Torrid - Book Three

by Jayne Blue

  It took a second for Addie’s words to register. Seth. Confession. Charges dropped.

  “Why?” I finally said. “That’s the last thing I would have expected from him.”

  Addie shrugged. “Haney’s a hell of an interviewer. That’s one. I wasn’t there when he talked but Haney said it was like he enjoyed being the center of attention. It wasn’t a long interview. Haney said Seth didn’t think he was going to make it through surgery. Haney thinks he will. Says he’s seen people a lot worse come through all right. The doctors seemed optimistic too. But Seth had what we call a crisis of conscience.”

  No sooner had Addie finished her sentence when Reed and R.J. Burnett pulled back the accordion screen to join our little party. Even after spending the last few weeks under his roof, I didn’t know Reed very well. But his face was slack and ashen from the weight of concern he had for his wife and Jack. I went to him and put my hands on either side of his face, drawing him down until I could kiss his forehead. I gave R.J. a quick wink.

  “You okay, little lady?” Reed said as my father pulled a chair up for him. Reed looked about to topple over.

  “I’m fine. We’re all going to be fine. Is Margie awake yet? I’d like to see her.”

  Reed nodded. “She’s in and out. They took her down for a CAT scan just to rule out anything serious. She asked about you. She wanted me to tell you she was sorry she couldn’t stop Seth from coming in.”

  My hand flew to my heart. “I love her for worrying but you know there wasn’t a damn thing she could have done differently. This wasn’t her fault.”

  Reed nodded. “It did her a world of good knowing that you and Jack are okay. My Margie’s a tough old bird. She’s going to pull through everything just fine.”

  R.J. patted his father on his back.

  “Thank God,” Jack said. He strained a little until he could get himself more or less propped up on his right side. I moved around him and helped brace him with a couple of extra pillows.

  Another hand pulled back the accordion divider all the way and an older doctor stepped into view. He was plump with a balding head and glasses perched on the end of his hawkish nose. I had my hand on Jack’s shoulder and I felt him take in a deep breath, bracing for what this man was about to say.

  “I’m told you’re Seth Manning’s next of kin,” the doctor said. Later, I remembered not being sure who he meant. The bluntness of his next words took a moment to sink in.

  “Despite our best efforts, Mr. Manning died on the operating table. A blood clot traveled to his heart. He’s dead.”

  Died. Seth. Seth was dead.

  “Shit,” Jack murmured.

  “You can take all the time that you need, Mrs. Manning,” the doctor said and my head started to spin. Mrs. Manning. They still thought of me as Seth’s wife. “A social worker will be in for some paperwork for you to sign.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” the doctor said. He couldn’t know what Seth had done to us and yet somehow, I did feel some type of loss. No matter what else he was, I’d never be able to shake the sense that in many ways, Seth was Miranda’s victim as much as she was his.

  “Thank you,” I said and he turned and left.

  None of us could think of anything to say for a minute after the doctor left us alone. Addie excused herself and said she’d be in touch after she got the official word about the charges being dropped. R.J. and Reed left to wait for Margie.

  My father stood at the end of Jack’s bed, reminding me of a large gargoyle, poised to protect me. I appreciated it, but I wanted to be alone with Jack. After a few minutes, he got the hint.

  “Right,” he said. “Charlie’s gonna want a full report. I’m going to head over to the Kurtz’s house. You want me get anything for you before I go?”

  I smiled as I squeezed Jack’s shoulder. “I have everything I need right here. I’ll probably stay here with Jack tonight if the hospital will let me. I’ll call you if I need a ride home.”

  My father nodded. He tapped the side of Jack’s bed with his ring. “Thank you,” he said to Jack. They were just two words but they were the start of a new understanding, a new relationship between the two men I loved best in the world. My heart swelled as my father gave me a last wink before turning and closing the divider behind him.

