"Yeah."

"Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't want to find something to like him for," I grumble.

"Where'd you learn all this shit, Katie?"

I tense up at his question. I keep my vision on the road in front of us and tighten up my hands. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, sweetness. We both know you're smart as a tack."

His words do a little more towards making my stomach feel weird and releasing that tight rein I have on letting Torch all the way in. It should scare me, but it's starting to feel normal. I'm starting to wish my walls were down. I want to let Torch in. No one has ever thought of me as smart before, except maybe Bethie, but she loves me.

"My father... was like two different men," I finally reveal. "When he and my mother were first together, he wanted to live a normal life. He tried to leave the family. Who knows? It might have worked out well."

"Why didn't it?"

"My mother was a money-grubbing whore, maybe? Can't say for sure. I'm judging from the many sermons my father gave while making sure his daughter didn't walk in her footsteps."

"What do you mean?"

"When my father left the 'family' for her, things were fine until my mother discovered that without the family, she wouldn't have summer homes in France, credit cards with no limits, no Mercedes, no maids or chauffeurs. In short, my mother hated everything about life in suburbia."

Torch processes this. "She made your father go back in?"

"If only it were that simple," I say with a sigh, wondering why some twisted part of me actually feels sorry for Redmond. I shouldn't; he beat whatever fucks I gave out of me long ago. "She decided, since Redmond wouldn't keep her in diamonds, furs, and private planes, she'd find someone who would."

"His twin," Torch says right on cue.

"Yep. Old Uncle Edmond was knee-deep and climbing the ranks in the family that Redmond had turned his back on. Isabel latched onto him and never looked back, even when my father told her he was taking the oldest daughter with him."

"But, you're twins..."

"Oh, see, but the family has a system," I point out. "Redmond came out first, so he had the position first. Edmond only got to be head of the family because Redmond didn't want it."

"So, by keeping you, Redmond was pretty much securing the next generation?"

"In his mind, yeah. Until he realized that having me would be a liability. Then, I was better off dead."

"And... that's why he said you died?"

"Yep. I went from being a liability to being a secret weapon."

"If that's true, then why did he push to get Beth back?"

By this time, I'm just driving down the road. I'm going on autopilot, lost in the memories and the pain. Torch thinks he's getting the whole story. He's getting the briefed-up, prettied-up version. He can't know of the pain of knowing that your father hated you, that he saw you as stupid and useless because you had one leg longer than the other that caused you to limp. Finding out I suffered from dyslexia and ADHD together was the final straw. I was stupid and deformed. That's when I was no longer a weapon, but a tool to get his good daughter back. That's when he came up with the plan to use me to trap Beth.

"Let's just say that a daughter with a bum leg-among other problems-was expendable. The heir to the throne, so to speak, had to be beyond reproach."

"What a fucking twisted..."

"Monster," I finish for him, because that's what my father really was. At his core, he was a complete monster.

"I'm sorry, sweetness." Torch reaches to squeeze my hand.

I don't know what I have going on with Torch. It has me constantly confused, but it feels... good. It feels right.

It feels safe. No wonder I want to keep him. Forever.

"You look worn out," I whisper to her as I carry her to bed. I start at her feet, taking off her shoes, then her socks, letting my fingers and thumbs massage the soles of her feet.

"Been a long day."

"No kidding. I'm sorry, sweetness. I should have thought better and demanded that you let me drive."

"I could do it," she says. "Besides, it's not your job to think about my weaknesses, Hunter. I'll deal. I always deal."

"It's not a weakness, Katie. There's not a fucking thing about you that's weak," I tell her, and that's the God's honest truth. Katie might be the strongest person I've ever known. I can say that and don't even know half of the real hell she's been through.

"Hunter, I know..."

"You know nothing. You know what's been drilled into you by evil. That's it. Does your sister think of you as weak, Katie?"

"Hunter..."

"Because I've met Beth. She's an amazingly sweet and loving person, but she has nowhere near the grit you have."

"Bethie has this ability to see people and... and love..."

"I don't doubt it a bit, and it's a wonderful ability," I tell her, cutting her off. "But you, Katie, you have a will made of iron, grit, and determination that sees you through everything."

"Grit? Iron? You make me sound so sexy, Hunter. You're taking my breath away," she jokes. How many times has she used humor to deflect compliments because she doesn't believe them? I bet I couldn't even begin to guess.

I help Katie to stand, then start to unbutton my pants.

"Hunter?"

"Undress, sweetness. Bare yourself to me," I tell her.

