Redemption (The Bet) (48 page)

Chapter 27

His eyes snapped open, something having roused him from his light slumber Nicholas took a moment to adjust to the dim lighting of his bedroom. He stirred and attempted to rise
but something hindered his movement. Glancing down, his lips curved into a smile. She was beautiful in slumber.  Like a siren's song her slightly parted lips lured him ever closer and like a willing fool, Nicholas followed, anticipating the ecstasy of his fall.

He gently pressed his lips to hers, a simple meeting of flesh.
It was far too tender to contain any sort of passion, but all the same, it stirred Ellie to wakefulness.

Bleary eyed,
Ellie slowly swept her tongue across her bottom lip, painfully aware of Nicholas's sharp gaze tracking the motion like a predator. Ellie looked down, the enticing shiver that licked down her spine brought color high up her cheeks.  

"Have I been sleeping long?" she asked a moment later rising to a sitting position. "What time is it?"

"Quarter past midnight." Nicholas glanced up from his watch with grin, amused by Elle’s attempts to avoid looking at him. "Ellie?"

Ellie made to rise, "I should get going. I promised Maddie I'd be home before midnight." She didn't dare look Nicholas's way or even acknowledge the
knowing smirk she knew was on his lips. She rose to her knees and crawled off the bed, but Nicholas's firm and unyielding grip around her ankle put a halt to her progression.

"Elle." he called softly, enjoying the wonderful view of her
ass wiggling in front of him. "Hmm?"

"Not that I'm not enjoying the sight of your ass in my face, and if you'd prefer we can make the clothes optional. Either way, it's a win, win situation for me. But can you look at me, please?"

Ellie spun around the best way she could with Nicholas hand still holding firm, and evenly, she met those laughing grey eyes, ignorant of the warmth on her face. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Nicholas laughed. A
warm, hearty laugh that was both intimate and mirthful. "It's hard to be anything but joyful when I'm with you." He smiled, sweet dimpled perfection that had Ellie itching to drop a kiss to it. "And besides," he advanced and Ellie was far too captivated with his predator grace to do anything but look on. "I like seeing you flustered," he loomed over her like an overcast sky, his body, lithe and sturdy had her reclining back into the soft mattress beneath them.

Despite the layers of clothes between them, Ellie could feel Nicholas's ardor like a bullwhip. She glan
ced up. Looking anywhere else would've been foolish, her fingers dug into the burgundy coverlet, needing to hold onto something tangible.

"Can you feel me, Ellie
?" he was so close, his scent, his gaze, his body, everything was just too close, too powerful. His hands trailed a path down Ellie's arm, producing a bevy of goose bumps in its wake. Until those pale and strong fingers found Ellie's own, he interlaced them, bringing Ellie's hand between their bodies. "Feel how much I need you?" Ellie felt it. Like flesh-covered steel, she felt it. It was rigid, full, veined and throbbing hot within her hand. Just as she remembered. She gave a squeeze and delighted in the sharp intake of breath it evoked. On the mushroomed tip, she felt the slick wetness and boldly she stared into her lover's eyes.

"How long has it been?"

Nicholas's gaze did not falter from Ellie's own as he too, slipped a hand between them and eagerly found her hot and wet folds, his eyes smoldering, he grinned when those beautiful hazel eyes widened and Ellie's mouth parted in a silent gasp. "Too long, Ellie." Nicholas smashed his lips to Ellie's taking what was freely given. In a matched and set rhythm, they stroked each other, remembering exactly how the other liked being touched; remembering what brought them to the height of frenzy.

"Nicky!" Ellie silently gasped, raising her hips inches off the bed, her left hand desperately holding to the covers, she attempted to close her eyes, but her silver eyed paramour prevented her from doing so.

"Look at me, Ellie." Nicholas ordered, his breathing hard against Ellie's bee stung lips. "I want to see you come, come for me, Ellie." His tongue swept behind her ear and down to the caramel column of her neck, Nicholas mercilessly suckled as his hand furiously teased and stroked, thrusting in a rhythm with Ellie's hips, only one goal in mind.

