Page 37 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
ORION
E mber’s lips part on the declaration I never intended to let slip tonight, but it doesn’t matter. Before, I was scared I would send her running for the hills if I came on strongly. But now I suspect we’d both like the chase.
I give her a few seconds to think through what I’ve just said, to consider the implications of what that would mean for her, even without her knowing my true identity.
As soon as she finds out I’m the man who killed her brother, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll kick and scream and try to kill me, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
If I have it my way, I’ll have her tied to me in every way possible before she finds out, making it impossible for her to live without me.
“I gave you an order, Ember, and I don’t like repeating myself,” I rumble.
Her tentative fingers slip between her thighs over her panties, accentuating the growing wet patch on the lacy fabric, and I barely swallow down my groan.
This will be a test in patience for the both of us.
A soft moan tumbles from her lips, and I drag my eyes back up her body to her face, where her eyes have slipped closed. Ordinarily, I would demand her eyes remain on me at all times, but for right now, this suits my agenda just fine.
I want to watch her without the vulnerability slipping in. I didn’t miss the way she waited for me to acknowledge her scars. I didn’t miss how she hesitantly dropped her dress, as if she expected me to walk out the door once I knew she self-harmed.
Soon, she’ll realize the devil himself couldn’t convince me to walk out that door.
“Good girl,” I murmur. “Now your rules. You are not to come without my explicit permission. I don’t care if I’ve had you dancing on the edge of oblivion for hours.
If I don’t give you permission to come, you don’t come.
And believe me when I say you won’t like the consequences if you break that rule. ”
Her eyes snap open, and her lips part as if she’s about to argue, but they fall shut as she takes in how serious I am.
“That also means you don’t touch your pretty pussy unless I tell you to. It’s mine now, and that means I’m in charge of who touches it and when.”
“Orion—” She starts, but I give her a swift shake of the head.
“I’m not finished, Little Flame.”
She rolls her lips together and lets out an annoyed huff but doesn’t continue with whatever argument she was about to throw my way. Her fingers have stopped moving, and I cut her with a lethal stare.
“Did I tell you to stop, Ember?”
“No,” she whispers and quickly starts circling her clit through the lace again.
“Good girl,” I praise, and her cheeks heat at the words. Good to know she likes being praised as much as I’m sure I’ll like praising her.
My palms twitch to touch her, to slide up her legs to the paradise she’s hiding beneath the barely there thong I bought for her.
And fuck, I never knew how heady it would be to see her wear the clothes I picked out.
To see her face light up through the cameras as she picked each item out of the box.
If there’s a gift-giving kink, I think I might have it.
I shake my head to clear the fog of need that continues to roll through me before continuing. “I want to know where you are at all times.”
“That’s not?—”
“What did I say?” I snap, slapping my palm down on her bare thigh to punctuate the point, and a soft moan tumbles from her lips. How did I know my little flame would like a bite of pain with her pleasure?
“Sorry,” she whispers. “It’s just…there’s things you don’t know about me, things that mean I can’t tell you where I am at all times.”
I sigh, allowing my shoulders to relax slightly and my face to soften. Apart from that first night at the club, we haven’t discussed her work, and perhaps that was a mistake. “I know what you do for Lucas, Ember. I’ve known since the first time we met.”
Her lips part in surprise before confusion fills her gaze. “And you’re okay with that?”
I chuckle, brushing my fingers down her calf in a moment of weakness. Touching her only makes dragging this out harder, but I can’t help myself. I need to feel her softness beneath my palms to remind myself that it’s finally happening.
After months of being patient, it’s finally time to make my sweet Ember the queen I’ve always dreamed of having by my side.
“We all have darkness living inside us, Ember. We all do things that some would consider wrong in order to survive. Who am I to judge you?”
“But aren’t you worried I’ll steal from you?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Little Flame, you can take whatever the fuck you want from me as long as you’re mine.
” The words slip from my lips without thought, but she has no fucking idea how true they are.
I’d burn my entire empire to the ground if she asked me to.
I’d spend every single dollar I’ve ever made to make her smile.
And I’d kill every single asshole who has ever made her cry without hesitation.
Her throat bobs with emotion, and it occurs to me that perhaps I shouldn’t have been so frank with her about how our relationship is going to progress from here. She’s still a flight risk, but I can’t seem to help myself when Ember is concerned.
“Now, I believe I gave you a job while I give you the rest of your rules.”
Ember drags her bottom lip between her teeth but doesn’t hesitate to start working herself over in tight circles.
“My good girl,” I murmur, holding her eyes.
“On top of wanting to know where you are at all times, I will also be assigning you a security detail.” I hold my hand up when she opens her mouth to argue.
This fucking woman is going the right way for the spanking of her life if she interrupts me again.
“It’s nonnegotiable, Ember. I have many enemies, and I will not risk you being hurt when word gets out that you’re mine.
” I’m barely holding onto the farce that my life as an entrepreneur is the reason for the danger, but I’m not ready to drop the curtain just yet.
Once she’s locked in my penthouse with no way to escape me, maybe I’ll come clean about who I really am.
She glares at me through thick lashes, but doesn’t argue. I’m sure she’ll try to get out of most of these rules as soon as her pleasure is no longer on the line, but she’ll quickly find I’m serious about every single one.
“If I give you an order that relates to your health and safety, I expect you to follow it without hesitation or argument. Your fire is one of the things that drew me to you, but I’m not willing to risk your safety for anything.”
She nods as a soft moan slips from her lips, and I find my eyes dropping to her parted thighs without conscious thought. Fuck, she’s tempting. Like a siren calling to a sailor on the shore, I’m no more capable of fighting my need for her.
“Are you close, Ember?”
“Yes,” she whispers as her back arches off the bed slightly, her hips moving of their own accord.
“No coming,” I command as I round the edge of the bed.
I slowly undo my tie, dropping the silk to the mattress before working on the buttons of my shirt.
Ember tracks my every move, moving from button to button as I undress so slowly it’s maddening for us both.
Her chest heaves as a delicate flush moves over the soft skin and up her throat. Jesus, she’s so fucking pretty I can barely handle it.
“Just one more rule for right now, Little Flame,” I murmur.
I drop my shirt off my shoulders, uncovering my tattooed chest, and she drinks me in with hunger.
I kneel on the edge of the bed and brush my fingers over the littering of scars across the tops of her thighs, and her breath catches in her throat as fear creeps into the edges of her gaze.
“If you feel the urge to hurt yourself from now on, I want you to tell me.”
This time, she doesn’t look like she wants to argue.
Instead, she wants to run. It’s obvious in how her fingers slow and the blush I’ve become so addicted to recedes slightly, making way for the shame that fills her eyes.
“I understand better than most the need to have control of my pain, but I can’t cope with the idea of you hurting on your own.
” The words are a whispered confession. “Let me help you channel your pain, Little Flame. Let me help you.” It’s a plea more than it is a command.
This is just one of the many ways I’m desperate to care for her, but first I need her to let me.