Redemption (Red Dragon Book 1)

by Bradley, H. J.

  Oh it hurt. Almost as much as watching Valto walk away all those years ago not really understanding why. Eilidh had been that reason, and the reason why she would probably be watching him walk away again. A sound that was very close to a sob rose up from her aching chest, and Cat placed a hand over her mouth to try and stifle the sound, not wanting Valto to hear her and come out to witness her humiliation. With a deep breath that caught in her throat, Cat stepped backwards and then quietly shut the door, turning around blindly and walking aimlessly down the hotel landing.

  She had no idea where she was going or really what she planned to do once she got there, though she was secretly grateful when she saw which door she had ended up in front of. Thankfully Astrid answered after only knock, a silk dressing gown that was at least three sizes too large for her wrapped around the woman’s slim frame like a sari. Her blonde hair was a mess and there was sleep in her eyes but she gave a soft smile and waved Cat in.

  “Quiet.” Her voice was hushed as Cat stepped inside. “We’ll go into the study.”

  It didn’t take Cat long to figure out why Astrid was whispering. The layout of these rooms had the door opening into the main bedroom, and it wasn’t hard to miss the two enormous men on the gigantic bed. They were curled around each other in the middle with the sheet low on what was apparently bare hips, the sheer amount of muscle and tattoos on show was enough to make her heart beat faster despite her pain. “I’m sorry.” Cat’s words were whispered as she started to follow Astrid into the adjoining room. “You must have been asleep.”

  Astrid gave a small snort of laughter as she quietly closed the door between the bedroom and the study. “Only just.” She gave Cat a wink. “Men really hit their stride in their fifties.”

  It took a moment for Cat to work out what that meant but as soon as she did her face flushed hotly. It seemed like Eilidh wasn’t the only one rolling around between the sheets this evening. Though that did answer a question that she had always been dying to know the answer to. “So do you? … With both of them?”

  Astrid’s laugh was a lot louder now the door was closed. “When I’m able.” She settled herself in the desk chair and crossed one shapely leg over the other. “Though Olani loves me, his dick only really has one master.” She laughed again. “Now what brings you here?”

  With a deep sigh that ended in another sob, Cat seated herself on the small love seat on the other side of the room and placed her hands between her knees. Her head fell forwards and thick chestnut hair fell over her face as Cat found that she couldn’t look at the other woman. “I went to see Valto tonight because …” She felt herself flush again at just what she had wanted to see him for, but then again Valto was her fiancé and it wasn’t strange to be seeking him out in the night.

  “It’s alright.” Astrid held up a hand and gave her a soft smile. “I think I get the point.”

  Cat nodded her head slowly. “Eilidh was there.” She took a deep breath but was horrified when it came out as more of a sob than anything. “She was naked and her hair was a mess and …”

  She didn’t really need to say anything more because Astrid’s face was as dark as thunder, and before Cat could react the other woman had got to her feet and threw open the door into the bedroom with a bang. There was the sound of Teuvo and Astrid immediately conversing in Finnish and though Cat was familiar with the language, they were keeping their voices low enough that she couldn’t really make out what they were saying. Part of her wanted to get up and join in the conversation, after all it was surely about her, but then again she didn’t know if she could ever look any of them in the eye again if she walked in on Astrid’s husband completely nude.

  “I thought better of Valto.” She jumped at the deep candour of Teuvo’s voice as it filled the study, and she looked up to see him wearing a wrinkled pair of khaki pants and struggling into a shirt. Behind him in the other room there was the sound of the shower running, and Cat let out a deep breath of relief that not everyone was going to crowd around her. “I mean sleeping with another woman on his engagement tour of all things.”

  “I suppose it was only to be expected,” said Cat, blinking back tears. “Valto did leave me for Eilidh in the first place.”

  There was a heavy silence that filled the room before Astrid spoke. “What are you talking about?”

  “Well he was dating her within nine days of leaving me.” Cat shrugged her shoulders. “Why else would he do that if he loved me?”

  Astrid’s laugh made her look up quickly, to find the other woman gazing warmly at her husband. “How long did it take you to sleep with someone else after my father banished you?”

  “About three days,” he answered.

  “And to pursue a relationship with someone you were actually interested in?” Astrid raised a hand and pressed it against his bearded cheek. “It took you what? Three months to seduce Olani?”

  “I was eighteen.” Teuvo folded his arms across his chest. “I wasn’t exactly thinking with my head. Plus Olani showed up and started throwing me around the training yard both of us shirtless. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Men are different creatures.” Astrid sat beside her on the loveseat and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “But that doesn’t excuse his actions tonight.”

  Before Cat really knew what was happening she was being dragged back down the hallway, until she was standing beside Teuvo as he knocked loudly on Valto’s door. When Valto answered the door there was a look of annoyance on his face, and his mouth was half open as though to yell at somebody. However the moment he caught sight of Teuvo standing in front of him he quickly closed his mouth and stepped back, gaze flicking from the older man to Astrid and finally resting on Cat. There was a moment in which shock and confusion crossed his face, and he took a step towards her and then stopped as Cat almost tripped over her own feet to back away.

