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.

* * *

Torrent 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.