Tristan's Loins (12 page)

It went to voice mail and she left a message.
She hoped Maggie did not get mad at Axel showing a clear preference
to her. Maggie had enough male appreciation, but Burke's leaving
her was not going over too well. Maggie was the oldest of them at
thirty-eight. She was feeling her age now. Her and Jack had no
children, and without a man in her life, Maggie was like a caged
animal.

Tristan was quiet and she did not disturb
him, knowing he had a lot on his mind. What he asked her to do made
her balk. True, she could write another book. He asked a lot of her
to walk away from the project.

Disturbed by the train of her thoughts, she
went into the bedroom and decided to lay down. Her head was
throbbing by being out so late drinking. Sleep came fast and swift,
and with it, the erotic dreams of Tristan played foremost in her
subconscious.

She woke with a clear idea she was losing her
mind. She knew she had to continue her book. To give it up would
not be fair to the other characters. What became of them now? She
had given little thought to them. Where did they go? Would they be
trapped in that dark abyss outside Tristan's room? So many thoughts
dismayed her now. Just then, the phone rang. She glanced at the
caller ID and groaned. It was Jim.

"Yes, Jim, what can I do for you?"

"Selene the dog has to go," he told her
wearily. "Ginny has allergies. I know you can't have the dog at
your apartment, but we need to find her a home."

"Now wait a goddamn minute, Jim!" she
snapped. "You’re getting rid of our dog because Ginny has
allergies? A dog we raised from a pup. Your something else!"

"Daisy has to go, Selene."

"Fine, I'll come get her! I'll figure
something out, but you’re not dropping my dog off at the
pound!"

Selene was furious as she got up and changed
into jeans and a Michigan State sweatshirt. She tied up her hair
into a ponytail and glared at her reflection in the mirror. Figures
Ginny would find some way to get to her. She did not get any
satisfaction at the bar the night before, so now the girl used her
dog as the means of rattling her cage. Jim was obviously stupid
enough not to see through his girlfriend. Ginny's desire to start
drama at every turn was obvious. Selene was ready to give Ginny the
confrontation she craved.

Selene grabbed her keys and purse and drove
over to the gated community she once lived in, and to the house
that had once been hers. She pulled into the driveway of the two
story mammoth home. It had a three-car garage that was open,
showing Jim's Lexus, his vintage Mustang parked there and a brand
new red Corvette he must have bought for Ginny.

She bristled resentfully as she got out of
her car. She walked through the garage to the inside door leading
to the kitchen. Jim met her at the door, his handsome face filled
with regret. His brown thinning hair was covered with a baseball
hat. She knew his balding was a sensitive issue with him
approaching forty.

"I'm sorry, Selene. I can't keep her." He
picked up the dog bowls and her bag of toys off the counter. A
large bag of dog food sat by the door. Selene picked it up and
followed him. They put all the stuff in the trunk. Selene took the
opportunity to pounce upon him.

"Jim when Ginny is done taking over your
whole life and getting rid of whatever she doesn't like, I hope she
doesn't walk out on you," Selene said in a scathing voice. "You
love Daisy! What the hell are you doing?"

Jim's hazel eyes filled with anger and his
lips tightened. "Selene, I'm not going to discuss this with you.
Ginny is in my life. I love Daisy, but she has to go."

Selene stared at the man she thought she
would spend the rest of her life in disgust, as if just seeing him
for the first time. Jim was attractive, middle of build, so
ordinary looking compared to Tristan, and she wanted to laugh.

Jim's only muscle was on his driving arm for
golf. He had an unremarkable face and his finest quality went out
the window when he met Ginny. She saw none of the integrity he used
to have in his set features.

"I'll take her, Jim, but you realize when you
change your mind, and it’s done?" Selene said contemptuously. "I'll
sneak her into my apartment until I can think of something."

"Why not take her to your parent's
estate?"

