Redemption’s Inferno (Inferno #3)

Chapter 13

E milie couldn’t remember a time when sex like this—what she’d always considered boring missionary style—had been more than a quick way to get her partner off before instructing him on exactly what she wanted him to do next. There was nothing she wanted Chains—no, Darryl —to do differently. His cock was gliding in and out with precision and each stroke brought alive the nerve endings inside of her that made her almost desperate for him to take her harder, faster, deeper. Her thigh muscles had started to quiver from squeezing him so tightly but she wouldn’t have stopped moving if her life depended on it. Being with him like this was nothing like what she’d envisioned. She’d imagined sex with Chains as rough, brutal, even animalistic, a dom punishing his submissive as he took her. That was not this man; Darryl was touching parts of her she hadn’t been aware existed and as he moved his lips down for a scorching kiss, she felt something deep inside of her start to break free .

Months—no, years—of guilt and self-deprecation began to crumble like a skyscraper during an earthquake. Pieces loosened and fell away, leaving her tortured soul in tattered but surprisingly hopeful disarray. She clenched him tighter, pulling him as deep as she could, hips straining to take him farther than any man had ever been. A light sheen of sweat covered both of them as they moved in a sensual coupling dance that suddenly meant so much more .

“Darryl…” His name fell from her lips in a gasp as she felt a tightening indicating release was imminent. “Oh, please, don’t stop !”

“Not even if I was on fire!” he grunted, changing the slant of his hips so when he thrust up, the feel of her pussy convulsing around him sent him over the edge. He couldn’t hold on another second, growling as he shot into her, continuing to pump in and out as she milked his throbbing cock .

“D-Dar-Darryl!” Head back, nails digging into his back, she whispered his name over and over as she bucked uncontrollably .

“That’s it, baby, I’ve got you…” He was finally able to stop moving but he couldn’t pull out. They were twisted together, arms and legs entwined in a sweaty mess. He pressed his lips to hers, letting them linger with feathery glides across her mouth, chin and cheeks, waiting for her racing heart to return to normal .

“So good…” she sighed against his mouth, her body still pressed tightly to his .

“Bloody amazing,” he agreed softly, slowly easing out of her and rolling onto his back. He pulled her into the crook of his arm and she nestled into him, her body molding back into his so perfectly, it was as if he was still inside of her .

“Thank you,” she said after a moment .

“Never thank a man for sex,” he said .

“Not for the sex,” she chuckled softly. “Though it was so good, it deserves many thanks…but I was referring to everything. I’m not daft, you know. I know your mother is on to us and you kept up this charade thinking it would keep me close to you, vulnerable somehow and — ”

“Em, no, that wasn’t—” She put a finger on his lips, interrupting him just as he’d interrupted her .

“In the last seven days, you’ve been my anchor, the only thing keeping me from sailing right off the edge…your friendship, your strength—it’s been all you and there truly aren’t adequate words to thank you for that.” Her mouth trembled slightly. “I understand what you meant to do and I’m okay with us going back to being friends—I just wanted you to know how much you’ve come to mean to me this last week .”

His heart constricted painfully in his chest as he realized she was letting him off the hook, giving him permission to make this nothing more than a passing passionate interlude brought on by an insane week of stress. She was giving him an out but he was damned if he wasn’t hurt. A growl of frustration escaped and he yanked her on top of him, the fingers of one hand gripping her chin harder than he intended. When she winced, he loosened his hold but he’d brought his brows together dangerously .

“Is that all this was?” he asked tightly. “A pleasant way to end a week-long holiday? Tired of all the sex club fucking, you thought a bit of vanilla would do you some good ?”

Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. “What?! No! What are you—” She was cut off by a scream that shattered the quiet of the house .

C hains moved faster than she’d ever seen him, pushing her to the floor with one hand and yanking on his shorts with the other. He reached under the mattress and pulled out a gun, a finger on his lips as he moved towards the door .

“If I’m not back in 90 seconds, call 911!” he whispered automatically, momentarily forgetting he was in England and those numbers didn’t mean anything here. “999!” he corrected himself as he moved to the door .

Emilie was already nodding, grabbing her phone from the nightstand as she felt around for her clothes. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage painfully, her breath coming in short gasps as she watched the time and prayed it was nothing .

“Em!” She finally heard him shout her name and was up in a flash, bounding down the stairs and into the living room where Nate was holding a frightened Dolores and Chains was checking doors and windows .

“What’s happened?” she asked, hurrying to Dolores’ side and putting a comforting hand on her arm .

“Someone was here,” Dolores whispered, her eyes still wide with fright. “I’m not crazy! I saw him feeling around the windows from the outside, as if checking to see if he could get them open! I was so shocked I screamed and then he ran—but he was there !”

“There was definitely someone here,” Chains murmured. “These marks on the outside of the window are new—someone was trying to break in. Have you had trouble like this before ?”

“No! There’s almost no crime here!” Dolores was trembling and Nate pulled her against his chest. “I’ve never been afraid to be alone .”

“It’s time, Dolores,” he whispered in her ear .