She probably doesn't know it, but I'm not talking her body. She begins slowly taking her clothes off. Nothing else is said and nothing can be heard in the room but our breathing. Once we're both naked, I pick her up and walk to the small half-hall that has a small closet to hang clothes and a full-length mirror before moving into the bathroom. I stand her up in front of the mirror, then turn her around so she's looking in the mirror. I'm standing behind her. I can see her face staring back at me. Her face goes pink with embarrassment.

"Hunter," she whispers, confused.

I hold her hips and pull her back against my body so that our skin is touching from her back down to her legs. I pull her hair away from her neck and expose it on one side. I run my face against it, letting my beard tease her, and brush the tender skin. My lips find her ear and I place gentle kisses along the shell. My hands find hers and I place mine over them, moving them, palms flat, against the curve of her stomach.

"Look in the mirror. I want you to see what I see," I tell her, allowing my breath to be just one more thing to tease her.

"I need to lose weight. I gained-"

I bite her shoulder hard, knowing I'll leave my mark there, but I want her to stop.

"You're perfect," I correct her. "Look at how your stomach curves. So sexy. So feminine, it makes me hard just following the lines of your body." I move our hands up along her ribs. "Until you, Katie, I never realized the way a woman's ribs are formed that highlight and angle her body to make her fit perfectly against a man." I continue telling her this while I kiss her neck, letting my tongue follow the path my lips make.

"Hunter..."

"And your breasts," I go on, bringing our hands to cup them at the same time, slowly, carefully letting our combined touch be just one more thing to excite her. "Fuck me, sweetness, those breasts of yours are magnificent. Feel how soft they are? How they curve out from your body, looking so ripe and ready for the picking?" I bring our hands up so our fingers skate over her hardened nipple. With just the gentle touch, they contract further until they look painfully hard.

"Jesus, Hunter."

"I'm in love with your breasts, Katie. They've ruined me for any other woman. They're so receptive. The merest touch and they're begging for more. The sweet pink color of your nipples. The way they crave that tiniest bit of pain..."

As I tell her that, I use her fingers to grasp the large nipples. We roll them between her fingers, then I pull them. I drag my eyes from the reflection of her breasts in the mirror to find her face as her ass pushes against me. Her head leans into my shoulder. Her eyes are heavy as she watches the movement of our hands, her breathing turning erratic. Katie's face is still shadowed in pink, but now I think it has to do more with being excited than embarrassed, exactly as it should be.

"Oh, fuck..." she whispers, her voice dripping in need.

I smile. "Keep playing with your tits, sweetness. Don't stop," I whisper against the back of her neck.

"I won't."

"I love your back too, Katie. I love the delicateness of it. I love the way it's shaped, the milky-white color that makes me want to see my name inked on it. I love everything about it," I tell her, letting my hands move along the backs of her shoulders and slowly down until I reach her hips.

"Please, Hunter," she whispers. I drop down to my knees and place a kiss at the top of her ass. "Keep playing with those beautiful nipples, sweetness."

"I am... but I need more, Hunter."

I ignore her plea, letting my tongue drag across the cheek of her ass. "This ass, Katie. I love it. I have wet dreams about this ass, the way it plumps out in your clothes, making my cock beg." My hand reaches into the honeyed opening of her ass and finds the plug I inserted. I pull it out a little before sliding it back in.

"More," she whispers.

Oh, I'll be giving her more-a lot more.

I continue to fuck her with the plug, twisting it, pulling it almost out, and then ramming it back into her. Her ass pushes out, wanting more. I look in the mirror and find her eyes closed. She's playing with those juicy, hard nipples and I can't wait any longer. I have to have her.

I take the plug out, tossing it on the bed across the room. Her moan of protest is my reward. My hands bury into the cheeks of her ass. I grip them tightly, pulling them apart. I thrust my face into her ass, letting my tongue slide down that dark valley. I move my tongue over her opening, licking the outline, then slowly pushing in just around the rim and barely inside.

"I fucking love this ass, Katie. It's mine."

"Yes. It is... It's yours, Hunter. Please, baby. Don't make me wait any longer."

I stand up then. Her cry of disappointment is even louder this time. "Shh, sweetness. I just want to show you what else I love," I tell her, bringing her hands slowly down her body.

"Jesus, Hunter," she complains, her ass pushing back and grinding against my raging hard cock. The damn thing has pre-cum running down the shaft. My balls are so fucking tight, I know this won't last long.

"This sweet, bare pussy," I groan into her neck, moving her fingers to her pussy. It's covered in desire. So damned wet, it's like a fucking waterfall. I guide her fingers past her lips and inside. I push her finger and mine, feeling the way her walls tremor against our entry. She's fucking primed. "This fucking pussy is unlike anything I've ever known, Katie. So sweet and addicting. It's like pure heroin to my cock. One hit, and I'm ruined for anyone else, Katie. You're all I want. Your body is all I want."

