7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Despite not knowing what tonight and the coming weeks could bring, Cecilia was happy.
The gifts that Torrent had brought to make them feel at home had been so sweet, coming from the big, gruff, tattooed biker.
Calliope had been ecstatic. When he’d presented Calliope with the necklace and bracelet he’d bought her to match their rings, Cecilia had fought back tears.
Sally had found a pretty top with a scarf that wrapped around her neck and would hide the handprints.
One of the club whores—who she’d learned the club called Whispers—had brought some makeup that covered bruises and had helped her put it on.
She’d been very sweet, even going so far as to say she hoped that Cecilia and Torrent would be happy together.
Now, the same couldn’t be said for another club girl who was sitting on Cauldron’s lap, glaring at Cecilia.
Dragon had told all the guys that as long as Calliope was in the room tonight, there was to be no sex or unclothed tits, dicks, or pussies.
Luckily, Calliope had been upstairs when he said that.
Cecilia guessed it would be almost impossible to keep Calliope from hearing cussing.
She’d need to have a talk about what was appropriate for a ten-year-old to say versus what words were okay for adults to use.
Cecilia didn’t want a call from the school because Calliope had gotten in trouble.
“If we’re ready to start?” the minister said.
Calliope skipped back to Cecilia, grinning and twirling as she got to her.
Calliope and Sally had made them small bouquets. Cecilia hadn’t realized that the funeral home had its own floral shop. Sally had run over and gathered some flowers and tied them with a ribbon.
“You ready, darlin’?” Dragon asked.
He’d told her since her dad wasn’t around that he was standing in for him today.
Cecilia had been trying not to think about how this wedding day was different from what she’d dreamed of.
When she’d imagined it over the years, she’d never considered that her parents might not be here for it.
But she reminded herself that she and Calliope were alive and safe, which was all that mattered.
“I am,” she said, smiling at Calliope and motioning her to go.
Calliope waited, then turned to frown at Cecilia.
“There’s no music,” she muttered.
“That’s okay. We don’t need any,” Cecilia said.
Calliope stepped closer. “You can’t walk to him without music,” she insisted, shaking her bouquet at Cecilia.
Cecilia knelt down so Calliope would get what she was saying. “I’m not walking in to music because we didn’t plan it. You can just walk up there, now.”
“No, no, no. If you’re getting married and Mom and Dad can’t be here, you have to have music!” she screamed.
“Hey, hey, I got you. Is it okay if it plays from my phone?” Maverick intervened.
“Yes, but it better be good. This is Cecilia’s wedding,” she snapped.
Cecilia hadn’t seen this stubborn side of Calliope, but she’d heard enough from her mom to know it was a recent development.
Maverick started the music and looked to Calliope for her approval. As the strains of Michael Bublé’s Can’t Help Falling in Love played, Calliope shook her head.
“That’s old people music. What else do you have?” Calliope demanded.
Mav showed her his music.
“Oh, I love that show. Let’s do that one,” Calliope decided.
Mav nodded. She wondered if she was seeing things. As Mav started the music, his face was turning red.
The song from the KPop Demon Hunters show played. Cecilia knew every word of Golden because Calliope played it endlessly on her phone. Cecilia certainly wouldn’t have pegged Mav as a fan of the show.
Calliope nodded and walked toward the other side of the room where Torrent and the minister were waiting.
Torrent had changed into clean jeans, a black T-shirt, and his cut.
Cecilia had yet to see the man smile, but his eyes spoke volumes.
Dragon and she walked toward him, each step bringing her closer to the man she’d called when she was at her lowest—and he’d shown up.
The outside world called him an outlaw, but when she needed a hero, he did what was needed. Sometimes outlaws were more trustworthy than law enforcement, though she knew some phenomenal law enforcement in St. Louis.
If someone asked her later to repeat her vows, she wouldn’t be able to.
The ceremony passed quickly, with her answering some questions and listening to Torrent answer his.
He slid the ring on her finger, and she slid one on his.
Then came the step she’d been waiting for and dreading equally.
Torrent was a handsome man, but she’d suffered a trauma—and she was worried how she’d respond to his touch.
