Tristan's Loins (10 page)

"You must be patient, Tristan. I want to make
this perfect for you. I failed so badly up until now. You must
trust me."

He smiled sadly. "Do I have any choice?
You’re all I have right now. Angering you was unwise. You could
leave my world and leave me here in the dark forever."

"In the dark? What do you mean?"

"It is dark, here, Selene," Tristan
explained, his arms clasped around behind his back. "When you’re
not here, it gets so dark I cannot see my hand in front of my face.
It is quiet too, not even the sounds of night are heard beyond
these walls."

"I don't understand."

Tristan shrugged. "I’m not afraid of the
dark. It matches my feelings. However, in truth, I have begun to
have fear for the first time in my false existence. I’m afraid this
will be my fate."

Selene felt tears spring to her eyes,
thinking of him trapped in the dark in the cold abyss that was
outside the room, and alone. She felt the tears falling, knowing
she could do nothing but finish repairing the damage she had
done.

"I'm sorry, Tristan," she whispered. "I had
no idea what it was like for you there."
Tristan looked up and his expression seemed amused. "I have not
gone hungry, Selene. In truth, I have come to like your pizza. I
could eat of it daily and never tire of it. Is that what they eat
every day in your world?"

"No, just once in a while," she said with a
laugh. "I'd be as fat as a cow if I ate like that every day."

He mused at her words, smiling. "What do you
look like, Selene?"

His question surprised her. "Normal I
suppose."

"No, describe yourself." Tristan went to sit
at the table and partake of more orange juice. "Describe yourself
as you would in your letters please. I would see you."

"I’m five foot seven inches tall," she began
and shrugged. "I have brown hair and brown eyes. I’m of medium
build, not fat and not too skinny."

"That was an awful description, Selene."
Tristan rolled his eyes. "You give me the visual of half the
serving wenches I have seen in this castle."

Selene felt her irritation rising. What did
he expect her to say? She wrote glowing descriptions of everyone
but her. "What do you wish me to say?"

"Are you fair as a rose or as ugly as a
troll? Do you have breasts like pillows or empty flour sacks?" He
chuckled at her sudden silence. "Are your lips as soft as petals,
or do you have a wart in the center of your-"

"Enough, I get it!" she cried, surprised at
the warm, excited feeling she got from his words. "That is fair.
You wish to know what I look like."

"It would be nice to put a face to the
voice," he concluded and smiled.

"I have been told I'm pretty and have nice,
smooth skin," she said and paused. "I have large brown eyes, not so
much dark as golden. My breasts are certainly not to your
standards, but they are big enough in my estimation. My teeth are
straight and I have no warts. There, are you satisfied?"

He closed his eyes as he rocked back in his
chair, obviously trying to form a picture of her in his mind. It
was obvious by his pleased expression, whatever images he had of
her were intriguing to him.

Selene watched his face, seeing his lips,
overwhelmed with wanting to know what they felt like, to kiss him
as she had Axel. He was not real, she argued hotly. Real or not,
she wanted him with a passion she had never known existed within
her.

"Let us see what we can do to brighten things
up for you." Selene changed the subject from talking about her. She
reached for the control setting to the desktop light. "You will
tell me if this makes everything there dark."

Selene turned down the dial and he called out
to her. "It is dark here now, as black as night with no moon," he
called out.

She turned up the sunshine and he looked
relieved. "I think we have solved that problem, but I’ll try
something else. I notice you have no window in your room."

Selene pulled up the Word document and added
embellishments to his room, candles for one. She wrote in a wide
window with wooden retractable shutters. Content he would not
suffer in the dark, even when her computer was off, she hit save
and returned to her desktop page. The visual had changed. She now
saw the side of the castle as the frontal image on the screen. He
was staring out the window and it appeared he looked at her. His
expression was wide-eyed and he took a step back.

"What is it?" she asked, worried by his tense
expression. "Tristan, what is it? You’re scaring me. Say
something?"

