Being With You (The Redemption Series) (2 page)

Taking a stuttering breath, he answered with a cracked voice, “Yeah. I’m good now, Gabe. I’ll crash in a bit and be good as new by morning.”

Tristan hadn’t opened his eyes when replying, leaving just his hearing alert to the tumultuous sigh Gabriel let out before he said, “You’re full of shit, kid, but you know where I stand on the issue. When you’re ready to take that step, just let me know.”

And with that, Gabriel must have said what he needed to, because the door to Tristan’s room clicked shut and the lights went back out, leaving him in his own private hell on earth.

When you’re ready to take that step, just let me know
…The words replayed over and over in his brain. Tristan knew exactly what Gabriel had meant because they’d had the discussion numerous times in the last few weeks. Ever since Thanksgiving had come and gone, Tristan had all but given up on his therapy appointments with his psychiatrist and was damn near ready to pitch all his medications out the window.

That was one thing Gabriel wouldn’t back down on, even though he had no right to tell Tristan what to do. They weren’t blood relatives, just employee and employer, but even though it felt like Gabriel was overstepping his boundaries, Tristan knew the man was just worried about him. And there was no way he would be able to function normally without his meds, so he didn’t fight too much on it in the weeks he’d been living here.

It had only been three weeks since Tristan basically had enough with being under the constant watchful eyes of his girlfriend slash private nurse, Peyton, and lashed out at her, sending her running. Right around Thanksgiving, something inside him snapped. Probably it was getting shipped back and forth between doctors while taking a shitload of meds each day and being carefully monitored by his girlfriend that was all of a sudden more than Tristan could handle. He needed to be free from the restrictions he was under with her, or he felt like his mind was going to explode. She was a great girl, but damned if she made him feel like less than a human being anymore considering he was becoming more and more dependent on her. And it fucking scared him…
big time
.

So things had progressed from bad to worse, and Tristan was back to feeling like a complete and utter failure in life. He knew he was going through a depressive slide with his disease, but what he didn’t understand was why. He’d been doing everything the doctors, therapists, Gabriel and even Peyton had asked of him, but the lingering self-doubt and fear were still there. The deep, dark ranks of the anguish still had their way of griping him tightly, leaving all rational thoughts behind. Since nothing seemed to cure him, he was slowly distancing himself from everything that was being shoved down his throat.

Tristan could feel the tingling in his arms subside and the cramps in his neck muscles start to ease, signaling that his meds were working. The tightness in his chest was slowing loosening like a knot untying, and it was easier to breathe. Finding it hard to focus on a complete thought anymore, Tristan stopped obsessing about everything and anything that popped into his mind, and cleared himself of all thoughts. It didn’t take long for sleep to take him again.

T
he front door of Gabriel’s Supper Club opened, sending a blast of cold December air through the restaurant. It was well after five o’clock in the evening, and it was already pitch black outside. The unseasonably warm weather Colorado had enjoyed this fall was long gone, and the first few inches of snow were coating the ground.

Tristan had been working at the quaint supper club for a little over a month now, handling any and all duties Gabriel asked of him with ease, even taking over the leadership role of the staff members. He didn’t consider himself a natural-born leader, but he had a gut instinct on how to handle a lot of the different personalities there. Always leading by example, he made sure everyone worked together to get the most done and offer the best to Gabriel’s decent-size clientele. It was a win-win for everyone, because the happier the customers were, the more times they came in, the more tips everyone earned and the happier the staff was. Plus, it was alleviating some of the stress off Gabe’s shoulders, making him less gruff.

Tristan stood behind the bar and watched as his fellow employee and recently acquired friend, Susy, came stomping inside, passing the bar with her head down and hair shielding her face.

“Hey, my little lady. Ready for a kick ass crowd tonight?” Tristan asked with enthusiasm. Susy didn’t even stop her determined sprint for the employee area, and the last of his words were said to her back.

Tristan surprised himself when he and Susy had become friends, considering what a bitch she’d been to him and everyone around him when they first met. But once he realized she wasn’t acting that way on her own accord, that her older sister, Cara, was directing her moody, childish behavior, he’d eased up on her. It wasn’t like they’d spent any time together outside of the restaurant and bar setting, but when they were working together, they made a pretty good team.

Feeling a bit like he needed to check on her, Tristan walked out of the port hole opening to the bar and peered around the corner wall to see where Susy had gone. He stopped dead in his tracks when he found her standing stock still, her shoulders were shaking violently. She was looking down at the floor, and Tristan couldn’t see her eyes, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was crying.

“Hey, Susy…don’t cry,” Tristan consoled as the pair stood in the back hallway near Morgan’s offices. “What’s wrong?” As he said the words, he found himself wrapping the petite, dark-blonde woman in his arms. Susy was a gorgeous little creature with soft curves, and Tristan had caught himself on occasion noticing the way she filled out her standard white cotton work shirt and black dress pants. But the most he’d ever done was take a quick glimpse or two, before turning back to his work. He pretended he’d never imagined what she’d look like nearly naked, because that was wrong. Why he didn’t really know, but he had to stop himself from thinking about more, and letting his thoughts turn purely carnal.

Susy stood stiff for a few seconds, keeping her arms and hands tucked closely to her chest. Just as Tristan was ready to release her from the awkward hold, she relaxed against him and laid her cheek against his chest.

After a few minutes had passed, Susy gave a few quick sniffles before patting him with her trapped hand. “I’m okay now, Tristan. Thank you.”

