Chapter 15
W ith nothing to do but wait until they could visit the Brown family, Emilie suddenly had a kind of freedom she couldn’t remember having since she’d been in school. Chains suggested a day trip to Stonehenge, something Emilie had never seen. It was about a three-hour drive and even though they were getting a bit of a late start since it was already nearly 11:00, they didn’t have anything else to do and Emilie found his desire to expose her to some of the interesting history of his country charming and sweet. In fact, for the next three days he went out of his way to charm and impress her. Day trips, a flower stolen from someone’s garden in their travels, her favorite pastries each morning when they awoke, and even a few small gifts. Though it was lovely, Emilie worried he was working too hard and would quickly tire of spoiling her—had he truly never been in a relationship before? She wanted to talk to him about it, but was enjoying the attention so much she opted to wait .
As they cleaned up after dinner a few evenings later, Emilie’s phone rang and she was surprised to see Cuddy’s name flash on the screen. She slipped out of the kitchen and out onto the porch as she answered, wondering what he could possibly want .
“Yes, hello ?”
“Hello, Em!” He sounded like any of her friends who might be calling her .
“Hello.”
“Listen, had a strange conversation about you with someone,” he said. “Thought I’d mention it .”
“About me?” She was startled. “Who was it ?”
“Bloke showed up at the door but didn’t have the password. Made a bit of a fuss and finally dropped your name. My doorman came and got me and I took him into my office to see what was what. Said he was a friend of yours and you’d told him you participated in my evening activities. I told him it didn’t matter, anyone wanting to participate still had to be vetted and he said he only wanted to catch up with you, that your phone wasn’t working.” He paused. “But obviously your phone is working just fine .”
“Did you get his name? You didn’t give him my number, did you ?!”
“Love, would I be calling if I were the type to give out your number ?”
“You’re the type who ignored safety protocols and almost got me killed!” she snapped, looking up as Chains joined her on the porch .
“I did no such thing!” he laughed. “Hasn’t Warren confessed yet ?”
“Warren?” She was confused. “What do you mean ?”
“It was a game, love. He wanted Chains to have a reason to have to save you—asked me to do it as a favor to him. I knew when to stop. Bloody hell, do you think anyone would come to my parties if they didn’t feel safe? I’m known to push boundaries and to be a bit of an ass, but I’ve never ignored a safe word or allowed harm to come to anyone .”
“Warren…” Her voice trailed off. “That doesn’t matter—tell me about this man .”
“What man?” Chains groused, his eyes suddenly narrowing. “Is that Cuddy? Give me the phone!” He snatched it out of her hands and spat into the phone, “What’s going on, Cuddy? If you’re making trouble for Em — ”
“Easy, mate.” Cuddy’s voice was strangely sincere as he repeated what he’d told Emilie. “I told this bloke nothing and also told my security not to let him back in. Wouldn’t give his name .”
“Odd.” Chains glanced at Emilie, who looked worried .
“Just wanted her to know there was someone I don’t trust asking after her but I sent him on his way .”
“Why do you care about Emilie?” Chains demanded. “You obviously don’t — ”
“She’ll tell you why!” Cuddy chuckled. “Cheers, mate.” He disconnected and Chains stared at Emilie. “What’s he talking about ?”
“Apparently, our good friend Warren set up that little scenario where Cuddy went too far .”
“Set it up how?” Chains’ eyes narrowed dangerously .
“You were meant to save me. Cuddy didn’t push the envelope until you arrived, because that’s what Warren asked him to do .”
“Bloody hell.” He grunted. “That matchmaking old fool is going to be the death of me !”
She was thinking about something else, though. “Why is someone looking for me ?”
“I’d like to know too,” he admitted .
“Should we take a quick trip to London?” she asked. “Hit the BDSM clubs and see if we run into anyone else looking for me ?”
“We might do that.” Their eyes met .
“Don’t worry,” she said softly. “I trust you to take care of me .”
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. Damn if she wasn’t right; he not only wanted to take care of her, he would enjoy it too .
T he next day they headed back to London. Chains had booked a hotel room even though Warren had offered them his guest room again. He and Emilie had never truly been alone together, and though they’d agreed to a trial relationship, they hadn’t had sex again. The night they’d returned from Stonehenge, Emilie had fallen asleep in the car and hadn’t even woken when he’d carried her upstairs. The next night they’d gone to see a play at a local theater with his mother and Nate and wound up staying out until very late, with Emilie falling asleep on him again. Then a water pipe burst just before they’d gone to bed the following night, keeping Chains and Nate up until all hours trying to keep the house from flooding until they could get a plumber. It seemed like a comedy of errors was keeping them apart, and he was determined to change that tonight. That was his plan anyway; not that any of his plans seemed to be coming to fruition lately .
“At some point I’m going to have to see a doctor,” Emilie said on the drive. “I should be taking prenatal vitamins already, and I don’t know how to get them here .”
“I can get them for you,” he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand .
“Chains…”
“Yeah?” He glanced over at her .
“This thing with us, it might not be a good idea.” She chewed her lower lip. “I think it’s going to be weird for you, with me being pregnant. I’m going to get fat — ”
“You’re going to grow a child,” he corrected mildly. “I don’t see pregnant women as fat. There’s a difference .”
“Sex is going to fall by the wayside,” she projected. “Not right away, but although I was alone the last time, I definitely didn’t feel like it towards the end .”
