Surrendering to His Siren (Silver Spoon Heroes)

Chapter Five

Emmett

" W hat the crap?" Nina mumbles, bringing me wide awake on her severely undersized sofa.

I lay there for several long moments fighting a smirk, as floorboards creak one by one, as if she's tiptoeing closer. When I'm fairly certain she's right next to the couch, I crack my eyes open.

"Lonely in your big bed without me, Red?"

"Christ on a cracker!" She jumps a good foot in the air before losing her balance. Her eyes widen in shock as she tumbles forward…landing in an unceremonious heap against my chest, her legs dangling in the air.

I wrap my arms around her, hauling her closer.

Goddamn. She feels good first thing in the morning.

"If you wanted me to hold you, all you had to do was ask, baby," I tease. "No need to break your neck throwing yourself at me."

Her knee comes suspiciously close to my dick, an indignant huff blowing from her lips. "Why are you sleeping naked on my couch, Emmett?"

"I'm neither naked nor asleep. But if you'd stop wiggling…" I slide her down until she's laying across my bare chest. "There. This is more like it. Now I can sleep."

"Oh, no you can't!" She squirms again so I plant my hand against her ass. I'm not trying to cop a feel—well, not entirely. I'm trying to keep from sending her fleeing when she feels the hard bastard begging for attention between us. Call me crazy, but I don't think she's ready to become intimately acquainted with my cock. And since I'm only wearing boxers…

It's a shame, really. He's definitely ready and willing. Has been all fucking night. I should probably feel bad about jerking off in her bathroom. I don't feel bad. But I probably should.

"Why are you almost naked on my couch?"

"Figured you'd kick my ass if you woke up with me almost naked in your bed." I probably shouldn’t tell her that, but it's true. Self-preservation kept me from crawling in beside her every damn time I checked on her. She looked cuddly as fuck burritoed in her blanket cocoon.

She squirms again, and her pussy settles against my cock. We both freeze. At least, that's what I intend to do, but she makes this whimpering sound, and my fucking mind disconnects from my body.

I groan, burying my face in her throat. My lips brush her soft skin. My hands sink into her perfect ass.

I rock her against me, creating the perfect amount of friction.

Her cunt rides up and down my shaft through her pajama shorts and my boxers, her heat scorching me.

"Fuck," I groan, nipping at her throat.

Her nails dig into my arms, soft mewls, falling from her lips. And I have to taste them. I need to know what they feel like yielding to mine.

I turn my head, chasing her mouth.

Our lips collide in a desperate kiss. It's all lips and tongue and hunger. And fuck me, the way she slips her tongue into my mouth while grinding that hot little pussy all over my dick has me ready to snap.

I shove my hands into her shorts, gripping her bare ass cheeks. I'm going to worship this ass on my knees just as soon as she lets me. May not ever come up for air again, as a matter of fact.

"Emmett, I…I…"

"Ah, Christ," I pant against her throat. "You're going to fucking come on me, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

"Fuck yeah." I buck my hips, grinding against her clit. "Shatter for me, baby."

She breaks with the sweetest cry of surrender, convulsing on top of me. I rock her, trying to eke out every last shake and shiver, every last drop of pleasure. It takes every ounce of willpower I possess not to come in my boxers, but I manage it. Somehow.

And she falls limp on my chest, breathing hard. For several long moments, we just lay there before she starts coughing.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried as fuck.

"Yes," she whispers.

I tip her head back, forcing her to look at me. "You aren't supposed to be alone, Nina. Since your brother is camping, I stayed to keep an eye on you."

Her gaze flits across my face, the vulnerability in her eyes tugging at my heart. She wants to believe me, wants to trust me, but she's scared to let herself. "I'm fine," she whispers.

"You coughed like that all morning."

"It happens with smoke inhalation."

"Oh, so you're the expert now?" I cock a brow at her, making her grimace. "Delayed acute respiratory distress happens from smoke inhalation, too, Red. You'll think you're fine, and then a day or two later, you can't breathe because of the damage to your lungs from toxins in the smoke you inhaled. I actually am an expert on this, so it makes sense for me to keep an eye on you. I know the signs."

"You don't need to do that. I have friends."

"Do any of them have medical training?"

She mumbles under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said no, okay? No, none of them have medical training."

"Then let me help you." I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "You just lost your dad. Now, you've lost his house, and you damn near lost your life. Lean on someone else for once."

The hesitation is clear in her eyes, but she nods slowly, reluctantly.

"Now, I have a serious question for you, and I need honesty."

She immediately tenses. For a split second, dread slides through her eyes before she blinks it away. "I already told you that I didn't see anything," she says. "I was upstairs."

