Forbidden (10 page)

She’d lived quite the nomadic life with her father. What had she said? They’d moved every year or so and she’d never known when they’d move again. Something about that made a tightness grow in his chest.

He couldn’t get what she’d said last night out of his head. Books didn’t leave her, she didn’t have to say good-bye.

Tristan took
Dropped from the Clouds
from its box and wrapped the ribbon around the book. Then with a grin, he placed it on the pillow next to her. It would be there when she woke up.

She hadn’t had a chance to look at it last night, but she’d have plenty of time to when he was gone. He wouldn’t let her give it back. It was a gift, and if she was going to be spending time with him in bed or out, she’d have to learn to accept the things he bought for her, no matter their price.

The mobile in his hand buzzed with a text from Carter. He was waiting outside.

There was no way he could avoid his friend’s teasing. Not when he was practically naked in the dead of winter. Tristan slipped on his sweater and pants from last night and his socks, and then opened Kat’s door and crept out into the hallway, where he could see Carter waiting outside the glass door.

His friend was dressed in a gray, knee-length coat and jeans, and he was kicking snow about with one booted foot, his hands shoved into his pockets like an errant schoolboy. A pair of trousers was tucked under one arm.

Tristan unlocked the glass door and pressed a finger to his lips. “Say one bloody word…”

The wicked glint in Carter’s eyes assured him that his friend would take full advantage of this situation later.

“Stay out here.” He grabbed the trousers and stalked back to Kat’s room, leaving Carter out in the cold. When he got back inside her room, he slipped into his new pants and boots. He was in the process of putting his coat on when Kat’s voice stopped him.

“You’re leaving?” Her sleepy voice filled him with a fuzzy warmth and a desire to stay. But he assumed she had classes most of the day like him, and neither of them could afford to miss them.

He finished putting on his coat and turned to her. She was sitting up in bed, the covers pooled in her lap. Her hair was sleep mussed and her eyes were soft. She looked like a well-loved woman. Again, that damnable ache flared to life inside him.

Stay
. He could see it in her eyes. And it was too dangerous an offer.

“I have an early class.” He paused, then strode over to her, putting one knee on the edge of the bed as he leaned over to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. He delved between her startled lips, teasing, nibbling at her mouth, flicking the tip of his tongue against hers, promising her that everything he wanted hadn’t faded.

“I want nothing more than to stay right here with you, darling, but we both have things to do today. Shall I drop by tonight?” His tone was…hopeful. Tristan let out a string of curses in his head. Normally he’d just come by and take whatever woman he was seducing right to bed. But not with Kat. Slow seduction, letting her have some control. That was how he’d break down her protective barriers. Then he’d have a chance to set fire to her body with the passion he saw simmering in her eyes.

“Tonight?” She pursed her lips, her eyes hardening a little as she seemed to wake up and consider his proposal.

He brushed his thumbs across her cheeks, praying she’d agree, but then again, it shouldn’t matter. He needed to take charge of the situation.

“I’ll come by tonight at eight, with dinner.” Better to tell her, then let her decide. He grinned at the little frown that creased her brow.

“But—”

He silenced her with another kiss, one just as deep, reminding her with his tongue what he’d done to her with his hand.

She moaned against his lips.

That was how he left her, dazed and dreamy-eyed.

As he exited the dorm, Carter was still outside, arms crossed and grinning a jackal’s grin.

“Are you going to tell me about her?” Carter strolled beside him as they made their way down the snow-covered path that cut through the college’s main courtyard.

“No. This one is off limits, even for you. I don’t want the paparazzi to get wind of her.” A shudder rolled through him at the memory of the last woman he’d slept with.

She’d been the daughter of a knighted gentleman out of Surrey, and when the papers had heard of their affair, the pictures of them had been everywhere. Some bastard with a camera had haunted their every step, and the articles hadn’t painted their relationship in a flattering light. The relationship hadn’t even been serious, a mere fling, but the paparazzi had run with the story for weeks.

His father had been outraged by the situation, and he’d suffered backlash personally as a result. He hadn’t approved of the relationship. Not that Tristan had cared because it hadn’t been a
real
relationship.

Tristan didn’t want his father hearing about Kat for many reasons, but primarily to protect her. His father would find a way to hurt her. He might use his connections to get her thrown out of Cambridge. Or worse, if he thought Kat was in the way of his plans for Tristan to marry a woman he believed more suitable for the Countess of Pembroke title.

Like Brianna Wolverton. She was the daughter of a viscount his father had known for years. Tristan had a tendency to hook up with her on occasion, to scratch a mutual itch they both had. He and Brianna had been in the press more often than Prince Harry and Prince William. So much so that they were often considered a celebrity couple despite Tristan’s every attempt to declare otherwise. Brianna had no desire or expectations of any relationship either, but the papers loved to gossip about them.

