Sienna

Waking up the next morning, I was not in the greatest mood because nothing, absolutely nothing was going my way.

I came to Australia because I needed a breather from the lies and conflicting emotions. I also wanted to rekindle the bond with my family and forget the affections I had for a man named Tristan. The former worked perfectly. I got to spend time with my family and make new memories with them, but the latter, nada, no, zilch.

Last night I couldn't even sleep. How could I when this man kept bombarding my phone with messages like some crazy psycho?

Tristan: Day 34 and I'm still not over you.

Tristan: no words can explain the way I miss you.

Tristan: I can't stop thinking about how much I want to hold you.

Tristan: stop running away from me.

Tristan: I just saw a rooster fly over a fence.

Tristan: let's go home.

Tristan: I need you.

Tristan: why is it so hard to let you go?

Tristan: you have a place in my heart no one can fill.

Tristan: you make me happy in a way no one else can.

Tristan: my heart hurts.

Tristan:  my balls still ache.

Tristan: I can't sleep.

Tristan: my nights are not the same without you.

Tristan: it's one o'clock and my dick is hard.

Tristan: Maybe I'm insane. I don't know. Do you think I'm insane?

Tristan: for me, there's only you, Sienna, and I'll wait as long as you want me to.

I stared daggers at my phone, ignoring the soaring heart. Didn't he ever sleep? No wonder he had dark circles the size of a ball.

God, this was so infuriating.

And now, just as I managed to push myself out of bed and head down the stairs for a cup of coffee to cure my fatigue, I met my mother gushing over the mountain of gift boxes sitting on my coffee table alongside new flower bouquets. At this point, I could start my own florist shop. This was insane!

On the bright side, Axton was back home and he was standing beside my mother with a frown of confusion plastered on his face. His eyes caught mine and I smiled. "Big brother, you're back." I hurried down the final steps to hug him, ignoring my mother who opened up the boxes, squealing with excitement at each one. "When did you get back?"

"Last night." He pulled away and kissed my temple tenderly. "I had to come in early to take mum to her doctor's appointment." He tucked a tendril of my hair back behind my ear. "What happened? What did I miss?"

I opened my mouth to explain but my mother forestalled me. "Can you believe it, Sienna has an American suitor! And guess what? He's rich!" The way she squealed at the end made me roll my eyes northward. Have some dignity mother.

Axton's scratched his stumble. "I don't understand."

"What's there not to understand? She has a man interested in her and he joined us for Thanksgiving yesterday. It was a pleasant evening."

Axton turned his head and narrowed his eyes at me. "Is this true?"

I nodded, trying hard to hide my exasperation. "Yes."

His resting frown deepened. "Who is he? What's his name?"

The doorbell rang at that moment, halting our conversation. My mother shot up, her eyes alight with excitement. "Must be more gifts! I'll get it!" And then she dashed between us, making a beeline to the door.

My nose wrinkled. This woman. I shook my head softly and exhaled. "I'll be in the kitchen making coffee, do you want some?"

He nodded. "Black."

Exhaling a deep breath, I walked to the kitchen and started up the coffee machine. A new message from Tristan popped into my phone, adding to the long line of messages I left unread. Unable to resist any longer, I opened the chat chain.

—Today—

Tristan: morning sunshine.

Tristan: did you sleep well?

Tristan: I didn't.

Tristan: without you, my nights are lonely and cold.

Tristan: did you get the gifts?

Tristan: I got some for Mother too, hope you don't mind :)

I ran a hand through my hair. Was he doing this on purpose? I already agreed to his stupid proposal. Why wouldn't he just give it a rest?

Drawing up my keyboard, I shot him a quick text.

Sienna: no, I mind! Stop sending my mother gifts and trying to buy her with your money!

Satisfied, I placed my phone on the island and proceeded to make two cups of coffee. Just as I opened the top cabinets for some sugar, my phone started to vibrate with a call from no other than the constant thorn in my flesh.

For a moment, I chewed on the inside of my lip, contemplating letting it go to voicemail but I needed to put an end to this nonsense so I picked it up and thumbed the green button.

"Hi, princess." The deep baritone in his voice reverberated through me, squeezing my cords as it went. Bemused, I blinked, suddenly forgetting all the profanities I'd planned in my head.

"Did you get the gifts?"

I snapped out of my haze and scowled at him. "You're acting like a psycho nutjob."

"That's because you take away every bit of my sanity baby, and my balls still hurt, thank you for asking."

I rolled my eyes. "Just stop okay? Leave my family out of this."

"Why? Am I doing something wrong?"

"Yes." I snapped. "Yes you are so just stop."

He went silent for a moment. "Alright. If it'll make you happy then I'll stop but how about I start tomorrow?"

My brows furrowed. "Why?"

The doorbell dinged.

"—Well, you see..."

