Chapter 15 #2
“How do you know? I literally put a truth spell on your head.”
“I mean, you didn’t direct it at me. From my understanding, I interrupted it, didn’t I?”
I shrugged one shoulder, noncommittal, and he laughed.
“You can’t fully take the blame on that one, darling.”
My insides did a funny thing when he called me darling in that tone.
“What about Avery?” I asked softly, hating that I needed to go there.
I didn’t want to ruin this sweet moment, but it was clear that Torin had invaded my mind, and possibly my heart.
If I were to think about truly giving this a go, I needed to clear up the past. “I … haven’t wanted to bring it up.
But I think I should understand what happened with you two.
Really understand. Because I’ve carried that guilt for years. ”
His jaw tightened slightly. He shifted closer, his knee brushing mine, and I met his gaze.
“I’ve always been a steady as you go kind of lad,” he began. “It’s my nature.”
“Taurus, through and through.” I smiled at him and gestured with my wine glass for him to continue.
“I guess when I care for someone—my mum, my mates … I’m there. Always. I show up. I like to make sure people are safe. I like to help to … I don’t know, keep their worlds running. Whatever.”
Classic for his chart. His Cancer Moon made him a natural nurturer.
“Avery liked that about me at first,” he said. “Said it made her feel secure. But over time…” He shook his head. “She grew restless. She had an agenda, you see? And I didn’t follow it closely enough. She had our whole lives mapped out while I was still just getting to know her.”
My breath caught. So there had been issues outside of my reading that had caused them to break.
“You had a tricky chart alignment,” I said, looking at him over my wine glass. “It was what I was trying to explain to her. It’s not impossible, no partnership is impossible. But some take a hell of a lot more work than others.”
“I did try,” Torin continued. “I did work hard at that relationship. But she wanted the kind of man who would fall neatly in line with her plans.” His mouth curved wryly. “That’s not me.”
“No,” I said softly. “It’s not.”
“And I’m not sorry about that,” he said. “What hurt wasn’t that she left. I think we both knew it was coming. What hurt…” His throat bobbed. “Was her telling people I cheated on her. That I broke her heart and that I was untrustworthy.”
“I know.” I did, because I’d been blasted with the same rumor.
“She said it to justify leaving. And once she said it, she had to keep going.” He shrugged one shoulder. “People believed her.”
“People shouldn’t have. It wasn’t fair,” I insisted.
“Life isn’t fair. But I’ve always been a man of my word. I take pride in that. And suddenly I was … branded a cheat.” He looked down at his hands. “I retreated after that. Work, the woods, my mum. Few close friends. Kept my circle small. Easier that way.”
I’d done the same. In the form of running to Glasgow and starting my life over.
“And now?” I whispered.
He lifted his gaze to mine. “And now … you’re here.”
My heart thudded.
“You’re nothing like her,” he said gently.
“You’re warm, open, funny as hell. You feel everything.
You believe in good, everywhere you go. You’re constantly talking to yourself or drifting away mid-conversation.
You leave crystals and flowers and earrings all over the place.
It was like I was living in black and white, and you’ve brought a box of crayons to color in my empty spaces. ”
My eyes filled. It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me.
And I knew it was the truth as he literally couldn’t lie. This man was knocking me sideways, but it also felt so right to be with him.
“Don’t cry,” Torin said, panic filling his voice. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“No, it’s a good cry. I promise.” I dashed the back of my hand across my cheek. “You don’t need to apologize for anything you’ve said.”
Torin tilted his head at me. “And that’s another thing … you don’t demand I be anything I’m not.”
A soft, trembling laugh escaped me. “I think you’re probably giving me too much praise, Torin. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”
“That’s fine,” he murmured. “I do.”
His hand moved—slowly, deliberately—just enough to brush my knee.
A spark shot through me.
Bracken jumped up, shooting a look between us, and scampered off the couch and down the hallway.
“Can he get outside?”
“Back door is cracked just a smidge for him,” Torin promised. I smiled. It was these little things that Torin did, always looking out for others, that was making it impossible for me not to want to climb on his lap and not think about what would come tomorrow.
“I don’t want to be na?ve,” I whispered. “I don’t want to be the fool who trusts too easily.”
“You’re not na?ve,” he said, voice low and certain. “You’re brave. You walk into the world without armor. I respect that more than you know.”
My breath hitched.
He continued softly, “And I’m not going to hurt you, Liora. Not intentionally. Not ever.”
