by Lena Little
Because there’s only one thing this man wants in this world, and at the moment he doesn’t have it.
Her.
And that’s about to change. She will be mine.
3
Jewel
For some reason, I just feel like today’s the day Jake is going to say something to me. Then again, he’s just slowly sipping that coffee, as usual, his eyes locked on me but not actually taking any action. I’m about to pull my hair out waiting for the man to say what clearly appears to be on his mind.
“What the hell?” Ella says, raising her hands and taking a step back, trying not to spill the coffee she’s carrying from out behind the bar.
“Sorry, I didn’t notice you walking this way. You usually don’t come out from behind the espresso machine.”
“And you usually come when I announce an order, but your head was in the clouds. I couldn’t keep the customers waiting any longer.”
“My bad,” I say as Ella slides past me, delivers the order, and is quickly back at my side.
“Your bad or you mean he’s one bad man?” she says, joining me while ogling Jake.
“What do you mean? You don’t know anything about him?” I snap.
“Defensive much?” she says, leaning the top part of her body to the side as she raises an eyebrow at me.
“I’m just saying he’s a nice man and a good customer. He doesn’t bother anyone and tips well.”
“And I’m just saying that you should focus on boys your own age, like the ones over at table five, and leave real men like Jake Stone to real women like me.”
“I’m not a real woman?” I question.
“Sweetheart,” she begins in a tone that’s a little too condescending for me. “I’m just saying that no matter how much you know about life, there’s more to learn. You’re only eighteen. Jake is what? Forty-one? I mean, come on…have you ever even been with a man before?”
“That’s none of your business,” I snap.
“Oh honey, your reply tells me all I need to know,” she cuts right back, shaking her head and waving her finger at me. I want to grab it and snap it off, but I need this job and the money it brings in. “And I’m guessing you already know about Jake’s reputation.”
“What reputation? I’ve never seen him with another woman.”
“That’s because apparently he keeps things quiet. Man’s got a few kinks that he keeps on the down-low. At least that’s the word around town.”
“I doubt it,” I shoot right back, although secretly I suddenly yearn to know more…so much more.
“I doubt you’d be able to take one thrust from that giant of a man, or at least you wouldn’t be able to walk straight for a week after. Trust me on that one,” she says, patting my shoulder. “Leave guys like him to women with a bit more experience, like me. Your time will come, sweetie.”
I shrug my shoulder and then slide my body to the side, not wanting this woman to touch me one more time, or I will have to pop her. Fortunately for both of us, she heads back behind the counter and starts polishing the chrome knob of the espresso machine, staring at Jake as she does but he completely ignores her.
I was tempted to tell Ella this was more than some schoolgirl crush, but she wouldn’t understand. She still treats me like I’m in high school although I graduated and was never even really involved in anything in school anyway. I didn’t have friends or play any sports or join any groups. I love to read so I took a lot of classes with reading assignments which helped me get good grades. Other than that I just kept to myself.
But I can’t keep these feelings I have to myself much longer. And it’s not only Ella that knows but my mom too. The first time that Jake came in I remember thanking the manager for hiring me and mentioning my rent was due and this job was really going to save me. The manager did nothing, not offering me an advance or anything of that nature, not that I’d expect it.
Jake, on the other hand, left a three hundred dollar tip for a three-dollar cup of coffee. I tried to give it back to him for a week, but he refused. Said something along the lines of, “a tip laid, is a tip played.” It reminded me of what someone might say playing cards, but coming out of my king’s mouth it meant something different.
Since then his tips have been generous, yet much more normal. Maybe that’s because I never mentioned money troubles again, still feeling a bit weird about his generosity and not wanting to feel indebted to him.
But he never gave me that vibe at all, and fortunately, I don’t. Not only that, but I’ve been saving a few extra dollars each day from my shift and putting them in a can so I can pay him back in a couple of months. I hate the feeling of owing anybody anything, although I owe it to myself, to be honest with him about what I really want from him.
And what I want are all the things money can’t buy.
“I’m telling you,” Ella says.
“Telling me what? I don’t need anyone telling me anything,” I bark back, wondering why she won’t just leave me alone.
She leans in closer so no one can hear. “The man is packing serious meat in those pants, and you wouldn’t last a second, so you’re better off to just quit drooling and let it go.”
“Let what go?”
“Come on, Jewel. You eye fuck him left, right, and center every time he comes in here.”
“Like you don’t do the same?” I slide my hands up to my hips.
She just shrugs and finally gives up, which allows my eyes to drift back in his direction as I prepare to go ask him if he needs anything else, although I know he doesn’t.
It’s just that my wild imagination from reading so many darn Lena Little books on my Kindle wants me to believe he’s going to say, “Glad you asked,” and then bend me right over his table and take me so Ella can get an eyeful of what she wishes she could have but is clearly saved for me.
But this isn’t about pissing off an annoying co-worker. This is truly about getting what I want, and I don’t care about anyone else. It’s time to put myself and my life first, and the first thing I know about Jake is that he wouldn’t say anything along the lines of, “Glad you asked.”
