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Chapter 9

What the strange woman had told him had been quite a shock. Neal had never expected to meet his mother one day, and at first he hadn't believed what the woman was telling him. But when he'd looked at her closer he had to admit he saw the resemblance to his own face in the features of the woman standing before him. She had sent him away to his father when he was two and he didn't have any memories of her, but somehow he couldn't think of a reason why she would lie to him about this. Though he wasn't willing to forgive her for leaving him, but bygones should be bygones, since she obviously had a lot of intimate knowledge about the duke; knowledge they'd use to get rid of him once and for all.

Neal felt a rush of elation wash over him, only thinking about eliminating the inconvenience the duke was posing. They might need some time to plan everything - after all they didn't want their attempt to kill the duke fail - but it was only a matter of time until he'd have access to the money, and Emma would be back where she belonged. In his bed.

A smile flickered over Killian's lips as he watched Henry running over the yard towards the house with a small book jammed under his arm, his face red and his eyes sparkling since he'd just spent the last two hours with David in the stables, and the lad loved spending time with the horses.

Killian still smiled when he stepped back to his desk, the smile only faltering when his eyes fell on the letter Robin had sent him two weeks ago. He'd read it once again, contemplating if waiting was really the right choice. But he didn't have anything in hand against Neal and Milah just yet. It wasn't against the law that Milah met with her son, even though in all the time he'd spent with her she'd never mentioned having a son, nor did the information Robin found indicate that Neal knew about her. But speculating about why Milah went to Neal wouldn't help the matter. Killian suspected she went there to scheme with him, but he couldn't be certain; she might have only visited him to get acquainted with her son.

"Not bloody likely," Killian scoffed, raking one hand through his hair before grabbing the letter and shoving it into the drawer.

He wished he could forget about it entirely, the last three weeks with Emma had been extraordinary – days spent riding whenever the weather allowed, her body warm against his in the evenings when they were reading the book he gave her, her intelligence leaving him in wonder time and time again when she started to discuss events of the book with him, and every night she was lying in his arms, her arm wrapped around his waist when she dropped off to sleep.

He didn't want to disturb the peace they'd found here in the country, but he couldn't hide this any longer from his wife. She should know; she needed to know. He just hadn't found the right time yet to tell her. Before he could dwell on that dilemma further, he was interrupted by Henry rushing into the room, and he thanked the Lord silently for the welcome intrusion.

"Killy?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Yes, Henry?"

"You always read with mommy, and ..." Henry trailed off, shifting on his feet a moment before he stepped forward and thrust a book towards Killian, Henry's gaze full of hope as he stared up at him. "Can you read with me, too?"

Killian grinned down at him, feeling honored that the lad had asked him, and he took the book from Henry and nodded towards the settee. Henry climbed up on it with Killian's help, surprising Killian when he didn't sit down beside him but settled on Killian's lap. Henry's head came to rest on his shoulder, and Killian's throat closed with emotion as he pressed his lips on Henry's forehead.

"Start from the beginning," Henry said eagerly, his small hands gripping the book and opening it to the first page.

"Of course, young Sir," Killian replied teasingly, and Henry let out a giggle and shifted on his lap for a more comfortable position before sagging against him again.

"David said there is a giant in this book," Henry told him, clear excitement in his voice. "Up on a beanstalk."

Killian looked down at the book, realizing just now which book Henry had brought with him. It was one of the books Liam had read to him when he was little, and Killian had to clear his throat to get rid of the sudden lump that had formed in his throat before he was able to start reading. "Once upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in a little cottage with her only son Jack."

Emma had made a decision this morning; tonight she would offer her body to her husband, and this time she would not shirk away. This time she would let him take her body. She suppressed the shiver that wanted to run down her spine and straightened her shoulders. Since she had her courses last week - the third time after Neal forced himself on her - Emma was fairly certain that she wasn't with child, and that knowledge made her determined to stop letting the fears Neal caused rule her life.

Killian was her husband; he had a right to her body, and it wasn't as if she didn't feel attracted to him and wanted to share her body with him. Sleeping in his arms over the last three weeks had helped; she didn't flinch anymore every time he touched her behind closed doors, and it was time to take the next step.

Taking in a deep breath, she walked out of the bathroom and into his bedchamber - the chamber they had shared over the last three weeks- and before she could change her mind again, she slipped out of her nightgown and stepped towards the bed.

The room was only illuminated by a sole candle sitting on the nightstand on Killian's side, and his eyes glittered in the candlelight when he looked up at her. His mouth dropped open when he registered her nude form, and she saw his Adam's apple bob up and down as he gulped hard. His gaze flickered over her body, and Emma suppressed the urge to lift her arms to cover herself up. Instead she balled her hands into fists beside her body, and waited for his gaze to meet hers again.

His eyes softened as he looked at her, his tone gentle as he asked, "Are you sure, Emma?"

"No," she whispered, hoping her knees wouldn't give out under her, but she drew on all the courage she could muster up and added, "But if I don't face my demons, they will consume my whole life one day. And I'm not going to let them win."

She was a beautiful woman, and only looking at her naked form made him rock hard; but he needed to tread carefully. He could see her trembling, goosebumps running over her whole body, but she kept her eyes up, meeting his gaze with a determined expression on her face. If she wanted to fight her demons, he would do everything in his powers to help her with the battle.

"Come here, love."

She climbed into bed and laid down beside him. Her whole body was stiff, and her lips quivered as he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her.

"A woman should always feel only pleasure in bed; the female body is a work of art that should be cherished." He lifted his hand slowly, starting to trace one finger over her lips and along her jaw, letting his fingers ghost over her neck as he continued to speak in a hushed voice, "If you need me to stop just say the word, all right?"