  I pulled up a seat beside Jack and leaned in to kiss him slow and deep, with the passion I had to keep in check when we had an audience. Now though, Jack wrapped his arms around me and made room on the bed beside him. Carefully, I tucked myself next to him, letting him envelope me in his warmth, where I could feel the strong, steady beat of his heart against mine.

  “I love you,” I said. “Don’t scare me like that ever again.”

  “Ditto,” Jack said as his hands found the hem of my skirt and worked their way up.

  “Stop,” I whisper shouted. “You just came out of surgery. I distinctly heard the doctor say you’re to avoid strenuous activity for four to six weeks.”

  “I’ll never last that long,” Jack said. His breath was hot against my cheek and I squirmed as he found the space at the swell of my hips where he knew I was ticklish.

  He winced when I jerked away from him and I erupted in giggles. “I’m s-sorry. Don’t make me laugh, I don’t want to hurt you. Let me get a chair.”

  Jack pulled me closer and nuzzled my neck. “You’re staying right here, woman. Consider it my first round of physical therapy.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” I tried to wriggle away but Jack held me firm. “You’re going to pop your stitches. I happen to want that perfect ass of yours to heal as good as new.”

  “Fine,” Jack said. He put on a brave face but I knew the effort of movement was hurting him. He grew serious. “I’ll behave, but I mean it. I’m not letting you go. I spent too much of the last few hours thinking I’d never see you again, that I was about to lose you forever. I want to feel you next to me breathing, safe and whole. I want to feel that perfect round ass of yours right here all night if you’ll have me.”

  I smiled and cupped Jack’s face with my hands. He had a perfect dusting of stubble along his jaw and over the cleft in his chin. I tilted his head up to mine and kissed him.

  “I’ll have you, Jack Manning, tonight and every other night.” With that, Jack kissed me slow and deep. It was the kind of kiss that curled my toes and left me gasping for air.

  When it was done, Jack’s head dropped back to the pillow and his eyelids grew heavy. My superman had been through a lot and the morphine that dripped slowly through his IV started to win. When he fell asleep, he had a wide, contented smile on his face and I curled into the crook of his arm. Jack was safe and warm and whole and I would stay with him, tonight and every other night for as long as I lived.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jack

  Two weeks later ...

  Tora dodged around the couch in the sitting room of my penthouse suite at The Drake. We’d been staying here ever since they’d released me from the hospital.

  “It’s time!” I said. I still wasn’t as quick on my feet as I’d like. My muscles were stiff but I reached out and caught Tora by the wrist and pulled her against me. She laughed and tried to slip out of my grasp but I held her tight. He heart beat against my chest and I felt her nipples rise to peaks under her cotton t-shirt. It was one of mine, actually; Tora had taken to wearing my shirts to bed with nothing underneath.

  I fumbled with the hem and slid my hand between her thighs. Her body was perfectly trained for me. She parted her legs and my fingers found the slippery cleft at the juncture of her thighs. Her breath escaped her lips and I pressed my thumb against her sensitive little bud, working her in the way I knew would drive her to the edge of desire.

  “Jack,” she said, her voice catching. “We’re supposed to wait until the end of the week.” Tora opened her legs just a little more and I slid my fingers into her, waiting for that little sigh I loved to hear when I coaxed that first gush of moisture from her.

  “I can’t
wait,” I said. The doctors hadn’t cleared me for more strenuous exercise until three weeks post-surgery. That was still four long days away and I’d had enough. My cock strained against my drawstring pajama bottoms. I pressed my thumb deeper into her and Tora moaned against me. She couldn’t wait anymore either. I felt her walls clench and pulse against my fingers. I could play Tora’s body like an instrument.

  “You’re not supposed to put any weight there.”

  I laughed. “Baby, you don’t have to be on top.” Though I did love her there as she let loose and took her pleasure from me.

  She laughed back. “Then how am I supposed to keep from grabbing you? I can’t make you any promises.”

  I advanced on her, walking her backward until I had her pinned against the wall. I threaded my fingers through her hair and ran my thumb along her swollen little clit in a circular motion, driving her mad so she opened her thighs even wider.

