Page 78 of Tarnished Embers

I don’t know if he’s talking to her or me, but it has the effect of pouring gasoline onto a fire and I turn fucking feral, snarling and pounding into her so hard the whole bed shakes with the force.

She screams, her pussy clamping down just as the brush of fingers at the base of my cock sends me skyrocketing. I bury myself into her heat, my eyes closing as I explode, my release pouring inside her and filling her up alongside the twins’. My vision blurs and my pulse rings in my ears as a wave of euphoria washes over me.

Prince stiffens underneath her, his deep groan telling me he, too, just found nirvana, and I open my eyes to see his face creased in beautiful agony as he comes.

We remain locked together for several moments, our chests heaving and sweat dripping off our bodies.

“You really are so fucking perfect, Cinders,” I whisper against her ear, placing a kiss just below it and then rolling off her, shuddering when I slip free of her slick channel.

“I love you, all of you,” she answers sleepily back, taking in a sharp breath when Prince pulls out and shuffles her off him to the side, only to wrap her in his arms from behind.

“And we love you, Ember,” Prince returns, placing a kiss on her cheek just as I hear the sounds of the shower from the en-suite.

“You belong to us, Cinders, and we belong to you, body, mind, and soul,” I say quietly, staring into her sleepy eyes. “And we will never let you go. You will never be alone again.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT

“IN HELL I’LL BE IN GOOD COMPANY” BY THE DEAD SOUTH

EMBER

We spend the next couple of weeks basking in each other, spending time in our love nest, as Oct calls it, and talking about what we want to do in the future. The guys have all enrolled in online courses to bring them up to speed, and I love that they are each able to follow their own dreams and make their own decisions for what they want their future to look like.

I’ve contacted Mimi, and she’s going to resume my lessons and help me create a portfolio so I can get into Goldsmith’s and pursue my dream to study art.

Oct, Kit, Cas, and I are lounging on the comfy outside sofas on the patio, the weather having been warm all week now that we’re into summer, listening to the sounds of nature around us.

My heartbeat instantly picks up when I see Prince striding towards us from the house, his jaw tight and his brows drawn, and I sit up straighter, away from Cas’s side that I was snuggled into.

“What’s happened?” I ask, my voice soft and rasping, worry making the beautiful sunset pale.

“Nothing, yet, Sugar,” he assures me, coming to sit on the low table in front of me. Then he takes my hands in his, his grip warm and comforting. “But there is something we need to discuss.”

“O–okay.” I swallow past the lump in my throat, my hands trembling in his as I search his stunning green eyes. I watch as he takes a deep inhale, closing his eyes briefly, then opening them to fix his stare on me.

“We need to decide what we’re going to do about the men that hurt you.” His tone is firm with the barest hint of anger in it as he watches me, drinking in how I flinch slightly. “I know that I’m not alone in saying that they need to be punished, that I can’t let them walk away from this.” The others murmur their agreement, but I don’t look away from the man in front of me, a part of my soul that I never knew I was missing. “But the question is, do you still want to be involved too?”

“Prince,” Cas grits out, his hand coming to rest on my thigh.

“No, Cas. She has the right to dole out justice for what they did to her. More so than us,” Prince answers, his gaze never leaving mine. Warmth suffuses my body at his words, at the fact that he didn’t want me anywhere near the revenge that I desperately wanted to seek before, yet now he knows I need it too. I need closure to take back the control that was stolen from me.

My chest feels tight, and I’m not sure if it’s because of what he’s suggesting, or the fact that he’s offering me a chance to get revenge. A chance to make those bastards pay for what they did to me, how they hurt me and almost made me give up.

Do I have what it takes to hurt them back? Am I that kind of person? Or would those nightmares haunt me as much as the others still do?

Prince patiently waits while I think, never pushing me one way or another as I weigh up all the options and end up coming to the only conclusion.

“I want to take the power back, to make them feel as helpless as they made me,” I tell him, my voice solid and sure even if my body trembles.

“Then that’s exactly what will happen, Sugar,” he replies, squeezing my chilled hands in his. Then he leans forward, ghosting his lips over mine, his breath smelling of whiskey and all things Prince. “And we will help you every step of the way.”

* * *

The following week goes by in a rush of anticipation, but somehow it also seems to drag until I’m going out of my mind with the need to just do something. We went with our previous plan of inviting them to another supposed party at the old house, Oct using his tech genius to make it seem like another, more private party was being hosted.

The idea of burning that place to the ground with those men inside fills me with all the warm and fuzzies, which I’m sure should be worrying, but I can’t find it in me to care what is socially acceptable given that these men, apparently pillars of society, have never had to face their multitude of crimes.

Oct used his hacking skills to look into every one of them and the reading was stomach-churning.

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