Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TORCH
H ome.
Even a couple of weeks later, that one word still entered my mind from when Wrenley said it at the compound about me and her.
Like it was our home together.
Like she could see us in a home alone, together forever.
Unless I read into that word wrong.
I could have.
It wouldn’t surprise me if I did.
But while I watched her during the time we shared, I kept thinking over what Saint said. That she was interested in me.
Interested in a way that got my chest warm, cock twitching, and gut rolling.
Our time together felt calm and natural, no matter what we were doing. Like now, as we sat on the back deck watching Harley chase the ball.
It reminded me of seeing other brothers and their old ladies sitting peacefully in each other’s company. And they were into each other. In a big way.
I also loved the times when Wrenley talked about anything on her mind. She didn’t care if I joined in or not. She still smiled or laughed or kept chatting.
I liked this.
No. I fucking loved these days.
All my days with her.
Especially when I knew she was safe because she was at my side all the time.
The only times I didn’t like were when she was in the bathroom. She was alone. I would offer to go in there with her, but I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do.
My cock thickened at the thought of seeing Wrenley in the shower.
I clenched my jaw and scowled down at my dick.
I shouldn’t be thinking of her like that.
Fucking moron.
I had no right to picture her without clothes or think about how I’d like to touch her soft skin. How I’d give anything to smell her up close instead of drawing it in when we were in the same room.
I wasn’t completely certain she wanted me the way Saint thought. But if she did, it was new to me. No one had wanted anything from me. The club bunnies had been nice enough, but they never wanted to have me as an old man like they did with other brothers.
Wrenley was different from them, though.
She was so much more.
I had to be respectful.
Even with my own thoughts.
Until I knew we could be something more.
A deep warmth spread through me thinking about Wrenley being my true old lady. A woman who was just for me.
Someone who cared about me .
Someone who would welcome me inside them.
Someone who could love me as I was—screwed up and scarred.
And someone who would be my whole fucking universe, who I’d do anything for or burn anyone for.
The club was supposed to come first in life. The brothers.
They always had.
Until I’d heard her screams. Until I’d seen her beauty and learned her kindness.
Now, Wrenley was first in my darkened life. She brightened it, consumed it, and made my days better.
Everything she did fixed the lesions in my heart. Her actions, her words, all of her was a balm to the chaos in my head.
I wanted to do more for her. I wanted to help her with everything she did.
High on my list was to build up the courage to ask to brush her wavy hair. She liked to do it before bed and then in the morning. I always watched, transfixed on her hands, wishing they were my own. I’d give my left nut to have my fingers glide through her soft locks.
I knew they’d be soft. They looked it, and the bristles to the brush slid through easily.
She seemed peaceful when she did it with a slight smile on her perfect lips. It made me wonder what she was thinking.
Harley interrupted my thoughts when he dumped the ball in my lap. Smirking, I ran a hand over his head and picked up the slobbery thing, throwing it. He jumped the stairs and flew down the backyard to pick up his toy. But a scent distracted him, and he took off to sniff crazily. He liked it here. Not that he didn’t like the compound. Dusty had done a damn good job on the yard. But this place was quieter.
And it had Wrenley here too.
Harley liked her a lot. When he’d first seen her that day a couple of weeks ago, I thought he’d turn himself inside out with all the wiggling and whimpering he did. The little shit had ignored me for a while because I’d left him with Tech for too long.
“Torch?”
I glanced from Harley and saw Wrenley looking at me. I tipped my chin up.
“Do you think Harley would be able to go to the dog park one day?”
He listened well to me. But I wasn’t sure.
“Maybe. Haven’t seen him around other animals, though.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s a risk. But he might have fun too.”
Sweet Wrenley.
“We’ll try it. One day.”
Her smile thickened my throat.
Christ. I was damn fortunate to have her happiness aimed at me. My body and mind had never felt as settled as when I was around her. The only thing that annoyed me was my nerves had me fucking up when I talked to her. Not that she seemed to care. My beautiful obsession took me as I was.
