His Redemption

by A. F. Crowell

  I looked down to Aunt Jane who was sipping her iced tea and then to Brody, who was politely continuing to eat.

  “Oh my God, that’s disgusting. How are you still eating that?” I asked, dropping the spoon into the bowl with a crinkled nose.

  “It’s not that bad, Em,” Brody barely mustered as he took another sip of iced tea.

  “Not that bad? I assure you that Noir’s salt block isn’t that salty.”

  Aunt Jane finally released the fit of giggles I could see she had been trying to hold back. “Oh, Em, love, it’s pretty bad. You’re right, but it’s the thought that counts, sweetheart. It was your first attempt.”

  “Ugh, I don’t know what happened. Everything tasted good when I was preparing it. At no point did it ever taste like I dropped the whole box of salt into it. God, my tongue is half numb. Yuck.”

  Brody sat back with a massive grin dancing across his face. “How about I order a pizza?”

  “Good thinking, dear. You order the pizza. Emmery and I will clean up these bowls.” Aunt Jane turned to me and began to tell me where I could have messed up. Finally, I was able to laugh about it as we cleared the disgraced meal from the table.

  ***

  A couple hours later, we had finished dinner and I couldn’t get away quickly enough. I had clothes to pack and revenge to plot. Okay, maybe the last part was a little dramatic. I was still livid with Brody for implicating my mother in this crazy theory he had cooked up. My mother was not some coke-pushing, gun-toting, cartel-leading drug lord.

  I refused to believe it.

  As I sat cross-legged in the walk-in closet, I carefully weighed the evidence Brody had presented. First, shipments started disappearing around the same time my mother left us—that was circumstantial or coincidence. Second, the guys who were after me arrived from Venezuela, where my mother lives—again, circumstantial. Third, my mom bought two plane tickets from Venezuela to New York a week before those two meatheads showed up. Okay, I admitted, that one looked pretty bad. Fourth, something that not even Brody brought up, her email. She hadn’t reached out in a year and a half until this happened.

  Did she think that if she scared me enough I would run to her for help? What did she want to accomplish with me coming to her?

  My mother was a selfish person. I could see that after nearly two years’ worth of distance. I thought back to all of the times my father had to give in or do whatever she wanted. He always told me that when you love someone you have to make compromises. Sadly, he was the only one willing to do that.

  So, what did she want from me? I had to have something she wanted or needed.

  A knock on the bedroom door wrenched me from my thoughts. Brody. Honestly, I didn’t want to see him, but inbred manners had me rising to my feet.

  Pausing, I took a cleansing breath then pulled the door open, his freshly showered, crisp, clean scent surrounding me. “Yes?”

  “Can we talk?” Brody had since changed and was standing there in front of me in a white, sleeveless muscle shirt and blue, silky basketball shorts. His hair was damp and disheveled.

  “Is there anything left to say?” I looked at my feet. “I’m sorry. Yes, of course. Please come in.” I stepped away from the doorframe and padded across the hardwood to the foot of the queen-size bed and sat.

  Brody closed the door and crossed the room toward the desk. He turned the chair around and sat. “I’m sorry that you had to learn about your mother that way. It was not my intent. I had people working on getting me all of the facts before I was going to approach you.” I started to interject. “Hang on. Let me finish. I know that she’s your mom and that you don’t want to believe she’s capable of doing any of these things. I don’t blame you. I would act the same way if I were in your shoes. But then I’d sit down and look at the data. I would allow my head to follow the facts and not listen to what my heart thinks.”

  “It just so happens, that is what I was doing when you knocked.” I glanced over to the closet. “I was packing and thinking about what you said. Most of it feels circumstantial. If it were one or two things, then yeah, I could rationalize it away. But there are too many coincidences to ignore.”

  Brody sat up straight as a board, clearly surprised. “I just got a phone call from Kai. In a weird shift of events, Alejandra has been avoiding coming out of the house. She hasn’t left the compound she lives in for a few months. Plenty of people come and go, but her cell signal is always there. And all credit card transactions were online, no movement to track.”

