by Angela Foxxe
“Is the fight over?”
“Yep, everyone went back to their prospective holes and we’re on our own for the moment.” He shrugged, smiling slightly at his little joke.
“This can’t be easy for you. Did everyone make it through?”
“Yeah, we don’t fight to kill amongst ourselves. It’s kind of become an unspoken rule.”
I giggled a little. “It would have been nice to have known that earlier. It might have saved me a lot of worry.”
“Did you ever think that they were going to kill you?” Torrance looked horrified by the thought.
“I thought so. Of course I did.”
“They weren’t going to kill you.” He scoffed at the idea and I couldn’t help but sit there in embarrassed silence while he thought about it. “It’s not like that. I know it seems that way, but most of it’s for show.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like a tradition to fight amongst ourselves.”
I stared at him, forming my response to the incredible thing that he was telling me. “Are you really saying that?”
“I think that’s what I mean. It’s hard to explain. We do this because it’s how we were raised. No, it’s more than that. It’s in our nature, in our genes to compete.”
“What are you talking about? What are you trying to tell me?” I couldn’t stand it. This was something serious, but everyone seemed to treat it like it was some sort of intrigue that happened on a daily basis. I didn’t know how to respond, not in the slightest, and I didn’t like that. Instead I stared at him, unable to draw in understanding from the flippant manner he regarded the threat. “What exactly is this threat to? Your power? Is power so important?”
“Of course it is. If I gave her the power, she would use it to hurt us. I have to defend it.”
I was going to hit him where it hurt. “I’m sure that’s what all dictators say.”
“I’m sure it is. I know you don’t understand. I know that I’m not explaining this properly, but give me a chance. I’m not some nut trying to use you as a tool to power. I don’t want you to have to live with this. I want you to have something better.” He placed his head in his hands, trying to find the words that he needed to say. I knew that he wanted to help me understand, but still I couldn’t find the energy to make little power games all that important. “Think of it like human politics.”
“What are you talking about? We don’t pick fights and kidnap people.”
“But you do start wars and things like that. Politicians pull little underhanded games all the time. They often do it and it hurts the people of the country that they’re supposed to serve.”
“Is that what you’re claiming that this is?”
“Pretty much.”
“I don’t get it, but I guess I can’t judge. Still I don’t particularly like being taken against my will and the place that I’m sleeping catching on fire.”
“It has been quite an adventure, hasn’t it?” His grin was sheepish. He was hoping that I might be ready to see the humor in what had happened in our lives, but I wasn’t ready. I frowned and looked at him. “I’m sorry. That was in bad taste.”
“You’re damn right it was.” I stood up. I was ready to leave. “I don’t want to deal with this anymore. I’m done.”
“Look, I get that you’re upset. You can’t be happy, but just give me a chance. I promise you. This isn’t everything. There are some really wonderful things about my people. We’re adventurous and wild. We know passion, we’re free.”
“Your crazy politics or whatever, don’t make you seem very free.”
“Have you ever run naked in the woods, feeling the freedom from things like clothes and expectations? Have you ever witnessed the beauty of nature, unfettered by human hands? I don’t think I’m using that word right…”
I shrugged. “I have no idea if you’re using it right.”
He groaned. “When did we lose the conversation?”
“When you tried to use a word that you didn’t understand.” I couldn’t help but to laugh a little. It was pretty funny.
“I shouldn’t do that.” He was smiling, I was smiling, and the room was starting to feel a little warmer. It was ridiculous how something like that could easily diffuse a tense situation and a part of me wondered if he did it on purpose. I decided not to ask. “It’s never a good idea.”
“You think that you would have picked it up ages ago, being the boss and all that. Your employees have to be able to respect you and you aren’t going to get that respect if you aren’t confident in actually knowing the English language.”
“I think I do just fine.” He was sarcastically defensive.
“Well, I know that I work for you and that I can’t take you very seriously right now.” I wanted to elbow him in the ribs, but I wondered if that would be going too far. Instead, I made the desired motion some distance away.
His eyes sparkled with amusement. I didn’t know that it was possible for him to become any more handsome than he already was, but he had become that. My heart started to pound. I wanted to tell it to stop, but I knew that this kind of thing wouldn’t end even at my command.
My body knew that it was near a handsome and kind man and I was ready to fall into his arms. It didn’t matter if I thought that it was a good idea or not. My body wanted what it wanted. “Look, I give in. You win. What do you want for your prize?” I bit my lip. That was a loaded question. I knew what I wanted to answer, but I wasn’t willing to go that far yet. It must have taken about thirty seconds of internal debate for Torrance to realize what was going through my mind. His face beamed and he stared for a moment.
“Whatever you would like.” His voice was soft, satin and seduction all rolled up into one.
I drew in a ragged breath. “I’m not sure you want to give me what I want.”
