Chapter 9

It had been a while since they had a chance to spend an evening playing poker together, and Killian relaxed into his chair, reaching for the cigar and pulling in a long drag, puffing smoke circles out of his mouth as he reached for his cards.

It was also the first time he was not feeling completely weird to be in the same room as his best friend while keeping it a secret that he was sleeping with his little sister. Not to mention that she was worming her way into his life more and more. Now he was already thinking about her during guy's night, and the fact that she was always in his thoughts now gave him a queasy feeling in his stomach.

His phone was buzzing and he pulled it out of his pocket, sliding his thumb over the screen to unlock it while he stared at the cards in his hands. The cigar almost dropped out of his mouth when he opened the message from Emma.

It was a picture of her. He couldn't see her head, only her upper torso and her thighs, and he gulped hard as he squinted his eyes and read the caption.

Wondered where your shirt went?

He dropped the cards on the table, and put the cigar back into the ashtray, taking a quick look around to see if anyone was watching him. But they were all engrossed in their cards, and he typed a quick reply.

I figured you've taken it hostage.

He already wanted to put the phone back when it buzzed in his hand again, and he needed to bite his tongue to not groan out loud when he read her message.

I wanted to smell you while I'm getting myself off.

"Hey, Jones." David's voice yanked him back to the room, and he shifted on his chair, cursing inwardly when he felt how uncomfortable tight his pants already were. "You with us?"

Damn you, Swan.

He couldn't send her a reply as long as David was watching him, and he nodded towards his friend, and shoved three cards towards him. "I'll take three."

His phone was lighting up with another message, and he gritted his teeth, determined to just ignore her, but his fingers had a mind of their own and seconds later he was staring at the new message.

It feels so good when it slides over my erect nipples.

His cock jerked in his pants, and he turned the phone upside down, swearing that he wouldn't look at it again. He didn't want to end up in the bathroom to jerk off. But he was too weak, his gaze flicking to his phone every few seconds until he just folded and grabbed it.

I am so wet, Jones. My fingers are soaked.

His phone buzzed again.

God, Killian. I'm coming.

His own fingers were trembling around the phone, his other hand balling into a fist, and his fingers flew over the screen.

Meet me at my apartment in twenty. Key is under the gnome in the backyard.

"I'm out," he muttered and threw the cards on the table, shoving the chair back and stumbling up. "Excuse me. I gotta go."

Liam was hiding his grin behind his cards, biting his tongue to keep from laughing out loud when David stared after his friend bewildered, and shook his head while he muttered, "I've never seen him like this. Must be a hell of a woman."

-/-

"Bloody hell, Swan."

He stormed into his apartment, almost tearing the door of its hinges, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom, only wearing his shirt.

"I am ready for a second round," she purred, and just turned around to saunter back into the bedroom.

"I wasn't there for the first round," he growled, slamming the door shut behind him and throwing his jacket on the ground. His shoes slammed against the back of the couch a moment later, and he yanked his shirt over his head as he rushed towards his bedroom.

"It was a good one." Her sultry voice greeted him as he stepped into the room, and all his blood rushed straight down from his brain into his cock as his eyes took her in, propped up on her elbow, his shirt sliding up over her hip and giving him a peek of the heaven that waited for him between her thighs.

Growling again, he pulled out his wallet and removed a condom, the wallet smacking against the drawer when he just threw it away. His pants were off in a blink of an eye, and he slipped the condom over his cock with jerky movements, his eyes never leaving hers as he settled between her legs, feeling her heat burning against the tip of his cock as he aligned himself at her entrance.

"God, Emma. One day you are gonna kill me."

He slammed home on the last word, and a groan rumbled out of his chest when her hot and wet sheath enveloped him tightly. Her nails were biting into his skin and her teeth scraped over his neck, and he completely lost it. Fucking her mercilessly with hard and deep thrusts. He wasn't even able to make sure she came first, his hips pistoning into her, his hands ripping the shirt apart, his fingers kneading her breasts, probably leaving bruises behind, twirling her nipples harshly.

Her body was writhing under him, her voice rasping into his ear, begging him to give her more, to take her even harder. He fastened his pace, the sound of their skins slapping together echoing through the room, and he couldn't keep it in any longer, his release spurting out of him, a strangled growl tearing through his throat as he felt her walls clamp around him and milking him dry, his heart racing in his chest as he crashed down on her.

He needed to force himself to slip out of her and roll off of her, his fingers shaking as he discarded the condom into the trash bin, and he didn't question his need to pull her into his arms afterwards. Didn't question how content he felt when she nestled her head against his neck and slipped one arm over his waist to scoot even closer.

"I put the key on the kitchen counter," she mumbled, her lips tickling his skin.

