Tristan lifted his head and looked at her before his mouth came crashing down on hers.
Hands were everywhere, exploring. Tongues were connecting, retreating and reconnecting. Lips were in a battle of wills against one another but working soulfully together to recreate the magic that had thundered their relationship so long ago.
Tristan lifted Serenity’s hands and placed them on either side of her head, completely taking control of the kiss, his mouth inhaling hers and possessing hers. Serenity couldn’t stop shaking. Couldn’t stop crying. Couldn’t stop whispering his name between his passionate kisses. Oh my God, she had wanted this. She had wanted this so much, for so long… So many years… So much wasted time, so many lonely nights… Years of pent up yearning, hoping, wishing, praying… Desire, lust, love, ecstasy…. They were all coming alive and multiplying by thousands as his lips kissed hers, as his mouth explored her face, neck, and shoulders, as his trembling hands unbuttoned the top three bottoms on her shirt and skimmed the soft skin between her breasts.
Her hands touched his face, his hair, his full lips…. She helplessly grabbed the collar of his jacket with both hands. “Tristan… Tristan…”
“Baby, baby,” he kept insatiably whispering. “Baby…”
Serenity’s hands circled around his back and hugged him tight, pulling him harder against her. Close was still not close enough. She needed more. Her nails dug in his jacket, annoyed by his covered flesh. She couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to press herself inside of him and disappear. Soak him up. Brand him and be rebranded by him. She wanted to feel his skin. The smell of his leather jacket mixed with the unmistakably masculine scent of his cologne was driving her mad. His taste was ruling her every emotion; his magical hands were reminding her of why she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. She placed her nose against his neck and deeply inhaled him like an animal marking its prey.
“Tristan,” she deliriously moaned.
“Serenity, I love you. I love you Serenity. I love you. Love you….”
Serenity threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with wild abandon.
“I love you so much Serenity,” he huskily whispered between kisses. “I fuckin love you so much.”
Serenity ran her hands over his broad chest and growled under her breath. There were new muscles formed there. New muscles she hadn’t felt before. She wanted to see them. She wanted to run her nails across them, taste them with her tongue….
Serenity drug her hands lower, stopping just above his belt buckle, before sneakily tracking them down to his pulsating dick. She gasped with delight as her hands reacquainted themselves with the length, width, and girth of him. She threw her head back and loudly cried out as his hand touched her between the legs and squeezed her pussy through her silk panties, soaking up some of the moisture gathered there. Her nipples ached so much she wanted to scream. They were dying for his lips, his fingers, his breath…
“Tristan please,” she panted. “Please.”
Tristan lifted her head and looked down into her closed eyes. “It’s still the same between us, isn’t it baby? Nothing has changed, has it?”
Serenity incoherently murmured, her head falling back and forth against the wall like an addict on a self-induced high as his fingers played with her clit through her panties.
“You’re mine,” he possessively growled in her ear, his hot breath caressing every nerve ending there. “You’re still mine and you will always be mine. And he knows it. I’m yours. And I always be yours.”
In that moment, something inside Serenity snapped. Just like at the church nine months before, it all came whirring back to her like a tornado. She was married. To Nyle. And she was in his house, a home they lovingly shared, making love to another man. A man who had hurt her, used her, cheated on her, inexcusably disrespected her, and had thrown her away like a useless penny with a hole in it. Had she lost her damn mind? Nyle was everything to her; had been everything to her. What the hell was she doing?
Serenity’s hands stilled against his chest. “Tristan.”
Tristan’s hands momentarily left the aching, drenching spot between her legs and drifted up to her shirt to unbutton the rest of the buttons. “You’re so beautiful baby. You’re still so achingly beautiful.”
Serenity breathlessly watched as Tristan’s eyes lit up with intense desire as he eyed the candy apple red lace bra beneath her shirt. His eyes homed in on her large breasts beneath the material and his hand lightly skimmed across it. Serenity’s breath hitched in her throat. It was hard to breathe. Hard to think.
“Tristan, no. No. I can’t.”
“Fuck, I’m dying to undress you. To get these in my mouth. To kiss, lick, and tongue-kiss your pussy...”
Serenity almost came apart at his words but remained strong. She pushed hard against his chest, but he wasn’t budging. “No,” she forcibly said. “No!”
Gathering up all the strength she could muster, Serenity veered up against Tristan and pushed him away hard, staring at him with visceral anger, her teeth showing, her body trembling this time not with lust but with rage.
Tristan stumbled backwards against the staircase, catching himself before he fell over. He stood upright and looked at her amazed, confused and alarmed by the sudden change in her demeanor. She understood it. She was as confused by it as he was. But not because she’d stopped it; because she’d let it start in the first place.