“Time for what?!” Chains snapped, worry coursing through his veins .

“For me to move in!” Nate snapped back. “Been trying to get her to come to me for years, but she says she loves this bloody house. Well, enough of this—if you won’t move in with me, I’m moving in here! This sneaking about at night is too much for a man my age !”

“Not without a ring!” she huffed, the fierceness returning to her eyes. “Played that game before, you know .”

“It’s not like there’s a chance you’ll wind up havin’ another baby on your own!” he rolled his eyes .

She narrowed hers. “How in hell do you know, you tosser! Women my age are still havin’ babies !”

“You trying to tell me something?” he demanded .

“Seriously?!” Chains glared at both of them. “Mum, you’re 55! What are you goin’ on about? You’re not having another baby !”

“I could if I wanted!” She pulled away from Nate and folded her arms across her chest. “This bloody wanker won’t be tellin’ me what I can and cannot do with my own body !”

Emilie snorted, immediately clapping a hand over her mouth to cover her laugh. Nate’s lips began to twitch as well and Emilie couldn’t stop another twitter from escaping behind her hand .

“It’s not funny, missy!” Dolores shot her a look so full of mischief Emilie burst out laughing .

Nate joined in and Chains shook his head. “You’ve lost your minds, the lot of you!” he groused, turning back to the windows to make sure they were secure .

“It’s lucky you were awake,” Emilie told her .

“Well, with all the noise coming from your end of the hallway, it’s not like a lady could get any sleep, now could she?” Dolores said primly .

Emilie felt her face start to flame. “Oh my goodness …”

“Don’t say anything, Em.” Chains glanced up, fixing his mother with a look. “She’s just trying to get you to tell her what’s going on between us .”

“As if half the neighborhood couldn’t hear what was going on between you!” Dolores glared right back. “Made enough noise to wake the dead, you did !”

“I’m so sorry!” Emilie’s eyes were wide with embarrassment .

“I’ll stay down here the rest of the night,” Chains said, ushering them towards the stairs. “In case the wanker thinks he might come back .”

“I’ll stay as well,” Nate said, pressing a kiss to Dolores’ cheek. “Any more trouble tonight and we’ll get the authorities to make a report. Might be kids looking to make some mischief .”

“Yeah.” Chains nodded at Emilie, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs .

She hesitated, unsure what to do. They’d been interrupted at a most inopportune time, and she desperately wanted to explain why she’d said what she did, but he’d already looked away and was settling on the couch, his laptop open .

“Well, good night then,” she said softly, turning to head up to bed. Not that she would get any sleep tonight. With a rueful sigh, she glanced back over her shoulder and saw his intense gaze following her. Their eyes met for a moment and she could see their conversation was definitely going to be finished at a later time and relief flooded her; she didn’t want to leave things this way .

Settling in the chair across from Chains, Nate waited for the younger man to look up. “You think this was a prank or it has something to do with you ?”

“Never had a lick of trouble,” Chains muttered. “I’m home a week and this happens? I have to think it’s about me .”

“What do you have that could come back to haunt you? I know it could be anything, but there has to be something that stands out .”

“The last mission,” Chains said automatically. “It was a joint effort with the CIA and both U.S. and British military. The Americans had a line on bin Laden and we were out in the desert, thinking we were close. Then the Israelis showed up, a couple of Russians made an appearance, and it was a mess. Things went south and I was the one in charge of that operation. Dammit .”

“How many did you lose?” Nate asked quietly .

Chains stared out the window. “Eight. Six Americans, four in a helo that was shot down, and two more, plus two Brits, captured and killed on the ground .”

“Where were you ?”

Chains set his jaw. “I was in the helo, but I jumped. Figured a couple of broken legs were better than dead. Landed in a bloody tree, if you can believe it. I thought the others—maybe not the pilot—but the two next to me, would follow. I don’t know why they didn’t .”

“Who rescued you ?”

“The Israelis.” He took a breath. “Someone on the inside gave us up, but my superiors wouldn’t hear of it and the Americans were cagey. When they tried to turn it on me, I walked away.” He clenched his jaw. “I should’ve stayed and fought. I didn’t betray my country or my brothers in arms. Never would. Don’t understand what happened but the idea one of those men turned on us—I couldn’t do it anymore. Too much ugliness. Maybe that makes me a pussy .”

“Makes you human,” Nate said .

“I don’t want this to blow back on Mum… I have to leave England .”

“I’ll be movin’ in with your mum,” Nate said gruffly. “Already bought the bloody ring, but she’s been a bit standoffish with regards to a wedding. I think she was waiting for you .”

“For me?” Chains’ eyes widened. “For what ?”

“To approve. To give a blessing. She’ll never say the words, but I think she needs that, to know you’re okay with it .”

Chains nodded. “Yeah.” He didn’t know this man well enough to be okay with anything, but as far as approval went, he wanted whatever would make his mother happy. She’d been alone far too long and finding someone not only would be good for her, it would make him worry less. He still had a few friends in MI6, people who checked on his mother for him regularly, but it would be better for her to have a man in the house, with her all the time .

