Page 82 of Prince of Storms
“A ball?” I managed to choke out, trying my hardest to divert my focus to somewhere else. Anywhere else, except for the idea of being bent over the nearest table or couch and feeling Tor enter me from behind, his thick cock sliding between my lips, spreading them …
“Yes,” he said, thumb caressing the back of my hand, sending shockwaves up my arm and through my core. “A ball. I’m throwing it in your honor, so it would please me greatly if you were to attend. Then, you’ll see.”
My confusion momentarily outweighed my building arousal. God, I hoped the batteries of my vibrator were fully charged. “I’ll see? What will I see?”
“That I do care for you,” he rumbled. “And that I’m not afraid to show everyone. To tell them all that I care deeply about you.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I didn’t leave because of that. I left because—”
“Because she was scared of losing you, because she cares for you,” Ally’s voice drifted down the hallway.
“Thank you,Ally,” I called back hotly. “That will be all. Go to your room.”
“But …”
“Now.”
Ally huffed, but she was smiling as she took Axel and moved out of earshot, giving Tor and me some privacy.
“I know you’re scared,” he said, speaking before I had the chance. “I get it. I really do, Mia. You lost your mother and that hurt. It left a gaping hole in your life, and you’re terrified that if you let yourself care about anyone new, they might end up doing the same.”
I couldn’t speak, my throat was too swollen, so I nodded instead.
“And I know that, with everything going on in my world, it’s just added to that worry, that fear. My sister, the Vorgans, I get that. It weighs on you, big time.”
“It hurts,” I whispered. “It still hurts. She shouldbe here, dammit!”
“I know,” Tor said, quivering for a moment, his other arm coming up as if he’d been about to embrace me before dropping it. “I hurt, too. I miss my parents, and Iknewthey were going to leave. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you. But, Mia, it’salwaysgoing to hurt. Everything in life is going to hurt. You can’t hide from it forever. It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, to use a really cheesy quote.”
“That is really cheesy,” I said, unable to keep the smile off my face, though it didn’t last.
“I know. But it fits the situation,” he said gravely, squeezing my hand. “I hope you decide to come, Mia. I want you to be there with me, at my side. To show everyone how awesome my mate is.”
I trembled at the use of the word mate. I’d had some time to reflect on it, and though it wasn’t a common term, I knew how important it was to him. How different it was, compared to how humans might use it.
“I don’t know. I … don’t have anything to wear to a ball,” I said awkwardly. It was such a lame excuse, even if it was true.
“We’ll think of something,” Ally said, marching up the hallway, revealing that she’d been eavesdropping all along.
Tor smiled and reached into his back pocket. “I already thought of that. Go here, tell them your name. They’ll take good care of you. It’s all arranged.”
He handed me a business card. After a slight cough from Ally, I took it.
“Tomorrow evening,” he said. “I’ll send a car to pick you up from here.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment.
“I … really hope you decide to come,” he said, his façade cracking a bit, showing the sheepish eagerness that lurked underneath. Then he was gone, leaving me standing in the doorway, holding the business card in an upraised hand, staring after him.
Should I call out to him? Or close the door? What was I supposed to do?
“I really thought he was going to say it,” Ally said, coming up next to me.
“Huh? Say what?” I asked dumbly. Hadn’t he said everything he was going to say?
“Are you blind? He almost said ‘I love you’ there at the end. It was written on his face and lips. I thought he was going to do it!”
I turned to look at her. “You’re joking.”
