Page 24 of Never Tamed
“Sweatpants?” I ask. “Really?”
He barks out a disgruntled laugh. “It was the only thing they had in the storage container.”
“You’re slumming it with the rest of us now.”
I miss my hoodie. I miss the comfort of it as I settle at his side and my bones creaked in protest.
The stench of bilge water and debris fills my nose along with the fresh tang of salt and decay from the plant life across the river. Oil slicks the surface, glinting with rainbow hues under the last of the moon and star light.
Rust, from the ships. Fuel from their machines used to move all these storage containers.
And underneath it all, the last phantom scent of Torin’s expensive cologne.
“You want to talk.” His voice is deep and rough. “We have a lot to say to each other.”
“We can sit here if you want.”But I won't beg you for anything.
His laughter is much slower to come in my head but it’s more real than anything he’d uttered out loud.
I kick out my feet in the open air and immediately regret it when the motion pulls my still healing side. Torin snaps his head in my direction, his concern filtering through.
“This mate bond is strange stuff, isn’t it?’ I struggle to keep my tone light and conversational. The subject is definitely neither of those things. “Does it take some getting used to it on your end, too? Having Mathis and Noble there?”
“I feel both of them. But I feel you the strongest,” Torin admits. His eyes narrow. “Maybe that’s why I fought against it so hard.”
“Because it’s not something you can control.
Easy, there, you sound almost bitter. The voice in my head is mine.
“You’re not bitter,” Torin answers me out loud and I shiver. He heard me. “You’re right. I can’t control my emotions and I’ve built my empire on control. Emotions have always been a weakness. Giving your power away.”
“Not just because it’s me?” My voice goes small.
He groans and wipes a hand across his hair, pushing it away from his face. He looks younger this way. Younger than I’ve ever seen him look. Or maybe it’s the vulnerability in his eyes or the way his mouth relaxes when it isn’t twisted in his usual sneer.
He still won’t look at me and I find myself aching for eye contact. Like I need it so I know he actually sees me.
“I’m sorry, Ren. I’m so sorry I fought against the mate bond this hard and it cost you everything.”
I feel his sincerity through the bond and my world tips on its axis.
“You called me by my name,” I blurt.
I’ve always been Ms. Wexler to him. For some reason, that rocks me the hardest. My heart clutches in my chest and my fingers dig into the side of the dock.
“It was a way to distance us,” he clarifies, his gaze on something across the water. “Because I needed the distance. I’ve been in my head for so long… it almost cost you your life. I’m sorry.”
Torin reaches out to me and stops, flexing his fingers. His hand drops down to his side.
“I’m not used to hearing you apologize.” Or hearing him be kind.
He engaged with the rest of the world through a wall of steel, living up to his name. It’s strange to hear him be this emotional and I’m not sure I like it. Or maybe I like it too much.
Maybe I really like the way his fingers keep flexing like he’s trying to stop himself from touching me, even though I want him to.
I want to be touched.
I want him to grovel.