"Look who's back!" I heard my mother shriek from the living room. "Tristan!"

My stomach dropped. "You son of a—" The call disconnected.

Bastard!

He was here.

Fuming, I abandoned my coffee and stormed out of the kitchen but stopped in my tracks when I found my mother trapping Tristan in a bear hug, and he was... laughing so gaily my heart fluttered in my chest. "Yes, I did and I enjoyed the meal last night. Thank you so much."

She pulled away and gleamed. "No, thank you, Tristan. The gifts, they're marvelous! I haven't even opened them all and more keeps coming!"

He laughed in delight. "This is just the beginning, Olivia." He promised. "You are the mother of the woman I have fallen helplessly for, I want you covered in only sparkly things."

My mother nearly choked over that. "Oh my!" She looked like she was going to pass out with excitement. "You definitely know how to flatter a woman!"

God this was too embarrassing to witness.

As if that wasn't enough, Axton walked in, his eyes gleaming at the sight of Tristan. "Mr. Larsen?"

Unease slithered down my spine. How did he know his name?

"You must be Axton," Tristan said smoothly, extending his hand.

Axton laughed in amusement, accepting his handshake with both hands. "I can't believe it. Mr. Larsen, you're here, in my house." He kept shaking his hand. "I read all about you from the Foxten construction brochure. You're doing a marvelous job, sir."

My mouth fell open in confusion. Sir?

"Do you know him?" My mother asked, looking from one man to the other.

Axton nodded, his eyes never leaving the man dressed in black. "Yes of course! He's one of the founders of the top engineering firm I submitted my project to last month!"

My stomach clenched.

Tristan smiled. "I didn't know you applied to Foxten."

"I did, five weeks ago. It was my very first choice but they still haven't responded to me yet."

"Maybe I can help with that. Send your civil project sketch to my email, I'll go over it myself and put in a word with the director, we're good friends."

Axton's eyes brightened like that of a five-year-old given candy for breakfast. I haven't seen him this excited since I arrived. "You would do that?!"

Tristan laughed. "It is nothing short of what you deserve, and I hope you don't mind that I have come for sister."

My brother shook his head quickly, and I didn't know why but I felt betrayed by the act. "Of course not! She's an adult, she can make decisions and do whatever she wants. Thank you, thank you so much, Mr. Larsen, welcome to our home."

My heart tightened in my chest. I couldn't believe my family was simpering for this man.

As if sensing my stare, Tristan slid his gaze in my direction and that slow smile that curled the side of his lips told me he knew exactly what he was doing.

Fuck him.

Simmering with spite, I stormed to him and grabbed his hand harshly, avoiding the pair of four eyes on my head. "Sorry guys but I need to borrow him for a minute." I didn't wait for any of them to reply before I started pulling him with me into the kitchen.

I shut the door with a bang and raised my hands in the air as I snapped. "What the hell are you doing, Tristan?"

He leaned against the island and raked his eyes over my body slowly, making me cautious of my jersey pants and tank top. "What do you mean?"

"First it was my mother and now my brother! Is this amusing to you?! does playing with their feelings like this delight you?!" Whatever he was doing might be flattering to them but it was infuriating to me.

"I am not playing with anyone, Sienna, I am only trying to win your family over."

I exhaled impatiently. "How many times do I have to you that you don't belong here?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you I belong wherever you are?"

I bit my lip hard as frustration curled the pit of my stomach. I wanted to snap at him and throw a chair at his face. Damn him. He wasn't supposed to butt into my life like this. "Just stop it okay, don't get their hopes up like this. It's sickening to see."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." He moved close to me within touching distance. "But you need to relax. I have no intention of hurting them. They're my family as much as they are us."

My lip trembled and my eyes moistened. God, I wanted to cry so bad. It was getting physically draining to fight this man off. I closed my eyes and exhaled, torn. "What do you really want from me, Tristan?" I opened my eyes. A tear licked down my cheek. "What do I have to give to you for all this to stop?"

Eyes seethe with emotions, he cupped my face between his hands and tilted it up. "Sienna..." He trailed off, smearing my tears with his thumb, and I stared at him, searching his eyes, desperate to hear what he had to say but the only thing that came was his lips on mine.

Oh lord. Caught off guard, a shuddering moan breezed out of my mouth. He swallowed it and kissed me passionately, melting me, exploring the chemistry that came naturally to us and was impossible to raze.

"I want you, Sienna." he breathed into me, licking my lips, tasting my tongue. "Nothing else, just you."

Warmth spread through me. I shut my eyes. The taste of his lips on mine was pure sweetness. He tilted his head, slanting his mouth across mine, seeking more.

I planted my hands on his shoulder to steady myself. The kiss...it started with a simmer but exploded into raw dazzling passion. He groaned into my mouth, one hand going around my waist, the other into my hair, holding me steady as he ate my lips so skillfully I was wetting my panties shamelessly with my hunger for him.

