by Kate Hunt
TITUS
Big Hot Alphas Book 2
Kate Hunt
Copyright © 2020 by Kate Hunt
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All rights reserved.
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contents
1. Madison
2. Titus
3. Madison
4. Titus
5. Madison
6. Titus
7. Epilogue – Madison
About the Author
Chapter One
Madison
“Top up your coffee, Joe?”
Joe smiles up at me from his booth. “Keep it comin’, darling.”
The two of us share a warm laugh. It’s our usual exchange, one we’ve had probably a million times by now. Joe is here at the café multiple times a week, always sitting in the same booth, always with a sketchbook in front of him. He’s such a sweet old guy—I think of him as my grandfather, in a way. Sometimes, on my break, I’ll slide into the seat across from him and keep him company for a while.
As I top up his cup, I glance down at the sketchbook open in front of him and smile when I see the drawing he’s doing of the café.
“When are you going to let me hang up one of your sketches, Joe?”
He snorts. “You really want my scribbles hanging up on these lovely walls?”
“Are you kidding? They’re so good, Joe. One of your drawings would be perfect right over there.” I gesture toward an empty space on the wall by the front door.
“I don’t know about that,” he says. “But you’re sweet to suggest it.”
“I mean it, Joe.”
The front door to the café opens and I reflexively glance up to welcome whoever’s just walked in. When I look up, I see a man—and when I say a man, I mean a man. Not only is he tall, but he’s a solid wall of muscle. He’s handsome as hell, too. I’m temporarily at a loss for words as my eyes take him in.
I blink, still absorbing his huge size. He looks like he could crush a coffee cup like he’s crumpling up a piece of paper. Or rip the booths out of this café with so much as a grunt. Or…
“Take a seat anywhere,” I call out, yanking myself out of my stupor. “Menus are on the table.”
My voice catches the man’s attention. When his eyes roam over to me, I can physically feel it. I can sense his instant desire. Can sense his instant possessiveness.
I bristle at the feeling.
And yet…a shimmer of something else runs through me, too.
Flustered, I turn on my heels and retreat behind the counter. There’s plenty there to keep myself preoccupied with. But I can’t help it as my eyes drift back over to the man. He’s got one arm resting on the back of his booth and his relaxed gaze is angled out the window. A menu sits closed in front of him.
Sure didn’t take him long to decide what he wants.
“Everything alright, Madison?”
My manager’s voice breaks my trance. I nod. “Yeah. All good.” I grab a couple hot dishes from the window and bring them over to the table that ordered them. Then I walk over to his table. As I approach, he turns to look at me, and sweat beads on the back of my neck.
“Evening,” I say. “Ready to order?”
He keeps his eyes on me. “I’ll have the burger. Medium rare. Side of fries.”
“Anything to drink?”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just keeps looking at me like he wants to drink me up.
“No,” he finally says. “I’m good. Thanks.”
I nod and walk away from his table, my mouth dry and my heart pounding like mad in my chest. No man has ever had an effect on me like this before. No man has ever made me feel so simultaneously annoyed and turned on. Who does he think he is, staring at me like that? He may be super attractive, but that doesn’t mean he can just stare.
A few minutes later, I’ve just finished wiping down a table when I feel a vibration in my apron pocket.
I sneak a glance at my phone and see that it’s a text from my best friend, Bailey, telling me she’s passing through town next week and wants to see me.
God, how badly I wish she was here right now.
Bailey used to work at the café. We both started working here the same week and quickly became best friends. Then, a few years ago, she met the man of her dreams, and I was both genuinely thrilled for her and a little broken-hearted when she moved away to start her new life with him.
Before she left, we vowed to remain best friends and see each other as much as we could, even if that meant video chats on our phones. I’ll never forget the day she called me to tell me she was pregnant, or the first photo she texted me of her twin girls after they were born. Personally, I don’t plan on ever having kids—I don’t even want to get married—but it still makes my heart fill with love whenever I see Bailey with her family.
I quickly text Bailey back, telling her I’m super excited to see her, and hit send just as our chef calls out that an order’s up. I drop my phone back into my apron pocket and hasten over to the window to grab Titus’s order. My heart begins hammering in my chest as I approach his table again.
“Burger, medium rare,” I say, setting the plate down in front of him. “Can I get you anything else?”
He smiles up at me. “You can tell me your name, honey.”
That conflicted feeling flares up inside me again. The way those gorgeous eyes of his are looking at me…it’s like he’s already laid his claim on me. Like I don’t even have a say in the matter.
“Madison,” I tell him reticently.
“Pretty,” he says. “Mine’s Titus.”
Yeah, of course he would have a name like that.