  “So then it could really be someone else that is setting her up?” I asked, feeling hopeful.

  “I seriously doubt it, Emmery. You just said that there are too many things that keep stacking up against her.”

  “Can’t we just find these guys and ask them if my mom sent them? Surely if they work for her, then they won’t actually hurt me.”

  “I wish it were that simple, sweetness. If they aren’t working for her, then we’ve just made her a target. If they are, we’ve just made you an even bigger target. We need to be smart about this. Jaxon, Drew and Kai are working on formulating a plan. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Would you please consider staying here for just a few more days? Until we can get everyone in place and your security logistics lined up.”

  “Who? What security?” I shook my head. “No. I have shows coming up. I have to get home and get ready to trailer two horses from New York to Atlanta. I’m not putting my life on hold.”

  “God, you’re stubborn.” He sighed deeply. “The jet will be ready to take us to New York tomorrow. Bear and Drew will be along. I think we need to be proactive instead of reactive.”

  “I’m stubborn? Yeah, okay, Mr. Bossypants.” Rolling my eyes, I got back to business. “I’m not so sure I understand the proactive thing. What have you guys cooked up?”

  “One of the Viper Security guys will be assigned to you—”

  “Not a chance. I don’t need a muscle-bound watchdog following me around and getting on my nerves. Besides, what is he going to do if I decide I want to go for a trail ride? Jump on a horse and follow along like my lost little puppy?”

  “This is not a negotiation, Emmery. You clearly don’t understand who these men are.” He stood then fished his cell phone out of the basketball shorts. Unlocking the screen, he tapped a few times then shoved it at me. “These are the kind of men you’re dealing with. They are ruthless killers. They don’t hesitate to slaughter anyone who dares to challenge them or get in their way.”

  On the screen was a mugshot of Rico Suave, who I now saw was called Juan Salazar. He was wanted in multiple countries for a ridiculously long list of crimes. I glanced at the first few and saw murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, RICO act violations, bribery—and those was just the ones I understood. Just as I was about to hand the phone back, I noticed he was indeed from Venezuela. “Okay, fine. I concede. I’ll take the bodyguard, but I don’t want him as my shadow. He watches from a distance unless there is a reason for him to be closer. Understood?”

  “We’ll see. I’m making no promises.” He took the phone and slipped it back in his pocket.

  “I need to finish packing and get a shower. What time do you want to leave in the morning?” I asked as I started toward the bathroom. If I was going to be on an early morning flight, I would need to get my belongings together tonight and have them ready.

  Just as I was about to pass him, he reached out his right arm and caught me around the waist, hauling me to him. Our chests crashed together like the ocean meeting a rocky cliff, and with a sinfully, sultry voice he told me, “We can leave whenever you want, or you could stay.”

  “You know I have to go,” I answered in barely a whisper. Having him so close, touching me, made my stomach flutter like a thousand butterflies were trying to escape. I shouldn’t be here with him in this bedroom. Yeah, my motto was “it was just sex,” but I knew that it would never just be sex with him. With him it would be an addiction that I couldn’
t quit. And I wasn’t sure I’d want to.

  As I stared into his smoldering baby blues, I couldn’t help but feel tempted to dance with the devil standing in front of me. And what a sexy fucking devil he was.

  Before I could think or decide better against it, he tipped my chin up with his index finger and he kissed me.

  Not like before. This wasn’t a knock-your-socks-off and change-your-panties kind of kiss. No, it was sweet and subtle. More intimate than any of our other kisses. This one was a soft brush of his lips over mine that was brief but powerful. He kissed me once more, carefully caressing my bottom lip between his.

  When he pulled back and looked at me, I could finally see it. This wasn’t an inviting kiss. He was telling me good-bye. I could see the war waging in his eyes. He was giving me what I wanted.

  And it hurt like hell.

  I watched as he turned and walked away from me but I didn’t stop him. I didn’t even say a word. I just let him go.

  After I finished packing, took my shower and blew dry my hair, I climbed into the bed to read, all the while wishing it was his bed I was climbing into.