“Are you worried about the paparazzi or your father?” Carter asked. His friend knew first-hand what a brute the Earl of Pembroke could be, particularly when voicing his opinions on social status.

“Both. Father won’t find out unless the paps do.” They passed through the archway to the college entrance and out onto the street. Each step he took away from Kat left a hollow sensation in his chest.

“Celia texted me about some party.” Carter interrupted Tristan’s brooding.

“Yes. I told her you’d be happy to help arrange it.” Tristan chuckled as his friend gaped at him.

“A party? At Fox Hill? It’s not exactly a prime location.”

“I know. I want to have a few particular individuals attend.”

“Your new girl, you mean. Why? Didn’t you sleep with her last night? You rarely go back to a woman for seconds.”

“
Sleep
is the operative word. She’s…not the sort of girl you sleep with on the first night.” He and Carter shared almost everything, but Kat was something he wanted to keep secret.

“Let me make sure I understand this.” Carter was laughing again.

The bastard.

“
You
are interested in a woman who actually needs to be wooed? Are you feeling well?” He snickered.

Tristan ground his teeth. Although his past liaisons were with more worldly women, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be interested a woman like Kat.

“Tristan.” Carter sobered. “If you are chasing this poor girl because she’s shiny, new, and a challenge, that’s not very noble.”

“Since when have I ever been noble?” Tristan shot back, his temper flaring.

Carter shook his head. “Come to think of it, never. I’ve seen you take two women to bed at one time.”

Tristan smiled. “That was a fun night. We need to do something like that again. It’s been too long.” He had no intention of sleeping with anyone but Kat in the near future, but he’d never let Carter know just how affected he was by her. It was a vulnerability he was still trying to understand, and having Carter poke fun at him for it didn’t sound appealing.

His friend rolled his eyes. “It was last month.”

“Exactly my point.”

“You’re a damned libertine, you know that?” Carter chuckled.

“Maybe I am.” Tristan was already feeling better.

Now if he could only get Kat in his bed…naked, without any of her worries, he’d prove to her how hot things could get between them. He’d prove it all night and clear through till morning, and she would love every minute of it.

A
violent wave of nausea rolled through Kat as she stared at the newspaper. Her world, so carefully constructed to protect her from everything, was now crumbling around her. Ripples of an emotional aftershock rocked through her and her limbs quaked. The paper crinkled as she clenched her fists and blinked back tears.

The newspaper had been lying on her study table, abandoned by some reader before she and Lacy had come to the library to study. As they’d settled in, something on the front page had caught her eye.

The image knocked the breath from her lungs.

There it was. A grainy, black-and-white photo of a man and a woman in the back of a pub. The man had the woman pinned against the wall, one hand sliding up the outside of her skirt. Their mouths were locked in a deep kiss.

She recognized the dominant way the man captured the woman in his arms, his possessive hands roaming over her. It was all too familiar. Once she saw his face, those awful rumblings deep inside her soul had started.

It was Tristan. Kissing another woman. When had he found the time to go be with another woman? Did it matter? He
had
somehow, and Kat felt like an idiot because she’d known from the start that he was a womanizer.

But I wanted him to be different with me…
And that only made her feel more stupid.
Hope
. Hope that she’d be special to him, and she hadn’t been.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Lacy said. She pushed her hair over one shoulder. “Tristan Kingsley.”

Kat’s throat constricted and she swallowed hard. All she could see was Tristan with some woman…his hands…touching that woman like he’d touched her last night. Intimately.

“This could be an old picture,” Lacy said as she pried the newspaper from her hands. “He’s always in the papers.”

“That’s just it,” Kat whispered. “Even if it is old…look at him…It’s so public and…what if he meets another girl today before he sees me and he loses interest…?” There was nothing tying him to her, so why had she been so foolish as to think she could lay any claim to him?

Last night with him had been so amazing and everything between them had been intense. She’d felt connected to him in so many ways.

Now I’m the fool. Because it was probably all one-sided, no matter what he said. It’s just a game to him.

“I…think I’m gonna be sick.” She leapt up from the table at the library and bolted for the bathroom.

She barricaded herself in a stall and leaned against the door, trying to avoid throwing up. The cool metal of the stall almost burned her bare hands when she pressed them flat on the door. Her pulse pounded through her with the force of timpani drums, drowning out all other sounds around her.

Last night had been wonderful.
Tristan
had been wonderful.

It was all a lie.

She was just a pawn in a game he was playing.

Pain lanced through her heart, and she sucked in a gasping breath.

The arrogant asshole had convinced her to open up to him, to reveal vulnerable parts of herself she hadn’t wanted to share.

The picture told her everything she knew about Tristan but had ignored.

He was bad news. Dangerous.

She’d knowingly played with fire and gotten burned.

