When the doctor finished her examination, Tristan had turned off all the lights in his room, leaving one of the bedside lamps on so Ava won't be too scared waking up in an unfamiliar room.

He sat on the bed next to Ava, he knew he had strong feelings for her, after all, he'd never felt attracted to anyone as he was to her, but tonight ironed out any doubts if he ever had any about their future. He was going to spend his whole life with Ava and he would do everything possible to convince her.

​​

She was sleeping so peacefully, her face serene with no tinge of what happened earlier. She looked like an angel.

He liked seeing her sleeping on his bed, the last time she was in his house, she avoided coming into his bedroom, probably thinking it was inappropriate. But now she was here, and it seemed like everything was falling into place.

He did not want to miss even one second of being with her, thinking that maybe this was all just a dream and he would wake up and discover that he was all alone.

Having her here with him evoked a lot of feelings, he wanted to touch her, kiss her and tell her that he loved her.

He touched her face lightly, when she didn't move he cupped her face and rubbed her cheeks. His eyes were drawn to her very juicy lips, it felt like they were enticing him to take a taste, and as he ran his thumb on her lower lip, he hoped that Ava would let him kiss her soon.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, which made him draw away from her, not wanting to wake her up. It was Dimitri trying to get an update from him. He knew that his team was able to retrieve Ava from the forest and that he took her home, but he still wanted to get the news directly from Tristan.

"If you have anything to say, make it fast," Tristan said impatiently as he stepped out of the room.

"What about saying thank you?" Dimitri teased. He knew Tristan was uptight, and his focus was on Ava right now, but he just wanted to give him a hard time.

The Aristocratic heirs have always treated each other like they were brothers, and most of the time, they knew what the other person was thinking, anticipating each other's moves and needs.

When Dimitri got the update from his special team. They mentioned that Tristan had been very protective and caring of the woman they rescued, he even carried her to his car.

His ears heard them, but he could not believe it. Tristan has never cared for anyone in his life, even their friendship had to be forced onto him in the beginning. But this sounded like it was something pretty serious, which is why he called him right away. This news could not wait until the morning, he had to strike while the iron was hot.

"If you have nothing important to say then I will end this call," Tristan threatened.

"Wait! I need to ask you something important," Dimitri said.

"What?" Tristan replied.

"Wel.. do the others know about your woman?" Dimitri asked.

"No. And why is this important?" Tristan asked in a bored tone.

"Wow! I feel honored that I'm the first to know," Dimitri chuckled. The heirs loved gossiping amongst each other, except for Tristan, and as soon as someone learns about a secret they tattle and boast right away.

"When are you going to introduce your woman?" Dimitri asked.

"I haven't decided yet," Tristan said. He wanted to confirm their relationship first before introducing Ava to his family and friends.

"Come on Tristan, I want to rub it in their face that I knew about it first," Dmitri begged like a kid.

"I have to ask her," Tristan said.

On the other side of the phone, Dimitri let out a loud laugh, "Seriously? You have to ask for her permission now? You are whipped."

"As if you won't do the same if you had one," Tristan challenged him.

"No way, I'm different from you. I'll still be in control," Dimitri said confidently. Which he should not have said because one can never say what happens in life when one meets the right person. We shall see that Dmitri is no better than Tristan when it comes to the woman he loves.

"Hmm.. don't speak too soon, you might eat your words later," Tristan smirked.

"Okay enough of this nonsense, I need to go," Tristan sternly said.

"Ohhh... is she waiting for you in bed?" Dimitri enjoyed their banter. But Tristan had ended the call without answering his question. His day could not have been any better.

Tristan changed into his nightwear and slipped under the covers to sleep next to Ava.

"I want her to be the last thing I see before I close my eyes and the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning," He thought as he looked at Ava's sleeping form. He just knew that having to wake up with Ava in the morning will definitely brighten his day.

He wanted to pull her to him so badly so he could wrap both of his arms around her, but then she might not welcome his advances when she was injured and weak, this would have to wait.

He kissed her forehead as he placed one arm across her waist, "Good night little one. May this be the first of our many nights together," he said softly.

And for the first time in his life, he was able to fall peacefully into sleep because he had everything he ever wanted right within reach.

The next day as the sun rays penetrated the large windows, Ava opened her eyes, she was on her side facing an unfamiliar wall, it wasn't pink. She remembered being in the forest and then the men who rescued her, then Tristan.

She tried to turn and look around the room, but she could not move, something was weighing her down. And when she turned her head Tristan's face was right beside hers.

"Agghhh…," Ava screamed. She was confused, even though she liked Tristan, waking up next to him was something she did not imagine happening this fast, their relationship has not been determined, yet here she was sleeping with him already.

"Tristan, wake up! Wake up!" she shook his shoulders which did nothing because of her featherlight touch. He lazily opened his eyes and smiled. It was nice to wake up with Ava beside him, this was how he wanted to wake up every day, with her lovely body wrapped up in his arms.

"Calm down, little one," he said in his husky, sexy voice which halted Ava's actions.

Deep inside her, something stirred, this deep and sexy voice made her want to lie there and savor the feeling of having his strong, toned, muscular arms around her.

He chuckled when she just laid there staring at him, and it helped pull her out of her wayward thoughts before they took over.

"Why am I here? And where am I?" Ava questioned, still not being able to move his arm that was holding her down. So she twisted to look at him.

"You're in my house. Don't you remember what happened yesterday?" he asked.

"I got lost in the forest, and these men came for me. Those were your people right?" she asked, and he nodded. She was so relieved that someone had found her, and it made her feel better knowing that they were Tristan's people.

"I'm glad. Thank you for sending them and for being there," she said shyly. Lowering her eyes. She knew he liked her but did not know that he would move heaven and earth to find her when she got lost.

"Didn't you promise me that you would take care of yourself?" he said, remembering the condition she was in last night when they found her.

"I followed the arrows, but it led me somewhere else. I could not find my way back. It will not happen again," she reasoned.

"You can't just give me excuses and shrug it off. Who knows what could have happened if we didn't find you in time?" his tone came out harsher than he intended.

"Are you scolding me now? It wasn't my fault I got lost, the trails were confusing," she argued, "Do you think I wanted to get lost?" she pouted. She got lost, and now he's mad at her? She did not like this side of Tristan, where was the guy that handled her very gently like she was the most important person in his life?

"Little one, I'm not scolding you. You don't understand how worried I was when your professor said they lost you," he explained. Now he felt guilty that he raised his voice at her, how will he explain that he could never get mad at her, just one look makes him want to forget everything else.

She looked at him, very doubtful of what he was saying, but when she saw the mournful look in his eyes, her heart melted.

"You're safe, that's all that matters now," he said softly as he touches her cheek.

"Uhm hmm…," she gave him a small smile, knowing that she had won.

"But, you haven't answered why I'm in your house," she was suspicious as to why he was avoiding her question.

"It was too late to bring you back to your parents' house. They would have been worried sick, and they would have had a lot of questions I did not think you were ready to answer seeing the state you were in last night, " he explained.

It was only half of the truth because he really wanted Ava to spend the night with him after their ordeal, he didn't think he could let her go. But of course, Ava didn't need to know about it for the time being.

Ava believed his explanation since it seemed logical.

Having them lying next to each other made them look like two lovers who had been together for a while having pillow talk.