  “I can think of a few ways,” I said and she sighed against my ear as I kissed and licked along the column of her throat. I took her wrists with my free hand and pinned them up above her head. She groaned and thrust her hips against mine. She undid me.

  “Bed, now,” I said, my words choking out of my throat.

  I let Tora go and her luscious full lips curled into a wicked smile. Walking backward toward the bedroom, she grabbed the ends of her shirt and pulled it up over her head.

  Tora naked was a glorious sight to behold. Her perfect, pert nipples stood on end and swung free as she took the step backwards up to the bed. She turned, giving me the perfect view of her round ass as she crawled up to the bed. I stood over her, reaching into the nightstand drawer and pulling out the ropes she loved so much.

  “I don’t think you can be trusted not to grab hold of something you shouldn’t. I think we need to take precautionary measures.”

  Tora’s smile widened. She stretched out on the bed for me, bringing her wrists above her head. She dropped her chin and gave me a sinful smile. “No, sir,” she said, breathless.

  God. My Tora. She stretched her limbs wide, waiting for me to bind her to the bed and take her any way I saw fit. Her breasts rose and fell, a slow blush spread over her chest to match the dusting of freckles I loved. From the first time I’d ever touched her, she had been open and willing, her own dark desires fitting my own. I could never get enough of her. She was a perfect match for me, in bed and out.

  Carefully, my limbs still stiff, I straddled Tora’s legs and lashed her wrists to either bedpost. She squirmed, testing the bindings and I tied her ankles to the footboard, spreading her wide beneath me. She looked so beautiful like this, writhing and stretching, arching her back.

  As hard as it had been for me to wait, it had been just as hard for her. From the end of the bed, I had a perfect view of her swollen sex. She was wet and gaping for me. If I wasn’t so tortured from abstaining myself, I would have enjoyed teasing her out to see just how wet I could make her. I had no time for it though. I felt full to bursting, my balls ached and throbbed, my release was too close now to hold back.

  “Jack,” Tora gasped. I hadn’t even touched her. Just the bindings on her wrist, watching me as I inspected her was almost enough to drive Tora to maddening desire. She thrust her hips wildly, fucking the air as she waited for me to get to her.

  Then I was on her. There was a brief moment of stiffness and pain behind me but the ache between my own legs was worse. I drove into Tora, burying my bulging cock into her silky wetness. She was so hot and slick, she was heaven.

  Ignoring my stiff muscles I thrust into her and Tora rose her hips to meet mine. There would be time later for slow caresses and to apply the skills we both had with each other’s bodies. For now, I needed her more than I ever had before. I took her deep, pulsing my cock into her while she writhed and arched, struggling to take me in. I stretched her wide and worried whether I might hurt her. But she met my thrusts with a slow, wicked smile and with every stroke, I felt her growing more wet.

  I felt her clench and shudder around me. Her nipples turned to hard pebbles against my chest. Her movements became erratic as she got close to her own release. She dug her nails into the sheets and arched her back hard. I pressed myself into her until I couldn’t go any further and held myself there while she rode it out.

  She pulsed and throbbed and I thrust into her hard so she could find the rhythm she needed for her release. It took everything in me to hold still for her. But when I felt Tora start to crest and come down, I couldn’t wait anymore. I drove into her, fucking her hard and strong while she struggled to spread her legs wider to receive me. Her juices coated both of us, her heat consumed me.

  Tora. My Tora. She denied me nothing. Gave me everything. Her body, her soul, her heart. I cried out her name as I shot my seed deep inside her and something told me this time it would take root. The knowledge of it took my breath away. I think Tora sensed it too. She gasped, her body quaked as I held her close and everything felt whole and right.

  ***

  I paid for it later, just like Tora said I would. She held a cold compress against my backside as she pressed against me naked. God. I could stay like this with her forever.

  “You going to make it, cowboy?” she said, beaming.