"Nick…
Nicky, please!" She was on the precipice now, one push and she'd fall into oblivion.

"Sir…
Sir, you have a guest." The knock on the door seemed far away, the voice even further, muffled by the blood pumping between Ellie's ears and up towards her fevered skin. Ellie had yet to discern whether her mind was playing tricks on her. She was however aware of the infuriated growl and she shuddered.

The interruption felt like a splash of ice water and Ellie had it in her right mind to growl along with Nicholas, but she settled for a groan of disappointment. She attempted to move away, but Nicholas held her put.

"Stay like this, don't move an inch." He said a few minutes later, he pressed his face between her neck and the mattress and panted. It took Ellie a few seconds to realize what he was doing and she tried not to laugh.

"I think your butler would love to know that you're happy to see him." She whispered into the silence, her laughter evident.

Nicholas raised his head and glowered at the grinning woman beneath him, "think this is funny?"

"Fucking hilarious."

Straddling her now, with his thighs holding firm against Ellie's hips, Nicholas peered down menacingly. "I wonder if your still ticklish, right here," He ran his fingers alongside Ellie's ribs and smirked when she shivered.

"Nicky, no," Ellie wriggled in a desperate attempt to flee. "I'm not ticklish...I'm not ticklish anymore!" She tried to sound serious but that only brought a wider smile to Nicholas's face.

"I think…"

"Sir, your guest refuses to leave. He's asked to see, Ms. Holbrook."

"Me?" Ellie frowned, pressing a hand to Nicholas's chest. "Who the hell would want to see me this late?" Nicholas wasn't too sure to who the question was directed, nevertheless he jumped off the bed and followed in Ellie's wake. "No one knows I'm here, except for Maddie…Oh God do you think something happened to the kids?" she turned fearful eyes to Nicholas.

"The children are fine, Ellie, let's not jump to conclusions."

"But…"

"Trust me
, 
nothing
 has happened to them." There was steeled conviction in that voice that worried Ellie.

"How would you know?" she warily asked
.

"There are men who I've given the responsibility of keeping you and the children safe."

"Like bodyguards?"

"
Yes, like bodyguards. They're not there unless the occasion calls them to be. I trust them with my life, Ellie and they haven't failed me yet."

"I feel like I'm sleeping with a mob boss sometimes," She said,
half-jokingly. "You're not though, right?"

"Not exactly, No.
" Ellie stared, eyes probing, looking for that sign and in a blink of an eye she found it.

She smiled humorlessly. "Wow, Nicky, not even three hours into this relationship and you're already lying to me. Congratulations, I think that might be a record."

"I'm not lying. It's just complicated, Ellie." Nicholas stood in front of Ellie, preventing her from leaving.

"It
can’t be like this between us. This relationship won’t last on half-truths. You either tell me everything or let’s not bother. I mean it, Nicky, if you can't be honest than lets end it before we get too deep. I'm not repeating a cycle here. I won't, not even for you."

"I
 am being honest with you, Ellie. What I do, what I am involved in is a little more complicated than you might think. That part of me, I need to separate from you and the children, otherwise you wouldn't like me very much."

Ellie frowned and sighed
in exasperation, "I love you…"

Nicholas took hold of her, "I know you love me, but love and like are two different things. You can love me, but I know if I told you what I did, you would
n't like me."

"Like what you did to
Tony?" Tony’s horrifying screams and the horror that had accompanied it still haunted her. Ellie tried not to reflect too much on it. But truth of the matter was Nicholas had put that look there. He'd killed a man. As much as Ellie wanted to believe that it didn't affect her and that she could probably overlook Nicholas's sadistic streak, she wasn't stupid enough to ignore the warning bells ringing soundly in her head.

"
Tony was a roach that needed to be exterminated.”

