Epilogue Into the Flames
Ash
O ri stands before me, hands on her hips, smirk on her lips, and I know the woman will be the death of me.
But hey, I’ll sure as hell die happy.
“Come on, Little One. I’m tired of waiting.” I extend my hand, biting back a smile when her fingers grasp mine.
Look, despite my claims to the contrary, I don’t hate the concept of romance. Hell, there was a time when I loved the idea.
But now, loving someone lies beneath a million layers of regrets, dumb choices, and painful memories, and, despite my insane attraction to this tiny bookworm, I’m not looking past tonight.
One day at a time has a whole new meaning where I’m concerned.
Somehow, I think she gets that fact.
“I’ll meet you downstairs,” she replies with a wink. “I have to turn off the stove in the store.”
What she doesn’t know is I have no intention of letting her out of my sight. This woman is aces at disappearing and if I don’t fulfill this aching need soon, I’m going to lose my mind. “Lead the way.”
Ori strolls ahead of me into the store, and I can’t help but admire her luscious hip shake and firm, round ass.
Fuck, it’s perfect.
“Keep shaking that gorgeous peach, and I might just take a damn bite out of it.”
Ori glances back at me, throwing a flirty wink at me over her shoulder. “Promise?”
“Get over here.” With a laugh, I grab her about the waist and toss her over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold. Then I give her ass a playful smack before sinking my teeth into the soft fabric of her leggings.
Ori lets out a squeal of surprise, laughter bubbling up as she playfully pushes against my back. “Just wait until I get my hands on you, Asher Hammond.”
I tighten my grip, delivering another smack to her rear. “Maybe it’s my turn to play.”
“Please do,” she murmurs, reaching out her hand toward the wall. “Damn it, I can’t reach the off switch from here.”
“Actually, leave it on.” I gently lower Ori from my shoulder, letting her slide down the front of my body until her feet touch the ground.
“Don’t you want to go downstairs?” Ori asks, wrapping her arms around my waist and propping her chin on my chest to shoot me a mischievous smile. “I thought it was playtime.”
I chuckle and pull her flush against me, loving how she melts into my embrace. “Trust me, I plan on playing all night. ”
“What about Vegas?”
I shrug, sliding my hands beneath her leggings to palm her booty. “I’ll sleep on the plane after you wear me out.”
Ori shakes her ass. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go.”
But I don’t want to rush this moment, or any moment, with her. In her arms, the world makes sense, even for a few brief moments.
I can’t explain it. I’m not sure I’m ready for a woman like Ori, or that I’ll ever hit that milestone, but damn it, I want to try.
Most of all, I want her to know that our night together had nothing to do with her signature. Sure, that’s the reason I locked her in the basement, but once I broke through her defenses, I knew one thing—I never wanted to let her go.
So, despite her insistence, I’m taking my time with her tonight.
“Change of plans,” I say, earning a wide-eyed glare from my petite woman. “Not like that, Little One. You look fucking gorgeous in the firelight. I’m enjoying the view.”
Although, I’d like to see her wearing nothing but the smile I gave her.
Ori pivots to face me, her teeth catching her lower lip, eyes dark with intent. Then, with a devious little smile, she trails her fingers down my chest before giving me a gentle shove, pushing me into the leather armchair behind me. I sink into the seat, unable to look away as she steps closer, her gaze daring me to make the next move. “You want me to do all the work tonight, don’t you?”
“Fuck no. Get over here and I’ll gladly take over.” I crook my finger at her, smiling when she straddles my lap.
“Better?” she whispers, her breath catching when I anchor my hands on her hips and pull her down against my cock.
“Getting there.” I glide my thumb along her lower lip, my breath hitching as she swirls her tongue across the tip. My hand wraps around the back of her neck, pulling her closer as I capture her luscious mouth in a fierce, hungry kiss.
Ori grinds against me, her hips moving in a provocative dance as they bid me to play. I wrap my hands around her ass and thrust against her, feeling the desperation build when she scratches her nails across my back.
