Page 49 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
ORION
I t’s in Ember’s nature to run.
It’s what she’s been doing her whole life.
And I can’t say I blame her. Today was a shit show of epic proportions.
She left her apartment thinking the hardest thing she was going to do all day was to try to convince my stubborn ass that things couldn’t work out between us.
Then she was chased down by thugs in a van, and her apartment was trashed.
Killian is working on tracking down whoever is responsible for both stunts, but that leaves me to wrangle the woman who is trying to escape.
She stares at me, her lips parted in surprise, but I don’t miss the blush that moves over her cheeks and down her neck.
Yeah, my girl likes the idea of being chased.
Me too, baby. Me too.
But that’s a thought for later. First, I need to make sure she’s safe and ensure she’s not going to continue trying to escape.
I don’t want to frighten her, but I will if it means keeping her here with me.
Before she can think to move, I drop my shoulder and toss her over it, eliciting a startled yelp from her throat.
I move further into the penthouse to the hallway I haven’t bothered showing her yet and straight into my bedroom.
It’s not until I reach the bed that I throw her into the center, allowing my eyes to move over her gorgeous body.
She’s still wearing the summer dress from earlier, but now it’s sleep rumpled and barely covering her panties.
The bust is skewed, and if I look hard enough, I can see the edge of one of her nipples.
Without thinking, I lean forward and grip the material of the dress, tugging it until the thin cotton gives way and tears straight from her body.
“Orion, what the fuck?” she snaps, batting at my hand as if it’s going to do anything to save her.
“I have like three items of clothing, and you go ahead and tear it?” The anger blazing in her eyes is a far cry from the dejected look she had all afternoon, and I’d much rather her anger than the soul-destroying pain she was in earlier.
“I’ll buy you another dress,” I rumble. If she opens the closet on the left side of the bed, she’ll find it fully stocked for her already, but for now, I keep that piece of information to myself.
And if she doesn’t like the things I’ve bought, she can take my credit card and buy whatever the fuck she wants.
I have more money than I could spend in a hundred lifetimes, so it might be fun to see her try.
“That’s not the point,” she growls, her eyes darting around the room for an escape.
But there isn’t one.
I shove the ruined material off her shoulders, leaving her in nothing but a skimpy pair of soft pink panties. “Did you wear these for me, Little Flame?” I murmur a moment before they meet the same fate the dress did.
So quickly, neither of us seems to realize what’s happening, her hand shoots out and slaps against my cheek. The burst of unexpected pain startles me for a second before I snap my eyes to hers, full of surprise, like she can’t quite believe she did that.
If only she knew who I really was. She’d be fucking terrified.
But she has no reason to fear me.
Not now. Not ever.
I’d never hurt her in a way she didn’t enjoy. I just have to make her see that.
Without missing a beat, I crawl up the mattress over her, forcing her to fall back against the mattress.
“You gotta stop trying to run, Little Flame,” I murmur. I drop my face until our breaths mingle, and her tempting, lush lips are so close I can almost taste them.
“I can’t stay here, Orion. It’s not fair to you.
You don’t need me fucking up your life.” There’s a sadness in her voice that tugs at the part of me I thought died when I was a kid.
The thing most people would call a soul.
I fucking hate the idea of Ember being sad, or scared, or hurt, but the reality is, that’s all she’s ever really known.
I’m sure there are happy times in there somewhere, but for the most part, she’s just been trying to survive. I want her to know that ends now.
Because I want to make sure she thrives.
“You will stay here, Ember, and I’m not accepting any arguments you’re going to throw my way.”
“You’re being unreasonable.” Her tiny hands come up to my chest and try to shove me away, but I don’t budge. I have no doubt she could put most men on their asses, but I very much doubt I’m one of them.
“Do I strike you as a reasonable man?” I raise a brow. “Or do I seem like a man who gets what I want, when I want it?”
She huffs, but her arguments die on her lips when I press mine against her throat. A soft moan escapes, and I smirk against her impossibly soft skin. She may try to fight, but she’s not going anywhere, even if I need to use her body’s need for me to my advantage.
I shift slightly, hooking an arm around the back of her knee and forcing it up so I can seat myself between her thighs.
She rubs her hot pussy against the bulge in my lounge pants, and I curse myself for not planning ahead. I should have stripped before I crawled over her, but I was too desperate to pin her to the mattress, to hold her exactly where I want her.
“You can’t use sex to get your way,” she moans, but the fight is gone from her eyes.
I chuckle. “I can, and I will.” I slip a hand between our bodies and brush my fingers through her wetness. “Fuck, you’re so ready for me, aren’t you, baby?” I nip at her throat, and her hips jerk up to meet my touch. “Are you sore?”
I wasn’t exactly gentle with her last night, and even if she has played with those toys on occasion, she probably hasn’t for such an extended amount of time.
Ember nibbles at her bottom lip and nods. “A little.”
I wish I could tell her I’m not going to fuck her, but I don’t want to lie to her any more than I have to, and right now, keeping my identity a secret is enough.
“Hands on the pillows. Do not move them.”
There’s no hesitation in her movements as she does exactly as I’ve instructed, her eyes flaring with heat that matches what’s burning in my chest.
Fuck, she’s so beautiful when she submits to me.
Once her hands are fisted in the pillows, I drag my body down hers, licking and sucking at the soft skin of her throat, her breasts, her hips, until she’s writhing beneath me like I’ve been tormenting her for hours.
My little flame is a little too receptive to me, it seems.
“What are your rules, Ember?”
“I’m not allowed to come without permission,” she breathes.
“And?”
“I need to do everything you tell me without hesitation.”
“Good girl.”
A shiver of desire moves through her, and I don’t bother hiding the smirk that tugs at my lips. I fucking love how she responds to those words on my lips.
I press gentle kisses along her upper thighs, not following a set path. Sometimes, so close to her pussy I can almost taste her, and other times nowhere near where either of us want me.
“Has anyone ever eaten your pretty cunt, Ember?”
“No,” she whispers. “No one but you and me has ever made me come.”
I chuckle. “Sadly, that wouldn’t surprise me even if you’d had multiple partners between these silky thighs.” But I’m fucking glad no one was here before me, because they’d probably have to die.
As it is, I’m pretty sure there are men that will be on my hit list for feeling her lips around their tiny cocks before me, but alas, that’s a problem for another day.
“Orion,” Ember moans. “Please, I need you.”
I blow softly against her aching core, and her hips lift from the mattress. Ideally, I’d like to tie her up for this, but right now that’s the worst thing I could do. I need her to see just how badly she wants to do as I say, including when I tell her she’s staying with me forever.
“Mmm, I’m sure you do. I’m sure you’re aching so badly. But the thing is, you promised you wouldn’t run from me. Remember? You were so close to the edge, mindless with the pleasure I was giving you. And you swore you wouldn’t run from me. But what did you do?”
“I ran,” she whispers.
I nod, swiping my tongue along the juncture of her thigh and pussy.
“Indeed, you did. Multiple times, in fact. This morning you were putting distance between us, and then again tonight, sneaking out while I slept.” I shake my head disapprovingly.
“But here’s the thing, Little Flame. I have no intention of letting you go. Ever.”