14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Cecilia finished blow-drying her hair after her shower.
It still felt a little strange to be going to sleep beside her husband.
Calliope had told her all about how long she had screamed when the nightmare came last night.
Cecilia didn’t remember any of it, not until she heard humming and saw Torrent beside her, tapping on her knee to the rhythm of one of her favorite songs.
She stared at her neck. Without the makeup, she looked exactly like what she was—someone who’d been strangled.
Talking with Calliope and Sally about Calliope’s feelings of guilt had helped Cecilia with her own guilt.
She’d been so angry and felt so guilty about letting her guard down and letting him in.
After listening to how he’d manipulated Calliope, Cecilia realized he’d been well-versed in lying and convincing people to do what he wanted.
The uniform had distracted her because of her previous dealings with police officers.
One of her best friends in St. Louis was a police officer.
Through her, Cecilia had met so many caring police officers who did the job because they wanted to make a difference.
Her experience with them had her taking what Horse’s Ass had said at face value.
She was going to try to give herself a little grace and not be angry at herself.
From her training, Cecilia knew she’d have volatile emotions and would move forward in recovery and then have a setback.
But for tonight, she was going to remind herself that it wasn’t her fault and sleep beside her big, gruff biker who had taken her and her sister to get animals—all because he wanted them to feel safe.
She walked out of the bathroom. Torrent was sitting up in bed, reading a book and wearing glasses she hadn’t seen on him before.
She picked up one of the books he’d bought her at the store and settled beside him.
As soon as she was under the covers, Monster jumped on the bed, settling down by her feet.
“Can I ask a question?” she ventured. Something had been bothering her.
“Yes,” he replied, slipping a bookmark between the pages and closing his book.
“Sally doesn’t look old enough to have Maverick. You said you were in high school with Maverick. I’m guessing you’re in your thirties,” Cecilia said.
“Forty-five. Maverick is too. Sally and Dragon met when Dragon moved here. Maverick was sixteen,” Torrent explained.
“And his mother wasn’t around?” she prompted.
“Nope, Whisper who overdosed,” Torrent stated bluntly.
“She treats you both as her sons, doesn’t she?” Cecilia asked softly.
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“And Willow?” she wondered.
“Sally’s daughter, who Dragon met when she was eight,” Torrent said.
“And as far as Dragon’s concerned, she’s his daughter,” Cecilia surmised.
“Yes.”
Just one word, but it meant so much. Maybe that was why Torrent was so good with Calliope when she asked if he was going to be her dad. He hadn’t minimized their dad but had promised to be a big brother.
“And you met at school?” Cecilia clarified.
“Lunch lady wouldn’t let me eat. No cash. Mav shared his. Took me home for supper,” Torrent recounted.
Her heart hurt for Torrent as a teenager who’d been hungry.
“Sally with Dragon took me home after supper. No electricity. No food in house. Parents passed out from sampling their product. Sally told me to get anything I didn’t want to leave.
I packed my two pairs of jeans, underwear, and two shirts.
Came out and my mom was signing something.
Sally handed her cash,” Torrent revealed, staring off into space.
“She paid your mom to sign you away?” Cecilia whispered, her chest tightening.
Torrent nodded. “Best thing that ever happened to me.”
He’d gone through so much, but he still cared about helping her and Calliope.
“Thank you,” she said, touching his hand.
He nodded again. “Tomorrow, shop.”
“What shop?” she asked. She was getting better about deciphering what he was saying, but this one had her stumped.
“Club’s,” he clarified.
“Okay,” she agreed, not really sure what shop he was referring to. The wood one where they built the coffins, or was there a garage the club had?
She didn’t really care. She could trust him not to do anything to put her in danger.
“I’m really sleepy. Can I kiss you goodnight, and I’ll go to sleep? You can read longer if you’d like,” she said.
His mouth quirked. He turned toward her, keeping his hands on the cover. This was the first time he hadn’t lain flat on his back.
She leaned closer, staring at his straight nose, full lips, and close-trimmed beard. His scent wrapped around her. It wasn’t strong. It was the scent of man, with a hint of the outdoors.
She touched her lips to his, pausing to see if anything scared her.
When she was okay, she nibbled along his mouth, tasting each inch before tentatively licking his lips until he opened.
Her tongue tangled with his, and she let herself feel the heat running through her body.
All they were doing was kissing, but her breasts tightened, her nipples beading.
She wanted to see what would happen if she pressed her chest against his but was worried he’d think she was ready for more or that she might freak out because of flashing back.
Tonight, she enjoyed the feelings the kiss evoked until she knew if she continued, she might force herself too far. She pulled back from Torrent’s mouth. His eyes opened. The side of his mouth quirked up. She guessed he was pleased that she hadn’t freaked out.
“Goodnight, Torrent,” she breathed, settling down on her pillow and pulling the comforter up. Monster stood up, turned around and lay with his head on her leg.
“Night, Cecilia,” Torrent echoed softly, taking off his glasses and lying down. The light went off, and Cecilia closed her eyes. She was safe beside Torrent, and if anyone who meant them harm came through that door, she was positive Monster would stop them.