Free Torrent (Cosmic Forces Book 1) by Elle Thorne

frustration with the situation from showing.
----
    A lyssa was confused by the look on Torrent’s face. His jaw muscles were working overtime. Was he upset about holding Gillie? Why would he be? She shifted closer to the edge of the couch and put him in Torrent’s arms. Torrent kept his eyes glued on Gillie’s face, and his jaw muscles began to relax. He turned away from Alyssa and began to pace the room slowly, his eyes never leaving Gillie’s face.
    After a long moment of pacing, Torrent looked up. “So you do most of the… You take care of him, mostly?”
    Alyssa gave him a sideways nod. “I do a lot of it, but only because the girls help me out a lot. They work my shifts at the factory so I can be home with him.”
    “Isn’t that risky?” Torrent glanced at Jesse’s hand on her arm.
    Alyssa stepped away from Jesse. Torrent was Gillie’s father. He had a right to know this. He was as good as family now; they shared blood. Gillie was part Torrent and part Melissa.
    “I don’t mean to intrude on your family business.” Torrent handed Gillie back to her.
    “Do you mind if I put him in his bed? If you can come during the day sometime, you’ll get to see him at his best.” She smiled at him.
    When Alyssa returned from laying Gillie down, Torrent was standing by the door.
    “What’s going on? Are you leaving already?”
    “I should. I have things I need to look into. Can I return tomorrow, maybe?”
    “Of course,” Alyssa said, finding that the idea of his return made her pulse race and her heart want to sing. “Let me walk you out.”
    “Not downstairs,” Jesse cautioned.
    “Don’t worry.” She smiled at her protective baby brother. “I’ll be on the other side of this here door.” She poked at Jesse’s arm.
    She and Torrent stepped into the hallway.
    “So, what’d you think? About Gillie, I mean. Isn’t he the spitting image of Melissa?”
    “Yeah.” Torrent seemed preoccupied.
    Alyssa bit back her gasp and her response. Gillie looked nothing like Melissa. He looked more like her. How well did Torrent even know her sister?
    Was it one night only? Had he and Melissa known each other at all, really? She blew out a breath. “You and Melissa weren’t really close, were you?”
    “Truth? No. Not really.” Torrent said. “I’m sorry. I know you’d like to hear that we were… more… something…”
    “No. No. It’s not like that at all.” Relief flooded through her. And she felt sick that it did. Was there something wrong with her that she felt this way about a man that her sister had slept with, even if they weren’t much of anything?
    Self-loathing coated her mouth, leaving behind a vile taste.
----
    T orrent scanned her face , her features imprinting on his memory and his interface. He wanted to lean in, put a hand on each side of her and trap her against the wall. He wanted to lock his lips onto hers and claim her. He wanted his tongue deep within her mouth, her body. He wanted every bit of her, unharnessed, unleashed.
    He leaned closer. Her lips were irresistible. “Does it bother you…?”
    “No.” She pushed on his chest and turned her back on him. “No. You don’t know me. Don’t go assuming what bothers me.”
    When she turned his way again, there were tears in her brown eyes.
    Confused, Torrent put his hand out.
    She slapped it away. “I have to go.”
    With that she opened the door and vanished behind it, leaving behind an open-mouthed and perturbed Torrent. He knew she had to go. She probably had to teach tonight. All right: he’d guard her on her journey. That was the least he could do, especially when he was going to steal away the child she’d come to consider almost as one of her own.
    Feeling like a bastard, Torrent headed down the stairs.

Chapter Fourteen
    A lyssa walked back inside . She needed to get on the road. Teaching night.
    Her stomach was a mess, in knots over Torrent and the surge of emotions that had traveled throughout her body. She was