Excerpt: Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake

Series: Masters and Mercenaries: Topped #3
Published by DLZ Entertainment LLC on November 29, 2016
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, General
Pages: 400
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A table for two
Waitress Tiffany Hayes knows what she wants and she wants Sebastian. Topâs grumpy sommelier calls to her in a way no man has before. She simply needs to show him that they belong together. Finding an opportunity to spend some quality time with him turns out to be the easy part. Convincing Sebastian to look beyond his damaged heart and soul is far more difficult.
A thirst he canât deny
After losing everything he held dear, Sebastian Lowe has finally rebuilt his life and the walls around his heart. Tiffany is a sweet temptation he struggles to resist. Sheâs bright and complex, but heâs sure she canât handle his dark desires. When theyâre thrown together on an assignment, he canât help himself.
A perfect pairing
As passion builds, the new lovers are both forced to face their pasts. To have a future, they must find a way to heal the wounds they thought would haunt them forever.
Damn but she was a beautiful woman. She was also something he needed to keep his hands off of. No matter what Big Tag said, he did not date women he worked with.
He didnât really date anyone. He played with subs. When the need got too great, he found a partner for a brief time. He didnât sleep with anyone. He fucked, and that was starting to get very old. Empty.
âSo you said something about house rules?â Tiffany leaned forward, her elbows on the bar. âAre these housekeeping rules or like big bad Dom rules?â
âI donât suppose I differentiate.â He couldnât let those big eyes of hers soften him up. It had almost happened at her apartment. When sheâd stood up after heâd spanked her and there had been tears running down her face, his impulse had been to reach for her. Heâd wanted to draw her in the way he had that night when she was drunk and sheâd cried on his shoulder. Heâd wanted to smooth back her hair and promise her everything was going to be all right, that he could fix things for her. It was a path that was sure to lead to discomfort for her and humiliation for him. âI prefer a clean living space. I donât like for things to be messy. I expect that you will keep your things in their proper place.â
Because no matter how hard he tried, he could still trip. The legs he now walked on were only a year old. Heâd spent the first two years in a wheelchair.
The Gardenâs Wheelchair Dom.
He still wasnât completely comfortable in the prosthetics.
âI can try,â she said with a frown. âIâll be honest, Iâm not the worldâs biggest neat freak.â
Heâd been able to tell that from the state of her apartment. It had been cluttered, a bit dusty. With the exception of her easel. That had been perfectly taken care of. He rather wished heâd taken the time to ask to see her art.
Heâd seen one painting that night heâd taken her home. It had been a painting of three laughing girls, the swirling colors so vibrant he could hear them giggling as they splashed in a puddle on a rainy day. The figures had been more impressions than photographic reality, but heâd known what she was trying to convey.
âIf you cook Iâll clean, and the other way around.â Heâd started a list in his head on the long drive. The drive that would have been considerably shorter had they left at the proper time. As sheâd sung along to sugary pop songs after sheâd changed his radio, heâd sat and considered how to proceed.
With caution. Lots and lots of caution.
âIâm not the best cook in the world,â he continued, âbut I can manage. Most nights, of course, weâll be eating at Top as our training sessions for the new restaurant will last long hours, but I would prefer to eat breakfast here rather than skipping the meal or picking up fast food. Eric made sure the fridge was stocked with a few items I requested.â
âBreakfast.â She gave him a little salute with her free hand. âI can manage that.â
âIn addition to our duties at Top, we will now be taking on the additional task of appearing to be a long-term D/s couple, and we need to talk about what that should look like.â Another thing heâd been thinking about ever since that moment the trap had closed around him. âYou know you probably could have gotten us out of this assignment. Itâs much more difficult for the Dom to say no. The sub always holds the power. Is there a reason you didnât use yours today?â
âI didnât want to,â she replied simply. âI donât have a full-time Dom and I thought it would be interesting to see what thatâs like.â
Was she thinking at all? âYou know nothing about how I function as a dominant partner.â
âAnd now I do,â she replied. âYou like rules and schedules and you tend to be very fair.â
âI can be quite exacting in my standards.â
âI can be quite flexible,â she shot back as the sexiest smile crossed her face. âIâm serious about that. I can still do the splits and everything.â
âYouâre far too reckless, Tiffany.â He didnât appreciate recklessness so why was she like a siren calling to him? If he listened, he would end up wrecked.
âYouâre far too uptight, Sebastian.â