He’d always had that effect on her. He had always been her weakness. From the time they met, she was distracted by his beauty, his charisma, his wild, wicked words, his touch, his kisses, and so much more. Sometimes she was so captivated by him she couldn’t see straight. She overlooked so much because she was so wildly attracted to him and loved him so much. All it took was one touch, one look, one kiss from him and she lost all common sense. But not this time. Not. This. Time. She’d momentarily lost her mind for a minute, but her head was all clear now.
Tristan helplessly stared at her and reached for her. “Serenity- “
Serenity held her hand up to him and gave a sharp shake of her head. Immobilizing him with a hard, cold stare she pushed away from the wall and walked to the kitchen. Undeterred, Tristan eventually followed her, looking around the large, contemporary-style home with a mixture of admiration and envy.
“Nice house,” he snidely remarked with a downward smirk. “The house that Knight and Nyle built.”
Serenity steeled at his sarcasm but remained focused and direct. She leaned against the island and re-buttoned her shirt before crossing her arms and critically looking at him. “What are you doing here Tristan?”
Tristan regretfully gazed at her buttoned-up shirt; then looked up into her eyes. “Ricky told me where you lived,” he softly said. Serenity’s eyes flinched with annoyance and he defeatedly held his hands up. “I’ve been badgering him for months to tell me. Don’t be mad at him.”
Serenity silently looked at him, seething.
“I just wanted to see you,” he emotionally whispered, choking back tears. “I needed to see you. To touch you.”
Serenity crossed her arms tight to her chest and expelled a long, loud breath, shaking her head.
Tristan stepped towards her. “Baby please- “
“Don’t call me that,” she crossly said, looking at him. “You don’t get to call me that anymore. You lost that privilege seven years ago.”
Tristan stopped and sadly looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shut up!” she screamed at him.
Tristan’s head jerked up in surprise at her outburst. He blanched at the expression in Serenity’s eyes, so cold, harsh, and full of rage. Her hands clenched at her sides as tears formed in her eyes. Suddenly, she charged at him fists raised, beating, slapping, and punching him on the face and chest, spewing curse words and yelling incoherently at him through her tears. Tristan stood there and took it with no hesitation. He didn’t cover his f
ace or try to block himself from her wild hits of fury. Finally, when she was spent and couldn’t lift her arms to do anymore, she collapsed against him in loud, hysterical sobs.
Tristan put his arms around her and timidly held her until she calmed down. Serenity stayed in his comforting arms for what felt like hours before she finally pushed him away again and fled to the other side of the room, creating a safe distance between them.
She stood on the other side of the long, granite island and paced back and forth. “You don’t get to do this,” she began in a jarring tone. “You don’t get to come back into my life and turn it upside down whenever you want. You don’t get to decide when you can stay and when you can go. You don’t get to come back into my life now that I’ve moved on and try to ruin everything Nyle and I have built. You’re not going to destroy my marriage! You’re not going to destroy my life! Never again!”
“Serenity, I love you,” Tristan bemoaned with outstretched hands. “I love you so fuckin’ much Serenity.”
“Get the fuck out of my house Tristan. Now. Leave.”
“If you only knew how much I’ve missed you all these years,” he painfully insisted as he walked to the island, placing his fists on top of it as he continued to declare his feelings. “If you only knew how hard it was to stay away. My decision to leave was not made lightly.”
“And yet you still did it.”
“Baby, I’m sorry, I am. I am so very, very sorry. I know you don’t want to hear that and it’s long overdue but I am.”
“You hurt me.”
“Baby if you would just let me explain- “
“No,” she emphatically rebuffed him with a wild shake of her head. “No. I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I just want you to get the fuck out.”
“Serenity, I can’t live without you baby, I can’t. These last few months have been unbearably painful for me. So painful I can’t even breathe. It’s hard to think; to sleep. I can’t sleep for thinking about you. Every song I try to write the only words I can form are your name. The sound of your voice fills my ears every single moment of every day. You haunt my dreams. Thinking about the two of you together… Thinking of you and him together… Him doing all the things to you I used to… It makes me crazy…” He stopped talking and viciously punched his fists together.
Serenity was unfazed and untouched. “Now you know how I felt all those nights when I couldn’t sleep, and you were out doing God knows what.”
“Serenity you don’t love him,” he adamantly said, shaking his head. “You don’t. I know you don’t. You know you don’t love him. You love me. You only married him to get back at me, didn’t you?”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night Tristan.”
“Serenity, if only I could take the last seven years back- “
“But you know what Tristan? You can’t. You can’t take them back. I can’t get the year I wasted with you back. The sad thing is, it took you seven years to realize you can’t live without me. But you’ve always had a delay with all things emotional, haven’t you? It took you a whole year before you said you loved me. And it took zero time for you to stick your dick in every available dirty pussy that came along.”
