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Tristan

B y the time morning came, Tristan had the worst case of blue balls he’d ever experienced. Rainbow-colored balls might be a more apt term for it, given how long he’d been suffering through this.

He lay there, stiff in more ways than one, staring at the plain ceiling, listening to Lena’s soft, even breaths. She’d moved the armchair closer to his bed, and curled up to sleep there. With a blanket draped over her body, she looked warm and comfortable. He hated the thought that the nurses were going to wake her up in … roughly ten or fifteen minutes, when they started their morning rounds.

As he watched, Lena shifted, and the blanked slipped, revealing the smooth, bare skin of her neck. His cock jumped. Again . His fingers twitched. He wanted to trace the curve of it, follow the slope down to where it met the delicate dip of her spine. He wanted . Damn it, he needed relief.

No. He needed … he needed to stop thinking about Lena. Everything she did aroused him. The way her breasts rose and fell softly whenever she breathed. Her husky, sleep-laced voice when she’d reached out for him in the middle of the night. His body responded to it all instantly, aching, desperate.

If there’d ever been anything platonic about the way he felt about her, it was gone now. He’d never find it again. Not that he wanted to find it. He didn’t know what had actually made her change her mind, but he was going to take advantage of it. He was going to show her she could trust him. He’d never thought of himself as a trustworthy man. He was trustworthy in his job, he hoped, and always did the best he could. But in his personal life, he’d always been … he’d always put Tristan first. Now, for the first time in his life, he wanted to put somebody else first.

He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to think of the day ahead. He was pretty sure he was getting discharged today. He just wasn’t sure what that meant—for him and Lena.

The sharp knock on the door sent a jolt through Tristan, snapping him out of his tortured haze. He barely had a second to school his features before the door swung open. It wasn’t the nurse.

Colonel Pelegrin stepped inside with the same imposing presence that made everyone wary of him. Ramrod straight posture, a gaze that cut through steel, and the kind of innate authority that made grown men scramble to attention.

Tristan instinctively tensed.

“Relax, Lieutenant,” the colonel said softly. His sharp gaze flicked to Lena’s still-sleeping form, then back to Tristan, unreadable. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, thank you, Sir.”

“You still look like hell,” the Colonel said dryly.

Tristan bit back a grimace. He felt like it, too, but that wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have with the colonel.

From her corner, Lena stirred. “Dad?” she asked, her voice hoarse with sleep. “What are you doing here?”

“Just came to see how Lieutenant Devallé’s doing,” her father answered lightly. “Why don’t you go get a coffee, Lena? The Lieutenant and I need to talk.”

Lena hesitated. “Dad …” She looked at Tristan, who gave her what he hoped was an encouraging nod. The last thing he wanted was Lena protecting him from her father. Whatever the colonel had to say, Tristan wanted to hear it now. There was no point in delaying.

“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said.

The door closed behind her. Colonel Pelegrin didn’t sit, but stood ramrod straight by the side of Tristan’s bed. Tristan still had to look up at the man, but he was glad that he was half-sitting, at least.

“The doctors say you’re going to make a full recovery, Lieutenant. I’m glad.” He paused for a moment. “That was a good crash landing. Your teammates are alive because of you.”

Well, fuck that. Tristan hadn’t expected to be congratulated for crashing a helicopter.

“Thank you, Sir. I hope to be flying again soon.” That seemed fair. The colonel turned and looked out the window. Or at the armchair where his daughter spent the night?

“So. My daughter,” the colonel said. It wasn’t a question, so Tristan didn’t have to say anything. Except there was one thing he wanted to say. One thing he’d wanted to tell the colonel for months.

“I didn’t know who she was when I met her. We met by chance and went on one date together. The day she disappeared in the mountains—“ Tristan paused and swallowed. “That was when I realized she was your daughter.”

“I see.”

I see . Two words. Nothing more.

“But you didn’t see her afterwards.”

“Not because I didn’t want to. She was the one who didn’t want to see me, Colonel. Because …” How to put this delicately . “Because of my choice of career.”

The colonel’s face could have been carved into stone. “I see.”

This was a safe place to stop. He didn’t have to keep going. This was between him and Lena. He didn’t owe his boss’s boss any more explanations. Except there was one thing he had to make clear.

“As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to take your daughter on a date, Colonel.”

A small smirk, gone so quickly Tristan could have imagined it. “Is that so?”

Tristan nodded. “If she’ll agree to it.”

“I have a feeling she will.” The colonel raised his palm. “I’m not here to get between you and my daughter, Lieutenant. My daughter is a grown woman, and she gets to make her own decisions.” The colonel paused, as if looking for exactly the right words. “But if you hurt her, in any way, I’ll make you sorry you survived the crash.”

Fuck . Tristan should be worried, but all he felt was strangely elated. To know Lena had her father in her corner. “I understand, Colonel.”

“What are you smiling about, Lieutenant?”

Tristan pulled his lips tighter. “Nothing, Sir. Nothing at all.”

Colonel Pelegrin ran a hand across his bald head. “Great. I don’t want to see you in the office for at least two weeks. And when you come back, make sure you’ve got a doctor’s note.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The colonel gave him one last long, assessing look before turning toward the door. “Get some rest, Lieutenant. And remember—two weeks.”

Tristan nodded, but they both knew he wouldn’t stay away that long, not if he could help it. He needed to be back in the air as soon as possible.

The door closed behind Pelegrin. Tristan’s pulse still thrummed, not from fear—he’d faced down worse threats than a protective father—but from something else entirely. Relief . The colonel wasn’t standing in his way. He knew the man enough to know he was a man of his word. He wouldn’t be setting up obstacles between him and Lena.

Which meant the only thing that really stood in the way now … was Lena herself.

The door cracked open, and Lena slipped back inside, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. Her hair was still a little rumpled from sleep, her sweater slightly askew, but she looked mostly awake.

Lena arched a brow, studying him for a beat. “Did my father try to scare you away from me?”

“No. It was a good chat. And he now knows I’m planning on taking you on a date as soon as I get out of here.”

Lena smiled. “Is that so?”

Tristan reached out with his hand. His fingers brushed lightly against her wrist, sending a ripple of heat through him. Through both of them, he hoped. “That is so.”

“You’re really getting discharged today?” she asked.

He nodded. “That’s the plan.”

Her fingers curled slightly, as if debating whether to hold on or let go.

“Good,” she said after a pause. “Then I’ll drive you home. My father dropped off my car this morning.”

Tristan lifted a brow. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” A small, lopsided smile. “I want to. I’m also going to be staying with you for a few days. Unless …” She blew out a soft breath, her expression suddenly uncertain. “Unless you have other plans.”

His throat tightened. He was already on the edge with her. If she kept doing things like this, he was going to fall straight into something he couldn’t climb back out of.

But hell, maybe he already had.

He reached out, covering her hand with his, giving her a light squeeze. “I’d like that, Lena.”