"You’re beautiful, Selene," he whispered, his
blue eyes reverent as he looked up at what appeared to be his sky.
"I see you and you did not give yourself adequate praise. Your lips
are the color of rose and soft-looking, your eyes like amber jewels
sparkling like moons down at me."

Her hand went to her messy bun at her nape,
self-conscious she had not bathed since the night before. She had
washed all the make-up off, and felt at her worst. He stared up at
her like she was a goddess. In truth, she must appear huge to him
from the window he looked out of in fascination.

"Thank you, I apologies for my appearance,
but I did not plan to do anything today but write." She felt
tongue-tied as she met his gaze, wishing he would quit staring at
her as he did. "What? Say something! Do I pass your
inspection?"

Tristan grinned and his eyes seemed to
twinkle. "You look like a slightly older version of Rhiannon, only
with different hair color and eyes. I see it now. I’m impressed
you’re not some ugly crone."

"Thanks, I think." She felt suddenly shy to
know he could see her. "Quit staring at me, will you? You make me
wish I had done my hair or something."

"You’re the moon and the stars in my world,
Selene and more lovely by far," Tristan said with such poetic
poignancy, she sighed despite herself. He was really quite the
charmer. No wonder women could not resist him. She felt the tug of
that now that their eyes met and held.

"I have several errands I need to go on
today," she said as she looked down at him. "I have to get some
computer paper to print this story and see where else I need to
make changes. It is easier for me to see the big picture that
way."

Tristan was still staring at her and said
nothing, seemingly mesmerized by her. He nodded and smiled. "I can
content myself with watching you now, Selene. I’ll not be so
bored."

Selene was uneasy having those blue eyes upon
her, disconcerted by the admiration she saw there. Tristan seemed
to devour her with his gaze. It was playing havoc with her
concentration.

"Very well, I need to get ready to leave. If
there's anything else you require, let me know. I’ll be gone a
couple of hours."

Tristan blinked up at his goddess and smiled.
"No, I’m content, Selene."

Selene walked away and did not see the
appreciative gaze that noted her firm, slender shape in the snug
black yoga pants and tight grey tank top. His hungry gaze lingered
where a ladies skirts should have shielded his eyes, clinging to
the backside of the beauty who took up the sky of his world with
her rich amber gaze.

Tristan watched her go to her room. His heart
caught to see a reflection from some vantage point in her room, a
mirror it appeared. He saw her pull the grey shirt over her head
and swallowed hard, seeing the perfect, round breasts with a
suddenly dry mouth. She eased the black hose-like garment down. He
groaned his eyes fixated on the ivory perfection of her buttocks.
She moved then, out of his range of sight. He could hear her
humming distantly and then he heard water running from another
source location. Just imagining her in a bath made his breath
catch. Knowing Selene was a golden-eyed beauty was disheartening.
He would have preferred her to be old and ugly, not radiant and
desirable.

Tristan was pleasantly surprised the husky
soft voice matched a face and form of one so fair. His growing
fantasies had not prepared him to see what Selene looked like, or
feel trapped in his own world and be unable to touch her. A sigh
escaped him as his eyes watched for her in the distance, hoping to
see her reflection once more.

~ ~ ~

Selene just finished blow-drying her hair
when the phone rang. Excitement coursed through her to see it was
Axel calling. It was almost noon. She planned to meet him for lunch
after she ran all her errands. She answered the phone on the third
ring, her voice expectant.

"Hey, did you get Darcy home ok?"

"Yeah, she must be feeling sick and is still
in bed because she hasn't called me yet," Selene said with a low
laugh. "We did have fun for a change last night, Axel. I needed
it."

"Meet me at Damon's for lunch. I'd like to
see you today."

Selene felt a sense of excitement to hear he
waited barely twelve hours to want to see her again. This was
really good! She hesitated only what was considered normal, not
wanting to appear as anxious as she was.

"I have to run to Office Depot and make some
other stops," she began casually. "How about I meet you at
one-thirty?"

"That's perfect; I have some running to do
too. My girls are coming home tonight and I don't have any food in
the house. Call me when you’re headed that way."

