Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Cat
He was my first love. I want him to my first everything. -Cat
The motorcycle roars around another curve and I hang on tight to Tornado.
I close my eyes as the wind rushes past us.
I know my hair is going to be crazy and full or tangles when we finally stop, but I can’t seem to care.
It makes me feel a little rebellious, like I’m saying another “fuck you” to my family and their rules and regulations.
I burrow my head into his back and feel a secret thrill at the closeness of my body to his. This is the way I always want it to be. Just the two of us.
When Tornado finally pulls off the road, I look up anxiously.
“Where are we, Tor?” I whisper as the bike shutters to a stop.
“I told you I wanted to show you my favorite place. This is it.” He swings his leg over the bike and shakes his hair out as he takes off his helmet. His hair is longer than it used to be. Now all I want to do is run my fingers through the brown strands.
I take my helmet off too, feeling sweaty and a little grubby. I glance around. All I see is trees and rocks.
I raise an eyebrow. “Here is your favorite place?”
He grins. “Well, actually it’s a little bit further up the path,” he points towards the woods, “but we can’t get there on my bike. Come on, princess. Let’s go for a walk.” He takes a small bag from the back of the bike and throws it over his shoulder.
I groan. “I know you, Tor. Your “little walk” is going to turn into a couple of miles.”
He gives me a smirk. “Maybe, maybe not.”
Of course, I’m right. I follow him through the brush, trying not to trip over rocks and tree limbs that sit right in our path. The narrow dirt path is well-worn, but I can tell it’s not kept up regularly.
A tree branch slaps me in the face, and I let out a grumble of discontent. “Tor, I’m not exactly into nature all that much. Are we almost there?”
Tor stops, turning to me with a grin. “You were always up for anything when we were little, Cat, remember? You were so damn competitive. Where’s your fighting spirit?”
“Ugh, it died about a mile back,” I quip back.
It bugs me that he has barely broken a sweat while I feel the trickle of it making a trail down my back. He’s in a leather jacket, for heaven’s sake, and still looks good as hell. My gaze lands on his backside as he climbs over another rock. Fudge, that man has an ass that won’t quit though.
I almost stumble into him when he finally comes to a stop.
“This, Cat. This is my favorite place.” He holds his arms out wide and I finally take in my surroundings.
We’ve reached a clearing. I step forward and my breath catches in my throat. Around us, the mountains stand like a fortress. Below us, in the valley of those guards, is the little town of Holly Oaks. Wind rustles my hair and I take a deep breath.
“I feel small up here,” I say softly. And I do. The green mountains of the Appalachians tower above us. There’s a small waterfall trickling to our left that leads into a stream. The only sound is the gurgle of the water.
Tornado stands with his hands on his hips. “I know, princess. I always do when I stand here too. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something much bigger.”
I step forward and reach for his hand. He quickly clasps my hand in his and I feel the instant connection.
I look down at our joined hands. This seems right.
“I came here a lot when I first found this place, not long after I left. I was tired of running and this felt like a good place to stop. I sat up here, on that boulder over there,” he points to a large rock nearby, “and thought about you. Wondered what you were doing, where you were, if you missed me at all.”
I try to let go of his hand, a sudden anger rushing through me. He holds on tighter. “Nope, I’m not letting you go, princess. Not this time.”
“Then why did you leave me, Tor? Why did you leave that night? I thought we were going to…well, I assumed we would…” I stumble for the right words to say I thought you were going to fuck me, you dummy, and we would live happily-ever-after, but that doesn’t sound right.
“You thought we were going to make love?” he asks in a gentle voice.
I nod meekly.
“So did I.” He bites down on his lower lip. “But your dad saw me that night. He saw how I watched you. He found me before I could go to you that night.”
Dread fills me. I know exactly how my father would act if he found out about Tor and I. He would be an absolute monster.
“What did he threaten?” I ask in a cold voice.
He glances over at me and then back at the view again. “He told me he would fire my father. And…well, that he would….”
“That he would what?” I question quietly. “There’s nothing you could tell me that would surprise me about him, I promise.”
“He told me he would hide you away, make sure you never went to college, never got to see the world. He would take everything from you that you loved. Your art, your dreams, all of it.”
I clear my throat, feeling a sudden lump in my throat. Tears threaten to rush forward. “Well, jokes on you because he never let me go anywhere anyway.”
His face is tortured as he gazes at me. “I’m so sorry, princess. I thought you would go to art school. I thought you would have had a better life without me…”
I squeeze his hand. “Oh, Tor, how could I have better than you? I wish you had told me. We could have worked it out. We could have…”
His grey eyes turn to steel. “We could have what? I had no money. I had no future. You deserved better.”
