Chapter Twenty-Three
Orion
“H ow can one man be so damn hard to find?” I leaned back in my desk chair, downing the remaining whiskey in my glass. The rush of adrenaline from being with Emmy simmered as soon as I stepped foot back into my office. Apparently, my absence made people even more incompetent than they already were.
Doug sighed, scratching the back of his head. Redness flared along his cheekbones. “Caleb has him well hidden.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. Did he not think I fucking realized that? Caleb had beena pain in the ass since I fired him. He threw all of his resources to keep me from getting what I wanted out of his petty revenge. He knew I wanted Miles, so the bastard was doing everything he could to stop me from finding him. Shame I’d put a bullet in his head for doing so.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“I did the background check as you asked.”
“And?”
“Miles Vaughan is a fake identity.”
I blinked, obviously I didn’t hear that right. My body turned more rigid than the damn Statue of Liberty and ice chilled the heat in my blood. “What was that?”
“Miles Vaughan has only existed for the last seven years. There’s no record of family, hometown, schools, grades, employment, anything. Until he attended Columbia, he was essentially a ghost.”
“So who the fuck is he?”
“We don’t know,” Doug ground out, like he was more pissed off about this than I inevitably would be. “He must have hired someone smart as fuck to help him create a new identity because they’ve managed to completely wipe clean any link to his past life.”
My fist slammed against my desk in a sudden rage. “Fuck!” How was one man proving to be so damn complicated? “Did you do all four background checks?”
“Three are still being produced.”
I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my desk and my hands clasped. “Find. Him,” I spat out. “So help me God, Doug, if Miles, or whoever the fuck he is, gets his hands on Emmy before you find him...” I didn’t need to finish my threat for him to know the consequences.
Doug shifted uncomfortably. His face paled as he gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Good. Fear encouraged. “Caleb has probably set Miles up a new alias, which is why we can’t find him. We don’t know the identity he’s moving under, or if he’s reverted to his previous identity. Our best bet is to get Caleb and let him lead us to Miles. ”
Fine. Whatever it fucking takes. “And you’re waiting for what, exactly?”
Doug stood to his feet immediately, almost falling over the chair in the process. “I’ll get right on it.”
My gaze flickered to Cole, who was pressed against the far wall listening to the interaction with a scowl. “Go. And take Romain.”
He pushed off the wall with a nod and followed Doug. “Got it,” he answered, before pausing in the doorway of my office and turning back to me with a knowing look. “We won’t let anything happen to her, boss.”
Ignoring him, I rubbed my knuckle across my forehead and checked my texts. Emmy had gone out with her friend and had forbidden me from joining them, so I’d sent Hague to keep an eye on her.
Not that she knows that.
It wasn’t that I wanted to sit and listen to the pair of them drinking and spouting bullshit for several hours. Frankly, that was my version of Hell. But with Miles out there searching for her, unease was clawing up my spine and clouding my thoughts whenever she wasn’t in my sight, ruining my usual impeccable concentration.
Unlocking my phone, I saw a text from Hague. It was a photo of Emmy. “Fucking Hell.” She was standing on a bar stool with her head thrown back. A bottle of Bacardi in one hand that she was using as a pretend microphone, the other stretched out above her head.
Locking my phone, I grabbed my car keys and stormed out of the office to get my girl, hopefully arriving before she fell off that stool and broke her damn neck. Thanatophilia was beyond the limit, even for me.
I was standing in a bar called Forget Me Not, and true to its name, I doubted I’d ever forget the image of Emmy and her friend flinging themselves around the dance floor like a pair of fucking spider monkeys.
She must have changed before she left because there was no way in Hell I’d let her leave in that skirt. Actually, “belt” would be a more accurate description of the material that clung to her hips and rode up her ass.
Too many men were getting a view of what was mine and I was going to spank her ass so damn hard for it later. And then I’ll burn that fucking skirt.
