Seduced 3 (2 page)

“How can you do that to me?” Nikki almost screamed in the lawyer’s office. “You can’t take my son away just like that. Why did he have to be so evil, even after his death?” Her eyes flooded again and tears started dropping on her black satin dress.

“I’m sorry. But it is mentioned here as a clause and I'm bound to follow it.”

“You can’t take him away from me. He is my son, not a toy of yours.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Jordan, but you know about your dad. He did this once, and his will can do it again. It’s just a matter of time declaring you drug-addicted and pushing you away. I hope you haven’t forgotten about the last time.”

Nikki’s face went dark. Her eyes closed; she grabbed the hands of chair and pushed them until her own hands turned red. “How can I forget the sorcery of your team? You just took away my son, and now you want to do it again.”

“Only if you run away from your responsibility.” Mr. Shaun focused his eyes on Nikki. I felt blood rush to my hands and an overwhelming desire to punch that bastard right then and there.

“Let’s go, Nikki. We will talk with a lawyer and find a way out of this.” The will was bullshit; nobody could keep a child away from his mom.“We will definitely get custody of Stephen back to you.” I pressed her shoulder.

“No, Tristan, we can’t do that. Not until this man wants it.” She looked at the bastard sitting across the table. The man was calm and determined. “I’m fine with your conditions. Let me know what needs to be done.”

“Not mine, Miss. Jordan. Your father’s conditions. You can go now. I’ll call you in a couple of weeks and direct you regarding what needs to be done.” He stood and gestured to the door.

I grabbed Nikki’s hand and headed out of there, but my heart was burning with questions. Why and why?

"One thing, Miss Jordan. We may have to attend a court hearing about the will. It will be just formality and I will inform you when and where," he said, before disappearing behind the hidden door.

Chapter 3

Tristan

My brain was on fire. The jerk who called himself a lawyer had threatened Nikki and she just chickened out.
What the hell happened to her?
I couldn’t believe the way she bent down to his demands. How could anyone say that he would take her son away and she agreed, especially when her dad was dead? She could have said no and we would fight for custody. No court in the world would decline custody of a child to his only parent.

We walked out of there; Nikki was still crying her heart out. I clenched her arm, my face flushing with heat.

“Tristan, please.” Her face twisted in pain. She tried to get her arm out of my grasp, but she couldn’t. Actually, I didn’t let her release her arm. “I’ll tell you everything if you let me.” She spoke, soft and defeated.

I felt a pain in my side; I hadn’t recovered completely. The doctor had released me on the promise of complete bed rest for two weeks. But there I was, standing in the sun, pushing my limits, angry and disappointed.

“Let’s go to a café. I will fall down if we stand here for a minute more.” The sun was burning on our heads. It was becoming too much for me; I was feeling a blackout coming on already.

“Let’s go. I know a nice cafe nearby.”

“You drive.” I hopped in the passenger seat and closed my eyes.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped. I opened my eyes; we were in front of Cafe Coffee House. It was a decent-looking coffee house.

I wasn’t wrong; it was actually a well-maintained and spacious coffee house from on the inside. The important thing was it had private booths, so we could talk about the things happened without getting disturbed.

“Gerome and I used to come here often when we were in college.”

“Gerome?” I was hearing this name for the first time.

“My husband.” She looked away. Pain ran through her eyes.

Water spilled out of my mouth in shock. “Are you married?”

“I was. Until he passed away,” she sighed.

“I’m sorry.” I grabbed her hand. ”Anyway, that was the past and it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. But I want to know why you chickened out in front of that lawyer.”

“You saw the way he talked,” she said, still looking away.

“There is no way he can keep your son away from you. Let’s talk to someone and we can easily get custody of your child.” Suddenly, her needs became larger than my simple need of loving her. I truly understood my feelings that day. I really liked her, maybe more than anyone. But watching her in  pain and grief pushed my love for her aside, and the need to protect her and get her son back overshadowed everything else.

“If I have to tell you about my present, then you should know about my past first.”

“I don’t care about it.”

“But I do care that you know it.” She clenched my hand in her soft palm.

