Fighting Fate Read Free Page A

was.
    ‘You’re letting it get to you,’ Dax said, glancing toward the window in Trystan’s private drawing room. ‘It’s been a week, forget about it.’
    ‘No,’ Trystan said, filling his Scotch tumbler again. ‘That’s what she wants. It snowballs, you know that. My father always taught us—‘
    ‘Disrespect is the greatest enemy,’ Dax muttered.
    Over the years he’d spent cleaning up Trystan’s messes he’d gotten used to how the brat could become fixated, especially when it came to getting his own way. But Dax owed the Stark’s a lot, he wasn’t blood, yet Maurice Stark treated him as kin. Making sure that Trystan didn’t get himself into too much trouble, obvious trouble at least, had become second nature to him, because the kid couldn’t keep his nose clean. He didn’t realise that all the attention he brought on the family affected the family business negatively. The last thing they needed was anyone in law enforcement looking too closely into how the family made their money.
    ‘Women don’t say no to me, do you know how long it’s been since one turned me down?’
    Dax didn’t want to be the one to point out that most of the women in Trystan’s life either wanted to use him for his family connections, or were paid to enjoy Trystan’s company, so of course they weren’t going to say no to him.
    ‘You should think about settling down,’ Dax said, though it was the furthest thing from his own mind and he was a year older than Trystan.
    Trystan snorted, and collapsed into the wingback chair opposite Dax’s. ‘You sound like Mauri, he was saying the same thing to me last night.’
    ‘It’s not a bad plan,’ Dax said. ‘You get yourself hitched then you’ve got a woman who’ll never say no to you, or disrespect you.’
    ‘Yeah right, a wife would probably be worse!’
    ‘Not if you get the right one,’ Dax said, allowing a smile to twist one corner of his lips. ‘And train her right.’
    Trystan swirled the liquid then took a long gulp. ‘The only woman I’ll marry is one who’ll let me keep partying.’
    ‘Who will let you screw around and sample the Stark family product? I’m sure there are plenty of women out there who would put up with that to get a taste of the high life that you can offer.’
    ‘I don’t want a cheap whore,’ Trystan objected. ‘She’d have to be faithful and obedient. I don’t want some whiny bitch who is on me all the time. She would have to keep her mouth shut while I treat her like shit, but serve me and put out when I’m on a come down.’
    He wasn’t asking too much, Dax tried not to shake his head or roll his eyes. ‘Your father would be able to hook you up.’
    ‘An arranged marriage? I don’t think so,’ Trystan said. ‘But it would get the old man off my back for a while if I knocked up some girl and left her at home to bring up the kids. Dad thinks that kids will straighten me out.’
    It was difficult to imagine Trystan with children; he didn’t have much wise, worldly wisdom to pass on. ‘Maybe it will, Maurice has a way of knowing how to solve a problem.’
    ‘Think I’m a problem?’ Trystan asked, Dax recognised the teasing and when Trystan gazed out of the window, Dax could tell that he was cooking up a scheme.
    ‘What are you planning?’
    ‘Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone,’ Trystan said, knocking back the rest of the liquor and standing up. ‘Wait here, I’m going to talk to Mauri, then we’re going to hit the clubs.’
    Great. Trystan left the room and Dax closed his eyes. He couldn’t actually be bothered with nightclubs tonight. He’d hoped to have a night to himself so he could pursue his own interests, but Trystan had a way of sensing when Dax was getting fed up with him, and that was usually when he pushed to have Dax spend more time in his company. The guy just couldn’t take the hint, and to say he held a grudge was a massive understatement. Making others unhappy for his own benefit was