  Not long after I had picked up my tablet I must have fallen asleep because the sound of the door opening then gently closing woke me. The time between the door closing and hearing someone move, I held my breath, praying it was him and not someone coming to murder me in my sleep.

  “I’m done staying away from you.” His raspy voice seduced every cell in my body and ignited a passion inside of me I never knew could exist. My breath hitched as the comforter and sheet were ripped back in one fell swoop.

  His body crashed into mine and I was thrilled I’d decided to sleep only in my panties.

  His hard chest against my naked skin felt better than the world’s finest silk. His lips found mine in a fevered rush as he wrapped me in his strong arms. My legs parted, encircling him and pulling his hips to meet mine. Still sporting the sexy, slung-low basketball shorts, he made it easy to feel how excited he was.

  The fabric between us was so miniscule I could feel him pulsing. Every twitch and jump begged for me to roll my hips and grind into him. His lips never left mine. His tongue danced and tantalized, tempting me to fight back and never surrender. As I was about to give in, he pulled away.

  “Grab the headboard. Both hands and don’t let go,” he ordered as he slid down my body. His hands grasped my breasts roughly as he buried his face between them before turning and taking my right nipple between his lips. He grated his teeth back and forth. The sharp pain caused me to gasp. Releasing my hold on the bed, I dropped my hands to the mattress and tried to push my body up the bed away from his mouth. His strong arms kept me in place. “Hands on headboard. Now.”

  For a split second, I thought about defying him but all bets were off when his tongue swirled gently around my nipple once more, licking my wounds. My eyes rolled back into my head, and a throaty moan floated from my lips as I grasped desperately at the wooden frame behind me. “Oh, God. Brody.”

  Silently, I begged for more as my hips rolled and bucked against his warm body. His mouth tasted and teased its way down my torso. His hands abandoned my breasts and hooked on the waistband of my black silk panties.

  “Lift up.” His warm breath whispered against skin wet with his kisses as he slid the flimsy, damp material down my legs excruciatingly slowly.

  My need for him pulsed as his fingers whispered up my calf to the inside of my knee then my inner thigh. A low, guttural moan escaped my lips as his shoulders pushed their way in between my legs. Reflexively, my heart sped up and my insides clenched.

  “How wet are you for me, sweetness?” he murmured against my core. My lungs heaved but words would not cross my lips. I knew if I told him, I would spontaneously combust before he even touched me. “Tell me. Or this ends here.”

  Fuck, he has to be kidding. I’d surely die right now if he stopped.

  “Yes,” I panted.

  “Yes, what?”

  What, what? Jesus, he was really going to make me say it, wasn’t he?

  “Tell. Me,” Brody demanded.

  “Yes, I’m wet for you. I’m soaking wet. Just for you,” I confirmed.

  “Hells yeah,” he growled. His tongue ran quickly through my folds, finding my clit. “Damn, baby. You’re sopping wet and as sweet as I dreamed.”

  Using his fingers, he spread me, exposing my swollen, hooded nub. “So pink. So fuckin’ perfect. I bet I can make you come all over my face without even slipping so much as a finger in you.”

  “Oh, Brody. Make me come, please,” I begged like a whore. I ached to feel him inside me so much I didn’t even care if I had an orgasm first. I just wanted to feel his cock stretch me, feel painfully good.

  “Like this,” he said as he slowly rubbed his thumb over my clit in a small circle twice. “Or like this.” His tongue dipped in my heat then snaked its way up and flicked back and forth over my clit.

  “Fuck. Yes,” I screamed. “Like that. Just like that, I want to feel your cock in me when I come. I want to come all over your fucking cock.” Gone was the shy, well-bred woman that was worried about seeming like a panting slut. That part of me was gone. It went up in smoke when Brody lit the match and dipped it in my fuel-filled need.