“Well, enjoy your burger, Titus,” I say, giving him a tight smile. I start to turn away, but he begins to speak again.
“What is there to do around here?” he asks.
I try to ignore his piercing gaze, but it’s unavoidable. “There’s not a whole lot,” I say, shrugging. “A movie theater. A bowling alley. The lake.”
He nods. “The lake. Okay. We’ll go there when your shift ends.”
Is he…telling me we’re going on a date?
In my peripheral vision, I notice Joe getting up out of his booth with his art supplies in hand. Grateful for the distraction, I turn to smile at him.
“See you tomorrow, Joe?” I say.
“Of course. Goodnight, hon,” he says, lightly touching my shoulder as he heads toward the front door.
Just as he’s about to walk out of the café, though, his sketchbook and pens slip out of his grasp and go crashing to the floor. I instantly rush over to help him pick everything up.
“Such a clumsy old man, huh?” jokes Joe, shaking his head. “Sorry to cause a ruckus.”
“Don’t worry about it, Joe,” I say. I snatch up another few pens and look around to see if any more rolled away.
And that’s when I realize that Titus has come over to help, too. He’s crouched down right next to me, carefully picking up some loose pages that flew out of Joe’s sketchbook.
Huh. Okay. Maybe he’s a different kind of guy than I thought he was.
“Thanks for your help, dear,” sa
ys Joe as we stand up and I give him what I’ve picked up. He looks up at Titus. “Thank you, too, son. It’s kind of you.”
“Happy to help,” says Titus. “You got everything?”
“Sure do,” says Joe.
Titus steps forward to open the café door for Joe, a gesture that once again gives me pause. After Joe leaves, Titus’s gaze moves back to me, and when our eyes meet, I get that feeling again—a shimmer of possessiveness that does something funny to my stomach.
“Thanks for helping,” I say.
He nods, then walks over and slides back into his booth.
I go back to my usual tasks, trying to ignore the feelings swelling in my chest. Trying to ignore the persistent desire to look over at Titus. I shouldn’t like him. Right? It was so cocky of him to assume that I’d be interested in going somewhere with him after my shift.
But he was also so sweet with Joe…
Well, either way, it’s not like I can completely ignore him. He is sitting at one of my booths.
When I see that he’s finished up his meal, I grab a pair of tongs and take a cinnamon roll out from beneath the glass cloche on the counter. As I carry the dessert over to him on a plate, his smile elicits a little burst inside my chest.
“On the house,” I say, setting down the plate. “For helping Joe.”
“Not necessary,” he says. “But thanks.”
He waits until I’ve grabbed his empty dinner plate to speak again.
“Hey,” he says. “I think I might’ve come off the wrong way before. I’m, uh…I’m out of practice, you could say.”
I look at him, waiting for him to go on.
“What I should have said was…would you like to take a walk with me when your shift’s over, Madison?”
My pulse flutters. Tingles burst over my skin.
“I don’t get off for another couple hours,” I warn him.
He shrugs and smiles.
Oh, God, that smile kills me.
“Got nowhere else to be,” he says.
Chapter Two
Titus
Madison might not know it yet, but her fate was sealed the moment I laid my eyes on her.
Those intoxicating curves of hers are destined to be mine.
Okay. Fine. Maybe I let my desire get the best of me when I first came in. I know I shouldn’t have demanded that she go out with me like that. But she’s so damn beautiful that it was like those were the only words I was able to form with my tongue.
When the old man dropped his stuff, I didn’t help him out just to impress her. It was an automatic reaction, getting up to help the poor guy. But I sure as hell am happy that it warmed her up to me.
Because if I had to walk out of here tonight without her, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
Thing is, tonight is all I’ve got. I’m only in town for the night. Come morning, I have to get back into the driver’s seat of my rig and start heading north again.
The road has been my home for the last couple years. Back when I first started long-haul trucking, I maintained a home base, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that it didn’t make sense to keep paying rent for an apartment I barely spent any time at. So I got rid of what I didn’t need, put the rest in storage, got a PO box, and moved my life to the road.
This kind of life isn’t for everyone. That’s for certain. But I consider myself damn lucky to have this job. I’ll be eternally grateful that I’ve gotten to see parts of this beautiful country that I never would have been able to see otherwise.
The plains. The mountains. The big cities, the small towns. The countless sunrises I’ve watched from behind the wheel. This morning’s sunrise, in fact, was one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen in my time on the road.
Now, though? Now that I’ve met Madison, my open-ended plans to keep doing what I’m doing no longer feel like the right thing. An urge has been awoken in me.
An urge to settle down.
Here.
With Madison.
For two hours, I hang out at the café, taking the occasional bite of cinnamon roll but mostly just drinking coffee from the cup I end up ordering—which, truth be told, I order to keep Madison coming by my table.
