Chapter 16 Harper #3
A little sigh escaped me. A gasp. My legs turned to sand, and I gripped his arm under his suit, almost dizzy from want of him.
“You’re really good at this,” I breathed, craning my chin up. His breath ghosted over my lips, and I nearly moaned. “Orion…”
“Not yet,” he whispered. “Just a little more…”
His hand came up and cupped my jaw, his thumb sweeping across my cheek, and then he brushed my lower lip while his eyes searched mine.
I was locked in his embrace, his gaze, his space, watching him watch me, but fully present in the moment.
My thudding heart sent blood to every nerve ending that was sparking where we touched, waiting and wanting more.
Orion’s gaze dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes, his arm around my waist cinched me in, his head tilted to the side at the same time I craned up for him and our lips met in a kiss. The most perfect kiss of my life.
Soft at first, like a little bomb dropping into the center of me, it grew in intensity. Smoldering, burning, and then igniting. He and I were like a chemical reaction where that needy anticipation found relief. The sweet ache found release.
Orion’s kiss, my God… I thought I’d been kissed before, but no.
Only a wet mashing of mouths that bore no resemblance to this.
This was finesse and experience, but I felt the gravity of his devotion too.
Lust and yearning and care all infused in his mouth that moved over mine, tongue sweeping, exploring.
Gentle, sucking pulls and then harder biting kisses, with our breaths rasping and little sounds of want rising in my throat while deeper groans emanated from his chest.
I kissed him just as greedily, needing to taste and be tasted.
My hands slid up his neck, then down his back.
Strong muscles moved under his suit as his hands roamed my body, until one hand sank into my hair.
He made a fist and pulled gently, angling my head for better access, taking what he wanted.
I fell back against the wheel, Orion’s body over mine, looming, but I felt completely protected and safe.
Overwhelmed by him in the best way. He kissed me until I was dizzy, then pulled back, sucking my lip, kissing my chin, my cheek, down to my neck, nuzzling and sending shivers of heat across my breasts and down my back.
I clung to him as his mouth moved over my throat, to my earlobe, biting gently, then back to my mouth.
I didn’t want to stop kissing him. I could’ve kissed Orion Mercer until sunrise, and it wouldn’t satisfy that sweet, heavy ache in the middle of me.
One that I already worried had migrated up to my heart and would only grow stronger with every touch, never satiated.
More wanting him, not less, until it wasn’t wanting any more at all, but something else.
Something so real, I’d never be the same.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Orion broke the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. He held my face, brushing the curls off my brow, then slipped down to cup my cheeks, his forehead pressed to mine. “I think, perhaps, we should slow down a bit. We’re being serious, after all.”
“Did I say that?” I asked breathlessly. “I take it back. Serious can start tomorrow.”
He laughed, and his smile was so brilliant it almost hurt to look at him. A different kind of happy than I’d seen before. And I realized I was too, just when I had started to forget what happy felt like.
I kissed him softly, while I still had him there. Once, twice, then smoothed the lapels of his suit I’d been gripping. Holding on for dear life, actually.
“That was romantic, Harper.”
“I’ll try not to make it a habit.”
He chuckled and took both my hands in his. “Well. What do we do now?”
Before I could answer, Dean peeked his head around the corner. “I hate—and I do mean hate—to interrupt, but Harper, I need backup.”
“Is everything okay?”
“It’s Emery and Xander. Things are getting tense. Can you come?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Can I be of help?” Orion asked.
“Not this time, my friend,” Dean said. “I think Emery would prefer discretion.”
Orion turned to me. “Text me when you’re done saving the day.”
“I will.”
He kissed my forehead and let me go.
Dean shot me a quick smile as he led me through the hay-strewn pathways. “I won Best Costume, but that’s nowhere near as awesome as seeing you two together. Not that I was peeping, I swear.”
“You’ll keep it quiet?” I asked. “I prefer discretion too.”
“You sure?”
“Right now, it’s a bridge too far.”
Dean nodded, and silent understanding passed between us. We rounded a bend and heard Xander’s low voice, tight with pain and resignation.
“The last thing on this fucking planet I want to do is hurt you. But it will only get worse. For both of us.”
