Page 2 of Tristan’s Temptation

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Work, he reminded himself. He had to focus on work.

A timely phone call saved him, demanding his attention to solve a thorny problem, forcing his attention away from the passion slowly driving him mad. He was congratulating himself twenty minutes later—for mastering twenty whole minutes of not thinking about Shannon—when her sultry voice sent him tumbling back into the cauldron of his simmering desire.

“Mr. Trillo?”

“Yes?” he snapped. He was always snapping at her, it seemed. He didn’t mean to but whenever she was near, whenever he smelled her scent or heard her voice, frustration gnawed at him and made him irritable.

And did every British woman sound so sexy? The dulcet tones of her crisp accent made his cock twitch.

“I’m off for the day. Is there anything you need from me before I go?”

His lungs seized. Did he need anything from her before she left? Christ. Multiple visions of what, exactly, he needed flooded his mind. “No!”

Damn. That was a little harsh.

She stood there silent, still, her eyes luminous and serious as she studied him. He felt her gaze like a caress, and his cock, the voracious beast, stirred once more.

It should be illegal for a woman to look at a man like that and not offer him some relief.

It really should.

“Are you sure?” Her voice was soft, timorous.

He sighed and scrubbed his palm over his forehead. “Yes, Shannon.” God, he was weary. So tired of all this wanting. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded crisply and returned to her desk, gathering her things. He watched her surreptitiously, knowing he shouldn’t. Knowing he should look anywhere but there, but she was like a magnet for his attention. He couldn’t break away from her allure.

As she walked away from him, toward the elevators at the end of the hall, his attention fixated on her ass in that pinstripe skirt, measuring the span of those tight globes. How would they feel in his hands? The very notion made his mouth water.

She rounded the corner and he caught himself leaning to the left to keep her in his sights. He groaned, calling himself all kinds of a fool. He opened his laptop and against his better judgment logged on to Virtual Life to finish his virtual blowjob with his virtual assistant.

God, he thought to himself. I really need to get laid.

She really needed to find a new job.

Shannon Weiss frowned at the unpleasant truth. She loved her job more than anything but her boss made it utterly untenable. Of course, it wouldn’t be so bad working for the surly old bear if she hadn’t been stupid enough to fall for him.

But fall for him she had, and almost immediately. She’d set eyes upon him in the interview—taken in his handsome, sharply edged face and utterly delicious body—and that, as they say, had been that. She’d received several other offers for her services—her résumé and references were impeccable, after all—and though the other firms offered more money, Shannon had accepted Trillo–Maris’ offer. All because of Tristan.

He was just the type of man she hungered for. He was just the type of man she always won. Until Tristan. For some reason, he always ignored—or missed—her subtle lures. She knew he found her attractive—a woman always knew—so she could only assume his reticence was due to his stubborn devotion to his rule of thumb—absolutely, positively, no office romances.

Normally when she saw a man she wanted, Shannon went for it, no holds barred. Tristan, however, sent her nothing but stop signs. It was painfully clear the man had no salacious interest in her whatsoever. Which was rather demoralizing because she was utterly mad for him.

She’d been heartened to see a romance bloom between Adam and her friend and coworker Kat, hoping Adam had succeeded in breaking the ice, in breaking the rules, but Tristan held firm. He’d become even more taciturn since the announcement of his brother’s engagement.

With this discouraging reflection, Shannon pulled open the door to Charlie’s Bar and Grill. She stepped into the dim, musty interior and squinted, scanning the tables and booths for her friends. She usually didn’t join the Trillo–Maris crowd for happy hour but tonight she really needed a beer.

“Shan-non,” Sara bellowed from across the room, standing to wave at her. “We’re over here.”

Picking her way through the peanut shells littering the floor, she made her way to their table. “Hey, guys.”

“Glad you could join us.” Jenny grinned and the multiple piercings tracing the way along her lip line danced.

“Yeah. Pull up a chair.” Kat tugged out the seat by her side.

Shannon smiled at the warm welcome. That was the thing about this company. Everyone there was so nice, so friendly. She’d loved it from the very start and hated to think of leaving. They were as close to family as one could get.