Page 16 of Tarnished Embers

“It’s just, I only met you guys a little over twenty-four hours ago and now…” she trails off, and I take her hands in mine, rubbing her knuckles. I love touching her, can’t get enough of it.

“And now?” I prompt, finding that I’m curious about where her mind is at. I want to know everything about her, all of her secrets and fears, her hopes and dreams...I want it all. I want to know Ember better than I know myself, I need to know what makes her tick. I’m not sure if it’s just curiosity, or something deeper, a more primal need that won’t quieten until she’s in every fibre of my being.

She doesn’t know everything about you…a small voice in the back of my mind reminds me, a flash of guilt making my stomach churn, but all of that’s behind us now. All that shit is best left in the past.

She huffs a breath and glances at the others, who have paused in whatever it is they’re doing to look over at us, then she turns back to me. “And now it’s like we’ve known each other all our lives.”

My heart stutters in my chest because she’s just described exactly what I’m feeling. It’s so comfortable with her and it takes no effort to be around her. She slots in as if she’s been with us forever. I mean, we had a head start, knowing about her six months ago and being able to stalk her a little.

“We were just waiting for each other, baby,” I tell her, using my grip on her soft hands to draw her closer until our bodies touch. Then I release her hands and her arms immediately come around me, wrapping me in an embrace that has every atom of my being singing.

“You can’t say stuff like that, Oct.” She sighs but snuggles closer to me and my body heats at her contact, my dick twitching in my jeans.

“Why not? It’s the truth,” I reply, brushing my lips across the top of her head and breathing her in deeply. She smells of lavender and rosemary, of something that I’ve not dared to hope for in such a long time; home.

“And what happens when you leave? Or when my dad and Odette catch us?” Her body is stiff, her hands fisting the back of my jumper, and her rapid breathing speaks of a panic that stirs inside my chest when I think of anything happening to her to take her away from us. I pull away slightly, just enough to look at her perfect face and frame it with my hands.

“Look at me, Ember,” I command, my tone brokering no other option. My cock fills when she obeys immediately and without question, keeping her arms around me but pulling back enough to tip her face towards me. “We are not going anywhere, we’re family now and that shit’s for life,” I tell her, earning a small smile even though her brows are deeply furrowed. “And as for the other stuff, don’t worry about it. We’re not letting you go.”

She nibbles her lower lip in a way that makes me want to do the same, her eyes flicking between mine. “How can you be so sure, Oct? It’s been, like, a day. We’re practically strangers.”

“I’ve known you for months,” I inform her, my voice firm as I hold her suddenly wide stare. “I know about the time you snorted a wasp up your nose at age seven. I know that your favorite color has been yellow since you were little and that you like to sleep with the curtains open so you can wake up with the dawn.” Her eyes are even wider now, her lips parted, and it takes some effort not getting lost in her blue depths. “It may feel like only twenty-four hours to you, but it’s been fucking months of waiting for us, and to have you finally here, finally in front of us…fuck, Ember.”

I press my lips against hers, needing to taste her more than I need my next breath. Everything I said is true. Odette told us about her months ago when she first started seeing Richard, and we’ve been obsessed with her ever since, trying to find out everything we can about her. We’ve the resources and I’ve the hacking skills to discover all of her skeletons. All of her secrets. Well, the painting was a nice surprise, and hearing the way she spoke in the gallery about her mom, it damn near broke me, even though we’d all read up on how she was with her the entire time she was sick, never leaving her side.

I deepen the kiss, basking in how she melts for me. Her mind may only think she’s known us for less than a day, but her body knows who it belongs to.

“You know you sound like a stalker, right?” she asks when I pull away, her voice breathless, and I’m seconds away from saying fuck it, hoisting her up on the table and eating her for dinner. The noise around us resumes, the others continuing to prepare dinner.

“Oh, baby,” I say, deciding she needs to eat some real food more than I need to eat her pussy. So I pull her towards the island where the others are setting out steaming bowls. “A stalker has nothing on the depths we went to.” She swallows hard and blinks quickly, then those bright diamond eyes become dull, her expression going slack. “What just made you sad, little sis?” All noise stops, the others snapping their attention over to us once more as I pull her to a stop.

“It’s just,” she murmurs, pausing to take a breath. “I just don’t understand why you all knew about me but I knew nothing, not even that Dad was dating Odette, let alone it was serious enough for them to get married.”

My brows lower, the knowledge that Odette planned it this way, ensuring there were no hiccups to getting the ring on her finger, weighing heavily on me. “I don’t know, baby, but sometimes it’s best not to dwell on the past and keep moving forward.”

I give her a peck on the temple, breathing in her addictive scent, then help her onto the stool in front of one bowl, Prince, Cas, and Kit sitting down too. She takes a deep inhale before letting it out slowly, like she’s trying to let go of the hurt I know she’s feeling at being dismissed by her dad. Knowing this and seeing the pain that she is in makes me feel like an utter asshole for not giving her the truth. It’s better this way, because if she ever finds out about everything we’ve had to do the past few years, she’d never want us. Not to mention the suspicion I have that Odette targeted her dad because of his money and beautiful daughter. It would just cheapen what I feel, what we all feel for her.

“Chicken stir-fry…how did you know it was my favourite?” she asks, her forehead creased while she looks up at Prince, Cas, and Kit as they take their seats.

“How did we know it was one of your favorite dishes?” Kit teases, one of his brows raised.

“Fine, point taken,” she grumbles, and we all chuckle at her ire. The moan that she lets out a moment later has us all pausing, chopsticks halfway to our mouths as we each stare at her with matching expressions of hunger in our eyes. “These are the best fucking noodles I think I’ve ever had,” she gushes, taking another bite and groaning again.

“You keep making those noises, Sugar, and I won’t be held responsible for my actions,” Prince warns her in a dark tone, and I don’t miss the shiver that falls across her, chopsticks frozen midway to her mouth. She takes an unsteady breath, blowing it out through pursed lips, and my rapidly hardening dick twitches in my pants once more.

“I think she wants you to show her, Prince,” I say, filling my mouth with delicious noodles, and her cheeks bloom in that way they do.

“Well, she can eat her dinner like a good girl and then I’ll show her,” he replies, not taking his stare from her. The colour on her cheeks spreads down her neck at his words. Oh yeah, she enjoys being told what to do by Prince very much. Not that I can blame her, he’s one fucking hella persuasive Dom. “And don’t forget to drink your water, darlin'. You haven’t drunk nearly enough today to stay hydrated.”

“How do you know how much I’ve been drinking?” she quizzes, her spine snapping straight as she glares at him. It’s cute as fuck to watch her try to top him from the bottom, and by the twitch of Prince’s lips, he feels the same way. She’s like a kitten that sinks its teeth and claws into your hand when you rub its belly.

“Because, Sugar, I’m always watching you,” he deadpans while grabbing a whole load of noodles with his chopsticks, yet never taking his gaze off her.

“You’re all crazy fucking stalkers, you know that?” she sasses, looking at each of us with an accusing stare.

“Good, you finally understand,” Prince drawls, and I have to bite my lip at the bark of laughter that wants to escape at her incredulous look. “Now eat your noodles and drink your water like a good girl.”

She holds his stare for a second longer, her nostrils flared. Then she huffs out a breath before picking up her chopsticks and placing more noodles in her mouth, still giving Prince the stink eye.

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