Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Ididn’t know how long I sat on the floor in Torin’s safe room with the book resting on my lap.
“…Anna?”
A throbbing pain formed behind my eyes, and I rubbed my temples.
“…Anna?”
My mind finally woke up from whatever trance it was in, not wanting to acknowledge the real life around me. I wanted to stay on the floor and keep thinking about how to solve the riddle.
I finally looked at Torin, and he frowned at me.
“You won’t be able to figure it out right now. You’ll need time to think about it,” he said, and I nodded.
“You’re right…but I can’t think of anything else right now. I must open the book, Torin.”
His eyebrows furrowed closer. “I know of a way to get your mind off things.”
“N-no, no—”
Torin scooped me off the floor and carried me to bed. He let my body slowly drop onto the soft surface.
“Are you going to be practicing again?” I let out a low laugh.
His gaze drew to my lips, and when he lifted his eyes to meet mine, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. A raging beast of need lurked in his eyes.
“You’re looking at me like you want to eat me,” I said.
“Not in the way you imagine, though.” Torin sat next to me and grasped my hand. “Can I touch you, Princess?”
His voice sounded low and sensual, making goose bumps rise on my forearms.
I smiled. “You’re touching me now.”
Torin groaned, and I laughed. It was easy to frustrate him, and I shouldn’t be enjoying it.
I was glad any traces of our earlier fight were gone.
I wanted to feel good and get lost in the pleasure Torin gave me to forget my troubles with two mates, a demanding King-father, and a deadly, strange creature.
“True intimacy is shared willingly,” he said, and all of my silliness flew out the window.
Did Torin talk like that because he was much older, having perhaps lived through several human lifetimes? Or was it because he’d gone through hardships he was unwilling to share with me?
I sensed Torin’s hurt and pain from a trauma related to becoming a vampire. His words brought tightness in my chest but also warmth.
I knelt on the bed. “You can touch me, Torin, but don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”
I raised my eyebrows at him, and he smiled. He was distracting me from my book, which I’d dropped back in his safe room when he lifted me.
“But now it’s my turn to try something. Can I touch you, Alpha Torin?”
He would have let me touch him without my even asking him, but the point was that he knew I valued his consent and that I would never hurt him with intimacy.
His eyes grew big and flashed red. He only nodded, and as he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
All thoughts about solving the damn riddle of the book evaporated, but more disturbing ones filled my mind.
What did the Vampire Queen do to Torin besides forcefully change him into a vampire? A disturbing answer formed in my mind, and I pushed it away immediately. It was too painful to think about it.
Torin cupped my face, and I settled my eyes on his.
“You’re miles away, Anna.”
I didn’t want to think anymore. I wanted to feel.
“I need you to stand up,” I said, and Torin raised his eyebrows.
He released me and stood in front of me. I slid my fingers under the waistband of his jeans and nudged him. For a moment, Torin stayed as still as a statue. Then his hands fumbled with the zipper, and he took off his jeans and boxers and kicked them to the side.
Torin was willing to try physical intimacy with me. Still, it would be meaningless without love, and I wasn’t sure if Torin could open himself enough to me to feel vulnerable, to love me, and to allow to be loved.
Would the lustful feelings fueled by our mate bond be the only thing keeping Torin and me together? I experienced the same with Hayden, although at a lower intensity.
The desire to taste, touch, and make him feel good overtook my senses, and I reached for his erection, wrapping my fingers around it. My entire body tingled at the touch, and I’d guess he felt the same by the look Torin gave me. I would give him what he wanted.
Awkwardly, I made a fist around his cock and moved it back and forth, and then I lowered my lips and traced his thick veins with my tongue.
Torin would get precisely what he’d asked for—to be able to touch me and be touched without his vampire attacking me for my blood. And then what? This was all he wanted?
To tempt the vampire was dangerous, but he wanted to practice.
And here I was, kneeling on my bed, moving my hand and mouth in rhythmic strokes.
I grabbed his hard butt with my other hand, and when I looked up this time, I couldn’t believe the storm of emotions passing behind his usually impassive face.
Or was his poker face only reserved for the King and the kingdom?
Torin let out a low moan, which sounded more like a growl, and clenched his jaws as if he was barely holding on to his self-control.
He rocked his hips in sync with my movements.