My brows furrow. "Good to know, but the question isn't about the fire."

Judging by that look, maybe I should be asking about the fire again. Fuck. What does she know that I don't? More importantly…what doesn't she want me to know? It's definitely something.

Who is she trying to protect? The men her neighbor saw? Her brother?

Jesus Christ. She said he was at football practice last night, but she was also worried as fuck that we might have found his body in that house. If he had no reason to be there, she would have had no reason to be worried about it. Whether he set the fire or not, I don't know. But I think she thinks he did. And she's scared as hell that I'm going to find out.

Fuck me. Why would she be worried that he set the house on fire? What isn't she telling me?

"Oh," she whispers.

I hesitate for a moment before deciding not to push yet. I need her trust. Otherwise, I'm never getting her secrets, and I'm more convinced than ever that she's got secrets. Big goddamn secrets. "Did I do something to make you dislike me, baby?"

"What?" She seems genuinely startled by the question. "I never said that I don't like you."

"You didn't have to say it. You're jumpy as hell. You're cranky. And I think you'd rather be back in that bathroom than spend a few days with me in your space."

"F-few days?" she squeaks, eyes wide. "I thought this was just for today!"

"Nope."

She deflates like a popped balloon. And how the fuck that's equal parts adorable and painful, I don't fucking know, but here we are. Spending a few days with her is appealing as hell to me. To her, it's the equivalent of…well, whatever the fuck torture is to a girl like her. Stupid-hot firefighters, apparently.

"That's what I'm talking about." I haul us into a sitting position before carefully sliding out from beneath her and rising to my feet. "I'm the last motherfucker you want in your space."

She stares up at me, her expression rife with guilt. But she doesn't deny it.

I sigh and turn to head for the bathroom. I need to call Dillon. We've got work to do. A whole helluva lot of it, apparently.

"You make me nervous," she blurts when I'm halfway across the room. "I've never…"

"Never what?" I ask without turning around.

"Never spent time around men." She huffs. "I mean, I've spent time around men. Obviously , I've spent time around men. Just never ones who were nice to me."

I glance over my shoulder at her, anger slicing through me. "Your exes didn't treat you well?"

"I…well, no…I…" She fidgets restlessly, her cheeks pink. "Um, there are no exes."

Fuck. Is she–?

"Nina, I need you to be real clear here," I rumble, my hands in fists and my feet firmly planted. "Are you saying that you never dated anyone before me?"

"B-before you?" Her eyes are so wide they're in danger of popping out.

"Answer the question," I growl.

"I've never dated."

"You're a virgin."

She nods miserably, avoiding my gaze.

Jesus Christ. I just dry fucked a virgin on the couch. And I want to do it again right now. My cock is literally begging to do it again right now, actually.

No wonder I make her nervous. She's never done any of this before, and I'm already well on my way to planning our wedding. I'm fantasizing about how many kids we'll have and she's…what? Probably freaking the fuck out.

I stride back to her and lean down, brushing my lips across hers in a soft kiss. "Thank you for telling me, baby."

"I…you're welcome?"

I chuckle quietly at the confusion in her voice. "I'm going to try really hard to take things slow with you," I murmur. "You're gorgeous and you've got my goddamn heart beating out of my chest, but I'm going to try anyway. I don't want to fuck it up."

She stares at me for a long moment, vulnerability in her eyes again. "Why do you care, Emmett? I'm just a girl you pulled out of a fire."

"No, you aren't." I shake my head, my voice firm. "I'm pretty fucking certain you're my future. So I need you to get on the same page, Red."

"Your f-future?"

"Yeah, my future." I tip her head back, running my thumb along her bottom lip. "I wasn't even supposed to be at work last night, but something told me that I needed to go to that fire. And there you were, calling out for me like a siren in the flames."

Her brows furrow. "I didn't call out for you."

"Yeah, you did. How do you think I found you, Nina?"

In this line of work, it's impossible not to believe in something. I've seen people survive what should have killed them, and watched others succumb to things they should have walked away from without a scratch. You can't cheat death, but fate is the thing holding all the cards.

Nina was screaming bloody murder last night. It wasn't panicked screaming, either. It was more like she was staring death in the face and refusing to go quietly. The sound led me right to her. Without it, I wouldn't have found her. And I think maybe that was fate, too.

She's the reason my instincts were screaming at me to get my ass to work all day yesterday. And I may be a lot of things, but I am not crazy enough to question fate.

I tap her bottom lip and then stand upright again. "Since we're apparently up for the day, I'm going to get dressed." I rake my gaze down her body, appreciating the sight of her in her little tank top and pajama shorts. "You should absolutely feel free to wear that today, though. The cherries suit you."

