Chapter 19: Job hunting? You can't be serious

I woke up early the next morning with Tristan still in my arms, not knowing how long he had been there. I must have fallen asleep while he was holding me.

He was still sound asleep as well, and I pulled away from him gently. His arm was still wrapped around me, and I pulled myself out of bed before gently moving away from him so that he could get some sleep.

Once I got up, I headed down the hall to get a glass of water and was startled when I heard voices coming from outside the bedroom door.

I opened the door and saw that it was still daylight outside, so that meant that I had probably been sleeping for hours. I didn't know if it was something about being in Tristan's arms or maybe the way he had been breathing into my hair, but I was so sleepy that it took everything I had just to make my legs move.

"How long have you been standing there?" Tristan asked as he sat up in bed and yawned, his eyes looking tired from being up all night.

I smiled shyly before answering, "Not very long at all."

Tristan laughed before putting his arms around me and pulling me to him for a kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I can take on the whole world!" I replied with a laugh before kissing him back.

Tristan let out another tired laugh before pulling away from me and getting out of bed before heading into the washroom to take a bath.

I quickly grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and made my way back up to my room before going into the washroom and seeing Tristan leaning over the edge of the tub, washing himself off.

I couldn't help myself, so I slowly walked up behind him until I was standing behind him in the tub with my hands resting on his waist and leaning down to kiss him on the neck.

"What was that for?" He asked as he turned around and looked at me in surprise.

"I wanted to do that," I answered simply before leaning forward to kiss him again. "And thank you for last night."

Tristan looked at me curiously before leaning forward and kissing me back, deepening the kiss until finally we broke apart.

"You don't have to thank me." He said it with a slight smile. "I would do anything for you, just like I hope you would for me."

I blushed at his words, but then I let out a soft moan when he suddenly leaned forward to kiss me again.

Tristan pulled back slightly before whispering quietly, "You still smell like roses."

"You probably smell like wet fur!" I teased with a smile.

He snorted and kissed me again. "Not even close, but you're not wrong either."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later, when we have some time alone again," Tristan said with a sly smirk as he started kissing me again, but this time it was just for fun.

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon just enjoying each other's company before eventually making our way downstairs to join everyone for dinner.

I had never imagined him as one who dined with a chosen few of his vast mob, but he was definitely a different person than who he was when we first met.

He seemed more relaxed and less guarded around them now, as if he had let go of some of that tension that seemed to be weighing down on him before. And while he still seemed to have a dark mood around him from time to time, it didn't seem as bad as before.

Even though he had been keeping things from me, it didn't seem like he was lying to me as much anymore, but then again, I knew that there were still secrets that he had yet to reveal to me, much like it was the same for me with him. And knowing Tristan as well as I do, there would be no telling what those secrets would be until they were finally revealed to me.

That evening, while we were eating dinner together, Tristan's close friend, Rourke, who had been silent throughout dinner, finally spoke up: "Tristan, if you don't mind me asking... what were you thinking of doing after the war ends?"

What war?

Everyone else in the room stopped eating at once as they all turned towards Tristan with curious expressions on their faces.

Ah! That's right, I had nearly forgotten I was with a Mafia group.

Tristan let out a soft sigh as he looked at Rourke before responding, "I don't know if I should let them be or not." He responded honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I know that I want to protect you guys, but I also know that I have a lot of enemies and that I probably won't be able to do that from the outside, but if I am pushed beyond comfort, I won't hesitate to end them."

Rourke let out a soft sigh before responding, "Do you mean the law or your enemies?"

"Both, really." Tristan sighed as he took a drink of his wine before continuing. "I know the law won't allow it, but I will protect you guys at all costs."

I was sitting between Rourke and Tristan with my fork hovering over my plate, not sure what to say or do. I didn't know what the hell was going on, and it was hard for me to not feel like I needed to say something.

But before I could do anything, Tristan spoke up again: "What do you think, Cecile? If anything were to happen to me, would you stay with these people?"

"I'd rather stay with you!" I exclaimed immediately and blushed slightly in embarrassment at the attention I suddenly received.

Tristan let out a soft sigh as he leaned back in his chair before looking at everyone in the room and saying, "Okay, then it looks like we have our answer." He sighed as he looked at me. "But remember that we have some time yet before the war will end, so just sit tight until then."

Pretend.

Pretend like you know the hell what they are talking about.

I had told myself as I took a huge bite off my fork.

The rest of dinner passed peacefully until everyone started clearing the table and washing off the dishes before heading upstairs for the night.

Tristan pulled me to his side as we went upstairs and sat down in front of the fire in his bedroom while we waited for everyone else to fall asleep.

He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me as I rested my head on his chest. We listened to the sounds of everyone else settling down in their own rooms before we eventually drifted off to sleep as well.

I hadn't expected the day in the mafia to be so... so mundane.

I woke up in the morning with Tristan still holding me tightly against him before he pulled back slightly to look at me.

What are we? A couple?

For a few days now, we have been following this routine like some kind of normal couple, even though it is anything but normal. And I have to say, it was actually starting to grow on me, but it wasn't something that I thought would ever happen between us.

I blushed and looked down at the floor as Tristan pulled away from me and got out of bed.

"Good morning," he murmured.

"Morning," I replied with a yawn.

I felt like I had barely slept at all last night, and so I got up and got a glass of water from the kitchen before coming back up to the bedroom and finding that Tristan was already dressed.

He was sitting in front of the fire with one of his boots on and a glass cup of whiskey hanging from his lips as he stared into the fire, but when he heard me come back up, he turned and smiled at me before letting out a deep breath before letting me sit down beside him on the sofa.

"So what are we going to do today?" He asked with a small smile on his face. "Maybe we can take a walk in the forest."

I laughed softly before replying, "I'm fine right here, but thank you for offering."

"You're sure?" He asked curiously, but there was a slight edge to his voice that made me think that he wanted to go for a walk outside but knew better than to ask.

This was the perfect opportunity to put my plans into play. I needed an alias, something that I could do while in the city, and that means one thing...

"How about we go job hunting?" I offered it with a smile.

Tristan looked at me with wide eyes, as if he didn't expect me to suggest that idea. "You're not afraid of going into town alone?"

"You know that I can't be left alone," I reminded him with a smirk, but then added quietly, "But what about you?"

Tristan smiled at me before responding quietly, "I have an excuse to leave the mansion."

I nodded slowly. "Then let's go."

Tristan let out a sigh of relief before getting up to grab his gun belt from where he had it lying on the table and quickly strapping it on before grabbing his coat and heading into the washroom to get ready to leave.

When he came out, he looked more presentable than the last time I saw him, although he still looked a little worn down around the eyes. The cut of his suit still looked sharp.

Tristan quickly locked the door behind us and made sure that all of the windows were closed before pulling me towards him and kissing me.

We stood there for several long seconds before we finally broke apart and started walking towards town.

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