“You may kiss the bride,” he said.
Oh my gosh. What if she freaked out when he tried to kiss her or if he grabbed her in his arms? She’d held herself together, but she was barely holding on. She didn’t want to embarrass Torrent in front of the club.
Trust me, Torrent mouthed.
Despite barely knowing him, she was going to trust him. He’d come when she was at her lowest and was now tying his life to hers—all to keep her and Calliope safe.
He stepped closer but didn’t cup her face or hold her head in any way. He leaned closer, his warm, minty breath close, then a butterfly touch on her lips, pressing but being ever so careful of her cut mouth. When he pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers, their noses touching.
“Okay?” he breathed.
“Yes,” she whispered back. Her big, gruff biker was so gentle with her. She would have never imagined it.
“Come on. I really thought she’d get the tongue. I mean, did you give her the tongue, Torrent?” Maverick goaded, chuckling.
“Flappy lips, Mav, flappy lips,” Torrent grunted, his lip quirking up at Maverick’s antics.
Sally and Dragon came up to them. Sally hugged her, then Dragon hugged her.
“Mom, tell Torrent I don’t have flappy lips. That’s rude to treat his Vice President like that. I don’t have flappy lips, right?” he pouted, looking at his mom for validation.
Sally laid her hand on Maverick’s face. “Son, you’re so pretty,” she said, kissing his cheek and walking off with Dragon.
“Does that mean you agree with me?” he yelled.
The warmth of Torrent’s hand on her waist guided her away from Maverick.
“Let’s get some food and drink,” he said, stopping to ask Calliope if she wanted to go through the buffet with them.
As they went through the buffet, Torrent pointed out the food that he thought they’d like. When Calliope started to take a piece of chocolate pie, he told her that the person who made it didn’t ever put enough sugar in it. Cecilia loved how he was looking out for her sister.
Maybe if she concentrated on that, she wouldn’t worry about what would happen at bedtime.
Torrent listened as Calliope listed all the things she’d loved about the wedding and party. The food was high on her list, along with the board games that Sally had provided for them to play.
Torrent enjoyed the look on some of his brothers’ faces when they realized the after-wedding party included activities that a ten-year-old could participate in.
Jasmine had pouted the whole night until Sally had finally told her to get her sour face out of the clubhouse.
Chey, one of the Whispers who was also the mortuary cosmetologist, had jumped right in, asking Calliope to explain the games Chey didn’t know how to play.
She’d been the one who had done Cecilia’s make-up for the ceremony.
Torrent thought he’d buy her a gift certificate as a thank you for making both of them feel welcome.
Torrent had appreciated the stunned look on Cauldron’s face every time Cecilia nailed the trivia questions he threw at her.
Cauldron considered himself the smartest person in the room and hadn’t appreciated being shown up.
Torrent had been surprised when Cauldron and Mammoth, their treasurer, didn’t leave when they found out it was a game night.
Torrent had expected them to go chase some tail at the bar on the highway.
“Can I read before bed?” Calliope wondered.
“Whatever you want but don’t stay up too late. Love you,” Cecilia murmured, kissing Calliope’s forehead.
“Night, Torrent. Thanks for my gifts,” Calliope said.
Torrent nodded, handing her the stuffed animals from the bottom of the bed. She settled them around her.
“Night, Calliope,” he echoed.
“Torrent, do you know where my backpack is?” Calliope ventured, her voice small.
Torrent turned back. Her question seemed more than just wondering where something was.
“I’ll check. Was it in the car?” he prompted.
“Yes, the backseat,” Calliope confirmed.
“I’ll hunt it down. Goodnight,” he said again.
He turned off the overhead light as he and Cecilia left, leaving Calliope’s room lit by her new bedside lamp.
“Well, I guess we should get ready for bed too,” Cecilia murmured softly.
“I’ll turn off the lights. Do you usually shower in the morning or night?” he asked.
“I’m usually coming home from a shift, so I shower before bed,” she replied.
“I like to have a hot shower wake me up. Why don’t you go ahead and shower. I’ll get the lights turned off and meet you in there,” he offered.
