Page 36 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
EMBER
T his is not going to plan at all.
I thought I’d be able to say goodbye to Orion out on the street. Tell him dinner was lovely, thank him for the meal and the gifts, and then tell him I wasn’t interested in taking things further.
A lie, of course. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t want to have a relationship with this man?
But that’s not in the cards for me. Not because I don’t want it, because I do.
Fuck, do I want everything he’s offering.
But I’m too broken. I’m nothing but shattered pieces of the woman I was before the accident, and I don’t want him to cut himself on my jagged edges.
And yet here I am, trapped between Orion’s hard body and the edge of my dining table, being devoured in a way I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from.
Yeah, this did not go to plan.
A moan slips from my throat as he flexes his grip around my throat, restricting my airflow enough that the heat in my core intensifies to the point I think I’m about to spontaneously combust. That’s not a thing, right?
His tongue drags along my bottom lip, giving me enough of a reprieve to drag in a frantic breath, but then he’s staring down at me with haunting dark eyes, searching mine for something I’m not sure he’s going to find.
I swallow, and his eyes flare, dropping to where his hand is resting.
“You’re too fucking tempting, Little Flame,” he murmurs, almost to himself, and my breath catches. I’m as scared he’s going to walk away as I am that he’ll continue. Because if we take this step, if I let him have my body, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to walk away from him.
My resolve is wavering with every second he touches me, and I’m certain no woman is immune to his allure.
“Maybe we should slow down,” I force out, but each word is like ash on my tongue.
His eyes flare with amusement as a deep chuckle fills the space between us. “I don’t think so, Ember. Not before I show you all the reasons you shouldn’t run the way I know you’re desperate to.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Normally, I’m pretty good at hiding my emotions. The wall I’ve built between myself and the rest of the world is sky high at the best of times. So…how the hell does Orion see straight through it?
He dips his head and nips at my bottom lip. “Now we can do this one of two ways. Either you can walk your sexy ass over to the bed and strip for me, or I’m more than happy to slice that pretty dress off your body.”
As if to punctuate his point, he tugs a pocketknife from his pocket, and my eyes widen. I shake my head immediately, because this dress cost more than I’ll make in a month, maybe two, and if shit goes south, selling it might get me enough to skip town.
With one last drag of his teeth over my bottom lip, he steps back and grasps his obvious bulge through his pants, making my eyes widen all over again. God, if I let this man fuck me, he’s going to break me in half. But maybe I’d be okay with that.
I take a moment to steady myself against the edge of the table before stepping forward on shaky legs.
The ache between my thighs is so intense I’m not sure how I’ll make it to the bed without begging him to make it go away, but somehow my legs carry me across the room until I’m staring at my rumpled bedsheets.
Maybe I should have changed them this morning, knowing things could lead to this. But then I guess I was under the misguided impression that I could talk us both out of taking things any further.
Orion moves closer, his quiet steps barely registering against the linoleum flooring. How can such a big guy move so silently? And in expensive Italian shoes, no less?
The ruffle of fabric forces my feet to turn just in time to watch as he shucks his jacket and tosses it onto the armchair in the corner.
He moves to his cuff links next, unfastening them with deft fingers that already brought me unimaginable pleasure tonight.
My cheeks heat at the thought. I can’t believe I allowed him to touch me in the middle of a crowded restaurant, and I really can’t believe I came harder than I ever have in my life because of it.
Orion clears his throat, and my attention snaps up to the amused expression on his face. “I think I ordered you to strip, Little Flame,” he rumbles.
I swallow past the heavy lump in my throat and reach for the zipper at the back of the dress. Getting myself into this thing was a bit of a feat in itself, but I’m relieved when the zipper glides down with ease.
The cool air touches my bare skin, and a shiver moves down my spine at how intently Orion watches every move I make.
I take a steadying breath and carefully remove my arms from the straps, holding the top of the dress in place for a beat as I gather the confidence to drop it.
If I do this, he’ll see my scars.
He’ll know that I self-harm.
He’ll know that I’m broken.
And even though it would make things a whole hell of a lot easier if he turned around and walked out the door of his own free will, I hate the idea. I hate it so much it makes my heart ache.
I nibble at my bottom lip, trying to force words to the surface that simply don’t want to come. So instead, I drop the silky fabric, allowing it to pool at my boot-covered feet, leaving me in nothing but the strapless bra and tiny panties he picked out for me.
Orion’s hungry eyes move over every inch of my skin, not catching on the jagged scars across my thighs, or the scars from the surgery I had after the accident to save my life, and my stomach rolls at the idea that he doesn’t care that I’m not perfect. He doesn’t care that I’m a little broken.
“Fucking perfection,” he murmurs to himself as he squeezes himself through his pants again, dragging my eyes to the obscene outline of his cock again. Jesus.
He steps forward, never taking his eyes off me as he continues to peruse my almost naked body, until he’s standing right in front of me, and I have to arch my neck to look up into his eyes.
“You have no fucking idea how badly I want to ravage you, sweet Ember.” He brushes his fingers across my jaw, his touch completely at odds with the wild gleam in his eyes. “Get on the bed.”
I only hesitate for a second before doing as I’m told, slowly crawling up into the middle of the bed with what I hope is a sensual sway of my hips, before slowly moving to my back.
When I meet his eyes again, his pupils are blown and his hands are fisted at his side, as if he’s trying to stop himself from reaching for me.
“You obey so beautifully, Little Flame.” He reaches for one of my feet and slowly lowers the zipper, dragging the boot from my foot before repeating the process on the other side.
Once he’s pulled both my shoes off, he plants my feet on the bed, giving him an unobstructed view of my panty covered pussy, and he takes his time dragging his eyes over every inch of my skin with a hunger that should have me running in the opposite direction.
And yet I can barely breathe, scared he’s going to walk out the door.
His dark eyes finally meet mine, and amusement plays on his lips as he takes in my heated cheeks. “Touch your pussy for me while I go through the rules with you.”
“Rules?” I choke out the word.
“Yeah, rules.” He chuckles. “I’m a demanding man, and you’re going to learn how to be a good girl in the bedroom.”
“And outside?” I whisper, almost afraid of the answer. Things will never work if he thinks I’m going to give up who I am outside these walls. Because being a thief is all I have. It’s the only thing I’m good at, and without it, my entire identity would shatter.
“Outside these walls, you’ll be my queen.”