Water Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 2) (13 page)

Torrent frowned. “They were doing the same thing as you and yet making more, that is not fair I hope that you spoke to this male… What is his name again?”

“Ellis.” She grit her teeth, just saying his name made her angry. “It was around that time that Ellis approached me. Those women that were making more money than me, they weren’t just simply going on dates. They were offering more to their clients.”

Torrent’s frown deepened. He picked up his glass of wine and took a big glug.

“They often granted their dates sexual favors in return for more money. Lots of money.”

“Did your boss know about this?” Torrent’s eyes were so pale that they practically glowed. His voice was low and evenly delivered but his body radiated tension.

She nodded and swallowed hard. “Oh yeah, he knew all about it. He encouraged it. Ellis took a big cut of all of the income. I had become accustomed to being independent. I had big dreams. I realized that I was never going to get out of the hole I found myself in, that I was never going to be able to study or further myself unless I did something drastic. Something short term that would bring in good money. When Ellis approached me…”

“You had sex with males for money?” His voice was hard as flint. “Is that what you’re going to tell me?”

“You promised to hear me out,” she whispered.

Torrents eyes were definitely lighter, they even seemed to be glowing a little. He reached out and picked up his wineglass, and then drained the contents. “Go on. I will listen to all you have to say.” His eyes stayed on the glass in his hand.

She pulled in a deep breath. “Ellis approached me, and I agreed but on my terms. I agreed to try it out. Some of the men that I spent time with thought that they were God’s gift to women. Some of them were downright assholes. I knew that a ton of the guys were married.”

Torrent growled but caught himself doing it and snapped his mouth shut, pursing his lips together. His hands were fisted in his lap.

“The agreement between Ellis and I was that I got to choose who I dated, who I had sex with. There was no way I was going to disrespect other women and have sex with a married man. I saw what it did to my mom and…” She paused. “I had rules regarding the sex. What I was comfortable with and what I wasn’t.”

Torrent jumped up to his feet. “I’m sorry.” His voice was gruff. He looked distraught. Candy felt tears prick in her eyes. This was not going well. It was a disaster.

He grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed. “I wasn’t expecting this. I need a minute.” He strode away, walking for about a hundred yards and just stood there. After a couple of minutes, he made his way back and took a seat in front of her. His chest heaved. He still refused to look her in the eyes. Torrent nodded. “Go on.” He clenched his teeth.

If he couldn’t accept her past, this wasn’t going to work. Her eyes burned. Her throat felt tight.

You can finish this.
Suck it up.

“There were two guys that I initially agreed to have sex with. Two quickly became four. I refused to allow Ellis to increase the number. A lot of Kitty’s is based on referrals, the guys talk. It quickly became known there was a woman, an escort that was exclusive. That turned away huge amounts of business. As a result, more men wanted to date me and my price increased. I refused to take on any more clients. If someone dropped out, only then, would I agree to date a new person.”

“Only you weren’t dating them, were you?” His eyes lifted to hers, they were full with… hurt. Just as quickly they seemed devoid of emotion. “Were you fucking them all?”

Candy cringed at how horrible it sounded. “Not always.” There was a definite edge to her voice. “They still enjoyed spending time with me, going out with me, doing mundane things with me. Most of these men were lonely. It wasn’t just about the sex.”

“Maybe not to them.” He interjected.

“It wasn’t about the sex for me either. It was about the money… period. I went into this with my eyes open. I needed to make money quickly in order to move on with the rest of my life, except…” She paused. Her lip quivered. She took in a breath to soothe her nerves. “I was wrong. Selling myself like that, it wasn’t for me. Some women love it, they thrive off of it. It makes them feel powerful. Being desired by so many different men and to such a degree. These guys throw enormous amounts of money at you. Some of the women loved the sex. They loved climbing from one bed into the next. They got off on it.”

Torrent poured himself another glass of wine and downed half of it.

