14. Ember
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EMBER
I hate the way my body responds to him.
I despise the ache between my thighs that only seems to deepen the longer he has me pinned to the bed.
And I fucking loathe how my heart does a little flip at his words.
“But Little Flame, you’re already my everything.”
There’s not a hint of mistruth in his eyes as he stares down at me, and a little bit of the ice against him thaws, completely against my will.
“What do you want from me?” I whisper, pressing my eyes closed to ward off the tears that threaten to fall. I’ve already cried too much tonight, to the point every blink is like sandpaper beneath my eyelids.
Orion stares down at me for long seconds, as if he’s not sure how to reply to my question, and maybe he’s not.
Not for the first time, I can’t help but wonder if he only wants me because of the chase, because he knows when all is said and done, I’m going to hate him for what he took from me.
But then a flicker of vulnerability reaches his dark eyes, and my chest tightens.
“I want your love. I want your submission. And more than anything, I want you to rule by my side. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. For you to be the queen of my empire.”
He’s lost his fucking mind. That’s all I can think as I consider him and his words.
In what universe would I want to have anything to do with importing drugs?
Why would I put myself in that kind of danger?
Always looking over my shoulder for the next threat, always afraid that either Orion or I would get arrested and wouldn’t come home.
I’ve already lost too much to risk ever wanting any of this for myself.
I shake my head. “I want nothing to do with you or your empire.”
“Little liar,” he murmurs as he dips his head, trailing gentle kisses along my jaw and down my throat. “Your mouth says one thing, but your body tells me just how badly it needs me.”
“Orion,” I warn.
“You don’t know how much I love my name on your pretty pink lips, Ember.”
“Stop,” I plead as he nips at my collarbone, dragging a moan from my throat.
“No.”
“Please stop,” I breathe, swallowing another moan when his lips latch onto my oversensitive nipple, and my entire body tenses at the sudden pleasure.
His dark eyes flick up to meet mine, and he considers me for long seconds.
“If you can tell me, without a shadow of a doubt, without hesitation, that you don’t want this, that everything that you felt for me is gone, I’ll walk out that door.
” He pauses, allowing me to digest what he’s just said.
“But know this, Ember. I know you better than anyone on this planet. I’ve spent months learning every single one of your tells, and I will know if you’re lying to me. ”
My breath catches in my throat as his words sink in. Months? We were only together for a couple of weeks and only knew each other for a week or two before that. I suspected that he may have followed me here and there, but to study me indicates he actively stalked me.
To his credit, he doesn’t rush me. Instead, he holds my gaze, watching as the gears turn over in my head.
“What do you mean, you’ve been watching me for months?” I whisper.
“The night I pulled you from the wreckage after the accident, I knew you’d be mine.
It didn’t make any sense to me, and I thought it would lessen with time, but I only got more obsessed with you and with your safety.
That night at the Velvet Room, I wasn’t meant to engage with you.
I was only there to make sure Lucas didn’t have you doing something I knew you wouldn’t be comfortable doing, and when I saw the way those two predators were looking at you, I had to get you away from them.
It moved up the timeline, but one thing you should know, Ember, is that there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you safe, including putting the Hunter’s anonymity at stake. ”
It takes a few seconds to realize I stopped breathing somewhere in that admission, and I drag in a stuttering breath.
Orion was stalking me?
For months?
Oh god, just when I think things can’t get any crazier, they just go ahead and do exactly that.
“I don’t understand,” I murmur. “Why would you do that? Why would you care?”
He shrugs. “I knew you were supposed to be mine, and that feeling only got stronger as time went on.”
“This is crazy.”
“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly the sanest of men.”
He can say that again. Every time Orion opens his mouth, something more unhinged comes out than the last time.
“One look at you, and every other woman no longer existed in my mind. Even bloody and broken from the accident, I knew you would become my everything. My queen.”
“This is too much,” I whisper, not trusting my voice beneath the weight of emotions slamming down on me.
“No, it’s not, Little Flame. Where we’re concerned, nothing will ever be enough.”
“I need time.”
“No,” he snaps. “You had time. Three months of it, in fact. I gave you time to run, to hide, and now that’s done. You’re mine.”
I shift beneath him, bucking my hips in the hope of dislodging him, but he’s too heavy, and he has me at his mercy. The only way I’m getting up is if he allows it.
“Get the fuck off me, Orion,” I growl.
“No.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“I’m not a reasonable man.”
“Not reasonable. Not sane. Fantastic. So glad you chose me to be obsessed with.”
He chuckles and dips his head until his breath whispers across my cheeks. “Me too, Little Flame.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“Oh, I know.” He laughs. “Now, we can do one of two things. Either I can make you scream with pleasure, or we can curl up and go back to sleep. Those are your options, and I suggest you choose wisely.”
I huff out a sigh. “I don’t want you touching me at all.”
“Too bad, Ember. That’s not one of the options I gave you.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?”
He shakes his head, his body shaking as he laughs, and I can’t help but notice how fucking beautiful he is.
Since leaving LA, I genuinely tried to convince myself that everything I felt for Orion was in my head, and that there’s no way he could have actually been so thoughtful and caring while also playing my body like his own personal instrument.
But now, looking up at him, I can admit that I was lying to myself.
“Come on, Little Flame. Let’s get some sleep, and we’ll talk some more in the morning. How does that sound?”
“Like you’re not really giving me a choice at all.”
“You’re right, I’m not.” He rolls onto his side and drags my body against him. “I’m not going to let you get away again, Ember. I suggest you get used to the idea.”
Begrudgingly, I allow my body to relax into his. The warmth he emits is more comforting than I would like to admit, and as I drift off to sleep, I realize this is the safest I’ve felt since the night I ran away from the only city I’ve ever called home.
C onsciousness returns slowly, and it takes too long for me to realize I’m still plastered against Orion’s warm body.
At some point in the night, I turned into him. Now my cheek is pressed to his bare chest, and he’s holding onto me like he’s afraid I’ll slip away in the dead of night.
Which is probably a fair concern to have.
Now that sunlight streams in through the open window, I need to figure out a way to get out of here without Orion chasing me down, which he will absolutely do given the chance.
I took my last sleeping pill the night before the auction because my anxiety and need to kill the man currently wrapped around me was too strong to sleep through, and I caved.
I’ve been relying on them less and less the last month, and so I hadn’t bothered to refill my prescription. Something I very much regret because knocking him out may be the only way I get out of this room without Orion attached to me at the hip.
I press against his chest softly, trying to dislodge him, but he only drags me closer to him. His very hard cock presses against my lower belly, and I groan. Why does he have to be so fucking attractive and hung to boot?
“Go back to sleep,” Orion mumbles.
“I need to pee,” I whisper. “Let me up, and I’ll come right back.”
If he spots the lie, he doesn’t say anything as he grumbles and reluctantly allows me to slip out of his arms.
I make it into the bathroom and lean against the door for long seconds. Being so close to that man makes it hard to think.
While I try to concoct a plan, I take care of business and brush my teeth. Something about the repetitive motion has always helped me think, and when I catch sight of the robe hanging on the back of the door, I can’t help but smirk.
The Hunter is about to get a taste of his own medicine.