Page 73 of Tarnished Embers

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER…

Fuck me, it’s felt like a long time since I could properly wrap my arms around Ember without the feeling of eyes watching us. Not that it stopped us from being affectionate with her, but we couldn’t worship her the way we’d wanted, the way she deserved.

Davis pulls the car to a stop outside the old building that is Serene Haven, and my heart pounds inside my chest. She’s coming home, and boy, do we have a surprise for her.

Prince’s leg bounces up and down as we wait for Davis to park, and I interlace our fingers. He turns to me, giving me a small smile that sets my soul alight. Although we’ve sought comfort in hugs and hand holding, we haven’t touched each other sexually since Ember was committed. It just didn’t feel right anymore, not without her in the middle.

Prince was released after hours of questioning, the police satisfied that what happened to Odette was an unfortunate accident and nothing more. We didn’t tell them how relieved we all felt that she was dead, like a weight was lifted from our shoulders and we could finally breathe easy.

We’ve kept a close eye on Prince, she was his mother after all and he was instrumental in her death, but he seems at peace, and we’ve all been seeing a therapist who has been helping us to get over all the shit during our time with Odette.

There’s definitely a feeling of lightness that surrounds us now, and we laugh more than we ever have before.

I’m jolted from my thoughts as the car comes to a stop, and then Cas is opening the door and we’re all rushing out, laughing as we push and shove each other out of the way.

“You boys are terrible,” a laughing voice teases, and my head snaps up, my breath catching in my chest at the sight of Ember standing on the steps, her bags by her side, with Julia, ours and Ember’s therapist, beside her.

“Little Sis!” I yell, rushing over and leaping up the stairs before drawing her into my arms and spinning her around. Her giggles are like music to my fucking ears, something in my very soul mending at having her finally coming home.

“Oct! You just saw me yesterday!” she exclaims, but there’s joy in her tone as I lower her down and plant my lips on hers. She melts into me then, her arms wrapping around my neck as I pull her closer, losing myself in her softness.

She’s fucking everything, so full of light that she shares freely, and I bask in her glow.

“Quit hogging her, bro,” Kit grumbles from behind Ember, and she pulls away, her smile so wide that my tingling lips immediately copy her.

“Sharing is caring, bro,” I tease back, and he tugs her from my arms with a growl, wasting no time in diving in for a kiss of his own. Fuck me, it’s hot, full of possessive fire and a love so fierce that it would set the world alight.

He stops the kiss as abruptly as he started it, and Ember’s shoulders heaves with her rapid breaths.

“Hey, Pretty Thing,” he rasps out, his voice all husky, and I grin when a shiver cascades down her body.

“Hi,” she breathes back, her face still tilted up to his.

“Stand aside and let me give our girl a proper welcome,” Cas jokes, pulling her from Kit’s grasp and tugging her into his own.

He teases her lips, peppering them with kisses until she makes the most delicious mewling sound, then with a smirk, he closes the small distance and kisses her properly. My cock thickens in my jeans, knowing how fucking good his lips feel, how amazing hers feel too, and wishing I was in that sandwich.

Plenty of time for that later. We have some christening to do after all.

Cas ends their embrace with more teasing kisses, and by the time he finally pulls away, she’s breathless, her cheeks flushed. “Ready to come home, Cinders?” he asks in a husky tone, and I know that he’s probably sporting a semi of his own.

“Almost,” she whispers back, stepping away from him and turning to face Prince. “Hello, Prince.”

“Hello, Sugar,” he replies, his face breaking into a sexy as fuck smile, which only grows as she goes to him, wrapping her arms around him and placing her lips against his.

After he was released from the cops, he came straight here, visiting her for hours, and when he returned home, he was like a new man. Like all the worry and burden had been lifted.

His hands come up to cup either side of her face, his mouth slanted over hers as he practically inhales her in, and she clings to him like he’s the thing that’s keeping her here. I don’t care who tethers her to this world, because as long as she never leaves it, I’m happy.

“I’ll be seeing you all for your regular fortnightly sessions, Oct,” Julia tells me, coming up next to me and watching Ember and Prince with a smile. “She’s ready, and with all of you around I’ve no doubt she’ll have her hands full.” She chuckles and I give her a wide-eyed, innocent look.

“I suppose we are quite ahandful, Julia,” I tease, and she scoffs, turning to face me before patting me on the cheek.

“Rogue.”

She’s been helping us deal with all the trauma and finding ways to manage our feelings over everything that happened as well as coping mechanisms. She’s also completely supportive of our unconventional relationship.

I help Davis load Ember’s belongings into the car, Prince finally releasing her so she can say goodbye to Julia, then we’re all piling back in and driving away, our girl in between Kit and I as we won the game of rock, paper scissors when we were trying to decide who got to sit with her.

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