I thought the thing between us was special. But it’s not. I’m just like every other girl to him.

She couldn’t hate him. She’d gone into this with her eyes wide open, but her heart had been open too. He was irresistible.

His swagger, that cocky grin, the way he’d simply held her as they’d slept together. As if he’d
known
he could manipulate her so easily.
And wasn’t I the fool for letting him do that to me.

“Kat?” Lacy’s voice interrupted her inner tirade. “You in here?”

Wiping her eyes, she sucked in a few deep breaths before she answered. “I’m here.” She left the stall and saw Lacy leaning back against the sink, arms crossed, mouth thinned into a firm line with worry.

“I’m so sorry, Kat.” Lacy uncrossed her arms and hugged Kat tight.

Kat sunk into Lacy’s embrace, needing the comfort Lacy offered.

“It’s okay.” She sniffed, hating that a
man
had made her cry. “I was dumb enough to think he’d be different with me. I guess every girl thinks that, huh?”

Her friend shrugged. “It happens. We all think we’re different.” Lacy paused. “I do think that picture is old, though. You’ve only known him a few days. Maybe it will be different for you?” The question in Lacy’s tone didn’t make the anxious knot in Kat’s stomach disappear.

“What’s that saying about a leopard and spots?” Her chuckle was watery. “I should have realized he won’t be the kind of guy who changes. If he’s used to having a lot of women around, I doubt he’ll change for me.”
Because I’m a nobody
…That thought was icy cold and depressing. She wasn’t anyone a future earl would care about. She didn’t have an aristocratic pedigree, didn’t have estates and titles…there was nothing special about her that would entice Tristan to give her another thought.

“Stupid men.” Lacy echoed her thoughts. “Mark could rough him up. He would, you know.”

Kat shook her head. “No. He isn’t worth the time Mark would waste pounding his face into a wall.”

“True,” Lacy agreed. “But it’d make me feel better.”

“Yeah.” She didn’t want to hurt Tristan, even though he’d hurt her. Vengeance wouldn’t ease the soreness in her heart.

When she got hurt, she ran, hid, refused to lash out. It was a trait she’d inherited from her father. He’d been running away every day since her mother had left.

“Lacy, he said he was coming to my place tonight. I can’t be there. Can we do something? Go out, see a movie.
Something
,” Kat begged. If she couldn’t find a distraction, she was going to lose it,
bad
.

Lacy’s face wilted. “I wish I could. Got a paper due in my American literature class. Mark’s free. Want me to text him?”

“Could you?” Kat lunged for that life raft, clinging to it.

Her friend tapped furiously on her phone as she sent Mark a message. A second later her phone chimed, and Lacy grinned.

“He’s happy to do it, but he says you have to go to a pub with him. American football is on tonight and he wants to watch it.” Lacy made a goofy face that had Kat giggling. Lacy didn’t understand the sport, and her boyfriend’s obsession with it made just as little sense to her.

“Perfect. I’ll be distracted.”

“Good, now that we’ve got that settled, we should get back to studying.” Lacy linked her arm through Kat’s.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and her dad’s picture flashed across the screen.

“Lacy, can you watch my stuff? My dad’s calling.”

“Of course,” Lacy said.

Kat hastily ducked outside the study rooms and into the hall, where she answered, her voice still a little shaky from crying. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?”

“Hey, honey. I was wondering if you had a minute to talk.” She resisted the instant pang of homesickness as she heard her father’s deep voice. London was far enough away that she missed him. It was the first time in her life she was really living apart from him.

“Sure, Dad. I was just studying with Lacy. What’s up?”

There was a heartbeat of a pause before he spoke.

“It’s…well…” He exhaled and her heart jolted.

“What is it? Did something happen to Mom?” It was one of her deepest fears—even though she hadn’t heard from her in years. The occasional birthday card was Kat’s only assurance that her mother hadn’t died. But that didn’t stop Kat from keeping a few faded photographs of her mother tucked away in her books and looking at them occasionally.

As much as she hated that her mother had run out on her and her father, she missed having a mother, another woman in her life.

Her father cleared his throat. “As far as I know, your mother is fine.” He paused, then coughed again. “What I have to say has something to do with me and your mother, sort of…”

Kat knew that tone well enough, and she could almost see him grimace.

“Dad, please, just tell me,” she whispered, her heart hammering hard enough to bruise her ribs.

“I’ve been dating someone for the last two months. A woman I met in London. I kept things casual, and I haven’t told you before now because it wasn’t serious. But now, well, it’s serious,” he said. “I wouldn’t have dropped this on you right before exams, but you’re coming straight to London after your tests, and you’ll be meeting her over the holidays. I thought you could use the winter break to meet her.”

Kat struggled to breathe. She’d given up long ago on the idea that her mother would ever come back; she wasn’t that foolish. Over the years she’d gotten used to having her father to herself. He was always there when she called and ready to drop everything for her. What would happen when he had someone else to care for?

