16: Common ground

**Lucien**

The moment my eyes met the sight of Tristan in her beautiful satin dress, I knew I'd be feeling the fabric of it against my hands when I ripped it off her body. It still unsettled and yet excited me how beautiful she was... on the outside. On the inside, she seemed quite hollow, emotionless and I found her quite boring to be around. In fact, she sometimes even reminded me of my own brother.

"Hello Love, you sure you have the right address?" I teased as I held out a hand for her and lead her inside my home.

"Funny, I wondered that too when I saw your face." She retorted. Of course, Tristan meant it as an insult, but I chuckled and said, "Ah yes, all the women have that reaction. They wonder if they've stepped into the home of a Greek God."

She rolled her eyes at me and never once laughed at my attempt at a joke. Could she make any expression other than anger, frustration and nonchalance?

I led her further into the home, into the living room which I'd set up nicely with a vase of white roses on the coffee table, candles placed strategically all over the room and the lights were dimmed creating what I thought to be the most romantic atmosphere I possibly could create in the span of an hour. But it seemed seducing this woman was clearly going to take everything I had.

"Why don't you take a seat while the food is getting ready. It should only be a few more moments."

When she sat on one of the leather couches, she folded her one leg over the other, exposing more of her beautiful legs and I glanced at her olive skin, amazed at how smooth it was.

"So, what is it people do on dates?" Tristan asked as her green eyes met mine. I took a seat next to her and cocked an eyebrow.

"You've never been on a date, Love?" I asked.

She shook her head no and I found myself surprised at her little confession. A woman as beautiful as her had never been on a date? I found that hard to believe. Then again, she did have the personality of an aggravated rock.

So, I leaned back slightly and said, "Well they talk and eat and get to know one another. If it goes well enough, a date could end with sex."

When I said this, she gave me an unimpressed look and asked, "So was this your way of getting me into your bed?"

I chuckled and nodded, "You could say that."

"So, marking and mating mean nothing to you?" She asked, not insulted or offended, but more out of curiosity. But her words had made an impact on me and so I stayed in silent contemplation for a moment. She was right. If I had any hope of seducing her, or of even trying to get her to love me, then we needed to do this properly.

"I see your point, Love. Perhaps not... sex, but I could offer you pleasure." I said.

"Pleasure?" She questioned.

I was just about to answer her when the stench of garlic bread wafted in my nose. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," I uttered before getting up and going to check on the bread. I opened the oven, revealing the delicious, perfectly baked garlic bread and used an oven mitten to pull the bread from the oven. Everything was now perfect: garlic bread and some of my famous lasagne. If she didn't fall in love with me tonight, then perhaps she'd fall for my cooking.

I set the large tray of lasagne onto the kitchen counter and the garlic bread alongside it. I then got two plates from one of the cupboards and dished a few pieces of garlic bread and lasagne into both dishes. Once they were ready, I headed to the large dining room and set them down on the mahogany table. There were candles and flowers here too along with some wineglasses and wine.

Once everything was perfectly set up, I went back to the living room and held a hand out for Tristan.

"Care to join me for dinner, Love." I uttered out.

She gazed at my hand inquisitively and for a moment, I thought she wasn't going to take it when suddenly I felt the tingling sensation of her skin against mine as her hand touched at mine. Her action surprised me, and I found myself staring down at her in amazement.

"Do I have a choice?" She scoffed out.

Her hand was warmer than I expected it to be and her skin was so soft I found myself rubbing my thumb against the back of her palm absentmindedly.

"This looks... nice." She said once we entered the dining room. Again, she surprised me with her compliment.

"I should hope so, it took quite some time to set up." And then I led her to her chair which I pulled out and then pushed it slightly after she'd sat down.

"So," Tristan began as I took my seat across from hers, "what is it you were saying about pleasure?"

I chuckled and then told her it was a conversation for later. Right now, I was more interested in finding out more about my oddly mysterious mate.

"What were you doing here the night of my brother's engagement party?" I asked.

"This again?" She uttered out boredly.

"Yes," I said before taking the wine and pouring it into both our glasses, "this again. I find it rather odd that you came here uninvited. Care to explain?"

I placed the wine in front of her and she took the glass, twirled its contents a few times, sniffed at it, raised a brow and then took a sip. Thereafter she placed the wine glass back on the table and that stern look returned on her face again.

"I was curious about my employer. That's all."

"Curious? You couldn't look him up on the internet?"

The room then fell silent for a moment, before she asked, "Does the internet always tell the truth? I find it's best to judge people by their actions and not what you hear about them. You, however, clearly embody your flirtatious reputation. I'm guessing I'm not the first woman to be brought home by you."

I had to admit, the woman had something fiery about her that I was beginning to like, and so I entertained her further after taking a bite of lasagne. "You could say that. I've never been one to settle down-"

"-because you loved your brother's mate." She raised her brow. I looked at her eyes carefully, trying to see if she meant any harm by what she'd said. Instead, I found nothing but slight traces of genuine curiosity. Was she trying to... understand me? It was refreshing, the thought of her peering eyes, trying to evaluate me. There was something strangely comforting in her robotic analytical way of trying to get to know me.

"Well... I. How do you know about that anyway?" I asked.

She shrugged and began eating too. "This is perhaps a slightly above average lasagne."

"Are you insulting my food?" I asked, ready to snatch the plate away from her.

"On the contrary. It was a compliment. I've never had food this above average before." She was so difficult to understand. "And as for how I know about your love for your brother's mate, well it was only an assumption which you clearly confirmed. I heard rumours about her, you see. Kind, wonderful- so I assumed that you were in love with her, like everyone else seems to be. I wonder," she then gazed up at me for a while in a sort of daze, "what it would be like to be loved like that."

Her words caught me off guard, once again, and I said, rather accidentally, "I wonder too."

And for a moment, our eyes met, and we just stared at each other, as though we'd finally found some common ground. But the moment was short lived when she spoke again.

"Your face," she began, "I find it highly annoying to look at for long periods of time."

I raised my brows in disbelief. She did *not* just say that.

"I beg your pardon. I'll have you know that I am one of the most attractive men in the world."

"Exactly. That's the problem. You're too handsome, and I find that really annoying."

I rolled my eyes at her and poured another glass of wine. It seemed being sober around Tristan was also not an option. "So, then what do you find tolerable about me, Love?"

She stayed silent for a while before looking up at me and raising a brow. "You mentioned something about pleasure earlier on. Is that still on the table?"

My ears perked up at this and a wicked smile graced my lips. "Before I answer that, what experience do you have with pleasure?"

"None. Sex is just another basic need we need to satisfy." She said.

I gripped at my wine glass, downed the rest of my wine and then growled out lowly, "My bedroom, right now. I'm going to show you just how wrong you are, Love."