He ceased any movement for a moment, waiting for her affirmative nod before he started to caress her skin again. Brushing his fingers lower, he saw her eyes go wide, and her breath quickened as he came closer and closer to her peak. Her pulse was hammering in her neck, her hands were pressed against the sheets so hard that her knuckles were white, but she didn't say a word.

"I would never hurt you, Emma," Killian whispered, drawing one finger around her nipple, watching her closely the whole time.

"I know," she murmured, jerking slightly when he stretched out his hand and let his palm rub over her engorged peak while he massaged her breast gently.

She relaxed a fraction when he leaned forward to brush his lips over hers and she opened her mouth to his tongue, kissing him back tentatively, clearly consumed by listening to the reactions of her own body to his touch. He kissed her slowly for quite some time, smoothing his fingers over her breast and down her ribs.

"Will you let me touch you there?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low as he leaned back and spread his fingers out so that the tip of his middle finger was only inches away from the apex of her thighs.

Killian felt her stomach muscles tremble under his hand, and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth, her chest heaving with ragged breaths as she was obviously contemplating if she was ready to let him touch her that intimately. Her eyes bored into his, and he forced himself to keep completely still until she'd made up her mind.

"Yes," she breathed finally.

He slipped his hand lower, hardly exerting any pressure as he reached her pubic hair. Her hips arched up from the mattress as he found her swollen nub, and he started to rub it gently, seeing her eyes change color and her mouth dropping open in a surprised O as his movements apparently shot sparks of pleasure through her body. She let out a soft moan when he left the nub and slid his fingers lower to massage her entrance, gathering her arousal before returning to pleasure her clit again.

Her eyes were closed now, fallen shut when he pressed his thumb against her clit while gliding the tip of his middle finger into her warm sheath. Leaning forward, he let his tongue flick over her nipple and she gasped, her eyes snapping opened, and he stopped immediately, waiting for her to tell him to stop. But she didn't; just releasing a deep breath before her hand suddenly skimmed over his naked back and her fingers threaded through his hair while her hips bucked up against his hand, encouraging him silently to continue.

He was careful to tread her gently, to not give in to the raging waves of lust that were coursing through his body. He suckled softly at her nipple, teasing it with his tongue while keeping up the soft rubbing of her clit. Moans slipped out of her mouth more frequently, and he let his middle finger slip deeper and deeper inside her, moving it slowly back and forth, but never stopping to watch her body for any signs of discomfort or fear. Though all he saw was her body writhing under him in pleasure, and he kept bringing her closer and closer until her body arched from the mattress and her eyes snapped opened in surprise again as the quivers of her climax raced through her.

He brought her down gently, ignoring the throbbing of his cock when her walls fluttered around his finger, and he pressed a soft kiss against her lips as he slipped his finger out of her before pulling her into his arms.

She came willingly, resting her head on his chest, her arm curling around his waist. She didn't speak at first, and he hoped the fact that she didn't jump out of the bed, but stayed in his arms was a good sign.

"You all right, love?" he asked after a few minutes, unable to endure the silence one moment longer.

She pushed back from him then, pressing her hand against his chest as her eyes met his. "I didn't know that … I never thought this was possible," she whispered, pure astonishment in her eyes as she looked down at him. Her hand reached for his face, cradling his cheek, her thumb skimming over his lips as she breathed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Killian replied, his lips tingling under her touch, and he tilted his head to press a kiss into the palm of her hand.

A smile played over her lips then before a flash of uncertainty flickered over her expression and her fingers tightened against his cheek. "Killian?"

"Aye?"

"Don't you … I mean ..." she trailed off, her gaze dropping down to his midsection, and he felt his cock pulsing painfully against the fabric of his drawers when her tongue appeared to lick over her bottom lip. "Should I … don't you want to find release, too?"

"Don't worry about me," he replied, forcing himself to give her a lopsided smirk even though his cock was threatening to explode any moment. "I'm fine. We agreed on one step at a time, didn't we?"

"We did," she said, obvious relief tinging her voice, telling him that his decision not to take this any further tonight had been the right one.

Emma snuggled against him again, and Killian shifted until he was able to blow out the candle on the nightstand before settling in with her. He waited until he was sure Emma was sound asleep before he slipped out of the bed and wandered into the adjacent bathroom.

He wouldn't find any sleep if he didn't find some release, so he wrapped his bad hand around his still hard cock and started to pump, ignoring the pain that shot through the joints as he curled his fingers around his length. He lifted his other hand to his face - the one with which he'd pleasured Emma - and let out a soft groan when the scent of her arousal hit his nostrils. His movements became jerky as he remembered the sounds Emma had made only a few minutes earlier, and he flicked his tongue against one finger, tasting her juices in his mouth, and he came with a soft moan on the next jerk of his hand.

He cleaned himself up afterwards as silently as possible, feeling slight reluctance to wash his hands. But one hand was sticky with his semen and he couldn't clean that one up properly without using the other one, so he brought his hand to his face to smell at it one last time. Inhaling deeply, he tried to store the scent of her arousal in the olfactory part of his brain, trying not to feel foolish for doing so. But he still felt a pang of regret when he reached for the soap to wash his hands a moment later.

As he slipped back into bed Emma shifted, mumbling something incoherently in her sleep. He pulled her into his arms, and she slackened against him without waking up. Her hair was spilled out over his arm, the soft strands tickling his skin while her breath brushed over his naked chest.

Killian couldn't be more happy that they'd finally taken the next step in their relationship, but a voice inside his head kept nagging at him. He still hadn't told her about Neal and Milah; he knew she had a right to know, and before they took it any further he would tell her.

He just hoped telling her wouldn't destroy the progress they'd made.