"My Mom is sick. My Dad can't take on a dog
right now, or have you forgotten?" she snapped as she headed back
towards the garage and into the kitchen. Selene went to the dining
room and gazed adoringly at her dog, which wagged her tail
excitedly. Daisy was out back on the deck, covering the glass doors
with drool when she saw Selene. Seeing the huge cream-colored lab
made her realize how much she had missed her. Daisy was overweight
for a lab, obsessed with treats, and the sweetest dog in the whole
world.

It saddened her to see Jim kick the dog to
the curb in favor of the blonde twit who peered into the kitchen,
dressed in a hot pink Victoria Secret lounge suit.

"I'm sorry we can't keep her, Selene," the
girl said in her whiny voice. "I can't breathe with all that dog
hair."

"Her hair isn't probably half as bad as yours
with all that hair spray," Selene noted coldly and enjoyed the way
the girl's face flushed angrily.

"That isn't necessary, Selene," Jim said
tightly, seeing a confrontation brewing with Selene's presence in
his house.

"Oh give me a break, Jim. If you can't see
what she's doing, your pathetic. If the way she used your Gold Card
at Ma 'Belle's last night is any indicator, you’re in for it!"
Selene snapped and enjoyed the look Jim flung his girlfriend and
the girl's guilty expression. Obviously, he did not know his
girlfriend had stepped out the night before. "I'll just take my dog
and go!"

Selene let Daisy in and grabbed her pink
collar as she jumped up on her excitedly. Jim handed her the
matching leash without a word, looking at his girlfriend with an
angry expression. Selene was pleased she had caused discord between
the couple as she latched Daisy's collar and lead her out of the
kitchen and into the garage. She opened the passenger door and put
Daisy in the back seat.

She drove away pleased to know she had paid
Ginny back for being so spiteful. Jim would be pissed to know she
had broken the cardinal sin of putting food and drinks on credit, a
real no-no in his book.

Daisy proved to be a complication she had not
foreseen as she walked the dog across from the complex in a
drainage ditch. She bagged up the dog droppings and led her back up
to her apartment. She prayed she did not get caught with the dog
before she could make other arrangements, heartbroken of what those
would be.

Darcy already had two dogs. Maggie had cats.
She had no place for Daisy until her lease was up the following
month. Taking her to Grosse Pointe was an option, but then her
parents would find out she was divorced. She sighed as she hung up
Daisy's leash on the back of the pantry door.

The dog wandered over to the computer desk
and barked at the screen, seeing Tristan there, leaning out the
castle window with a delighted grin. Her dog sniffed at the screen
and barked again. Selene frowned as she came forward and pulled
Daisy back. She was now licking the screen and Tristan was speaking
to her, making the dog wag her tail excitedly.

"I like your dog, Selene." Tristan watched
her push down the dog off the desk. "When did you get it?"

"She was staying at my old house with my
ex-husband until his fiancée decided to evict her," Selene fumed
with an angry frown and explained. "This apartment complex doesn't
allow pets. When they find out she's here, I'm in for it, but Jim
was going to get rid of her."

"The man sounds like a real lout, Selene.
You’re better off without him. What is the creature's name?"

"Her name is Daisy, and I can see you two
will be buddies." Selene smiled as her dog sniffed at the screen
again. She pushed her big head down and spoke firmly to her.

"I had a dog when I was a boy," Tristan said
fondly and his expression grew sad. "He died mysteriously. He
stopped eating one day and got sick. Gideon had to put him
down."

"Pets do worm their way into your heart,"
Selene agreed. "We raised Daisy together. She was used to pacify me
for him not wanting kids right off. She was my consolation
prize."

"Are you not relieved you had no children
with this man now?" Tristan asked. "You’re blessed of it."

"Yeah well, my biological clock would say
different. If I don't have kids soon, I might as well forget
it."

Tristan frowned. "How old are you,
Selene?"

"Thirty-two last month," she replied.

"We are the same age. That is not old."

"It is different for a man. Men can and do
have children into their eighties, but a woman has a more narrow
window. I won't have kids in my forties."

Tristan seemed to digest her words carefully.
"This Axel you met? You like this man?"

"I just met him, but he sounds like he has a
lot of baggage."

"What is meant by baggage?" he wanted to
know.

"He has two daughters that are very intent to
have their father to themselves," she explained.