“I thought we weren’t leaving marks,” I tease, nipping at the soft skin of her throat, the hint of honey and jasmine wreaking havoc with my senses and drawing me deeper into the moment.
“Something to remember me by,” Ori answers, her voice a husky moan as she threads her fingers through my hair.
“There’s no way in hell I could forget you.” My hands slip beneath her shirt to cup her breasts, my thumbs teasing across her nipples.
I need to get her downstairs—now. Hell, at this rate, I’ll end up taking her on the stairs, too. If she wants to play, I’m ready for it.
“Wait for a second.” Ori mumbles as she scrambles off me, breaking the heat of the moment.
What the hell? Am I missing something?
“Where do you think you’re going?” I grunt as I loosen my jeans and adjust myself.
I don’t have to wait long for an answer.
Ori lifts the hem of her shirt and drops it to the floor. Then she shoots me a playful grin as she unhooks her bra and slides it down her arms before tossing it aside with a mischievous wink.
The firelight plays off her every curve, throwing golden shadows across the planes of her stomach and the curve of her breasts.
She’s so damn beautiful—and totally exposed to all of Sparkwood, I realize with a start.
“You know your store has a big fucking window that fronts on Main Street, right?” I ask the question, although I’m sure as hell not stopping this spur-of-the-moment striptease.
Two times in one night from the woman who’s commanding my every thought—yes, please.
Ori shrugs and leans against a bookshelf to pull off her boots and socks. “I’m aware.”
I smirk at her nonchalant attitude toward public exposure, loving this side of Oriana. “So, the whole town gets a free show tonight?”
She releases a husky and wicked laugh as her fingers toy with the waistband of her leggings. “Tis the season, right?”
I’ve had countless women offer up their personal brand of strip downs, but there’s something about Ori that blows them all away. She looks every inch the prim and proper lady, one who might crochet on winter nights and attend Sunday service. But that’s where the similarities end, because underneath her good girl persona lies the greatest seductress I’ve ever known.
“That gift belongs to me,” I reply, my voice charged with emotion. “Now, come here and let me unwrap it.”
“Patience, sir.” She strips off her leggings and underwear, standing before me in all her naked perfection. Her ivory skin glistens as she pivots slightly, tossing a naughty smile my way.
I’m going to blow my load in my pants if she waits any longer.
“Right now.” Maybe it’s the growl in my voice or the edge of possessiveness plying the words, but Ori obeys my command, once again sitting astride my lap.
I slide my hands along her sides, her skin softer than spun silk beneath my palms. "You’re playing with fire, Ori."
She leans in, her voice a smoky whisper at my ear. "You’re the one who wanted to stay close to the flames, Ash. Maybe I want to burn, too.”
I crash my mouth against hers, my fingers digging into the meat of her thighs as I try to rein in my last vestiges of control.
But Ori enjoys driving me to the brink of madness, her tongue teasing mine in a slow, seductive dance as she grinds her sweet pussy against me.
“Lose the pants,” she murmurs, her mouth warm and wet on my neck, every touch stoking the firestorm inside me.
“You really want to give Sparkwood a show tonight, don’t you?” I grunt, sliding my fingers inside her heat as my thumb teases her clit.
Ori looks over the top of the chair to the street beyond. “It’s empty. Not a soul in sight. But, should someone take a notion to peer in here, all they’ll see is me. They won’t see you. So, it’s a win-win situation.”
“How is that a win-win?” Hell, even those few words require a tremendous effort, when all I can think about is burying myself inside her and claiming every curve.
She leans back slightly before taking another peek out the window. “You take me on the ride of my life and no one but us is the wiser about the conductor driving this train. That way, we both have an amazing time.”
Fuck that noise.
I tangle my hand in her hair, forcing her to meet my gaze. “Little One, I’ll carry you to that front window right now. Then I’ll press your naked body against the glass, wrap my hands around your gorgeous hips and take you from behind—right there, for the whole damn world to see.”
