16
Sable
When I saw the park up ahead, I straightened in my seat, knowing that it would be hard to see the apartment building at night. I liked that it was a little further back from the road, but being new to the area and having someone escorting me home, I didn’t want to seem lost.
“You can let me off here.” It was a block too early, but maybe it was better that way.
While the place wasn’t bad, it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as the house he’d walked me to.
It wasn’t the quiet little suburban home that was perfect for raising a little family in.
Someone like Orion deserved a family, not the fucked up life that I lived.
That ring on his finger glinted under a streetlight as we passed it.
He pulled over to the side of the road. “Are you sure? It looks like there’s a complex about half a block up. Is that you? I’d feel a lot more comfortable dropping you off at home.”
I rolled my eyes, opening the door and jumping out of his truck. Go figure it wasn’t enough to get rid of him. This late at night, there weren’t a lot of people on the road, so Orion drove behind me as I walked the remaining distance to my new place.
He parked as I climbed the stairs to my new second-floor home.
Orion was hot on my heels. I wanted to get inside as quickly as possible to avoid having to invite him in.
It was sweet that he was worried about me, but I’d been taking care of myself for too damn long.
I didn’t need someone who hovered with a need to protect me.
It wasn’t like I’d had another panic attack thanks to the smelly asshole tonight.
It could have gone that way, but I was fine.
Victor wanted me out of the club just in case I slipped.
“Sable.”
I stopped as I turned my key in the lock. My shoulders slouched, I looked at Orion, who stood at the end of the outdoor walkway. What the hell was I supposed to do about it? He was worried—it was nice, but he didn’t need to be. He didn’t even know me. If he did, he’d run for the hills.
“I’m home. There’s no need to keep watching over me.”
He huffed a laugh, approaching slowly like an animal stalking his prey.
Did I want him to catch me? Maybe. It would be hot because the man was super delicious, but I knew he was off-limits. There was a reason he’d stayed on the other side of the room, the one time he’d given in watching me at my finest.
What did I not do? I didn’t stop him when I opened the door and he followed me inside.
It should have been more embarrassing that my place was basically empty, but I hadn’t been joking when I said I’d just moved in.
I had no furniture of my own. The only things I had were two folding camp chairs sitting in my living room and a mattress on the floor in my bedroom.
At least Anthony thought he was being nice by giving me a full bedding set.
I almost didn’t want to use it, but the second-hand mattress was a little questionable at best. I didn’t want to sleep on it without anything.
I flipped the switch on the inside of the door to illuminate the empty space. Orion stood there... he wasn’t even looking at it. No, he was looking at me. The intensity in his eyes was enough to make my knees weak.
“Orion?” my voice shook as I spoke his name.
That seemed to snap him out of whatever spell he was under.
Orion shook his head running his fingers through the thick hair at the top before he looked over at the small window that faced out toward the street.
An ambulance went by with its siren blaring.
I belatedly wondered how much of that I would hear with the hospital that wasn’t too far away.
Then again, it was a specialty hospital, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts,” he said as he approached the little pane of glass.
“Clearly.” Okay, so it came out a little harsher than I’d intended. The guy had done a nice thing by making sure I’d gotten home okay, even went a step further when I’d tried to be a hardass about it following me to my door.
At least I hadn’t hurt his feelings. He laughed before turning to face me again.
The light from outside cast an ethereal glow on his features.
Fuck me, the man was going to make me do something stupid.
Well, no one was making me do shit. I wanted to do something stupid.
But come on, I hadn’t crossed that line for a reason.
Having the man in my personal space looking so damn adorable and unsure of himself? Yeah, he’s temptation personified.
Had he ever kissed another man?
I was assuming a lot. The ring on his finger meant he was married to a woman, that these were all new feelings for him. This was a hunch based on the way he had responded to our interactions so far.
I allowed my feet to carry me across the small kitchen so I was standing directly in front of him, craning my neck to meet his eyes.
God, Orion was beautiful.
