An hour or so after our mini-altercation, I felt the plane begin its descent. I’d been staring out the window for some time, sitting on the opposite side of the plane from the man who drove me insane, who was bringing me to God knows where, when my eyes caught sight of snow-capped mountains.

“We’re heading to the Rockies?” I asked, turning to him. He was leafing through a magazine of some sort, focused, apparently not at all concerned that we’d just driven a big wedge into the middle of our budding ultra-dysfunctional relationship.

“Yes,” he said. “Do you like mountains?”

I nodded. “Always have. My parents used to take my sister and me climbing, when we were very young. Well, hiking, really. We didn’t exactly use ropes and crampons. Still, I got a taste for it.”

“I’m glad to know that you’ll feel more or less at home,” he replied.

“Yes, I think I will.” I pulled my gaze to the outside again, quietly enthralled to know we were landing in the midst of peaks and valleys. “Where are we, exactly?”

“Headed to my chalet,” he said. “It’s not too far from Breckenridge, Colorado. But not too close, either.”

“So you’re saying we’ll be alone?”

Tristan chuckled. “Not entirely.” He rose to his feet and came to sit next to me. The air changed immediately, his warmth engulfing me. I was grateful for it; I’d been feeling chilly ever since he’d used the word danger. “Kara will be with us,” he said. “Rather, she’ll be in the house. But don’t worry; it’s a large place. She won’t disturb us unless I request her presence.”

I wasn’t entirely surprised to hear it, though it wasn’t the best news I could have hoped for, either. “She’s a strange one, isn’t she?” I asked. “I can’t quite figure her out. She looks young, but something about her feels…I don’t know, mature in a way that I wouldn’t expect.”

“I suppose she is a little strange. But aren’t we all?” he replied, taking my hand. He pulled it to his lips and kissed it, and in spite of a flurry of conflicted feelings, I let him. The truth was, for all he confused, perplexed, confounded and maddened me, I liked these little moments of affection. They seemed to be the most real thing about him. I couldn’t imagine him kissing the hand of a supermodel or showing her these little intimate sides of himself. I told myself that these precious moments were just for me.

But maybe I was just deluded.

“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” I asked, twisting my wrist to look at my watch.

“Perhaps a little time in the hot tub, to relax,” he said. “Early dinner. After that, when night has fallen, I’d like to show you a little more of myself.”

I couldn’t control the smile that slipped over my lips. “You mean more than I saw a little while ago?”

“I’m not talking about nudity just now,” he said. “I want you to see what it is that makes me tick, so that you can decide how you want to proceed.”

“Um, okay,” I laughed. “This sounds a lot like a business transaction. Like you’re trying to get me to buy a slightly used car and you’re wondering if I’m going to ask you to throw in the rust-proofing for free.”

“More than slightly used,” he said softly. I looked into his eyes, trying to make sense of his expression, but he was unreadable.

“I’m intrigued,” I said. “But I’ll admit that I’m also slightly terrified.”

“Probably a healthy reaction.”

When the plane’s wheels set down I grabbed Tristan’s leg and squeezed. He put an arm around me and pulled me in, kissing the top of my head. There it was again. A protective, intimate gesture that made me almost feel like half a couple. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a partner.

It was a fleeting sensation, one that I didn’t dare grab hold of. Best to let it wash over me and leave me, so I didn’t grow too attached to the idea. Tristan’s capacity to make me feel special was his most addictive quality, and the one that rendered me on edge, frightened for my own well-being.

All my life I’d wanted to be loved.

The problem was, I couldn’t imagine the man sitting next to me ever truly loving anyone.

The car that took us to our destination was a Land Rover, driven by Kara herself. By now I was getting used to the idea that she was some inexplicable, immovable part of Tristan’s world. In the last few hours she’d begun to feel less like a threat to my relationship with him, and more like an appendage, something that simply existed in his outer atmosphere. He showed no signs of attraction to her; they addressed one another professionally, more like associates than potential lovers.

It was almost as though neither of them saw the other for what they were—two of the most beautiful people I’d ever set eyes on.

Lucky for me.

In the back seat, I kept to my side, and Tristan to his, his eyes scanning the outdoors like a hunter looking for prey. I turned to watch him on occasion, curious as to what he was searching for—but apparently not curious enough to ask. When my eyes found themselves staring ahead at the rear view mirror, Kara would look at me with a questioning glance, and I’d go back to staring out the window.

Our driver didn’t speak. Maybe it was Tristan who’d told her not to; maybe she simply had nothing to say. Either way, I was grateful for the silence. It gave me time to assess my confusion, to tell myself that this weekend’s only purpose was to satisfy my own curiosity and maybe to enjoy some amazing sex. Nothing more.

I reminded myself that I wasn’t to have any more thoughts of love or affection, that I wasn’t to get hooked on the idea of Tristan being a permanent part of my life. I’d return to New York tomorrow night exactly the same as I’d left it: single-ish and prospect-free. I’d tell Marcus something about whatever stupid things had happened over the course of the weekend, we’d share a beer, have a laugh, and I’d head back to work Monday to prep for the opening of our show.

In theory, it was a great plan. One that didn’t take into account the massive decision I had to make about the theater, or about my willingness to work close by Tristan’s side. Not to mention the issue of heartbreak.

It was one thing to deny my heart’s existence; it was another thing to pretend that I could control what it wanted.

We’d only been on the road for fifteen or so minutes before the car turned up a steep, winding dirt road and stopped at a black wrought iron gate, which opened on our approach.

“Here we are,” Tristan said softly as the gate closed behind us. “My little retreat.”

“I don’t see anything but trees,” I replied, though it was far from a complaint.

