I STILL LOVE YOU, BUT...

CHAPTER 24

TRISTAN

"Mr. Remington," Alexis Hathaway trills. "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe I have the honour of meeting you tonight."

I give her a polite smile.

"The honour is mine."

She looks as if she's about to faint.

She is smiling at me. Desirous of my attention. My time.

She leaves me cold.

My eyes scan the room for the one woman I want. Where is she?

And then all the breath leaves my lungs.

There she is, walking in.

Amanda. My Amanda. So beautiful. So full of grace.

God. Just one look at her and I go to pieces. My heart starts to beat faster and faster.

She looks up, and our eyes collide.

She smiles, a slow, teasing smile. Next to me, Alexa, Alexis, Al -- whatever her name is --- is saying in a flirtatious voice, "Mr. Remington, you're so much taller in real life, you make me feel like a teeny bitsy thing."

Amanda is teasing me, sipping a glass of bubbly, her eyes on me. And that, I think, is how you flirt, madam, not brazenly, not gaudily, but subtly, sweetly, giddily...

I am moving toward Amanda, my feet having developed a brain of their own.

"Miss Barnes." I feel invigorated, the blood hammering through my veins. "Always a pleasure to see you."

"Mr. Remington," she is whispering.

"Why are you whispering, Miss Barnes?" My mouth tilts.

"I have no idea, Mr. Remington," she giggles. "How are you enjoying the company of the beautiful Miss Alexis Hathaway?"

"I only enjoy the company of one particular woman, and you know exactly who it is, my darling Miss Barnes." I pour every inch of my soul into my gaze and my eyes and my words, hoping she might see and grasp and feel how much I love her, how much I adore her.

"You say the sweetest things, sir," she says breathily.

I find her soft voice unbearably sensual. The sense of pleasure at the sound of her voice washes over me like always, a balm, like a loving caress. It is another texture of her, like that silken hair, that my eyes are lingering on, and her luminous skin, and her hands that hint --- that I know --- that she is everywhere soft.

I gaze on her. It is a delight to gaze upon her. It fills me with warmth, with pleasure. She is a witch, and I am enthralled. She is my goddess, and I am spellbound.

"Whisper to me, Miss Barnes."

"That you are the sweetest man on earth?" she whispers.

"Yes," I dip my head low, whisper in her ear. "Whispers are the proper language for the dark, after all. As you and I both know, Miss Barnes."

Fearless, they call me. Ruthless. Cold. And etcetera.

I am putty in my Amanda's hands. Hers to command. Hers to enslave.

"If you come any closer I'll ignite," I tell her, groaning a little. My pants are getting tighter by the minute.

"Oh, don't look, but Alexis is heading this way, and she's glaring at me. She looks like she's about to ignite."

I grin at her.

"Miss Barnes, I have thought of nothing else, of nothing, but you, since the first day I laid sight on you. The sooner Ally knows it, the better."