Out of the blue, a jolt of icy fear slithered down my spine. If this went on...

"Tristan, you need to stop," I demanded breathlessly, putting my hands between us.

He broke away from my lips but he didn't let me go. His breath was deep and ragged.

"Stop, please," I repeated, breathing heavily.

Silence surged between us. He stared at me, his lips parted to heave air. "You're right," he muttered after a moment. "I should stop." His hand around my waist clenched tight with pure possession in contrast to his words.

Goosebumps elicited across my skin. I released a shaky exhalation. "Then why don't you?"

There was a tense pause. I could tell he wanted to say something but he didn't, instead, he slid his hands underneath the full curve of my ass and lifted me, and I gasped when he placed me on the island and he locked his lips with mine again.

"Tristan, what are you—" I placed my hands on his chest to shove him away but he seized them and secured them behind me.

"I can't get enough of you, Sienna." He lodged his tongue through the seam of my lips, exploring every cervix of my mouth, so dominant and possessive in his voyage. "I am mad with an urge for you." He bit my bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. "Mad with the urge to strip your clothes off." He released my hand and gripped my hips. "Mad with the urge to worship your skin." His lips strayed away from mine and lowered to my neck. "Mad with the urge to love you."

My heart thumped in my chest. I arched into him when his teeth came down on my delicate flesh. "You're playing with fire, Tristan."

Warm fingers dove under my shirt and cupped the underside of both my tender breasts. "Burn me..."

Oh, God. Fireworks exploded in my eyes. What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be pushing him away, not wrapping my legs around him and arching into him as he kneaded my breasts.

Just one more time, I tried to convince myself.

I wanted him. There was no denying it. Maybe I could have him just this once, maybe then I would satisfy this craving and be rid of the itch.

"Naked truth?" He all of a sudden asked breathlessly, tweaking my nipples.

I sucked in a sharp breath and arched. It was hard to concentrate, to make words but somewhere within me I found the will to nod and whisper.  "Yes..."

"You make me feel more alive than I have in years." He bit into my skin and twisted my nipples again. I moaned, burning hot and needy for him. "And making these new memories with you has become my favorite thing to do." Another greedy bite and I was shivering. "And I didn't expect to get this attached to you. You're like a plot twist I never saw coming. And now the thought of being without you kills..." He trailed off, his whole body going stiff atop mine. "Sienna..." He looked up, his livid eyes beaming with unfathomable emotion.  "I...I think I'm in love with—"

—the kitchen door swung open.

"Tristan, why don't you—oh!"

The heat burning between us turned into instant icy cold. I blinked. What the hell am I doing? Acting on reflex, I shoved him away from me. "Mum!" Mortification made my whole body turn red.

"Oh my!" She gasped, holding her chest. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes alight with shock.

I jumped down immediately from the island and rearranged my shirt. Christ, my nipples were still hard as stone.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Olivia." Tristan inserted, wrapping one arm around my waist and drawing me close. He had recovered but I hadn't. "Mind my manners, your daughter has proven to be irresistible in all ways."

My checks flushed. I wanted to glare at him but I was too weak to.

He thought he was in love...with me?

The thought made my heart ache. Maybe I heard wrong. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me and feeding me the lies my heart so desperately yearned to hear.

My mother dropped her hands and clucked her tongue. "You kids of nowadays." A hint of a smile played on her lips. "Take your X-rated movie to the bedroom and leave my kitchen."

Tristan chuckled, clearly not embarrassed, not even a bit. "I'll join Axton in the living room." He announced and released me. "See you later princess." A kiss to my temple and he started towards the door. It shut behind him.

Silence.

I lowered my eyes to the ground, unable to look at my mother. "I—I'll get going too."

When she said nothing, I swallowed thickly and walked forward, but just as I was about to stride past her, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back. "Are you already having sex with him?"

Her question made the blood on my face drain. I sputtered. "M-mum!"

"Hey, you!" She grabbed my right ear and tugged on it. "Answer me."

I hissed. "Ow, ow!! Ouch! Mum!"

"I said answer me."

I grabbed her hand, trying to dislodge her from me but this woman had the grip of a tiger. "No, I'm not! I'm not!"

"Good." She let me go. "Until he puts a ring on it, make sure you don't. I like him but he is still an American and you know what they do best."

I held my throbbing ear and recited what she had told me some time ago. "They come for foreign flowers and when they suck all the nectar, they're gone, on to the next."

Except this American already sucked my nectar so many times, in so many different positions that should be illegal, and yet, he still wanted me.

I sneered at her. "That hurt by the way!"

She shook her head and clucked her tongue. "But it doesn't when a man who isn't your husband touches your breasts."

I blanched. "Mum!"

She waved me off warily. "Get going before I'm tempted to pull the other ear."