“There it is,” Max murmurs against my flesh, giving my nipple another, cruel bite. “Almost there, Ember. Go ahead and come for me, baby. I want to feel you.”
I barely hear his words; my orgasm’s already slowly sweeping over me, starting as an unbearable ache in my core and expanding until nothing else exists. My toes curl, my muscles tighten, my head falls back, and I instinctually yank at my wrists, desperate to free myself, but Max doesn’t budge. He keeps working my clit, curling his fingers inside me, until the orgasm becomestoomuch. Until panic creeps over the edges of my consciousness, and oblivion threatens to consume me.
A loud cry escapes me as I kick my feet, trying to get away from the pleasure, but my captor is merciless, wrenching two orgasms out of me with his fingers alone, until I really feel like I’m going to pass out.
Finally, he stops. Slowly slides his fingers out of me and gradually releases his hold on my wrists.
I watch through lidded eyes as he sucks his fingers into his mouth, licking my essence off of them, giving a small shudder of pleasure. “Fuck, your taste is addictive,” he rasps.
I can only release a small whimper in response, and a satisfied smile steals across Max’s shiny lips. He licks them, and a small shudder shakes his shoulders. God, does heactuallylike my taste? Is he as into me as he’s acting?
“Told you you’d get your orgasm before bed.” He kisses my forehead and pulls the blanket over me. “Go to sleep, baby. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Max
Ember sleeps all night. My hunch was right; getting her to bed might be as easy as giving her a couple orgasms, which is a nightly ritual I am happy to engage in for the rest of my life. She turns into a different person when I’m working her over—all her walls come down. There’s no snark, no bullshit, only a young woman who’s discovering her sexuality.
I sleep all night beside her, but I’m up early the next morning. She’s still sleeping, so I let her be while I hit the gym for a quick jog to wake myself up. The bedroom door’s locked, there are no weapons, and I have a live video feed showing me a steady stream of Ember, who’sstillsleeping. Looks like she needs to catch up on about five years of sleep deprivation.
I can’t wait to watch her discover herself safely away from Dagon. Everything about her has been put on pause for the last five years while she risked her life and gave her livelihood to protect her sister—she never had a chance to grow into herself, and it’s a pleasure to give that opportunity back to her.
As soon as I’m done in the gym, I unfortunately get a message from Cain, demanding that I meet him in his office. I have very little desire to see him right now—I want to spend all my time with Ember, but I also know better than to refuse orders.
I meet him in his office, where he’s drinking a cup of coffee behind his desk. His eyes rake over me, and he gestures to the chair across from him.
“Tobias brought to my attention what Dagon had on Ember,” he says without preamble. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t hear this from you first.”
Shit. Ididtell Ember that I explicitly would keep this from Cain… but she’ll still be upset. Navigating that fallout won’t be fun.
“Sorry,” I say, not feeling apologetic whatsoever. In fact, I’m feeling pretty fuckingconcerned. Cain is not to be trusted with information of this caliber; there’s every chance he’ll use this against Ember the same way Dagon did.
“No, you’re not, and don’t waste my time with bullshit.” Cain leans forward. “I’ll sanction putting extensive protection on the girl. Tobias seems to have a special interest in her, so I’ll put him in charge of overseeing her.”
Fuck. “But?” I know there’s always a but with Cain. He’s an unapologetic sociopath; he doesn’t care about me, or Ember, or anyone but himself. Well, it seems like he has some sort of twisted affection for his Chosen, but that could in fact be sheer possession and need to dominate. I’m not unfamiliar with the feeling; I just have some humanity to hold me in check.
“I’d like something in return.”
Here we go. “And that something would be?”
“A guarantee that, when I decide it’s time for us to take down Dagon, you let me use Ember.”
“No.” My answer is immediate and irrevocable. I wouldn’t trust Cain with a pet I wanted to get rid of, let alonemyEmber. For all I know, he’ll sacrifice her for the sake of the op and move on without flinching. Ijustfound Ember, and I’m only beginning to see a path to bond with her; I will not allow him to take that away from me.
“I’m sorry, was that phrased as a question?” Cain arches an eyebrow. “No, it’s quid pro quo. You don’t get to say no.” He pauses. “Well, I suppose you do, but you will not like what I do in response, Maximus. It won’t be fun for you. More, it won’t be fun for yourchosen. If you refuse, I’ll see no usefulness in protecting Viper’s sister.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. There’s no way out. Either I agree to Cain’s demand, or I doom Ember, and myself in the process. “I want some guarantees.”
Cain looks vaguely bored. “Such as?”
“Such as guarantees that you’ll do everything—and I meaneverything—in your and the Nighthawk’s power to keep Ember safe if you force her to do this.”
“I won’t have to force her.” Cain releases a soft, sardonic chuckle. “Haven’t you heard the way Viper speaks about Dagon? She despises him. She’ll jump on the opportunity to destroy him without any prompting necessary.”
“That may be the case, but it changes jack shit,” I respond silkily. “If she gets hurt, I want the option to retaliate against you.” That’s the only way I’ll be sure that Cain will hold to his word—if he gives me permission to hurthimon account of Ember being hurt. He’s a bastard that will go to extreme lengths for self-preservation.
Cain glares at me for several moments, which quickly trickle into minutes. He’s waiting for me to bend under the weight of his stare and acquiesce, but if he thinks that’s happening, he has another thing coming. I’m willing to play ball with him most of the time and carryout orders even when I disagree with them, but not this time. Either we have a deal, or we don’t, and I’ll have to go behind his back to find a way to keep Alina safe.