Cecilia nodded and left the room.
Torrent couldn’t tell where her headspace was at.
Although everything she did was sexy, he wasn’t the type of man who would ever force a woman.
If it was something she wanted tonight, he’d oblige, but he wasn’t the type of man to demand his husbandly rights just because they’d said words in front of a minister.
He clicked off lights, flicked the deadbolts on the door.
Although he didn’t need to lock the door from any of his brothers, with the girls in the room, he wanted those extra seconds to get them safe if someone attacked the clubhouse.
Even though they weren’t actively worried about anyone with the Chief out of town, it didn’t mean the club was safe.
There were always individuals who wanted to take what someone else had built.
He walked into the bedroom. The shower was running and the bathroom door was closed. Torrent hung his cut on the hook he had for it and pulled his T-shirt off, throwing it in the hamper. His motorcycle boots went in their spot, as did his belt. He tossed his jeans into the hamper.
He opened the dresser drawer and selected a pair of shorts to wear to bed. He normally wouldn’t bother, but it seemed his normal had changed. With Calliope in the suite, he’d be wearing shorts.
Envisioning Cecilia in the shower with water sluicing down her naked body and wondering if her breasts were as soft to the touch as he imagined had his cock thickening.
He pressed his palm against it. Trying to stay soft while everything his wife did turned him on had been excruciating when Calliope was sitting on the other side of him.
The last thing he needed was an inquisitive ten-year-old asking what that hard thing was in his jeans.
Which brought up—holy shit, did Calliope know about sex or was that something they’d have to explain? She was way too young for boys, but when she was, Torrent was going to make sure those little shits kept their filthy hands and other appendages off her.
He tugged the covers back and settled against the headboard, turning the television on.
Cecilia came out of the bathroom wearing a T-shirt and shorts. If he wasn’t mistaken, she’d left her bra on. It seemed a good indicator that she wasn’t wanting to jump him tonight, but the trembling as she walked toward the bed screamed to him that his wife wasn’t ready.
She walked over to the side of the bed and got in, pulling the covers up to her chest as she leaned against the headboard.
“How do we do this?” she whispered.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, his voice low.
He’d told her to trust him before he kissed her at the wedding. He hadn’t wanted to trigger anything with her, which is why he’d left his hands at his sides, even though he’d wanted to cup her face as he tasted her mouth.
“I’m not sure why, because we barely know each other, but I do,” she confessed, turning toward him.
“I appreciate your honesty. Tonight, all I’m expecting is a kiss from my wife—a kiss that you’re in control of. Then we can either watch a show if you’re not tired, or we can go to sleep,” Torrent assured her.
“I’m really tired from the day,” she admitted softly.
“Then sleep it is,” he agreed, turning off the television and his light.
He tugged the pillow down from the headboard so he could lie down flat.
“Now, kiss me goodnight. In fact, we should make it a habit that no matter what happens during the day, we kiss each other goodnight right before we go to sleep,” he said, watching her eyes for any panic. If anything, she was intrigued to be in charge.
She leaned over, pausing to stare at him, then placed her plush lips against his. Her breasts brushed against his arm because of their position. He let her lead, but when her tongue traced the seam of his lips, he opened his mouth, kissing her back.
Despite it being the most innocent kiss Torrent ever remembered, his breathing picked up, and he had to force himself not to wrap his hands in the lush, shoulder-length brown hair that was trailing over his chest.
When she eventually pulled away, they were both breathing hard, and her face was flushed. If she looked down the comforter, she’d easily see his cock trying to burst from his shorts.
Her smile after the kiss was breathtaking. Did it make him a sucker that he wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of his life, as often as he could? Something about her had hit him like a lightning strike. She’d awakened something in him that he hadn’t known existed.
“Thank you,” she said, flipping her light off and turning on her side to sleep.
This was not how he envisioned his week going. He’d gone on a run, helped defend a mafia princess in Dodge City, and then gotten married within forty-eight hours of arriving home. If next week was this exciting, Torrent couldn’t imagine what was heading their way.