  “I’ll sit out the next rodeo maybe,” I said. “Give me a few hours though. I’ll be ready to saddle up.”

  “Ooh,” Tora wriggled against me, giving me that sultry smile.

  She stilled beside me and I knew the time was right. I didn’t bring up the sixth sense I had when I came inside her, certain we’d created a life. There would be time for that later. I leaned up on my elbow and looked down at her. Tora knew me so well by now. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m thinking how much I love you.”

  “Good.” She ran her hand along my cheek.

  I hadn’t planned what I would say. I thought the words would just come when the time was right. Now that it was, I found myself floundering. So, I just said it.

  “Marry me.”

  Tora blinked. For a moment I didn’t think she’d registered my words. Then her face lit up and her smile widened.

  “Say it again,” she said.

  “Tora McLain, I want to make you Tora Manning for real this time. Will you marry me?”

  A small shadow crossed her face and I regretted even the slightest mention of Seth and her last wedding. Stupid. But she smiled again and leaned up to kiss me with her sweet, soft lips.

  “Yes,” she said and it was the most beautiful word I’d ever heard. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

  She giggled against me and my heart swelled. I pulled her close and kissed her slow.

  “Shit,” I said and Tora wrinkled her nose.

  “You were doing fine until just then.”

  I laughed and sat up. “No. I just mean I did this backwards. I should have a ring for you. First thing in the morning, I swear. We’ll go shopping.”

  Tora leaned back against the bed. A strand of her jet black hair fell over her emerald eye. My black Irish beauty.

  She slid out of the bed and walked over to the tall dresser at the end of the room. She pulled my mother’s worn teakwood jewelry box off the top of the dresser and sat down on the bed with it cross-legged. She opened the top and pulled out my mother’s cubic zirconia engagement ring. My father had bought it for her before they could afford anything more elaborate and my mother had never wanted a replacement.

  Tora dropped it in my palm and held out her hand, extending her ring finger.

  I smiled. “For now,” I said. “I’ll get you a real one.”

  As I slipped the ring over her finger, Tora leaned in and kissed me. It was a perfect fit.

  “No,” she said. “I never want another one. This one is perfect, Jack. It was perfect for your mother and it’s perfect for me. You’re the real thing. It’s all I’ll ever need. Will you do something for me though?” she
said.

  “Anything.”

  She smiled and brushed my hair out of my eyes. “Will you come with me when I tell my father he’s about to gain a son-in-law.”

  I gave her a playful smack on the ass. “You want me to risk life and limb for you again so soon, Miss McLain?”

  She tweaked my nose. I reached down and got a solid grip on her perfect round ass with both of my hands. Now that we’d started, we had too much lost time to make up for. I felt myself stir against her again.

  “Jack,” Tora gasped, surprised at the speed at which I’d grown hard for her again. “Answer me.”

  “Yes, we’ll go see Dex this afternoon,” I said as I rooted myself deep within her. The pain in my backside grew as she carefully straddled me. It was oh, so worth it.

  ***

  Later that evening, we had dinner with Dex and Charlie at the Kurtz’s house in Lake Bliss. Bill Kurtz grilled the most heavenly burgers and we had an old-fashioned backyard barbecue surrounded by about a dozen Chicago members of the Great Wolves M.C. There was double cause to celebrate. Grace Flynn had just called to break the good news that Dex’s conviction had been overturned and the government had dropped the case against him. He was free and clear for good. Just like Tora.

  The entire Crane Law Firm was now under investigation; their files had been seized. It turned out Dex was just one in a string of clients Miranda and Seth may have tampered evidence against. As soon as he got the clear, Dex wanted to go back to northern California and get reacquainted with the other club members who had moved out there with Charlie. Tora and I were still working out whether we wanted to follow him.

  Late in the evening, when most of the guests had left, it was me and Dex alone, sitting in lawn chairs with cold bottles of Bud. Tora gave me a wink and took a deep breath as she went inside to help Lilly Kurtz straighten up.