"Ok, I'll call you," she promised and hung
up, the sense of elation so alien she sat there holding her phone
in a daze until she snapped out of it.

She dressed carefully, wearing a pair of
khaki dress pants, a white tee and a pink cashmere sweater. She
felt like she looked like a typical schoolteacher. She applied
trace amounts of make-up and was pleased with her reflection for a
change. It was amazing what male interest could do for one's
self-esteem.

She grabbed a lightweight jacket and walked
out in the living room. Her eyes saw Tristan, standing at his
window, looking at her with an inscrutable expression. The heat of
his gaze was not lost upon her. Being able to look him in the eye
now was disconcerting.

"I won't be long." She walked towards the
computer. "Do you want anything before I go?"

"No I have all that I need." His eyes moving
over her appreciatively. "Do women in your world always wear
breeches, Selene? It is most distracting to see female legs, I must
admit."

She laughed. "If seeing me in pants unnerves
you, going to the beach would be a shocker."

"They wear less than you now?"

"They wear a scrap of fabric over their
parts, and nothing more." She saw his eyes light up.

She suddenly saw the TV on its stand and got
an idea. "Why don't I leave you with an idea of what my world is
like? I’ll leave the TV on for you. These are stories that people
watch for entertainment. They are not real, so don't start pulling
out your sword."

"I would like to see this beach you speak
of."

Selene smiled and swiveled the flat screen
around until it faced her desk and flipped it on. She scrolled
through channels until she came to a syndicated channel showing
reruns of shows like Baywatch, Charlie's Angels, and a variety of
sit coms, cooking shows, and talk shows. She theorized he would get
enough of an idea how different society was after seeing Pamela
Anderson running down the beach. She was sorry to miss it, finding
his expression of wonder adorable.

Tristan jumped when the screen came alive and
dived behind the shutter. She laughed.

"No, it's not real, Tristan." She peered down
at him. "These are actors and made-up stories. You need not be
afraid."

He peeked around the window frame, his eyes
widening to see the opening footage of Baywatch. His face looked
positively shocked to see the half-naked beauties on the beach.
Seeing his mouth drop made her grin.

"Alright, I think you should be pleasantly
occupied." She giggled to see he was mesmerized and barely
acknowledged her words. "Don't watch too much. It will rot your
brain."

Tristan was not listening. He was completely
drawn into the story unfolding on the TV screen. His inaudible
grunt made her want to laugh aloud. The answer to getting a
medieval man to mind was a good dose of Pamela obviously.
Priceless, she thought.

The restaurant was packed, the lunch crowd
boisterous, a game on the flat screens placed strategically about
the dining and bar area. Selene entered Damon's steak house
bristling with excitement, despite a twinge of guilt for leaving
Tristan alone to watch cable.

Axel was sitting in a booth and rose when she
arrived.

"Hey, did you get everything done?" he asked
as she sat.

"Yeah, now I can relax." Their waitress came
over with menus. "Have you ever had the ribs here?"

"You actually eat the ribs?" Axel raised an
eyebrow. "Every girl I ever brought here refused to eat them and
jonesed for mine the whole time. Why do you women torture yourself?
Us guys know you eat."

Selene chuckled and opened her menu. "I'm not
afraid to eat ribs in front of a guy, you’re on."

An hour later and two slabs nibbled clean,
she sat back and tossed her napkin and wet wipe down. "How'd I
do?"

"I'm impressed, Selene. You have a spot of
sauce on your chin."

"I do?" Her hand went up and she saw his
teasing smile.

"So, about this book your writing? Where do
you want to go with it?" he asked as he sipped his soft drink.

Selene did not want to talk about the book.
She tensed. Her writing was made more sensitive of late because of
Tristan's present situation. If she ever finished this book, she
would never look at her characters like paper dolls again. She
would show them more respect and make them more accountable. The
guilt she felt, remembering Tristan's anguished expression, haunted
her.

"I have to finish it and go from there." She
avoided any more explanation.