Page 29 of While She Sleeps

Before my eyes can adjust and pinpoint Orion’s form in the corner of the room, his hands grip my hips and tug me onto his lap, leaving little room for arguments.

He buries his face into my neck, and if I’m not mistaken, he sucks in a deep breath of me.

“I missed you, Little Flame,” he murmurs against my skin, and I melt into his warm embrace.

Perhaps I should be weirded out by this entire interaction, especially because I don’t even know what he looks like, but I’m not. There’s something so safe about being in his arms, and if I’m honest with myself, I missed him a little too.

Okay, maybe it was more than a little.

Those nights in the dark, where I could just relax and allow some of my strength to waver, have given me the ability to get through some of the darker times over the last month.

“We’re not supposed to be doing this anymore,” I remind him.

He chuckles. “Certainly not by my choice.” He tugs me harder against him, and I allow him to position me however he chooses. There’s something inherently comforting about giving someone else control, especially when you’ve been making the decisions alone for so long. “I was worried about you,” he admits.

“About me?” I ask incredulously.

He nods, and his stubble moves across my cheek. “The way you ran out of here last week after being so distraught.” He pauses as his body tenses beneath me. “If I thought you wouldn’t call the cops on me, I probably would have followed you home. Or at the very least, hired you some security.”

It’s my turn to laugh, because the idea of this rich, powerful man doing either of those things is preposterous, but then I realize he’s not laughing, nor was there any hint of a joke in his tone.

“That would have been unnecessary,” I murmur.

“I find nothing is unnecessary when it comes to keeping the things I care about safe.”

My heart stutters in my chest, but I can’t allow myself to believe his words. I can’t allow myself to feel anything for anyone right now, and maybe ever.

Not now that I know how much it hurts to lose everything.

His hands are firm around me, but instead of feeling trapped or panicked, I feel safe. Safer than I’ve ever felt in my life, if I’m really honest with myself.

“Are you feeling better? After last week?” His words cut through the otherwise quiet room. Faint music drifts beneath the door from the rest of the club, but it feels like a world away. Orion and I are in our own little bubble in the darkness, and it’s the most at home I’ve felt since my brother died.

I nibble at my lower lip, considering my answer. I could lie. Hell, I should lie. But there’s something about this man that makes me want to tell him the truth.

“Not really,” I whisper. “This year has been…hard. My brother and I were alone all our lives. Our parents surrendered us to foster care when I was so young I don’t even remember them, and then we bounced around in foster care. We got lucky in some ways, never being split up, but that’s pretty much where our luck began and ended. When Travis was old enough to protect me on the streets, we ran from our last home, and he did just that. He protected me. He did everything he could to keep me safe.” I pause as I desperately try to keep hold of myself. The last thing I need is to fall apart in the man’s arms…again. “When our car went off the edge of the road, I lost consciousness. Or at least that’s what the doctors think, because I have no memory of being pulled from the wreckage. Travis was always saving me, and the one time I could have repaid him, the one time I maybe could have returned the favor, I was so out of it I can’t remember it almost a year later.”

“Ember, you have to know that’s not your fault. If you hit your head in the accident, you’re not to blame for not being able to save him.” Orion’s words are so full of confidence that I almost believe them. If only I hadn’t spent months convincing myself of the opposite.

I sigh and press my face against his warm chest. My mind is screaming at me not to get too comfortable, not to get used to having someone to comfort me, but my heart longs for it. For the safety. For the warmth. For the care that he’s showing me. For the emotion that bursts to life every time he touches me. “Logically, I know that. But it’s not as simple as just accepting it. Or at least that’s what my therapist says.” I half laugh, but there’s no humor in the sound.

“Sounds to me like you need someone to remind you a little more regularly.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ORION

Of course I knew she was in therapy. I’ve watched her tracker go there once a week since I installed it.

And yet the idea of her leaning on anyone other than me has anger bubbling to the surface. I need to get a fucking grip.

“Can I ask you something?” she murmurs.

“Of course.”

“Why do you keep paying so much to sit in a dark room with me? From what I understand from Lucas, you’re a pretty sought after bachelor. I’m sure you don’t need to pay for company.” There’s a vulnerability in her voice that makes me hold her against me a little tighter as I consider my answer.

It was inevitable she would ask, eventually. I may have gained the reputation of being a bit of a hermit, only attending events for a short time before I slip out, but it’s also given me the title of mysterious bachelor, when really, I just have better shit to do than watch LA’s socialites fall over themselves to get to me. Unfortunately, the legitimate side of my business is necessary. When you deal in the quantities I do, there’s a whole lot of cash to launder, and to do that, you need your finger in a lot of pies.

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