Tristan: Mine, all Mine Book 2(Mature 18+)

Chapter 37

Serenity's face was a myriad of emotions as she looked at him. He hated seeing her so broken and torn over her mother's addiction, but he couldn't stand how she constantly put her own life on hold to babysit her. He hated enhancing the myth of the knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress, but he was determined to do whatever was necessary to make her life easier. Even if that meant moving her somewhere else in the city to a safer and more stable environment.

"Even if you are," Serenity shakily began, "she is still my mother and I will not desert her. No matter what. Not even for you."

She turned away from him and crossed her arms, lowering her head to her chest. She felt like such a bitch and a brat, and she felt horrible for how she'd spoken to him, but she was beyond irritated. A perfect moment between them was ruined. She appreciated everything Tristan had to say but it was honestly none of his business. She appreciated all his help and everything he had done for her, but he was speaking from a place of privilege. He had no idea what it was like living with a drug-addicted parent. He had been lucky to have Katherine. And blessed.

"I'm sorry," he humbly said from behind her. "I'm sorry baby. I won't say anything else." He reached out to touch her long, tousled hair. She leaned her head back against his hand. "I promise."

Serenity quietly stared up at the ceiling.

"Hey. Don't shut me out."

She resignedly closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest again. "I'm not." He began running his fingers through her hair, and she softened. She turned to him and soberly looked at him.

"I don't like arguing with you," she said.

"We're not arguing. We were just having a discussion; a differing of opinions. I stand corrected on everything I said. I know where I stand."

"I don't want you to think I'm not appreciative of everything you've done or are trying to do- "

"Babe, I'd never think that. I don't think that. Honest." He brushed his thumb across her lips, and her entire body vibrated.

"I love you Tristan," she emotionally said, moving close to him.

Tristan heatedly gazed into her eyes and put his hand to the back of her neck. He put his other arm around her back. "Tell me that again."

A tear from her eyes as she repeated the words. "I love you."

Their lips touched, and she was lost. Tristan's lips swept across hers with extreme intensity. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and she moaned, collapsing against him. He put his hand to her breast and rubbed her hard nipple. He lifted it to his mouth and loudly suckled.

"Baby," she gasped, arching to him. Another tear fell from her eye.

Tristan groaned and laid her back on her bed, hungry and hard for more. He situated himself on top of her and put both arms around her back, crushing his mouth to hers, kissing her hard and with much feeling. Serenity ran her nails across his back; then slid her hands down to his ass, caressing it possessively. Tristan greedily moved on top of her and she cried out, spreading her legs.

"What are you doing to my daughter?" a high-pitched voice shrieked. "What the fuck are you doing to my daughter?"

Tristan and Serenity yanked away from one another and looked towards her bedroom door in alarm. Her mother was standing in the doorway of her room, looking wild and crazed, holding the bat Serenity kept hidden in her room for protection. In one coordinated motion, Tristan and Serenity scrambled away from one another. Serenity grabbed a discarded night shirt she'd thrown on her bed last time she was home and quickly raced towards her mother just as Tristan turned away from them on his side and clumsily pulled up, fastened and zipped his jeans.

"Who the fuck are you?" her mother continued to rant. "Who are you?"

"Mom!" Serenity pleaded, struggling to hold her away from Tristan. "Mom wait!"

"Serenity call the police! Call the police now!"

Tristan stood to his feet with his hands out. "Ma'am," he calmly spoke over all the noise. "Ma'am. It's okay. I'm not trying to hurt your daughter. I would never hurt her. I'm her- "

Quinn struggled to race towards Tristan, but Serenity strongly held her back. "You get the fuck out of my house mother fucker! Get out!"

"Mom! Mom listen to me! Mom stop! Look! This is Tristan, okay? This is Tristan." Quinn paused and quizzically looked at her. Serenity held her arm out towards Tristan. "This is Tristan Knight. Remember I told you about him? Remember I've been traveling with him the last couple of weeks? He's my boyfriend. Their tour is over so he came home with me so he could meet you."

Quinn densely looked at Tristan. Acknowledgement showed in her eyes. Momentarily, she lowered the bat. She numbly looked at Serenity. "Tristan Knight? The rock star?"

Serenity's lips widened in a grin and her eyes flashed with excitement. "That's right. Yes!"

Quinn's peaked brown eyes turned hard. She redirected her attention to Tristan, and she took a step towards him again. "I don't like strangers in my house."

"Mom, he's not a stranger."

"You took advantage of my daughter," her mom continued to ramble, walking closer to Tristan. "My daughter is too young for you, and you took advantage of her innocence. I don't like you, and I don't trust you. I want you out of my house."

Tristan gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to hold his noise. Serenity's mother's breath was stale and rancid, and it made his stomach turn. He wanted to rip this woman a new one, but he remembered the good manners his mother had taught him and remained a calm gentleman.

"Ma'am," he patiently began again, with his hands still out in an uncharacteristic gesture of peace, "I promise I'm not taking advantage of Serenity. I care about her a great deal."

Quinn worked her mouth and sniffed. "Bullshit."

"I know you don't believe that, but it's true. I would never disrespect your daughter."

Oh lady, if you only knew how much I disrespect your daughter on a daily basis. And she loves the hell out of it.

Tristan suppressed a wicked smile and continued. "I am committed to Serenity, and I do everything in my power to keep a smile on her face and keep her happy – "

"Were you fucking my daughter in my house?"