  Brody answered by burying his face in my pussy, licking, swirling and humming his agreement. Thrusting two fingers into me, he pumped a few times before pulling back. “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He slipped from the bed, the moon shining enough light into the room for me to see when he pushed the shorts down his tan, muscular legs to reveal all of his perfection. His cock was ramrod hard as he took it in his hand and stroked himself root to tip a few times.

  “Flip over on your stomach and come here. Head on the edge of the bed,” he ordered and I obeyed. I turned and laid on my stomach, his cock directly in my face. “Open.”

  I salivated at the thought of tasting him, taking his cock in my mouth and sucking him. With one hand he gripped himself, and with the other he gathered a handful of my dark hair.

  “Stick out your tongue,” he whispered. Again, I did as told.

  He rewarded me by rubbing the head of his dick back and forth over my tongue then around my lips. Then he thrust himself into my mouth, down my throat, gagging me before pulling all the way out. “Fuck, sweetness. Your mouth feels like a goddamned dream. So fuckin’ warm and wet. Open up and stick your tongue back out.”

  This time he smacked his cock against my tongue four times in quick succession causing me to moan my lust and need. He gently pushed his bulbous head past my lips, into my mouth and pumped rhythmically in and out as I reached up and gripped his remaining length in my hand, squeezing just enough to earn myself a deep growl.

  Brody continued to groan his delight as I looked up from my position, sucking his thick, long cock. My other hand skated between my body and the mattress until I found my clit. I dipped my fingers in my pussy, wetting them and then returned to my clit. Lifting my ass slightly, I spread my legs, giving myself better access.

  “Turn over,” Brody instructed as he released my hair and pulled himself from my mouth long enough for me to turn over. This time my head hung over the side of the bed. Without being told, I grabbed his cock and resumed my prior activities. Except this time, I didn’t continue to play with myself. Something told me Brody was the kind of man that didn’t want to watch when he could do it himself. That would mean he wasn’t in control of my orgasm. I would be. Surely that wouldn’t do.

  “If you’re going to play with that pretty little pussy, I want to watch. You don’t touch it, unless I say you can,” he told me as he pinched my nipples, causing my whole body to shudder. “Tonight, I want to watch you play with your clit.”

  Color me stunned. I didn’t hesitate. I needed to release the tension wound tighter than a rubber band. I had never felt this kind of need. Somehow I didn’t think he’d be a one-night stand. Well, at least not a one-night stand I’d forget about.

>   “But you don’t make yourself come. I do that,” he added huskily.

  I moaned as my fingers found the bundle of nerves that was the switch to ecstasy. He continued to rock himself in and out of my mouth, each time dipping in a little further until he hit the back of my throat, but not gagging me.

  Several times I was so close to falling into the abyss of bliss, but I toed the line until he realized I was a second away from saying to hell with his instructions. He pulled back and broke all connection. Before I could register what was happening he leapt onto the bed and was on top of me, cock in hand, readied at my entrance. “I can’t wait to find out if your pussy feels as fucking amazing as your mouth does.”

  The electricity in the air crackled almost loud enough to hear it as he rubbed the head of his cock up and down my warm, wet pussy. The Earth could have exploded and I wouldn’t have known while he tapped this thick tip over my clit.

  He leaned down and kissed me once more as he pushed into me.

  Then suddenly I was falling. My ass hit the hardwood floor with a deafening thud, my hand between my legs slippery with my own wetness.

  “Motherfucker,” I cussed from the cold bedroom floor. “You have got to be kidding me right now.”

  A motherfucking dream.

  I had just had the best almost-sex of my life and it was in a son of a motherfucking dream.

  Just perfect.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ~Brody~

  When I’d entered her bedroom tonight, I told myself I would behave. I would keep my hands off of her, but I couldn’t. If she was truly going to leave and not give me a real chance to convince her to stay, then I needed to respect that.

  Leila had hated when I was demanding and controlling. I had been working so hard on that for the last year, but every fiber of my being was screaming to kiss Emmery. I knew if I just kissed her like I had in the bathroom at Shi Ki or in the alley by Mynt, she would have melted and been mine. I needed to feel her wrapped around me, watch her come apart, hear her scream my name and taste her just once.