Page 144 of Reckless Obsession

“I know.”

“And I’m ten years older than you.” His jaw tightens. “I’ve known you since you were fourteen.”

“I’m not fourteen anymore.”

“I know that.” His voice is immediate, firm. “That isn’t what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

He reaches for my hand but doesn’t quite take it, like he’s asking permission even now.

“I mean people will make it into something ugly,” he says. “They’ll say I took advantage. They’ll say I watched you grow up and waited for an opportunity. They won’t know us. They won’t know what happened between us, or who we are now. They’ll just see what they want to see.”

The words sting because he isn’t wrong.

“And Pavel?” I ask.

His expression answers before he does.

“Your father will think I crossed a line,” Tristan says carefully. “Anton probably will too. My family… I don’t know how they’ll react. And if your father decides he can’t trust me anymore, I lose my place with your family and my family.”

The silence that follows is heavier than the one before. For once, I don’t make a joke right away because, beneath it all, I understand what he’s saying. This isn’t just about whether he wants me. It’s about the lives we have outside these walls. The family name, the obligations, the people who will have opinions before they ever hear the truth. Still, something hard presses beneath my ribs.

“So you’re saying this can’t happen.”

“I’m saying it can’t happen carelessly.”

I study him.

“Okay,” I say finally.

Tristan’s brows pull together. “Okay?”

“We keep it between us,” I say after a moment. “We go exclusive, but we do everything in secret.”

Tristan looks at me. “Exclusive?”

I nod. “Yeah. You don’t fuck anyone else. I don’t fuck anyone else. We belong to each other. Quietly. No one else has to know until we’re ready… if we’re ever ready.”

He studies me for a beat, then raises a brow.

Maksim.”

“What?”

“I know what going exclusive means.”

I stare at him.

Then I narrow my eyes. “You let me explain the whole thing.”

“You looked passionate about it.”

“So,” I say with an eye roll, trying to sound less nervous than I am, “are you up for it?”

His expression turns serious again. He reaches up and tucks a loose strand of hair away from my face.

“I should be asking you that.”