EMBER
CHAPTER SEVEN
Feeling the hot air blow down onto us as we walk through the doors, I smile.
That was way more fun than I expected it to be.
More relaxing than I thought it would be, too.
It definitely made it better that the whole ride, I got whiffs of Harleys cologne.
He smells like home, I find myself thinking, before pushing it out of my head, and just enjoying the rest of the ride.
I grab Harley’s hand and pull him into the store, his hand still firmly hanging onto me. We head toward the section with floodlight cameras and Ring doorbells. We go through and look at all of them.
Since I’d just decided last night that I wanted to get them, I haven’t researched them yet. I’m going in blind, so hopefully the sales guy doesn’t fuck me over just for a sale.
I let out a sigh, starting to feel overwhelmed with the options.
“This set will connect to wifi, and will keep data backed up in the cloud.” Harley surprises me from beside me.
“Do you have one of these?” I ask, looking at the one he mentioned.
“No, I looked at a few while you were getting ready,” he says with an almost shy tone and a light blush on his cheeks. I love his possessiveness. Even if we aren’t anything but friends right now. I smile to myself.
Just as I turn around, a sales clerk approaches us.
He answers all my questions before I decide which one is going to be best for me.
Harley asks a few questions, ones I certainly wouldn’t have thought to ask.
I’m not stupid by any means, and I need all the facts, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn’t been distracted by Harley’s presence.
“Alright, let's get you and your wife checked out up front, and we can send a team to install today.” My stomach does a somersault, and my cheeks grow red.
“Perfect, thanks man, but I can install them.” Harley grins, cutting his eyes down at me. “Gotta get the wife home and get some lunch in her before she gets hangry.” He laughs, and I throw an elbow as I roll my eyes.
The checkout guy gives me the total and I shuffle through my purse, locate my wallet, and slide my card through the reader.
It’s easy with Harley, and it feels good to have him around.
But, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous about starting anything and setting Dean off.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’s run a man off.
Harley could absolutely handle himself, so I wasn’t worried about him, but Harley couldn’t be around all the time and it wasn’t his responsibility to keep me safe.
I sigh, letting the joy slip away. We get back to the bike, and I grab the helmet. Harley secures the bag to the bike so I don’t have to hang on while we ride home.
“Do we have to go back now?” I ask, not wanting to go back home just yet.
Harley leans down with a smile. “We can go anywhere you want, pretty girl.” He tucks pieces of my hair behind my ear and slides the helmet over my head. “Anywhere in particular you want to go?” he asks.
“No, I just want to feel the breeze and ride. Clear my head,” I tell him anxiously. It was true, and him being near puts me at ease. I also may be looking forward to hanging onto his toned torso while we ride.
Harley hops on the bike, committing to the same routine as he had earlier in assisting me to join him. Once I’m on, my arms are firmly wrapped around him. I rest my head on his back and close my eyes. He takes off out of the parking lot, and I let out a little yelp before a laugh escapes me.
I don’t know where we’re going, and really, I don’t care.
I just let the cool air seep through my clothes, and my skin prickles.
It’s chilly, and I feel my nipples harden.
Between the cool air, Harley’s toned back snug against my front, and the vibrations from the bike, I can feel myself getting worked up.
I’m going to have to put that bullet to use when he heads out today.
I laugh lightly and he glances back, just slightly, putting his hand on my thigh in a comfortable hold while we ride.
We hit the Kancamagus Highway, and I can see all the fall colors breezing by.
I let up on my grasp on Harley a little bit, and take a deep breath.
I feel him laugh in front of me, the deep roll rumbling in his chest. We drive until we hit the Overlook.
There’s a few off the highway, but this one overlooks the river.
Harley pulls off and parks the bike, puts the kickstand out, and he slides off, helping me down too. “This work for you?” he says, unbuckling the clip and lifting the helmet off.
I smile up at him. “Yeah this is perfect.” I walk around the bike and look out at all the colors in front of me. I love fall. It’s my favorite season. I don’t mind the cold, and watching mother nature shift is a breathtaking sight in New Hampshire.
