“Torren, have you ever had a relationship with a woman?” Tana framed his face with her hands, looking him in the eyes, and he never felt so vulnerable. It was almost as if she could see into his soul. He shook his head, not quite able to find the words. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity, Tana stroking his face and looking at him as if she was truly seeing him, the real him that not too many people got to meet.
“Tell me why you don’t want to date, Tana. What happened with your ex?” His words were almost a whisper, but by the look in her eyes, she heard him.
“He wasn’t a nice person. I don’t like talking about him; it’s still too painful,” she sobbed. Torren pulled her against his chest, kissing the top of her head. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her or make her cry, but he knew that Tana was keeping something from him, and the only way to find a way forward would be to hash out both of their pasts.
“I understand if you don’t want to talk about him, but I’m here if you change your mind. I don’t want to push you, honey.” Torren stroked his big hand up and down Tana’s small back, and he waited for her to continue, not sure if she would. Tana sighed against his chest.
“We were both so young when we got married, and I was foolish enough to believe that he was my knight in shining armor. Everything was perfect until Matt lost his job, and then he started drinking. He was mean when he drank, and one day, he hit me. I swore that I was going to leave him—that we were done. But I kept thinking that he would change because he loved me.” Tana hiccupped, “I was such a fool. People don’t change.” Torren could feel his body tense. Did she believe that he couldn’t change and that everything that everyone in town said about him was true? No wonder she didn’t want a relationship with him—she thought he was incapable of changing his ways and being in a committed relationship. They would address that later; he’d prove to her that he wasn’t that same guy.
“I kept going back to him over and over. He finally found another job, and things were good again. We even got pregnant with the girls as a way to try to patch things up between us. I thought that a baby would fix our relationship. Boy, was I wrong. He lost his job again, and I took two jobs just to make ends meet. He started spending all his time down at the local bar anddrinking away all the money that I was making. I got fed up and said something, and he beat me so badly that I ended up going into labor early and almost losing the girls. Hell, I almost bled out and died. When I woke up, he was in my hospital room holding one of the girls and telling me how sorry he was. I thought that it was just the wake-up call that he needed, and I believed that this time he would be better. I was scared and a new mom. I took him back, but his promises were all lies. I finally left and went to live with my mother. Taking the girls away from him only made him angrier. He kept harassing us, threatening to kill me and take them. He even said that if I didn’t go back with him, he’d kill all three of us because no one else could have us.” Torren tightened his arms around her and pulled her body closer against his. The thought of her ex laying one finger on any of them made him crazy. How could a father want to hurt his kids?
“When I filed my second restraining order and the local police did nothing to stop him from getting into my mother’s house, I left. I packed up the girls and drove out of town. I didn’t even tell my mother where I was going because I didn’t want him to get the information out of her. I can’t even let her know that we are all right,” Tana sobbed. “He’ll find out and come after us. He was serious, Torren. I know him, and I know that he wanted to kill us for leaving him. He said I betrayed him and took what was his,” Tana sobbed.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, baby. But not all men hurt women, and sometimes people can change. I promise you that he will never get near you or your girls ever again.” Tana shook her head.
“You can’t promise that, Torren. If he finds us, we won’t be able to stay here. That’s why I don’t want to get involved in a relationship. It will hurt too much to leave.” Torren crushed his mouth against hers. Tana’s lips were soft from her wet, saltytears, and he deepened the kiss, taking everything that she was willing to give him. Tana straddled his lap and let him pull her tank top up over her head. She covered her breasts with her hands and tried to pull away.
“I’m sure that you aren’t used to doing this with moms. I’m sorry if I don’t quite measure up.” Torren gently tugged her arms away from her breasts and stared at her body. She was the most gorgeous fucking woman that he’d ever seen.
“You’re perfect, baby. Don’t hide from me—I want to see all of you.” Tana gifted him with a sexy smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Deal,” she whispered against his mouth. “As long as I get to see all of you.” Torren groaned and took her mouth again. Tana Cahoon was going to test every ounce of his restraint, and he was looking forward to it.
