Redemption’s Inferno (Inferno #3)

Chapter 4

H e kicked open the door and was grateful to see a bathroom off to the side of the spacious bedroom. He headed right for it and put her down inside the shower. He balled up the sheet and tossed it on the floor before reaching out to turn on the water. Emilie’s legs started to give out and he grabbed her, his strong arm catching her about the waist. She sagged against him, her eyes drooping .

“Ah, hell.” He kicked off his boots and used his free hand to unbutton his jeans, stepping out of them and yanking off his socks. Without letting her go, he tugged his shirt over his head and then stepped into the shower with her .

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her head falling against his chest .

“Seen worse,” he muttered, putting her under the hot spray and letting the body paint and whatever else had been on her run off into the drain. When the worst of it was gone, he pushed her head under the water and turned a bottle of shampoo upside down, letting it sink into her hair before starting to rub it in. He washed and rinsed her hair twice before starting to clean her body. Using the bath gel on the shelf, he poured some down her chest and used his hand to rub it into her skin, wanting to keep the washcloth clean until the end. He’d never washed anyone like this before and it was strangely soothing and erotic at the same time .

“You shouldn’t have come,” Emilie said suddenly, her head resting against his shoulder .

He knew she was tall, but having her against him like this was strange; he’d never been with a woman who could lean against his shoulder in her bare feet. He was six feet four inches and most women couldn’t get above the middle of his chest, but Emilie fit perfectly in the hollow of his shoulder, her soft cheek rubbing against him. She was slender, more so than she appeared in clothes, and since he’d never seen her naked before, he’d had no idea she was so slim .

He ran a gentle hand down her back, his fingers running over each bump of her spine, and he sighed into her hair. “Did you think your friends would leave you here, without knowing how you were or what you were doing ?”

“How did you find me?” She didn’t move but her voice traveled up to him .

“Warren and I go back a long way .”

“So he was a spy.” She smiled faintly, her eyes fluttering closed. “I thought so .”

“He’s a lot of things, Warren is.” He reached for the shower gel again and put some on her back, rubbing it into her skin with firm, circular strokes that both removed any of the filth that was left and also massaged her tense muscles. Though she seemed to be on the verge of collapse, her body was rigid against his. “Relax, love—I won’t let you fall .”

“Everyone lets me fall,” she murmured. “Except Viggo—but even he wasn’t strong enough to hold me up any longer .”

“Not true,” he countered. “He couldn’t hold you up because you left him. You can’t run, Emilie—whatever it is that’s haunting you goes with you .”

“That’s why you shouldn’t have come.” She nestled deeper into his chest. “But I’m glad you did .”

“Em, he was going to—” he stopped, scowling, too horrified to continue. “Bloody hell, Emilie, what were you thinking ?!”

“I deserve it…” Her voice trailed off .

“He would have crushed your larynx or left you oxygen deprived for too long! You could have died !”

“But you stopped him .”

“We’ll talk about that another time. Can you stand?” He started to move his arm but her knees buckled and he gripped her tighter. “All right, let’s dry off and get out of here .”

Keeping her close to him, he wrapped them in clean towels from the counter and tried to ignore her silky skin or the way her body was draped across his. She was half-asleep, her head lolling to one side, but he was still a man and she was a beautiful woman. He was getting an erection and there didn’t seem to be any way to stop it. Swallowing hard, he gently pushed her towards the closed toilet seat and set her on it .

“Have you any clean clothes?” he asked, reaching for his jeans .

“My bag is in the bedroom,” she said, lilting slightly to the side .

“Emilie.” With a sigh of resignation, he dropped his jeans again as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on the bed. He dug around in her suitcase and found panties, jeans and a T-shirt. “Do you need a bra ?”

She murmured sleepily. “ Pocket .”

He dug around some more until he found the pocket in the side and pulled out the most utilitarian white bra he’d ever seen. He blinked, surprised Emilie would wear something so basic and, if he was honest, ugly, but she hadn’t come here to be sexy. Apparently, she’d come here to get herself hurt. Well, that ended now; he was going to find a way to pull her out of this .

He helped her get dressed, trying to ignore the soft curves of her beautifully formed breasts, the slope of her hips as he tugged up her panties or the endless expanse of skin on her incredibly long legs. She was gorgeous, and he wondered why he hadn’t truly noticed before now. Of course, he’d always thought she was beautiful, but she was his boss and up until recently had been married, so perhaps he’d ignored her as a woman simply because she wasn’t available .

Not that sleeping with her was an option now, he reminded himself with irritation as his erection grew even harder .