I swallowed hard. “You can’t promise that.”
“No,” he agreed. “But I can promise I’ll try my damned hardest.”
He paused.
“And that when I feel something, I won’t run from it.”
My entire body went still.
“You feel something?” I whispered.
He moved closer.
Firelight danced across his features, making his eyes look darker and more dangerous.
“I do,” he said. “More than I should. More than I expected.”
I exhaled shakily.
Torin took a slow breath. “Tell me what you’re afraid of.”
I tore my gaze from his and stared into the flames. “I’m afraid … that I’ll mess this up.”
“You won’t.”
“I’m afraid I’ll fall too fast.”
“So do I.”
I looked at him.
He held my gaze, unflinching.
“I’m afraid,” I whispered, “I’m not enough.”
Torin reached up, fingers brushing my jaw.
“Liora,” he said, voice roughening. “You are more than enough. You’re more than I deserve.”
Emotion clawed up my throat. That wasn’t remotely true, but since he couldn’t lie, it was clear he believed it.
“And I’m afraid,” I whispered, “that if I let myself hope that this could be real, the moment that I do? It will all fall apart.”
He shifted, kneeling on the rug before me, sliding between my thighs as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I won’t leave,” he said softly, looking up at me. He took the wine glass from my hand and put it on the table behind him. Nerves hummed, hot and low, and I shifted, opening my legs further. “Not unless you tell me to. I’m here. Choosing you.”
My breath caught. “You can’t know that yet.”
“I do.” His hands slid up my thighs and then back down, absently stroking, while desire came to life under his touch. “I don’t know where this will go, Liora. I can’t presume to know what next year will look like. But I know what I want in the now. And how I can see a future with you.”
A tremor ran through me. “Torin…”
He leaned closer, his hands continuing to stroke my legs. A fine tremble began to work its way through my body.
“I bet you could see it too, if you let yourself look.”
“Bad idea,” I said, shifting and widening my legs even more. I desperately wanted this man’s hands on me. “I’m too emotionally attached to the outcome to look.”
“Tell me,” he whispered, leaning forward, his gaze desperate. “Tell me you want this too.”
I closed my eyes.
“I want this,” I breathed. “I want you.”
He exhaled like he’d been holding it for hours.
“Good,” he murmured.
Then his mouth found mine.
The kiss wasn’t tentative.
It demanded. Everything.
His hand slid into my hair, tilting my face up. My fingers dug into his shoulders, pulling him closer until the world narrowed to heat and heartbeat and want. His lips were warm and firm, coaxing mine open, tasting like wine and something sweeter—like he was letting himself hope, too.
I made a soft, helpless sound against his mouth, arching my hips against him, and he broke the kiss, smiling wickedly at me.
“You did that the other night too, didn’t ye, lass?” Torin trailed a finger across the snap of my jeans. “At the pub. When I had you pressed against the wall. You remember? You rocked into me. Needing more.”
“I…” I dropped my head back when he unsnapped my jeans and tugged them down, along with my pants, leaving me exposed to his face. It was such a shocking move, to go from kissing all week to suddenly being half naked in front of him, that I struggled to sit up a bit. “Torin!”
“I won’t touch if you don’t want me to.” Torin stopped where he was pulling my jeans off around my ankles and sat back on his knees, waiting for permission.
My entire body thrummed with need. It seemed to always do so, around him. It had probably been the shirtless wood chopping that had tipped the decision in my head, I just hadn’t admitted it to myself yet. But, bloody hell, did I want this man.
“Och, I mean, go ahead. If you’re so inclined, that is.” I sniffed, awkwardly, and mentally died a bit inside at my words.
If you’re so inclined. Bloody hell, Liora. Who even said things like that?
But then I couldn’t think anymore as his mouth found me and he devoured me like a man who had been desperate for a taste.
It was so starkly shocking. One moment he was lightly stroking my legs, and the next he’d opened me, delving deeply with his tongue, the friction and heat hitting me just right. I arched my back, falling backward on the cushion, as his mouth took over and all I could do was feel.
This man was made for loving.
That’s all I could think about as he dedicated his entire focus on my pleasure.
If I moaned, he paused, repeating where he licked.
If I squealed, he paused and then sucked harder, in the exact spot that I needed.
As pleasure built inside me, low and hot, rising to a crest, I began to moan and rock against his face.
“Please, Torin. Please. I need…” I trailed off as he lapped across me, sending a shockwave of desire through me, and then slid a finger deep inside of me.