Page 15 of The Storms Between Us
thirteen
After Ember’s revelation,we all need some time to calm down and cool off. Everett grabbed the keys to his bike and took off. I know he has enough sense not to let his anger affect his driving, but I still told him to be careful. Walking past Ember’s room, I see her sitting against her headboard with her knees pulled up to her chest. I knock and she wipes her face quickly, trying to conceal her tears.
“Hey, how you feeling?” I ask, sitting on the end of her bed. I take a second to look around her room. She’s already made herself at home here over the last few hours and I love that.
She laughs sarcastically, “Oh, I’m just delightful, just a ray of fucking sunshine over here.” She plasters on a fake smile, tears still rolling down her cheeks. I reach over and catch them before they fall. Her eyes close at the feeling of my hand on her face and she lets out a relaxed sigh. “How can you do that?” she asks.
“Do what?” I reply, confused.
“Make me feel so relaxed with just one touch,” she says, her hand reaching up to cover mine against her cheek. “It's like all the weight I’m carrying just melts away as soon as you touch me.”
“Well, if that’s all it takes, I’m more than happy to touch you all you want,” I say, giving her my best seductive smile and she laughs.
“You’re such a man. I'm trying to be sweet and all you can think about is getting in my pants,” she says, humor in her voice. The sound of her laugh makes me smile wide. “There’s that smile again,” she says, “you could really knock a lady out with that sight.”
“Why do you think I’m always such an asshole? Gotta do something to keep the ladies off of me,” I say, flexing my shoulders and she rolls her eyes.
“In all seriousness Ember, you know we won’t let anything happen to you, right?” I ask, my tone soft but serious. She gives me a small smile and crawls over to sit next to me. I haul her into my lap and she lets out a small squeal. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I place my hands on either side of her face. “We will protect you, Sunshine. He’ll never touch you again,” I tell her with conviction. She brings her lips down to mine, kissing me softly at first. I flick my tongue out across her lips and she lets out a soft moan that I swear I can feel all the way through my dick. It grows harder against my zipper, and I pull her closer. Kissing her deeper, I give her everything she needs right now. She grinds her ass down against my throbbing shaft, and I growl. She lets out a wicked, seductive little laugh, and I know she’s doing this on purpose. Little tease. But there’s no way in hell I’m gonna stop her. We continue making out like a couple of horny teenagers, both of us ravenous for the other. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman as badly as I want her. She threads her hands through my hair, and the sting of her nails against my scalp has me ready to explode. I pull back a little, gasping for breath. I’m hard as a fucking rock for this woman.
“Em, we have to stop. If we don’t, I’m gonna embarrass myself here,” I say with a laugh, gesturing to the bulge in my jeans.
“But do we have to? Because I really don’t want to.” She whispers in my ear, kissing a path up my neck. It's sexy as fuck when a woman knows what she wants and takes it. I have no doubt Ember knows what she wants.
“Unless you want your brother to come in at any minute since the door is wide open, then yeah. We have to stop,” I say, picking her up off my lap and setting her on her feet in front of me. She gives me a pouty look like I’ve just taken away her favorite toy and it's so damn adorable. I stand, adjusting myself to alleviate the ache. Bending down to give her a chaste kiss on the forehead, I can see that makes her happy. I make a mental note to do that as often as possible just to see that beautiful smile.
I finally take a minute to survey her room. I can see touches of her personality all over her space now that she’s unpacked all of her stuff. The cozy reading chair in the corner has at least 3 printed manuscripts laying in the seat and a fuzzy black blanket draped over the back. My eyes stop on the giant pile of clothes piled in front of the closet door and I look at her quizzically. “Cleaning out the closet there?” I ask.
“Ughhh no. I don’t have a stupid dresser,” She says with a frustrated sigh. “I left it back in Durham because I couldn’t fit it in the trailer. I just figured I’d go back for it one weekend. I guess that idea is shot.”
Irritation bubbles under my skin at the thought of her personal things being destroyed like that. I push it down and choose to move on. “Well, I guess we need to go shopping then, huh?” I say, forcing some levity into my voice.
“You wanna go furniture shopping? I didn’t think any man would be willing to subject themselves to such torture!” She says sarcastically.
“Hey, I’m not just any man, baby. You’d be amazed at the things I’m willing to subject myself to.” I give her a wink and she rolls her eyes.
“Good lord, Elijah, you’re incorrigible. Keep it in your pants.” She says, grabbing her wallet and phone. “Fine, dresser shopping it is. But you’re putting it together whenever we get back. I’m just here for supervision.”
“That’s a deal, Sunshine. I’ll build it and you can sit your pretty ass on the bed and just admire my expert craftsmanship.” I say with a smirk.
“Be careful there, honey. Your head might not fit inside my Jeep if you keep it up.” She says, walking down the stairs. Something inside me lights up at her calling me honey. I’ve always hated being called a pet name, but with Ember, she could call me anything she wanted and I’d be happy. Something about the familiar way she says it, even though we’ve only known each other for a short time, makes my heart beat faster. Damn, this woman is gonna ruin me for sure.
