Page 168 of Burning Ember

“Fuck,” Mav growls. His body closes in around mine and shields me. He turns his head toward whoever’s talking as I bury my face in his neck. “Whiz, what the fuck man? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“We got a problem.”

“Then get someone else to handle it.”

“No. It needs to be you.”

Mav groans. “Does it need to be dealt with right this fuckin’ second?”

There’s a weighty pause. “Yeah. It does.”

I can’t help it. I giggle. Mav bites my ear, grabs my ass, and pushes the tip of his cock inside me. My breath stutters in my lungs and the strangest thing happens. The massive heat we shared a moment ago instantly returns. I whimper and cling to him.

“You think this is funny,” he whispers into my ear. “I want to fuck your goddamn brains out and they’re cock blockin’ me.”

Then another voice, Taz’s says, “Brother, you’re gonna want to see this.”

As Mav slowly slides deeper, he asks, “Is it life or death? Because if you stop me from fuckin’ my old lady right now, and it’s not life or death, it will be.”

“Trust me, brother. You’ll thank me later for stoppin’ you.”

Mav sinks to the hilt and bites my neck and I nearly come apart. “Christ, Doll. You feel like home.”

Then he’s retreating and pulling out of me, while mumbling obscenities under his breath. I quickly push down my skirt. Mav smirks at me as he tucks himself back into his jeans and buckles his belt.

Pulling out his keys, he lays them in my hand. “Wait for me. Don’t you dare touch yourself until I get back.” He takes a couple of steps backward toward his brothers, and adds, “We’re gonna finish this just as soon as I deal with whatever’s goin’ on.”

My body is keyed up though, and the temptation to torture him further is too appealing. “Depends on how long you’re going to be. What if it takes hours? I don’t think I can wait that long.”

He stops and comes back to me, threads his fingers through the back of my hair and using his torso, pins me to the wall again.

He kisses me once, only a peck, but it’s a brand on my mouth that’s going to leave my lips definitely swollen, maybe even bruised.

“Doll.” He brushes my bangs out of my eyes. “Let me put it this way. If you come without me buried inside you, I’m gonna know, and I swear to God above, I’m gonna spank your ass.”

Mav’s room is bare, as bare as the last time I was here. A few knickknacks are lying around, but mostly he has only the necessities—a bed, dresser, side table, and lamp. All lackluster and drab compared to the décor and furniture in his new home.

And just think, he’s lived like this for nine years.

The thought is actually kind of depressing.

Maybe at twenty-four it was everything he wanted. A place to sleep, a group of friends to party with and look out for one another, all the booze he could drink, and women ready for it at the crook of his finger. But over time, I can see how it would all become too impersonal.

Especially for a man who designs homes for a living.

He has a good heart. Of course, he’d eventually want more than this.

With nothing to do except wait for Mav, I sit on the bed, pull out my phone, and try Sunny a few more times, muttering, “Come on . . . come on . . . pick up.” But each time it goes to voicemail. I send another text with the same message as the last one, and wait.

Bored, my mind wanders. Tonight’s events replay themselves in my head, and when that only ends up getting me all hot and bothered all over again, I distract myself by snooping through his dresser.

I find only the basics. So I collect a T-shirt, and some boxers from the drawer. Might as well shower and wash the smell of smoke from my hair and skin while I wait. If Mav comes back soon, hopefully, he’ll take the steam billowing out of the bathroom as an invitation to join me.

But no such luck.

I dress and comb my hair, then walk back into his room. But right away, something feels off. It takes me a second to realize what it is. The light that I left on is off. The room is bathed in moonlight and the bathroom light coming from behind me.

Goosebumps break out across my arms and neck, and my eyes do a quick search of the dim room. But it looks as it did before. Empty.