“I really don’t need to know anything, anymore. You’ve been through a lot, Nikki, and I really think we should skip this subject.” Knowing about her past had piqued my curiosity, but that didn’t change the fact that I liked her the way she was.

“Just listen…” She paused and looked away. Maybe she was recollecting all her memories. She looked worried, and her emotion spread to me. Even the sweet aroma of coffee couldn’t relieve up my mind.

“Two-and–a-half years ago, Carrie and I were attending Sports Medicine college. It’s a multi-part course which covers Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, Sport-therapy and many other things. Gerome joined the college little late. He came from a California university and joined my college in the second year.” She sipped some water.

“He had completed majors in our course quickly. He was everything—tall, handsome, but basically, a raw fighter. He used to play in the local MMA games. In college, we knew each other because of some common classes, but the real interaction happened at my dad’s MMA battleground. At that time, I was fan of everything my dad did. I loved the sport. I loved the gore and especially the thrill…” She sighed.

“In one fight, I got to know that Gerome had started playing for my dad and he was a dark horse on his team. In one match, he got injured and Dad asked me to help him train. And that’s how our romance started.” She looked at me. Her blue eyes had a shade of sadness and grief. And in a sudden move, we got married one day. You can say the thrill of youth or craziness. And that was the day when my dad started hating me. He liked Gerome as a fighter, but he never liked Gerome as a son-in-law. And then the inevitable happened. I got pregnant and I had to drop out of college.”

“One moment? What’s the reason you can’t stand a custody trial?” I asked. I had interest in her whole story, but that was less important than the current issue.

“Nope, I’m coming to it. Wait for a moment.” She tried to smile, but her lips refused to do so.

“It was all great at first, but then our expenditures increased and Dad wasn’t giving me a single penny. He was angry at me and he didn’t even know about my pregnancy. At the same time, Gerome lost his job in Dad’s company and joined a rival company.” She held her head.” Oh, God, it was so stressful back then. We had very little money left and I was four months pregnant. And then Gerome got qualified into one big MMA tournament.”

“All these tournaments were illegal, right?”

“Sort of. Dad and other companies have money to show them as legal. But actually, they all are illegal, bloody sports.” She sipped her coffee.

“I used to come in this coffee shop when I was pregnant. Sometimes with Gerome, sometimes with Carrie and sometimes alone. I had many talks with Stephen while he was here, in the very same booth.” She placed her hand on her tummy. A beautiful smile lit her face like a morning rose.

I wondered if she looked so beautiful now, then how beautiful had she looked when she was pregnant? I felt jealous of Gerome.

“I wish I could have been there to see your smile while you talked with Stephen,” I said.

“Those were good days. I didn’t have to worry about someone taking my son away from me.” She sighed in pain.

“I still think you don’t have to worry now, either. We can go to court and get custody.”

“If only it was as simple as it looks.” Another painful smile covered her face.

“But why, Nikki? What really happened after you gave birth to Stephen and how does it affect the current situation?” Understanding her was difficult until she told me the whole truth.

“I was four months pregnant when Gerome got the big break in the MMA championship. And he had to move to the other side of the country to participate in it. Except the news reached me from there that he’d died in final match.”

“I’m sorry for your loss again. I hope he rests in peace out there.” I looked in her beautiful, blue eyes.

“He wasn’t an angel heading straight to heaven…” she whispered.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Rest in peace.” She stared into my eyes. But I was sure she’d said something else before.

“I had no other choice then but to go and live with my dad. I had to tell him that I was pregnant and he was so pissed off at first. But when he knew the baby was a boy, his anger vaporized and he started taking care of me until Stephen came.”

“Why did he change? I thought he liked that it was a boy. Why did he separate you?” I started feeling like a cop. I was asking her so many questions.

“I think he wanted a descendant for his kingdom. He let me live with him until Stephen was one. Then I started taking drugs and he took Stephen away.”

“What? Drugs?” I stood up in shock and dropped the coffee mug. The sound of shattering glass echoed everywhere.

A waitress came running.

“Are you hurt, sir?” Waitress asked.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Shall I bring you another cup of coffee, sir?”

“Yes, please. I need one, very strong.”