Candy reached for her own glass and took a tentative sip. It felt like vinegar going down her throat. “It wasn’t like that for me. It was soul destroying. I needed the money but I wasn’t willing to just do anything or anyone to get it.” She needed to tell him everything but it was a struggle for her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “The sex did nothing for me. It was all fake. I never had one orgasm, not ever.”

He didn’t say anything. Didn’t even look at her.

“Then one day, one of my clients left, I refused to have him replaced. You won’t believe it, but that started an even bigger frenzy. There was a waiting list. Ellis went to my three remaining clients and they agreed to pay more. One of the three guys I saw started dating a woman and then there were two.”

Torrent nodded. “How long were you”—he cleared his throat—“an escort?”

“I was seventeen when Ellis put a roof over my head. A few months later I started dating and by the age of nineteen I was having sex with my dates for money. I’m twenty-four now, so that’s almost five years.”

“How many men have you had sex with?” His jaw was tight. His brow furrowed.

“How is that even relevant? How many women have you had sex with? I’m sure your list is a hell of a lot longer than mine. All of my sexual experiences barring two were business transactions.”

“Two.” He said, finally looking at her.

“My first boyfriend and you.”

He made an irritated snorting noise. “I didn’t pay anyone or expect anyone to pay me.”

His words stung. “At nineteen, it seemed like a good idea. By the time I was twenty-four, not so much. Like I said, I was down to two clients. I only had sex with the one. Harold is impotent.”

Torrent finished the rest of his wine. “What do you mean? Impotent…I’m not sure…”

“He couldn’t get it up.” Candy huffed. “If I’m honest with myself I wanted to get out much sooner. I spoke to Ellis about it. He kept on talking me into staying. My rate kept on going up and up.
It’s money for jam, Candy. Don’t do something stupid, Candy. You’ll regret it if you leave, Candy.
He knew exactly what to say. My list of rules grew longer and my clients fewer.”

“So that impotent male didn’t have sex with you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “He had been married three times and was so afraid of women being after him for his money that he stopped dating altogether. He said that he preferred to take care of the money side of things upfront. At least with him and I, there were no lies. I went with him to functions and just spent time with him. He’s a lonely old guy. It still felt wrong though.”

“Maybe because it was.” Torrent’s throat worked. “Tell me about the other male.”

She shrugged. “Why is it important? I’m not asking you about all the women you had sex with… am I?”

“I want to know.” He looked deadpan and emotionless.

“Charles is a really sweet guy. He’s also pretty old, must be in his late 70s. His wife died a couple of years back and he can’t bring himself to date ‘real’ women.”

“Real women.” Torrent made a snorting noise

“Well, although Charles and I spent plenty of time together, we never had a real relationship and therefore he never felt like he was cheating on his dead wife. It was a business transaction. Probably a tax write off.” She laughed, it came out sounding a little high pitched.

“Did you rut with this male?” There it was again, that look of hurt. It lasted just a split second, if she blinked she would’ve missed it. His jaw tightened up some more.

Candy nodded. “On occasion.”

“When did you last have paid sex with a male?”

“Why do you want to know all of this? It’s not important. I didn’t enjoy having sex with these men. At first it was just a duty I was expected to perform and then it slowly became something I hated. I would never put down the women I worked alongside, but it wasn’t for me.”

He blinked a few times. “When did you last have sex with this male?” he repeated the question like he hadn’t heard her response.

It irritated her. “It’s not relevant. When did you last go on one of your stag run thingies? When did you last have sex with one of your she-dragons? Was it good for you, if so how many times did you come?” A tear escaped and she wiped it away. “Well?”

“When did you last rut the male?”

Another tear fell. She ignored it. “I don’t know.” She was struggling to think. “A while ago.”

“Was it days before you came here? Weeks? Months?” His eyes were hard and so light. They reminded her of when she’d first seen him. When he was in full hunt and attack mode. Two cold, hard glaciers.

She shivered. “Months. It was months okay? I’ve been trying to leave the business but Ellis wouldn’t let me. I finally stood up to him the day I was taken by one of your dragons. Ellis wanted me to take on another client. He wouldn’t listen to me.” She was breathing hard. Tears coursing down her cheeks. “I could tell that he was never going to let me go. He’d lined up another client for me and was taking me to see the guy that afternoon. He didn’t give a shit about what I wanted. I was an asset to him and nothing more. We argued. He hit me.”

