Page 102 of Falcon's Prey

“Come on, Pamela, you can help me shower.” Gideon pulled Pam off the sofa and took her away before I could tell her that if she ever hurt Ember, I would kill her.

Slowly I opened the door the room in case Ember was sleeping so I wouldn’t wake her. She wasn’t sleeping; she was sitting crossed-legged on the bed with a notepad and pen and with papers all around her.

I knew she heard me because she kept sketching, only this time more furiously.

“No good morning?” I said sarcastically as I walked closer to the bed, picking up one of the discarded papers.

The sketch was flawless, the way she sketched the shadows. In the center was a ring focusing on the diamond in the middle. The rest of the page had the same ring, just smaller, all from a different point of view showcasing all the attributes. I picked up another page, and it was much the same with necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and more rings.

“These are amazing.” My tone was gruff.

“As amazing as it was for Pam when you fucked her,” she bit back.

Seriously? This was what the broken nose was all about? I was not in the mood for this shit. I threw the bag the doctor had given me on the bed next to her and left the food and drink for her on the side table, then walked to the bathroom without a word.

I was putting my clothes in the bag when Ember walked in holding her fancy shampoo bottles close to her chest. She stopped when she saw me. Not because I was naked, but because blood covered parts of my skin.

“You got me my stuff,” she whispered.

“Missed your smell.”

She took a deep breath, clutching the bottles to her chest. She was trying hard not to break. She didn’t want me to see how much this meant to her.

“I know you said the ‘who’ didn’t’ matter to you as long as you got paid, but did they deserve it?”

I did this for free and would do it again in a heartbeat.

“Yeah, Ember, he did.”

When I got in the shower, she got in with me. Her hand came to my back, tracing the wounds I had received on her behalf. She kissed the hole where the bullet had pierced skin. I might have been pissed as hell with her and had wanted to see her pay, but that all changed the moment I saw her in real pain. We didn’t speak any words, not when she cleaned the blood off my skin. Not when I used her minty shampoo on her. There was nothing sexual in what we did, yet it was the most intimate I’d ever been.

“I’m fucking whipped.” I broke the silence as we were drying. “I need to sleep.”

Ember stayed behind, drying her hair as I got into bed. I carefully picked up her sketches and put them on the chair. Once I was lying down, Ember came out, slipped into one of my shirts, and got on the bed with me.

“I couldn’t sleep without you here,” she confessed.

It was fucked-up that she didn’t run scared of me. But I fucking liked that.

I cupped her cheek and kissed her lips slowly. Something sweet, so I could savor it later. Then I brought her down to my side so I could let my chest rest. After I woke, I would redo the wraps. Right now, I was too fucking tired.

“I was her first,” I said.

She froze.

“It didn’t mean shit to me. No one ever has…until you. I did it because it was either me, who didn’t give a shit, or someone who would want to take it from her savagely.”

We didn’t grow up in a good place, so taking away the appeal of her virginity only protected her some.

“Well, if she ever talks about fucking you again, I will most likely kill her, and you are going to help me get rid of her body if you want me to fuck you ever again.”

My body shook when I began to laugh. Ember turned around so fast, looking at me in awe, and her face had gone soft. I brought her down to my chest, ignoring the pain, and we went to sleep.

The days leadingup to the fight, the place felt tense. Everyone was on edge, and I got the feeling I was missing something, but I didn’t know what.

Things between Ren and I had changed. We weren’t soft like other couples because that wasn’t who we were, but there was an intensity that wasn’t there before. Every touch was heightened; every kiss was deeper; every word he said held more meaning. Because Ren knew actions spoke louder than words, and they had.

I was mad the day he left, hearing Pam tell me that she’d been with him. I wasn’t stupid. I was a far cry from a virgin, and I knew he’d had his fair share of women before me. I understood sex: the feeling of being wanted for a few hours, then being discarded and forgotten the next day. So it struck a chord in my insecurities. Pam had slept with Ren, and they were still together. It made me feel like I was a distraction, something temporary, and Pam would be his forever. Then it got me thinking that I probably didn’t have forever. Sooner or later, my luck would run out and the walls I’d built around my castle would come crumbling down.

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