Those huge dark eyes widen behind her lenses, but she’s not backing down from my challenge. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” I growl, my thumb grazing her jawline as I tilt her head up to feel her pulse hammering beneath my fingers. “I’ll make you scream so loud they’ll hear you in the next town over. But everyone will know who’s bringing you that level of pleasure.”
Ori digs her fingers into my shoulders and whimpers, her movements growing more frenzied by the second.
“Everyone will know you’re mine.” My words are a low rumble, my brain not latching onto their deeper meaning—my body not giving a damn.
She slides to her knees at my feet and fumbles my belt open, but her eyes never waver from mine. I lift my hips as she tugs my pants down.
Sparkwood residents want to watch? Fucking let them.
I’m too lost in Ori to care.
With a coy smile, she wraps her slender hand around my cock and lowers her head to taste me, gliding her tongue over my shaft. I buck against her mouth as she works me over, teasing every inch of me and pushing me to the brink of madness .
Fuck, but this woman gives the greatest head—and she damn well knows it—but there is no way I’m coming anywhere but inside her. “Get your gorgeous ass up here.”
Ori scratches her nails along my thighs, taking a few extra seconds to tease the tip of my cock before climbing on top of me. “What do you need?” she murmurs.
“You. Just you.” I slide my cock along her slick skin, her desire coating my tip and driving me out of my fucking mind.
She’s the only cure for this out-of-control addiction. I’m a fiend for her—the feel of her, the taste of her—everything about this woman drives me wild in the best way.
Then I hear the familiar sound of the condom wrapper and realize I was about to take Ori raw.
Something I still desperately want to do.
Look, I’m always careful—every single time. I never slip up with slipping on protection because you don’t know where someone has been. No matter what they claim.
But this time, I got so lost in her—and the moment—that I forgot everything else.
“Fuck. Damn near forgot that,” I grumble as she rolls the latex down over my shaft.
“Now that would be playing with fire,” Ori replies with a wink.
I reach up, cupping her face, and smile when she delivers a gentle nip to my palm. “Maybe you’re not the only one who wants to burn.”
She answers me by sliding down my length as I grip her ass and thrust inside her core.
A low moan escapes my mouth as her pussy tightens around me, milking my cock. She’s so fucking tight and wet, and I can’t get close enough to her heat. I breathe in as the scent of her arousal fills me and claim her mouth with my own to swallow her whimpers as she rides me.
She feels too good. So damn perfect as she writhes against me, her movements becoming more and more desperate as her body shakes.
“Ash, Ash—” she cries, her fingers digging into my shoulders.
Her need only spurs me further as I piston inside her, each passing second more primal than the last.
Her body jerks, but I won’t give her a moment’s reprieve. I feel the pleasure rip through her as her nails scratch into my skin, inking me with a new brand of tattoo.
Ori collapses against me, her breathing heavy and panting. “You. Are. Amazing.”
A wicked smile tugs at my lips as I hold her tighter, feeling her pussy quiver around me. “That’s just round one, beautiful, and I’ve got all night.”
A contented purr escapes her lips. “Aren’t I the luckiest girl in the world?”
“Not yet,” I murmur, nuzzling her throat. “But you will be. One day, I’m claiming all of you.”
Her eyes flash with a thrill that matches my own, but she only presses harder against me, a challenge in her gaze. “Then you better be ready for the heat, because I don’t do anything halfway.”
As she resumes her rhythmic flow, chasing the dragon for an even greater release, I realize something—Ori is my dragon, the rush I can’t resist, the one that delivers every time.
But what happens when she pins me with those dark, all-seeing eyes and demands everything? The romance, the happily ever after. She deserves it all. More than I can probably give.
What if I’m not built for forever? What if the lacerated pieces of my heart are too damaged, too scarred to be whole? What if ...
The answer slices through all my doubts, silencing every question—none of it matters, because I can’t let her go.
And that idea terrifies me most of all.
“Hey,” Ori’s voice breaks through, soft but steady, pulling me back to her. “You with me?”
And just like that, I am.
The End. For now.
But don’t worry—Ash and Ori have plenty more unfinished business waiting for you.