A stunned silence, and then Emery whispered, “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“That’s what I want.”
Dean nodded at me. A break in the conversation and we’d eavesdropped too long. We stepped around the corner to see Xander in his suit and Emery in pink, facing each other, both looking heartbroken.
“Hey, guys,” Dean said slowly. “Everything cool?”
“I need to go home,” Emery said tearfully.
I stepped forward immediately. “I’ll take you.”
I gave Xander and Dean farewell glances and hurried Emery to my car in the parking lot. Once in the passenger seat, she covered her face with both hands and burst into tears.
“Oh, babe.” I wrapped my arms around her as best I could from the driver side. “Is now a bad time to say I knew it all along?”
“What did you know?”
“You and Xander—”
“There is no me and Xander.” She peered at me through mascara-smudged, tear-streaked eyes. “Please, Harper. Take me home.”
I followed her directions to one of the biggest houses on the Bay I’d ever seen. Twenty of my houses could have fit into hers. In the driveway, I parked and faced Emery.
“Are you going to be okay?”
She shook her head no but said, “Yes.” She looked at me with a rueful smile. “Isn’t that my way? Yes on the outside, no on the inside.”
“Em, what can I do? Do you want to go somewhere? Talk about it?”
She wiped her face and huffed a breath, looking like someone about to go into battle rather than a girl going home after a dance. “Later. Right now, I just want to get to my room and shut the door on the world for a while, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” I gave her a hug. “Call me anytime.”
“Okay.” She started to get out then stopped. “Hey, I never asked how your night was.”
It was perfect while you were having your heart broken.
“We’ll talk later, like you said. Get some sleep.”
She smiled gratefully and got out. I watched until she was safe inside her house, though I’m not sure “safe” was the right word with her tyrant father running her and her brother Jack’s lives like a dictator.
Feeling like a selfish asshole, I texted Orion.
Emery’s home safe.
The reply came quick.
You’re a good friend, love.
I didn’t know about that, since I was dying to get back to him.
What now? I texted.
There’s that romance again. I’m at your house.
Why?
We just had our first date. I need to give you a proper kiss goodnight.
My heart did a bunch of little flips, and that foreign feeling of happiness flooded me all over again.
At my house, Orion was leaning against his silver Aston Martin like a model in a magazine ad. Mom’s SUV was parked in the driveway; she and Dash were home from trick-or-treating. I parked behind her and met Orion at his car.
“You didn’t have to,” I said, as he pulled me into his arms. “That was a pretty epic kiss already.”
“I know, but I did a lot of wooing back there,” he said.
“True. That was premium-grade wooing. Professional, even.”
“So lest you think I’m full of hot air and pretty words, I want to ask you something. Something very serious.”
“Serious? You?”
“There’s a party after the Narragansett Bay Regatta. At the Castle Hill Country Club. Supposed to be a big deal,” Orion said, tracing his finger over the top of my hand.
“Okay.”
“I want you to be my date to it.”
I smirked. “What part of ‘I’d like to keep us private’ did you not understand?”
Orion smiled that charming smile of his, the one that turned persuasion into an art form.
I’m doomed before we’ve even started.
“I know,” he said. “And I’m not trying to pressure you, honestly. But I’m going to put this out there, because I meant what I said. I don’t care what anyone thinks. On the contrary, I’d be proud to show off my woman.”
“Your woman,” I scoffed, even as my heart felt full, every part of me becoming warmer and happier with every word he spoke.
“Yes, my woman.” Orion brushed a curl off my forehead. “I would love for you to be my date to that party. To walk down those fancy hallways with you on my arm and dance with you in front of all of Castle Hill.” His voice turned low and rough. “I’d like that very much.”
I swallowed hard. “You would?”
“Yes, Bennett, I would.” He smiled. “So just think about it, okay? And if the answer is still no, and you must insist on keeping our sordid affair a secret, I’ll honor that too.”
“Orion…”
I looked away before he could see the tears in my eyes, or how thoroughly he’d broken down the defenses I’d built around my heart and marched right in. Or worse, how badly I wanted to keep him there.
“Whatever you decide.” He bent to kiss me softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”