The Deadliest Secret (The Deadliest Series) (10 page)

             
“No its just different, I haven’t dated since college, well at least not seriously and it sounds like that is what you want, a serious girlfriend.”

             
“Yeah I do want one and I want that one to be you.”  He was confident.

             
“Torrian.” Gwen’s voice was almost a warning of what she couldn’t say.

             
“Gwen just give me a chance, I know I’m not all that educated and I know you date better men but just keep dating me and I promise to try to make you happy.”

             
Gwen’s throat constricted with an unforeseen emotion. Torrian thought that her reluctance was about him, no, no, no it wasn’t about him it was her issue. How could she explain about her past with the inmate sitting on the island? How could she explain she dated a mob drug runner? Most women have exes that don’t end up in federal lock-up because they are sadistic and pure evil.

             
“Gwen your knuckles are turning white.” Torrian shook Gwen’s shoulder softly to get her attention back on what was in front of them.

             
“I’m sorry, Torrian,” her eyes were clouded with tears, “Torrian I do have a past, I have dated before but it didn’t work out. I don’t want my past to affect you, it’s not the best.” She tried to warn him.

             
“Baby I don’t care about the past, as long as I can be involved in your future. Just give me a chance.”

             
“Yes.” Gwen’s voice was barely a whisper.

             
“What was that?” Torrian was unable to hear.

             
“Yes I want to date you, I thought we discussed this earlier.”

             
“Yeah we did but I wanted to put my label on you.” His arm came down around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

             
“You know you may need to see someone for your possessive nature there.” Gwen tried to joke, her grin coming back.

             
“Perhaps I should, know anyone that’s any good?”

             
Gwen’s laugh was rewarding to both of them. They sat in silence for a minute while they drained their beers. Torrian’s body was warm, Gwen felt herself relax with his arm around her. She finally felt happy, Torrian had that effect on people, he was such a happy person and he wanted her. The feeling was strange but she didn’t want to taint what she could possibly have in the future with the thoughts of Kody, they didn’t matter; Torrian did. She decided to let herself be happy.

              Hours later the two became aware of the time. “It is almost eleven.” Gwen whispered.

             
“Yeah, guess I should let you get to bed.” Torrian traced Gwen’s lip with the pad of his thumb, he wanted to kiss her again.

             
“You need to be on your toes more than me.” She joked with him.

             
“I just need to be quicker than the bastards that try to pull anything with you.” He winked, joking right back with her as if it were natural for them both.

             
“Protective,” Gwen laughed softly before she stood, “I still don’t want to get you hurt. You should get some sleep.”

             
“Yeah, I guess it’s time to go. Don’t need anyone thinking I am being inappropriate with you.”

             
Torrian stood and clasped Gwen’s hand once more while they walked to the door in silence. There was more tension in the air; he felt he needed to kiss her. She stopped and turned on her heels and pressed her hand to his chest.

             
“Torrian I’ve had a great night. Maybe we can do it again soon?” She said while looking up through her full lashes at him.

             
“Damn straight we will be doing this again. Might even come over tomorrow if you allow me.”

             
“I would like that.” Gwen’s grin reached her eyes and they twinkled.

             
“I would too.” Torrian’s hand cupped Gwen around her back and pulled her flush against him. He exhaled against her lips and let his tongue sweep over her mouth.

             
“I’ve wanted to do this all night Gwen, if you don’t want to just say no.” Torrian’s mouth turned more primal in it’s quest for hers. Gwen gasped at the feel of him around her. He was taking no prisoners with this kiss. It was raw and passionate. His tongue gently separated her lips and he began to penetrate her mouth, going forward and retreating. Only seconds had passed but Gwen’s heart started to pound, her breath had turned ragged and she was panting. His tongue danced within her mouth, again he didn’t want to break the kiss, but he felt himself harden against her and he had to pull away, or he would want to take her to her bedroom and worship her until her alarm sounded and they both had to leave for work.

