The Weight of Desire

Ava’s POV

The moment the door clicked shut, my knees gave out, and I sank onto the bed, my heart still racing in my chest. My head aches from the effects of the alcohol and Orion's loud outburst.

I pressed my hand against my lips, as if I could erase the sensation of Mason’s kiss—or worse, the way Orion’s words still lingered in my mind.

“You want me.”

I shook my head, trying to push it all away. I didn’t know what to feel anymore. Orion infuriated me, terrified me, consumed me. And yet, when he looked at me like that—with that possessive fire burning in his eyes—I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t let him do this to me. I wouldn’t let him win. Whatever game Orion thought he was playing, I wasn’t a pawn. I wasn’t his to control.

But deep down, in a place I didn’t want to acknowledge, I couldn’t deny the truth.

I was afraid… not of him, but of myself.

Because when Orion touched me—when he looked at me like I belonged to him—I wanted to belong.

And that scared me more than anything else.

I freshened up and lay down, trying to calm my racing heart and the pounding in my head. My phone buzzed with a message, and I grabbed it from the nightstand.

Mason Brown.

“I’m sorry if I went too far. I just couldn’t resist.”

I stared at the words, my thumb hovering over the screen. What could I even say? I didn’t know how to reply—didn’t know if I should. With a sigh, I set the phone down, curled up on my side, and squeezed my eyes shut, willing for sleep to come and wash everything away.

—-

Sometime in the night, my eyes snapped open. I heard it—the sound of the door opening. I stayed still, my breathing even, my body frozen in place like I was asleep.

But I knew who it was.

The air shifted with him, his familiar scent reaching me almost instantly. Orion. He locked the door quietly and moved forward, the faint smell of alcohol trailing him like a shadow.

My chest tightened.

Was seeing me with Mason that unbearable?

I wanted to scream. And what about his affair with Chloe? Did he think I didn’t feel the same torment when I saw them together?

The mattress dipped under his weight as he climbed into the bed. I held my breath as his arms suddenly slid under me. Before I could react, Orion pulled me on top of him. His grip was strong, firm, holding me as though I might vanish at any second.

I pretended to wiggle, feigning sleepy movements, hoping he’d let me go. He didn’t.

His touch burned through me. My body betrayed me instantly, every nerve coming alive beneath his hands. I ached—ached for him in a way I couldn’t deny, and it infuriated me. This wasn’t good.

I stretched out again, trying to roll away. It didn’t matter. He pulled me right back.

Eventually, his breathing settled into a steady rhythm, deep and slow. He was asleep.

I took the opportunity to carefully slip out of his hold, rolling onto my side. I turned to face him, the frustration in me softening as I looked at him—really looked at him.

God help me.

His face was perfect, even now. The sharp edge of his jawline, softened just slightly by a hint of stubble. His lips—those lips—looked so calm and at peace, so unfairly kissable. His lashes brushed against his skin, long and dark, making him look… gentle. Peaceful. Human.

In sleep, he wasn’t the infuriating, possessive man I couldn’t escape. He was the Orion I used to love—the one who held my heart without even trying.

My hand moved before I could stop it, my fingertips grazing his jaw, tracing the strong line that felt almost unreal. I didn’t want to touch him, but I couldn’t stop myself.

‘What would our lives have been like… if you hadn’t left me at the altar?’

‘If you hadn’t faked your death and destroyed me?’

The ache in my chest grew unbearable, too heavy to carry. I pulled my hand back, blinking away the sting in my eyes as he stirred slightly. I froze.

I turned back over quickly, shutting my eyes and feigning sleep again, my heart hammering in my chest.

---

I must have actually fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, sunlight was pouring through the curtains of the suite. I sat up slowly, disoriented, brushing my hair back from my face.

Before I could move, a strong hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down.

Panic spiked through me. I tried to fight him off, my heart racing—

“Relax,” a raspy voice murmured.

Orion.

I blinked up at him as the panic faded. He looked… different. His face was soft in the morning light, his hair a mess, his features relaxed in a way I wasn’t used to seeing. Like he was a child again, free of all the weight and darkness that clung to him when he was awake.

“I’m sorry if I scared you last night, Mrs. Miller,” he whispered, his voice rough, like gravel smoothed by velvet.

The sound of it struck me like a lightning bolt.

Mrs. Miller.

It shouldn’t have made me feel anything. I should have pushed him away, corrected him, reminded him that he lost the right to call me that years ago.

But I couldn’t.

Hearing him say it felt too right, and that scared me more than anything.

I opened my mouth to argue, to say something, but the words didn’t come. Orion didn’t wait. He pulled me closer, his lips crashing onto mine.

The kiss was fierce—hungry—like he was trying to claim me all over again. Every ounce of resistance I had melted instantly, and I kissed him back. Hard. My hands pressed against his chest as though I could stop the world from spinning, but it was no use.

Orion pulled me on top of him, his hands holding me steady as the kiss deepened. I cradled him, molding against him, no longer able to tell where he ended and I began.

And then, in one swift motion, he overturned us, pinning me beneath him.

His gaze was fire and ice all at once, and before I could say anything, I heard the sound of fabric ripping.

‘What is it with him and tearing my dresses?’

His mouth was everywhere. My neck. My collarbone. The curve of my breast. Every inch of me. He kissed me like he was a starving man, and I couldn’t breathe—couldn’t think.

I wanted him.

Needed him inside me.

But then, suddenly, he stopped. He pulled away, leaving me breathless and confused. My body ached for him, my mind spinning as I looked up at him with questioning eyes.

Orion smirked, slow and devilish. “That, Mrs Miller, is what you get for kissing another man,” he whispered.

And with that, he rolled off me, leaving me breathless and aching as he made his way to the bathroom.

I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my body still humming from his touch.

My heart was a mess. My mind, even worse.

I didn’t know if I wanted to scream, cry, or pull him right back to me.