Chapter Eight

Kyla

I know I put up on a good front while Torch handled those guys and even through the rounds of questioning and statements by Brently police, Sheriff’s office, and now the DEA. But now that we were back at home, because that’s how I now thought of this place, I felt my legs and arms trembling and exhaustion took over. Thoughts took over of those guys with their long knives and how Torch had stepped himself between me and harm. I hated it that he had to do it. But I loved that he was so capable. It could be shock or trauma or something, but it also turned me on a lot.

My body pulsed. Throbbed. Ached for him as I stepped from the shower feeling hopeful he wasn’t too tired to let me take what I needed from him tonight. When I stepped from the en suite bathroom there he was, stretched out on his big bed, body tanned and tattooed, deliciously well muscled. My mouth watered for him. “You awake?”

“Yup.”

I smiled. That was Torch, short and sweet. A quick tug and the towel fell at my feet. “Good.” Climbing on the bed, eager to get to him, I kissed my way up his body, starting with long powerful legs and leaving a trail of fire from his balls to his shaft and up rippling abs. “I love how you feel, Torch. So big. So beautiful.” My hands roamed all over his body, my mouth following the path as though it were lost in the night. “These tattoos are nearly as beautiful as the rest of you. And god your taste!” I felt wild, licking his neck and scraping teeth across his nipples. “So fucking good!”

“Ky,” he groaned and held my head until I squirmed, anxious for more of him.

“This is what I had in mind,” I told him when he released me with a sleepy, sexy smile as he flipped my body so his cock was lined up with my mouth and my pussy hovered inches above his mouth. I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped when he grabbed my hips and I slowly sank onto his tongue. “Torch, yes!” As good as his mouth felt on my pussy I needed to taste him, to feel his hot hard heat pulsing in my mouth. Driving him crazy with my mouth the same way.

The energy between us was wild and frantic, almost frenetic as I ground on to him and he thrust into my mouth, so deep down my throat I couldn’t do anything but moan. Humming to send vibrations rocketing through him. The sound of his tongue on my wet pussy turned me on even more, and I knew I gushed. A proper woman might be embarrassed, but I was so fucking turned on I sucked him deeper and harder, faster and faster as my orgasm shot through me like a missile, powerful and all consuming. I opened my mouth to scream and Torch thrust deeper down my throat, triggering his own orgasm as he filled me with his warm, salty seed. It only made me come harder.

I collapsed on top of him, his cock still throbbing and leaking beside my face. Okay, I took another swipe that made him shiver. I grinned. “Damn, babe, you give the best head I’ve ever had,” he growled, grabbing my thighs and pulling me toward him until I was on my back and his cock surged into me, long and hard and thick, filling me completely. “I could fuck that mouth every day.”

His words made me smile. I felt exposed physically as he palmed my thighs to keep them spread wide. Emotionally because how could I not when this man protected me, loved me. Made me feel special. “I’m happy to let you, Torch. Just ask nicely.”

His hips moved as though they were powered by pistons, pumping fast and hard, hitting that spot that sent fireworks off behind my eyes and made my pussy flood the space between us. “Fuck yeah. Come all over my cock, Ky.” As fast as he fucked me, his thumb moved faster over my clit until I was a sopping wet mess. And just when I thought I was wrung out, his hips went into overdrive and I fell apart, screaming and shaking violently.

“Torch,” I panted, feeling so overwhelmed I couldn’t speak, couldn’t form any thoughts he’d want to hear. I wanted to push him away, to pull him closer. So much pleasure, satisfaction, and hormones shot through me I didn’t know what to do as he found his own pleasure. Oh, thank god. But he didn’t stop, he slowed his strokes, holding me close and kissing my neck, leaving a wet trail that instantly cooled my skin.

“Fuck me, Ky. You feel so good, darlin’.”

Those slow strokes were my undoing as another orgasm shocked me and the look in those deep blue eyes, that dimple popped under his smug, satisfied smile. I knew then that I was a little past halfway in love with this sexy outlaw.

***

“But it’s been a month since anyone showed up!” Daddy and Mick had stopped by and brought me back to reality. Again.

“No, sweetheart, it’s been a month since you’ve had a run-in with any of these guys.” Daddy had aged about ten years since this all happened, and I knew it couldn’t be easy for him. “Since you’ve come to your senses and decided to put your safety first, we’ve cuffed six more men.”

The truth was I hadn’t prioritized my safety at all, but being with Torch consumed me. Making love to him, anywhere and everywhere, was all I could think about, but a girl couldn’t say that to her father. “Six?” How was it possible these people just kept coming? You’d think getting their asses beat and then arrested would deter them. Then I remembered. Seventy-five grand. “So why do you look so down?”

“Because, Kyla,” Mick began in that gentle voice that didn’t soothe me at all. “None of them have any real information. That means these are all independent contractors with no ties to the man.”

I looked at Torch, worry and confusion evident on my face. “Guns for hire. They won’t know shit about Stash, but they will keep coming.”

I knew that, on some level. Yet hearing it confirmed out loud had me feeling out of sorts. I should be afraid but living with fear for any prolonged period of time was exhausting, and I just couldn’t do it. Not when I had something new and exciting to focus on. Being in love with Torch. Me, Kyla Darlington. In love with a man named Torch. Because apparently my life wasn’t complicated enough at the moment. “What am I supposed to do?”