The waitress left.

“Yes, drugs, I don’t know how I got into it. But it was the darkest three months in my life. I lost my son, I lost my confidence. I had already lost my college. It was harder than anything.” Tears started dropping down on her cheeks.

“But you are out of it now. I haven’t seen you taking drugs.”

“Yes, I’ve been drug-free for month snow . When my dad took Stephen away, I went into rehab and recovered.” She looked at me.“I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“Nope, I was just surprised. It’s okay. I think it was the weakest moment of your life and see, it’s passed. You are free from your addiction. You have your son with you.” It looked impossible to get back her son if the lawyer decided to bank on her drug addiction in the past.

“Yes, sun have risen here, but still, with a black ring around it. I have to look into the business now.”

“Don’t worry. You will manage it. I trust you, sweetheart.” I took her hand in my palms and traced an imaginary line on it. “And I will always trust you.”

“Thanks, Tristan. I wonder what I would have done if it wasn’t for you saving me and Stephen. I just can’t pay you back for this.”

“I didn’t do it for repayment. I just want you to be happy.” I pressed her hand.

She looked at me with a smile. “You are a keeper after all.”

Chapter 4

Nikki

“Good morning, babe.” Tristan came forward with a smile resembling morning sunshine after a stormy night. Undesirably, it bought a smile to my face as well. He was wearing a fresh, baby blue shirt and black trousers. The shirt was hugging his every muscle. I gasped hard as I remembered the touch of his skin on mine.

“Good morning, my sunshine,” I said, hugging him with my right hand while my left hand was holding Stephen’s stroller. He smelled fresh—fresh like a just-plucked strawberry. Maybe it was his cologne, but it was different this time.

“And how are you, little prince?” Tristan bent down and lifted Stephen.

One month had passed since my Dad died and Tristan was with me every moment, helping me, taking care of Stephen, taking care of me emotionally, making sure I ate and slept properly. He was a friend, more than any best friend I’d ever had in my life.

The complete legal process of creating the trust for Dad’s business and making one of them in my name took almost a month. There was still a court hearing remaining and it was scheduled in two days. I was busy with all the legal preparations, but Tristan made sure Stephen and I remained healthy while concentrating on the work.

The special thing about Tristan was his closeness with Stephen. Whenever we had some spare time, Tristan came and took us both on a long ride or to a nearby picnic spot. The way he mixed with Stephen was amazing, and Stephen started liking him very much. Whenever he saw Tristan, he jumped for him. Tristan bought him toys, food and everything a two-year-old baby would like. He even bought a matching shirt for himself and Stephen. They both looked so cute when they wore it on a picnic.

“Did you bring everything? Diapers, food, water? We don’t want our little prince to wait for something, do we?” He lifted Stephen above his head and brought him back down in a rush. Stephen started laughing; he just loved the way Tristan played with him.

“Don’t worry. I have everything packed. Shall we go now?” I asked.

“Yes, please get in the car.”

I put Stephen in his seat and fastened his seatbelts. When we first drove Stephen with us, Tristan had bought a child seat for his car as well.

I watched him as he made sure that Stephen was properly sitting in his car seat before starting the car.
You are really a sweetheart, my dear.
I wanted to kiss him right there. What the heck? I held his face and kissed on his cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked in surprise as he checked the last buckle of Stephen’s seatbelt.

“Nothing, just because.” I smiled at him and he replied with a smile in his deep black eyes. After meeting me, he started shaving and that gave him a gentleman’s look rather than the rough look he had with his long hair and an equally intense beard.

“Shall we?” he asked.             

“Yes, please.”

“Then put your seat belt on.”

“Oops, sorry.”

We drove to a garden nearby while I kept thinking about all the drama that had happened with me after we’d met. But the most beautiful thing that had happened to me was meeting Tristan. I just liked him so much.
Thanks for coming in my life, dear. I
watched him with appreciative eyes.

Tristan parked his car. My cell started ringing at the same time. It was Carrie, “It’s Carrie. Damn, I promised to meet her today and I forgot. She is going to kill me now.”

