Page 36 of A Harmony of Procellarum

My forehead hits hers, our noses brushing as I say, “He just fucked me a few hours ago.”

TINY

Torrent’s confession shocks me more than my reaction to waking up with him inside me. His thrusts soften as he watches my reaction, and I would give anything to see what he’s seeing because I can’t figure out what I’m feeling. Jealousy? Not really. I was with Squall not too long ago too, and I know they’re together in some capacity. Angry? Maybe a little. Did they go off on a rendezvous? Is Torrent really as trapped as I am here?

“You look confused, Marigold,” he husks out, the sound like velvet over my heated skin. “Why?”

“I can’t figure out if I’m jealous or angry. I think it’s more that I wish I was there with you two, instead of being here alone,” I admit as he pulls out of me to sit back on his hunches, his wet cock standing thick and long.

“That would never happen.” He shakes his head. “I would kill you both.”

His words have me leaning up to look at him, my emotions still running high because of what we’re doing and the line we’ve crossed. “Why? How would it be any different from what we’re already doing?”

“I know you fuck him,” he says as he runs a finger along his cock, gathering my juices. “But I couldn’t watch you do it. Out of sight, out of mind.” He sucks his finger into his mouth and moans around it before he falls back over me, slipping my thong back to the side.

“So you wouldn’t care if I fucked someone else as long as you didn’t see it?” I ask as he slams back into me, the intrusion pulling a scream from my throat.

“Did I say that?” He punctuates each word with a hard thrust. “I would kill you if you ever decide to fuck someone else. But not before making you watch me rip the heart from their chest.”

I pull the shirt up over my head, letting it drop to the mattress and giving Torrent a view of what he left on my neck. The wound still hurts, reminding me of the primal exchange we had in the bathroom before he left. His eyes fall to it, and at the same moment, I slip my hand to my clit, knowing I’m right there. He leans forward and swipes his tongue over the wound and groans, the sound catapulting me into a wave of euphoria as I come around his cock. He’s not too far behind as he comes while paying close attention to the bite he left me with earlier.

He’s quick to pull out of me and roll to the bed beside me, his heavy breathing filling the room. Our last encounter in the bathroom left me with more questions than answers, but I figured something out about myself. No matter how hard I try to deny it, I want Torrent. I wasn’t sad about wanting him, I was sad because I felt like I betrayed Squall. Until I remembered he feels the same way. He wants us both, too.

“I want you, you clearly want me, and we both want Squall.” I turn to look at him. “What would be the difference if we all just had each other?”

His eyes close briefly before he turns to look at me. “Squall is mine. He always has been and he always will be. I know he fucks other women, and yes, I will admit, his feelings for you are beyond just a fuck, but I could never watch you guys be together. I’m not joking when I say I would kill you both.”

“So the only option is one where Squall isn’t involved. You would only be content if you and I were together?” I’m really confused by the way his mind works, and as I watch him squirm with uncertainty, I think he also struggles with it.

“He wouldn’t let that happen either,” he admits. “Why does anyone need to be with someone?”

“Oh,” I breathe with a quiet chuckle. “We all just fuck each other quietly behind our backs and that’s it.”

A growl erupts from his throat as he leans over me, his face clenched with anger. “I don’t like that either.”

“Then that means you plan on killing me. Am I right?” My voice shakes with realization, and when he falls back to the bed without another word, I know I hit the mark.

“You were always a means to an end, Tiny,” he says finally as he turns onto his side, his back to me. “Don’t take it personally.”

Soon enough he’s out, his breathing evening as I stare at the darkening ceiling. I always had an inkling that I wouldn’t survive Squall. He’s always been so much bigger than life for me, consuming everything else until there was only him. But that all changed when I stepped foot into this room and Torrent showed up soon after. It was the proximity that brought those hidden feelings to the surface.

Don’t take it personally.

How else do I take someone wanting to kill me?

I should be freaking out, but I’m not. I’m over all of this Order, Illuminati, Devil bullshit. I’m tired of a lifetime of being let down and I’m ready to say goodbye to it all. I worry about what my death would mean for Tempest and Sky, and I hope Raiden and Hail will help them get past it. They are my only genuine family.

A whimper comes from Torrent, and I turn to find his face contorted with agony as his legs begin to thrash. “No,” he whines. “Don’t hurt him.”

My heart crumbles for the boys they were and what they must’ve endured in such an evil place. This is why I can’t hate them for what they’ve become. It was survival, a way to get through each day without having to face what they battled when they were nothing more than children. Squall has these dreams too, and Sky told me about Hail’s episodes. It doesn’t take much to see why Raiden is the way he is.

I reach out my hand to rest on Torrent’s hard chest, his heart beating wildly against my palm. How many times did his heart race out of pure fear when he was younger? What I wouldn’t give to see those people strung up like pigs to the slaughter for what they’ve done.

The warmth of my hand calms him a little as he stills, his breathing evening out again. I’m glad I can bring him some peace. I don’t know that he’s ever really felt true peace. It makes me feel sorry for them all over again, and given the situation I’m in, it’s silly to take pity on my would-be murderer.

I wonder how he’ll do it now. The first time we had no connection, there was nothing between us but hatred. He had me on an altar and would’ve slit my throat had he not been interrupted. When he rips the heart out of my chest, will he savor its warmth, or will he recoil from the organ meant for his lover? Or is it? Do I have room in there for Torrent too? Is this more than a morbid need to fuck my prison mate?

A sharp knock on the door has me scrambling to haul on my shirt as Torrent startles awake, his hand reaching out to grab my arm and hauling me in close.

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