Page 78 of While She Sleeps

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 ofunexpected 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’snot 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.

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