“I made mistakes. I know I did.”
“You made several mistakes Tristan. Unforgiveable mistakes.”
“And I’m sorry for all of them. I swear to God I am Serenity. I never meant to hurt you; I never wanted to hurt you.”
“What did you think was going to happen here? Huh? After seven years? What did you think was going to happen? What did you think coming back here was going to prove? What? You thought I’d just fall into your arms like everything was okay?”
His eyes unflinchingly held hers. “You did.”
Serenity was rendered speechless by the reality of that admission. She closed her eyes and despairingly sighed. “That was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened. Call it a temporary lapse of sanity.”
“Baby, I know you still feel something for me. I know you do.”
“No. I love Nyle. Nyle is my husband. Nyle is my best friend. Nyle was there for me. Nyle has been there for me. He’s who I want.”
“That sounds very rehearsed.”
Serenity was rendered speechless, again. Caught. She recovered quickly. “I’m married to Nyle now, Tristan. He’s my husband.”
“But he’s not the one you love. Is he?”
“You’re only here because I married Nyle. That’s the only reason you came back. I’m sure your mother must’ve told you.”
“No, she didn’t. She didn’t tell me anything, I swear.”
“Well, you must’ve known something. She could never get you to come back before.”
“I just felt I should. I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right and it turns out I was right.”
Serenity’s expressive brown eyes scrutinized him as she tilted her head at him. “Give me a fucking break Tristan. I’m sure someone told you something. If it wasn’t Katherine, who was it?”
“Baby, I’m telling you, my mother didn’t say a word about anything. I’m sure she wanted to but she knew how much that would hurt me, so she didn’t. She never told me about you and Nyle. And neither did Ricky. I’ve been talking to him for seven years and he never told me you and Nyle were together. I didn’t know about the two of you until...” Tristan stopped and closed his eyes at his words, realizing what he’d just admitted and instantly regretting it.
Serenity’s eyes widened with disbelief then hurt as she digested the impact of his words. “What?”
Tristan hesitantly looked up at her and held his hands up to explain but she cut him off.
“You’ve been talking to Ricky the entire seven years and you never thought for one second to contact me? The woman you claim to love so much? Not once? You fucking asshole!”
She charged towards him, hitting, shoving, and pushing on him again. Tristan held her at bay this time and avoided her heavy hands. He held her by her wrists and seriously looked at her. “Serenity, don’t be angry with him. I told him not to tell you. I had my reasons. I can explain everything if you just give me a chance.”
“Get your fucking hands off me!
“Serenity, if you’d had a chance to read the letters they would’ve told you why- “
“Letters? What letters?”
“The letters I wrote you.”
“Wait a minute. What letters are you talking about?”
“I brought them to the church. I gave them to Ricky to give them to you but Nyle said he tossed them, and- “
Serenity yanked away from him and held her hands up, cutting him off. “Wait, wait, wait, wait! When the hell did you see Nyle?”
Tristan fiddled with the zippers on his jacket and avoided her eyes. “Six months ago.”
“He never told me that.”
“Of course he didn’t.”
Serenity’s face was mired with confusion. “Why did you and Nyle meet?”
Tristan shifted back and forth on his feet. “I called him. I told him I needed to see him and talk to him. I told him I wanted to see you so I could explain everything to you, and he refused to let me see you. I was going to leave it alone. God knows I tried to leave it alone. But I couldn’t.”
He looked at her, his eyes heavy and weary with remorse. “Serenity, I swear I didn’t come back into your life to ruin it or to mess things up- “
“But that’s exactly what you’re doing Tristan. Why couldn’t you just leave it the fuck alone? Why couldn’t you leave me alone? You’ve been doing it for the past nine months. Why are you back now? Why now?”
“Because I can’t live without you anymore baby. I’ve tried but I can’t. I can’t let you go.”
Serenity looked at him for a minute then abruptly turned her back on him, walking back to the other side of the room. “You need to leave now Tristan. This has gone on long enough.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“Yes I heard you but
none of what you said means a damn thing to me right now. None of it. Not. One. Word.”
“I promise if you’d read the letters, you’d feel differently baby. I’m telling you if you’d just read the letters- “
“I don’t give a fuck about some non-existent letters!”
Tristan walked towards her. “I did write you Serenity! I wrote you every day- “
“Well, I hope you cleared your conscience because I don’t care.” She unemotionally looked at him and carelessly shrugged. “I don’t care. I’ve moved on. I’m happy now.”
“With Nyle.”
“Yes,” she emphasized, staring him directly in the eye. “With. Nyle.”
Mine All Mine : Book One Page 10