Page 36 of While He Breathes

I chuckle. “If you choose to disobey me, if you choose to run off, you will be punished. Your orgasms will be denied or ruined, you’ll find yourself tied to the bed until I’m sure I can trust you, and your ass will be permanently pink from the spankings you’ll receive. Do you understand?”

She glares across the car at me but nods once, confirming she understands the consequences.

“Good.” I swing my door open and hold my hand out to her.

She takes it reluctantly and tries to tug it away once we’re both outside the car, but I hold on tight. She had her chance to have a healthy space between us, but then she ran off to another city and had me worried sick for months.

Now she’s going to learn what happens when you run from a man like me.

The elevator ride is quiet, and once we’re in the apartment, she tries to head for the bedroom, but I tug her back against me.

“Where do you think you’re going, Ember?”

“To the bathroom.”

“No.”

“No?” Her brows rise. “What the fuck do you mean, no?”

I sigh. “I’m certain you’ve heard the word before and know the meaning. I’m sure I don’t need to explain it to you.”

Something between a growl and a huff escapes her throat as she tugs at the hand I’m still holding. “I know what the word no means, Orion. I wanted to know what on earth gave you the idea that you would have any say about whether or not I use the restroom.”

“We’re going to have some new rules, Ember, and I have a feeling you’re not going to be much of a fan of them. But you should have thought of that before you ran.”

“Rules?”

“Yes, rules. Number one is that there will be no closed doors between us. At all. If you need to use the bathroom, you’ll do so with the door ajar. If you need to get changed, you’ll do it in the bedroom. If you need to take a call, you’ll do it where I can see you.”

Her mouth drops open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I am most definitely not kidding you, Ember. Perhaps once I know I can trust you again, I’ll become more lenient on some of these, but until then, I suggest you get used to peeing with the door open.”

“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” she mutters.

“Oh, you have no idea, Little Flame. You thought I was unhinged and unreasonable before? You’re about to learn exactly what unhinged and unreasonable look like.”

She considers me for a moment before tugging at my hand and dragging me toward the couch.

Without missing a beat, she turns the television on and flicks through the channels until she finds the one dedicated to rom-com movies.

“Take a seat, Orion.” She nods to the space beside her, and I chuckle.

This should be fun.

CHAPTER TWENTY

EMBER

Two rom-coms and five episodes of some housewife reality television show, and I’m the one who cracks.

Orion has sat beside me the whole time, his eyes either glued to me or the TV, never so much as reaching for his phone.

I really thought this would break him and he’d go to his office to do some work or something, but it seems as if he wins this round.

I reach for the remote to turn the TV off.

“What now, Little Flame?”