Page 61 of Craving Her
“Give me a week,” I ask, taking a breath that shudders through me, making my voice come out quivery. I know he’s going to hate this, and I do, too. I just don’t see any way around it.
“No,” he growls, adamantly.
“I know it won’t be easy. I’ll do my best to make sure the two of us aren’t totally separated. I’ll come to you at night. We’ll find a way to make this work. I just want to let my parents breathe for a few days without adding to their stress. Dad wants us to travelto Diego’s funeral together. We can tell them once we get that behind us. Sooner, if we find Mattie before then,” I add, hoping he’ll give in.
“I might can agree to not telling your parents for a few days, Peaches.”
“Thank—”
“But you’re going to have to tell them you’re staying the night with a friend or something. I want you with me. I’m not spending a night without you.”
“Okay,” I agree, because honestly, I don’t want to be without him either.
“I’m also going to the funeral. A lot of the club is. I’ll try not to let it show that you’re my woman, but I can’t promise—especially if that damn kid comes sniffing around you.”
“Do you really think I’d ever look at another man, Torin? In the last three years, God knows you’ve given me every reason to find someone else, and I didn’t. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. That’s not going to change.”
“I trust you, but I’m not the kind of man who will let his woman be around men without them knowing she belongs to me—and only me,” he says, shaking his head. “The first thing we’re doing is inking my brand on your body and putting a fucking diamond on that finger of yours, Peaches.”
“Are you going to wear a ring and tattoo my name on your body, too?”
“Absolutely, to both. I want your name, your bite, fuck, anything to do with you I want inked on me.” I shiver at the thought of biting him and having that permanently on his body. “You like that,” he purrs, his voice dark and sexy—much like the tone he uses when we’re in bed together. It’s not a question, so I don’t respond verbally. I just smile, biting into my lip. He already knows I do. “Good, because you’re going to be wearingmy bite marks, too. Fuck, I may even have Kaysha ink my handprint on your ass.”
“Kaysha?” I ask.
“She’s a female artist that works for Venom. He does all my ink. There’s no way another man will be marking your body—especially your ass. That’s all mine. No one will see it, unless you want to explore some of the underground clubs.”
I go stiff at what he’s saying. “Underground clubs?” I ask. “Are you talking about sex clubs, Torin?” I squeak. I try not to panic, but I’m not really succeeding.
“Calm down, Peaches.”
I instantly shake my head no. “I don’t want anyone else but you, Torin. I couldn’t give myself toanyone else. Plus, the thought of you with another woman—even if I was there—makes me physically sick. I’d probably kill her.”
“Peaches—”
“I’m not kidding. This is nonnegotiable. If you can’t be satisfied with just me, then we need to walk away from one another right now.”
He changes my position so that I’m straddling him. Then he presses a kiss on my forehead, before placing a hand on each said of my face. “Calm down, Skylar. I’m never going to touch another woman. I belong to you and you alone,” he reassures me. I don’t really understand though.
“But—”
“And I told you that you were mine now, too. There will never be another man allowed to touch what is mine.”
I relax slightly, but my forehead is still scrunched up because I don’t truly understand what he’s talking about. “Then what exactly are you saying?”
“It goes back to what I was discussing on the phone conversation with Raze that had you confused,” he begins. Now that I’m not completely panicked, one of his hands moves downto my hip, while another rests along the side of my neck. I like that he’s maintaining contact with me. It’s reassuring and I need that from him.
“Tell me,” I urge.
“That day on the phone, you couldn’t hear what I was answering, baby.”
“I’m listening.”
He nods before continuing. “I was telling Raze that I felt guilty for hurting you all those years because I have always wanted you. Hell, I’m pretty sure that I’ve been in love with you since that first night.”
“You loved me back then?” I ask, trying to wrap my mind around that.
“At first sight and I don’t give a fuck how corny that sounds. It’s true. You have always been theonly womanI wanted to claim permanently. I just felt you were always going to be out of my reach. I knew you deserved better than me. Fuck, that’s the only reason there were that many club girls to begin with. I knew I’d never have an old lady. So, sex lost any real meaning for me. It was just about getting off. If I couldn’t have you, Peaches, I didn’t want anyone else.”