             
Torrian kept his arms around Gwen, his thumbs strumming against her hips. She felt perfect to his hands. “Goodnight Gwen.”

              She stared at him open mouthed for a minute. She was shocked from the kiss, shocked from his advance, and pretty shocked from Torrian’s incredible self-control. She felt as if her mind and her body were of two different things. That kiss was amazing; she blinked several times before speaking. There was a coiling in her lower stomach, desire was making Gwen want to pounce on Torrian and bring him to her once more.  Her eyes were hooded as she looked up at him.

             
“Yes” She coughed after she spoke, clearing her throat.

             
“Don’t worry baby I’ll see you tomorrow.” Torrian chuckled noticing that her lip protruded in a pout when he pulled away and mentioned leaving.

             
“I know I just have never been kissed like that.”

             
“Well get used to it babe.” His grin spread.

             
Gwen nodded at her companion, she did not know if boyfriend was a term strong enough for the electricity that seemed to hover between them. She tried her hardest to use her authoritative voice to speak “I will see you tomorrow, now go get some rest.”

             
Torrian placed a chaste kiss to her lips and turned to walk away. After he was clear of the porch Gwen closed her door and locked it. She went to the kitchen and tried to busy herself while her mind worked to process her night with Torrian. Too soon her kitchen was clean, not a tool out of place, she went to her bedroom and prepared for bed. Gwen’s mind was still working but the smile could not be stopped. Two successful dates with Torrian, and she wanted more. He was sex on a stick to her and she wanted to have it all to herself. She fell asleep a lot later than she intended to, but she had a very carnal dream starring Torrian.

             
Tomorrow would be a great day.

CHAPTER
ten

Tuesday started with a bang for the security team. Several boats came too close to the island, which coming too close to the island is illegal and they had to enforce their distance rules. Torrian loved the small skiff they rode around in whenever people got too close and refused to leave.  When he hit the land again he looked up at Gwen’s office, she was looking out the window, he smiled up at her. Her blonde hair was down and soft waves cascaded around her. He couldn’t wait for the evening. Even though he received barely any sleep after their encounter he felt rejuvenated and more alive after his time with her. The day was passing quickly because he had something great to look forward to.  When his break finally came, Gwen was involved in her appointments so he decided to eat lunch with the guys, before he went back to work he checked on Gwen once more then placed a few phone calls.

              The week was flowing quite easily, Tuesday night he went to Gwen’s for drinks again, Wednesday they went to his place, and tonight, Thursday they would be going to her place once more. He only had to keep the secret for another couple days, but would she like it? Torrian just had to keep hope alive. After all she was sensible right? This would be fun. He kept chanting his mantra even though his nerves overtook him. He decided to push the thought away after a while; he was just going to force himself through the rest of his time here until he could spend another night getting to know Gwen.

              Gwen was working on papers since she had no new prisoners today, yet there were several appointments she had to keep. She gazed out her window and caught Torrian’s wind whipped face and smile, he was resplendent as he came up from the dock. Someone had strayed too close then refused to leave the area so the guards were sent to deliver a warning. Although the warning would be important if it was a group of females Gwen knew they would be back to get another glimpse at Torrian, the thought of someone else eyeing him made her scalp prickle. She told herself that he chose her. He wanted her, and they had a date night, every single night this week they had one. Gwen found herself obsessing less and less about Kody and what his dubious intentions could be. She was relaxing for the first time since college. 

             
Gwen would have to see Kody before her day would end but right when her thoughts started to morph and turn to darkness her cell phone started to buzz, it was her father. He never called her at work so naturally her adrenaline hit the roof and she was worried.

             
“Dad.” She answered breathlessly.

             
“Hello Gwen.” Steven spoke cool and collected.

             
“What’s wrong? You never call me at work.” She started waiting for the news.

             
“Oh right, well, you see Gwen I wanted to surprise your mother this weekend and take her for dinner and movie on Friday then possibly spend the weekend out of town. Would you mind terribly if we canceled dinner?”

