19. Orion
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ORION
I t only takes a few minutes before Ember calms down.
Truthfully, I expected more of a fight from her, but after her encounter with Lucas, I’m not exactly surprised.
Maybe on some level, she realizes this is where she’s safest, and although I’m the source of her emotional turmoil, she and I both know I’d never physically harm her.
The thought of Lucas Trainer has my skin crawling all over again. He needs to die, and soon.
As good an excuse as him being a threat is to keep Ember close, I’d still much rather that no one wants to harm the woman who has quickly become my reason for breathing.
Killian filled me in on the altercation as he broke every road law on the way to the airfield. Luckily, the air traffic controller owes me a favor after we got stuck on the runway last year, and he was more than happy to delay takeoff for half an hour while we made our way across town.
The fact that Lucas put his hands on Ember only extends how long I’ll torture him, and I mentally plan every step of his death as we drive toward the penthouse.
It’s been a while since the Hunter has tortured someone like that, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to get my hands dirty. It used to be such a big part of my role before I took over the drug game, and it’ll be good to flex the old muscles after all this time.
Killian parks in his spot in the garage before turning to look at us through the back seats. “What’s the plan here? You going to go willingly or kick and scream the whole way?”
Ember sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m adding you to my kill list.”
He chuckles. “Excellent. Now answer the question.”
“I’ll walk myself,” she huffs.
He levels her with another look before climbing out of the car and leaving the two of us alone for the first time since I plucked her off the plane and effectively abducted her.
Yeah, Killian may have a point about the lengths I’ll go to for this woman.
“You gonna behave for me, Little Flame?”
“I’m not a dog.”
I chuckle. “If you choose to disobey me, if you choose to run off, you will be punished. Your orgasms will be denied or ruined, you’ll find yourself tied to the bed until I’m sure I can trust you, and your ass will be permanently pink from the spankings you’ll receive. Do you understand?”
She glares across the car at me but nods once, confirming she understands the consequences.
“Good.” I swing my door open and hold my hand out to her.
She takes it reluctantly and tries to tug it away once we’re both outside the car, but I hold on tight. She had her chance to have a healthy space between us, but then she ran off to another city and had me worried sick for months.
Now she’s going to learn what happens when you run from a man like me.
The elevator ride is quiet, and once we’re in the apartment, she tries to head for the bedroom, but I tug her back against me.
“Where do you think you’re going, Ember?”
“To the bathroom.”
“No.”
“No?” Her brows rise. “What the fuck do you mean, no?”
I sigh. “I’m certain you’ve heard the word before and know the meaning. I’m sure I don’t need to explain it to you.”
Something between a growl and a huff escapes her throat as she tugs at the hand I’m still holding. “I know what the word no means, Orion. I wanted to know what on earth gave you the idea that you would have any say about whether or not I use the restroom.”
“We’re going to have some new rules, Ember, and I have a feeling you’re not going to be much of a fan of them. But you should have thought of that before you ran.”
“Rules?”
“Yes, rules. Number one is that there will be no closed doors between us. At all. If you need to use the bathroom, you’ll do so with the door ajar. If you need to get changed, you’ll do it in the bedroom. If you need to take a call, you’ll do it where I can see you.”
Her mouth drops open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I am most definitely not kidding you, Ember. Perhaps once I know I can trust you again, I’ll become more lenient on some of these, but until then, I suggest you get used to peeing with the door open.”
“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” she mutters.
“Oh, you have no idea, Little Flame. You thought I was unhinged and unreasonable before? You’re about to learn exactly what unhinged and unreasonable look like.”
She considers me for a moment before tugging at my hand and dragging me toward the couch.
Without missing a beat, she turns the television on and flicks through the channels until she finds the one dedicated to rom-com movies.
“Take a seat, Orion.” She nods to the space beside her, and I chuckle.
This should be fun.