CHAPTER FIVE
Torren woke up just before dawn and stretched, trying to remember what exactly had happened that resulted in him ending up on Tana’s sofa wrapped up in a soft woman. The last thing he remembered was Tana talking to the girls in the hallway after she gave him a mind-blowing orgasm. He tried to stay awake, wanting to devour her and then have a come-to-Jesus talk about being in a relationship with him. The whole idea was so new to him that even that word, "Relationship,” sounded foreign on his tongue. Still, he knew he would have his work cut out for him, forging any semblance of the two of them dating, especially since Tana seemed so dead set against it.
Hearing about the way her ex treated her and the twins made him half crazy. He understood where she was coming from—hell, he practically lived with some of her same fears. She worried about falling for him and then having to leave him, and he had to admit that thought scared the shit out of him, too. After his mom died and his dad up and left, he never fully recovered from the fear of everyone that he loved leaving him. He clung to Tag like he was his life jacket in an angry sea, and his brother took on the responsibility of taking care of both of them.Even after Dane died and they were both adults, Tag seemed to step up and be the responsible one.
Now, his twin brother had everything that Torren never knew that he wanted—a wife and a baby on the way any day now. Tag would be a fantastic father—he was already a great role model to the kids that joined the adventure camp that he and Piper started for troubled youths. His brother was always good with other people. Torren found that he spent most of his life using people to get what he wanted, like the many women he had over for sex. They would have their fun, but when they were done, he made sure that they knew the rules he set for himself so that he didn’t get too attached. When he had women over, he made sure that they were out of his condo before he fell asleep. It was one of his rules—never letting the women stay over. He kept things easy that way and avoided the attachments that could come from sleeping in the same bed together.
He pulled Tana’s warm body into his, loving the way that she felt up against his side. He realized that this was the first time that he had ever woken up with a woman by his side. Hell, he needed to get himself together before Tana woke up and found him mooning over her like a love-sick puppy. And thinking about puppies led him to the realization that Tucker spent the whole night alone at home, and he had to be terrified. Still, the thought of having to unwrap himself from Tana did strange things to him. He felt sad at the thought of having to leave her cozy home to go back to his empty one—well, except for Tucker.
When he bought his house, he imagined that someday he would have a little family that shared it with him—his family. He just never imagined that the family that he now dreamed of filling his empty rooms lived across the street and came already assembled with kids. He sighed and pulled free from Tana, carefully laying her back on the sofa and covering her with the quilt that she must have lain over him after he fell asleep. Hestooped to kiss her forehead, and she stirred, reaching for him in her sleep. When she seemed to realize that he wasn’t still on the sofa under her, she opened her eyes and gifted him with her sleepy, sexy smile.
“Hey, why are you up? What time is it?” Tana reached for his hand, and he took hers.
“Well, it’s almost five-thirty, and I just realized that Tucker has been all alone over at my house. I also figured that you wouldn’t want me here when the girls woke up.” Tana yawned and stretched, causing Torren’s eyes to roam her curvy body that peeked out from under the blanket. “You make it very hard for me to want to leave you when you do things like that,” he moaned.
Tana froze mid-stretch. “Wait, what? What am I doing?” She sat up and looked down at her body as if making sure that she still had on her clothes. Torren chuckled.
“Baby, you are sexy as fuck, and you just don’t know it. We can work on that, though. By the time I get done with you, you’ll have no doubts as to how beautiful you are.” Tana’s gaze heated, and now he was rethinking his words. If he didn’t leave now, he might not ever want to leave, and that would not be good. The twins would be up soon, and Tana was right about one thing—they weren’t ready to see what he wanted to do to their mommy. They would probably need time to figure out just what they were going to call this thing that was happening between them before they told the girls. No sense confusing either of them before he and Tana figured their shit out.