I glared at every fucker that dared look her way as I made my way over to her. She was in her own little world, dancing with her friend, completely unaware of the predatory stares directed her way.
She flinched when I gripped my hands on her hips and turned her to face me. Her look of horror melted away when she saw it was me, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You just can’t stay away, can you?” she teased, biting her lip and gazing up at me through those big doe eyes, though they seemed to struggle to find focus .
I chuckled, pulling her into me and wrapping an arm around her waist when her balance started to falter. “I learned that lesson already, Tesoro. ”
“Mhm,” she agreed with a definitive nod. Hague joined my side and I motioned my head towards Clover, ordering him to look after the girl who was currently spinning around in circles like she was in a game of Splat .
I pressed my lips into a hard line as my eyes trailed down Emerson’s outfit. She was wearing a black vest top, which was tucked into her skirt, and a pair of knee-high bend-me-over-and-fuck-me black boots.
Like the skirt, her top left little to the imagination, and from where I was standing, I could see right down the material and admire her perky breasts. My mouth practically drooled with the need to claim her pretty, pink nipples between my teeth. “You were a lot more dressed when I left you.”
Emmy shrugged innocently, dismissing my comment with a devious smirk, her hips still swaying to the music in the background as she clung to me. “I had a last-minute change of heart.” The grin drawn on her lips said little Miss Not-so-innocent knew exactly what she was doing.
My hand slid down her back, gripping her ass tightly. “Trying to provoke me, baby?”
She licked her lips, a mischievous spark twinkling in her aquamarine irises while she pushed herself against me. “I would never, Mr. De Luca.”
I groaned, and her teasing went straight to my cock. This fucking woman . Pressing my lips to her ear, I felt her shudder beneath my hold when my breath fanned her skin. “You’re in so much trouble.”
Her hands tangled in the back of my hair, and I hissed when she roughly tugged. Defiance flashed across her face, her eyes darkened as she challenged me with a single look. Her lips hovered over mine, and I could taste the sweet Bacardi in her breath. “Then punish me.”
Jesus Christ.
Those three words almost brought me to my knees, just like they had in Santorini.
Perfect. She was perfect . For me.
She and I, we were raging storms, but we were undeniably each other’s tranquility, and I’d burn the world to fucking ashes before I let anything separate us. Now I had her, and there was no going back.
I pulled back and lifted my hand to brush my thumb across her bottom lip. Her darkened eyes glimmered under the flashing fluorescent lights as she stuck out her tongue and wrapped it around my finger, pulling it into her mouth and sending little electrifying sparks dancing along my skin.
A low growl vibrated through my chest. “You’re playing with fire, Tesoro .”
She smiled, her brow creasing lines in her forehead without a care in the world, and slowly, she released my thumb with a pop.
She’s killing me .
Mostly because she was far too drunk for me to do what I wanted to do to her tonight. Tomorrow though? All bets are off.
Taking her off guard, I bent down and flung her over my shoulder, swatting her ass and making her jump before turning to Hague.
“Take Clover home,” I demanded. But when I saw him currently staring down at Emmy’s friend like a lion stalking its prey, I added, “And when I say home, I mean her home.”
Hague chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. “Got it.”
I wasted no time getting Emmy out of the bar and putting her in the passenger seat of my RSQ8. I’d parked it right outside, two steps out of the bar and I already had the passenger door swung open.
She grinned as she watched me fasten her seatbelt, and it was still there when I slid in beside her through the driver’s side. “You’re hot when you mean business.”
I arched a brow. “Think you’re funny, baby? Wearing next to nothing and letting people see what’s mine?”
She puckered her lips, fighting her growing smile. “Maybe…” she trailed off, a pink flush tainting her cheeks.
I reached over and yanked down the straps of her vest, forcing them to fall down her arms and exposing her tits. Grabbing the left one, I squeezed and brushed my thumb over her hardened nipple, a pleased gasp falling from my girl’s lips.
The windows were tinted as dark as possible, and we were pulled up in front of the building next door’s wall, so I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing her.