Torrent snarled. The sound was loud and terrifying. His entire face morphed into the picture of violence. He sprang back up to his feet and walked away, cursing loudly.

He paced and stomped and paced some more. His hands rather than fisted at his sides, were clenched onto his neck. After what felt like forever, he strode back to her. “Come. We are leaving.” He began tossing things into the bag.

“We need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. Thank you for telling me about your past. We won’t speak of it again.”

Candy narrowed her eyes at him. “We have to talk about it. I should have told you about it sooner.”

Torrent shrugged. “It makes no difference.”

“I can see that you’re upset. Speak to me.”

“I don’t like the idea that you had males pay you for sex. I knew you had a past, you mentioned yourself that you weren’t a virgin. You said far from it. I knew you had lovers but this is a difficult concept for me. It doesn’t matter though. None of it does. We are bonded.” He grit his teeth together in a semi snarl. “Soon to be mated.”

“Of course it matters. It matters a ton.”

“It doesn’t. I chose you and you chose me. We are one step away from becoming mates.” He shrugged again. “Let’s just go.” He threw the rest of the items into the bag, haphazardly. Torrent yanked off his pants, tearing them in the process. Within seconds, he was in dragon form. Not before she noticed how hard he was. What the!? She didn’t understand it. Torrent was spitting mad and yet his cock was as hard as rock. She’d just told him something that had upset him. It didn’t make sense.

Candy didn’t have time to think on it, she barely had time to put the backpack on her back and he was lifting her into the air. Her stomach lurched as they accelerated quickly into the sky.

T
he next morning
…

Candy reached for the space next to her. The sheets were cold and empty. Within minutes of returning back to the chamber, Torrent had left. He mentioned something about having a meeting. Candy could see that he was talking rubbish. It was written all over his face.

She felt empty and filled with sadness and all at the same time. Candy chewed on her bottom lip to keep it from having a wobblefest. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying. He needed his space, time to think things through. Hopefully he wouldn’t leave her waiting too long and hopefully he would open up and talk a little more about his feelings without being an asshole. Maybe they could still work through this. She was still here, so there was hope.

It was strange how a couple of days ago, she would’ve jumped at any opportunity to go home, yet right now, all she wanted was to make things right with him. To stay and make a future with Torrent. Her chest hurt. Her heart ached.

She forced herself to throw off the covers and get out of bed. If she stayed in this fetal position, she was sure to feel worse.

Candy got up, showered, ate breakfast and went through the motions of a normal day. There was no sign of Sky. She longed for companionship and someone to talk to. She mainly prayed that Torrent would come home.

Home.

It was weird how she’d come to think of this place as home and in such a short time. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t met anyone or experienced life amongst the dragons. She hoped to get the opportunity.

Candy made lunch and read a bit. Then out of sheer boredom and frustration she put on some workout gear and spent an hour going through her aerobic routine. After a shower and a change, she felt no better. Anger had started to creep in. How dare he judge her like this? No one had the right to judge another person without walking in their shoes. Here was a guy that had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He’d never wanted for anything a day in his life. He was a complete manwhore by his own confession and yet he judged her.

Asshole.

In many ways, he was just like those arrogant dickwads she avoided. The ones that were against her rules. The ones she never agreed to date. Men with more money and arrogance than what they knew what to do with.

If he walked through the door right now, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. It was a half an hour before the door finally did open and if anything, she was even more angry.

* * *

T
orrent didn’t know
what to do with himself. He spent the night in his office. Hadn’t slept even a wink. All he could think about was Candy.

He knew that she had rutted other males. It was something he tried not to think about. She had a past and previous sexual encounters, just as he did. It was a given. It was something he always thought that he could handle. Something he never questioned.

Hearing her talk of accepting money for sex made him want to go into a blind rage though. She had been young and gullible. That male, Ellis had used her. That much was clear to him. Even if she hadn’t gone into this with open eyes and a clear mind, it had been for the right reasons.