He held me with his eyes, which spoke of tremendous desire and what he wanted to give me but was holding back.
The mate bond pulled us together in an out-of-this-world attraction.
But vulnerability was something Torin couldn’t give me.
His breathing changed to panting, and the low growls he let out encouraged me to try something new. I flattened my tongue under the sensitive tip, licked it, and swirled it. Because of his thickness, I couldn’t suck down the entire length, but I still felt so liberated to know I made him feel good.
Torin buried his fingers into my hair and tossed his head back.
I pulled away for a moment and looked up at him. “Stop fighting the rush. Wasn’t it what you wanted? To be able to do this with me? So give in to it, Torin.”
I took him into my mouth again.
“Anna.” He sounded feral with desire.
After another moment, he twitched in my hand and burst into my mouth, filling it with his cum. I swallowed some, but most of it dripped on the side of my mouth and chin.
Torin reached for my face and smeared his salty cum with his thumb. It was as if he was rubbing it into my skin to make his personal type of brand absorb into my flesh. His fingers made wet circles on the crook of my neck, where my mate should have marked me.
It wouldn’t be Torin. The thought pulsated in my head, causing a dull ache in my temples.
With a low growl escaping his lips, he leaned down until our faces were inches apart. Despite his red eyes, Torin hadn’t shifted into his vampire. Did it mean he was in control now?
But I thought better of it when he crushed his lips against mine in a rough and desperate kiss. His tongue traced over my lips, tasting traces of his cum and sucking on my bottom lip. His mouth possessed me.
As Torin finally pulled away, he retreated a step back, his gaze intense as it bore into mine. There would be no tender embrace, no snuggling up together under the sheets for the rest of the day.
“You didn’t shift,” I said, watching him carefully.
His eyes flickered like a stormy sky, shifting between his human amber color and fierce crimson. His chest heaved with rapid breaths. Torin was struggling. Again. But his sharp fangs didn’t greet me.
With a heavy sigh, he tilted his head back, shutting his eyes. After taking a few deep breaths, he straightened up, meeting my gaze with eyes that burned with hunger and an unspoken plea for acceptance.
“My vampire side is understanding that your life is more valuable to me than the temptation to drain your blood, Princess.”
My headache throbbed at the side of my head. I cleared my throat and scooted to the headboard of the bed.
“Yes, progress, indeed,” I said and frowned at my voice, which had come out sarcastic.
Torin tilted his head, studying me.
Before he could ask questions, I said, “Were you going out right now?”
He started pulling up his jeans. “I have to check on the damages left behind by that creature.”
Torin zipped his pants and walked to the inside door. Watching him leave made my chest tighten.
Torin was torn between his urges to keep me safe from the outside world and to protect me from him. He wasn’t the only one with inner turmoil.
“I think that was the first time I’d seen your wolf. It’s magnificent. How does it feel when you shift into your wolf?”
Torin raised his eyebrows.
“I’m curious. Having grown up among werewolves, I’ve always wondered, you know.”
Was I coming up with nonsense just to keep the man from leaving?
“Never mind. I don’t want to hold you up,” I said.
“You should come with me and ride on my back after I shift. I’ll show you how it feels.”
I couldn’t stop my sudden smile. “Okay.”
After changing clothes and washing up quickly, Torin and I walked to the first line of trees, where he halted. He undressed with his back toward me and shifted immediately into his wolf. The transformation was as fast as a blink of my eyes.
The wolf standing before me differed from the others I knew my whole life. The silver fur and crimson eyes made Torin stand out
His pointy ears turned to sounds undetectable to my human ears. He trotted over to me, and his wet muzzle nudged my hand.
“Hi, gorgeous wolf,” I whispered, rubbing the soft spot under his jaw.
The wolf bared his teeth at me, and my body tensed for a moment but relaxed just as fast.
“Don’t you show me your sharp fangs, Torin. I’m not about to argue with you,” I said, crouching so my head was leveled with the wolf.
Our gazes locked.
“I know you think you’re a monster and a horrible beast for being turned, but I don’t think so.
You’re beautiful. You don’t have the right to tell me how to think, so stop snarling at me.
” I pulled his muzzle close to my face—another one of my reckless actions, but it was so easy to do with Torin.
“I will always think you’re handsome the way you are. ”