She moaned, her head thrown back and her back arching, pushing her body into my hold. “Orion.”
My name sounded so sweet coming from her mouth. “I think you need a reminder of who the fuck you belong to, baby.”
She lifted her hips the best she could with her seatbelt on, and I slapped the side of her breast. She cried out, but the sound quickly morphed into a moan when I rubbed my fingers over the sting.
Her skirt was already raised from her lifting her hips, so I ran my finger along the thin material of her thong. “You wet, baby?”
“Mhm,” she panted, pushing her hips into my hand. “So wet.”
Moving her thong to the side, I pushed a finger into her. She was not lying; she was absolutely soaked. “For whom?”
“You.” Her eyes squeezed shut when I shoved another finger into her and worked her pussy the way that drove her crazy. I pressed my thumb against her clit, rubbing the bundle of nerves as her cries filled the car.
“Open your eyes, Emmy,” I demanded, my voice lethally low. “Eyes on me when I’m making this sweet pussy feel good. ”
Her legs started shaking when I curled my fingers inside her and her eyes fluttered open, glued on me while I finger-fucked her. “Good girl,” I told her, not missing the whimper leaving her lips at my praise.
“Who do you belong to?”
She spread her legs further apart for me, one hand gripping the headrest and the other clutching the seat when my pace quickened. “You, Orion. I’m yours.”
Fuck, I love the way she moans my name.
She started to tighten around me, and I knew she was seconds from coming. “Then come for me,” I ordered, my free hand pinching one of her nipples.
She cried out, her legs violently trembling, and her hips bucking into my hand when she clamped down and came on my fingers. She was panting viciously when I pulled them out of her, but her gaze never left mine, instead, she watched me intently as I sucked her clean from my fingers. She tastes like fucking Nirvana.
Her body sagged against the passenger chair, her eyes slowly closing, and I bit back a chuckle. It seemed like she exhausted herself.
I let her sleep while I drove us home. She needed her rest; I’d barely let her get any sleep the last two weeks and she had a big day on Monday.
I scooped her into my arms when we arrived in the garage under my apartment building, carrying her upstairs. Storming through the apartment door with Emmy curled in my arms, Rosa’s face was a picture.
The poor woman had been dusting the artwork in the foyer, probably enjoying the silence, and I walked in carrying a drunken Emmy, muttering about my punishing her and my hand holding her bare ass.
“Rosa,” I nodded, my face remaining impartial.
I felt Emmy lift her head off my shoulder. “Oh, God,” she exclaimed, her embarrassed laugh trailing down the stairs, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.
“Now you’re embarrassed?” I chuckled, her head bouncing against my chest from the vibration. “She’s heard you screaming at the top of your lungs when I’m fucking you, but her seeing my hand on your ass is where you draw the line?”
“Orion!” Emmy scolded, burying her fifty shades of red face in my chest.
I laughed as I opened my bedroom door, slamming it shut behind me, and carried her across the room. I set Emmy down on my bed and helped her out of her clothes, before pulling back the sheets and helping her get in.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a fucking light. I shook my head, laughing to myself, and I stripped off my own clothes to climb beside her, pulling her body flush against mine.
It was Sunday night.
Emmy was soaking in the bath, her head on a pillow and her eyes closed while the bubbles emerged around her naked form.
I was watching her through the vanity mirror while I brushed my teeth. Her hair was sprawled over the side, but some pieces had fallen down her face and the ends were dipped in the water.
She looked like an angel.
My angel.
I walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the tub. Reaching out, I tucked a fallen strand of hair behind her ear, and her eyes fluttered open, lighting up when they landed on me.
She looked at me like I was her light, and I wondered if she’d still look at me like I was the sun if she knew how much darkness was inside of me. But then again, I think she already knew.
She had this way of seeing me for who I was, as though when she looked at me, she was peering straight into my soul. It was unnerving. A little alarming, actually.
I’d never felt so readable .
