Free Layers Peeled by Lacey Silks Page B

know.” I felt my face drain because suddenly what Tristan was
saying seemed so real. He wasn’t joking around anymore. The fear
I’d seen on his face earlier completely disappeared. Was it because
he thought I’d propose?
    “Is marriage
something you envisioned in your life?” he asked.
    “No. Never.” I
shook my head.
    “Because of
what happened to your mother?”
    “Yes, it never
really crossed my mind. Not that way, at least. I was preoccupied
with keeping my mother safe, and trusting another man after what
I’d seen... It just never happened. Until I met you.”
    “Are you
trying to propose again?” he teased.
    “I’m a quick
learner, Mr. Cross. If I was going to propose, you wouldn’t even
expect it and you would definitely not hear it coming out of my
mouth ahead of time.”
    “That’s good
to know.”
    I yawned,
feeling the fullness of my belly lull me. There was nothing better
than a little siesta.
    My mother said
from across the table, “You should take a nap, Allie. We can see
ourselves out.”
    “That’s a good
idea.” Tristan helped me up from the table. Even if I wasn’t
showing yet, I felt like my stomach was about to burst, or at least
tip me over to the side. “Let me show you up. I’ll be right back,”
he said to the rest of the family.
    There was no
way I could argue with him. My eyes suddenly felt like they’d been
glued together.
    “I’ll be just
fifteen minutes,” I said.
    Mrs. Cross and
my mother shared a knowing glance and chuckled.
    “Take your
time, dear,” Mrs. Cross said.
    Upstairs the
wooden theme continued. Tristan guided me to the most beautiful
bedroom I’d seen in a long time. The bed with white sheets and
plush rug looked surreal, like the decorations and crisp linens had
been stolen from a ski chalet. Chocolate curtains flowed to the
breeze of the warm air that puffed from the ducts. I removed my
dress and crawled under the covers and felt Tristan snuggling in
behind me.
    “You sleep.
I’ll take care of our guests.”
    “Okay.” I felt
my eyes lower. “I’ll only be fifteen minutes”
    “Of course,
baby.”
    His soft kiss
on my shoulder was the last thing I remembered. When I woke up, the
room had darkened. I shot off the bed, trying to find my
bearings.
    “What time is
it?”
    “It’s ten
o’clock,” Tristan answered from the other side of the bed.
    “At
night?”
    “Yes,” he
laughed, “at night.”
    “That’s so
embarrassing. I just abandoned my family in the middle of
Thanksgiving.”
    “They
understand, Allie. You’re pregnant, and you should sleep as much as
you need to.”
    I rubbed my
eyes. “I need to use the bathroom.”
    “This way.” He
turned on the side lamp. The yellow glow somewhat illuminated the
room.
    “And first
thing tomorrow morning, you’re going to show me around this
mansion. I can’t wait to see it all.”
    “Absolutely.
But promise me you’ll wear something more than panties and a bra.”
The growl from his throat excited me the moment it hit my ears.
    I bit my lip.
“You don’t like a woman strolling nearly naked around your
house?”
    “I love it.”
He gently slapped my behind. The delicate sting sent a pleasurable
tingle between my legs. “But know that I won’t be able to keep my
hands off you.”
    “Then it’s a
good thing we have a full weekend ahead of us because I seem to
have left my suitcase in the trunk of your car.”
    “Your clothes
are already in your closet, but I’m thinking of skipping showing
you where that is so I can have you in your birthday suit all
weekend long.”
    “So long as no
one else is in the house.”
    “Oh, come on,
you enjoyed it. Admit it.”
    “Maybe.”
    Tristan guided
me into a bathroom the size of a five-star Hilton and let me
be.
    The glass
shower in the corner with a rain showerhead and jets called out to
me. I turned on the water and stepped in. I’d need to change the
dressing on my arm and leg later, but the doctor said a shower
would help heal the