He stepped towards me. The game we had been playing was forgotten. There was no space for innuendo anymore. We were in the middle of full-blown flirting and I couldn’t have made myself regret it even if I wanted to. I looked up at him, his eyes were glittering and free. I wanted him. My arms reached up, wrapped around his shoulders, pulled him close. He came willingly, moving in to kiss me. He knew what I wanted. His eyes weren’t glittering with laughter anymore, there was something else there. Another emotion had filled his gaze and I knew what he wanted.
His bestial nature knew lust and I had become the target of it. I wanted him as bad as he wanted me. How long had he wanted me? I wondered that much, but didn’t take too much time to ponder over the answer. It didn’t really matter. What mattered was the fact that he wanted to take me onto the bed, or the floor, or wherever he had a chance to have me and take me to new heights of ecstasy. I can’t say that I would have regretted had he chosen to do that, but in that moment his arms merely wrapped around me, pulling me into his hard chest.
My heart fluttered a bit, flying into my throat as I looked at him. I knew what I wanted, I knew that he wanted the same thing. I knew that no matter what was going to happen that I would stand and stay strong. I wanted him, his body seemed to know my need and respond to it with a great unending desire of his own. “We shouldn’t do this.”
“I know.” His lips were feathers on my lips. “I need to stop.”
He started to pull away and I pulled him closer. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.” I was breathless with desire for him. I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted to continue feeling his hands run over my body, bothering me in ways that I didn’t quite understand yet. He was a beautiful man and he continued, wordlessly kissing me and it felt like I was being devoured, body and soul. I liked it. I liked it more than I was willing to admit at the time. I loved the feel of his smooth hands and his hairless chest. He was built of handsome and I knew it. I knew how lucky I was to feel his body so close to mine. My breasts were squished against his hard pectorals. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I heard him groan.
“You drive me crazy, you know that?”
That caught me off guard. “No.” I stepped back. “I had no idea.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He put his head into his palm. He didn’t want to look at me. He couldn’t look me in the eye.
I can’t say that I blamed him much. Had I come out and said something like that I would probably be embarrassed. But I had to make it clear. I wasn’t bothered by what he had said. In fact I was thrilled by the prospect. “Don’t worry.”
He glanced up at me, only for a moment. “I shouldn’t feel like that. This won’t protect you.”
“It’s just a little complicated.” I was starting to sound lamer and lamer. I couldn’t figure out what to say so I just started to spit out cliché after cliché, hoping that it would change something. It wasn’t going to change anything. It never did. I knew that he wanted me. I just had to get up the nerve to tell him how my body craved his very touch. That I needed him to be near me or I felt like I was drowning. I needed to say the words that I was addicted to his scent. I didn’t say those things however. Instead I just patted his shoulder like a grieving child and said, “There, there.”
He stopped and looked at me. “Did you really just do that?”
It was my turn to hang my head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I’m just not very good in these kinds of conversations.” My answer was mumbled and low. I didn’t know how to say what I wanted to say. I wished that he could have read my mind in that moment. It would have made him feel better, but he couldn’t do that. There wasn’t anything that I could do until I could find the words. “I just don’t know how to say it.” I finally admitted it and he looked at me with a smile. He understood. “I don’t know what to say what I’m feeling right now. I’m sorry. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Is there any way that I can help?”
“I don’t think so.” I gulped. My mind raced over the possibilities. There was a stone in my gut. I felt his closeness, the way his body moved. Even when he was nervous, there was grace there. That was something that I didn’t have. “I don’t think you can help.”
“We shouldn’t do this.”
“I know, but…”
He groaned in response, moving closer, as if he was testing things. “I’ll go if you want me too.”
“I don’t want you to go.” It was the truth. I wanted him to stay the night. I wanted him to stay here with me.
Even though I had whispered the words, I knew that he heard me. I knew that I wanted to be with him. Even though I knew that it would probably only be short term. Torrance didn’t seem the type to stay in long term relationships. He focused more on the great things that he had to accomplish and had no time for the little things that might give him a little happiness. I could understand why he would behave that way. It was a simple thing to follow. I got it and it made me happy.
I knew that the world was hard for someone who had power, but I had no idea that it could lead to kidnappings and constant attacks. Before I came into this world, I had no idea that I could have been the source of power, but here I was, like some mystical stone that granted kingship. Something about it all made me feel a bit heady, like the world was perhaps a bit more than I expected.
It was something that I appreciated and I looked at the man who had brought me into this world. I appreciated him for doing what he had done, even if I didn’t really know how to say it. I mean, how do you say something like that? How do you thank someone for putting you into this kind of world, for bringing you into that kind of danger and not sound completely sarcastic. I could have struggled with that for an eternity. “I’ll stay.” I think that he understood as he whispered his response, moving closer. There was power in the exchange. I had called the shots and I knew that I wanted him. I stepped up and our lips met, power flowing over us.
