“Torren,” she whispered, not able to look at him for fear that she would lose her nerve again. “I’m in love with you, too.” He stopped the truck, putting it back in park, and undid her seat belt to pull her onto his lap. She straddled him, and she had no choice but to look at him, dead in his beautiful blue eyes.
“Say that again, honey,” he said hoarsely. She tried to look away, suddenly feeling shy, but he hooked his finger under her chin and kept her eyes trained on his. “Don’t hide from me, Tana. Tell me again.” She knew that she needed to stop being a coward. Torren would never hurt her—he was completely different from Matt. What scared her more about Torren was the fact that he could hurt her heart. She could withstand the physical pain, but the pain that he could put her heart through scared her half to death.
She shook her head, not sure if she could say it again. “Tor, please understand—I’m afraid.” His eyes flared, and she knew that she hurt his feelings, but he wanted her honesty.
“Tana, I’d never hurt you, ever.” Torren waited for her to come out, hoping that she would tell him those three little words again. They sat there for what seemed like an eternity, and she couldn’t stand it anymore. She was sick of holding back, sick of being afraid, and sick of not taking what she wanted from life.
“I love you, Tor.” His mouth slammed into hers in an all-consuming kiss, and she moaned, rubbing her sex against his cock. She didn’t care that they were in a field surrounded by half the town partying at Sunny’s wedding. She needed him, and judging from the size of his erection, he felt the same way.
“I’m so fucking happy to hear you say those words, baby,” he panted. Tana reached down to unzip his pants, allowing his cock to spring free between them.
“I need you now, Torren,” she moaned. Tana wasn’t wearing panties under her dress—a little surprise she was saving for him for later. His fingers dipped in between her thighs, already slick with her wetness, and he gasped when he realized her little secret.
“No panties?” he teased. “I like it when you’re bad for me, baby.” Tana straddled his cock, sliding down onto his hard shaft inch by inch.
“You feel so good, Tor,” she panted. “I need more.” He pulled her down to fully sit on his lap, and they both moaned from the sensations. “I love you,” she whimpered. Tana rode his cock, taking control and setting a pace that had them both on edge. Torren pulled down her dress, freeing one of her breasts, and sucked her taut nipple into his mouth.
“Yes,” she hissed. “I love it when you do that.” She found her release, and Torren thrust into her body a few more times, following her over, finding his own.
“Tell me again,” he whispered. She smiled against his neck. “I love you, Torren.” He pulled her down to lie against his body, and she didn’t know where he ended or she began. She honestly never felt so safe or loved. It was as if she found a piece of the puzzle that had always been missing from her life. Torren claimed her mind, body, and soul, and she was his—forever if he’d have her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Torren wasn’t kidding when he told Tana that he had a surprise for her. He was planning on a little trip for the four of them, but the girls staying at Tag’s gave him another idea. Tonight, he wanted to take Tana to the cabin that he bought just after his grandfather died. Dane left both him and Tag in the cabin that they grew up in, but Tag seemed to love it more than he did. For Torren, Dane’s cabin represented the place where his father dumped him after his mother died. Sure, he had some happy memories of the old cabin, but Tag always seemed to be more at home there. So, when Tag talked to him about moving in with Piper to the cabin, he gladly gave him his blessing. Torren found his cabin after they lost Dane, but he never really did anything with it. He mainly used it as a hunting cabin and a place to escape from town when things got too heated with a woman or she became too clingy. This was the first time that he brought someone besides Tag to his place, and it felt good to share it with Tana.
When he told her to pack up a bag for the girls for a few nights and then one for herself, she started to balk at the notion. But after he got done pushing her up against his bedroom walland fucking her until she screamed out his name, she seemed more compliant. He wanted to mark every square inch of his home, taking her on every surface and in every room. But he also wanted to share another side of himself with her. She gave him an incredible gift, telling him that she loved him. He needed her to know exactly what hearing those words from her meant to him. And, what better place to tell her than his favorite place on earth—his cabin. He loaded up his gear and some food, and supplies that they would need. He didn’t need to pack too much since he had some personal effects already at his place.
On the way up the mountain, they stopped at Tag’s and gave them the girls’ bags. He convinced Tag to keep the twins for an extra night, giving him and Tana a little extra time alone. Torren promised to keep his radio on just in case Piper went into labor or the girls needed Tana. She peeked in on the two of them sleeping in the spare room, with Sadie sleeping in the little crib next to them. They were all exhausted by the excitement of the day. They thanked Tag and Piper and headed the rest of the way up to the top of the mountain. Torren loved his cabin because it was the last house on the mountain backing to a cliff that would rival the jump over Niagara Falls, except without the water landing. Since it was dark by the time they reached his place, he skipped the scenic tour, grabbed their stuff, and helped Tana out of the truck. She held onto him like he was her lifeline, stumbling her way to the porch.
“It’s so dark,” she whispered, and he chuckled.
