She made the mark quick. He’d bled enough today and she didn’t want to shred him, but her tiger wouldn’t let it be a light mark either. She tore his skin right at a blank space in his tattoos so everyone could see it. She made it deep and rough so it would hopefully heal red and angry-looking, so the people who kept coming after him for the throne could see he didn’t belong to the gorillas. He belonged to a rogue tiger who would always have his back, stalking anyone who messed with him. Her claws were his, just like his fists belonged to her. Her teeth were his too, and right now they were the weapon that would tell the world he wasn’t up for grabs.
She released his skin and licked the blood off him because the tiger inside of her required that. She needed to clean him, so she did. Over and over until their orgasms had faded to nothing. Until he relaxed into her animalistic affection. Until he was petting his fingertips down her ribs in comforting strokes. Until his skin fused together and stopped bleeding completely.
And then he finished his part of the promise. Easing back, he cupped her cheek and searched her eyes as he murmured, “I’m not running. I’m here.” He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose…her lips. “I’m right here.”
Chapter Ten
“This is the most sparkly thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Torren said, handing her the black sequined duffle bag he’d retrieved from his car.
She always carried extra clothes in her Jem’s bag. “Stop looking at it like it’s a bug. The bag is so cool. You’re about to have your mind blown. Look.” When she wiped her hand the opposite way of the sequins, the black sparkles turned pink, her favorite color combination.
“Whoa!” Torren ran his oversize hand down the side of her bag and marveled at the color-change. “It’s like a chameleon bag.”
“I have shorts that do the same thing. They’re purple and black.”
“Mmmmm,” he rumbled with a wicked smile. “I’m gonna make you put those on and I’m gonna play with your butt. And your puss—”
“Ew! Don’t say that word.”
“That’s what it is! What do you want me to call it?”
“Lady bits.”
“Veto.”
“Vagimjam.”
“Also veto.” Torren was trying to look severe but a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Tuna wallet.”
He snorted but his eyes were dancing. “Stop.”
She was giggling now though, and didn’t want to stop. “Sausage—”
“No.”
“Sausage cave.” Cracking up, arms thrown around her middle, she said, “Pink pouch.”
“You’re fired. You’re not my manager anymore,” he said, walking away.
“Wait! I don’t have shoes,” she rushed out, struggling into a pair of jeans and a skintight white sweater. It was cold, and snow was raining down from the holes in the roof of the sawmill. “Carry me,” she said, arching her eyebrows.
“Woman, you ain’t helpless, but I’m gonna do this because I want an excuse to smoosh your sexy body against mine again.” He jogged back and gave her his back, bent slightly, and allowed her to climb on him like a koala. “Here, let me have the bag,” he murmured, taking it from her. “God, your toes are so little and cute. Next time paint your nails blue.”
“Favorite color?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t have money for a pedicure.”
“Chhh, I’ll paint them then.”
She tensed on his back in excitement. “You will?” she asked loud right next to his ear. He hunched and rumbled a growl. In a whisper scream she repeated, “You will?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“I don’t know. You’re this big, badass, tatted-up king silverback brawler.”
“I also grew up with a sister who liked girly shit. She had trouble making friends because of the hearing impairment, so I was her best friend. I did whatever she wanted. Whatever made her happy. I’ve had practice painting nails.”
“I think that’s the sweetest and sexiest story I’ve ever heard.”
“Really?” he asked, stepping carefully through the rubble.
“Yeah. Why did Vyr write HavoK on the sign? That could get you in trouble if the cops come out here. Everyone knows you’re HavoK.”
“Uhhhh, because this sawmill is mine. Technically.”
“What?” she asked, too loud again.
“Vyr bought this place years ago. He was losing control more and more, and he hoped if he picked some mountains, his dragon would see it as his treasure and settle down. When he bought this place, part of his decision to claim territory here was the sawmill right on the edge of the property. I grew up in lumber country.”
“You were a lumberjack?”
Torren chuckled. “Yep. In the cold months when I was a teenager, I was up there with the crews, learning my way around the occupation. The manual labor was good for my animal. It kept me tired. But when the fire season came, logging shut down. It’s too dangerous to have the machines up there when it’s that dry and hot. One spark from the equipment could devastate the area with fire. My dad owned a sawmill in Saratoga, and that’s where I worked when I wasn’t logging. Vyr wanted to give me a future. He didn’t realize the toll on my silverback for being the new Kong , and he thought I would have more time, so he bought this place for me to fix up and start my own business. Do what I know. What makes me happy.”
“Logging would make you happy?”
“Stop, Candace. This place isn’t my future. My future is ashes and fire. Best you accept that now. I’m devoted to you until the end, but that end will come up fast.”
“You stop! Don’t talk like that.” She scrambled off his back and winced when she stepped on rubble and lost her balance. Righting herself, she shoved him in the back. The oaf didn’t even move. She could’ve blown a breath on him for all the effect her push had. “You don’t claim a girl and say ‘Sorry, you’ve got three and a half days with me, better enjoy it.’ Screw that. Try harder. Try for Vyr and for Nox and Nevada. Try for your sister and your parents. Try for the crew. But selfishly, try for me. I don’t want you to leave. I’m going to make you stay.”
“You can’t save me, Candace.”
“I didn’t offer to save you. You can save yourself, just like I can save myself. But I’m not going anywhere, so if you want to give up and get dragged down to Hell, you’ll drag me with you.”
“No, I won’t.”
“You won’t have a choice because I’ll be tucked against your ribs with my claws dug in. Plus, if you die, it’ll hurt me. I don’t mean I’ll just be sad. We’re paired up, and if you go down, I’ll go with you now. You’re mine,” she said, poking a middle finger against his chest. Ouch. “HavoK is mine. Stick around.”
“For what?”
“For a family group with me.”
Torren’s face went completely slack. “W-what?”
“That’s what you need, right? A family group?” Candace held her arms out. “Family group of one. Someday you’ll make us more.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someday you’re gonna put a little baby in me. Years from now when we’re ready. When you’re steady. When you want to see a little baby in my arms, you’ll grow our family group. And Vyr and Nox and Nevada will be part of it.”
“That’s not how family groups work. It’s gorillas only.”
“I don’t care. You’re different, Torren. I’m different. Your crew? The Sons of Beasts? They’re different. It’s not going to look like it would’ve if you were sitting on the throne of the gorillas. It’s going to look better to people like us.”