STORY EXCERPT

He pushed open the door and stepped inside. His teeth snapped together when most of the people stopped and stared. He was used to it for the most part, but it still irritated him, especially at that moment. He had to bite down hard on his tongue to prevent himself from growling.

Tristan knew he looked different. He was close to six-five. He worked out a lot because of being in the military, so he had a lot of muscle, but the tattoos on his arms stood out in the small-town atmosphere he found himself in.

His alertness towards details also caught the attention of some, but being a Seal for close to twenty years, it was now ingrained in him to think danger was around every corner.

He planned to rest in the house his aunt left him after she died and then decided to either fix it up or sell it. There was no rush, so he could take his time for once. In fact, time was all he had at the moment. He had no job, didn’t know where to set down roots, had no family, and had one friend in the vicinity.

“Go ahead and find a seat,” one of the waitresses called out.

He looked around and found a couple leaving a booth in the back and snatched it up, pushing the dirty dishes to the side.

The menu was laminated, one page, front and back. He was glad to see he could get breakfast at any time of the day there because that was what he was craving.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention. His heart tripped in his chest when he caught sight of the pretty young woman walking in. She was of medium height, with long brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, and a smile that would have brightened his day if he hadn’t been so damn tired and in so much pain.

“Hey, Tara, help out,” the waitress called to the new women.

“Where are the aprons?”

“Office.”

Not a minute went by when the woman named Tara came back out, tying an apron around her waist, hiding the nice curves that her dress accentuated. She grabbed a coffee pot and cups and walked around the room, filing up cups or given them out.

“Hey there, would you like some coffee?” she asked when she came around to his booth.

“Yeah,” he said and stared at her as she poured.

“Let me get those dishes out of your way,” she said and stacked and picked them up. “I’ll be right back to take your order.”

“If you could hurry it up, I don’t have all day.” Hell, he didn’t know how much time he had before he face-planted. He’d never been this tired in his life except for Hells Week. That and the pain made his disposition more feral than human.

She froze for a moment but kept the smile on her face. “Absolutely. I’ll be right back.”

“Hey, Tara,” a guy across the restaurant called out. “I need some coffee over here, doll.”

“Knock it off, Remy,” the other waitress said as she passed the table where Remy and two other men sat. It would have been fun to watch the drama if he hadn’t been so fucking hungry and if the pain in his shoulder from his gunshot wound hadn’t ached like a sore tooth.

Between his exhaustion, hunger, and pain, the fact he hadn’t had a good fuck in months, and now his anger, he was not fit to be around other humans and should have just gone to the house.

“Do you know what you’d like?” Tara asked when she returned.

“Four eggs, over-easy, ham, hash browns, pancakes, and toast.”

 “Anything else?”

“No,” he growled.

She rolled her eyes, turned, and walked away. A growl rumbled in his chest. It was one of his pet-peeves, having a sub roll their eyes, and if she were his, she’d be feeling the flat of his hand on her nicely rounded ass right then.

He closed his eyes. Damn, it had been a bad idea to come into the diner. He just needed to last a few more minutes, and then he’d be in bed.

He watched her walk around and take care of everyone that needed it. Now that he took notice, she was one of just two waitresses in the full diner. There was no way the first woman would have been able to take care of every table by herself. No wonder she called in reinforcements.

Quicker than he thought possible, a huge plate was set before him and then another one with the pancakes, followed by a small one with toast.

He glanced up at Tara and narrowed his eyes on the smile he knew she was forcing.

“Will there be anything else?” she asked and topped off his coffee.

“No,” he barked.

“Would you like some sugar for your coffee?”

“I’d ask for it if I wanted it,” he growled.

“Hey, it’s worth a try. It might sweeten your sour disposition.”

His mouth dropped open and then snapped shut. What the hell. This woman probably had never been out of the state and had the world given to her on a platter. “If you lived in the real world, you wouldn’t be so damn happy.”

“Real world?”

“Yeah, where bad things happen to people.”

He watched a flash of gut-wrenching black despair darken her eyes, and her face paled before she inhaled and pasted the smile back on.

“If you need anything else, call out.” She turned and walked to the next table.

If it weren’t for the fact she hadn’t gotten all her color back, he would have thought he’d been seeing things, but now he knew that woman had been touched by tragedy in some way and could have kicked himself.

He pulled his gaze from her and started in on his food. The faster he got done, the faster he could leave. When he finished, he raised his hand for the check.

The other waitress came to his table. “What did you say to her?”

“Who?”

“My sister.”

“The other waitress?”

“Yes.”

“She got snippy, and I told her about how real life sucks.”

The waitress closed her eyes. When she opened them, his stomach twisted at the stark grief she didn’t try to hide. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Tara has lived through more tragedy than anyone else I know, so if I were you, I’d watch what you say from now on.”

“What happened to her?” he asked and then could have kicked himself.

“That’s her story to tell,” she said and slapped the check down on the table and walked away.

ADULT EXCERPT

When her gaze landed on his hard, thick cock, she swallowed. She’d been with a few men in her life but never one this big, and it had been over two years since the last time she had sex.

