“I was needed,” Emma told Bane.“Who told you that?”“No one, but I’m not stupid. I knew something was wrong when people started behaving like ants, and then it was easy to figure out my help was needed.”“I have to punish Luke for disobeying my orders,” Bane told her. “Don’t do that, Bane. He did try to make me stay upstairs. I just didn’t let him. It’s my fault,” she said.“Angel, he is twice your size. If he had wanted you to stay in a room, you wouldn’t have been able to get out,” Bane pointed out.“And if he hadn’t let me out, there is a possibility that we would have lost Ben,” she countered. Bane gave her a hard look, but she refused to give in on this. After cleaning up his wound, she knew it didn’t need stitching, but some surgical glue would help the healing. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked over to the supply table and rummaged until she found what she was looking for. “Emma, this is serious. What if the people that ambushed us targeted the mansion?” he told h
Emma swallowed and stood up, walked the one step to the desk and placed her hands on the hard wooden surface. Bane followed her and stood beside her, placing a hand on her lower back.“Tell me why you are being punished,” he said.“Because I didn’t obey your orders,” she answered him.“That’s right. And why did I give those orders, angel?”“To keep me safe.”“So by not listening to my orders, you put yourself in danger. If one of my men would have put you in danger, do you know what I would have done to him?”“No.”“I would have killed him. No mercy.” Emma didn’t know what to say to that, so she stayed quiet, trying not to think about why that made her feel all warm and fussy inside. “I’m going to spank you as punishment. Since this is your first offence, I will use my hand. Don’t expect me to be so lenient in the future, understood?”“Yes.”“How many swats do you think you deserve?” Bane asked. Emma had no idea, this was unfamiliar territory for her.“Ten?” she hesitantly suggested.
After waking up and joining Bane for lunch, Emma wanted to check on Tom. She walked to the guestroom he had been placed in and knocked on the door. The door was opened by a woman in her mid-thirties. She looked tired and surprised.“Hello, you must be Tom’s wife. I’m Emma. I’m sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to check to see how he is doing.”“Hello. Yes, I’m Samantha. Tom has told me about you, please come in.” Samantha told Emma and stepped to the side. “Thank you. How is he doing?” Emma asked.“Better, I think. He was a wake this morning for a couple of hours. But he has been sleeping since then.”“It’s normal. He lost a lot of blood. He will be tired for a while. May I?” Emma asked, nodding to Tom’s hand that was laying above the covers.“Yes.” Emma bent down and took his pulse. It was stable and strong and his skin felt warm but not heated. “He is doing much better than the last time I saw him. I’m happy. How about you? Is there something you need?” Emma asked.“Me? No, not
“Hi,” Emma said and smiled at Bane. She saw him looking over her body. She was almost completely submerged in the water, only the top of her breasts was showing. “Hi,” he said. “Why don’t you join me?” she asked, holding out her hand to him. “The water is still warm and I can offer you a cookie,” she added. Bane gave her a tired smile and walked over to her and crunched down, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. “Not tonight, angel. I still have work to do. We will be in my office,” he said. “Do you want me to keep you company?” she asked.“No, you relax. Me, Jax and Luke will be at it for a while.”“Okay, have you eaten?” Bane seemed to think about the question as if it was a trick one.“I had lunch,” he told her. Emma nodded and decided to be brave. It had worked for her so far. She took a hold of his tie and tugged on it at the same time that she raised herself a little from the water, placing a kiss on his lips. “I’ll ask Anna to send something up for you,” she told him.
