Torren’s hand gripped her hair harder, and she moaned at how good it felt. His little signs of lost control set her body on fire. God, she loved turning him on. He thrust deeper into her throat. Deep, deep, deep and then he pulled out of her mouth suddenly with a muttered curse. He dropped to his knees and pushed her back against the snow, shoved her sleep shirt up her thighs, grabbed his dick, and pushed inside of her. He didn’t prepare her for his size, but she was ready. She’d been so excited while she’d had her mouth on him, her body had been begging for him to bury himself just like this. He filled her, stretching her in an instant as he drove deep, then deep again and again.
The pressure was building so fast it was blinding. All consuming. She raked her fingernails down his back and wasn’t careful. She dug deep, and they both arched their backs. When Torren looked back down at her, his eyes were on fire. Hungry, hungry man, and she was the one who fed his soul. She could see it. See her value as he laid his weight on her and pounded into her, faster, harder. His hand drifted from her hip to her thigh, and he yanked her leg up higher, then gripped it hard enough that his fingers dug in. It felt so good. Pleasure and pain. Rough boy. Fuck, how had she lived without this connection for so long? Without Torren?
He slammed into her harder, and she was done. She was a grenade, and he’d pulled the pin on her the second he’d slid into her. Her body shattered around him, pulsing deep and hard just as he bucked into her and froze. His dick throbbed deep inside her, filling her with warmth. He pushed in again—throb—again—throb. She threw her head back and moaned as her orgasm intensified.
Suddenly, before he was done with his release, Torren yanked out of her and took himself in hand, shoved her shirt up her stomach, and finished across her bare chest.
“You’re mine,” he growled, his face twisted and feral. “My mate. My family group.”
Sexy. The perfect balance of monster and man, and yeah, she was his. She had been since the second she saw him in Vyr’s mansion.
Her animal had picked, and she’d always been a loyal soul. No matter what the future held, their fates were tied in an impossible knot now. And she had no regrets, because this ache in her chest was something she thought she would never feel. It was something she thought would never happen to a damaged girl like her.
He was building their bond, one touch at a time. One sigh, one smile, one laugh, one nickname, one good experience, one hard experience at a time. He’d let her see the gritty parts, and deep down, she knew he didn’t do that for anyone else.
He was king on his own terms.
And from here on, she would be his queen on hers.
Chapter Twelve
“I have a surprise for you,” Candace said, smiling at Torren’s profile as he drove them through Vyr’s woods.
Torren jerked his gaze to hers, but she couldn’t read his expression. “Are you pregnant?”
“What?” she asked too loud. “No!”
There was a flash of something—disappointment—right before he forced a smile and said, “I was just kidding.” That sounded like a lie, though.
After a few stunned moments, she murmured, “Torren, is that something you want?”
He shrugged and turned up the rock music in his Camaro. “It’s whatever.”
Candace adjusted the box in her lap and turned in the seat to see him better. He’d carefully constructed his face into a mask of ambivalence. She turned the volume down. “Don’t throw this conversation away. I’m not opposed to having a baby. I just didn’t know you would want to try so soon. You surprised me.”
Torren’s Adam’s apple dipped into his thick throat as he draped one hand over the steering wheel and slid the other to her thigh, his favorite way to drive. “It’s something I think about. I know we’re new to being mates and you’re just moving in. We’re figuring out our lives together and with the crew. But sometimes when HavoK feels out of control, like he’s going to break your three-Changes-a-day rule, I think of you holding a little baby. A baby I put in you. And the gorilla settles because he wants that someday, too.”
Candace was completely stunned. And elated. She wanted to cry from happiness. It had been three weeks since he’d claimed her, and today had been one of the happiest days of her life already because he’d asked her to let go of the lease on her little, bug-infested apartment and make a home with him in the mansion. She’d practically been living there anyway since that first fight with those silverbacks. Since then, he’d secured a job running security at Jem’s, made her job and life safe without chasing off customers, and she’d been at every fight, at his back, supporting him as he did what he had to do to keep HavoK steady. Days were spent with the man she’d fallen in love with, and with the crew. Day by day, she was growing closer to these crazies that she somehow understood. Her life was moving in the right direction, finally, because of Torren. And now he’d just told her he wanted to put a baby inside her. She’d asked her questions and done her research. Torren was a big, dominant gorilla shifter, and him saying he was ready to add to their little family group was a big deal. He really was trying to stay strong for her.
She slipped her hand over his and admitted something she’d felt for a while. “I know we haven’t said it out loud yet, but I love you, you know?”
Torren eased onto the brakes and pulled them to a slow stop, careful of the icy road. His smile was stunning as he looked over at her. “You told me the other day.”
Candace gasped. “When?”
“In your sleep.”
“Don’t play.”
“I’m serious. You talk in your sleep, and it’s so fucking cute. You know how I know you love me?”
“How?”
“Because even in your sleep, when you don’t have to touch me, you do. And you tell me sweet things. And you purr.”
Candace’s cheeks heated with mortification. “I do not.”
“You so do. I fucking love it. Sometimes I wake up just to ask you questions or watch you sleep. Listen to you purr when I touch your hip or brush your hair out of your face. I told you I love you, too. You did this little smile and whispered, “I know.” He made a ticking sound behind his teeth. “Wildcat, you think you know everything—even when you’re unconscious.”
“Well, I do,” she said, ducking his tickling fingers as she laughed. She settled against the back of the seat and muttered, “Crap. Saying that for the first time is a big deal and I slept through it.” She frowned at the front window. “You distracted me. I had a surprise and you derailed it.”
A deep chuckle rumbled in Torren’s chest. “Okay, I’ll be good. Give me.”
Candace pulled the three twenties out of her back pocket and handed it to him.
Torren frowned at the money and shook his head. “I don’t understand. I’m not asking you to pay rent. I’ve got us.”
“It’s for Genevieve.”
His bright gaze jerked to her face. He searched her eyes for a few moments before he took the twenties slowly. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing good at work, and I paid the bills for this month. Now that I’m not paying for the apartment, I can help with your sister’s cochlear implant fund. I mean, I know it’s not a lot—”