“Because you were alone,” he reasoned. “If you’d been with Viggo, and things had been good between you, I’m sure that would have changed. Even though I assume all pregnant women have bad days, unless there’s a medical issue, I can’t believe none of them have sex .”
She smiled. “No, I know for a fact Becca and Dante have sex—a lot. But they’re so deeply in love…” She sighed .
“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly. “I know it’s a difficult subject, but right now the only person who knows there’s a baby is me, and I would never tell .”
She shook her head. “No. I couldn’t do that—this child was conceived on purpose, with love. Not romantic love, but the love of friendship and family .”
“All right, but then you’re going to have to think about what happens if the Browns want to reopen the case. When it’s all said and done, you didn’t commit a crime by leaving him there, but there could be all kinds of legalities, including them suing you .”
“If the autopsy revealed nothing could have saved him, what would suing me do ?”
“Make grieving parents feel better .”
“Then I’ll pay,” she said. “I make a lot of money and don’t have any bills other than Simone and the basic essentials of life—groceries, gas, like that. I pay nothing to live with Viggo and Jamie, Karl bought my car when I moved to Philadelphia to go to school, and Viggo has been paying for everything for Simone .”
“I don’t think they have a chance, but if they’re vengeful like that, they could ask for millions of pounds. It would be a burden on you for the rest of your life .”
“It’s just money,” she said with a small shrug. “Knowing I didn’t actually kill him by leaving him tied up takes away most of the guilt, but not all. I still feel terrible it happened on my watch, so to speak, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make up for that. I understand it would be a burden on you, as well, if that happened, so if this works out between us, we don’t have to actually get married .”
He swung his head around to look at her and shook his head in disbelief. “Are you serious? Do you really think that little of me? I’m beginning to think so .”
“I want to protect you!” she protested .
“The first time we had sex, you immediately told me it was okay if I just wanted to be friends. When I said I wanted to give this relationship stuff a try, you pointed out you’re going to get fat while pregnant and you understand if I’ve changed my mind. And now, because there’s a chance you might get sued, you’re letting me off the hook for marriage so I’m not financially burdened. Bloody hell, woman, don’t you think I know my own mind?!” He scowled at her. “I’m not an idiot. I’m well aware a pregnant woman gains weight, although our definitions of fat appear to differ. If that was going to be a problem, I’d have never suggested we try this. And frankly, if this works out between us, I’m assuming it would be forever. Isn’t that what you want? If we were to fall in love and decide we want to be together, wouldn’t the goal be to be together for the rest of our lives ?”
“Yes, of course .”
“And you think if that was the plan I wouldn’t marry you?!” He gave her a dirty look. “Seems to me you’re more afraid of us getting together than I am .”
She looked away, staring out the window moodily. He had a point, even though she hadn’t thought about it that way. She did feel reluctant to involve him in her crazy life, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. She liked him a lot, and wanted to explore more with him, but part of her was embarrassed. She was such a mess, in so many different areas of her life, she couldn’t imagine a man like him wanted to live with her .
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said after a moment. “ Please ?”
She sighed. “I’ve done so many stupid things, and if I were you, I’d think twice about getting involved with me. I’m divorced, and still heavily involved with my ex. I have a child and am about to have another, neither of which are yours, which means a relationship with me makes you an automatic stepfather. This situation with Adam Brown is truly embarrassing—how much of a twit am I for getting myself into that and letting it go for eight long years ?”
“You were young,” he responded. “You think I never did anything stupid when I was 18 and 19 ?”
“It’s different, though. You were at the university having a good time before going into the military—I was doing nothing but partying and being reckless. And now I’m in what I think is a healthy, but very unconventional, relationship with two bisexual men whom I now have two children with. Does that make any sense for you ?”
He smiled. “Do I look like a very conventional guy to you? I mean, look at me—I have dreads, 30 tattoos and counting, and I work in a sex club. How many suburban parents do you know like that ?”
She chuckled. “Not many, but you don’t really work in a sex club—you work for one of the top security firms in the U.S. and the sex club is just your current assignment.” She paused. “I’ve got no explanation for the dreads, however—why do you have them ?”
He laughed. “In the military, of course, my hair was buzzed short on my head but when I got into undercover work, I wanted to look less military and more like a regular bloke. I started growing it out and then I went on a mission in Jamaica. I thought it was brilliant, all the men with dreads, and I had extensions put in as a lark. Got taken prisoner with the dreads and wound up having them for about two months. When I escaped, I made an alliance with a rival group and since they knew me with dreads, I had to keep them. Then it became my thing and I’ve kept them… I think about getting rid of them, though. Get a bit itchy sometimes, and the hair is trashed, not soft or healthy anymore .”
“I like them,” she said, looking at him carefully. “But I could see you without, as well .”
“Would you like me to cut them off ?”
She shook her head. “I’ve no say in that! If you told me to cut my hair short I’d laugh in your face, so I don’t think I should tell you what to do with your hair either .”
“Generally speaking, on men other than me, do you like dreads ?”
She bit her lip but knew lying wouldn’t be right in such a new relationship. “ No .”
He nodded. “I appreciate your honesty .”
“But it works on you. It’s not a deterrent—I find you incredibly attractive. Dreads or not .”
He smiled. “Believe me, the feeling is mutual .”