To have a future. To better herself in the long run.

Torrent could understand these things. But fuck! It filled him with rage. Moreover, it filled him with the need to claim her. To make her his.

It made him mad with need. His dick was hard and throbbing and had been ever since she’d told him. Call it instinct, driving need. It didn’t matter. It was there and it rode him hard. Torrent felt sure that once he finally claimed her, he would be able to move past this. Not a minute sooner. In fact, the rage and frustration was growing by the second. Need was also a fantastic contender in the race of emotions.

All of this turbulance raced through him. His teeth felt sharp, he could feel his scales rasping beneath his skin.

Claim!

Now!

Candy was his.
His.
He moved swiftly down the hallway. It was time to claim her. No, it was way past time. So overdue, it wasn’t funny. He would finally have her and they would never speak of it again. Not ever.

Torrent unlocked the door and tried to open it carefully. One of the hinges tore from the frame. Not too bad, considering. He righted the door, pushing it back into its frame.

Candy stood on the other side of the couch. She had a hand to her chest and her face was pale, her eyes were wide in her head.

“Mine,” he rasped, his voice barely human. “Mine.” He tried again. Still guttural but with better pronunciation.

Her eyes widened even more and she sucked in a breath. “What’s going on?” she stammered.

“I’m done waiting.” He could only pray that she understood what he was saying. It didn’t really matter. This wasn’t about words anyway.

“We need to talk.” She held up a hand.

Torrent chuckled. It seemed his female had other ideas. Well tough luck. He advanced on her.

Candy backed up one step and then another, and another. “Wait.” She held up both hands. “We really do need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He was pleased with how calm and understandable his words were even though they came out in a deep rasp.

“There’s a ton to talk about. I put it all out there and I can see that you are not taking it well.”

“I didn’t come to talk.” He closed the distance between them and clasped an arm around her waist.

“Torrent, wait,” Candy pleaded. She pushed against his chest.

“Don’t you want me?” He narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what he would do if she denied him. He wasn’t sure that he could control his beast for much longer.

Rut.

Take.

Claim.

“You know I do.”

“Well then.” He lowered his head and buried it into her neck, nipping at her flesh. The scent of her arousal met his nostrils and he growled deeply.

On a hard rip, he shredded her sweater, curling his hand around her lush flesh. Her nipple tightened. Candy gave him another hard shove. “Wait.” It came out sounding breathless. “We can’t.”

“No more waiting. You are mine. Do you hear me?” His free hand cupped her mound and she made a whimpering noise.

“Yes… no.”

“You. Are. Mine.” It ended on a snarl. Shit, if he carried on like this he was going to scare her. “I need you,” a rough whisper.

“No!” More forceful this time. She slapped the side of his arm. “Stop!”

“Candy.” His voice sounded pleading, so close to begging it scared him. “I need to claim you now. I need to make you mine. Need to have you.” He pushed a hand past the elastic of her pants. “Stop denying me.”

She shoved at him some more. “We need to talk first.” She squirmed.

“Fuck!” He snarled, pulling away from her.

“I do want you.” She sniffed, she was crying. “I want for us to be together but not like this. You’re angry. You hate the idea that I was a call girl, a high-priced hooker. A whore.” She was openly sobbing now but her hands were fisted as well. She pulled her clothes together in a hard tug.

“Don’t call yourself those things.” Anger rose up in him. A lump formed in his throat.

“I had sex for money. It’s who I was.
Was
.” She practically shouted the word. “It’s in my past. It is a part of who I am but it doesn’t define me.”

He could hear what she was saying. Torrent could sympathize and empathize but it didn’t make him feel any better. His dragon prowled and growled. Hearing her say those things didn’t calm him. “You’ve told me. I will come to terms with it. I need you… now. Don’t deny me. Don’t deny us.”

She shook her head. “We’re not ready to take that step. I thought that we were but I was wrong.”

“What will it take?” He growled. The sense of urgency rose even higher and along with it a feeling that he was losing her. Candy. She was his.

