AN: I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time review. Looking at the stats tool helps me appreciate those of you who review even more. A great big "Thanks" goes out to M, once again, for all of her help. Please be patient, I will be working hard on the next chapter. And the steamy version of this chapter is available on my blog. Check out my profile for the link.

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Once Rory had come back from putting their leftovers away Tristan asked, "Did you want some more wine?"

"Sure, why not?" Holding her glass out to Junior, she watched as he poured the last of the wine into her glass. "I can't believe how much fun I had tonight. I haven't been dancing in ages."

Sipping his wine, "Well, you looked great. I wasn't sure if you would like the club, but I'm glad that you did." Just thinking about Rory's sexy dance and the way she let the music carry her almost had him groaning out loud.

Getting lost in the hot stare Junior sent toward her, Rory knew she wasn't going to let him leave. Fortified by the quiet of the late night and the effects of drinking a bottle of wine, she slowly crawled toward him.

His eyes flared in anticipation. The pulse at the base of his throat thrummed steadily. He watched her move toward him, knowing that his control was wavering. It had been a battle all night, denying himself what he wanted most.

She moved over him seating herself in his lap, straddling his thighs, but ever the lady she arranged the silk skirt of her dress around them. It felt cool against them, like a gossamer blanket.

Never breaking eye contact she walked her fingers up the hills and valleys of his chest, drifting up to his nape. Pulling his head down to her. She set the pace. Her whole body tingled; her senses heightened and her nerve endings sizzled with restrained energy.

With the first touch of her lips to Junior's, she felt his body jerk slightly. The first touch was like a match striking dry wood, they spontaneously combusted. Her mouth found his. She was hungry for him. Breathless with want.

Rory may have instigated the kiss, but Tristan took control. His lips moved over hers, urging her to respond. Tracing the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue, she parted her lips and allowed him to penetrate her mouth, kissing him back with all of her pent-up ardor. She whimpered in pleasure, giving him what he asked for. Their tongues tangling, meeting each other stroke for stroke. His kisses swamped her senses. They were setting off a maelstrom of sensations in her body, causing her to move restlessly on top of him. She was burning up.

He made a satisfied sound deep in his throat and brought her closer, so that she was flush up against him, his arms molding her to him. Dragging his hand down her side to settle on her hips. Aligning her against his hardness helping to assuage the ache deep in her core.

The crocheted top abraded her sensitive nipples, causing them to pucker against his chest. Instead of feeling embarrassed, like she normally would have, she moaned and tried to get even closer to his warmth, his strength.

Their kisses took on a greater urgency. Her mind clouded even further as she felt him run a trail of moist kisses down the side of her neck. He paused to nip at racing pulse at the base of her throat. Her hands had fisted in his hair, as if to guide his where she wanted to be touched next. Raking his teeth across her collarbone caused a corresponding shiver to rake her body.

"Shh," he coaxed. "Nice and slow, that's what we're doing." He was surprised that he sounded unaffected, as if he had control left. His hand shook slightly as he slowly united the bow holding the top of her halter dress together.

Her eyes flew open as he lowered the top of her dress down, exposing her breasts to the cool air of her living room.

Looking into her startling blue eyes. "Beautiful. You are absolutely beautiful," he whispered reverently. With worshiping hands, he caressed her breasts.

Rory closed her eyes against all of the sensations bombarding her system. The feel of his slightly callused hands against her nipples, was incredible.

Unprepared for the feel of his mouth replacing his hands caused her to jerk then shudder in pleasure. Her hands tightened in his hair, holding him to her. His mouth set a in a steady rhythmic suction over her, sending pulsing waves of sensation through her system.

Just when she thought she would go crazy if he continued, he shifted his attention back to her mouth, slowly easing the pressure against her lips. Gathering her top he covered her bared flesh.

Letting out a shaky chuckle and running his hand though his mussed hair, "Wow. Umm…wow."

Red with embarrassment and a little unsure Rory asked, "Yeah, wow. Ummm…is everything okay. I mean…I. I wasn't upset with what we were doing. Did I do something wrong?"

Tristan looked at the confused expression on her face feeling unsure of what to say. Only knowing that he needed to reassure her. "No. Absolutely not. You did nothing wrong. I did. I know you aren't they type of women to do all of this on a first date, but I went a little crazy and we were at a point where I needed to stop." Wrapping his arms around her waist, bringing her into a warm embrace, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

Turning her face into his chest, breathing in his spicy scent she murmured something.

Not quite hearing what Rory said, he pushed her back a little, "What did you say?"

Looking directly into his eyes she took a moment to think thought what she was about to say.

The whole point of finding someone that filled her fantasy was to allow her to embrace a side of herself she stifled. Regardless of having just met Junior, there was something about him that just reassured her, telling her he was trustworthy. He was the one who pulled away first. All night long she had felt safe with him. And if what he said was any indication, this was not going to be a one-time deal. So, why shouldn't she take a chance and just live?