So, I’d get there.
She was worth getting over my damn nerves to speak freely and naturally with.
“I’m sure he’ll love it, and he listens well to you.” She suddenly shivered.
“Cold?” I asked.
“Yeah, the afternoons seem to be cooling off quicker.”
I stood, whistled for Harley, and he bounded our way. “We’ll go inside.”
Her laugh warmed me. “We don’t have to go in yet. It’s not too bad.”
Shaking my head, I waved a hand toward the back door.
Wrenley rolled her eyes but did so with a grin as she stood and moved that way. Harley walked beside me as we followed her.
As soon as we were inside, I ordered, “Bed.” Harley took off to the living room, where he had a bed set up. Though, some nights he liked to sleep outside and refused to come indoors, so he had a spot set up out there on the back deck too.
I turned to Wrenley in the kitchen and found her bent over, head in the refrigerator.
Her perky ass pointed my way. It wasn’t wrong to look when it was right in front of me, right?
My cock thickened at the thought of my hands on her round globes, which were hidden behind those formfitting jeans.
I ground my teeth together and forced my gaze away. I did it to test myself so I knew I could do it. But it was also out of respect. Even with what Saint said, I wasn’t going to make her feel uncomfortable by drooling over her ass with a hard dick.
“Since Death and Raya aren’t here for dinner, what about we make some pizzas?” She pulled out two ready-made dough bases.
Facing her again, I asked, “What can I do to help?”
She placed the bases on the counter and ducked back to grab some ingredients. “I’ll get you to cut some things up, if that’s okay?”
“Yeah.” My skills with knives were outstanding—especially when using them on somebody who fucked over the club. Shaking those thoughts away, I washed my hands and dried them.
“If there’s anything you don’t like on yours, then don’t cut it up.”
Nodding, I picked up the knife she’d laid out and got to work while I also kept an eye on Wrenley as she moved around the kitchen doing her own jobs.
Home.
My heart grew heavy as it filled with soft and warm emotions.
This, us, right here, was the first time I truly felt like I was in a home with someone loving at my side.
Fuck me.
Fuck me.
Fuck me.
Home.
Wrenley was my home.
Closing my eyes, I clenched my jaw as the emotions shot higher.
I’d never felt like this.
What even was it?
Happiness?
Love?
Contentment?
Excitement?
What?
I opened my eyes when a hand slid onto my forearm, and I stared down at mesmerizing blue eyes. A wave of calm spread from her hand up and over my body, centering me.
“Are you okay?”
“I have a collection of knives.”
What the fuck?
Why did I blurt that out?
Jesus. My gut hollowed out.
She’s going to think I’m ? —
Her hand gently applied pressure. I moved my glaring gaze from behind her to meet hers.
“I know what you do for the club. I presumed you would have tools to take care of those… issues.”
I searched her face. She really didn’t care that I held weapons at the compound to deal out the punishment to those wrong types of people. Evil. The ones who had hurt us or the good people in society.
We righted the wrongs with our own rules.
And knowing my obsession accepted it, me… Christ, I was going to keep her forever. Even if she didn’t want me in the end, I would always have her. If it had to be from a distance where I had to stay hidden, then so be it.
She graced me with another smile and ducked in to touch her forehead against my upper arm.
“You don’t have to worry about what I think, Torch.”
“I do,” I told her.
I worried all the damn time. I never wanted to lose her light she shined on me or how she graced me with all that she was.
She was my obsession. My addiction.
Her head rose, and she looked right into my damn soul. Her smile softened, and her eyes warmed.
“Okay, Torch. But just know I have no problem with how you and your brothers run things.”
I tipped my chin up slightly. She squeezed my arm and went back to what she had been doing. I picked up the knife, but I didn’t start chopping yet. I used my free hand to touch a couple of fingers to my lips.
She’d got me grinning in a different way than I shared with my family.
My Wrenley was something very special.
I’d have to make sure, while she still wanted me around, to let her know she meant something to me.