I feel Harley come and stand beside me. We stand in silence, my hands in my pockets, just watching. Harley leans down and kisses the top of my head, moving a little closer and wrapping an arm around me.
“I feel like we should talk about this,” I start. “If we start something and it sets Dean off, it could go south for us.” I let my body relax a little bit, despite being nervous to actually have this conversation.
“He doesn’t scare me, Ember,” Harley says. “But I know he does scare you to a degree.” He’s right. I wasn’t scared physically until I read through the report Harley had brought over. My stomach dips, thinking about the charge from when we were together.
“I didn’t know about the rape charge,” I tell him.
“He and I were still…actively having sex. If you could call it that,” I say, a little embarrassed, but also just feeling icky.
Thinking back to all the times he had snuck into my room after my parents went to bed.
Being pregnant, while working part time and still attending school, sleep was all I wanted.
But almost every night, I’d wake up with him there.
Peeling down my panties, biting my thighs roughly, and pushing my legs open.
It wasn’t until I was twenty-five years old that I learned that your significant other could rape you.
I always just assumed it was a responsibility.
“I didn’t always want it, so I guess I'm not surprised,” I say, letting out a shaky breath.
“Luckily they did testing, and nothing was ever passed to me in terms of any diseases.” I thank god for that.
“If I would refuse, he’d tell me that I was a whore and no one would ever want me after I had the baby.
” A tear slides down my cheek. I was only sixteen at the time, so I believed all the horrific things he would say to hurt me.
Now that I am older, I’ve realized it was just a mental game for him—to try and keep me under his thumb, and his dick wet. I wish I would have been stronger then, but I guess it comes with age.
Harley pulls me into him, my face landing on his chest as I lose all control of my tears, and I let out some of the anger and disgust and hurt from over the years. Harley holds me tight, rubbing slow circles on my back.
He lets me cry for a few minutes before he brings his hands to my face. “I am so sorry, Ember. I should have just dealt with the punches and kept you.” I look at him, confusion written across my face, eyes still blurry with tears.
“What punches?” I ask.
“Reed said it was ‘whatever’ that I’d asked you out, but he started being really weird with me after we officially started dating, and then he got aggressive,” he says, looking up from my eyes and letting out a breath.
“I don’t know if he didn’t like that it was me, or if it was just the older brother thing. ”
He’d broken up with me because Reed was getting physical with him.
It makes sense. Honestly, I don’t know why I’d never questioned Reed about it before.
We weren’t close at all, and I had really only started sitting at his lunch table to piss him off, and then Harley and I got closer, so I kept sitting there every day.
I stand up on my tiptoes and wrap my hands around his neck, pulling him down to me, and I kiss him.
My face heats quickly, followed by a fire in my body.
My pussy throbs as the kiss deepens. Harley lifts me, my ankles going around his waist and locking behind him.
He walks over to the bike and sets me on the seat.
My legs drop and he steps between them. One of his hands drops to my throat, and his thumb moves under my jaw, tilting it up to keep my lips on him.
His other hand unzips my jacket and slips behind it, going under my shirt, and my skin is on fire where his hand reaches the small of my back.
He’s pulling me in, and I can feel him between my legs, growing harder behind his jeans.
I scoot closer to the edge, knowing my leggings aren’t thick enough to stop the friction I am desperately seeking.
Harley bites my bottom lip, his hand moving from my jaw to the front of my neck, squeezing, and I let out a moan.
Harley’s eyes pop open—full of pure lust. His hand on my neck moves down, slipping into my leggings, and I arch my back, pushing my chest into him.
“Fuck, pretty girl, you’re so wet for me.
” He dives back in to kiss me. It’s rougher this time, but I meet him with the same roughness.
His fingers find my clit outside of my panties, and he swirls it a few times before pinching it.
I yelp with surprise, but also because I find myself liking that feeling of pain mixed with pleasure.
He swirls my throbbing clit again, and I murmur into his mouth.