Yet…he deserved to move on, to be happy. What kind of daughter was she if she wouldn’t want that for him? She took a few deep breaths.

“Okay…what’s she like?” Her knuckles whitened with her death grip on her phone.

“She’s wonderful, Kat. Smart, beautiful, compassionate. She’s divorced, too, and has a son about your age, maybe a little older. Her name is Lizzy. We were thinking it might be nice to celebrate the holidays together, the four of us. You’d get to meet her and her son.”

Kat didn’t say anything.

Clearing his throat again, her father continued. “What do you think? I know it’s bad timing with your exams, but I’ve been spending a lot of time at her place, instead of my flat. I really want you two to meet because I’m crazy about her.” Her father’s tone was hesitant but also hopeful. How could she say no?

“That sounds…great, Dad. I can’t wait to meet them.” Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. He was spending a lot of time at this woman’s place? He really
was
serious about her…Little jolts of pain stung her heart.

“I love her, Kat. Lizzy makes me happy.”

Kat could hear the affection in his voice, and strangely, it made the ache in her chest ease. Her father was excited, in love, and she realized she wanted that for him more than anything.

“How did you meet her?” Relaxing, she leaned back against the wall as she listened to him describe their first meeting at a grocery store.

“I broke an entire carton of eggs right on her shoes. She dropped a melon on mine. We made such a mess, crashing into each other like that. We started talking as we helped clean up and one thing led to another. I asked her out. I still can’t believe she agreed.” He chuckled, then grew serious again. “We’ve both been through hell with our previous spouses. Being a single parent isn’t easy. It’s lonely. When I met her, something just clicked.”

“I’m so happy for you, Dad.” Kat swallowed past the lump in her throat. It was stupid and irrational, but she felt like she was being orphaned. If he had Lizzy, then he might spend less time with her, and she’d be more alone than ever.

“Honey,” her father said, sighing, “I’ve sprung this on you with no warning. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Really.” Shuffling one boot on the floor, she drew patterns in the carpet.

“No.” Her father’s voice became firm. “You know that nothing in this world changes how I feel about you. There is no competition between you and anyone I become involved with. Tell me you believe me.”

Kat bit her lip. She’d never had a frank discussion about this with her father, not about something so…personal and awkward. She shuddered, holding in a shaky breath.

“I know, Dad.”

“Good.” He changed his tone, lightening up. “When you come to London, we’ll stay at Lizzy’s home. She has a wonderful town house, three stories. Plenty of room for you, me, and Lizzy’s son.”

What? Stay at her dad’s girlfriend’s house? That sounded horrible, cramped in a flat over Christmas with her dad, his girlfriend, and her son. But she could do it for him.
Yeah
…She rubbed her closed eyes. “Sounds great!” she said, hiding her sadness beneath a falsely cheery tone.

“All right, honey. I’ll let you get back to studying.”

“Thanks. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, sweetie.”

Kat disconnected and slipped the phone into her jeans pocket before going into the library again.

Lacy perked up when she saw Kat. “Everything okay with your dad?”

“Yeah. He met someone, and they’re pretty serious. He wants me to spend Christmas with them.”

“‘Them’?” Her friend closed the textbook and then propped her elbows on it, fully focusing on Kat.

“His girlfriend has a son. Around my age, or a little older.”

“Oh, really? Is he cute?”

An exasperated laugh escaped Kat. “Seriously? Lacy, I don’t know anything about him, and I wasn’t about to ask my dad.”
Not to mention, my world is imploding, and cute guys are the last thing on my mind
. “Just finish your homework,” she said, tapping Lacy’s book.

“Boo!” Lacy muttered, but she flipped open her textbook again, sighing dramatically.

“The quicker we finish our reading, the quicker we can leave. I’ve got to meet Mark in two hours,” Kat said.

Lacy rolled her eyes and mumbled something about Kat being an evil taskmaster before she settled in to study.

Kat, however, couldn’t focus. Between Tristan’s photo in the tabloids and her dad’s new girlfriend, studying was going to be impossible.

The library door opened, and a man walked in. Tall, fair-haired, and gorgeous, he looked to be in his mid-twenties. The gray trousers and elegant black coat he wore made him look too sexy for the library. He reminded her of Tristan, in the way he moved with lithe grace and a slight swagger that suggested a woman wouldn’t be able to resist sleeping with him.

“Oh, hello, handsome.” Lacy stifled a giggle.

“You have a boyfriend,” Kat chastised, but she was grinning.

“Yeah,” Lacy scoffed. “I love him to death, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a beautiful man when I see one.”

They watched the man walk from table to table in the library, handing out little cards to people, smiling and chatting before moving on. Finally, he reached them.

Lacy nudged Kat underneath the table with her foot.