“Why don’t you have her come here? It’s near your house. And I can take care of Stephen while you gals talk.”

“Will you?”

“Of course, sweetheart. I like spending time with him and see he is already looking at the children in the park. Ask her to come here.” He pushed Stephen’s stroller to the park gate. I watched both of them leaving in happiness.

I picked up the call and asked Carrie to meet us.

***

“Aren’t those two looking sweet together?” Carrie asked as she sat on the bench near me.

“Yes, aren’t they? Like a father and son,” I said, without realizing what I meant. Then I bit my tongue as I recognized my own words. Tristan was playing with Stephen without taking a break or complaining.

“Like a father and son.” Carrie giggled, “Why are you really thinking about all this Nikki?”

“I don’t know. But he interacts with Stephen very well. He is filling the place Gerome would have filled for Stephen. And above that, I really like this guy. He jumped in front of the bullet meant for me. I just can’t repay my debts to him.”

“I think he likes you more than anything, and that’s why he is doing all this. It’s a rare thing. I’ve never seen a man dedicate this much to a woman in my whole life. Not even my boyfriend does that.” She patted my shoulder. “And I’m happy that you found him.

“Yes.” She was right. Even I had never seen anyone so kind with me and my son. Who in the world would risk his life for me?
You are a gem, Tristan. A real diamond.

“Did you both talk about this? About your relationship?” Carrie asked.

“No, but I wanted to. Then this all happened. I was afraid, at first, that he would think twice after knowing that I have a child.”

“I must confess, I told him about you having a kid and I was afraid that he would just back out, but he stood behind you and came with me to save your ass. He just wanted you to be safe at any cost.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry, Nikki, for telling him.”

It was a difficult one for me. I couldn’t be angry at her; she’d practically saved me by telling Tristan about Chase. But at the same time, Dad died because of this all. “Don’t worry Carrie, let it go. If it wasn’t for you, I would have died or been abused by Chase. Anything could have happened to me.” I half hugged her. She was not only my best friend; she was a life saver for me.

“Anything for you, dear. So what are the plans for the night? A double date, maybe?” Carrie asked.

“I’m not sure if Tristan has plans.”

“So now your plans depend on him?” Her tone teased me.

“No…nothing like that.”

She cut me off. “It’s okay.” And she started giggling.

“You naughty girl.” I slapped her on the arm. “Anyway, what do you think? Should I ask him about our relationship?”

“Didn’t he ask you on a date and you said no?”

“Yes.”

“Then ask him on a date. Then you can talk about your relationship freely. Not with Stephen around. Drop him by my house. I’ll take care of him for you.”

“Thanks, Carrie.” I hugged her again.

“Hey, gals, what are you talking about?” Tristan came towards her.”How are you doing, Carrie?” He greeted her with a cute smile on his face.

How do you do it, Tristan? How can your smile by so cute and adorable.

“Talking about you,” Carrie teased.

“Anything interesting that I can hear? I might be useful here.” An ear-to-ear smile appeared on his face.

“No, it’s personal.” Carrie giggled. “Anyway, I was about to go. It was nice seeing you again, Tristan.” She shook hands with the man of my dreams.

“You, too.”

Like a perfect, sexy gentleman.

“So, what were you talking about?” Tristan asked as soon as Carrie left.

“Nothing,” I said, as I took Stephen in my lap, kissed him and ruffled his hair. He caressed his nose on my shirt.

“Oh, my baby.” I wiped his nose with a tissue and gave him to Tristan.”I think we should talk to a doctor for his frequent cold.”

“You are absolutely right. I know a child specialist who visits my bookstore. Mind if I take appointment with him?” he said, while taking his cell out of his pocket and dialing the number.

He walked away to talk with the doctor. I kept watching him while he talked. It was time for me to ask him on that date I’d declined earlier. He was the man I had been searching my whole life.
I need to book you now, Tristan. I can’t let you get away from me.

“What about this Monday?” he asked me, still holding the phone in his other hand.

“Fine with me.”

He continued his call.

While he talked on the phone, my eyes pierced his shirt and imagined every line of his picture-perfect muscles. Every inch of my body was heating up with hunger.
Damn, Nikki. You are going to ask him on a date, not on a sex date.