Even though he was aware that she was ready for him to move his arms, Tristan wasn’t ready to let go. It was probably sending off all the wrong signals, but it felt good to hold Susy’s warm body like this, even if she wasn’t snuggled in tight with her arms wrapped around him.

Finally, Tristan asked, “Wanna tell me what has you all worked up?”

Susy took a deep breath that was broken up by stutters and spit out in a rush, “My bitch sister came stumbling into the house late last night after not speaking to anyone for almost three weeks, and my parents take her in, no questions asked. My dad gave her money, food and even told her she could drive
my
car today. It’s completely in my name, no one has ever given me anything I didn’t earn, and he acts like I’m being selfish when I tell him I need to use it for work! I’m sick of it!”

As she finished, Susy was practically screaming. The last words were muffled as she buried her face tightly into Tristan’s chest and clutched his t-shirt in her hands. He could feel her body shaking again as she sobbed and felt a burning need to ease her sorrow. Tristan didn’t have any siblings who caused him any grief, but he was well aware of what family drama could do to a person’s state of being.

With a slight sway, he held Susy tight and kissed the top of her head. “Shhhh, Susy…it’s gonna be all right.”

She whimpered before pulling her face back and looking up through her tear-soaked eyelashes. “How do you know? What if my life is destined to be like this? An invisible person who doesn’t matter, not even to her own family?”

Tristan could hear the absolute pain in Susy’s voice as she spoke, and it was such a profound and fitting statement for his own life that he felt drawn to her. The words repeated in his brain, but hearing it come from someone else made him ache deep down inside. He’d felt the same way for a long time, but to hear it come from someone else was pure torture. His insides felt raw as he absorbed Susy’s angst with his own, knowing that he needed to make it stop. For both of them. Just for a little while.

“Susy…” he whispered right before he leaned down and softly pressed their lips together. Tristan felt her body go limp in his arms as she tipped her head to the side, making it easier for him to reach and giving him silent permission to continue.

The next kiss was soft, yet firm, and Tristan nibbled on her lower lip this time before briefly backing away. “Tell me to stop, Susy, and I will.”

Susy pulled her hands free from where they were pressed between their bodies and snaked them as far around Tristan’s neck as her smaller frame could manage. She didn’t answer him, just tugged his face back down toward her and met his lips again with a fervor of her own. He wove his fingers into her long, soft hair and used it to guide her head to the side so that he could move from Susy’s soft lips and trail kisses along her jaw line to her ear.

She responded by moving her hands down his chest and then smoothly inching them around his waist and into the band of his jeans. Tristan continued to lick and nip every inch of her neck and across to her other ear as Susy carefully untucked his shirt, searing the skin on his back with soft caresses of her fingertips.

Tristan could feel his own heart racing, egging him on as he pulled Susy’s earlobe with his teeth, releasing a deep moan from somewhere inside her. His primal needs took over instantly and he lifted her off the ground, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist. Tristan attacked her mouth again with his own, letting his tongue dip inside her warmth, sliding against hers in a sinuous dance.

Before he realized what he was doing, Tristan had Susy pinned up against the wall in the little private alcove, fumbling blindly for the door handle to Morgan’s empty office. He groaned from deep inside his chest as two things happened simultaneously…the door swung open with a thud and the raging woman in his arms bit down on his lip, bringing tears to his eyes.

Tristan jerked away, tasting the metallic tinges of blood on his own lip. Shocked by her actions, he let go of his hold on her backside until she was standing on her own. Her blue eyes were wide as saucers and Tristan watched them for signs of where her emotions were. He was more than familiar with the fine line between pain and pleasure, but he would never have expected Susy to test those boundaries. Part of him thought for a minute that she had bit him in anger, panic, or fear…not in passion. Plus, he remembered her jab at him not too long ago about being a guy that needed rough sex…or as she called it,
One of them slap ‘em and fuck ‘em guys
.

After watching each other closely for a few moments, Susy closed her eyes and a small tear slipped from the corner. She pulled away from him, backing up in between his body and the door frame. Looking so vulnerable, Tristan reached out to enclose her in his arms again, but she jerked away.

“Oh, baby…I’m not sure what you thought…” he only partially got out.

“No,” she sobbed. “I don’t need your pity, Tristan. You don’t want me, that’s fine. You don’t need to fucking sugar coat it. I get it,” she said before one final push of his body and she maneuvered out of his arms.

Susy was two steps down the hall before Tristan mentally shook himself out of the motionless stupor he was in. “Wait, Sus…hold up,” he called after her and sprinted out to the open dining room to catch her. Stomping her legs hard enough to shake the floor with her steps, Susy stormed away, leaving Tristan smiling at her reaction.

He should be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of a distraught woman like that, but there was no way he could imagine Susy as a fragile flower who needed someone to take care of her problems. The way she was swinging her arms as she wove in between the tables to the front door made her very much not in need of anyone’s care. She looked more like a wrecking ball traveling away and taking down everything in its path.

Tristan was laughing as he reached her and grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her back into him. “Hold up there, warrior princess,” he said as he pulled her around to face him. Thankfully, the restaurant was empty except for the pair of them, so no one was around to see the scene they were creating.

If looks could kill, Tristan knew he’d be dead and lying on the floor at Susy’s feet. The fierce glare in her eyes was almost enough to stop his laughter, but he could see the glimmer of fire radiating from her eyes, too, and he couldn’t help himself. Little Susy had one hell of a temper, and her size didn’t make her any less formidable.

“You jackass! You turn me down, and then you fucking laugh at me!!! Get your hands off me,” she screamed as she pulled out of his grasp.