Tristan blinked, taken aback. Don't say anything smart. Don't say anything smart. "No ma'am, of course not."

"Mom, no! You taught me better than that. You know I'm still a virgin."

"You were on top of her when I caught you. Your pants were down. She was naked. What the fuck were you doing then? Wrestling?"

She and Tristan shared a look and Quinn caught it. Her lips curved in a knowing smile; then anger quickly replaced it.  She stalked back towards Serenity. "You're lying to me. You're lying to your mother, and I don't like it."

"Mom, I swear I'm not. I wasn't."

"You're fucking in my house. You're defowling and disrespecting my house, you lying bitch."

Beyond hurt, Serenity flinched and stumbled backwards. "Mom- "

Quinn stuck a pale, thin finger out at Serenity and shoved it in her chest. "I won't have it. You understand me? I won't have that kind of disrespect in my house. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Now you get him the fuck out of my house, before I beat the shit out of you both."

Tristan's fist curled and uncurled at his side. He fought hard to maintain his composure. "Ma'am," he began through clenched teeth, "we weren't being disrespectful- "

"I saw you!" Quinn screamed, turning back to him and raising the bat. "I saw you top of her, you animal!"

"We were just kissing- "

Quinn charged towards Tristan, screaming and swearing incoherently. Serenity moved quickly and ran and jumped in front of her mother, shoving her back towards her bedroom across the hall. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed the bat and threw it back towards her bed, missing Tristan by mere inches.

Tristan stood silently and watched with a mixture of anger and sympathy as Serenity practically dragged her mother into the room across the hall and slammed the door. He helplessly stood there listening as Serenity's mother kept screaming and ranting incoherently and Serenity attempted to calm her down. Nothing was working. Feeling frustrated, his hands continued to open and close at his sides. He had never put his hands on a woman before- never in his life- but if he heard so much as a scream or cry of distress coming from Serenity, he wasn't going to be responsible for his actions.

Minutes passed.

He paced back and forth across the floor, still listening; still feeling helpless. He kept glancing towards the closed door of Quinn's room. Running his fingers through his hair. Breathing through his nose. Gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw obsessively.

Not soon enough, it got quiet. Eerily quiet. He worriedly watched the door, hoping and praying everything was okay. He hadn't heard anything break. There was no sound of sickening thuds or thumps or a struggle. He breathed a sigh of relief and heavily sat on the bed. He hadn't realized he was praying until he heard himself say 'Amen' out loud. He thought about barging in there, calling Brad for backup or asking Walter to come back and get them out of there, but he held it together. Serenity had been doing this for a while; she obviously knew what she was doing, as volatile as it all seemed.

He rubbed his stomach as it gurgled. He was starving. He and Serenity hadn't had anything since breakfast and that was hours ago. He wondered if there was anything to eat in the kitchen; then decided against going in there. This was not house. He was a stranger; a visitor. He was sure Serenity wouldn't mind but he didn't want to risk another altercation with her crazy, drug-addicted mother.

Sighing with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Tristan threw his legs on the bed and pushed himself back to the headboard. He put his hands on his temperamental stomach and waited. And waited. And waited.

Darkness came. And still, nothing. When his patience was beyond thin and he decided enough was enough, he threw his legs back over the bed and got up. Purposefully, he headed towards the door; then stopped when Serenity exited her mother's room. She saw him standing there and her eyes widened in fear, like she'd forgotten he was there.

"Everything okay?" he shakily asked. His heart was beating too fast. He didn't like it. He was still in fight or flight mode. Mainly fight.

His heart tightened with pain when Serenity's eyes filled with tears. He tried to peek inside the room to see where her mother was and saw she was lying on the bed, her arms and legs sprawled out while she snored.

He looked back at Serenity and frowned at her tears. He put his hands on her shoulders and kept them there, despite her cringing and trying to move away. "Did she hurt you?"

She simply shook her heard no and pulled her mother's door closed behind her. She walked the short distance back to her room and laid on the bed. She hugged herself and quietly sobbed. Tristan immediately closed the door to her room and climbed in the bed behind her, holding her from the back. He didn't speak; knew there was no need to. He just held her while she shook and sobbed in his arms for minutes.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"No baby don't do that," he said, rubbing her hair back. "There's no need to apologize." He paused, weighing his next words. "But- "

"No," she forcefully said, shaking her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

He defeatedly sighed and just looked at her. "Okay," was all he said.

She was quiet for several more minutes.

"I need you to make love to me," she said in a small voice.

Tristan craned his head at her and turned her head to his, peering into her swollen eyes. She looked so much younger in that moment; like she had de-aged several years. Like a lost little girl. It made his heart hurt that much more.

"Serenity- "

"I'm not trying to fix anything," she hurriedly insisted. "I'm not trying to put a band aid on things. I just need to feel you inside of me. I need to feel safe. Feel loved." She leaned up and kissed him with trembling lips. "Please Tristan."

He enveloped her with his arms and kissed her with great emotion. He wanted her to feel love; feel safe. He needed to make it all okay, even if his words couldn't. He wanted to make her feel good all night. For the rest of her life.

There you go with that bullshit again. Don't get caught up in emotions. You're thinking with your dick. There is no love here. You like her a lot and that's it. Stop forcing shit.

He silenced his ego and pulled away to look into her eyes. "Okay," he breathed against her lips.

She vulnerably looked at him. "Not here. Call Walter. I need to get out of here and go to the room. Now."