"Hunter, I need to come, please. Please let me come," she cries as I push our fingers back inside of her.

"In a minute, baby, I'll give you exactly what you need," I tell her, guiding her hand to her clit. It's almost pounding as hard as my dick. "Rub that clit for me, sweetness. Get it nice and needy for me, but don't come yet. Don't even think about it."

"Hunter!" she cries, but she does exactly as I tell her.

I turn her to the side, moving her free hand to hold onto the desk that's there beside the mirror. I pull on her hips until she's bent over at just the right angle. "Look in the mirror, Katie. Watch what I'm doing. See how hard my cock is for you. Realize how much you mean to me," I growl, my voice hoarse.

She does exactly that, her eyes glued to the mirror.

I push a finger into her ass. It gains entry so damned easily, I could almost shout in victory. On the second thrust, I add another finger and, again, it slides in without a problem. I stretch her, pulling my fingers apart. She's tight, unbelievably tight, but she's dying for more. I grab my cock. Honestly, I've been leaking so much pre-cum, it's probably all I need, but I can't resist sliding inside of her pussy one time. I push all the way to the hilt until my dick is scraping her womb, my balls pressed against her.

"Yes!" she yells, her walls squeezing my cock and trembling. She's a breath away from coming now.

I leave her tight little pussy for something else, though. Something I've been craving. Something I need from her. I line my cock with her ass, letting the head of my cock push into her so that it's just teasing through the tight ring of muscles.

"That's it, sweetness. Push back into me and give me your ass. It's mine. You're mine. I'll take care of you."

"Oh God, Hunter. I'm going to come."

"Not until I'm buried in your ass. Don't you dare, Katie."

"Hurry!" she cries, her body shaking with the need to fall over the edge.

That's all the encouragement I need. I thrust into that tight ass without stopping. It's so fucking tight, squeezing me so hard that my balls feel like they're on fire. I try not to move once I get seated all the way inside, but Katie isn't having that. Her body is quaking and it's urging me on as she cries out. I feel the orgasm take her, her hands moving so fast over her clit that she's shaking from that alone. I pull out and thrust back in. I fuck her ass, hard. Once, twice, three times. On the fourth slam home, I can't hold it back anymore. Her muscles milk me, her body trembling as she starts a second orgasm, and I know I'm done for. Her ass is so tight that it's almost too tight, squeezing me so that I can't come, but I feel it, and my load is so big nothing can hold it back. I scream out her name as I empty inside of her. Her body greedily takes every drop. I stay buried inside of her ass, my hands going to hold her breasts as I try to calm my breathing.

"I could love you, Hunter," she whispers, like a dirty secret.

"I do love you, Katie. I'm never letting you go." I don't even blink saying the words.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere," she concedes, and I feel like I won a fucking war.

She's it.

"Where's Beth's sister?" Skull demands.

I'm standing in the bathroom at five in the morning and whispering on my phone like a fucking loser. It upsets me. Katie deserves better. For the last couple of days, I've been letting Skull listen to our conversations. From the one in the diner before the Saints found us, to the one in the jeep, and even the conversation last night before I claimed Katie. Anything that might give Skull information to find Beth, I've been feeding back to my brother. It's betrayal at its finest.

It would hurt Katie horribly, I know that, even if I am doing it to ultimately protect her, Beth, and Gabby. But Katie wouldn't see it like that. I want to give her time to come to terms with everything, to decide that letting Skull and Beth come together and work things out was the best for all involved. With the Saints out there, that time has run out. I need to get Katie back to the club so I can keep her safe, and we need Beth and Gabby behind those walls too.

"She's sleeping in the next room," I whisper. "Let's make this quick before she wakes up. What's the recon on the Saints?"

"Just as you thought," he answers back. "Colin called them in. They want both girls. The family is calling for their blood because they offed the old man. Half of them think that gives them ground to hang them. The other half are in love with them and want them to rule. Of course, the males want to claim them first. Jesus, that's the most fucked up family. It's no wonder Beth is such a goddamn liar."

"I don't think she is, Skull. Didn't you hear Katie? Their father used her to trap Beth."

"Bullshit. All she had to do was tell me the whole story."

"You expect a lot out of a young girl of nineteen who just found out her father wasn't the man she had always thought. Not to mention one that found out her sister was still alive after all this time."

"Just drop it, Torch. How I deal with Beth is none of your concern. She'll pay for taking my child away from me. She'll pay for lying to me. For nearly destroying me."