“Give it a moment.”

Sure enough, as the car wound its way through thick woods, a massive house appeared in the distance. It was all giant windows surrounded by a wood structure like an enormous, expensive log cabin. A warm, deep orange glow emerged from inside, as though someone had already turned the lights on.

Kara pulled up out front and I got out, my eyes still fixed on the incredible house.

“I’ll bring your things in,” she said, reminding me that I was being rude by ignoring her. I nodded and smiled, unsure what else to do.

“Come on, Ariana,” said Tristan, taking my hand. He led me to the front door, where he pressed his palm into some kind of white scanner. The door unlatched and opened inwards, apparently satisfied that he was the master of this domain.

“Fancy,” I said.

“I like to keep the place fortified when I’m not around,” he told me.

“And when you are around?”

“When I am around, it doesn’t need fortification.”

The way he said the words sent a chill down my spine. Sometimes he really did sound like a man capable of killing. A man who wouldn’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off to defend what was his. I half expected him to take me into some locked basement room and show me an weapons arsenal worthy of an army. Or possibly a series of the skeletons of the men he’d dispatched over the years.

But instead, he guided me forward into a gigantic living space, complete with huge leather couches, a roaring fire in a massive hearth that must have started automatically on our approach, and windows that looked out onto the mountain peaks beyond the woods, which sloped away into the distance.

“Holy fuck,” I breathed. “This place…”

“You like it?” he asked, slipping up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I gave myself the pleasure of pressing my head into his chest and let out a sigh.

“Yeah,” I said. “I love it.” It killed me to love it. It killed me to feel myself becoming attached to the man’s home away from home. It killed me to feel so attached to him, when I knew he was so bad for me.

Yet it felt so good.

“Good.”

He took my hand and led me towards the back of the house, to a large French door which he opened, the cool mountain air casting a breeze over my skin.

“Come with me,” he said, his voice full of the hunger I’d grown to know so well. “I want to show you something.”

He guided me onto a broad wooden balcony that wrapped around all the way to the far side of the house. A hot tub was set up at one end, complete with steaming, bubbling water that looked so enticing that I wanted to throw myself in immediately.

“Someone knew we were coming, I take it?” I asked.

Tristan nodded. “The house knew. It’s set up with smart technology. Everything, down to the heated floor, turns itself on according to my wishes.”

“I can’t imagine having so much money that my house is more intelligent than I am,” I laughed.

“Money is meaningless,” he said, his tone serious. “But since I have it, I like to use it.”

“Fair enough.”

The hot tub looked out onto the beautiful sight of three mountains that stood in formation like watchers on the horizon. We seemed so alone, so isolated by our natural fortress. It was like being in another world.

I pressed myself to the railing and stared out, enthralled by the vista.

“Well?” Tristan asked. “Aren’t you going to climb into the tub?”

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” I replied.

He undid his jeans and reached down to slip his shoes off. “Since when do we need suits?” he asked.

Before I knew it he stood before me in nothing but a white t-shirt. His cock, that amazing work of art, hung between his thighs like a challenge. Once again I craved him. I couldn’t help fantasizing about the moment his glorious dick would find its way inside me.

Apparently his house wasn’t the only thing that he controlled.

“But what about Kara?” I asked, looking around. “She might come out here.”

“Kara knows full well that she’s not to disturb us. But even if she did, I wouldn’t care.”

“Fine,” I laughed, pulling my jacket and shirt off. I reached down for my sandals, slipping them off too, then pulled my skirt down.

As quickly as I could, I hopped into the tub in my underwear, playing coy and pretending to be too self-conscious to let him take a good look at me.

“You going to take off that shirt?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. Not just now,” he replied. “I don’t want you seeing everything just yet.”

It was a bit of a strange response, given everything I’d already seen, but I didn’t think much about it. Tristan liked to tease; I was convinced that it was why we hadn’t kissed yet. Why he was so deliberately enigmatic.

To be honest, I enjoyed it.

He climbed in opposite me, letting himself sink into the tub so deeply that he disappeared for a moment. When he came back up, his wet shirt clung to his muscular torso like a second skin, showing me just enough to make out the contour of his ridged muscles.

“Well, fuck me,” I said under my breath as my eyes stroked his chest.

“I’d love to,” he said, slipping towards me. He pushed my legs apart, grabbing the edges of the tub and drawing himself in between until I could feel his now-hard cock pressing against my panties. “Can you imagine it, Ariana?” he asked, his stare intense as always, eyes narrowed in challenge. “The moment when we’ll become one?”

I shook my head in a lie. Yes, of course I could imagine it. I suspected that the event would actually be even more incredible than I could fathom in my wildest fantasies, in fact.

I reached down and wrapped my fingers around his shaft, holding back a gasp at how hard he was, how thick. In the few minutes since I’d taken him in my mouth I’d told myself that I must have imagined how delectable he really was, that it couldn’t have been real.

It was real.

“I want this,” I told him. “You know I want it.”

He looked into my eyes and shook his head. “Not yet,” he said, pushing himself backwards and free of my grasp. He nodded to a corner of the hot tub behind me. “Climb up and sit on the edge for me.”

I followed his command, pulling myself out of the hot water into the cool air and perching myself on a wide part of the tub’s rim. I pulled my legs apart for him, my sex throbbing with desperate anticipation.

Tristan advanced, hungry eyes locked on my soaking silk panties. When he was close enough he grabbed them, yanked them to the side, and thrust a finger inside me, which he withdrew and stroked sensually along my slit, his eyes locked on my own.

“I need to taste this pretty pussy,” he murmured, going in for a quick, teasing lick.

I let out a moan that told him to keep going. Much to my delight, he did.