Done rationalizing her decision, Rory said, "I didn't want you to stop and I don't want you to go home tonight."

Upon hearing what she said, Tristan leaned his head back against the sofa. "Are you sure Rory? I don't want you to feel pressured."

Rory untangled herself from his lap and stood up, holding her hand out to him. Pulling him out of the living room and up the stairs.

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Tristan was rummaging in Rory's fridge, getting a late-night snack. They had barely touched their Chinese food earlier. They had been more interested in talking and getting to know each other. Having heard the shower turn on he knew Rory was in there. He had promised her that he would wait for her to finish before he left. Truth to be told, he didn't want to leave, but he knew his bad-boy persona called for it.

Damn. DAMN! He was in trouble.

He had never intended to sleep with Rory tonight. This whole charade was more difficult than he thought it would be. Changing his whole personality from straight and narrow Tristan DuGrey to wild badass Junior DuGrey was more than he bargained for. He had started this charade in order to get closer to Rory, but surprisingly he found a little part inside him that liked this no rule, if it feels good; do it, guy.

Grabbing a box of noodles, he stared digging in. Eating in the dark, he allowed himself to think about the night. He wasn't surprised that he enjoyed spending time with Rory. She was strong, intelligent and a skillful lover and he wasn't sure if he would ever get his fill of her. She was the balm to an ache he didn't know he possessed. She brightened his solitary existence. He sat there hoping for everything to work out.

Glancing down at her kitchen table he saw invitations and to do lists littering the surface.

Lorelai Hayden – Birthday Bash to end all Birthday Bashes!

Pick out invitations

Reserve location

Hire cater

Get birthday present

Talk to dad! – Don't let him put it off again!

"I see you got the lo mein."

Rory's sweet voice, drew his attention from the list on her table, turning he watched her walk barefoot into the kitchen. Her hair was damp and she was wearing a pink tank top with All About the Boot Judy written across the front and gray yoga pants. She had a soft, self-conscious smile on her face. He caught her scent, gardenias, his stomach clenched in recognition. He had to hold in the urge to bury his face in her fragrant neck. He really wanted to pull her back upstairs into bed and fall asleep wrapped around her.

Oh yeah. All signs pointed to trouble.

"I sure did. And it's great."

"I also see that you're pretty interested in my party invitations."

"Guilty again. I couldn't help myself. So, your mom's Lorelai of Lorelai's boutiques.

"You know my mom?"

"No." God, it seemed like every time he let his guard down, he stepped right into a mine. He couldn't tell her that his mother was on the MOMA's board with her mother or that he had met her mother once at her boutique in Tribeca with his mother. "I know of her."

"Oh, I get it. You're an avid reader of US Weekly. She's always featured in there."

She had a skeptical look on her face and Tristan couldn't fault her. Why would a bass player, retail clerk at Vinyl know anything about an upscale women's boutique. Crossing his arms over his chest, "I do have a mother and a sister-in-law. And you women are always talking about this designer or what this magazine said."

The suspicion in Rory's eyes immediately disappeared, only to be replaced by shame. "I'm sorry for snapping. I just wasn't expecting you to know of my mother. It never occurred to me that your mom or sister-in-law would talk about her."

"Don't worry about it. I don't think you even knew I had a sister-in-law until right now. There must be a lot to plan. I see on your list of things to do is, "pin down dad." Is he not helping?"

Rory turned to look at the stack of papers, blowing out a deep breath. She lifted her gaze to Juniors, eyes shimmering with a wealth of emotions, "He wants to, but he is so busy. So he is leaving a lot of it up to me and my best friend, Lane."

Tristan could tell there was so much more that went unsaid in that one statement. Looking at her tense posture, "Sounds like this is a sensitive subject."

"It is."

"I have a set of ears that are made for listening."

Keeping her back to him, as if to hid her emotions, Rory began to talk. "My mom and dad have the fairytale marriage that every girl wants. There has never been a question of whether or not he loves her. He would do anything at anytime for her. Normally, he would be all over me about planning this birthday celebration, coming at me with 50 thousand ideas. But lately, he has been working long hours. Leaving the planning and decision making up to me. It's just not normal. And I can hardly pin him down long enough to decide anything."

"Do you get along with you dad?"

Turning to look at him, "Of course. There is only one other person in this whole world that he love more, and that's my mom. He just sees me as his little girl and he wants to protect me."

Tristan didn't know if Rory knew how much she reviled about herself in that one statement.

Before, Tristan could even think of asking another question Rory continued, "Do you think we can talk about something else?"

Rory effectively shut that topic with those words. Tristan stood there thinking. Did she intend to keep in at arms-length? Did she view him as only a temporary lover? He was panicking. Acting as thought he wasn't worried about their time together he nodded his agreement. He had to play his card right, so she wouldn't tire of him before they got to know each other and she fell for the real Tristan DuGrey.

