by Billi Jean
Torque filled all those empty places she had. There were just so many, too. She shouldn’t have let him occupy every inch of her with him though. She could see that now.
What did a person do with something like this? She had no one and nowhere to go. He’d become essential. Why had she allowed that?
She leapt up on a fallen tree trunk and walked quickly down to the end and jumped free to head down the steep incline above the cabin.
They’d simply have to talk about the other night and if he looked uneasy or she picked up any weird vibe, she would have to tell him that she couldn’t stay here any longer. She’d explain how she felt, strong, able to take care of herself and ready to stop waiting on her memory.
She wove around a small sapling and the cabin came into view. The dark cabin. He still wasn’t back. The relief shouldn’t make her heart catch, should it? She shook her head and kept going, heading quickly down the frozen hillside.
Or, if he acted odd she’d simply let him know it was okay, that she needed to go now anyway. Maybe make something up. Maybe pretend she remembered something so he could get out of this situation and not feel responsible for her. That way she wouldn’t have to see the censure in his eyes when she explained she wasn’t in need of saving.
She was a witch. Witches had covens. She felt her power now, the simmering of it just there, growing closer each day. She could go to the Immortal Council and ask for aid. He must have known this, but he had never offered it as a solution. Was that because he didn’t want to let her go?
Yeah, that must be it, idiot. It’s obvious he can’t live without you.
Feeling even worse, she opened the back door that led right into the homely little kitchen and quickly shut it. She toed her shoes off—shoes he’d bought her—and shed her jacket, another gift from him.
She didn’t feel cold, at least not on the surface. Inside a chill seeped outward. He’d texted because he didn’t want to talk to her. Right?
Ah, who knows? You can think about it all night and still not know.
The fire had died down when she reached the bedroom. Would he want to sleep with her?
Danu, what is wrong with me? I just decided to leave, not stay!
Two steps inside the bedroom she spun and nearly screamed. Torque sat silently in one of the big chairs by the fireplace, his body nearly hidden in the dark corner of the room. The embers of the fire cast an odd, almost frightening appearance to his features—almost devilish. His eyes showed though, bright and glittering. He’d slouched down in the huge armchair, his butt half off the seat, long legs wide, and his hands twined together over his lean stomach. He was shirtless, she noticed with a thrill.
“Torque! You frightened me. I thought you were still gone.”
“Where were you?”
A shiver travelled down her spine at the harshness in his tone. Suddenly his emotions hit like a flood. They hit so hard she stumbled back a step, clutched at the small table next to the bed, and fought for air. Anger, pain, fear, and something more, something like panic swept over her—from him. Her mind struggled uselessly to unravel the torrent.
“Torque, what is it?”
“I asked you a question.”
“I heard you, I just—”
A low growl, and suddenly she found herself face down on the bed, a two-hundred-pound pissed-off male at her back. She would have screamed, surely she would have if he’d not covered her lips with the palm of his hand, turning her face while he did so he could rasp in her ear. “Why did you do it? A beauty such as you? There’s really no need for the act, you could have just shown up at a bar, wiggled that ass, and I’d have been all over it.” He dug his erection into that ass and captured her hands up above her head, effectively binding her to the mattress even tighter. He released her mouth but ripped her T-shirt off with a snarl, really working up to something that took her breath away. Fear. Fear from him, or her? She opened her mouth but he covered her lips again, silencing her.
“Why the act? Why the damsel in distress, pretty?”
She tried to shift him off, tried to roll or surge or back up or something, anything, but all she ended up doing was nearly suffocating under him while he waited her out. She didn’t even manage to remove his thick erection from where he was digging into areas she just knew he wouldn’t fit. Fright raced through her—her own—but with that fear a rush of lust. Dampness exploded between her thighs. If Torque had been wickedly sweet and hot before and rocked her world, now he was simply destroying her with such passion she felt an orgasm looming.
What was going on? Why was he acting like this? Worse, why am I?
“I’ve thought of nothing else but you all day. All three days,” he grumbled, then hitched his mouth directly over her ear, and growled, “and nights. You did the dishes, didn’t you, pretty? I guess that means payment is due, isn’t it? Is that it? Did you want a taste of the rumours? See if you can handle being one of my toys?”
One of his toys?
He suddenly surged off her but brought his hand down in a heavy caress on her ass. She drew in a painful breath to yell at him—surely she was going to yell at him—when his palm landed again with a heavy sting.
She gasped as her pussy fluttered. “Bastard! What are you—?”
“Ah, ah, name-calling isn’t allowed, pretty.” Six more slaps followed the first, so hot she trembled closer to something so huge she feared blacking out. Her heart beat wildly against her ribs, sending adrenaline laced with pure sexual tension down her body.
She wasn’t the only one affected either.
Torque radiated lust. Each time his hand came down, he dug his erection into the back of her thigh and exhaled heavily against her ear. His dick felt so thick and hard she didn’t know how he could still be in his jeans. The heat coming from that enormous cylinder was driving her insane. He had to be just as lost.