“We lay low like we’ve been doing.” His words were firm but gentle, and his hand rested on my thigh under the table.

“Then I guess we’re lying low.” Daddy and Mick stood, but Daddy hung back as Torch and Mick left us alone. “What’s up?”

“How are you doing, baby girl?”

I sighed. “I’m not scared anymore, Daddy, I’m just tired.” He wrapped his arms around me, and I squeezed tight. I’d missed him over the years and wished we were reunited for pretty much any other reason.

“Don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”

“I know, Daddy.” I felt the change in his breathing, and I knew there was more. “Just say it.”

“You and Torch, huh?” He laughed a little I was surprised, because I expected a lecture.

“Yeah. I think I love him, Daddy.”

“Well, he’s a good man, but be careful.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.” And that was all he had to say on the matter before he kissed me goodbye and walked out the door.

I felt like I was living in the Twilight Zone and the conversation I just had with Daddy had me convinced I was in a hospital somewhere in a coma and this was all part of my vivid imagination. “I must be crazy.”

“No doubt about that, sweetheart.” Torch said when he walked back in the room.

I turned and my mouth went dry as it always did when Torch went around without a shirt. The man was delicious as fuck, but in board shorts he was a panty wetting fantasy. “Relaxing by the pool?”

“That all right with you?” I knew he waited for me to throw a fit, to seduce him into leaving the house, but he’d be disappointed.

I just wanted to relax at home with him. “More than all right, smarty pants,” I told him and peeled off the shorts and tank I wore, revealing a plain black bikini that dipped low on my hips and showed off my ass. “Race ya!”

We spent the day together, relaxing by the pool, swimming, and making love. Despite the fact we were confined to the house, it was the best day I ever had. And it left no more doubts in my mind how I felt about Torch. But he didn’t strike me as the commitment guy so I promised myself to keep a lid on my emotions for as long as I could.

“How about pizza for dinner?”

Sounded good to me, and we had cold beer in the fridge. “With buffalo chicken bites?”

He smiled and placed the order. “Guess I can kiss that blowjob tonight goodbye,” he mumbled, drawing a laugh from me.

“The chicken bites aren’t here yet.”

“No, they’re not.” He grinned as I closed the gap between us and tugged on the waistband of his swim trunks. His phone vibrated on the table, and he picked it up with a groan. “We’ll pick this up in a minute,” he said and walked inside the house.

His deep voice sounded close, but not close enough that I could hear what he was saying or who he spoke to. I closed my eyes, letting the deep, solid cadence of his voice wash over me. I loved that low baritone that spoke gruffly, swore like the sailor he was, and never used an extra word when less would do. Torch wasn’t the man I imagined falling in love with for the first time, and this definitely was not the circumstances I saw myself falling in love. Everything was ass backward, and I couldn’t find myself regretting it at all.

And if they could catch the guy who killed Chase, things just might be perfect. If I didn’t think about my lack of a job or permanent housing.

The doorbell rang, and I sprang up to get plates and beer so we could relax in front of his big ass sixty-inch television. I didn’t even know they made TVs so big but, of course, a big tough guy with lots of disposable cash had big, tough guy toys.

I heard what sounded like a scuffle and then a sound I’d never fucking forget. A gunshot. That got my feet moving pretty damn quick toward the table where Torch had a .38 holstered underneath. The sounds of the scuffle grew louder as I moved in closer and caught sight of blood all over the foyer. Some greasy haired asshole was on top of Torch, and his shoulder was covered in blood. “Torch, you hurt bad?” Stupid question, I knew, but my mind needed time to catch up.

“I’ll live, sweetheart.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” the guy said and slammed his fist into Torch’s shoulder.

Those words were all I needed to hear to raise the gun and take aim. They were moving too much, rolling back and forth, but Torch being injured in his right shoulder made getting a good hit hard. So I did the one thing I knew would work. “Hey, asshole, while you’re busy trying to get to third base with my boyfriend, I’m right here!”

Torch cried out as the fucker dug his finger into his shoulder, but he looked up at me with a lascivious grin that made my skin crawl. “I’ll get to you soon, bitch,” he snarled up at me.

My gaze slid to Torch, eyes pinched in pain, and I squared my shoulders when Greasy Hair pulled out a knife and raised it over his head. I adjusted my stance and squeezed the trigger, and the loud sound was deafening. His slow fall on top of Torch sounded even louder. “Oh no! Oh. Oh. Oh my…fuck!” I was officially freaking out. I had just shot—maybe killed—someone.

Torch pushed the limp body off him with a grunt while I stayed frozen, bare feet rooted in the sticky, bloody black and white tile. “Good shot, sugar.”

His words barely registered as I stared at the man with greasy brown hair, hazel eyes wide and lifeless. My hands shook, and I was vaguely aware of his big hand covering mine and taking the gun from me. Then his arms were around me, holding me tight as my body began to tremble. Then I felt it against my face, wet and sticky. Torch’s blood. “Oh my god, Torch, you’re injured! We have to get you to the hospital right now!”

He nodded but his eyes were unfocused and the phone dropped to the floor. “Yeah. Maybe,” he slurred his words.

I held him up as he swayed, but Torch was entirely too much man for me to hold up on my own. “I’m sorry, Torch. So fucking sorry,” I cried as his eyes blurred, and he collapsed on top of me.