“What do you want to do to me, Torren?” Tana’s voice sounded raspy with desire and sleep, making his cock stand at attention. He remembered how she wrapped her sexy, pouty lips around his shaft and sucked him until he came down her throat. And God, those sexy little noises she made as he sucked her nipples into his mouth and the way she smelled just beforethey were interrupted—he was dying to see if she tasted as good. He wanted her underneath him, on top of him, in front of him, and any other way he could come up with, screaming out his name until she couldn’t scream anymore.Fuck. Now he needed a cold shower. Torren squatted in front of the sofa where Tana lay, and she ran her fingers through his unruly hair and smiled. He leaned forward, gently kissing her lips, knowing that if he demanded more, she would give it to him and they would both end up naked again.
“Does your bedroom door have a lock, honey?” Tana looked at him, a little confused, and nodded. “Good. How about we put it to good use tonight, and you let me finish what I started last night? I’m dying to taste you, baby. Hell, I’m dying to do just about everything my mind can conjure up right now, and one hundred percent of it involves you naked and shouting out my name.” Tana shivered in anticipation, again nodding.
“So, we are still on for pizza and a movie?” she whispered. Torren hated that he would have to spend the whole day without her—he already missed her, and he hadn’t left yet. “Yeah, how about I get here in the afternoon, and we can take the girls and Tuck to the park before we pick up the pizza?” Tana hesitated, and for a split second, he thought that she was going to tell him no. “Don’t overthink it, honey. Tuck needs a walk, and I’m sure the girls would love to play on the new playground that they’ve just finished.”
Tana finally nodded and smiled. “That is very nice of you to include us in your walk. The girls would love to play and spend some time with Tucker.” She hesitated again, and he waited for her out. “I just need you to remember that they are my priority in all of this. I won’t have them hurt or confused about what we are doing.” Torren wanted to put up a resistance, even tell Tana that they were already in a relationship, whether she wanted to call it that or not. She had already met his friends and family at hiscookout. Hell, she had her lips around his cock just hours before. Tana could call it whatever she liked, as long as she gave him a chance to prove to her that he was worth her effort—that was all he needed.
“I’ll be back over at two to pick you all up.” He stood and grabbed his shoes. “Can I spend the night tonight if I leave before the girls wake up?” He didn’t turn to see her face. He knew that she was trying to weigh through the pros and cons of his request. He started for the door, hoping that she would answer him before he left, but not willing to turn back and beg.
“Yes,” she whispered so softly that he almost thought he imagined her answering him. “Bring Tucker too—the girls will love having him sleepover. We’ll tell them that you have to go on a trip for work and that you got back from your trip early. You won’t have to sneak out before sunrise, and you can stay for Sunday pancakes.”
Torren turned and smiled. “I love pancakes, baby. Lock up behind me.” He winked at her, causing her to giggle, and left through the front door. Torren waited on her porch until he heard the lock turn and then ran across the street to his dark house. He unlocked his door and found Tuck sound asleep in his crate. His puppy had no idea that he wasn’t down the hall sleeping in his bed. Torren turned off the little light that he had left on in his kitchen and went back to catch a few more hours of sleep. Something told him that an afternoon with Tucker and the twins, followed by a long night of making love to Tana, was going to test his endurance. He needed to rest up because he was pretty sure that they would all keep him on his toes, and he smiled at the thought of the three feisty girls who had already come to be such a big part of his life.
Tana woke to her girls standing over her, giggling at the drool that escaped from her open mouth. “Mommy, you look funny,” Sarah laughed as she wiped her face. After Torren left just before sunrise, she lay back down on the sofa and fell back to sleep. She glanced at the clock and realized that it was just past eight, and she knew that the girls were probably watching her for about an hour before waking her. They were both early risers, and if she wasn’t up before them, they usually got into a good bit of trouble. Her girls seemed to be giggling a little more than some escaped drool would warrant. She groaned and swung her legs onto the floor to stand.
“What are you little monkeys up to this morning? Have you been behaving, or have the two of you been up to no good already?” Sarah covered her mouth to hide her giggle, and Elizabeth full-on belly laughed. Yep, something was up, and her little angels were probably at the center of some crazy mess that she was going to spend the day cleaning. She stood to make her way into the kitchen, planning on going from room to room to find the chaos that her daughters had created. She stopped short when Tucker came running out of her kitchen and jumped around her legs excitedly.
