The door being knocked interrupted their conversation.
“I bet that’s Connor. He can’t stand me being alone.” Zoe moved away from her. Vicki dropped her head onto the sofa. She heard the door opening and nothing else.
“What’s going on? Has Connor passed out because you’re answering my door?” Vicki asked.
When no answer came she moved up and looked over the back of her sofa. What she saw froze her in place.
“Tristan.”
Tristan Carmichael stood in the doorway of her sitting room holding a suitcase and a bouquet of flowers.
“Where’s Zoe?” she asked.
“Connor was pacing outside when I came to the house. We agreed to make a trade. I’d take Zoe’s place, and he takes his very, heavily pregnant wife home.”
She’d not seen him in over three months, but he looked the same. His hair was slightly longer, and his muscles appeared thicker than she remembered.
“She’s due in the next few weeks,” Vicki said. She continued to stare at him over the sofa. “Are you really here?”
“Come here and see for yourself.”
He dropped the suitcase onto the floor and then placed the flowers on the stand closest to him. Vicki launched herself into his arms.
Tristan was real. She pinched her arm and cried out in pain.
“I’m here, baby. I’m finally here.” His arms surrounded her, and his grip tightened to the point of pain. Vicki didn’t care about the pain. She needed to feel him against her to know he was real.
“I didn’t think you were going to come back,” she said, letting go of the tears she’d been holding back.
“I gave you a promise. I always intended to come back, but I was only going to do that when I could give you something,” he said.
He bent down with her in his arms to retrieve a piece of paper from his suitcase.
“I’ll be getting everything through the post later. I couldn’t wait another day. I’ve been driving to get to you.”
She didn’t let him go. Taking the paper from him she read the words that were most important to her. Tristan was divorced. He was no longer bound to Kate.
“You got your divorce.”
“I got my divorce, and now I can do this.”
Before she got chance to say another thing, Tristan slammed his lips down on hers. Vicki didn’t want to fight him. Circling his neck with her arms she pulled him down in an attempt to deepen the kiss.
****
After his last phone conversation with Stefan, Tristan knew it was only a matter of time before Vicki left Law Castle to be with her parents. With Cameron’s help he’d been able to get through the divorce but not without the expense of a court battle. Kate tried to take over half of his trust fund and money. She’d also found out about the business he’d invested in. All of his ties to the city and the businesses had now been cut. The judge listened to her tale of abuse and pain at his hands. There was a point when Tristan felt the judge believed Kate’s recounting of events. When Cameron entered the equation all bets were off. What he and Kate didn’t know was Cameron not only liked to give pain, he liked to watch.
He’d made a tape of his and Kate’s time together. Tristan had to sit in court with several other people to watch Kate, who at the time he thought he was in love with, tell Cameron how bad he was in bed. His ego wasn’t broken at all. Any person who needed to draw blood to get them off was never going to be Tristan’s ideal of a bed partner.
Kate didn’t have a leg to stand on. The divorce went through, and Kate didn’t get a dime of his money. She tried to ruin his reputation, and all she did was ruin her own reputation. No one would touch her. Once she was faced with losing her money bank, her true colours shone through.
Tristan hated the fact he had to thank his old friend for help, but he did it because he was free. Cameron was the one to bring him the paper to go back to Law Castle.
Tilting Vicki’s head back, Tristan deepened the kiss. He felt her moan against him and her body melt into his. She was his woman, and talking dirty with her over the phone lost its appeal quickly.
“Tristan,” she said, sighing. “Do you remember what you promised me?”
“I do.” He didn’t wait for her to give consent. Lifting her up into his arms, Tristan took her upstairs to her room. He kicked the door open and placed her on the feet on the floor. “I’ve not got the ties to bind you to me. I’ll have to improvise.”
He walked over to her drawer unit. He opened the first drawer hiding her underwear. Pulling out a pair of tights he threw them to the bed.
For five months he’d been gone. The moment they were together the months melted away. Tristan cupped her cheeks. Tears spilled from her eyes. He kissed her tears away and forced her to look at him.