Chapter Three
Orion
E merson Fields.
My best friend’s little sister.
If God was real, he had a sick sense of humor.
She was a far cry from the shy fifteen-year-old draped in baggy clothing, blinding silver braces, and untamed, dyed bright red hair.
Now? She was fucking incredible.
Long, straight chestnut hair that cascaded down her back to her slim waist, the perfect length to wrap around my fist and pull. Creamy, porcelain skin. A handful of freckles dotted on her sweet, button nose. Hollow cheekbones complemented by her heart-shaped face and full, pouty lips, begging to be tugged and bruised.
Sultry, wide and round eyes, framed with long, thick lashes. Crystal blue, almost colorless, with dark navy circles orbiting around them. Looking into her eyes felt as though I’d been transported; I was half expecting to see the waves of the South Pacific Sea crashing in her irises.
Emerson was a celestial promise of sin, a siren drawing on your darkest desires disguised by her ethereal amour .
An angel lost on her way to Heaven, unfortunately landing in my path along the way; the devil who promised nothing but corruption and destruction as I dragged her with me to the pits of Hell.
Beauty wasn’t rare to me. I’d seen many beautiful women. Fucked a lot, too. But there was something about her that was so spellbinding, I found myself bewitched. Entrapped. Coherent thoughts and shit were lost upon me from my first look at a grown-up Emerson Fields.
Emerson.
Fields.
Her name circulated in my head like the moon around the sun, as if she became essential to the damn cognitive functions of my brain.
Her voice was like pure fucking smoke. Angelic, with a deathly edge to it that had my cock swelling. Like her eyes, seemingly pure but there was a glint of fire swirling beneath the innocence that nearly brought me to my fucking knees.
Not good.
I’d crossed many lines in my life, some more detrimental than others, and I’d never given a shit. But Atlas had stuck by me through some dark times since we met at Yale and demoralizing his sister with my sexual fantasies would be taking it too far, even for me.
Possibly.
Hence why I needed to stay as far away as possible.
There was nothing good I could bring to Emmy’s life, only infecting her with my darkness as I destroyed the remainder of her purity, manipulating her to indulge in my wicked hunger for pushing limits right to the edge. As well as pissing Atlas off in the process.
Though there was an inferno blazing within her, one her brother clearly couldn’t see, an untapped madness hidden beneath her pretty package begging to be released.
She hid behind her look of innocence in those subtle moments of defiance, but I could tell she was full of the best kind of bad. She was sunshine, mixed with a little hurricane.
After updating Atlas on the switch in risk level on his current job, I strode out of his apartment like my ass was on fucking fire. It might as well have been. Now I was prancing around my penthouse trying to shake the woman’s name out of my damn head.
Atlas was the one person I could stand to be around for longer than an hour. He had been since we were roommates at Yale and joined the Vivere Per Ora society together. I wasn’t about to ruin that over a woman, despite how much my cock was begging me to. She was my best friend’s little sister which meant she was strictly off limits.
After splashing cool water over my face, I unfastened my Gucci cufflinks and slid my shirt down my arms. As I turned on the shower faucet, the sound of my phone ringing caused me to hesitate. Atlas.
I checked my Torres watch, the Sky-Dweller I was gifted by De Luca Securities client, Greyson Torres, and saw it was 10:37. Atlas should have boarded the jet by now .
“Tell me you haven’t fucked up already,” I answered dryly.
Atlas scoffed through the phone. “Charming as always,” he teased, and I heard a stewardess in the background greet him before fussing over who I assumed was Aero. “The job isn’t why I’m calling.” It never is. I leaned against the vanity unit, kicking off my Armani loafers as I did so. “I need you to keep an eye on Emmy while I’m gone.”
My jaw ticked. “Why?” Couldn’t say I was surprised, Atlas treated Emmy more like a daughter rather than a sister. Not that I blamed him, they’d been through a lot together. Her especially.
“He’s out,” the humor in his voice dissipated. “As of yesterday.”
For fuck sake. “You think he’ll try to find her?”
Atlas sighed. “I’m hoping he isn’t that stupid.” I’d bet he was. “But it doesn’t hurt to have precaution, just in case. At least until we have his whereabouts and can be sure he’s long gone.”
I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache coming on. I had enough on my plate already, without adding the role of Emerson Field’s watchdog on top of it. “Can’t you have her friend move in while you’re away?” I intended to stay away from her, not follow her around New York like a lost puppy, watching her every move. “I’m in the middle of Bishop’s contract.”
“Clover?” Atlas laughed like it was the funniest thing he had heard all day. “I love the girl, but she has worse judgment than Emmy. She’s on an entirely different planet half the time. Besides, Clover and Emmy tend to find trouble together, not steer clear of it.” Then he paused, turning serious again. “You’re the only one I trust around her, man.”
A slither of guilt slid down my spine and I instantly felt like the world’s biggest dick for having such explicit thoughts about Emmy in the first place. “All right,” I reluctantly agreed. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
I knew he’d do it for Avery if I asked. Not that my sister needed any protection, the woman was a whirlwind even her husband struggled to contain.
And it was only for two weeks. Should be manageable. Besides, it was my own damn fault for sending Atlas to Montenegro in the first place.
Atlas never asked me for anything and always showed up when I needed him to. Unlike everyone else who crossed my path, seemingly thinking I was their own personal cash machine or their ticket to climb the social ladder. Everyone wanted a piece of what I could offer, whether that be time, money, or a job. It was fucking exhausting, honestly.
I didn’t make a habit of doing people favors. I didn’t get to where I was today by being soft and allowing personal matters a place in the corporate world. If anyone mistook me for a man who gave a shit about their personal appeals, that was a lesson they would learn the hard way. But Atlas wasn’t just anyone, and there wasn’t a universe where he asked me to keep an eye on his sister and I refused him. Regardless of how damn tempting said sister was .
“Thanks, man,” I could practically hear the cheesy grin on his face. “I’ll text you the security login now.”
I clicked off the call before texting Hague and telling him the change of plans.
After having a quick shower and settling into bed, I logged into Atlas’ security system to check up on Emmy. He had our cameras stationed all around the apartment, allowing me to see in every room. I flicked through the feeds before catching sight of Emmy in the spare bedroom, surrounded by dozens of moving boxes.
She laid with one leg under the sheet, and another sprawled over the top, resting on her side. Despite being draped in an oversized T-shirt, the hem of the shirt rode further up her waist each time she shuffled, exposing her perky ass and black thong.
Jesus Christ.
I quickly forced myself to click off the feed with a deep breath, shutting out any indecent thoughts from my mind.
Atlas’ little sister , I repeated over and over until the image of her melted away from my mind.