Torren pinned her underneath his body, pressing her half-naked body into her sofa. She wanted to tell him to slow down and let her catch her breath, but when he kissed his way down to her sensitive nipple and sucked it into his hot mouth, she lost the ability to speak. He was giving her exactly what she asked for—hot casual sex, but the practical part of her wasn’t happy with the outcome. Torren admitted that he wanted a relationship with her, but was that what she wanted? The idea of having a man in her life again scared the shit out of her, not only for her sake but also for her girls. The twins were already attached to Torren’s puppy—what would happen when they fell in love with him too? Tana knew that her girls would be heartbroken to lose another person from their lives, but what was she supposed to do? Live like a nun? It was so long since anyman touched her that every little graze of Torren’s fingers and teeth sent her body spiraling over the edge again. He snaked his hand down into her shorts and ran his big fingers through her already slick folds, causing her to practically buck off the couch.
“Easy, honey, I’ve got you,” he whispered, and all she could muster was a whimper in response. This man was making her a ridiculous, needy pile of goo, and she couldn’t seem to find her good senses to mind. She needed to get herself together because what they were about to do was going to change everything between them. Tana wasn’t sure if she was ready for that or Torren. She could feel his impressive erection through his jeans, and she couldn’t help but trace the outline with her shaking fingers. Torren hissed out his breath, giving her encouragement that she was doing something right. He sat up between her legs, giving her better access and a fabulous view as he removed his T-shirt. God, the man was built like a Greek statue. She let her hands freely roam his chiseled abs and up his pecs, loving the way he leaned into her touch. She sat up to gently kiss her way down his chest until she found herself face-to-face with his cock. Tana looked up to find Torren breathing heavily from her attention. The thought that she could turn him on that way was heady. She unsnapped his jeans and slipped her hands in to find that he wasn’t wearing any boxers—it was all Torren under the soft denim. He groaned and thrust into her hands as she ran them over his shaft, seeming to need more from her. Tana looked up at Torren and licked her lips, knowing exactly what she wanted and silently asking permission. He curtly nodded and pulled down his jeans as she dipped her mouth to lick the head of his cock. His whole body jerked. “Fuck, baby, don’t tease me like that.” He thrust a little further into her mouth, and she tried to take as much of him as possible. She relaxed and let him take over and fuck her mouth, loving the way that he used her. It wasn’t long until he shouted out her name as sheswallowed his release. Tana licked and sucked him until he fell back against the sofa.
“Honey, that was—” He paused, breathless.
“Delicious?” she helped, winking at him. Torren laughed and pulled her down onto his chest.
“I think that turnabout is fair play, baby,” he growled. Torren shifted and pushed her body down to the sofa again, spreading her legs over his wide shoulders, giving him better access to her hot core. He smiled at her, all the dirty things that he wanted to do to her showing on his sexy face.
“Mommy?” Elizabeth’s sleepy little voice sounded from the upstairs hallway, causing Tana to scramble to her feet, trying to find her tank and shorts to pull back on. She found her shorts but couldn’t find her top.
“Shit,” she whispered. “She can’t come down here and find us like this.” Torren grabbed the old quilt that she kept on the back of her sofa and wrapped it around her, covering her bare chest. She turned and ran up the steps to find both girls standing on the landing, still groggy from sleep. “What are you two doing up?” She tried to sound stern but worried that her daughters would take one look at her appearance and know exactly what she was doing.
“Why are you wearing a blanket, Mommy?” Beth questioned. “It’s summertime.” Her very astute daughters gave her the once-over, and she pulled the quilt tighter around her half-naked body.
“I was watching television and got cold. Now I want you both back in your beds this instant.” The girls didn’t move an inch, and she was worried that they would try to sneak past her and find Torren downstairs on her sofa.
“We heard a man yelling,” Sarah whimpered.