“Tucker, how did you get here?” She picked up the puppy and cuddled him, her daughters laughing behind her. “Girls, would you like to explain how Mr. Torren’s puppy got here?”
“Um, that would be because Mr. Torren brought him over about an hour ago. I didn’t want to wake you since you were snoring,” Torren said. Tana gasped, and Torren did nothing to hide his smile. “Oh yeah, and you had the cutest little bit of drool running down your chin.”Great.Here she was trying to put herbest foot forward and show Torren that she had what it took to compete with the numerous women in town for his affections, and he saw her at one of her lowest points. “Great, that’s just perfect.” She handed the puppy to Sarah and stomped into her little kitchen for a cup of coffee. If she was going to be expected to have a coherent conversation, she was going to need to be caffeinated. “How about you start with why you are here, Tor? Then we can circle back around to my snoring and drool after I’ve had a few cups of coffee.”
“Well, I was at home sleeping in my bed—” He paused, giving her a sexy, knowing wink that did crazy things to her girl parts. “And well, Elizabeth must have gotten hold of your cell phone and called me to let me know that you were sleeping on the sofa and that they were both hungry for donuts. So, I told the girls to let you sleep and to watch some cartoons while I ran into Sunny’s bakery to get us some donuts.” Tana shot Sarah and Elizabeth, her angriest mom glance. “Elizabeth, you know better than to call people on my cell phone. What were you thinking?” Her daughter shrugged and looked at the floor.
“Mr. Torren’s picture came up on your phone when I tried to play my game. I touched his face, and your phone just called him.” Torren chuckled, but Tana found the whole situation somewhat less funny.
“That might have been my fault. I texted you just before Elizabeth called me, so maybe she called by accident.” Tana knew that was probably true, but she didn’t need Torren showing up at her house with donuts every time one of her daughters decided to find Torren’s face on her phone and call him up. “So, you have a picture of me on your phone?” Tana must have turned bright pink—her cheeks felt like they were on fire. She snuck a picture of him when they were at his cookout and set it up as her contact for Torren. He already gave her his number in case of an emergency while she watched Tucker.
“It’s just a picture that I snuck of you at your cookout. It’s easier for me to have a picture with the name. That way, I don’t accidentally call someone that I don’t mean to. It’s just a little quirk, I guess you could say.” Torren was smirking at her as if he didn’t believe a word that she was saying. Honestly, she just wanted a picture of him, and who wouldn’t? Sarah and Beth sat up at her little kitchen table, and each grabbed a donut and a glass of milk that Torren poured for them. “Thank you for bringing the girls a special treat—you didn’t have to. I’m sorry that we interrupted your morning.” Torren took Tana’s free hand and led her back into the family room, taking her coffee from her to set down on her side table. He pulled her into his arms, and she willingly went, plastering herself against his body.
“Is this okay, honey? I think that the donuts will keep them busy for a few minutes,” Torren said, bobbing his eyebrows at her.
Tana laughed, “I think you are being a little optimistic about how long food will keep my girls distracted.”
“Well, they have the puppy too, and he seems to keep them busy. I hope that it’s okay that I got them donuts and just showed up here. I couldn’t go back to sleep this morning thinking about you.” He kissed her lips and worked down her jawline to her neck, kissing and nipping at her skin. “I propose a change of plans.” He let his hands roam her body, making her crazy with need and finally coming to rest on her ass. She could get used to waking up to an overly handsy Torren, but she kept a close eye on the hallway for any sign of the girls.
“What would you like to change about our plans?” She stuttered as he flexed his fingers, digging them into her ass.
“I want to spend the whole day with you guys—as long as you didn’t already have plans.” Tana smiled back up at him, loving the way Torren wasn’t afraid of spending his day off not only with her but both of her girls. She imagined that mostmen would be put off by her twin four-year-olds, but Torren seemed to want to just jump right into their perfect chaos. He was making it harder to remember that this was just a fling because what she was feeling for him was turning into so much more than casual. “It’s all right, Tana. Don’t worry about it—we can stick with the original plan and I’ll head back over this afternoon,” Torren said. He must have taken her silence as a no, but the thought of spending the whole day together seemed like a wonderful dream.
