Tristan kissed the top of my head and sighed again. "Sometimes we have to do things because others have done wrong. All I can promise is that I would never hurt someone like others in my position."
I heard the sorrow in his voice and wanted to ask about it, but it didn't seem like the right time. On the night that he'd asked me to marry him, I didn't want to fall asleep after talking about things that made him unhappy. I wanted to make him as happy as he made me.
Snuggling close to him, I whispered, "All that matters is that I love you and you love me. Everything else is out there. Always remember that and we can get through anything."
My words didn't ease his mind, and when he kissed me just before we fell asleep, all I could feel was his sadness.
In the middle of the night, I awoke to Tristan thrashing around in his sleep next to me. He was mumbling something over and over as he frantically shook his head. His body writhed as if he were in pain, and his face twisted into a terrible grimace.
"No! No! Don't...don't do this. Stop!"
I gently nudged Tristan's shoulder to wake him, but he shook his head violently as he pleaded for the people in his dream to stop. Pressing harder into his body, I finally was able to wake him. He stared at me in terror for a few moments before he realized it was just me there with him.
"You were having a nightmare," I said as he took a deep breath. He nodded, and I gently stroked his forehead drenched with sweat. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"What was that?"
He shook his head as he sat up to get out of bed. "Nothing. Go back to sleep."
I reached out to touch his back, and he turned to face me. "Tristan, what were you dreaming about?"
His body sagged and he hung his head. "It wasn't a dream. I have nightmares. I have since the accident. That's the reason I never stay after you fall asleep. I thought I could do it tonight, but..."
I listened as his voice sadly trailed off, so wanting to help fight whatever demons he was dealing with. "Come back to bed. It'll be okay."
"Maybe it would be better if I say in the other bedroom like I always do. They can get pretty bad."
Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my cheek to his back. "I wish you wouldn't. I'm not going to be scared off by a few nightmares. If we're going to be married, I have to know about even this kind of thing."
He took another deep breath and quietly said, "Okay."
Easing back onto the bed, he pushed his hands through his damp hair and closed his eyes. I laid my head on his chest and curled up next to him, hoping my presence helped to calm him. As he usually did when we laid in bed together, he twisted my hair around his finger over and over until just before he feel asleep when he stopped and whispered, "I love you, Nina. No matter what, don't ever think I don't love you more than everything else in the world."
I woke up feeling happy and refreshed, and for the first time ever, I was still in his arms. I vaguely remembered him leaving during the night, and as I focused my eyes, I saw why. On the table near the window sat a glass vase containing an enormous bouquet of my favorite flowers, pink roses. They were a soft pink color and there had to be three or four dozen of them. I inhaled their soft scent and smiled at his thoughtfulness.
Tristan roused next to me, waking up much easier than I did. As soon as his eyes were open, he was wide awake, but there didn't seem to be any evidence of his nightmare now. "I remembered they're your favorite."
Propping myself up on my elbow, I wondered aloud, "Where did you get dozens of pink roses in the middle of the night?"
My question made him smile that gentle grin I loved to see. "I ordered them yesterday. They were delivered first thing this morning."
I shook my head in amazement. "Is there anything you don't think of?"
"Not if I can help it. I guess if you'd have said no my plan with the roses might have been for nothing, but a man should be prepared."
Nuzzling his neck, I said, "Did you think I would say no?"
"You can never be sure. If you had, I would have just had to work harder to convince you that you should say yes."
I climbed on top of him and straddled his hips. "I do love a man with a plan."
"Speaking of a plan, we need to decide on what we want to do about the wedding. For me, I'm all for eloping. I can see us getting married on some island and spending day after day in bed for weeks."
"Are you okay after last night?" I wasn't sure how to approach the nightmare he'd had.
Smiling, he casually brushed the topic away. "It's nothing. I'm told it's quite common for survivors to have them for a long time after an accident. I just hope I didn't frighten you. I had hoped I could go one night without them, especially since last night was..."
I pressed my finger to his lips and shook my head. "You didn't frighten me. I'd rather have you next to me, no matter what, than anywhere else." I didn't believe for a second that it was nothing, like he said, but I hoped when he felt he could talk about it that he'd know he could turn to me.
"Now about that plan."
Rolling my body, I slid up and down his quickly hardening cock. "Mmm...my sister would probably like to be at my wedding."
"Then we can fly her and anyone else to whatever island we choose. Jordan, your sister, her entire family. Whoever you want. But I say we don't wait."
He grabbed my ass and squeezed, exciting me. Sitting up straight on him, I slid the sheet down to reveal the swollen head of his cock. Running my fingers over the soft skin, I said, "Sounds like you're in a hurry. What's the rush? I already live here with you and sleep in your bed."
Licking his lips, he eased his hips off the bed, running his cock through my already excited pussy. "I want you to be my wife. No hurry. I just don't see any reason to wait."
I looked down into his gorgeous face and for the life of me I couldn't find any reason either. Running my fingertips along his hips, I grinned the smile of a woman about to have great sex. "Then I don't either. Name the date and I'll be there."
Tristan focused his gaze as if he were deciding on an appropriate date and said, "December 14. It's a Saturday. All we have to do is pick an island and tell everyone we want there. But first, I can think of something better to spend our time doing."
He pulled me down on top of him and kissed me long and deep as he slid into my body, filling me up. There were better things to do first.
I had the urge for a swim, so I headed to the indoor pool for some relaxing laps before I figured out how I was going to tell Jordan and Kim that in less than two months I wanted them to join me on some island Tristan had in mind for our wedding. I'd loved the pool since that first night he'd brought me here, but I'd only enjoyed it once or twice the entire time I'd lived in the house. A quick swim and then my plan was to have Jenson take me to Jordan's suite by late afternoon.