have been with other members of the conference since we arrived and I just returned to the room. We are about to get something to eat before I call it a night because tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
Bea simpered as she told him, “I didn’t mean to call so late but I wanted to talk with you before I went out.”
Trystan couldn’t help but roll his eyes only to catch the laughter that crossed Alina’s face at his reaction her hands coming up to hold it in.
“I hope you have a good evening and I will talk to you tomorrow,” he told her before he waited for her snappish ‘goodnight’ before she hung with a click.
Trystan snapped his own phone closed before he tossed it on the bed and looked at Alina with narrowed eyes as she couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore. She busted out with laughter as she backed against the bed and Trystan walked around to the other side as she tried to control her laughter, but it was impossible.
He gave her a wicked grin before he leaned over and started tickling her, and Alina’s eyes went wide as she tried to squirm away.
“Stop please, I’m ticklish,” she said laughing harder as he seemed to find every spot on her body that was sensitive to tickles.
After ten minutes, they were lying in the middle of the bed in a similar position before the phone call and Alina looked up at him with a shining light in her eyes that caused Trystan’s eyes to widen slightly. There was so much emotion whirling around in those hazel orbs directed at him that it made him breathless until Alina realized she was revealing too much and her lashes drifted down to hide those beautiful orbs.
“So are we still going to eat because I am hungry?” She asked with a smile her lashes lifting but Trystan could’ve groaned when he noticed that she pulled her wariness back up.
“Yes,” he said on a sigh kissing her on the nose. “Let’s go eat and when we returned, I have something to ask you.”
Alina gave him a startled look
as he got off her and held out a hand to pull her up as well. She wrinkled her nose at him as she slid on her shoes before going into the bathroom to brush her hair and Trystan watched her as he unbuttoned his shirt pulling it over his head before he got a fresh one out of the drawer.
He heard an intake of breath and he turned as he pulled the shirt over his head and down covering his upper body. Alina stood in the doorway of the bathroom with hazel eyes dark with an emotion he understood and he smiled smugly.
“Like what you see?” He asked with an arrogant smile.
“To make your arrogance worse, I would have to say very much so,” Alina said honestly shaking her head as she stepped forward.
Trystan laughed loudly as he grabbed her hand lacing their fingers as they headed for the door and Alina rolled her eyes at him eliciting another shout of laughter from Trystan as they headed down to the dining room for a late meal.
Chapter 14
Alina stretched the next morning as Trystan said teasingly, “Are you awake, sleeping beauty?”
Alina’s eyes snapped open at his comment as she grumbled “I wish you would stop saying things like that” as she sat up pushing back the covers.
Trystan shook his head as he sat down on the bed and took her hand into his before saying, “Thank you.”
Alina looked at him strangely before she giggled and squeezed his hand once before pulling it away. “Don’t you have a conference to attend?”
Trystan didn’t have to rush as he was the one holding the conference, but he nodded his head and kissed her lightly on the lips before getting off the bed.
“Hopefully we can get done early so I can take you out before we leave tomorrow evening,” he told her grabbing his jacket and a wink at her, he walked out.
Alina shook her head with a slight smile although her eyes were shadowed with a wariness that she couldn’t shake. She sighed as she slid out of bed heading for the bathroom and a shower thinking about the night before when they returned to the room and Trystan asked for his favor. She shivered remembering his arms around her all night something she never done before with anyone much less another man, which was strange since she wasn’t a virgin.
She finished her shower and was dressed when her cell phone rung, and with a frown she checked the caller id her eyebrows rising at the unfamiliar number until she answered.
“Hello,” she said in her polite voice the one Sam termed her ‘professional tone’.
“Hi, Alina,” Samuel said his voice deep with satisfaction and smugness that Alina started laughing.
“Hi, Sam,” Alina said picking up the room as she chatted with him.
Sam groaned as he said, “Marla has gone crazy with wedding plans.”
Alina laughed as she twitched the pillow in to place before she walked over to the dresser grabbing her wallet and the room key. “Come on, Sam, how long did it take you to ask her to marry you? Besides, you will be fine with whatever Marla decides.”
Sam was silent before he sighed in resignation, “True.”
Alina chuckled as Sam told her a little about where they were staying although from the sound of his voice, she knew he was enjoying his time with Marla.
“So get off the phone with me and go spend it with her,” Alina told him a stern voice which had Samuel responding in a gruff tone, “Who is the oldest here?”
“You, but sometimes you act like a child,” Alina said without hesitation her voice serious.
Sam grumbled at her before he told he would see her when they returned and hung up with a ‘goodbye’.
After she put the phone in her pocket, she frowned not knowing how long Trystan was going to be and she knew she couldn’t stay in the hotel room until he came back.
She left the room five minutes later and when she reached the lobby she left a message for Trystan at the front desk before walking out the hotel doors only to be swept up into the crowd outside.