"So far you have taken me to a Latin club dancing. We have had sex and you know the details about my family. I guess it's finally my turn to ask the questions."

Tristan wasn't sure if twenty questions was a good idea. He was happy that Rory wanted to get to know him better, but he was also conscious of how hard it was to keep his story straight. Determining the best strategy was to give her the details she wanted, maybe, just maybe this would help him break down some of her reservations in viewing their time together as temporary.

"Go for it."

"What does your brother do?"

Damn, damn, damn….of course she asks that. "He is a stockbroker."

"Really? So, you have a brother who is a stockbroker, why did you decide to focus on music and working at Vinyl?"

"The hours are flexible. Jess in my best friend and it gives us a lot of time to practice. Also, I can pretty much come and go as I please."

"So...you're a loner?" she asked as she walked over to the sofa.

"Nah. I like being around people, especially you." He said leaning close with a mock leer.

She laughed, "Oh, shut up." After tucking her legs underneath her, she looked at him, a sweet smile gracing her face, "Thank you again for my dress. And for this wonderful night." Almost hesitantly, like she was unsure of his response, she asked her next questions, "Do you normally buy clothes for your dates?"

His eyes twinkled at her, "Nope. This was a first. I remembered that you were really hyped about the whole danger element, and man the chemistry between us was combustible at the store. I just wanted to give you part of your fantasy."

She reached up and cupped his face. Giving him a dazzling smile. "Thank you so much. You, this evening, was more than I ever hoped for. Dating hasn't really been a big priority for me, but taking the chance with you was worth all the nervousness."

He wondered if she would admit to the quiz if he questioned her. "What made you come introduce yourself to me?" While waiting for her to answer, part of him hoped that she would say that she saw part of the real Tristan, and just had to get to know him.

"I've been pretty good my whole life. I've tried to live up to the image of the perfect daughter that my dad has of me. Going to the right schools, volunteering for the right causes. Dating the kinds of guys that my father would approve of. But one day I had to admit to myself that it wasn't working. I have always wanted the kind of romance and connection that my parents share…. okay you have to promise me something."

"What?", he asked warily.

"That you won't laugh."

"Okay, I promise not to laugh."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "The real reason I approached you was because of a quiz I had taken. Since I had finally admitted what I wanted I took a quiz that told me the type of my ideal fantasy man."

"What quiz was this?'

"It was in FASHIONISTA, and it was called "Who's you hottie?"

"I'm your hottie?"

"Yes –"

Laughing before he could help himself, Rory covered his mouth, laughing herself. "You promised."

He kissed her palm, causing her to laugh harder.

"Now you have to tell me something that you would be embarrassed about if someone knew."

"Okay. Let's see."

"My favorite movies are those that are sophomoric humor, like Dodgeball or Zoolander."

With mock outraged Rory said, "That is not good enough. You better have something better to share with me."

Laughing, he thought for a minute. "Okay, do you remember all those Kodak commercials?"

Watching as her eyes twinkled at him, "Yesss."

He couldn't believe it; his face was at little warm in embarrassment, "They used to make me tear up."

She covered her mouth and laughed. "You did not!"

"Yep. I did. Does my revelation tarnish my bad-boy image?"

"Maybe, just a little." Smiling flirtatiously, "Did you want to go back upstairs to bed?"

"I better get going," he said and winced inside. He really did want to go back upstairs to bed with her. But he knew the 'bad boy' wouldn't do that.

"All right."

She got up from the sofa. Following her to the front door, his eyes drawn to the unintentionally sexy way she walked, breathing in the scent he was starting to associate with her.

He grabbed his keys and wallet off her entry table, feeling her watch him with those heady blue eyes. He turned toward her moving so she could open the door, but before she did more than brush by him, he grabbed her. Pulling her against him. He found her mouth, soft and inviting.

Rory sighed, melting against him. Telling him with her body that she didn't want him to leave.

Tristan let out an involuntary groan. Wanting nothing more than to strip her out of her clothes and carry her back upstairs. Through the haze he remembered why he was leaving. It was all part of his long-term plan. Realizing that if he didn't let her go know, he never would be able to. His raging hormones would take over and he would break an important rule in the fight to win Rory's heart.

Some rules were made to be broken. But he had to remember that this was not one of them. He had this one chance with her and he wasn't going to ruin it for momentary satisfaction. Granted it was stellar satisfaction…..no he wasn't breaking his self-imposed rule.

He pulled away from the drugging kiss, trying not to notice the excitement and hunger on her face. He took a much-needed step back from her. His voice was hoarse, "I'm outta here, babe."

She licked her lip, tasting him once last time, and gracefully accepted his decision and opened the door for him to leave.

One glance into her hot hungry eyes almost broke his resolve. "Bye, Babe," he said as he high-tailed it out of her house, and away from the temptation known as Rory Hayden.

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Please review. I can't really tell if that many people are enjoying this story or not. Any feedback is helpful. - J