“I’ll go slow.”

Her eyes flew to his. How did he always know what she was thinking? It was disconcerting, at the same time, it let her relax. It was freeing and helped to stabilize her emotions. She didn’t have to verbalize everything because he read her so well.

He laid down beside her and cupped her cheek. His eyes scanned her features before he took her mouth in a kiss so carnal and thorough it took her ability to reason.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to get closer when he tilted his head to gain deeper access and take their kiss to another level.

A large, hot hand engulfed her breast, making the breath she held in her lungs stutter and then whoosh out of her. She moaned and twisted, trying to get closer and grab more of the rapture he was giving her.

He lifted his head to loom over her, making her feel extremely small. A smile curved his lips before he ripped the panties from her hips, making her gasp.

“Hey! I liked those,” she complained without any heat.

He smirked. “I’ll buy you new ones. Better yet, I’ll just forbid you to wear them.”

She sputtered. “What! I can’t go around without panties.”

“You can, and you will. I also prefer you in skirts.”

She snorted. “Are you one of those cavemen that still walk around?”

“I’m worse. I’m one of those dominant men that demand full obedience, and you’ll give it to me, by God.”

She grinned. “Probably. When I want to.”

Tara caught the heat and flash of excitement in his eyes. Good. She wanted to keep him off guard. It would make whatever time they had together more interesting.

Her breath caught when he slid a hand down over her stomach and tucked it between her legs.

“You’re fucking hot and juicy, pet. Do you need me to take care of this ache for you?”

She bit her lip and nodded. She needed that more than anything but didn’t want to beg.

A gasp tore from her mouth and she arched off the bed when a large blunt-tipped finger thrust into her. The invasion was so unexpected it took over any other thoughts she’d had, and her whole focus was on the feeling of a part of him inside of her.

“That’s a girl,” he crooned as he moved his finger in and out of her a few times, and then he replaced it with two, stretching her in the best way possible. “Jesus, woman, you’re fucking tight.”

She pulled on his hand to get him to go faster and mewed in disappointment when he pulled out of her.

“Fuck, baby, I need a taste of you.”

Before she processed what, he said, he had her legs spread wide and was lying between them with his mouth attached to her pussy, licking and sucking and driving her mad.

She thrashed around on the mattress, begging to come and to be able to touch him, but he ignored her and continued to enjoy the feast before him.

“God, please, Tristan.”

He finally lifted his head. “My poor baby’s becoming desperate, isn’t she?”

She didn’t care if she sounded pathetic. “Yes,” she groaned.

He chuckled, slid up the mattress, and reached in his nightstand, the only other furniture in the small room, for a condom. He ripped it open with his teeth and then rolled it on before he tucked her under him, keeping most of his weight on his elbows.

“Spread your legs wider and wrap them around my waist, pet.”

She did as he asked and immediately felt more exposed and open for his invasion, and she felt the anxiety start to take over. Her hands automatically went to his waist to hold him off.

He snorted and grabbed each hand and pulled them over her head. “Do you want me to stop?”

“I… No, it’s just…”

“If you want me to stop, you have to say so. You’ve got to know that once you’re mine, Fully mine, I’m going to push your limits unless you use your safe word.”

“I don’t want you to stop, but I’m apprehensive.”

He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I know, pet, you’ll have to trust that I won’t tear into you and hurt you. Trust is the key to this relationship. Can you give me a bit right now? Because all I want to do is make you feel good.”

She stared up and saw the gentleness and consideration he showed and relaxed. “Yes.” She planted her hands over her head and relaxed.

“You are such a good girl.”

Normally, she would have had the temptation to smack a guy that said that but not Tristan. With him, she wanted to be his good girl and take the dominance that she knew was at the core of him.

She felt his cock nudge against her opening and then slowly push in.

“Open your eyes, pet. Let me see you.”

Her eyes popped open to stare up at him. The gentleness of his expression brought tears to her eyes.

“That’s right. I’m not going to hurt you.” He pushed another few inches into her, moving in slow, gentle glides until he bottomed out. He swept the hair off her cheek with one hand. “You took all of me, just like I knew you could. How does it feel?”

“Humungous,” she said, making him laugh. She couldn’t believe he’d actually fit inside of her. What also shocked her was the realization he made her feel whole. Something she’d never felt before.

“But no pain?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Alright. Let the fun begin.” He started slowly thrusting in and out, occasionally placing a kiss on her lips or cupping her breast to torment her nipple.

It could have been five minutes or an hour before she was begging him.

“Please, I need…”

“I know what you need, pet, and I’ll give it to you… when I’m ready.”

He smirked when she growled at him, but he also picked up his pace. She felt him tense as he held back his own satisfaction. She didn’t beg. She wiggled as much as she could, pinned to the mattress with his body.

“Alright, come for me.”

A swell of some of the most intense sensations rushed through her. She felt her pussy contract around his cock as he pounded into her.

“That’s it, pet. Give me a bit more.”