Tristan just sat there without any emotions showing on his face. He looked at her like she was a child throwing a tantrum.

"How could she not take care of herself?" he thought. He did not like knowing her soft skin can get easily bruised.

​​

Ava was shocked. She realized she should not have screamed at him, even though it was in the heat of the moment. How can one keep their cool when Tristan has his business face. It was the face he used to intimidate people.

Tristan was not angry at her. He was just concerned.

He wasn't saying anything, so Ava started feeling guilty for blowing her fuse. She was usually very soft-spoken, and she hardly raised her voice.

"Look," she said, exasperated, but using her soothing voice to make him understand, "While playing tennis sometimes I get hurt. It's not a big issue." Tristan listening to her voice, felt like it tickled his heart. It was like a lullaby that calmed his heart.

Tristan suddenly moved his hand towards her face.

Ava thought he was still angry. She was confused as to why he was trying to touch her. She panicked and tried to move her chair back. The leg of her chair got caught on the carpet and tilted her chair. She was going to fall.

Tristan immediately reached out and caught the chair to prevent it from falling. He thought Ava was really careless. She moved without thinking of the consequences.

What if she fell and got hurt. It felt like Ava needed someone to take care of her.

When he pulled her chair up, it propelled her chair closer to Tristan. She could feel his hot breath on her face, and her heartbeat increased.

"Why is his face so close?" Ava thought. She has never been so close to any guy before.

Tristan's gaze fell on her pink plump lips. Her lips looked so soft and juicy. He had a sudden urge to bite them and know if her lips were as delicious as they looked.

Tristan ran his tongue between his lips and swallowed. When he inhaled, he got a whiff of her scent. He had to touch her.

He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"You …..," Ava stammered.

"There was some sauce on your chin," Tristan said in a sensual tone and wiped it with his hand.

Ava felt embarrassed.

She thought, "Oh my gosh! There was sauce on my face. Oh my gosh! I thought he was trying to kiss me." She blushed.

"Thank you," Ava said awkwardly and moved her chair back.

He has seen all sorts of women in his life.

Women who wanted to curry favors from him. They've always shown more skin than necessary. A few business associates even sent him beautiful, tightly dressed women to finalize their deals.

He always ruthlessly sent these unscrupulous women back. Dimitri being in the mafia always hosted very peculiar and wild parties for people in the underworld. At those parties, they had some of the sexiest women from all over the world.

He has seen fully naked women in these parties, yet he never once took an interest. To him, they just looked like they were trying too hard. The other three always dragged him out to these parties even though he refused. They just never let him be.

These four were not just friends. They were more like brothers. If anyone was in danger, the other three would be the shields. They met for the first time at the training camp. Tristan used to be very moody and aloof. He never interacted with anyone in the camp.

Aiden was the first one to approach him. Aiden followed him everywhere so much that he annoyed Tristan. Tristan agreed to hang out with him just to get rid of him.

Aiden introduced the other two heirs to Tristan. Dimitri was very arrogant. He barely acknowledged Tristan when Aiden introduced them.

Dimitri and Tristan bonded while doing shooting exercises. Blake was very lively, and he managed to get Tristan talking.

Slowly the four became an inseparable group. Later, the three never left him alone again. They always dragged him whenever they went out to have fun.

Tristan, for the first time in his life, was getting tempted just by looking at her lips.

Ava was just 20. She was very young compared to him. He knew, at his age he shouldn't have such thoughts about a young girl, but he couldn't help it. When she moved away, he missed her sweet scent.

The other women who tried to seduce him put on heavy perfumes. Their fragrances always gave him a headache.

But Ava had a natural fragrance which made him want to breathe in more of her. It was mild and sweet.

Ava was breathing heavily. She was thinking about her almost freak out. She jumped into conclusions, and now she couldn't look at him. She just sat there, twisting her fingers in her lap.

Tristan saw her breathing heavily while sitting in her chair, uncomfortably. He saw her flushed face, and he knew that he was not the only one affected by their proximity.

Whenever he met with her, she would awaken his desires. Desires he never knew existed. He was happy to know that his touch seemed to bother her.

"Let's go," Ava said, not looking into his eyes. She stared at the floor. She wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

She did not want to be in his presence any longer. He made her feel all these feelings she couldn't begin to describe. She could not muster up the courage to look at him.

But Tristan's gaze as always was on her.

The waiter brought them the bill. Ava opened her wallet to pay, but Tristan already had his special card out. The waiter recognized the card. He knew Tristan was a very important customer because only a few people in the country carried this card.

"I wanted to pay for it," Ava tried to take back the card from the waiter.

"Go!" Tristan commanded. The waiter was not going to wait to be asked twice. His head might be on the platter if he tarries.

"I will pay you back," Ava said. Tristan was basically a stranger to her. They only met a few times. She didn't want to be in his debt.

"There's no need. I had to do it. Your friend took you out for lunch and just left you," Tristan stated.

"He had an emergency," she defended him.

"What a man. He left without paying the bill," Tristan said sarcastically. He didn't care for her defending Hardin.

Tristan never had a good first impression of Hardin. His leaving Ava added to his dislike. He thought Hardin was irresponsible. If he was the one who brought her out, this would never have happened. He would never leave her in the middle of lunch and go.

Ava thought there would be no use to argue with him and kept quiet.