AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, fuck me,” the other man said, his attention now on us, too.
“Shut it, Caolan,” Orin barked. To me, he said gently, “Come on, Filly. You need to rest properly.”
Taking hold of his hand, I let him help me from the car. The stones beneath my bare, muddy feet dug into my heels, and I winced. Orin saw and swept me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest like a child.
“I’m going to take her to her room,” he announced in a tone that didn’t invite any further discussion. He walked past Finnan and Caolan. Both men stared, and as Orin passed, Finnan’s hand darted out and grabbed him by the upper arm.
His green eyes were focused on me, but he spoke into Orin’s ear. “Are you sure this is wise?”
Orin shrugged from his grip. “She’s safer with me. Nobody in the clan speaks to her without my presence.”
“Orin—” Caolan started, but Orin cut him off.
“Nobody,” he seethed. “The girl is scared enough.”
Both men stared at me in open disbelief. Once we were a few steps away, Finnan said something into Caolan’s ear, to which he nodded.
Inside, large, ancient-looking flagstone floors stretched out in all directions. A large oak staircase was ahead, and Orin’s long legs ate up the distance over the rugs and runners.
“You can put me down now,” I told him, my arm still wrapped around his broad shoulders. Honestly, I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I must’ve looked ridiculous being toted around like this.
Orin grunted but didn’t relinquish his hold on me.
On the first floor, portraits hung on the dark paneled walls. Many of the paintings were surrounded by bulky aged-gilt frames, and I wondered how old some of the pieces were.
Orin finally drew to a stop in front of an oak door and opened it. Gesturing for me to go in first, I surveyed the room. There was a large bed against the wall to my right. An armoire on the left beside a door, which I assumed led to a bathroom.
“Is this your room?”
He shook his head. “Just a room. I want you to stay here while I go speak to Finnan. We need to start making plans.”
Suddenly, the thought of being left alone didn’t sit well with me. “Can’t I come with you?”
Orin’s expression softened, and he reached for me. I braced for his touch, but he seemed to think better of it, clenched his hand into a fist at the last second, and dropped it to his side. “Rest. I’ll be back with food as soon as I’m able.”
Before I could protest, he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Crossing the space, I went to investigate the bathroom, finding one can of deodorant on the counter, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a bar of cheap soap in the shower stall. In the armoire, I found men’s clothes hanging—all of them an iteration of something I’d seen Orin wear. Dark jeans. Black t-shirts. Leather jackets. I lifted a jacket out and slid my arms into the holes. The dark leather was cold against my skin but soon warmed. Dipping my nose to the collar, I inhaled deeply, smelling cedar, soap, and man.
This was Orin’s room. He’d brought me to the place where he let his guard down, and once again I was confused by the man. Shrugging out of the jacket, I hung it back up, making sure to put it into the same spot again, then closed the armoire doors. There was nothing else for me to do here—no TV or books, games, or puzzles. It was as impersonal as a hotel room, and that made me want to weep.
Did Orin think there was no point in decorating his space with things that appealed to him because he thought he might be wiped off the face of the planet any second? If he did, that made me sad for him. Nobody should live like their last day was right around the corner. After the incident, and my recovery, I learned that life is a precious gift. I was lucky to come out the other end with my sobriety, and now I tackled each day like it was going to up and leave me.
Walking over to the bed, I traced my fingers over the thick quilt, then the pillows. My eyes drifted up the wooden frame, getting snagged on what looked like a thick metal eyebolt. My gaze drifted to the other three corners of the frame and found matching ones. Then, I looked up. There were more anchor points higher up.
Congruently, a thrill of lust and fear went through me, making my stomach drop and flutter at the same time. There would only be one reason to have anchor points like that on a bed, and it involved a hell of a lot of kink. Was that what Orin was into? Did he like to tie up his lovers? I hadn’t noticed any metal brackets or chains at his cabin. Maybe that wasn’t what he used them for here?
Despite my heated blood, the exhaustion I thought had been kept at bay by my small nap suddenly came back with a roar, and I laid down on the bed. I told myself not to fall asleep, but as the warmth of the quilt covered me and the scent of cedar washed over my senses, I was lulled into dreamless sleep.
TWELVE
ORIN
Thank fuck I’d escaped. I didn’t know why I’d lied and told Fallon it was just a room and notmyroom. No doubt by now, she’d snuck a look inside the bathroom and at my clothes hanging in the armoire and now knew that she was in my personal space. It made me wonder how she felt about that. Did she hate the cold metal hardware affixed to the bedframe, or was she … curious?
I’d excused myself with a lie—a lie to get her some food—but the humiliating truth was I needed to remove myself from her presence before I took from her what I so desperately wanted to take. That was how I ended up sitting outside in the hall—my back to the hard wood paneling—while I talked myself out of going right back in there so I could breathe the same air as her.
If I could just see her with my own two eyes, I would know that this insane drive to protect her was unfounded. She was safe here—safer than I’d been able to keep her when we were on the run—so why did I feel like I was missing something?
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
