Page 58 of Torrent’s Treasure

“For what?” he questioned, his hand sliding into her hair, holding her face.

“For making our first time special and so hot,” she said, tears spilling over.

“Hey, why the tears?” he asked, his fingers brushing them off her cheeks.

“Because I’m so happy,” she sobbed softly.

Torrent grinned, “Me too.”

He waited until she quit crying and then lifted off her to take care of the condom. He brought a warm washcloth and cleaned her up before crawling back in bed and settling her in his arms.

“You ready to go to sleep?” he asked.

“Yes, but do we need to blow out the candles?” she asked.

“Fuck,” he muttered, getting back out of bed. She watched his butt flexing as he hurried around the suite, blowing out candles. Her man was the whole package—freaking hot, protective as fuck, and sweet when she needed it. She truly was one lucky woman despite how she’d arrived here.

Once he had them out, he walked back toward her, giving her an even better view that had her wondering about round two, but she wasn’t pushing herself tonight. She was going to go to sleep knowing that she was healed enough to be with her husband and Ol’ Man. He settled beside her, pulling her over onto his chest.

“You good?” he whispered, kissing her forehead.

“I’m good,” she said, closing her eyes and relaxing, knowing that no matter what, Torrent would protect her.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Torrent smirked at Calliope explaining to Mammoth that he’d been a great Santa Claus, but she was old enough that she knew the truth. He had to admit, seeing the big man arrive decked out in a full white beard, Santa suit, and a huge pillow stuffed under to make him look round was a sight to see.

The not-quite four months since Cecilia and Calliope had come into his life had been a series of ups and downs that he wouldn’t trade for anything. His life was full. He’d been busy with his club, but the girls, the animals, and the love he and Cecilia had made his life whole.

With Monster around, Cecilia had slept through the nights when he was on runs. Not that living with the animals was easy. Beast had a penchant for taking things left out and hiding them in their room. If anything went missing in the clubhouse, everyone checked Beast’s crate first. Torrent had no idea why the crazy raccoon did that, but his girls were happy with the animals, and so was he.

Calliope was attending school and doing well. They’d found a counselor the club could trust, and she and Cecilia both went to her.

Unfortunately, as far as Torrent was concerned, Useless was still alive and the Police Chief. The club had held off on having the helicopter pilot come and search the area. Instead, the club had taken to long rides through the surrounding areas each weekend, which were a cover for searching for the cabins.

Jonah and Abby said they were close, and Abby had even been able to plant a couple of listening devices in the Chief’s car and office. She had wanted to do his home, but Jonah deemed it too dangerous.

Maverick had headed out after lunch with leftovers packed up for Jonah and Abby. The club had bought a couple older sedans at auction with no ties to the Grave Prowlers to use when they met with the undercover Honey Creek Badgers MC members.

Most of the time, they met at different locations, but because it was Christmas, Maverick would be dropping it off at Abby’s house, which was toward the edge of town and was hidden from the road by trees.

“Torrent, would you teach me how to make the birdhouses?” Calliope asked with her please-please look on her face. He didn’t have a hope of saying no to her, not that he wanted to. He’d love to spend more time with her, teaching her how to use the woodworking tools.

“Of course,” he promised.

“Great. I was thinking of making five of them in different colors and hanging them on the tree that’s across from my bedroom window. It would be really cool this spring to see what birds they attract. Does it matter what type of house for what birds it attracts?” she asked.

“I made them to have something to occupy my mind after I got out, and they were decorative. How about we do some research and plan from there?” he suggested.

Calliope nodded and jumped up and down, throwing her arms around him.

“Love you, Torrent,” she cheered, then ran off toward their room before he could reply.

It was the first time Calliope had said the words to him. He’d told her many times because Sally had chatted with him about how important it was for kids to know that. It had reminded him of how Sally and Dragon had welcomed him in and shown him so much love.

Not something he and his brothers talked about, but it was in the threads of their relationships woven together. They might all be big, gruff bikers, but their love for each other and the club was absolute. His Ol’ Lady and Calliope were a part of that.

“You did good,” Sally said, slipping an arm around him.