I can’t say that I understand the powerful attraction between Torrance and myself, but let me just say what happened next was a torrent of discarded clothes. We were naked, standing before each other. I was suddenly conscious of the couple of pounds that I had put on so far in the pregnancy. They weren’t visible to anyone else but me, I knew that, but they still made me nervous. I drew in a deep shaky breath and plunged in, forcing myself to ignore the nagging doubts that plagued the back of my mind. They had no place in the passion that we were about to share. His hands roamed over my body, touching me on my breasts.
His palms cupped my breasts, squeezing and tugging. It drove me crazy to feel the touch of them on my flesh. I groaned and moved into him and his lips claimed mine once again. We were naked, standing in the room in all of our glory and his hands were on me, driving me to the edge of insanity as he flicked my nipples. “Oh, God!”
“Baby.” He was moaning. “Amy, baby.” He didn’t sound like he had any control over what he was saying. His hands moved to my back, pulling me closer and I could feel his hardness against my stomach I needed him. I knew that. I couldn’t have hid that if I tried and he needed me as well. The evidence of our desire covered the room. In fact my shirt had landed up on the top of the curtains, and hung down like some sort of decorative valance.
“Torrance.” I was panting with desire. I didn’t know how to respond to the kind of thing that he was doing to me, to the power that he held in his arms, but I knew that I loved it, every minute of his roaming hands. I knew what I wanted and he had it. I reached my hand down and wrapped it around him. He reacted with pleasure, his voice growing husky as he asked for more. I was in charge and he knew it. Slowly I gave him orders, his mouth brought me pleasure, and then his fingers traced little circles on my flesh. I knew what he was doing and I loved every second of it. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“They aren’t going to stop.” His eyes traveled elsewhere for a second. His mind was on the danger before us, but it didn’t stay there. As soon as he remembered my naked body, his mind was back where it needed to be. I reached up, his chest was against mine and he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he entered me without delay. He was strong as he thrust into me, my back now against a wall. I rode him over wave after wave of ecstasy and I screamed out his name. He whispered mine in response, but his voice was expressive. It told of desire that had no place in the world.
When it was over, we lay panting in each other’s arms. My body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and I was comfortable to be next to this man.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
Surveying the damage, I could see the fear in his eyes. His mansion had nearly burnt down overnight. Everything would have to be rebuilt. No one was injured, but still the damage would cost him a lot. “Is there anything that I can do?”
He sighed, placing the palm of his hand over his forehead he thought. “I don’t think so. I’ll just have to get it fixed up.”
“Are you sure?” I touched his arm. The night before we had slept together and he had not disappeared. The act of waking up together had seemed to have changed things. Now I was more concerned about his well-being than rather or not my touch would make him uncomfortable. After all, in the grand scheme of things, if I truly felt the way that I was starting to feel I shouldn’t have worried about whether or not something was proper. I should have cared more about helping, about doing something, about stopping the devastation that I had seen on his face.
“Yeah, it was worth it. I kept you.” He smiled, and I could see the grateful joy on his face. “I’d give up the world to save you.”
“The baby will be fine.”
“I know, and so will you.” He hugged me and it was warm, comforting. I knew that he felt that lives were more important than stuff, but still losing his home had to have stung. “I’ll rebuild.”
“That’s good.” I touched his arm as he pulled away. He turned back from the scene and looked at me. “I’ll help however I can.”
“All I need you to do is take care of yourself and that baby. I’ll get some contractors out her to take care of this right away. Every
thing will be fine.”
“Do you have any idea where this started?” I pointed to the burnt out husk of a mansion.
“None. I haven’t had anyone out to check it out yet.”
I searched the ruins. The truth was that it was hard to figure out what to do about the situation. I never had the right thing on my lips so I studied the area, trying to see something useful. “It looks like the side that we were staying in was hit the worst.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” He frowned. “It doesn’t matter. You made it out.” He smiled at me. His mind appeared to be turning around itself. “I’d give a thousand mansions if no one lost their lives.”
I patted his shoulder. “Should we be talking about this right now?”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say that we should get out of here. This is depressing.”
“I know.”
“We can deal with this later. Right now, let’s just go.”
He smiled, but his face was sad. “I’ve had worse days.”
“I just can’t think of when.” I finished his sentiment and we walked off into the sunset. I wish that I could say that all of our problems ended there, but it wasn’t the case. We still that the problem with the tiger lady to deal with. We both knew that she wasn’t going to stop until she had what she wanted. Her barbarity, while beautiful, wasn’t something that would be acceptable for very much longer. You couldn’t live in the wilderness and survive in the city at the same time. Torrance was the city. He was powerful and strong, someone that could hold up the world if he was given a chance. I loved him for that. Someday I knew that I would tell him how I felt, but at the time, I knew that I would not be willing to.
