25. Orion
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ORION
W atching her from the shadows feels oddly reminiscent of when I used to break into her apartment to watch her sleep.
Except now she’s in my bed, and I could be wrapped around her with my cock inside her right now.
I stayed away for as long as I could manage.
I did some work, much to Killian’s surprise.
I took some calls I’ve been avoiding.
And I even spent some time dismantling Lucas’s business from the inside.
But the tug in my chest to have her in my line of sight got the better of me.
Not that she was ever really out of sight. I had the camera feed for the bedroom running on my laptop so I could make sure she didn’t take matters into her own hands.
I wouldn’t have blamed her, given the way I took off, but to her credit, she kept her hands off her pussy and the plug firmly pressed inside her.
It’s already been seated for too long, and I shouldn’t have walked away from her like that. But I needed to give us both something I loathe. Space.
It goes against every instinct I have to be away from Ember, especially after months of not being able to find her, but I was too close to losing control, and that would have made her run from me.
I cross the room and crawl up onto the mattress, dragging the sheet down Ember’s bare body.
Such a good girl, going to bed naked.
Unless things have changed during her months in Las Vegas, sleeping bare isn’t usual for her, which means she purposely left herself open for me.
“Orion?” she murmurs.
“Go back to sleep, Little Flame,” I whisper, carefully hitching her leg up to give me the perfect view of her swollen pussy and the small plug in her ass.
I drag a finger through her folds and swallow down a groan at how wet she still is.
She must be aching for me, and while the part of me that wants to give her the world begs to give her what she needs, the darker side of me, the one that became more and more prominent with each day she was away, wants to keep her denied.
Maybe then she’ll know better than to leave me.
I shake off the thoughts of leaving her tied up and needy for days on end and get back to the task at hand, giving her clit a few soft circles before wrapping my fingers around the plug and tugging gently.
Ember groans as the soft silicone pulls free, and I quickly move to the bathroom to wash it and my hands.
It’s less than thirty seconds by the time I return with a damp cloth, and she hasn’t moved at all. Her breathing even as her body drags her back into slumber.
I clean away the lube from the toys and the arousal that gathers at the top of her thighs.
My poor, needy girl.
I throw the cloth onto the bedside table to deal with later and strip out of the sweatpants and T-shirt I found in my office after I stormed out earlier, before climbing into the bed behind her.
I pull her body until it’s flush with mine, her perky ass pressed to my aching cock.
Ember’s not the only one who was left aching earlier, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to take care of it.
The only place I plan on coming is inside, or on, my little flame.
I band one arm around her ribs, keeping her steady against me, and the other drops to her pussy, cupping it possessively.
She lets out a soft moan in her sleep at the contact. So fucking responsive to me.
Her hips shift against me, her body desperate for the release I didn’t give her earlier, but I’m not ready to end either of our torment just yet.
Instead, I reposition her against me and notch my cock at her entrance, surging up slowly until I’m full seated inside her.
I may not be able to fuck her the way I want to, but I won’t deprive either of us of the comfort of sleeping inside her warmth.
Ember lets out a sigh of contentment, and I can’t help but smile against her hair.
We have a lot to work out, but she’s back where she belongs.
In my arms and my bed, impaled on my cock.
T he sunlight streams through the open window, and it takes me a few moments to realize the space beside me is empty and cold.
Dread rolls over me, and I shoot out of bed, my heart beating erratically in my chest.
Fuck.
She has to be here somewhere. There’s no way for her to get out unless she sets the place on fire, and I can’t smell any smoke.
I shove my legs into a pair of sweatpants before checking the bathroom.
A flashback of blood and Ember’s too-cold body fills my mind, almost knocking my legs out from under me before I blink past them and realize the room is empty.
I’m both relieved I’m not walking in on another scene like the one that haunts my nightmares and frustrated that she left the bed without telling me where she’s going.
Not that it’s one of her rules, but perhaps it should be.
I step out into the living room and find it empty and the television off.
Where the hell is she?
The kitchen turns up the same result, and my chest clenches with worry.
I’m seconds away from calling Killian to initiate a search party when I hear her soft laugh coming from my office.
I close the distance quickly, but pause in the doorway as I observe her from the shadows.
She has her hair pulled up in a short ponytail, her face bare of any makeup, and all she’s wearing is one of my T-shirts.
Knowing she has an entire closet of her own clothes but still reached for something of mine has pride beating in my chest.
“Max, I’m not telling you that!” She giggles, all the stress I’m accustomed to seeing on her face gone.
Jealousy slams into me at the same time relief does. Why can’t I make her feel as carefree as her friend does? How is that another man can make her look so relaxed when she only ever looks stressed when I’m around?
“Oh my god, Max.” She covers her face with her hand. “No, his cock is not pierced. Okay?”
I swallow my own laugh as I observe her and how calm she looks in my space. She’s curled up in the corner of the couch I keep in here but rarely use. The one I was imagining her sitting on last night while I worked.
Somehow, I doubt I’d get much done if I had the option to stare at Ember, but it was a nice fantasy, and one I intend on trialing.
She’ll need to decide what she wants to do now that she’s back in LA without the pressure of her debt to Lucas hanging over her head. If she still wants to work as a thief, I’ll support her, and there’s plenty I could have her do for our businesses if that’s the route she wants to go down.
But if she wants to leave that behind and go to school, or help with the drug business, or sit at home and watch movies and trashy reality television, I’ll support her.
The world is her oyster.
“Jesus Christ.” She laughs, her head falling back against the back of the couch. “I promise you’ll be the first person I tell if Orion decides to apologize by tattooing my name on his dick, okay? You’ve been reading too many romance books.”
I shake my head, my smile growing at the intensity of her blush. I might be jealous as hell about their relationship, but I’m grateful to Max. Ember needs someone in her corner who will fight for her while also making her laugh without judgment or false pretenses.
Deciding I’ve been a voyeur for long enough, I push the door open, and her eyes fly up to meet mine. She drags her gaze down my bare chest, and her blush deepens, only making me chuckle.
“I gotta go, Max. Give Darius my love,” she says quickly before huffing out an amused but irritated sigh. “Yes, I promise. Okay. I love you. Bye!” She hangs up the phone and drops it on the cushion beside her.
“Good morning, Little Flame,” I say, closing the distance between us. “You weren’t in bed when I woke up.”
Her eyes widen the closer I get, but she has nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.
Not this time.