“Why are you whispering?” he dramatically whispered back. “No one is up here, and the wild animals don’t care if you’re loud.” He found the key that he kept under his front mat and unlocked the door. The place had electricity, but he had to run a generator to start it up. He sat her on his sofa and told her to stay put while he got the lights on and built a small fire to take the chill off. Being on top of the mountain, his place was alwaysa little cold. When she could finally see, Tana moved around his cabin freely, checking everything out. He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath, hoping that she liked it, until she smiled and said that it was amazing. He let out his pent-up breath, and she giggled.
“Tor, does it matter what I think about your cabin?” Torren pulled her down onto the sofa that sat in front of his big fireplace. Tana crawled onto his lap and snuggled into his arms.
“Yes, it fucking matters that you like my cabin. If you haven’t noticed, baby, I value your opinion. I want you to be comfortable around me, and this place is special to me.” Torren shrugged. Tana kissed her way up his neck, and he just about lost his train of thought. Damn it, he needed to tell her exactly what she meant to him, and then he’d be fine with her licking and sucking her way all over his body.
“While I appreciate your hot, sexy mouth against my skin, I have something that I need to tell you.” Tana stiffened in his arms, and damn if she didn’t look worried again. What was it about her that every time he wanted to talk, she thought he was going to break up with her? He didn’t know how to convince her that was just not going to happen—ever.
“Fuck, you need to stop thinking that I’m breaking up with you every time I tell you we need to talk. It’s just a talk, baby.” Torren smoothed back the strand of her long blond hair that had escaped from her ponytail.
She sighed and nodded. “Okay, let’s talk then.” Torren quickly kissed her mouth and pulled her down to his body. He knew that this was going to be hard to talk about, but he wanted Tana to know about his mom, his past, and why it took him so long to settle down. He wanted her to know him.
“When I was six, my mother died of cancer.” Tana nodded her head, trying to sit up. “No, please just let me finish. I know I’ve already told you some of this, but you need to hear the rest.”She settled back down, laying her head on his chest. “You know that my dad dropped Tag and me off at my grandfather’s cabin, where Tag and Pipe live now. For the longest time after Dane died, I couldn’t go back there. It wasn’t because I missed my grandfather and couldn’t stand to be in his house. I felt closer to Dane while hiking, fishing, or hunting. When I wanted to talk to him, I’d just go outside and do all the great things he taught Tag and me to do. But that cabin made me feel sad. It was the place where I was left by my father because I wasn’t enough. Tag and I weren’t enough, although my brother never really seemed to have the same issues that I had with being abandoned by our father. I just never got over that feeling of not being enough for my dad. I worried that everyone was going to leave me because I was never going to be good enough for anyone else.” He paused, realizing that Tana was crying onto his shirt. That was the last thing he wanted, to make her cry. He handed her a tissue.
“Oh, Torren, I’m so sorry that you were made to feel that way,” she sobbed.
“Thanks, baby. I’m not telling you this to make you sad—there’s a happy ending involved. Just stay with me.” She gave him a watery smile, and he almost laughed. “I gave up trying to be someone who fits into another person’s life because what was the point? So, I went out and became the party boy—you know, good time Torren always out for some fun. That led to my reputation and all the women. I just didn’t care if I made anyone else happy because deep down, I didn’t think that I possibly could.” Torren stared into the fire needing a minute. Talking about his mother always stung a little, and this next part was going to hurt like a bitch. “My mother was the only person to ever tell me that she loved me. Well, besides you tonight,” he whispered. Tana sat up to look at him, and he understood her desire to hide earlier. If he could cover his face from her, he would have, but he owed her more. He owed her everything.
“Those three words mean more to me than you will ever know, honey.” His voice sounded hoarse even to his ears. “Thank you for telling me that you love me,” Torren whispered. Tana leaned in and kissed his mouth, her lips soft from her tears.
“Tor, I had no idea. You and Tag don’t say that to each other?” Torren barked out his laugh. The thought of him and Tag telling each other that they loved one another was hilarious. Of course, they loved one another; they were brothers—twins. They had an inseparable bond, but they didn’t walk around with their hearts on their sleeves.
“No, Tag and I don’t tell each other that. My mom was the glue that held our little family together. When she passed, it was just us guys, and we didn’t say things like that to each other.” Tana looked at him, and the sadness in her eyes nearly did him in.
“I hope that when I die, my girls know how much I love them, but I also hope that they have someone in their lives to tell them every day how wonderful they are and how much they are loved.” Torren wanted to be that person for her and her daughters.
“Tana, you were the one to turn my life around. When I found out that Tag and Pipe were pregnant, I decided that I was done playing the field. I saw how happy my brother was, and that by just letting Piper into his life changed so much more for the better. Meeting you has done that for me, honey. You and the girls have become my whole world now, and I can’t think of my life without the three of you in it.” Torren slipped from under Tana and knelt in front of her on the floor. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, tears freely falling down her face. He pulled a small, black ring box from his jeans pocket and opened it to reveal the diamond ring he purchased for her. “How—when did you have time to do this?” she asked.
