Page 19 of Torch

The phone was taken from the girls as Cara’s face came into the screen. “Enough of that. Christian, you need to grow up. Sitting here arguing with some toddlers is childish.”

“You shouldn’t have had those terrorists call my phone to interrogate me.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth, trying to smother my laughter.

Cara, on the other hand, was doubled over, howling with laughter. “Alright, keep talking about them. I’ma sic them on you. Khai and Liam were just planning an attack on you the other day.”

Christian eyes bucked as he appeared nervous. “You talked them out of it though, right?”

Cara had an evil smirk on her face. “I did. But if you keep poking at my babies, I’m going to let my spawns unleash on your ass.” Christian visibly swallowed and nodded his head. “Now, where are you?”

“In my skin.”

“Okay. I’ll just go get my laptop,” she threatened.

Christian glared at her. “That’s an invasion of privacy!” he growled.

I couldn’t help but watch them with a smile. I wish it could be this way between Morgan and me. We were so close in age that it made little sense for us to be at odds so much. Sadly, that wasn’t left up to me. Morgan had to want this type of dynamic between us as well.

“And yet I’m about to do it.” Cara started walking, causing Christian to growl in frustration.

“Fine! You nosey Jezebel. If you must know, I’m with Brittney.”

Cara smiled brightly. “Where’s my sister-in-law? She’s mighty quiet.”

Christian panned the screen my way, and I waved. “Hey, Cara.”

“Hey, Brittney. What are you two getting up to tonig⁠—”

Christian quickly moved the camera back on him. “Aht ah. You said you wanted to know where I was, and now you do. Bye!” He hung up, not giving her a chance to reply.

I clutched my stomach, laughing at his annoyed expression. “Sorry about that. I don’t know why my sisters got three- and four-year-olds iPads,” he mumbled.

“No need to apologize. I wish my family was that concerned.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. I didn’t want to dump the heavy load of the drama in my family so soon.

Christian tilted his head to the side, watching me with furrowed brows. “You’re not close with your people?”

“Not really.” I decided to keep my answer short and sweet.

“Brit, if you don’t want to talk about something, just let me know. I never want to force you to talk about something when you’re not ready.”

I sighed because that wasn’t the case at all. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. I just don’t want to unload all my family problems on you so soon.”

He licked his lips while pulling my body against his. “Let me make something clear to you, beautiful. I want to know everything about you. Good or bad. It’s my job as a man to handle any hurdles that come your way. So don’t ever think you have to hold back from me. Understand?”

I nodded my head, staring into his hypnotizing eyes. Christian leaned down, softly kissing my lips. This was the first kiss we’ve shared since reuniting. His lips were pillow-soft. When he squeezed my hips, I moaned into our kiss. I heard a growl rumble in his chest before he released me. I had to suppress a whimper because I wanted him to keep going.

He smirked down at me as if he could read my mind. “Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on with your family?” Again, I nodded. “Okay. Why don’t you grab one of those bar stools and bring it here? You can tell me all about it while I make dinner.”

I left the kitchen and grabbed a stool. By the time I got back, Christian was setting pots on the stove. As I sat, he walked to the counter next to me with a cutting board. After grabbing the bell pepper, he motioned his hand for me to talk.

As I talked, Christian would periodically look up at me to let me know he was fully in tune with everything I was saying. Over the past few days, I was very pleased with what I saw from him. He was attentive. Sweet. Compassionate. Everything I had been lacking in my five-year relationship.

In some ways, he reminded me of my grandfather. He was a great man, and I saw those same qualities in Christian from time to time. It was a relief to know men like that still existed. I was beginning to think that men like him had vanished. Although Myron was a great provider, he felt that his wallet made him reign supreme.

There were so many times he could control my mother with his wallet. That was one of the main reasons why I was so adamant about making my own money. When they tried to push their way of life on me by forcing me to stay with Julian, I wanted to tell them I didn’t want a marriage like theirs. But I didn’t want to hurt my mother, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

By the time I had finished telling him everything that had happened over the past week, his handsome face was covered in a scowl.