She saw my scars, and they didn’t scare her. Instead, she used her touch to draw stars around them. When my past left me gray, her eyes found a way to paint me in colors. I thought knowing Emmy would be the death of me, but instead, she became my fucking lifeline.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, her soft hand stretched out of the water and landed on my forearm.
“You,” I answered honestly, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
Her features softened with intrigue, and she raised her brow. “Tell me more.”
I laughed, my chest aching the longer I looked at her. “Maybe later, come on,” I stood to grab a towel and hold it open for her. “Wouldn’t want you to fossilize, fucking grandmas aren’t really my thing.”
She tsked, rolling her eyes at me as she stepped out from the water, the vanilla-scented bubbles sliding down her silky skin. “I’d be a hot grandma.”
Laughing again, I wrapped the towel around her, keeping my hands on her waist and pulling her into me. I kissed her shoulder, basking in how she shivered under my touch. She was so damn responsive.
“Sure, you would, Tesoro ,” I uncharacteristically teased, before pulling away, spinning her back to my front and swatting her ass. “You’d be the hottest, gray-haired, wrinkly-skinned, hunchbacked woman I’d ever seen.”
She followed after me, stomping like an angry baby elephant when I left to head into the bedroom. “You joke now, but one day, that thing is going to be all shriveled up and resemble a crayon. Then who will be laughing?”
“Me, because you’ll still be begging for this crayon, baby,” I winked, not missing the subtle flush on her skin from my words .
She arched her brow in challenge, a devilish smirk drawn on her lips. Those lips. So fucking biteable. “Maybe I’ll find myself a younger man, one who can stand without a walker.”
“Oh yeah? Try it,” I warned, stepping into her and yanking the towel away from her delicious body. “Don’t underestimate the lengths I’ll go to remind you that you’re mine, Emmy. A walker won’t stop me beating to death any fucker who dares look at you.”
She yelped in surprise when I suddenly grabbed her waist, lifted her up, and threw her onto my bed. She shuffled backward, and her tits bounced when she sat up on her elbows and moved her hair out of her face.
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’m your asshole, baby,” I reminded her, crawling onto the sheets and hovering over her. “And your asshole will fuck you in the blood of anyone who tries to come between us.”
She bit her lip. “I hate you.”
I smirked, my cock straining against my shorts and my lips skimming over hers. “No, you don’t.”
“No, I don’t,” she repeated, before slamming her mouth onto mine and burying her hands in the back of my hair.
“Orion,” Emmy’s melodic laugh reverberated off the walls of her room, settling in my bones and warming me up from the inside. “I need to get ready.”
“Later.” My lips trailed kisses down her neck. My fingers dragged down her hips, pulling her ass against my hard cock.
She moaned softly when one of my hands traveled down the back of her dress and up her thigh, her head falling back against my chest when I slowly ran my finger over the lacy material between her legs.
I smirked when I felt how wet she was. Dripping, as always. That was my girl. “Always so fucking wet for me.” She scorched her bottom lip, her chest heaving in anticipation.
My thumb hucked her thong and pushed it to the side, exposing her bare pussy to my fingers. I ran my middle finger along the slit, spreading her arousal, and she gasped when I roughly shoved a finger into her.
Her hands reached out, gripping the back of my hair and I hissed at the sharp tug. She started to protest when I pulled out of her, but it quickly turned into a satiated moan when I spun her to face me and gripped the back of her thighs, lifting her as my lips crushed against hers and her legs straddled my waist.
I carried us to her bed, our lips never separating, and her hands now tangled in my hair once again. Her legs found their place on either side of my thighs when I leaned against the headboard. “Lift your hips for me, baby.”
She did. I unbuckled my suit trousers and let my cock spring free. “Sit down,” I demanded.
She slowly lowered herself onto me, too fucking slowly. “All the way, Emmy.” Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her pussy stretched to accommodate my size. She was not even half-way yet and I was digging my fingers into her thighs to stop myself from shoving her all the way. “Sit the fuck down,” I groaned.