He dragged her yoga pants off with off her with such frantic haste she couldn’t even take advantage of the relative freedom. She would have. Surely, she would have…
“Ah, such a bad, bad, girl. Is this what you wanted, is it?” He shoved his thigh between her legs and delivered another smart smack followed by a devastating bite right on the side of her hip. Oh, Danu, oh, goddess, that felt good.
Past the pleasure, she managed to say, “What are you—?”
“None of that,” he whispered thickly in her ear, clearly so far gone he was nearing his own release. The thought sent her climax nearer to the edge. “Such a bad girl, did you think you could snare yourself a mage? Didn’t you know others have already tried?”
At first, her lust-clouded brain couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. Then, the coward that she was, she tried to convince herself she’d not heard him. The orgasm was so close. So…close. All she needed was one more heavy caress on her butt along with another rough groan, and she’d climax so hard it wouldn’t matter what he said. She’d be screaming in pleasure too loud to hear him.
“Did you? Did you think you could get some of this?” He dug his jean-covered erection back and forth over her burning butt. It felt twelve inches long and six thick. He was huge, had actually frightened her before but she’d rationalised that they had to fit—right? Now? Not so much.
“You wouldn’t be the first, pretty,” he whispered like he imparted some secret.
Amazement dipped Beauty in ice followed by feminine ire enormous enough she was surprised the house didn’t go up in flames. Her butt burned, her pussy wept with heat, but suddenly the lust mixed with something dark, a thought so dreadful she couldn’t even begin to draw it closer.
“Are you drunk?”
He barked a harsh sound that could have been amusement but was so full of scorn, she felt her face flush.
“Fuck no, you wanted me, well here I am. We’ll get that ass nice and warm, then we’ll see just how much you can take, shall we? How much you’re willing to say for what you want.”
She tried to heave him off but he tightened his hold. “You
’ve lost your bloody mind. And if you think—”
He growled. An honest-to-goodness growl vibrated between them, seeming to startle him as much as her. He’d been rubbing her butt, soothing it with tender circles. Suddenly he reared up and caught her hands with both of his, even though she’d not moved.
“Sonofabitch. Stop it!”
Stop what? She wanted to cry.
“What I think is you’re here for my pleasure. Mine. We’ll see if you still claim to know nothing—”
She cut into his breathless insanity, demanding, “What are you talking about? Why are you acting this way?”
“Because you can mean nothing more to me than the others. Nothing. Do you understand?” He shoved her tighter to the bed to emphasise his words.
Wait, what? She froze in the middle of trying to get away. A log on the fire snapped and sap sizzled, sounding loud in the sudden stillness of the room. Her mind went completely, utterly still then took off at lightning speed.
He had others. He had sex with other women. He had other women he held in those arms, let touch his wonderful goatee, and kiss those sinful lips.
He had others.
He doesn’t want me to mean a damn thing more than they did.
Anger, so fierce she didn’t know what to do with, blended with arousal, creating a deadly cocktail of rage. Her skin prickled in warning. She felt betrayed, hurt, and so angry she thought she might explode.
He was hers.
Only hers.
The instinctual, primitive words vibrated in her head, driving her anger higher. Something like electricity crackled in the air between them, caressing down her skin, alighting her senses, and centring her rage. Suddenly Torque wasn’t behind her, wasn’t drilling down into her thigh with harsh breaths against the nap of her neck.
The sound of his large body crashing into the wall across the room shocked her enough that she almost fell off the bed. She grasped at one of the four heavily carved bedposts and stared at him. She hadn’t done that. She hadn’t used power to throw him.
He shook his head like a dog trying to get water off and slowly stood up. She stood, too. No way was she backing down.
“Others?” Her voice sounded choked, angry.
Grey eyes met hers after a heartbeat of silence. A red mark marred his strong face. “No worries, pretty, you stand out.”
Gah, she wanted to smack his face when he used that mocking ‘pretty’.
“I stand out?” She clamped her lips down around more because no way was she screaming at him.
Torque stalked towards her like some hungry panther. Clearly, he wasn’t noticing the anger coming off her. She could feel his, like a hot pulse in the air. She put a table between them but he merely moved to match her retreat.
“Don’t be shy, pretty—”
“Stop this! You’re not touching me so stop right there. I’d rather lie with a ghoul and love it than let you near me.” She hissed the last word, so hurt and confused she reached for a poker from the fireplace, holding it up in front of her ready for battle.
He barked another of those nasty laughs then suddenly sobered and glared at her. “You’ve done something to me. Tell me now, tell me now what you’ve done and who sent you.”
She gaped at him.
His grimace deepened, male irritation filling his expression as he stared back at her with determination and anger in his grey eyes. “Tell me now and I won’t hurt you.”
She shook her head slowly. He’d lost his mind. “What are you talking about? No one sent me, you said you found me!”
