Raw Redemption (Crossing the Line #4)(23)

Beside him, Connor leaned against the railing. “Either way, we need to know. Derek wants you and Caine in the same room. That’s why me and Erin are here.”

Henrik pushed off the rail and started to pace. Goddammit. Ailish had been right. They wanted him to leave her. Already, the idea of driving away and leaving her behind made his skin feel too tight. “No, I need to be here.”

“One night, man. You know Erin and I won’t let anything happen to her.”

He didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to consider leaving. “Even if I agree, how the hell am I supposed to get into a room with O’Kelly?”

Connor gave him a meaningful look. “I think you know.”

At Henrik’s sides, his hands flexed into fists.





Chapter Seven


He’d left. Not even a casual good-bye from the man who’d made love to her belly button less than an hour before. If that didn’t signal she’d made the right decision in attempting to run, nothing did. She really shouldn’t be so worked up over Henrik’s lack of verbal communication, but her usual logic appeared to be lacking where the big ex-cop was concerned. Just as she’d been in her father’s home, Ailish was once again a prisoner. Wasn’t the definition of crazy to expect a different outcome from the same scenario? So Henrik appeared to be attracted to her? That didn’t mean his own goals didn’t take precedent over hers.

Yet since hearing his truck pull away, she’d vacillated between outrage and guilt. Why would he say good-bye to the person who’d threatened him with a loaded weapon? He was probably thrilled to be rid of her.

Screw that. She was glad to be rid of him, too. At the end of her pacing, Ailish kicked the cabin door, hard as she could, and listened to the conversation between Connor and Erin cease on the porch. Erin opened the door and swaggered in a moment later, Connor watching her backside appreciatively from his lean against the porch railing. Nighttime had fallen, and Ailish looked out at the courtyard and lake just beyond with envy. If this was freedom, freedom was overrated.

“You rang?” Erin said, making her way to the tiny kitchen where she flicked on the stove burner, running her hand over the flame.

“I need to get out of here.”

Erin flipped off the burner with a gusty sigh. “Enough said. Let’s go.”

Ailish straightened. “What? Just like that?”

“If anyone knows how hard it is to be confined, it’s this girl.” There was a note of gravity in her voice completely at odds with her somewhat giddy expression. “Leave Connor to me. I’ll meet you outside in five. For a walk. We’re not driving to Canada. Tonight, anyway.”

Not needing any more encouragement, Ailish knelt down to retrieve her tennis shoes from under the bed. She crammed them onto her feet, doing her best not to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation taking place on the porch, especially when Connor’s voice dropped in timbre and Erin moaned. It made Ailish think about that afternoon, what she’d done with Henrik. Her memory continued to replay the way he’d restrained her knee, squeezing it in his grip, even pinning it to the bed at one point to keep her from closing her legs.

He’d been so…commanding. Confident in every movement of his body, his…tongue, and oh, his teeth. Even though her abbreviated sexual exploration with the literature tutor four years ago hadn’t technically been satisfying, Ailish had always held the experience close. Treasured those too-short minutes of a man’s weight, frantic hands, the evidence of lust moving inside her. However, Henrik had shed light on a sad truth. Ailish had never been with a man. Not like him.

She’d actually sneaked into the bathroom to change her underwear afterward because the cotton had been clinging to her flesh. And once she’d pulled down the wet pair, leaving her bottomless in the small bathroom, she’d been powerless against the urge to touch herself. Face buried in one of the hanging towels, she’d finished in minutes, replaying the scene with Henrik in her mind’s eye. Not just what he’d done with his skillful mouth. No, she’d thought of that part of him he’d kept behind his zipper. The part she’d felt against her bottom. A moving image of Henrik releasing his erection had sent Ailish hurtling past the finish line with a silent scream.

Feeling flushed at the memory, Ailish stood and curved a hand over the doorknob. Had it been five minutes? Ready or not, here I—

Oh, Connor and Erin definitely weren’t ready. For Ailish to make her exit, anyway. They were definitely ready for something. Erin had her legs wrapped around Connor’s waist and the man was using the porch railing to keep his girlfriend stationary as he thrust into the notch of her thighs. They were still fully clothed, thank God, but that detail did nothing to stop Ailish from being horrifyingly turned on.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Ailish stammered, stumbling backward into the cabin. “I’ll-just—”

“Wait.” Erin blew out a shaky breath against her boyfriend’s neck. “It’s okay.”

“The hell it is,” Connor grated.

With a secretive smile, Erin whispered something in Connor’s ear that had his head dropping forward onto her shoulder. One shaking hand started to curl around Erin’s neck, but it dropped onto the railing instead with a bang. After a long pause, Connor finally spoke. “You’ve got fifteen minutes for your walk. Any longer and I’ll come looking.”