"A man's daughters have no say in what their
Father does. He should beat them for their impertinence."

"I agree, but he very much caters to their
feelings."

"This man sounds like a coward to give into
his female children, Selene. He is not the man for you."

"I think that is for me to decide," Selene
said defensively. "I appreciate your advice, but I’ll go out with
who I want to. Anyway, I just met him. It's not like were a couple
or anything."

"A man who defers to the females in his
family is no man at all," Tristan returned stubbornly, his blue
eyes narrowing. "You deserve better after the lout!"

"Easy! I know you think Axel is weak, but you
don't know all the facts. His daughter's Mother ran off and left
them. They are protective of their Dad. It is very
understandable."

"You will see the truth, Selene." Tristan
folded his arms across his massive chest, a frown marring his
forehead. "The weakling is not for you."

Selene glared at him and decided she would
not argue with Tristan over Axel. The conversation was ridiculous!
Tristan was not even real! Yet he gave her relationship advice,
considering how things went with Rhiannon? It was a joke. She
thought better of rubbing that in. She had helped with her ruining
it before it even began.

"I'm not discussing my relationships with
you. I know you think modern men are weaklings, but they don't have
to wield swords anymore. It is entirely over your head."

"No, I have a firm grasp of how things have
changed. I saw several episodes of Desperate Housewives today,"
Tristan confided with a roguish grin. "I think I like these modern
wenches."

Selene chuckled and shook her head. "Real
life is not like the shows on TV, Tristan. If you want to get a
true idea of what real life is like, you would have to be here to
see for yourself."

Tristan raised an eyebrow at her words and
Selene realized she had yet to make a decision to abandon her book
yet. He seemed to be waiting for her to decide. She could see the
yearning in his eyes and felt badly she could not give him an
answer yet.

"Selene, have you made a decision yet?"

"No, so don't bug me about it! You think
nothing of the others! What is to become of Rhiannon? What of
Gideon? You just want me to chuck my book and forget about them.
Where do they go now?" Selene raged and fumed when she saw his
unruffled demeanor.

"They will find their way."

"That isn't fair to them!"

"They don't even know they are not real,"
Tristan argued, "should you not ever pick up their story; they will
stay as they are."

"I think if you were there, you wouldn't
appreciate it."

"For some reason God chose to bring our
worlds together, yet you continue to deny it, Selene. No, I agree
that leaving them in this state is not fair, but I refuse to go
forward now."

Selene glared at the screen and his stubborn
image. "I don't need your permission, Tristan."

"You would not dare," he growled low, his
eyes filled with anger. "You will not force me to endure such a
life!"

Selene refused to argue with him and decided
to appeal to his other natures. She wrote him in a bath, the maid,
and a steak dinner fit for a king. She hoped he would mellow out on
the subject of staying in her world. It was not even possible. She
could not bear his disappointment right now. Daisy nudged her hand
and she petted the dog. She saved the document and saw the girl
enter the room. Tristan turned and glared back at her after he
turned and saw the maid enter with a fresh tunic over her arm.

"This conversation is not over, Selene."

"Enjoy your bath, your woman, and your
dinner." She turned away from the computer.

"I do not want her, Selene!" he shouted
furiously to her retreating back.

Selene ignored him as she walked to her
bedroom. Daisy followed, wagging her tail. She shut her bedroom
door and the dog jumped up on her queen-sized bed, settling on her
bright yellow comforter contentedly.

Selene settled on a Netflix movie and settled
down to watch. It was nearly five in the evening and she was still
full from her lunch with Axel. She had no desire to eat alone
anyway. She regretted writing in the maid to distract Tristan. He
did not appear to appreciate it either. She sighed, unwilling to
allow this highly insane attraction to the fictitious character to
continue.

The phone rang and she sighed, picking up
without looking at the caller ID.

Axel's daughters had cancelled on the movie.
She fought the urge to refuse his offer of dinner and a movie,
wanting to stay home with her dog. She could not stand the thought
of being there with Tristan and his wench cavorting in the next
room. She was jealous. A night out with a real man was just what
she needed.