As she watched him, she tried to catch her breath, sort this out into something she could understand, but he planted his fists on his hips and quickly snapped, “Don’t lie to me.” Still agitated, he shoved his hair off his forehead and suddenly threw his hands up as he couldn’t get his words out right. “I can’t go to other women. I only think of you. All day. All night. It’s not normal.” He glared at her and pointed a finger at her. “You’ve cast a spell. Tell me now, or I swear to the Gods, you’ll regret it.”
She opened her mouth, but she must not have responded quickly enough, because he tossed the table between them aside and hauled her back in his arms. The air whooshed from her lungs. Her poker fell to the floor with a loud clatter, too. Too bad she’d not hit his bare foot! Damn it!
“Ouch! You jerk, that hurt! And you know what? You’re insane. I’ve done nothing to you. I don’t even remember how to cast a spell, you stupid fucking moron,” she hissed. His faced darkened but she was on a roll. “If I did? It’d be a spell to turn you into a toad right now, not…not…a think-about-me-all-the-time spells!”
He didn’t budge. His face looked carved from stone. But his eyes, oh, Danu, his eyes teemed with threats.
“I can force the truth from you.”
She swallowed, trying to look braver than she suddenly felt. The chill in his tone frightened her. He thought she’d done something to make him think of her. To make him want only her. Reasoning with him might not be so terribly wrong.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have access to my powers yet. I can feel them, but I can’t touch them. I can’t make you want me. No one can do that.” She whispered the last.
“You just tossed me across the room—”
“Well, I can’t do it again you jerk! If I could, you’d be over there again!”
Hurt rose up to blanket the fire of her rage, making her push against his chest again. He caught her hands and pressed them there, holding them and staring down at her with an unreadable expression. His spicy, pine scent filled her nose, and the warmth and hardness of his body mocked her painfully.
“Let me go. Just go and leave me the hell alone. I didn’t ask for you to save me. I didn’t ask for any of this. I don’t need you either. I’m strong, and you know what else? I don’t need to play the weak, silly princess in need of protecting. I’m not weak, I’m strong, and eventually my power will be under my control. Until then, I’ll go and you can to back to—”
“The hell you are. You’re not going anywhere,” he murmured. He shoved her against the wall by the bed with his bigger body, cushioning her back with one of his big arms. “You’re not going anywhere but here, with me.” He spoke softly, but the emotional turmoil coming from him shot with something that shocked her.
Panic.
She shook her head, pushing harder against his hard chest. “Look, you need to let me go, I—”
“I haven’t touched another woman since the day I first saw you.”
Tightening his big arm around her waist, he nuzzled her cheek with his rough jaw. The arrogant jerk. Clearly, he’d lost his mind.
“That doesn’t matter.” Her voice sounded reedy, weak to her own ears but what did he expect? “You think I’m some kind of—”
He jerked his head up, eyes blazing with hunger and lust to say, “Damn you, Beauty, damn us both because neither of us is leaving. Now, on the bed.”
His words stung. He’d just told her he had other women in his life. He thought she’d used some sort of magic on him to make him want her. He’d given her the most amazing experience in her life. Okay so she couldn’t remember her life, but…it wasn’t just the sex, it wasn’t just the last two weeks, it was all of him. Him. Larger than life and filling her with such…warmth. And after showing her such pleasure in his arms, he’d disappeared for three days. He didn’t trust her. The hurt grew until she realised what she’d done.
She’d fallen in love with him, hadn’t she?
It certainly felt that way. Like he was tearing her heart out. A tear escaped before she could hold it back.
She refused to acknowledge it.
He grimaced, raised his hand to her face, and gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek, his eyes focused on the wetness, not her eyes.
“There are no others. One look at you, and there was no one else for me. There never has been.”
As close as she was to him, she barely heard him. Sadness
and pain radiated between them. His reassurance sounded like the truth. But did he trust her? Could she trust him? If Torque wanted her—now—and the erection pressed hotly against her stomach certainly did, he’d have to learn her first rule.
There was only one.
Only her.
Chapter Eight
Something changed within Beauty, a subtle relaxing of her muscles followed by a sense of resolve in her eyes that should have made him leery.
“Mmm, well, if there are others? You are going to learn a rule tonight, Torque.”
The sexy defiance in her tone went straight to his dick.
He jerked her closer, ending her little threat with a gasp. The kiss wasn’t a mere sharing of lips, he devoured her, giving her hard, punishing kisses meant to teach her she belonged to him. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t.
She didn’t back down, instead she thrust her tongue against his, duelling him for supremacy with the kiss. Part of him melted, ached for the man he’d been to her just days before while the rest of him demanded she take as much as she could of who he was now. He needed her to accept him, like this, demanding every bit of her surrender.
She gave. She pressed into their kiss with a passion he’d never found anywhere else and never would, he knew. He needed this, her, them.
“Damn it,” he muttered against her mouth. “I need this. You can’t do this to me.”
He took her mouth again when she would have spoken. Her green eyes blazed hurt at him, but he couldn’t bear it if she cried now.