She shrugged. “ I don’t know.” Candy shook her head. “You need to come to terms with what I used to do. You need to get the hell over it or let me go… one or the other.”

“I’m never letting you go,” he growled. “You are mine.”

“Stop saying that.” She poked her finger into his chest. “You’re acting like a complete jerk. I did what I had to do. Something that
I
have to live with, that
I
have to deal with. You are the one that needs to get over it though.” She turned and paced away from him. Candy opened the closet and grabbed a shirt. Then she changed out of the ripped sweater and pulled on the fresh shirt. Her movements were jerky and angry.

Torrent ran a hand through his hair. He was losing her. What was wrong with her? He didn’t understand it. He was offering her everything. A whole new life. An opportunity to be a queen, to be his mate and it didn’t seem like she wanted it.

Maybe she didn’t want him.

A king.

Why didn’t she want him? She allowed human males to pay her money to rut with her and yet she refused him at every turn. White hot anger coursed through him. It was unacceptable. Did she not realize that she was lucky to even be here? It was her that should be begging him and not the other way around.

Torrent went to his side of the closet and yanked open the door. He opened the golden chest in the far corner and and chose a couple of items.

Candy was at the far end of the chamber. She was staring out at the view, deep in thought.

Torrent swallowed thickly. Something gave him pause. A voice maybe. Something that told him not to do it but he ignored it. Candy was his female. She’d had sex with others for far less. Rutting her was his right. She was his dammit. Why was she being so stubborn?

“Here.” He held out the jewelry to her. Torrent had tried to speak with her but they had gotten nowhere. Hopefully she would understand this.

Candy looked from him, to the pieces in his hand and back again. She looked at him like he was mad. “What’s that?”

“Some pieces that my family has collected over the years. An emerald ring. A diamond and ruby encrusted brooch. This… he held up the necklace and pendant, is a two carrot diamond.”

She frowned. “Okay.” Her frown deepened and she took a step back.

“They’re yours.” It was too late to back out. By now the voice was screaming to him not to do it.

Fuck it!

“I want to rut you. I will give you the jewels as payment. This”—he rattled the priceless heirlooms in his hand—“is what you understand. Am I correct?”

“Fuck you,” a whisper.

“Yes.” He raised his brows. “I want you to fuck me. You did it with all those humans and for less, I am sure.”

Her hand lashed out and she slapped him across the face… hard. “No.” Her voice trembled. She cleared her throat. “You misunderstand. Fuck you!” She yelled. “As in take your money, your diamands, your title… you can take it all and shove it.” Candy sucked in a deep breath.

Fear gripped him. “I don’t understand. You’ll fuck all of those—”

“I wouldn’t lower myself and have sex with you if you were the last guy on the planet. Guys like you are the reason I had a whole list of rules in the first place. I’m leaving now. I want nothing to do with you. Don’t you dare try and stop me.” Her eyes shone.

“Fine,” he snarled. “Whatever! There are other females out there. In fact, I heard something about another hunt in a week or two.” It was a lie. There was a hunt but he wouldn’t be bringing a female back.

Candy flinched like he’d physically hurt her. “Just take me home, or better yet, get one of your guys to do it. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

It hurt so much he could hardly breathe. What the fuck had he done?

No! Wait just a minute.

Torrent had tried everything. It was Candy’s fault. Her own damned fault. She didn’t want him. He’d tried hard. He would’ve done anything for her. Right now, he was taking his own advice, there were more females out there. Torrent shrugged. He pretended not to care. He tried to get his heart rate under control and tried to breathe, even though it felt like a mountain was sitting on his chest, squeezing the life out of him. “I renounce you as well. You’ll be back in Walton Springs before nightfall.” Torrent turned and strode from the room. He tripped and almost fell as the door closed behind him. His eyes stung and his throat felt thick.

It was nothing. She was nothing to him. Less than nothing. A mistake. Once he had another female under him, he’d perk right up. He was weak from lack of sex. That was all. It was a problem that would be easily rectified.