Because of all the drama, we hadn’t gotten a chance to become closer and he was so patient that he never, ever asked about it in last month. But my body was now refusing to stay away from him.
I need to get you in my bed now.

“I just booked an appointment for Stephen this Monday morning. I will pick you up and then we will drive there.”

“Okay,” I said.

“What happened, babe? Why are you looking so odd?”

Damn you, Tristan, I’m feeling horny right now. Not dull, you fool.

“No, nothing, bored of the laziness.”

“What can I do to make it interesting?” he asked, innocently.

“May be a glass of wine at your poolside? maybe I will go skinny dipping like that day.” I winked at him.

“We have Stephen,” He said.

“Don’t worry about him. I’ll put him to bed. He will be sound asleep.”

“I don’t mind.” For the first time I saw sex in his endless eyes. The sex I wanted from him.

“Let’s go. I’ve been waiting for a month, and I can’t wait anymore.” I sounded horny to myself, but his body made my lust uncontrollable. Even his cologne was sending me over the edge. I needed him badly, more than ever. I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the car. I was a horny bitch, all right.

The moment I got in his house, I put Stephen to sleep in another room where I could easily hear if he cried or needed me.

I slowly unbuttoned his shirt. The buttons slid free and the corner of Tristan’s mouth rose in a cocky and sexy-as hell-smirk. He knew how desperate I was for him that day.

“What? Don’t you want me?” I frowned at him.

“Yes, I do,” He replied in a deep, hollow sound which sent tingles across my body. “I’m just enjoying it after so long.”

“Then don’t act like jerk.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

I undid the next button and his hands tightened on my hips. He pulled me to him, his eyes darkening with want as our bodies touched. I could now feel the proof of just how much, pressing into my stomach. My knees went to jelly by just the thought of what was ahead.

He leaned forward and kissed the corner of my lips, then glided his tongue to the center. I closed my eyes, feeling his wet tongue sliding across my lips. It was tingling as well as excitingly intense.

His tongue penetrated my lips. I trembled, opening my mouth to give him access and quickly finished with the buttons. I slide my hands inside his shirt, first checking his wound on the oblique. It seem perfectly healed, but a scar remained as a reminder of the horror that happened to us.

He shrugged and let his shirt fall on the ground. Now, his bare body was all mine. He was all heat and muscle; even the lack of exercise for a month couldn’t rub the lines of fitness that ran through his body. I ran my fingers across his body, feeling his heart pounding under my fingertips, as I touched his chest.

He kissed me again, sucking my tongue with his. I skimmed my hands up his perfect body, up to his neck and into his delicious long hair, my fingers fisting gently into it. The way his body responded to mine was intoxicating.

His hands moved from my hips to grab my ass, where he started to hike my skirt. I could feel his smile through our kiss as his fingers started swirling around my bare cheeks. But the touch left me fuzzy, increasing my want and made me rock my hips into his.

He groaned softly, showing his own want.

His hands still on mine, he shuffled his feet forward. I followed his lead until the back of my knees touched the bed. I arched my hips against him and he shuddered with desire. With a gentle push from him, I let go his hair and tumbled onto the mattress.

“Before we start, do you mind if I peek on Stephen and check he is okay?” he asked in a gentle voice.

I loved that he cared for my son even when I was in right front of him, lying down in lust. “Yes, please. Sweet of you.”

He quickly went into the other room and came back with a grin on his face. “Little prince is sleeping like a baby.”

“He is a baby.” I giggled.

He looked down at me, his gaze full of desire. I hadn’t felt his rawness this much in last few months. The in judge had really worked up on him. I arched my hips up to tempt him and his face turned into a cocky grin. Slowly, he went to his knees on the floor by the bed.

My knees bent over the edge of the mattress and Tristan used his broad shoulders to separate them. He looked at me with a grin and pointed at me to watch him closely with just the direction of his eyes. He kissed me, up from my bare feet, up my calf, my thigh and increasing my temperature with every kiss.

His fingers hooked around the tiny strings of my panties and he pulled them off with a smooth, practiced motion.