His breathing picked up as I leaned in closer, going up on my tiptoes to place my hands on his shoulders.
His breath smelled like the beer he’d been drinking back at the club, with a hint of something else.
It wasn’t bad, whatever it was. I wanted to explore it further, to get a taste, figuring it would settle the craving I had growing in my gut.
The moment my lips landed against his, Orion gasped, but didn’t pull away. He wasn’t kissing me back either. I took it for what it was, starting to pull away only to have his big hands grab my waist, yanking me tight to his body.
Air rushed from my lungs as his lips pressed firmly against mine.
The action of the kiss wasn’t anything special outside of the pressing of lips against lips, but I’d never had a simple kiss make me see stars like this one did.
There wasn’t a chance to pull away and catch my breath because the second I opened my mouth to take that much-needed pull of air, the slick muscle of Orion’s tongue slipped past my lips.
Oh, dear fucking God, he tasted amazing. I gripped the sleeves of his shirt tightly as I held on for dear life. The man was kissing the hell out of me. I was here for it.
My feet weren’t on the ground anymore. Orion had lifted me as I wrapped my legs around him, holding me in place because I’d be damned if I would fall. I wound my arms around his neck, licking into his mouth with so much intensity that the room started to spin.
I’d completely forgotten about the need for air.
We pulled away panting—me resting my forehead against his. I refused to open my eyes. I wanted to soak in as much of the moment as possible because I’d never had someone make me feel like that before. I’d dated and fucked a lot of men, but this felt different.
“Sable?”
God, he sounded so out of breath. I still didn’t want to open my eyes or let go.
This was all so damn stupid. He was a client of the club—I shouldn’t be letting him in like this.
This was my home. Maybe that was why I was feeling all weirdly sentimental about it all.
My first night away from Anthony and I was ready to hop into bed with someone new.
Attach myself to someone and avoid the idea of living alone.
I released my legs from around Orion’s hips, sliding down his body. Fuck, the man was huge. And hard. I shivered at the feel of his aroused cock pressing into my belly. I hadn’t moved away entirely. While I was trying to be smart, he felt too good.
“I—I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry.”
Orion didn’t let me pull away. He lowered until his lips could brush against mine again, sucking what little air I’d managed to gather right back out of my lungs. It was a miracle I hadn’t passed out yet.
“You little liar,” he whispered playfully.
Of course, he saw right through me. Not that I cared as he kissed me again, making my knees feel weak. Thank fuck he was still holding onto me, because I probably would have turned into a literal puddle on the floor.
One of his big hands made its way into my hair, threading through the strands. He gripped tightly, with just enough tension. I never really had a thing for guys who liked to pull my hair, but if Orion wanted to do it, I was about at the point of letting the man do whatever he pleased.
The most awkward whimper escaped my throat as he finally released my lips, kissing down my neck, forcing my head to the side. He sucked at my skin, making me slam my eyes closed, savoring the feel of him marking me.
Fuck.
I never let anyone mark me. I was letting Orion do so damn much that most people would never get away with.
Orion growled as he suddenly yanked himself away from me, crashing back into the small counter in the kitchen.
I hadn’t had anything set out yet, so there wasn’t anything for him to knock over, but had we been back at Anthony’s place, he would have knocked over the canister of kitchen utensils.
Anthony had insisted on using these stainless steel pieces of shit that made horrible noise.
Not to mention ruining the non-stick pans I’d bought for myself as a treat once.
“I need to go.” The words were so sudden. Orion looked pained as he said them. His eyes were wide, wild, lips bruised, slick with spit—I wanted to jump on him and kiss him again. Prevent him from leaving me here because for the first time today, I didn’t want to be alone.
Before I could say anything, Orion peeled out of my kitchen and out my front door.
I followed him, but by the time I got to the front door that he’d left wide open, he was already down the stairs halfway across the parking lot.
There was no point in trying to stop him.
I wasn’t the person to ever force someone to do anything they were uncomfortable with, but damn.
Why did the best kiss of my life have to come from a man who was already married?