She did, her eyes fixated on mine with a devious spark shimmering. The little demon knows she’s playing with fire. I sucked in a breath when she slammed down on me, a growl forced from my throat. This was what Heaven felt like.
“Emmy,” I warned her when she rose, withdrawing right to the tip of my cock and then thrust her body back down. “Don’t tease me, baby.”
She bit down on her lip and did it again, teasing me and driving me crazy. Her head fell back as her soft moans filled the room and lingered on my skin. By the fourth time, my control had completely fucking snapped.
I gripped her throat, forcing her to look at me while my other hand dug into her hips. “You wanna play, baby? All right, we’ll play.”
Holding her firm, I pounded into her at a merciless pace, knocking the breath right out of her. The sound of our skin slapping bounced off the walls as her mouth hung open and she looked close to tears, her cries getting stuck in her throat from my hand tightly wrapped around her neck .
Pleasure crawled up my spine with each punishing stroke I gave her, and her eyes squeezed shut as she started clenching around me. “What did I fucking tell you?” I released her hip and sharply slapped her ass.
Her eyes fluttered open as her body started to tremble and she came on my cock, but I didn’t slow my pace. I forced her to take everything I had to give, and tears started streaming down her pretty face.
Releasing her throat, I quickly flipped us over so she was underneath me. She moaned when my nose ran along her neck and I bit into her collarbone, while my hands ran down her thighs and wrapped them around my waist.
“You’re so beautiful, Emmy.” I leaned down and kissed her, tasting her tears. “So goddamn perfect for me.” She reached her arms up, and wrapped them around my neck, pulling me closer to her, and I knew immediately what she wanted.
“Ready?” I asked, slowing down my hips for a moment.
“Yeah,” she panted, her pretty, blue eyes focusing on mine.
“Take a deep breath, baby.” She did as she was told, and I slapped my hand over her mouth, covering her nose with my palm, and cutting off her air.
Picking up my pace, her body rocked beneath me with each hard thrust. I hissed when her hands tangled in the back of my hair, but it didn’t slow me down. The bed banged against the wall with each slam into her, drowning out the sound of my grunts.
My body continued to pin her down when she arched her back, and I felt her pussy start to tighten around me again. “You feel like fucking Heaven,” I groaned, her answering whimper muffled against my palm. “This pussy was made for me.”
She came again, her small body trembling underneath me, and I removed my hand from her face. She sucked in a deep breath, gasping for air. A few more thrusts later, I was coming inside her, and the sound of our heavy breathing filled the room.
Her neat ponytail was now loose down her back in a tangled mess, and I’d pretty much just ruined everything she’d done to herself ahead of her first day at White it simply wished her luck on her first day. She brushed her thumb over the writing before turning back to me with a bright smile. “I love them, thank you, Orion. ”
Doing all the flowers and diamond shit wasn’t really my style, and honestly, I’d rather set myself on fire than be mistaken for the kind of man who did do those things. But seeing the smile on Emmy’s face right now? Suddenly, I wanted to be that kind of man, because there was nothing more beautiful to me than her happiness. And now my battered heart was yearning to keep that smile on her face, no matter the cost or the damage to my reputation.
She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulled me into her, and pressed her lips to mine in one long, sweet kiss. “Thank you so much,” she muttered, turning her head to spare another glance at the bouquet. “I can’t believe you did this.”
Yeah, me neither.
Lifting the roses from the passenger seat, I moved them into the back so she could sit down. “I’ll have someone drop these back off at the apartment once I get to work,” I told her as I slid into the driver’s side. “Rosa will put them in water for you.”
“Okay,” she smiled, a heavenward look transforming her features. My chest ached, and a fluttering sensation surfaced in my stomach. Weird.
My phone buzzed when I turned on the ignition. Unlocking it, I saw a text from Doug .
Found Caleb’s hideouts.
“Let’s go.”