“I’m curious about something,” Nick said suddenly.
Tristan turned his head to him. “Yeah?”
Nick’s eyes swept over his face, searching for something. “Why is Zach angry at you?”
Tristan didn’t have to feign his surprise. “He is?”
Nick laughed a little. “He bit my head off when I asked for your number. I felt about two inches tall.” He winced, although his eyes were still full of amusement. “I’m not ashamed to admit Zach scares me when he’s angry. It’s a Pavlovian response. I can’t help it.” He grinned. “I actually had to sneak into his room to get your number while he was in the shower.” He looked at Tristan through heavy-lidded eyes. “But it was totally worth it.”
Tristan smiled back, unsure what to say. The guy really was very attractive. In the dim light, he looked even more like—
No, he wasn’t going there.
The silence stretched. Nick’s hand dropped on Tristan’s neck and his lips were suddenly much closer.
Tristan tensed, but before he could decide what to do, the front door opened.
“Are we interrupting something?”
Tristan’s stomach plummeted to his feet.
Zach stood by the door with his arm around a gorgeous woman.
Refusing to meet Zach’s eyes, Tristan focused his gaze on the woman. Donna.
“Hey, Donna,” Nick said lazily, waving at the couple with the hand that wasn’t around Tristan’s neck. “You’re back?”
The woman—Donna—smiled. Even her smile was gorgeous. She and Zach really made a beautiful couple: both of them tall, confident and striking.
“Hi, Nick,” she said before looking at Tristan. Her sharp, dark eyes definitely didn’t miss Nick’s hand on Tristan’s neck. She smiled wider. “I see you’re being rude, as always. Are you going to introduce me to your…friend?”
“This is Tristan,” Nick said with a grin and a bit of an eye-roll. “Tris, this is the poor woman who agreed to marry my bore of a brother.”
“Nice to meet you,” Donna said with genuine pleasure in her voice.
Tristan nodded with a bright smile. “Likewise.”
“What are you doing here?” Zach said. His voice sounded a little strange.
Tristan didn’t look his way.
“Your eyes are failing you at your advanced age,” Nick told his brother. “We’re watching a movie.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Zach said. “Tristan.”
Reluctantly, he dragged his gaze to Zach. He wasn’t prepared for the greedy way Zach’s eyes took him in, or the way he was immediately assaulted by a disgusting wave of emotions and needs. God, it wasn’t fair. How could a man look so good? Zach’s lean cheeks were clean-shaven, drawing attention to his strong jawline and firm, sensual lips. Lips he’d tasted. Lips that had tasted him everywhere.
Zach’s eyes shifted to his brother’s hand on Tristan’s neck, his body giving off anger like rolling waves battering an unprotected shore. Tristan could almost smell the testosterone coming off him. He had to shake the totally ridiculous urge to push Nick away.
Their gazes clashed and locked. Zach’s eyes were blazing.
“What?” Tristan managed.
“You forgot the DVD I wanted you to watch,” Zach said tersely. “Come with me.” And he headed upstairs, confident that Tristan would follow him. Ugh. Tristan had almost forgotten about his high-handed ways.
He wasn’t going. He wasn’t. Zach wasn’t even his personal trainer anymore.
Zach stopped at the top of the stairs and pinned him with a look. “Come with me. Now.”
Nick said something, but Tristan could barely hear him. He stood and followed Zach upstairs, angry with himself. He couldn’t believe he was doing what Zach wanted, like a—like a dog wagging its tail for a bone. Unbelievable.
Zach was waiting for him on the second floor. He had his arms crossed over his chest, the look on his face positively murderous. “I told you to stay away from my brothers.” His voice was deceptively low and calm.
Tristan crossed his arms, subconsciously mirroring Zach’s posture. “So what? You have no right to tell me what to do. You’re nothing to me and I’m nothing to you.”
“Nick isn’t nothing to me.”
Tristan chuckled. “So you’re worried about your brother? What a wonderful brother you are, saving him from my evil clutches. Don’t worry, sex didn’t kill anyone yet.”
“Sex?”
Tristan cocked his head, holding his gaze. “He’s better than you, you know. Unlike you, he can go at it for hours.”
Zach stared at him for a moment before his lips curled up. “You really think I’m going to buy it?”
“I don’t care if you buy it or not.” Tristan shrugged. “Couldn’t care less what you think. Now, if you excuse me, Nick is waiting for me—”
“You will not sleep with him.”
Tristan blinked slowly. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”
Zach looked irritated, as though he already regretted saying it. Nevertheless, he repeated, “You will not sleep with him.”
If Tristan were a cartoon character, there would have been steam coming out of his ears. “I will not?” he said, very softly.
“You will not,” Zach said.
Tristan opened his mouth and closed it soundlessly.