I stride across the room, leaving her spluttering in my wake.

Christ, I can't wait until she's ready to trust me. It's been a long fucking time since I touched another woman. She was probably still a damn teenager the last time I was with anyone. But I want her in a way I've never wanted anything. And having her in my bed isn't going to be nearly enough to satisfy me.

I want every piece of her. Starting with her secrets.

After taking care of my aching cock, showering, and getting dressed, I lean against the sink to call Dillon.

"What do you want?" he grumbles.

"You're cranky today," I mutter, grinning.

"Yes. That's because you're on my phone. What do you want, Emmett?"

"Nina's brother is missing."

Dillon is completely silent for a moment before he groans loudly. "What do you mean by missing?"

"I mean he stuck a note to do the door saying he was going camping with a friend, but Nina is worried," I explain. "Any idea if he has a history of disappearing like this?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"It's complicated."

"Uncomplicate it," he growls.

"Look, I'm not sure what the fuck is going on yet, but she's hiding something. She's scared of something. I don't fucking know. But she's worried about her brother. Given that someone just set a house on fire with her inside and there were shady motherfuckers lurking around the day before that happened, finding him seems like a good idea to me," I mutter.

"Now who's cranky?" Dillon asks after a brief pause.

I chuckle despite myself. "Have I ever told you that you're a fucking asshole?"

"A time or two. You're just pissed that I pay my investigators more than the fire department pays you," he says. "We'll start looking for the kid. And to answer your question, as far as I know, no, he has no history of disappearing. He and Nina are close, and he's a good kid. He's all-state, has a full ride to Texas A&M, volunteers on weekends."

So not the kind of kid who runs around setting fires. Why the fuck does Nina think he set this one? It doesn't make sense. And I can't exactly ask her. She's scared as hell, and the last thing I need is for her to realize I know she thinks he set the fire before she's ready to tell me. All that'll do is send her running. I do not need her running with her brother missing and two unidentified men lurking around.

Which means I need to figure out how to clear Nate as a suspect without her realizing that he's even on the fucking list. At least until she's ready to tell me what she knows. It's a delicate goddamn balance, but I can't risk her running anywhere but into my arms.

"Do you think he has anything to do with the fire?" Dillon asks.

Fuck my life. I knew the question was coming, but it's not one I'm prepared to answer because right now? I don't fucking know. I've never lied to Dillon about a case. We may give each other nine kinds of hell, but we're always honest.

But I'm not ready to tell him any of this shit yet, either. Not until I know one way or another if I'm throwing her brother under the goddamn bus here.

"She said he had football practice last night," I say instead. "I'll confirm to cover our bases."

"No need," Dillon says immediately. "Garrett was bitching yesterday about practices running late this week because they're trying to find the new starting QB. The Welch kid broke his shoulder."

I grunt in response.

"I'll have everyone keep an eye out for Nate," he says. "Keep me posted on what you find."

"Will do." I disconnect before he has a chance to ask anything else and then scrub a hand down my face. Fucking hell. I need to figure this shit out quick.

I stand there for a minute before I go in search of Nina, only to find her in the small kitchen, loading two plates.

I pause, my heart rolling in my chest at the sight of her. She got dressed, opting for a simple blue dress and ballet flats. Her hair is piled up on top of her head, leaving the graceful column of her neck exposed. My lips twitch with the desire to taste every inch of exposed skin.

She must sense me watching her because she turns, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her eyes meet mine, her cheeks immediately turning pink. "I made you breakfast."

"You cooked for me?" I ask, striding into the room.

She shrugs, her gaze bouncing away. "Thought you were probably hungry. You worked all night." She grimaces. "You're probably starving, actually."

"I grabbed something on the way to the hospital. Full disclosure. I was going to bring you food too, but I wasn't sure if they'd let you eat or not. I thought it'd be less painful for you if I didn't bring anything than to show up with a juicy burger you couldn't eat."

"Good choice," she murmurs. "They probably wouldn't have let me eat it. They wouldn't let me leave, either."

"I heard. Something about a stupid-hot firefighter."

Her eyes nearly bug out of her head. "What? Who said that? Wasn't me."

"Clearly not." I chuckle, shaking my head. "I don't know any stupid-hot firefighters."

"Right," she snorts, grabbing the plates.

"Here, let me." I quickly take them, carrying them across to the two-seater table situated in a little nook.

She follows me with a coffee pot and two mugs, blushing when I hold out her chair for her. I can't resist running my hand down her arm, which elicits a shiver. I fucking love the way she responds to me. I may make her nervous, but I think she craves my touch. She certainly didn't curl into Alessandro last night like she does with me. Even in distress, some part of her felt the hum of electricity between us.