He’s the kind of man who puts himself first, second, and third. And it’s clear to see just by looking at him that what he wants, he takes.
Why is he taking so much time with me then? Or is Ella right? Am I too young and this is all in my head?
I only wish I knew, and I can’t afford to risk my job to find out. More importantly, I can’t afford to risk any more time not finding out. I’m about to lose my mind over this man.
And that’s not the only thing I want to lose when it comes to him.
4
Jake
My normal thirty minutes or so in the coffee shop has easily dragged into an hour or more today as I watch Jewel glide across the floor like an angel, serving coffee to happy customers with her smile…which today very obviously disappears when she looks in my direction.
Women are way more intuitive than men. They can read emotions and intent much better and it’s clear she can read all the dirty thoughts I have in my mind when it comes to her.
I really need to get outta here before I do something I might regret.
But standing right now is out of the question, my cock is harder than the metal that makes up the knobs on that espresso machine that Jewel’s co-worker keeps polishing in a way too sexual way. I ignore her completely, only focused on the one and only woman in this world for me. Correction, the little girl that I’m going to make into my woman.
I’ve never even had thoughts like this, never been into younger girls, or any girls for that matter. This isn’t some fetish, although there’s definitely something about Jewel’s tiny size and vulnerability that sucks me in like a vortex.
Yeah, I want to protect her, but I want to make her feel a bit of pain too. But no way in hell what’s surely a tight, little, untouched pussy will be able to take what I’m so damn ready to give her.
I adjust my weight in my seat,
leaning from one side to the other, but it does nothing to subside my need. Thinking about how delicious that pristine cherry must taste and how much I want to claim her has me thinking I’m not even going to be able to stand up to leave when they close the shop tonight.
Jewel moves around the side of the counter, pulling some prepackaged sandwiches from the fridge, and starts stocking the low shelf just in front of the register. As she bends over to put the sandwiches in their place, the tie on her apron catches the back of her shirt and it rides up, and those short shorts seem to slide down.
I grit my teeth, catching myself sliding my hand across the flat table, wishing it was the curve in her lower back. I imagine myself lying in bed with her after taking her for the first, the fifth, the fiftieth time and just caressing that perfect little body of hers as I ask her all the things she wants to accomplish in her life. And think about how proud it will make me to be the one to help her live out her dreams, as I live out the dream I never knew I had.
Her.
With her attention turned in the other direction I realize now is my only chance. I throw a crisp Alexander Hamilton on the table and I slide the chair sideways and walk to the door, bent over at the waist as my erection throbs in pain.
Stepping outside onto the street, a gust of air hits me in the face, but that’s not all. The complete lack of sunlight informs me as to just how long I’ve been sitting in that damn coffee shop. It wasn’t an hour. It was hours, plural.
The place has plenty of glass so all I had to do that entire time was to look outside, but how could I when I was so focused on her? It’s like Las Vegas in there…completely addicting. It shouldn’t be though. They’ve even got a clock on the wall, it’s just that time stands still when I’m inside. Nothing is more important than the time I spend, albeit only in my mind, with her each and every day.
I stand off to the side, trying to regain my composure and knowing I’m not going to be able to walk down the street in my current condition.
I watch for a few minutes as people file out of the coffee shop, not even realizing they’d been inside. Was I that fixated on her? Am I a damn stalker?
I need help, bad. Or more accurately, I need her. Now.
Leaning against the wall I fight the urge to go back inside, my dick finally subsiding to the point where I can leave, knowing I’ll be right back here tomorrow to repeat this process all over again.
Out of nowhere, I hear a strange barking sound coming from behind the cafe. The dog sounds like he’s angry, trying to alert someone almost. I hightail it around the corner of the building and into the alley, my gut fearing the worst, although it’s highly improbable. Why would Jewel be behind the coffee shop?
I get my answer immediately when I see a bag of trash sitting just next to the dumpster and two men cornering her.
My hands curl up into fists so hard I feel the tips of my fingers digging into my palms. My stance widens and my nostrils flare.
“Get the fuck away from her,” I snarl.
“Just having a little fun, buddy,” one of the men laughs, not taking his attention from Jewel. “Why don’t you run along and mind your own business.”
At that moment I hear the click of a switchblade knife springing out as the other man laughs hysterically like a hyena.
“Fun time’s over,” I say, taking off toward the man with the knife like I’ve been shot out of a cannon. Before he can even turn his body to square up to me I tackle him hard, my hand grabbing his wrist and pushing his hand up and back as his back slams into the cold concrete and the knife goes flying.
I slam my elbow into his face in rapid succession until his head goes limp, bouncing off the alley like a basketball.
Jumping to my feet I see the other man standing back, holding his hands in the air in surrender.
“I didn’t see how big you was, mister. Didn’t mean any harm.”
