Page 58 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

EMBER

I escape the kitchen as soon as I can, telling Orion I need a shower and locking the door behind me.

I’m under no illusions that he can’t get into the bathroom if he wants to, but I’m hoping the unspoken request for privacy is enough that he leaves me be for a while.

I turn the shower on as hot as my hand can handle and make quick work of stripping out of my clothes. I’m so ready for this shower because I’m fucking gross.

The mixture of mine and Orion’s cum is still dried on the insides of my thighs because I was too tired last night to do a thorough job of cleaning up, and in the time since my last shower someone has attempted to kidnap me and someone else has trashed my apartment.

Yeah, it’s been a really fucking long twenty-four hours.

The moment I step into the steaming hot water, I tip my head back and allow it to soak through my hair. The best part of having shoulder-length hair is that it’s easy to dry and style, which means I’ve never had to stick to a strict hair wash schedule.

I scrub my body and hair twice to rid myself of the lingering feeling of filth on my skin before leaning against the wall to give myself time to breathe.

A few weeks ago, I was a thief with PTSD and a mountain of debt to a man that was more than happy to exploit me for every dollar I’m worth.

And now I’m…I don’t even know what I am.

I’m overwhelmed for sure. I’m exhausted and scared.

But I’m also pretty sure I’m falling in love with Orion, and the thought of that is fucking terrifying.

I’ve never loved anyone aside from my brother.

I’ve never even had close friends that I could say I loved.

The feeling is foreign and terrifying. But it’s also warm and all-consuming.

Orion makes me feel safe even when I’m not.

Even as my entire world falls apart, it doesn’t feel so bad because I have him holding my hand.

“Fuck,” I whisper into the streaming water. This could go one of two ways, and I hate to think how broken I’ll be if he decides this is all too much for him.

Which he won’t, right?

I mean, he has a closet full of clothes he’s purchased for me. He’s been seemingly all in from the start, even when I was hesitant to continue things between us.

I guess only time will tell if I’ll finally get a happily ever after or if my life is about to hit an all new low.

L iving with Orion is surprisingly easy.

He cooks, cleans up after himself, and I haven’t walked into a bathroom to find the seat up once in the week I’ve been here.

Not that I’ve admitted that I live here to him.

He’s adamant that I’m staying, so much so that he still has all kinds of crazy security measures to make sure I can’t leave without his knowledge, but I understand it more and more each day.

I need to deal with Lucas, but right now I’m just giving him daily updates on my search for the Hunter, which include much more theory than fact.

Because honestly, I’m enjoying just being for the first time in my life.

I don’t have to hustle. I don’t have to put in crazy hours on recon for a job. I can just binge-watch stupid television shows and spend time with the man that I get more and more confident I’m in love with, with each day that passes.

Truthfully, Orion makes it really fucking easy to love him, and I can’t remember a time I was this happy.

I nibble at my bottom lip as I look over the dresses hanging in the closet. I’m still overwhelmed every time I step foot in here, but it also always has butterflies fluttering in my stomach at the thought that Orion bought these things for me.

“What are you up to, Little Flame?” he asks from the doorway, his eyes tracking over my almost naked body. So far, I’ve only managed to settle on a lacy black thong.

“I need to meet with Lucas, and then I have an appointment I need to go to,” I tell him, forcing myself back to the task at hand. Maybe I should wear jeans instead. After avoiding him for over a week, I’m probably better off in something like that.

I step further into the deep closet and pull open the drawer I’m pretty sure the jeans live in. Where I’ve always only had a pair, maybe two, of worn, usually thrifted jeans, I now have seven pairs. Yep, I counted them because I couldn’t quite believe my eyes.

“No,” he rumbles.

“Excuse me?” I raise a brow at him. His frown and the concern swirling in his eyes has been enough to stop me from leaving every other time I’ve floated the idea, but I can’t put it off forever.

I have to show my face, or Lucas is going to demand I pay up the remaining balance on the loan, and I can’t afford that right now.

Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.

“I said no, Ember.” He prowls toward me like a lion stalking his prey, and I realize too late that I’m exactly that.

“Orion,” I warn, but in my next breath, his body presses mine against the drawers, effectively trapping me.

“It’s not safe for you to be out on your own, Little Flame.

” The worry in his voice strikes me in the chest, and I soften slightly.

As controlling and manipulative as he’s been, I can tell it’s only because he’s scared for me.

I don’t think it will always be like this, but I also can’t allow it to set a precedent for the future.

If this relationship is going to work, I need for him to let me make decisions for myself.

I sigh. “I can’t stay locked up in this apartment forever, Orion.

I need to live my life. I’ve spent so long living in fear, and I don’t want to do that anymore.

I want to get back to being who I was before the accident.

” The words hurt, but that doesn’t make them any less true.

I’m not so na?ve as to think that I’ll ever be the person I was before I lost my brother.

She died right alongside him. But I can try to get pieces of her back.

He looks like he wants to argue, and I’m sure he does. He doesn’t know how to relinquish control any more than I know how to allow others to help me. It’s ingrained in our very beings. But I need this.

“I don’t like the idea.”

“I know.”

“But you’re going to go regardless, aren’t you?”

I nod. “Yeah, I am.”

Realistically, I need him to okay this because he still has a code on the elevator, and I don’t feel like setting the penthouse on fire in order to get out on my own, but I also want him to recognize that this is my decision to make.

“Okay, you can go. But I’m coming with you.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You can’t come with me every time I step foot out of this apartment. That’s not practical, and you have better things to do than follow me around all day, every day.”

“There’s nothing I’d rather do than follow you around, Ember.”

“That’s just because you want to look at my ass.” I smirk.

“You’re damn right.” He chuckles, but the amusement falls away a moment later. “Fine, but I want to know where you are at all times. I want updates every ten minutes so I know you’re safe, and I want you to allow Killian to go with you.”

Just his name makes my chest go tight, but I force my face to remain neutral. I’ve watched the security footage twice through, and although it’s clear that he works for the Hunter, I couldn’t see who they were meeting with because they were out of frame.

But he is my key to finding out more about his other boss, so maybe a day with him wouldn’t be so bad.

“Okay,” I whisper. “But maybe we could stretch the check-ins a little. I don’t know how my therapist is going to feel about that.”

He sighs, reaching out to brush a stray hair from my cheek. “Fine. Ten minutes while you’re with Lucas, but for your appointment, I’ll stretch it to twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.” I smile up at him. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but the fact that a man like Orion is willing to make concessions and compromise with me makes all the red flags in our relationship lose some of their color.