             
“Oh,” Gwen relaxed, thankful everyone was well, “Yes daddy of course I wouldn’t mine. I hope you and mom have fun on your trip.”

             
“We will pumpkin, have fun this weekend. Your mother and I want to meet your mystery man soon, she has been talking about it non-stop.” Steven chuckled into the phone.

             
“Soon daddy, I just don’t want things to get too intense too soon.” Gwen lied, she was nervous about bringing a man home to meet the parents, her and Torrian were already intense when they were together, but he was still respectful.

             
“I will see you soon Gwen.” Her father spoke fondly.

             
“Bye daddy I love you.” Gwen stated smiling into her cell.

             
“Love you too baby, bye.” Steven hung up his cell as Gwen pulled hers away from her head and laughed softly.

             
She spoke to herself, “looks like I can feel free to go on another date and not cancel on my parents again.”

             
Gwen texted Torrian the details of her father’s call then pocketed her cell phone, it was time for her game face, Kody was due in any minute and she couldn’t give a single emotion away to him.

             
All too soon Gwen’s door was knocked upon. This time it wasn’t Torrian bringing the prisoner to her. It was one of the others his last name was Myran. He had a wife, two kids, and a collie named Scooter. He was utterly normal compared to his job. If a person saw him they would never know he was a correctional officer at McNeil Island.  He dropped off Kody and left to the chair outside of her office, effectively leaving Gwen alone with Kody for their session. Gwen gulped hard, thoughts of this man had been tormenting her, threatening to break her silence of the past and threatening to force her secret to come out.

              Kody sat in the lounge chair that dominated the space in Gwen’s office, he watched her. She moved with grace and elegance. She seemed to have more color in her cheeks. Kody smirked; he knew he had something to do with his female’s happiness. He kept watching her and finger combed his hair, he made a snap decision to wait till Tuesday to deliver his drawing to his beloved. He wanted to see her one more time and deem it perfect, he began his usual lament about the prison conditions. He knew the complaints would not be heard, she didn’t believe the prison system should accommodate as much as it did to the prisoners. They weren’t in here because they were good people. Kody knew that first hand, he wasn’t a good person and these places were his home for most of his adult life.

             
“Kody I want to know more about your father.”

             
“He was a drug addict who beat my mother” Kody shrugged and looked at Gwen.

             
“What do you remember about his interactions with yourself?” Gwen inquired.

             
“He hit me, he hit my sister, he hit my mom, and he got high, and did it again.” Kody said with his ghost blank stare.

             
“There has to be more.” She persisted.

             
Kody was getting more and more angry, why was Gwen pressing this issue of his childhood, of his father? She knew he hated the prick that raised him, why was she dwelling. He stood up and began pacing; Gwen sat up and placed her hands on her desk as if she were preparing for an assault. He rolled his eyes and looked out of the window.

             
“Gwen just shut the fuck up about my father move on.” He cracked his knuckles.

             
“Please Kody do not curse at me, just calm down. I am only asking questions.” Her voice confirmed his suspicions, she was afraid of him.

             
“I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIM, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT HIM.” Kody was yelling at this point. She needed to be a good bitch and do what he said.

             
“Fine,” She said her chin jutting out momentarily, “I thought it would help you but if you’re going to be a prick then we’ll move on.”

             
“Woman with a foul mouth.” Kody chuckled darkly.

             
“Back to the subject, please Kody.”

             
“You mean keep talking about myself so you can take little notes and determine that I’m fucking bat shit insane?”

             
“Yes.” She was getting short, Kody cursed mentally he was supposed to be getting closer to her not pushing her away.

             
“Fine, perhaps my first crimes will sate your hunger for knowledge today.” Kody watched Gwen’s eyes flicker to something under her desk; he ignored it and continued to talk as he paced back and forth.