It had been two weeks since the ambush, and Bane was in a bad mood. They still had no solid proof of who had been behind it. Not that Bane didn’t have his suspicions, he was certain that the fucker Walker had orchestrated the whole thing. But he had been clever about it. All the men had been hired guns without affiliation to any organisation. The ones they had let live long enough to talk had said that they had been hired by a Mr Smith, a man they all described differently. Everyone had been paid in cash and the money had proven almost impossible to trace. Almost, it was possible, but it would take time. That was why Bane was in a foul mood. He didn’t like the fact that someone had struck against his family and that he hadn’t been able to retaliate. That also left the organisation vulnerable to more attacks. It left his angel in danger. Bane had wanted her to stay with in the mansion grounds. She had happily obliged the first week. But over the last couple of days, she had become rest
Emma had been in a bad mood for a couple of days, she felt trapped in the mansion. She had never been one for just sitting around, and now it felt like the walls were creeping in on her. Bane and Jax had even stopped taking her to the club. She knew why, but it didn’t stop the feeling of being trapped. She did regret yelling at Bane, she was hoping he wouldn’t see it as defying him and make him punish her. Or did she? She had conflicting emotions about it. To distract herself after shutting herself in her room, that didn’t really feel like her room anymore. She decided to call Simon, he had seemed a bit down lately, even though he insisted everything was fine. “Okay, spill it,” she had told him after they had talked for a while.“Spill what?” he asked. “What ever has got you in a bad mood.”“Looks who is talking.”“I know why I’m in a bad mood, I need to know why you are. I need the distraction. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” she said.“Fine. You know that Luke and I had
“Yes,” Emma said and looked at Luke. “Losing his grandmother like that has made him, I guess you can call it sensitive, for when people don’t touch base with him. Especially if he knows there’s a risk involved. He just needs to know that everyone is safe.” Luke nodded.“After his grandmother died, he hit a rough spell again. She had left him her house, so he had somewhere to live. But she didn’t have that much money, so he needed to work instead of going off to college,” Emma continued. “It was before I knew him, but I think he was depressed and vulnerable. That’s when he met Jonas. Jonas was older, almost twenty years older than Simon, and from what I have heard, he was just confident and took charge over situations. Simon fell hard for him and Jonas took over parts of Simon’s life.” Emma paused again, even if this wasn’t her story, and the pain in it didn’t belong to her. It still affected her deeply.“It got to a point where Simon was more or less emotionally dependent on Jonas. Jo
Chapter 49The spa day was just what Emma needed. She had thought the spa would be some small facility that acted as a front for Bane’s other business. But it turned out to be one of the most famous spas in the city. Not only that, but it had been completely empty except for the staff. “Mr. Velky has booked the spa for the day,” a sweet girl told her when Emma asked about it.“Yeah, nothing serious about that relationship,” Simon teased Emma. They had the most relaxing day, being pampered and talking. Simon told her he had already started working on some things for Bane. Amongst other things, Emma’s suggestion to charity. He also told her that after Luke’s confession about his fears to Simon, things between them had become better. Simon sounded happy and in love. Emma was more than happy for him.As they left the spa, Emma felt like a new person. Her muscles felt like rubber, her hair was shiny and her skin glowed and felt smooth. They dropped Simon off at his apartment before going
Emma sat at her desk, she had gone through the last of the reports regarding the latest batch of potential new clients. She had selected three that she thought had potential. The rest would get a kind refusal letter, telling them the firm had too much on their plate to take them on as clients, but they could recommend the attached list of accountant firms. Simon’s and her business were blooming. They had stopped looking for new clients as they had their hands full with their existing ones and the ones that asked to join. There was a knock on the door and Tom opened it and came inside.“We need to get going in ten minutes if you want to have time to get ready, Mrs E,” he told her. “Thank you, Tom. Could you make sure that these three potential clients get wetted? I’ll just say bye to Simon and then we can go,” she told him. He nodded and took the folders from her. When Emma had started working from the office, Bane had insisted she needed a bodyguard. Since Tom’s injuries, his wife ha
It was time for Emma to deal with things. She had let Bane keep her in their room, with brief visits to the kitchen and the library, for weeks. She felt much better, especially since Bane had stopped thinking she was too frail for sex. Emma almost felt like her old self again. No, that wasn’t entirely true. She felt like a new and improved version, Emma 2.0. Somehow her time with Walker had given her a little more confidence, and the fact she knew she had Bane and Simon in her life left her with a sense of security that she hadn’t felt since she was a child. It was time she put this new version to the test.“I want to see my aunt and uncle,” she told Bane as they were eating breakfast. Emma had convinced him they should start having their meals in the dining room and not the bedroom. It felt like a good sign that he had agreed. “No.”“You said that it was my decision what happens to them,” she objected.“It is. You will tell me what you want, and I will make it happen. No where in th
Bane looked down at Emma. She was licking his still hard cock clean. She had not let go of his gaze and Bane admired the way the rhinestones sparkled in the soft light. His wicked angel. “On your feet, angel,” he told her, and she gracefully got up. It was evidence of how far along she was in her recovery. She had been right that he was trying to hold back, trying to not acknowledge how much better she was. Because if he did, he would have to let her go out into the world. And that scared the shit out of him. He just wanted her safe. But as he drew her into his embrace, kissing her like he had wanted to kiss her since she woke up, with a scoring heat. He knew he had to give in and let her keep going on with her life. “You have been a really good girl. Time for your reward. On the bed, angel, on your hands and knees,” he told her. He saw the radiant smile that appeared on Emma’s face as she almost skipped over to the bed. She was a needy little angel, he thought as he stripped out of
