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
Bane knew that something had changed, and he didn’t like it. Emma had always been comfortable around him, maybe with the exception of the first day. But now it was like she tried to put up a wall between them. It had started the night he and Jax had met with two of the other families to talk about Walker. Jax had made an idiotic comment that had Bane wanting to kill his friend. Jax had made it sound like they were heading out to party with women. To make the fucking mess even better, Bane didn’t have time to get away and call Emma like he had said he would. When he had come home to find his bed empty, he had gone into panic for a moment, fearing that something had happened. When he had found her sleeping in her room, he had been pissed. After that night, something was different. At first Bane had considered that Emma had been upset by him not calling. But she didn’t seem upset. She was her usual happy self, and she was just as passionate when they had sex. She just wasn’t as present.
An hour later, the SUV stopped in front of the small house in the suburban part of the city. Banes men had arrived half an hour before to make sure the aunt and uncle wouldn’t be home. They had been encouraged to go out and eat their dinner outside their home. Bane helped Emma out of the car and she smiled as she looked at the house. “They have repaired the front step and the porch,” she said in a cheerful voice. “I told you it would be done,” Bane reminded her and followed her up onto the small porch. Emma was about to reach for the door handle and stopped. “It’s okay, Angel. The house is empty.” She looked up at him.“No one’s at home?”“No, not a soul. It’s just you and me.” She nodded and opened the door and invited Bane inside. Bane had never been in a place like this. He had grown up in a mansion, the few friends he had growing up were also living in mansions or were children of his father’s men and would come to the mansion. As he got older, his lifestyle wasn’t one that had
Emma was sitting and reading as Bane and Jax were playing pool. Luke had gone to take Simon for their fourth date and Emma was looking forward to get all the news from Simon later, or perhaps tomorrow. It had been an emotional day with visiting her old home. But it had also been cathartic, and she felt better after she had done it. She had revealed more of herself to Bane. She had spent the better part of a week trying to place a wall between them. But it had been emotionally exhausting, and it had felt so much better this afternoon when she didn’t have to watch every single word or action in his company. Maybe she just needed to accept that she had feelings for him. Not that she would let him know. Bane had been very clear that what he needed and wanted from their relationship was just sex, no attachment. So she would give him that. Maybe when it was over he would at least see her as a friend. When her time was up with him, she would take her broken heart and she would start a new li
When Bane had unbuttoned her shirt, Emma felt his hands caressing up from her waist, shaping her body contour as they moved upwards. They stopped just below her breasts. His thumbs ran over the lacy fabric of her bra, and Emma felt her nipples pebble at the simple touch. She wanted him to touch her more, to play with her breasts. Instead, his hands went to her shoulders and pushed her shirt down her arms. Emma felt it fall to the floor. “Beautiful,” Bane told her as he walked around her, letting his hand gently drag over her skin. He kissed her bare shoulder and sent a shiver down Emma’s spine. She heard the rustle of fabric against fabric and then she felt Bane against her back. She could feel his dress shirt pressing into her back. He must have taken off his jacket. His hands were placed flat on her stomach, and he kissed her shoulder again as he moved them over her stomach and waist. “Bane.” The whimper came out of Emma’s mouth before she realised what she was doing. There was a
Emma relaxed into the bed while listening for Bane’s soft footsteps. A gentle touch from his lips landed on her upper arm. He graced his fingers over her stomach. Each caress and touch raised the fever in Emma’s body. She wanted to squirm, to maneuver her body with the little give the restraints gave her, so that she could get release. But Bane had told her to be still, so she bit down on her bottom lip and pleaded for her body to remain motionless. “Don’t bite your lip, Angel. You will hurt yourself,” Bane told her, tugging her lip free with his thumb. Emma wanted to scream at him, beg him to give her what she needed. Instead, she let out a soft whimper. “Do you feel needy?” he asked, cupping her pussy with his hand, not moving it or making any move that could have given her what she needed.“Yes, Sir,” she said and nodded as best she could. “But I told you I would worship your body,” he reminded her as he ran both of his hands up one of her legs and followed up with kisses. “Bane
Emma listened to the sounds as she felt Bane get off the bed. She heard the soft sound of fabric against skin and the hard metallic noise of a belt buckle being undone. With each of the sounds her anticipation and need grew. She knew Bane was getting undressed and even though all she wanted to do was to run her hands over his skin and feel his hard muscles playing under her touch, all she could do was to lie in bed and listen. Emma couldn’t even look at him, but her mind summoned the image as clear as if she could see him. She tried to figure out what he would do next, but had to give up when she realized that she didn’t have a clue. Emma heard his soft footsteps as he moved closer to the bed. She felt his soft fingertips as he caressed her right arm from the shoulder and up to her hand. “Open your hand, Angel,” he told her in a soft voice. Emma let go of the strap that tied her to the bed. Bane placed something in her hand. It felt like some type of plastic box and he took her thumb
The night of the gala was approaching, all Bane had told Emma was that her dress would be black and classic. It wasn’t much to go on, but Emma had booked an appointment at Salon Noire. Simon offered to keep her company. It would give them time to catch up as well. Emma arrived, accompanied by Luke and Carlos. She had asked Simon if it would be okay with him that Luke came along as her bodyguard. Emma was worried that Simon would feel uncomfortable to have someone he dated be in the same company as him, but not be able to interact in that way. She knew Luke would never be unprofessional when he was on duty. But Simon had assured her he didn’t care. He knew what Luke did for a living and he was used to him in that capacity when the two friends were hanging out. “So tell me all about your dress,” Tammy urged Emma as she started doing her hair. “I can’t say much about it, I know it’s black and that it has a classic look,” Emma told her.“Honey, how come you don’t know what your own dres
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