When he spoke like that, said things so callously, without the slightest hint of emotion, Nicholas was frightening. 
Nicholas Grayson wasn't the boy he'd been ten years ago. He'd said so himself and Ellie wasn't sure love was enough to heal the man he was now. Was love enough to make her ignore everything about Nicholas's 'secret' lifestyle? Would love be enough to keep their children safe, if, God forbid, his enemies ever came after them? Would love keep Nicholas safe and untouchable all their lives? He wasn't invincible. He could be captured and tortured just as easily and emotionlessly as he'd professed to do to his enemies. Would love see Ellie through the endless nights of worry and anxiety when Nicholas didn't return home?

"Sir…
"

"We're coming!" he bellowed.

"Very good, Sir." They both heard the retreating footsteps.

"
I think I'm going to need some time and a little space to sort everything out, Nicky. Everything you've told me tonight, I just need to wrap my head around it. If I'm to start a life with you again, I need to ask myself if I can handle it." She pulled away avoiding Nicholas's searching gaze. Yes, she was willing to give their relationship a chance, but wasn't she allowed to have doubts? Wasn't she allowed to wonder whether being with Nicholas was worth it?

"Elle…
"

Ellie stepped back, well aware of the wounded expression that swept Nicholas's face, but she steeled herself against it. She needed to take a step back to reassess
her impromptu acceptance of things she hadn't quiet understood. Both physically and mentally, she knew she needed to distance herself from him. Emotions had blurred her thinking, Nicholas’ magnetism hindering her from doing much else but arching for his touch.

With a frown knitting her brow, she bit her bottom. "Give me time." She finally whispered, unable to meet Nicholas's gaze.

"Alright," Nicholas quietly acquiesced, "you have it."

Nicholas stepped aside and watched her creep out of his bedroom. The minute the door closed behind her he ran
a hand across his face. "Fuck." He sighed, and with the realization that the road to happiness couldn't be paved in only a few hours, he followed after the mother of his children.

They'd
went through so many obstacles, a few buckets of tears shed, three bullet wounds just below his ribcage, another scrape on his shoulder and a decade of separation to show for it. Nicholas was willing to go through it again if it guaranteed that he and Ellie could be together. He would go through hell, if Ellie and his children where on the other side waiting for him.

He was a fighter. He'd fought to amass his empire, and he would fight for his family.

~*~*~*~

Ellie saw him first. Standing in Nicholas's home like a hulking intruder, Devlin quietly observed the paintings a few feet away from the entrance. Hands behind his back, he was unaware of her presence and Ellie was glad for it. The shock of seeing him had momentarily outweighed her despondent mood, but now she was truly curious as the reason for his presence here. Taking the stairs two at a time, Ellie was by his side in no time.

"Dev." She extended a hand and tentatively touched his shoulder.

She looked good, Devlin noted, taking in every feature as though years and not days had passed since he'd last seen her. Devlin wanted to hold her but he restrained himself.

"Ellie."

Ellie smiled hesitantly
, unsure of how to precede, "Uh…," her brow knitted, "what are you doing here?"

Devlin took a step towards her, licking his l
ips, "I think we need to talk. It's imperative that I speak to you."

"What? Are you okay? What's wrong? Is your mother, all right? Did something happen to Roan?" worry lines creased h
er beautiful face and Devlin wanted to kiss them away.

"No," he shook his head, "No, nothing
has happened to Roan or my mother for that matter."

A brief sigh of relief and then those
hazel eyes met his, "Then what? Are you alright?"

Because he couldn't take being too far away from her, Devlin stepped forward. "I'm f
ine, Ellie. Wait, no, I'm lying." he reached forward and brushed the back of his fingers along her cheek, the touch whisper soft, "I miss you like hell. I've been a total and utter wreck without you. Every time I close my eyes, you're all I can see, you're all I can think about." he stood close now, crowding Ellie with his body, "Your scent on my pillow is the closest I've come to feeling you. Forgetting you, isn't something my soul is willing to do." He kissed her, languorous, wet and bittersweet. "I love you too much."