Page 62 of Never Tamed
A belch of black smoke clogs the kitchen and immediately shoots straight into my lungs. My eyes burn and when I turn, the simple grilled cheese is a brick of ash.
“Shit.”
I grab the handle and yell when hot metal melts into my skin. I drop the entire thing on the stovetop with an obnoxious clatter and the spray bits of food that aren’t charred ignite with the flames from the gas burner.
Curses fling from my lips and my palm throbs with the beat of my heart. What the fuck kind of man burns a grilled cheese and starts a fire? A fucking failure, that’s who.
The stench of burning cheese assaults my nostrils.
Then, water starts to spray from above, drenching both of us and the entire place in seconds.
“Shit!” I yell, trying to cover my head. It’s no use though. We’re already so wet, our clothes are sticking to our bodies like a second skin. Strobe lights start to flash from every exit door. “The sprinklers!”
“Torin!”
The flames from the failed dinner are doused, at least, but the pulsing water and my own stupidity have definitely ruined the evening.
Strands of hair cling to our faces and drip off our chins. Everything is soaked.
Standing there, struck dumb as the water continues to cascade over us, we just stare at each other, unsure what even to do now.
So instead, we both just burst out laughing.
Chapter 15
Ren
Iwant to stay mad at Torin. The fissures of anger spread inside of me, but the frayed edges of red ringing my vision are gone. The mancookedfor me. The uptight, stubborn, billionaire and king of capitalism…ruined a grilled cheese sandwich. For me.
He tried to, anyway. He tried his best, and now we’re both soaked to the bone. Laughter bubbles up, and once my mouth falls open, there’s no stopping it. Throwing his head back, Torin laughs just as hard. It’s the most free I’ve ever seen him.
“Only you would practically burn this place down,” I somehow manage to get out. Tears and dirty sprinkler water sting my eyes. “You’re going to flood the entire place!”
Our laughter dies down slightly when he turns me in his arms. But those blue eyes stay narrowed with amusement this time, not with anger.
I’m not used to him looking at me this way. I shiver, the shudder running along my spine, pooling low in my abdomen.
Torin’s always pissed about something or aggravated. Frustrated. Stubborn and cold. But now, he’s unsure of himself. I feel his emotions through the bond I always suspected existed and only now know for certain.
It’s been challenging to feel him but not to make space inside of me. I think I’ve always had room for him, though.
Now, he’s staring at me with strands of golden hair slicked to his face and scruff outlining the hard line of his jaw. Instead of a normal suit, he’s wearing a loose fitting button down shirt left undone at the top and rolled up to his elbows. He looks younger than I’ve ever seen him before.
“You sure did make a mess of things,” I say with a chuckle.
“I did.”
The way he says it, I know he doesn’t just mean now. He means overall—with keeping back his feelings, with still trying to marry Catarina.
“But I’m going to make it right,” he says. “Starting now.” Then he grabs my face and kisses me.
His lips press softly to mine at first but the tentative brush becomes a full on demand in a heartbeat. His tongue glosses over the seam of my lips and I open for him automatically. This is a different possession than our night in his office.
He made me crawl to him.
Now, he worries I’ll bring him to his knees, and he’ll like it so much, he’ll stay there.
I anticipated making him grovel today. As our tongues tangle and he kisses the breath right out of my lungs, I wonder if it’s sustainable in the face of so much fucking lust I could drown in it.