“Are you okay with it?” Nate glanced over at him. “I’m an open book, mate. You can check me out ten ways to Sunday—I don’t want anything from you or your mum. I’ve my own money, own my house. Have a grown daughter who’s married and seems to be popping out a new grandbaby every year, and she adores Dolores. I’d like us to be friends, but if you’re not willing, I respect your decision. You should just know your mum won’t take the next step if you don’t approve .”

“My only issue is trust,” Chains said quietly. “And that takes time to build. If you’re who you say you are, and you genuinely love her, I don’t have a problem with anything. If you lay a hand on her, go after her money, or are somehow involved with my MI6 past and that’s the only reason you’re with her—we will have a big problem .”

“Then I’ve nothing to worry about.” He paused. “Except this nonsense here tonight .”

Chains nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He hesitated. “Do you spend the night often ?”

Nate shrugged. “No. Usually she stays with me. She didn’t want to leave with you here, and I was tired of going home every night, so tonight I put my foot down about staying the night. Glad I did .”

“Me too.” Chains wasn’t sure how he felt about the older man spending the night, but until he had a reason to suspect he’d been involved in whatever had happened tonight, he owed it to his mother to give him a chance. He already had Warren and Joe both putting out feelers. If Nate had a nefarious past, one of them would find out. In the meantime, his night with Emilie had been disrupted, they’d been about to have their first fight and he’d seen the look on her face when she’d gone upstairs; she was upset, which basically defeated the purpose of everything he’d done this week. He’d wanted her to be relaxed and happy, especially now that he’d had a taste of her. He didn’t know what he was going to do about their complicated relationship, or the way she’d tried to push him away, but he had more pressing matters to think about in the immediate future .

E milie woke to the buzzing of her phone and rolled over sleepily, reaching for it. Jamie’s name flashed on the screen and she frowned, wondering what was going on for him to be calling her at midnight his time. It was just after 8:00 in the morning here, so she answered in a worried voice. “Jamie? Is everything okay ?”

“Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you ?”

“I was ready to get up,” she yawned. “What’s happening? Aren’t you and Viggo on holiday? Your honeymoon ?”

“We go home in the morning,” he said. “But something’s been on my mind and Viggo thought we should talk about it .”

“Of course. What is it?” Emilie sat up, putting the phone on speaker .

“Viggo told me what you’re going through and, based on our history, I guess I wondered if you’d done a test or gotten your period or anything .”

Emilie froze, staring at the phone as though she didn’t know what it was .

“Em?”

“I, uh, no.” She swallowed. “I didn’t, I mean...damn. I didn’t even think about it, Jamie .”

“When was the last time you had a period ?”

“I…I…” She wracked her brain. “I don’t know! Shit! Do you know how many times we didn’t use protection ?”

“Four,” he said quietly .

“You counted ?”

“Of course I counted! We made a conscious decision to get pregnant and then you just left! Haven’t you thought about it at all ?”

“No! At the time I just assumed I would feel something or notice I was late… I don’t think I am, but I guess I should check .”

“I’m okay either way, but with you being so cryptic about what’s going on, when you’re coming back—I really need to know, Em .”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that when I made the decision to come to England. I just knew I needed to sort out a situation that happened eight years ago in London, and I couldn’t put it off any longer .”

“I don’t know what that means exactly, but you’ve made it sound like something bad is going on and if you’re pregnant — ”

“It’s not that bad,” she interrupted quietly. “Chains got some information for me, and it’s going to be okay. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home .”

“I want to be sure you’re okay,” Jamie said softly. “We agreed to stop using protection over the summer just to see what happened, and I took that as a commitment to this, Em, but I don’t want you to feel obligated .”

“It was a commitment. It is. I’ll take a test, find out and let you know as soon as I do. Promise. Let me run, okay ?”

“O-kay.” Jamie drew out the word before asking, “Are you upset ?”

“No, I’m just a bit flustered because I honestly didn’t even think about it. Which was stupid because it was the same way with Simone. I didn’t realize I was pregnant because I didn’t have any symptoms! Now I need to get to a store and buy some tests and…” Her voice trailed off in frustration. “I still feel bad I hid my pregnancy from Viggo, so this time I was hoping we would all do this together—find out together, go to the appointments, all of it. But I can’t come home just yet, Jamie. Please forgive me. I have to finish sorting out my situation and that may be a little while yet. I’ll call you soon—I’m sorry, Jamie, I have to go.” She disconnected and lay back with a cry of frustration. Just when things were looking up, she’d gotten herself into another situation .

Tears leaked down her cheeks as she tried to mentally discern how late her period was. She definitely hadn’t had one in July and the month was drawing to a close. Her periods had been a little off since Simone was born but they’d become more regular the last six months, so this wasn’t a good sign. She needed to take a pregnancy test immediately and she sat up halfheartedly. It was probably a good thing she’d told Chains she just wanted to be friends; what on earth would he want with her if she was pregnant by someone else? Steeling her resolve, she forced herself to get up and grab clean clothes from her suitcase. After last night’s sex, she needed a shower. Then she needed a pharmacy .