Can you blame me?
That tiny apron tied around her waist does little to hide her sumptuous hips. And the way her eyes glitter at me each time she stops by my booth to ask if I want a top-up…fuck, I just want to pull her into this booth and onto my lap.
We might not appear like we’d be a good match. I’m at least twice her size. But I already know we’ll fit perfectly together—in every sense of the word.
I’ve still got my eyes on her when she finally finishes up her shift and comes over to my table. She’s taken her apron off and is standing before me now in her pants and blouse. As she reaches up to fix her ponytail, her blouse lifts and the slightest band of belly shows, and the creamy skin makes my cock throb.
“So where do you want to go?” she says, smoothing a hand over the top of her hair.
“Depends. Have you eaten dinner?”
“Yep. I ate earlier.”
“You want anything else, though? From here or somewhere else?”
She smirks. “You really don’t want me to be hungry, huh?”
“No,” I say. “I want you to always be satiated.”
She bites down on her lower lip, then clears her throat. “Well, I’m good. Thanks for checking.”
“Okay. Good. How about that lake, then?”
She nods. “Yeah. Sure. I haven’t been there for a while, actually. It’ll be nice to go down there.”
I slide out of the booth—our size difference even more pronounced when I stand up—and we walk out of the café together. It’s dark but still warm out from the lingering heat of the day. Madison gestures in the direction of the lake and says we can get there on foot.
“How long have you worked at the café?” I ask as we walk.
“Oh, God. A long time. I think I’m coming up on ten years, actually,” she says.
“You must have started young.”
“I was eighteen. Most people don’t think of waitressing as a great job, but I actually love it. Well, I love waitressing there, I should say. It’s really relaxed at the café, and the customers are great. It may not be a glamorous job, but I genuinely enjoy it.” She glances over at me. “What about you? Am I right in guessing you’re not from around here?”
“Yep. Just passing through town. I’m a trucker.”
“Yeah? Do you enjoy it?”
I nod. “I’ve gotten to see a hell of a lot more of the country than I would have otherwise.”
“That’s amazing. I’m jealous, actually. I would love to travel. What’s your favorite place been?”
I want to tell her it’s right here. With her. But saying shit like that so soon could scare her away.
“There’s been a lot of beautiful places,” I tell her.
“I bet. Hey, you taking passengers?” she jokes.
I’ll take you wherever you want to go, darling, I think.
A few minutes later we reach the lake and walk over to one of the piers. There’s nobody else around, just us and the dark glimmering water. It feels like this place was built for the two of us.
“It must be hard being away from the people you love, though, right?” Madison says as we walk to the end of the pier. “Being on the road all the time.”
“Yeah. Family’s up north. But I see them when I can. Actually, I’m seeing them in a few weeks, since a delivery is bringing me up that way anyway.”
“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you. Are you guys close?”
“I’d say so.” I think of my family—my folks and my younger brother, Luca. It’s crazy that the kid’s already a senior in college.
The boards softly creek beneath our feet as we reach the end of the pier.
“What about you?” I say. “You close with yours?”
She stares out at the dark water for a while. “N
ot really. My dad’s never been in the picture, and my mom…well. Technically, she’s always been around, but it was obvious she never enjoyed the whole being-a-mom thing.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
She shrugs and smiles gently at me. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay, but I’ve learned to deal with it.”
“No. You deserve more than that, Madison.”
I want to pull her into my arms. Want to tell her I’ll give her everything she could ever need. But Madison turns away and nods her chin out at the water. “Want to go for a dip?”
I let a beat pass. “You serious?”
She shoots me a look. “Don’t tell me you can’t swim.”
“Never said that.”
“What are you waiting for, then?” she says.
Madison looks over her shoulder to confirm that there’s no one watching, then starts to peel off her clothes. Off goes her blouse. Off go her shoes. Down go her pants.
She’s not shy, that’s for certain.
And she doesn’t have any reason to be. She’s fucking gorgeous. My dick goes rigid at the sight of her bare flesh in the moonlight. Her bra and panties barely contain her curves.
“Don’t tell me I’m doing this alone,” Madison says, shooting me a disapproving look as she stands with a hand on her jutted-out hip.
“You’re not doing it alone,” I grunt. I pull my shirt up over my head and toss it aside. As I pop open the button on my jeans and tug them down, I catch Madison’s eyes drop to the bulge I reveal.
Then her eyes lift back to mine and she grins and jumps off the pier into the water, letting out a happy shriek.
It feels like I displace the whole damn lake when I follow her in.
Moonlight reflects off the water as we swim, our limbs brushing against each other beneath the surface. After a while, we slow and begin to tread water close to each other.