Tana sighed, knowing that Torren was a little loud. What the hell was she going to tell her daughters? The truth that theirmommy was giving Mr. Torren a blow job, and he shouted her name when he came, wasn’t something you should share with four-year-olds.
“It was on television, Sweetheart.” Tana stroked Sarah’s head and turned both girls to go back to their room.
“We thought that you were fighting with Daddy again.” Tana froze at Elizabeth’s mention of her ex. They never brought him up since moving to Colorado. The girls were so young when she and Matt officially separated; she was hoping that they would forget all the bad fights that they used to have, not wanting to scar them. The girls remembered the way that she and Matt used to argue, and that felt like a knife to her gut.
“Daddy can’t get us here, right, Mommy?” Sarah asked, wiping away the sleep from her eyes. Tana sighed.
“No, baby, he can’t. He will never get near us again; I promise you girls that.” Tana helped both girls into Elizabeth’s bed. They liked to share a bed most nights, but especially if they had a bad dream. She often found Sarah cuddled up to her sister in the morning after thunderstorms rolled through. Tana loved that her girls had each other. Even when they fought, she knew that they would always be best friends. Sarah yawned and snuggled up against Elizabeth.
“Night, Mommy,” Elizabeth mumbled around her thumb, a habit she was still trying to break herself of.
“Good night, Babies.” Tana kissed both of their foreheads and stood to leave their room, closing their door behind her. She found a fresh T-shirt to slip on and headed back downstairs to find Torren asleep on her sofa. He pulled his clothes back on and must have gotten tired waiting for her to come back. Tana covered Torren with the quilt that he wrapped her in and watched him as he slept so peacefully. She smiled down at the sleeping giant who was slowly turning her quiet world upside down, and honestly, she kind of liked it. He needed to sleep—he was probably exhausted from his last trip, and she didn’t have the heart to wake him. Tana shut off the lights, set her phone alarm for an hour before her girls usually got up, and snuggled onto the sofa next to Torren. He took up so much of her tiny couch that she practically had to lie on top of him, but he didn’t seem to mind. He stirred and wrapped an arm and a big leg over her body, pinning her to his, and fell back to sleep. The thought of being able to get used to sleeping wrapped up in Torren Harrison crossed her tired mind, and she tried to make it go away. The last thing she needed was to fall in love with her neighbor—casual sex was all she could handle right now, and she just needed to keep reminding herself of that.
He stood outside the little house that now belonged to his ex-wife. Well, almost ex since he didn’t sign those fucking papers that she sent to him through her lawyer. Tana seemed to have no problem signing away years of her life as if they didn’t even happen, her signature scrawled across the line above her typed name. He was going to sign—he had the pen in his hand at his lawyer’s office, ready to put their whole ugly marriage behind him and find himself someone to move on with. But then the thought of his bitch ex-wife being able to do the same pissed him off. He grabbed the paper off his lawyer’s desk, grumbled something about not being ready to let her go, and stormed out. He was mostly telling the truth; he wasn’t ready to let her just walk away from him, taking his girls from him like he was a disposable husband and father. Fuck, he took good care of the three of them, and they just left him with no word as to where they were going. He used the little bit of money that he made working the graveyard shift down at the mill to hire a sleazyprivate detective to find his disgruntled bride and daughters. He wondered just how many lies she told his girls to get them to turn on him. It didn’t matter—once he got rid of Tana, he would figure out how much she had poisoned their minds. If he couldn’t convince them that their mother was a lying bitch, he’d just dispose of them too—start fresh. Maybe that was the better plan, anyway. Leaving no witnesses would probably be best. He could make their deaths look like an accident—a fire or a gas leak. He was creative enough to come up with something that would never shine any light on him as a suspect. He would need to lie low for a while, even play the grieving husband and father, but then he could find some pretty, young girl and train her right—start over. That was his problem with Tana—he didn’t set the ground rules when they got married. He let her walk all over him, and when he finally tried to put her in her place, she left him. It just proved his theory that she was an ungrateful bitch who didn’t deserve him. But he would teach her a lesson now—one that she would never forget.
