Page 25 of Redemption's Inferno

“Mum?” Chains turned to his mother in confusion.

“For heaven’s sake, close your mouth,” Dolores laughed. “Did you think I’d been alone all these years, rocking in my chair with my knitting? Come say hello to Nate—Nathaniel Haverty, my friend and companion. Nate, this is Darryl and his fiancée, Emilie.”

Since Chains was still too startled to move, Emilie put out her hand and smiled at the middle-aged man with thick silver hair and blue eyes glittering with mirth. “Happy birthday,” he said, nodding at her. He turned to Chains and held out his hand. “Is it Chains or Darryl?”

“Neither—Mr. Carruthers to you!” Chains snapped.

“Now, Darryl!” Dolores was laughing. “Don’t be a boor. I’m 54 years old! More than old enough to have a gentleman in my life. Not like you’ve been about to take care of me.”

“What do you know about him?” Chains demanded, feeling like an idiot that he’d had no idea his mother had a boyfriend.

“The roast is about ready, so you can interrogate him while we eat. Emilie, be a dear and get the champagne glasses from the cabinet in the drawing room?”

“Of course.”

Chains appeared ready to say something else but Emilie grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the room. They rounded the corner and she pushed him against the wall, pressing herself up against him.

“Do you know my reputation?” she whispered in a silky voice. “My professional reputation?”

He smiled. “I do. Is this how you start?”

“Usually I start this way.” She reached between his legs and squeezed his balls until she felt him wince, though his face gave away nothing. “That’s right,” she murmured. “You’re a real-life James Bond, so you wouldn’t show fear or pain…but that’s all right because right now my only goal is to distract you.” She felt him harden slightly in her hand just before she released him. “Mission accomplished.”

He growled. “So you’re not really dominant—you’re simply a tease.”

She laughed, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Absolutely not. I’m good at taking a man’s thoughts from one place and leading them wherever I want them to go. Which is exactly what I did. Now listen to me. You’ve been telling me what to do since you pulled me off that table at Cuddy’s, and I’ve allowed it because you’ve been right about everything. This time, however, you’re wrong, so I’m stepping in and temporarily taking over the dominant role.”

He arched a brow. “That makes me a switch,” he noted.

“When necessary,” she agreed.

“What, exactly, am I wrong about?” he asked, enjoying the feel of her body against his so much he momentarily forgot all about his mother’s boyfriend.

“You haven’t seen your mother in five years,” she pointed out. “Do you really want her to feel bad about finding a man to keep her company? Even if you hadn’t been gone all this time, doesn’t she deserve someone who makes her happy?”

“I don’t know if he makes her happy!” he snapped. “What if he’s abusive? What if he’s after her money? What if—”

“You’ll find all that out, won’t you?” She put a finger over his lips. “But not at dinner. He’s not going to do anything now, right in front of you. So play nice, stop ruining my birthday and embarrassing your mother. If there’s anything to find out about him, I’m sure you’ll have all that information by morning. As for tonight, can’t we have a nice evening?”

His steely eyes found hers and he gripped the back of her neck, pulling her face close to his. “You’re a bloody witch, you know that?” he grunted. “From the moment I pulled you off that table I haven’t been able to keep my hands off you—what the hell are you doing to me?”

“I don’t know.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, her eyes never leaving his. “But you’re doing the same thing to me.”

“Five days,” he said under his breath. “Say you’ll be mine for five days.”

“Chains…”

He kissed her, hard and fast, abruptly releasing her. “Was that a yes?”

She didn’t break his gaze. “Five days?”

“Five days.”

“Yes.”

He adjusted himself because he was starting to lose the circulation to his dick, and then snatched the champagne glasses out of the cabinet behind them. “We’ll discuss that later.”

“Only if you behave during dinner!” she whispered, trailing after him.

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