              What felt like too long passed before the hour of therapy ended with Kody? She was exhausted. Every time he began talking about a new crime his lips spread into a smile, each crime worse than the last. He began slow, but escalated fast. He had already had several arrests on his record by the time he was fifteen. Gwen slumped into her chair when Myran came by and collected Kody and took him back to his cell, keeping her past a secret was tiring. She collected her items and walked to the ferry to get back to the mainland. Soon she was joined by Torrian, his mood still buoyant from his good day, Gwen envied him for his mood, and the fact an inmate in the prison they worked at didn’t have intimate knowledge about him and have been inside her in every sense of the word. She shuddered before Torrian broke the silence as the boat moved through the waves towards the mainland.

             
“You look tense babe.” He moved to rub her shoulders.

             
“Captain Obvious strikes again.” Her tone was scathing even to her ears.

             
“Ouch, do you want to talk about it?”

             
She sighed heavily, regretting her attitude with him. “You’re stealing my line you know…”

             
“Yeah, think you’re rubbing off on me Gwen.”

             
“I’m sorry, about snapping at you. This prisoner just got to me. He actually had the gall to yell at me in my damn office.”

             
“Who?” Torrian stood up ready to walk off the boat and find the offender.

             
“Kody McQueen, I was pressing him about his father and he just snapped at me. He was doing the cursing and pacing bit.”

             
“He cursed at you?” Torrian’s gaze went from soft to lethal in just seconds.

             
“Not the first time I’ve been cursed at Torrian.” She captured his hand to try and calm him.

             
“He still needs to learn some manners.” He cracked his knuckles to emphasize his point Gwen just rolled her eyes at the movement.

             
“Torrian let’s just go to my place and have a couple of drinks and talk. If you still want to.”

             
“Yeah, I’ll follow you there.” He said as they parted the boat. 

             
“See you there.” Gwen said wistfully.

             
“You know it.” Torrian gave a breath taking crooked smile and Gwen went weak at the knees, it was his greatest weapon.

             
In the short week that Torrian had been coming to Gwen’s they developed a routine. Torrian watched over Gwen as she entered her home, he went to the living room while she flipped through her mail, after Torrian turned on the television, put it on the news, and left the volume low, then he would go to the kitchen and help Gwen make drinks or get the beers from the fridge while she checked any messages she had at home. After that the couple was seated on the couch and relaxing from their long day.

             
“Babe, why was McQueen stressing you today?” Torrian asked as he drained his first beer.

             
“He just is a very intense individual.” She lied and fumbled with the lip of her beer.

             
“Yeah, he’s insane, but why is he stressing you?” He pushed.

             
“He just was, his past is complicated.” Gwen wished she could say my past or our past but this was for the best, she was lying to protect her job.

             
“You’re lying to me, what did he do to you?” Torrian’s question was met by silence, which fueled his fiery rage more.

             
She finally answered in a small voice. “Nothing Torrian, Kody is just…”

             
“Bullshit Gwen, you may be able to lie to the others but not me, something happened, you’re wrapped up tighter than a tick’s ass and you want me to believe that he didn’t do something to you?” Torrian seemed to grow with his anger.

             
Gwen’s eyes clouded with tears, the falling drops stopped Torrian’s rant from continuing. He pulled her onto his lap and brushed her hair from around her shoulders.

             
“Damn it Gwen I’m sorry. I’m an ass-hat. I just was worried about what he could have done to you. I’m an overbearing ass-hat. Can you forgive me?”

             
“Torrian it’s not like I want to keep my past secret, it’s just I can’t tell anyone even though if I could tell someone I would tell you.”

             
“Nothing could be so bad that you have to bare it alone.”

             
“This I have to keep for myself, Torrian, please. I just can’t share this one.”

             
“Fine, I give. Just know that if he hurts you he deals with me and the other guards.”

             
Gwen gave a heavy sigh and pressed her head to Torrian’s chest. His scent was overpowering, she pressed her lips to his neck and his entire body tensed. “Deal.”