I take a seat across from her, my stomach rumbling loudly.

She hears it and laughs quietly.

"It looks fucking delicious," I say, shrugging unapologetically. It's true. The plate is heaped high with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and biscuits.

"Nate eats a ton. I figured you probably do too."

"I'm a growing stupid-hot firefighter."

She chokes on her juices, her cheeks blazing. "I'm never living that down, am I?"

"Probably not." I grin, my eyes locked on her face. "I like knowing you're attracted to me, Red."

She rolls her eyes at me. "Half the population is probably attracted to you, Emmett. You're hot, in shape, and you're a firefighter. That's basically the trifecta as far as most people are concerned. And then there are the tattoos."

I pause with a forkful of eggs halfway to my mouth. "I'm not interested in what most people think. Their opinions are irrelevant. I'm interested in what you think."

"I think you're stupid-hot," she mumbles.

"I'm also just a man, baby. I'm covered in tattoos because I like ink. I'm in shape because the job demands it. I didn't have a say in the rest of it. It's just the way I was made. It doesn't make me more worthy than anyone else."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean you don't benefit from it," she says softly. "People treat you like you're more deserving than others because of the way you look. It's not like that for everyone." She glances away. "When you're my size, the world is less kind. I guess it makes it hard to believe that someone who looks like you is here for the right reasons."

I scowl, anger rolling through me at the thought of people treating her poorly because of her size. From where I'm sitting, there isn't a damn thing wrong with her or her body.

But she isn't wrong, either. Guys who look like I do have it easy. People treat us one way and treat others a different way. It's fucked up. But I've never been the guy who tries to use the way I look to my advantage or treated anyone else differently because of their looks or size. To me, thick is fucking sexy. Intelligence and spirit are attractive as hell. And the woman seated across from me—with her cute little attitude and her fire and sass and her dedication to her brother and those gorgeous curves—is the full package.

"The world is full of assholes, Nina," I murmur. "They see a beautiful woman like you who doesn't fit the mold and doesn't wedge herself in a box like she was told to do, and it intimidates the hell out of them. How dare you shine so fucking brightly outside of the box they dimmed their light trying to cram themselves into? But that's not your problem, baby. That's their problem. You weren't made for a box, and you damn sure don't deserve to dim everything that makes you beautiful trying to fit into one to make yourself more palatable to a bunch of assholes who can never and will never be good enough for you."

She gapes at me, speechless.

"There isn't a damn thing wrong with you except for the fact that you don't know how fucking perfect you are. But that's all right, Red. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of teaching you."

"T-teaching me?"

Goddamn, I love the way she squeaks when she's nervous. It shouldn't make me want to fuck my kid into her nearly as much as it does, and yet… The thought of getting her pregnant is all kinds of appealing. Actually, the thought of her tied to me with my kid in her belly has me hard as a fucking rock.

If her brother set that fire, I'm going to be pissed about it. Because there's no goddamn way I'm going to be willing to let her go after spending a few days with her. It's been less than twenty-four hours, and I'm already hooked.

"Yeah." I grin at her. "Teaching you. Worshipping every little spot on that gorgeous body. Adoring you. Pampering you. Spoiling you fucking rotten. That's what you deserve. I'm going to give it to you."

She exhales a soft whimper, desire blazing in her eyes. Longing, too. This girl…Christ. It kills me a little to know she's been this close for the last five years, struggling on her own when I could have been here making her life easier.

"You're making me nervous again," she whispers, her voice shaking.

"That isn't nerves, Red. What you're feeling is longing and desire. It's excitement for the unknown. You want the same things. You're just afraid to let yourself admit it."

"Do not," she whispers, but I think even she hears the doubt in her voice. Sooner or later, she'll realize she's only lying to herself. I'm certainly not buying what she's selling.

But I back off for now.

Slow and steady, I remind myself. Slow and steady.

I need to figure this shit out with her brother and why he set that fire, figure out who the fuck is lurking around, and then I can work on planting my kid in her.

"Can we go see the house today?" she asks a few minutes later.

I hesitate and then sigh. "Are you sure you want to see it, baby? It's not pretty. The house was too involved by the time we arrived on scene. All we were able to do was keep it from spreading. There's not much left but rubble and ash."

"I'm sure." She swallows hard, meeting my gaze. The steel in her blue eyes is infinite. She isn't going to back down on this. "I need to see it, Emmett."

Well, fuck.

"Yeah," I reluctantly agree. "I'll take you to see it."