I lean into him and touch the scruff on his face. “I deserved you. I still do. You’re all I’ve ever wanted or needed.”
His eyes flicker with heat. “Do you mean that, princess? Do you still want me? Do you still feel the same way?”
“Always, Trent “Tornado” Middleton.” I grin when he flinches.
He groans. “Please don’t call me Trent. Anything but that.”
I take another step towards him and put a hand on his chest. “Only if you kiss me. Otherwise, you’ll always be Trent to me.”
“Fuck,” he mutters and pulls me in against him. Our bodies fit together perfectly.
When he does kiss me, it’s just as magical as it was that last night we were together.
We take our time with each other, tongues tangling and exploring each other.
Heat flows through my body like lava as he kisses me again and again.
My hands tangle in his hair and I try to bring him even closer. I want all of him. I want him now.
I finally pull away, breathing hard.
“I want you to be my first, Tor. I always did,” I say breathlessly.
His eyes widen. “You’re still untouched, Cat?”
I stroke his cheek and he leans in, giving my palm a kiss. “Of course, you numbskull. I never wanted anyone but you to be my first. I never wanted anyone the way I wanted you. No one else mattered.”
He grins and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You may not believe this, but I…I, um…” He blushes and I laugh.
“Where’d my smooth talker go, Tornado? What are you trying to tell me?”
His cheeks turn fiery red. “I never…well, I didn’t want to…” he lets out a long breath. “I never slept with anyone either. I couldn’t get over you. I always knew it was meant to be you.”
And with those words, my heart melts. Mine. He’s always been mine.
I touch his reddened cheek. “You are amazing, Tor. There must have been so many chances, so many times that you wanted to…I would have loved you either way. I would have wanted you either way. I never expected…”
He puts an index finger to my lips. “It wasn’t right if it wasn’t you.” He shrugs. “I knew I would find you again one day. I always thought I would be the one going to you though. I just hoped you wouldn’t marry one of those pretty boys that went to school with you.”
I run my hand over his bearded chin. “Why the hell would I want one of them when I’ve always wanted you?”
I step closer and wrap my hand around his neck. He leans down and I kiss him fiercely. “I tried so long to forget you or hate you. Maybe it’s time to just love you,” I whisper.
I take his hand and place it on my breast, offering myself to him.
“Here?” he asks gruffly. “You want your first time to be here?”
I giggle. “Unless you don’t have a blanket in that bag of yours, but I highly suspect you do.”
He blushes again. My strong man, so soft on the inside. “I do, but I didn’t plan this, I swear. I thought we would just sit and talk and…”
I nibble at his ear, and I feel his body stiffen. His cock is hard against my belly. My body heats in response. “Some things are better if they’re not planned.”
There’s a second of hesitation. A second where he looks down at me with those grey eyes of his and seems in awe that this is really happening. Then he moves away from me, and I groan.
“Please tell me you’re not saying no, Tor. I really want this to happen.”
He grins. “Just getting ready for you. Let me give you a little romance here.”
He pulls a red blanket from his small backpack and lays it down on the ground next to us.
“You should have candles. You should have something…” He rustles around in his backpack again and pulls out his phone.
He fiddles with it until music booms out.
At first, it’s a loud rap song and he rushes to change it.
I giggle again. This Tornado, this slightly awkward, caring guy is the one that I grew up with.
Soon, a slow song starts to play. One that I remember dancing to on that night of my eighteenth birthday.
I cock my head to the side. “You remembered this song?”
“I always wanted to dance with you to it,” he says softly. “I hated watching you with someone else.”
I start unbuttoning the plaid shirt that I’m wearing, feeling my fingers shake as I slowly undo that first button, then the second…
Tornado pulls off his jacket, throwing it on the boulder nearby. His eyes are a dark grey now, swirling with heat and want. That look makes me bold. I move faster, my hands flying as I finish unbuttoning my shirt. I throw it to the side.
There’s so much tension in the air. So much anticipation.
Tor pulls his t-shirt over his head quickly and I feel my breath whoosh from my chest. Damn, he’s beautiful.
His chest is hard muscle and patches of black hair.
His nipples are small, hard pebbles and I ache to run my tongue over every part of him.
I unsnap my bra, letting the cups of it fall and then pulling the straps from my shoulders.
His eyes narrow and he finally does what I’ve been waiting for him to do all along. He loses control.