He started when her cool fingers closed around it. His head snapped down and he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t!” he said, more sharply than he intended .

“You’re aroused,” she said quietly. “It’s my fault .”

“It’s not your fault ,” he said in a steely tone. “It’s a man’s physical reaction to a beautiful woman—but you’re not mine and I’m not interested in using you like those wankers upstairs !”

She slowly released him. “I thought maybe you’d want to …”

“Have sex with you?” He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not my type .”

She met his gaze and squinted slightly. “ Liar .”

He grinned at the first sign of the old Emilie, who’d probably sock him in the mouth for what he’d said. Which was why he’d said it. He’d been worried for a while, but now that the fire was back in her eyes, he felt better. “Not tonight, anyway.” He smoothed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “You can barely keep your eyes open .”

“I still don’t know why you’ve come .”

“Because Viggo and Becca were worried. Because we were afraid you would hurt yourself. And it’s a good thing I did too—he could have killed you !”

“He’s experienced,” she pointed out .

“But he wasn’t stopping!” he growled, reaching for his jeans. His T-shirt was soaked and he left it on the floor, grateful it was summer and he could go without .

“Yet you stopped him.” Emilie finally sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and staring at him like a lost little girl .

Chains sighed. “All right, are these all your things? The stuff in the shower ?”

She nodded. “I’ll get it .”

“Sit.” He gave her a stare that told her he meant business and she paused. “I’ll gather it up. Put on some shoes, yeah ?”

“Okay.” She went to her suitcase and pulled out a pair of sandals, sliding them on her feet. The effort seemed to cost her more energy than she had and she sank onto the edge of the bed, wondering what to do next. Things had taken a strange turn. She’d never expected Chains to show up, and pulling her out of the situation she’d been in was both a relief and an embarrassment. She also hadn’t imagined Cuddy going so far as to attempt a form of breath play without discussing it first. Everyone had limits, and Emilie had very few, but not only was it scary, it was dangerous. She hadn’t known he was going to go that far and by the time she’d realized it, it seemed easier to just close her eyes and hope it was over quickly .

“Ready to go?” Chains put the rest of her things into the suitcase and closed it. “Where’s your purse ?”

“Top drawer.” She pointed at the bureau. “You need a shirt .”

“I’ll get one once we’re out of here .”

“I’ve got one I picked up as a gift for Viggo in my bag—it’s still in the wrapping. I can get him another before I leave .”

“Thanks.” Chains dug around and pulled out a Sex Pistols T-shirt, shaking his head before tugging it on. He handed her purse to her and put the suitcase on its side, rolling it towards the door. “ Ready ?”

“Where are we going ?”

“To Warren’s .”

She sighed .

W arren was having a late dinner when they arrived and he ushered them into the den where his meal was laid out on a small tray table next to his favorite chair. He took his place in the old leather armchair and looked over at them warily, a tumbler with ice and a dark amber liquid in his hand .

“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this conversation?” he asked dryly .

“Do you know what your friend Cuddy tried to do?” Chains snarled .

“It’s all right,” Emilie said gently. “I knew what I was getting myself into .”

“He could have killed you.” Chains’ steely gray eyes narrowed into slits .

“All’s well that ends well,” was all she would say .

Chains grunted, folding his arms across his massive chest, and told the older man everything. “That wasn’t safe—what were you thinking, sending her to him ?”

“He’s changed,” Warren murmured. “I’ll have a chat with him, leave it to me .”

Chains looked unhappy but didn’t say anything else .

“If you two need a place for the night, I have a guest room. Just one bed, but I’m sure you can manage .”

Chains arched a brow. “Nice try, old man—I’m fine on the sofa .”

Warren laughed. “That massive body on my tiny sofa? You’ll be on the floor in minutes! Don’t be stubborn—I’m sure Em doesn’t mind sharing. You’re both adults .”

Emilie shrugged. “It’s okay, Chains. You can have the bed—I fit on the sofa just fine .”

“I’m a lot of ugly things, but my mum raised me to be a gentleman,” he said. “So not a chance I’m taking the bed from you .”

“Then we can both sleep on it,” she said, yawning. “I’m too tired to care. I’m going to lie down, if it’s all right with you, Warren .”

“Of course, darling.” He nodded. “Go rest. We’ll talk in the morning .”

“Sleep well,” Chains called after her .

Once she was gone, Chains got up and poured himself two fingers of scotch, downing it abruptly. He poured two more fingers and then took a seat across from Warren, eying him .

