Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“You okay?” he whispers against my hair.
I nod, tightening my arms around him. “I am now.”
We stay like that until Dean returns with two agents to escort us out. The drive back to the safehouse is quiet but charged. Poe sits beside me in the back of the unmarked SUV, his hand resting on my thigh under the cover of darkness. Every mile that brings us closer to the house feels like a step back into our private world. I secretly love it. The idea of being alone with him again, of shutting the door on the rest of the world for a little while, makes my pulse quicken in ways I shouldn’t allow right now. But I do.
When we finally pull up to the familiar house tucked in quiet suburbia, the agents drop us off and disappear into the night. The house is dark and quiet when we step inside. Poe locks the door behind us, the click sounding final and intimate. We stand in the entryway for a moment, just looking at each other. The air feels thick with everything we’ve been through and everything we still haven’t said.
I pull out my encrypted phone, the one connected to Serafina, and dial her number. My hand is steady, but my heart is anything but. Poe stands close, his hand resting lightly on my lower back, offering silent support.
Serafina answers on the second ring. “Orchid. Report.”
“Poe’s almost finished with the hack,” I say, keeping my voice cool and professional. “But he needs a few more specialized components to complete the final layer. High-end encryption breakers and a specific server relay. Can you have them delivered tomorrow?”
There’s a pause on her end. I can almost hear her calculating. “I’ll have them sent first thing in the morning. Do not disappoint me, Orchid. I’m counting on you.”
“I won’t,” I reply. “You’ll have everything you need soon.”
The line goes dead. I lower the phone and let out a long breath. Poe’s hand slides around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. His lips brush the side of my neck.
“We’re alone,” he murmurs, voice low and warm. “For now, at least.”
I turn in his arms and look up at him. The house is quiet around us. No neighbors. No immediate threats. Just the two of us and the weight of everything we’ve been through. I rise onto my toes and kiss him softly, tasting the relief and the want on his lips.
We’re back in our safehouse.
We’re alone.
And for the first time in what feels like forever, I let myself believe we might actually have a chance to make it through this together.
THIRTY-THREE
POE
The safehouse door clicks shut behind us with a finality that makes the air feel thicker. The agents who drove us back have already disappeared down the dark driveway, their taillights swallowed by the trees. It’s just us now. No neighbors. No immediate threats. No one watching from the shadows. The house is quiet, the kind of quiet that wraps around you after bullshit, and the only sound is the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen and our own breathing.
Orchid stands a few feet away, still in the clothes she wore when they dragged us out of the warehouse. Her hair is slightly messy from the long day, and there’s a faint bruise forming on her wrist from the zip-ties. She looks exhausted, but there’s a fire in her eyes that hasn’t dimmed. I want her. I want her so fucking much it feels like a living thing under my skin. But more than that, I want to give her everything tonight. I want to hand over control the way she likes it.
I lock the door and turn to her, my voice low. “I want you to dominate me tonight.”
Her eyes widen slightly, surprise flickering across her face before it melts into something darker, hungrier. I step closer, close enough that I can feel the heat coming off her body.
“I mean it,” I say, holding her gaze. “I want to see you take control again. I want you to use me. I want to be your good boy. Do your worst, Orchid. I can take it.”
She studies me for a long moment, like she’s trying to decide if I’m serious. I am. I drop to my knees right there in the entryway. My hands rest on my thighs, palms up, and I look up at her, completely open.
“Do your worst,” I repeat, voice rough. “I’m yours tonight.”
The air between us shifts, thick and electric. Orchid’s breathing changes, becoming slower, deeper. She steps closer until she’s standing right in front of me, looking down with that commanding expression that makes my cock twitch hard in my sweatpants.
“You want me in charge?” she asks, voice low and velvet-smooth.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer immediately, the words coming out like a prayer.