Emma was slowly healing and getting her strength back. The first days she had been on a strict diet that Linda had ordered. But as the week moved on, she gradually could start eating like normal. Bane made sure she got all her meals and snacks in their room. He also made sure she had dessert with every meal. As he had told her, he didn’t leave their room. He was constantly by her side. If he needed to work, he did so from the armchair by the TV. He helped her to the bathroom, and he helped her to shower whenever she wanted to. There was a constant stream of people coming to visit Emma. She was moved by how most of the men, some she had only met in passing, came by to look in on her. She made it a point to thank each of them for helping to rescue her. Then there was Anna. She made sure to bring Emma’s meals herself and stayed to talk a little. Tom and Luke were almost in the room as much as she and Bane. Luke was looking better by the day as Simon was finally talking to him, even thoug
Emma looked up at Bane with big eyes.“But…,“ she started.“No but. You need to stop doing things that put you in danger, angel. But we will save the punishment for later. Now relax,” he told her, and he savoured the feeling as she made herself comfortable in his arms. Having her back where she belonged felt amazing, like the world suddenly made sense again. Her body felt too angular and thin, and her hair had lost its shine. But he didn’t care. She was back in his arms, in his bed, and he had told her he loved her. Bane still had a hard time believing she loved him back, and she forgave him. He didn’t forgive himself and would spend the rest of his life making it up to her if she would let him. A cold hand clutched his stomach as he remembered he didn’t know what they had done to her. He knew she had been beaten from the pictures. Linda had told him she had seen all the signs of starvation and dehydration. But other than that, Bane had had plenty of time to think about what else they
Bane was looking at Emma and at the spot on the bed next to her, but he didn’t move. Emma looked back at him and wondered what was going on. “Come on,” she said, patting the spot again.“I’ll just sit here,” he told her, heading toward the chair he sat in when she had woken up.“Why? I would like you to sit next to me,” she asked.“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.“Don’t be silly. Simon was sitting there not five minutes ago. Come on, let’s have a talk,” she told him. Slowly, with hesitant steps, Bane rounded the bed and gently got on it. He watched her to see if she was uncomfortable or in pain. Emma just smiled at him patiently. As he sat down facing her, he took her hands in his and looked intently at them. Emma just let him be. He had something he needed to talk about, and she would give him the time to think it through.“I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at her. That was not what Emma was expecting. “For what?” she asked, genuinely surprised. Bane smiled at her and caressed he
Emma woke up feeling dazed. Her mind was fuzzy, and it took her a minute to remember what had happened. She tensed up as she remembered the small room she had been in the last weeks. Then she realised she was home. No, not home. She was in Bane’s bed. Someone was holding her hand, and she squeezed it to make herself relax. “Emma?” she heard Bane say, and she turned her head towards the sound. Bane had pulled up one of the armchairs next to the bed and was sitting in it, holding her hand. Emma smiled at him and felt herself relax. He looked tired, but he returned her smile.“Hi,” she said, her voice sounded hoarse and dry.“Hi, angel. How are you feeling?” he asked. Emma thought about it. She had a feeling she should be in a lot of pain, but she wasn’t. “Fine, a bit fuzzy, like my brain is wrapped in a soft cloud. And I’m thirsty and I think I’m a little hungry as well,” she told him. Bane reached out with his free hand and stroked her hair. “You are on some heavy pain medication. I
Relief so powerful that it almost felt like a tidal wave flooded his system. That was, until he registered the state of her. She looked so tired, and why did it look like she had lost weight? But in her brilliant blue eyes, he could see hope. Then his focus shifted to the man that was dragging her backwards by the arm. Walker’s son, Bane realised. As Emma was dragged out of his view, Bane turned towards the chaos that was playing out on the ground level. Jax and his men had made progress. They were forcing most of Walker’s men to the right while some of Bane’s men herded the guests and workers to the left. No one was foolish enough to assume the guests and workers were harmless. They all knew that there could be numerous guns, knives and other things hidden amongst them. They would be searched and dealt with when this thing was over.“Found the item,” Bane shouted. Jax, Luke and Tom looked at him and he glanced toward the stairs. They all nodded. There was an effort made to clear the
Bane was sitting in the dark van that was parked in an alley, trying to be invisible, which was hard for a vehicle of its size. Bane had a hard time sitting still. He was bouncing his knee up and down, staring at the com system, willing it to come to life. Jax, that was sitting next to him, gave him an annoyed look. Bane glared back at him. Bane’s temper was not at its best. Three weeks. Fucking three weeks. They had made him wait. If Bane was being fair, which he wasn’t in the mood to be, it hadn’t been Jax’s, Luke’s or Tom’s fault that it had taken three weeks. If they had known where Emma had been held, nothing could have kept him from going after her. But that had been the issue. No one could find where Walker had been keeping her. It had taken Spenser less than three hours to find Emma’s aunt and uncle and drag them back. That had been an entertaining evening, Bane thought. Within thirty minutes of Bane stepping into the same room as Jonas Cobler, he had told Bane everything he k