Page 10

Torrent

The night stretches around us like a blanket, warm, quiet, and safe.

The food’s long gone, forgotten as soon as our plates were pushed aside. Now we’re on the couch, the lights low, the soft hum of music playing in the background. It feels like the rest of the world faded out hours ago, and all that’s left is us.

She’s curled up at one end of the couch, her sundress draped across her thighs like something out of a dream.

She’s laughing, light and unguarded, and the sound goes straight to my chest. That kind of laugh doesn’t come easily for someone like her.

I can tell. It’s taken a lot for her to let her walls drop like this, even if it’s only halfway.

And fuck, she’s beautiful.

“Give me those sexy legs,” I murmur, tapping my thigh.

She raises an eyebrow. “So bossy,” she says with a smirk.

“Always.”

She rolls her eyes but swings her legs up and lays them across my lap. I rest my hand on her shin, then let my fingers drift up, kneading gently at her calves. Her skin is soft, and the way she lets out a small sigh when I hit a tender spot makes me grin.

“You always like being in charge?” she asks, trying to sound casual, but there’s curiosity beneath it.

I nod, fingers still moving in slow circles along her leg. “Only when it matters.”

“And this?” she asks softly.

“This matters,” I say without hesitation. “You matter.”

Her breath hitches, and I can feel the shift in the air, thicker now, charged.

I let my touch linger a little longer before sliding my hand behind her knee, lifting her gently. “Come here,” I say again, this time my voice deeper, rougher.

She moves without a word, climbing into my lap, her knees on either side of my hips, her hands on my chest. I hold her waist, pulling her closer until there’s no space left between us.

And then I’m sinking my fingers into her hair, threading through those soft strands like I’ve been aching to all night. Her lips part slightly, her breath brushing against mine, and for a moment, all I can do is stare at her.

She’s undone me in the quietest way.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I whisper, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “You don’t even know what you do to me.”

Her hands slide up to my shoulders, anchoring there, her eyes locked on mine. She’s trying to play it cool, but I can see the heat in her, the want.

“I’ve wanted you from the second I saw you,” I admit, my voice barely above a breath. “Every time you look at me like you’re not sure if you should run or stay, all I want is to make you feel safe enough to stay. To choose me.”

She exhales, her breath shaky, and I keep going.

“I crave you, Tessa. Not just your body. Though fuck, I want that too. But all of you. The fire, the fear, the pieces you try to keep hidden. I want every part.”

Her eyes glisten with something that hits me square in the chest. Vulnerability. Trust. And need.

She leans in slowly, her forehead touching mine. “I don’t know how to be what you need,” she whispers.

I tighten my hold on her waist, my other hand still buried in her hair. “You already are.”

And then I kiss her, deep and slow, like I have all the time in the world. Like, I never want this moment to end. Her mouth opens for me, soft and eager, and I feel the way her body presses into mine, needing, aching.

My hands roam down her back, gripping her hips as I pull her tighter against me.

She lets out the smallest moan of desperation laced with heat, and it lights a fire low in my gut.

Her fingers tangle in my shirt, nails biting into my skin, and I’m so far gone I don’t even know where I end and she begins.

This isn’t just lust.

It’s something bigger.

Something neither of us can outrun anymore.

Something we need to run toward.

I’ve spent the last few years of my life running from the pain, from the ghosts I couldn’t silence, from the wreckage of a life I never thought I’d walk away from.

But now, sitting here with Tessa straddling my lap, her heart beating against mine, her breath mingling with mine, I realize something I never expected. I’m done running away.

It’s time to run toward something.

And that something is her.

I break the kiss, needing a second to breathe, to steady myself, to take her in. Her forehead rests against mine, our breaths ragged and syncing slowly. I can still taste her on my lips, feel the fire of her touch in every corner of my body.

But what’s burning the hottest isn’t lust. It’s the need for truth. For something real.

“I need to know how you feel, Tessa.” My voice is rough, raw from holding back. My fingers tighten around her hips, grounding both of us. “I need to know if you want this as badly as I do. If you’re willing to let me in.”

Her eyes flicker, a storm of emotion swirling in them. Her hands move to my shoulders, trembling slightly, and it kills me to see how hard this is for her. But I wait. I need to hear her say it.

She lets out a shaky breath, and her voice is small but steady. “I’m scared, Torrent. I’m scared of how I feel, of what I want, of the uncertainties. I haven’t let someone in, or even close to it, in so long, I don’t know if I can.”

I open my mouth to respond, to tell her she doesn’t have to be afraid, not with me, but she presses her finger to my lips.

“You can’t always be in charge,” she says, her voice soft but firm. “Let me finish.”

A grin pulls at my mouth against her fingertip, and I press a gentle kiss to it.