“Give it up, old man,” he said after a moment, staring moodily into space. “Trying to push Em and me together isn’t going to work. I’m not interested .”

“Total rubbish.” Warren smiled. “Who could resist her? And the way you barged in here tonight—you were madder than a wet hen! Don’t deny there’s an attraction .”

“Same as any beautiful woman,” he muttered. “Still not interested in anything more than a good screw .”

“Really.” Warren shook his head. “Stubborn, the both of you .”

Chains rolled his eyes. “Any luck finding anything about what she might have done ?”

“No.” He frowned, his face growing serious. “Everything else aside, you need to sort this out, mate. I haven’t the energy right now and if we don’t figure it out, she’ll be back to her humiliation antics the moment you’ve gone .”

Chains sighed. “I’ll make some calls, see if anyone knows anything .”

“I’ve done that. You need to dig deeper. You’re friends, the two of you, yeah ?”

“We work together, spend a bit of time together, so yeah .”

“Talk to her. You don’t have to marry the girl, just bloody talk to her. You were a top interrogator! Interrogate !”

Chains rose to his feet slowly. “I don’t think those types of interrogation techniques work on a woman like Emilie .”

“Then come up with new ones.” Warren leaned back and closed his eyes. “Now let an old man get some rest, you wanker .”

Chains chuckled as he left the room .

E milie woke up early the next morning, exhausted but unable to sleep any longer. She’d been restless all night, reliving the evening at Cuddy’s, missing her daughter and worrying about whether or not she would go to prison. She rolled over, reaching for her phone, and knocked against the hard body lying beside her .

“Bloody hell,” Chains muttered. “That’s twice you’ve smacked me about the head since I came to bed two hours ago .”

“Sorry! Go back to sleep.” She slid away from him, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and hurrying out of the room. She slipped into the bathroom down the hall and quickly freshened up, surprised she hadn’t woken when he got into bed with her .

She was a light sleeper in general, especially after Simone was born, and she’d always woken up on the nights Viggo got home late from a trip. Chains hadn’t alerted her to his presence at all, and she paused in the hall, staring down at the room where he still slept. Why had he come after her? If Viggo had sent him, he was wasting his time because she wasn’t going home until she’d faced the music. He could force her to go home this time, but she would only leave again, and they were all smart enough to know that .

She made her way downstairs to the sunroom, knowing Warren always broke the fast in his favorite room with multiple newspapers and unlimited cups of tea. Sure enough, she found him there, his glasses perched on his nose as he combed the pages of the previous day’s New York Times . She watched him for a moment, a smile playing on her lips, and then bent to kiss his cheek .

“Good morning,” she said, taking the seat across from him .

“Good morning.” He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if checking her over thoroughly. “How are you feeling, love ?”

She smiled. “ Refreshed .”

“Tea?” He met her eyes across the table .

“Thank you, yes.” She smiled again as he poured from the teapot into the cup he’d already set out for her. He was a kinky old man when it came to sex, but such a proper gentleman the rest of the time. It was part of what charmed her about him, and partly what had solidified their friendship. She took a croissant from the basket in the middle of the table and nibbled thoughtfully as she perused her phone .

“Has the time come for you to trust me?” he asked quietly .

Her head came up slowly. “It’s not about trust—it’s about doing the right thing .”

“Then let me help you!” he snapped in frustration. “Letting yourself be choked and humiliated by a group of arseholes isn’t going to fix whatever this is! Do you need a lawyer? A psychologist? A bloody séance ?!”

She looked down again, fighting the emotion welling up inside of her. He was so kind, so generous, and the thought of disappointing him was almost more than she could bear. But admitting what she’d done—no, she couldn’t admit to anything until she had answers. If she went to prison, everyone would know and then, at least, they would find out all at once. In the meantime, she had to battle this alone .

“You’re going to shut me out, aren’t you?” Warren asked sadly .

“I have to do this my way,” she said slowly. “I know you don’t understand, and I love you even more for wanting to help, but this is the way it has to be .”

“You’re stubborn as hell!” he grunted, scowling at her before turning back to his newspaper .

Emilie sighed and took a long sip of tea. She’d put it off long enough. Today she was going to go to Scotland Yard and turn herself in. There had to be an unsolved case file somewhere and it was time to close it. She was going to go upstairs and do a video chat with Simone, get her finances in order and then head out. By the time anyone figured out what she had planned, it would be too late to stop her. The time for sexual punishment and humiliating scenarios was over; it was time to face the music. Maybe then she could look at herself in the mirror again .