Her eyes widened as she was swept along as one good looking man put a beaded necklace around her neck with an inviting smile that Alina shook her head to before turning away. She knew the man merely shrugged his shoulders and went to the next woman that he came upon and Alina only smiled as she scanned the people around her.
They walked along the downtown area where booths were set up and Alina ended up losing the time as she browsed each booth not buying anything as the bracelet on her wrist drew plenty of attention because of its intricate detail.
When asked she told them where she got it from as she continued on browsing each booth without fail.
She was standing at one booth admiring the beautiful portraits that the woman sold when someone grabbed her arm in a tight grip. She reacted immediately as she yanked her arm away and was about to get lost in the crowd when a deep, angry voice said, “Where the hell have you been?”
She turned to meet Trystan’s angry eyes her own slightly bewildered as she said, “I didn’t know when you would be done and sitting in the hotel would’ve bored me so…”
Trystan’s body relaxed as he heard the truth in her voice and he sighed in relief as he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“I got back to the room almost an hour ago and you were gone,” he told her, and Alina looked down at her watch in astonishment when she realized that she had been gone for over three hours.
She shook her head explaining that she hadn’t realized how long she had been gone before she told him, “I left a message for you at the front desk.”
He admitted in a rough voice, “I didn’t bother to check the front desk for any message.”
Alina laughed up at him and he smiled noting the flush on her face that told him she was enjoying herself.
“I’m hungry,” he said as they continued strolling along.
“Now that you mention it,” Alina said on a teasing note giving him a slanted look through shining eyes.
Trystan chuckled as he squeezed her waist and led her away to his favorite restaurant that he visited each time he came to this town.
They chatted as they made their way to the restaurant and it was only when they were seated that Trystan checked his phone noting the missed calls he received, and it shocked him to realize that he hadn’t heard it.
“Go ahead and call,” Alina told him as she picked up the menu and Trystan didn’t respond as he slid the phone back in his pocket just as it vibrated telling him he had another call which he ignored as he smiled at Alina leaning back in his chair.
After lunch, the day seem to fly by as they toured the city and Alina laughed at Trystan who played her tour guide, but she thought it was with great reluctance.
“You could’ve just given me a map,” Alina argued later that evening as they headed back to the hotel.
Trystan shook his head remarking on a teasingly note, “You probably would’ve gotten lost or…” he stopped not wanting to cause Alina’s bright eyes to become dim with wariness.
“Or,” Alina said tilting her head at him as they walked over to the elevator doors.
Trystan shook his head putting an arm over her shoulders as he told her, “Nothing.”
Alina gave him a frown which he countered by swooping down and kissing her on the lips as the elevator doors opened up.
He smirked when he drew away and he observed Alina’s red cheeks as they stepped inside followed by two other guests both women.
Alina observed how the women kept sneaking looks at Trystan who stood stiffly at her side and she looked up at him with a questioningly look.
He only looked at her before he rolled his eyes slightly in their direction and Alina glanced over at them as they gave her glares. She observed the tight fitting tops that barely covered their breasts down to the snug shorts so short that if they bent over it wouldn’t leave anything to a man’s imagination. One of them gave Alina a smirk as she stepped toward them and Alina felt Trystan stiffen even more against her.
“Honey,” Alina pouted turning her body so it was flush against him. “I’m hun
gry.”
The woman froze as Trystan placed both hands on her hips as he said with a double meaning in his statement which only Alina heard, “How about we order room service for the evening instead of going out?”
Alina’s eyes widened as she stared up at him and she swallowed reading the desire in his grey eyes before she stuttered, “Sounds good.”
He smiled using his hands to pull her hips tighter up against his as he said, “Then maybe we can watch a movie afterwards.”
Alina nodded her head unable to talk as his hard body pressed against her and she glanced over his shoulder when the woman snorted before she smiled seductively.
“Hi,” she said coming closer so that her barely clad chest brushed his arm and Alina felt Trystan stiffen.
Alina pulled back trying to step out of his hold but he tightened his hands at her hips as he said without turning to the woman, “As you can see, my girlfriend and I are talking so please do not interrupt.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open in shock as the elevator doors opened and Trystan backed Alina out before the doors closed on the stunned faces of the two women inside.
“So what are we going to watch?” Trystan asked as he turned Alina before they headed for their room.
Alina shrugged her shoulders still feeling the heat of his hands on her hips as she told him, “I will let you choose.”
Once they entered their room, Alina sighed before going over to her bed and collapsing as Trystan called room service and then turned on the TV making himself comfortable next to Alina on the bed.
“We have very few choices,” Trystan commented as he reviewed the lineup for the evening. Finally, he found something that he seen before and hoped Alina would enjoy watching it with him.
“Alina,” he began as he leaned back and glanced over at her only to stop when he noted her even breathing.
There was a tap on the door and after giving her a light kiss on the cheek, he went to get it telling the server that he would take the cart with their meal. He tipped the man before rolling the cart in the room and closing the door behind him.
His Sister's Return Page 16