“Oh, you meant a lot of harm, to her,” I counter, smelling the fear in the air even without looking in Jewel’s direction. I’m not taking my eyes off this bastard until retribution is delivered.
“He touch you, Jewel?” I say through grit teeth.
“No.”
“Not even a finger?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her shaking her head.
“Then I just might let him live.”
“Listen, buddy. We just got outta the slammer. We got woman problems, ya know? Just needed to blow off some steam.”
I can feel every muscle in my body flex and my blood boil. “You don’t have woman problems. You have ‘being a man’ problems. And it’s time a real man taught you how to act around a lady,” I say, charging straight at him.
His arms raise to cushion the blow but it’s too late. His body slams into the concrete wall as I grab his shirt in my hand, twisting it and easily lifting him off the ground despite his size and stature. This loser looks like he’s been doing convict conditioning non-stop in his prison cell, but he’s no match for the rage I have inside me. I’ll never tolerate violence toward women and that extends to even making a woman scared or feel uncomfortable.
“Apologize to her,” I order.
“I’m…I’m sorry, miss.”
“Like you mean it, prick,” I grunt.
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Yeah, you are sorry alright. A sorry sack of shit,” I correct, losing it as I lower him back to the ground and headbutt him right on the bridge of his nose, blood spurting everywhere as he tumbles to the ground in a heap.
“Get up so I can finish you off,” I command, but I got him too good, too square. He’s out cold.
I turn to look at Jewel, who’s expression has changed from one of complete fear to utter shock. All I can think of is how I want to march right over there and scoop her up in my arms and just hold her, hold her tight, and never let go. How I want to sit her on my lap and promise her that she’ll never feel this way again. She won’t even know the meaning of fear for the rest of her days, because as long as I’m alive I won’t allow it. And after I’m gone the sons she bears for me won’t allow it either.
As an older man, it’s hard to argue with the logic that one day I’ll be gone before her. And when that day comes our sons will have already been long-prepared to take care of their mother.
Yeah, that’s exactly what she’s going to be one day…soon. Mother to my children and my wife.
Just the thought of her being harmed right now expedites everything inside me. Moving closer I do exactly as I wanted, pulling her in close and her tiny little body melts perfectly into mine. Tilting my head down, way down to reach her, I kiss the top of that dark hair of hers, inhaling deep at the floral scent from her shampoo, or is that just the way she naturally smells. Either way, I’m fully intoxicated just from one whiff, and my dick lurches in my pants just how it was when I was inside the coffee shop.
I need to kiss her. I need to claim her. I need to make her mine.
I rake my hands through her hair and tilt her head back, her bright eyes looking up at me.
It’s time to show her who she belongs to. Forever.
5
Jewel
My entire body freezes at the realization that his lips are about to lock with mine. Although I’ve never been kissed before, I know that’s exactly what’s on his mind. Just as it’s been on mine for weeks.
I bite down on my lower lip and then run the tip of my tongue over my upper lip as I prepare for the inevitable. Coming up on my tiptoes I feel like a million hummingbirds are slamming into my ribcage, my heart pounding in anticipation.
I suck in a breath and take in his earthy scent. Working with all those gemstones all day, and around those machines, he uses to carve them, has him smelling like a campfire next to a babbling brook filled with polished stones from years and years of water flowing over them. I love that he smells so masculine, so fresh, and so natural at the same time. No cologne needed here.
His hand keeps my head tipped back as his other hand fin
ds my hip, the position of my bent body lifting my shirt just enough that if he so much as twitches his fingers, his skin will touch mine.
I want that because even through the fabric of my top I can make out his calloused fingertips which have goosebumps popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain. My pulse beats in my wrist, neck and call me crazy but I think I feel it in my legs too. My upper legs, very close to…there.
My knees feel like they’re about to give out as he growls, “A little girl like you shouldn’t be out here by herself, especially not at this hour.”
His body moves back and one of his feet follows, acting like a metaphorical pin popping a balloon and letting all the air out of it, and the wind out of my sails right along with it.
“Unless you’re planning on taking the trash out for me then I don’t really see how you have any say in the matter,” I cut back, releasing my aggression, frustration, and disappointment all in one sentence. I jerk my head to the side, letting him know his hands don’t belong on me…unless he plans on actually doing something with them, and with me.
“Little one, a grown man doesn’t need a reason to have a say in a matter that involves the safety of a girl.”
“Why does everyone keep calling me a girl!” I stomp my foot. “I’m an adult. A woman,” I huff.
“Okay, a woman then, but not one big enough from stopping herself from nearly getting raped by those two pieces of scum,” he says, and my eyes move to the two men who are still out cold.
I look back at him, his lips pierced and the corner of his eyes pulled back in extreme distaste as if just thinking about something like that happening to me is enough to make him empty his stomach onto the pavement.
“Well, I didn’t though. Thank you,” I say, trying to concede he’s right, at least a little bit, and not about to argue with the man who did just help me out of what was about to be a very, very bad situation.