"You might as well keep it," he murmured. "You are probably going to drive me up the walls on a frequent basis, and I expect you to be waiting for me here when you make me so hard in public that I can't think straight anymore."

"So you want more dirty messages?" she asked, the teasing tone clear in her voice, and he chuckled.

"As long as you don't leave me hanging high and dry you can keep texting me like that."

"Okay," she breathed, relaxing against him, her breath evening out, and he closed his eyes, dropping off to sleep only moments later.

-/-

"How long are you going to fool yourself, Killian?" Liam asked quietly, and Killian looked up confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's Emma, isn't it?" Liam pointed with his finger towards his phone, and Killian just nodded. His brother let out a sigh, and rubbed his hand over his face. "I know you don't want to hear it, Killian. But you are so in over your head, and too stubborn to see it."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I wish you two could see yourselves," Liam scoffed, and Killian just raised an eyebrow in question. "I don't even know how David is able to not see it. The way you two look at each other whenever you are in the same room … I am baffled you can keep your hands off each other."

"Not true."

"Of course it is. But that isn't even the worst. You both start to literally glow when you are texting. I bet your faces are hurting afterwards from the goofy grins you are wearing while probably exchanging dirty messages."

"I am not glowing," Killian huffed. "And we are not texting each other dirty messages."

"Right. So last poker night you rushed out of the room as if your pants were on fire because Emma texted you about what she had for breakfast."

"I never denied that we are having sex."

"Like I said. You are fooling yourself," Liam said quietly. "I hope you are waking up before it's too late."

Killian stared at the closed door for a few moments after his brother had left his apartment before he could shake himself out of his stupor. Granted they were spending a lot of time together lately, and he enjoyed every minute of it, and maybe they spent as much time with talking as with having sex, but that didn't mean anything.

His brother was talking nonsense. Absolute nonsense.

-/-

He was joking around with Robin while packing his bag, and reached absentmindedly for his phone when it was ringing.

"Hey, brother. What's up?"

"It's Emma." The words slammed into him, freezing him at the spot. His bag fell to the ground with a loud thud, sudden coldness sweeping through his veins as he clutched his fingers so hard around the phone that his knuckles hurt. "She needs you, Killian."

"What happened?" He was already fumbling for his keys, ignoring Robin's whispered questions as he concentrated on his brother's voice.

"The case we were working on ..." He heard Liam's voice shake through the phone, and he clenched his fingers around the keys, welcoming the pain that shot through him when the metal dug into his skin. "We followed a lead, but we were too late. When we entered the apartment they were already dead. Killian, it was a massacre. The children ..." Liam's voice broke off, and Killian heard the sharp pants through the line as Liam was fighting for control. "She needs you, Killian."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. I only turned away from her for a few seconds, and she was gone. Her phone is going straight to voicemail."

"I am gonna find her," Killian said firmly, pushing against the door and rushing down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. "And you are going straight home to Elsa. Do you hear me, Liam?"

"Aye, little brother. I will."

-/-

She didn't even know why she came here. It wasn't as if they were in a real relationship. They were only fucking. Nothing more.

But when she fled the crime scene and drove aimlessly through the streets she had ended up here. At his apartment.

Walking up the stairs like a sleepwalker, she fumbled the key he had given her a week ago into the lock and stumbled towards the couch, slumping down on it and staring into empty space, unable to move.

She couldn't get the horrible pictures out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. Her throat constricted and her chest tightened as the images of their mangled bodies flashed over her closed eyelids, every little detail burned into her mind, and she dropped her head, wanting to cry, but the tears didn't want to come, just stuck in her throat and made it almost impossible to breathe.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting on his couch, completely motionless, before she heard the keys in the lock. A strangled sob escaped her as she turned her head and saw him stepping into the room, and a moment later she was enveloped in his embrace.

-/-

She was here. She was safe.

He was beside her in a heartbeat, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his lap, his heart clenching in his chest as she curled herself up into a ball against his body, her hands clutching his shirt as she buried her face in his chest, her body shaking with her sobs, and all he could do was hold her tight, and murmur soothing words into her ear.

"I've got you," he whispered, skimming his hand up and down her spine. "I've got you."

Tears welled up in his own eyes as she cried her heart out, and he buried his face in her hair, screwing his eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. She needed him to be strong. He couldn't break along with her, even if her sobs were tearing his heart apart.

God, his brother had been right. He had been fooling himself all this time. His heart had stopped beating for a second when his brother had called, and the fear that something horrible had happened to Emma had slammed into him. Holding her in his arms now made him suddenly realize what he should have seen a long time ago. It was as if a curtain had been lifted to reveal a big secret to him, and he tightened his grip around her, pulling her even closer.

He was in love with her.