“Thank you,” she whispers, and for the first time, there’s a glimmer of humor in her voice. A thread of hope.

I nod, letting her keep going, my heart pounding in anticipation.

“I like having control over my life,” she says, her voice more confident now. “The thought of giving that up? It terrifies me. I’ve spent so long building a safe space. Guarded, quiet, just mine. Letting someone in feels like setting fire to all of that.”

She pauses, then leans in and presses the softest kiss to my lips. It’s not heated, not desperate, it’s tender. A surrender.

“But what scares me more…” she continues, her eyes holding mine, “…is losing you. You’re not just someone that I’m attracted to.

Not just someone who makes my body burn with need.

” Her voice wavers, her fingers curling slightly on my chest. “You’re the only friend I have.

The only person who’s seen me and hasn’t run.

So yes, Torrent, I do want this as much as you do.

Maybe even more. As terrifying as it is for me, I can’t fight it anymore.

I can’t keep pushing down what I’m feeling. ”

Her confession hits me like a punch to the chest, hard, breath-stealing, real.

For a moment, I can’t speak. Can’t move. My chest tightens with something I haven’t let myself feel in a long damn time, hope. Real, soul-deep, shaking hope.

I reach up, cupping her face with both hands, thumbs stroking the soft skin beneath her eyes. “You don’t have to give up control, baby. You’re not losing anything. If anything, you’re gaining someone who will fight like hell to make sure you never feel alone again.”

She blinks, tears threatening, as I search her eyes. “We’ll go slow, okay? One step at a time. You set the pace.”

“And if I run?” she whispers.

“Then I’ll run with you. Just don’t run away from me.”

That makes her smile, small, but honest. She leans in, brushing her lips against mine in a kiss that says thank you, I’m scared, and I want you, all in one.

And as she settles against me, her arms wrapped around my neck, her body molded to mine like it’s where she belongs.

I know one thing with absolute certainty.

This isn’t just the start of something.

This is the beginning of everything.

I watch as the sun begins to rise through the sliding doors of my living room, streaks of orange and pink filtering in across the floor and casting a glow on the woman sleeping in my arms.

Last night didn’t go the way I expected, not even close.

I didn’t think we’d end up curled up on the couch, fully clothed, just talking until her eyes drifted closed mid-sentence. I didn’t think I’d stay awake, holding her, staring at her, listening to the slow rhythm of her breathing like it was the most important sound in the world.

I sure as hell didn’t think I’d feel something this strong after one night with her.

One night of just sleeping together and nothing else.

But here I am.

She talked about being scared, about not wanting to lose control, and fuck if that didn’t just make me want her more.

She let me in last night, and I know how hard that was for her.

It wasn’t just her words; it was the look in her eyes.

The shake in her voice. The way she gripped me like I was her anchor and her risk, all at once.

I want her more than I’ve wanted anything in years. I don’t want to push her, though. Even if my dick is throwing a goddamn tantrum about it. I want her to feel safe, to know that I’ll wait as long as it takes for her to be ready.

She deserves that.

But then she stirs softly and slowly against me, and everything tilts.

Her hand slides across my chest as she stretches, her cheek pressing against my pec, and then she looks up at me with sleep-heavy eyes and that mouth that drives me fucking insane.

“Morning,” I say, my voice gravelly from the hours I spent awake, thinking about her.

She doesn’t answer. Not with words.

Instead, she shifts and moves to straddle me without hesitation. The hem of her sundress hiking up her thighs as she settles onto my lap, waking every part of me in an instant.

“Tessa,” I murmur, unsure if this is just sleepy confusion or if she knows exactly what she’s doing.

Her lips find mine before I can say anything else, hot and hungry, her hands diving into my hair as she kisses me like she’s been waiting her whole damn life to do it.

My hands fly to her hips, holding her steady, and I break the kiss just long enough to breathe, to think.

“Baby, we don’t have to do this. There’s no rush,” I say, my eyes bouncing between hers, my chest rising hard with restraint.

But she shakes her head, her grip on me tightening. “There is for me. I need to feel this. You. I need to know what it’s like to let someone in completely.” She bites her lip, her eyes searching mine. “I need you, Torrent. No more fear. No more waiting.”

Her words hit me like a damn freight train. My self-control is already hanging by a thread, and she just torched it.

The way she moves against me, the heat in her eyes, the way her voice trembles with need, it’s all I can take.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper roughly, dragging her mouth back to mine. “You want this? Then I’m going to give you everything.”

When I lay her down in my bed, it won’t be about claiming or conquering.

It’ll be about connection.

It’ll be about showing her, through every touch, every moan, every shudder of pleasure, that she’s safe.

That she’s wanted.

That she’s mine.