  “Cat?” His voice sounded confused and upset. “What’s happened?”

  Teuvo took Valto’s arm in a strong grip and led him back into his room “Come on, I think you two need to talk.”

  The last thing that Cat wanted to do right now was go onto that hotel room. That was a lie. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Valto. Knowing that he had gone and done the exact same thing that he had accused her of all those years ago hurt horrendously, for him to be so callous was something that she hadn’t expected from Valto of all people. “I don’t …” She wasn’t even able to finish her sentence before Astrid had placed a hand between her shoulder blades and was pushing her into the room.

  “What’s going on?” Valto pulled his arm out of Teuvo’s grasp and looked around at them.

  “I saw her.” Cat wasn’t able to keep silent any longer, though she was impressed with herself that she was able to keep her voice down. “I came to see you and that … that … tart was in here.”

  Valto’s face went pale at the sound of his words and she saw his eyes widen in horror, all of which made his guilt clear enough. “Cat …”

  “She’s was naked.” Another sob rose up from her chest. “And in your bed.”

  “No.” Valto quickly shook his head. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  Off to one side Teuvo grunted before walking out of the room, Cat watched him going before turning back to Valto. “Not what it looks like? How can you say that to me?” She angrily wiped tears away from her face. “I’m not an idiot, Valto!”

  She really didn’t want to do this here, not in front of Astrid, and with possibly half the hotel listening in but it was difficult to hold her tongue when he was standing there so blatantly lying to her.

  “I know you’re not an idiot Cat.” Valto’s voice was starting to rise now as well as he was clearly frustrated that she wasn’t falling for his lies. “I never said that you were.” He placed his hands on his hips in a way that she knew was a defensive posture. “But I haven’t done anything with Eilidh … I would never.”

  Cat had been about to answer him then when Teuvo reappeared
in the room with a grumbling and disgruntled looking Eilidh trailing after him. She looked tired, though her hair had been brushed and she was thankfully now wearing a thick dressing gown over what appeared to be a modest pair of silk pajamas. Though Cat had no doubt that Teuvo would have dragged her here in the nude if he had to. “You would never what?” she demanded the moment she walked through the doorway.

  Valto’s grey eyes narrowed in her direction. “Sleep with you!”

  Eilidh rolled her own eyes in response and then flicked her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. “Well I thought that would have been obvious by now.” She paused before taking in the scene that she had walked in on. “You thought I’d fucked him!” Immediately Eilidh burst into a fit of laughter and shook her head. “Oh Cat trust me if he’d have taken me up on the offer we’d still be in that bed.”

  “Oh thank the gods.” Teuvo ran his fingers through his long hair. “I’m far too old for this shit, I’m going back to bed.” With that he patted Valto on the shoulder and left the room.

  “Good luck dear.” Astrid kissed her on the cheek and then followed her husband.

  “Can I go back to bed as well?” Edliah stifled a yawn behind her hand. “I’m just going to leave you two to it.”

  With that she turned and left without even bothering apologize for trying to sleep with Cat’s fiancé. The moment she was gone Valto walked quickly across the room and shut the door behind her with a snap. As soon as they were alone Cat felt like the atmosphere was weighing down on her beneath Valto’s heavy gaze. She refused however to back down beneath it, and instead she folded her arms across her chest and met his gaze full on. Her reaction to this situation had been far more restrained than his own six years ago. “Valto.”

  He advanced on her then and though she wanted to step backwards, Cat was not the kind of person to simply back down before someone who was trying to intimidate her with their size, though she couldn’t help the frission of fear that went through her when she found herself looking up at him and the almost blank look on his face. Valto’s hand shot out the moment he came to stand in front of her. Cat felt herself flinch, yet instead of the slap or push that she had been expecting her simply gripped the back of her neck in his huge palm and dragged her forwards to press an almost vicious kiss against her mouth. She instinctively opened her mouth beneath his, arms winding around his neck as she did so.

  They pulled apart, but before Cat was able to question what was happening he had pushed the straps of her dress down her arms with her bra quickly following. He wrapped a single arm around her waist and lifted her from the ground and pressed her against his chest. “I can’t believe that you would think I would fuck Eilidh.” He strode across the room still holding her, before depositing her onto the desk, pulling off her panties as he did so. “When I have this.”

  Something inside of Cat bristled at the idea that Valto would think that he owned her, yet she couldn’t stop herself from dragging him close and spreading her thighs so that he could step between them. Wrapping his arm tightly around her waist again, Valto pulled her against him. “At least take your clothes off this time.” Her words were lost as he kissed her roughly again and she felt him fumbling with his own zip quite desperately before pushing both his trousers and underwear down to his knees.

  Chapter Seventeen.

  Desperate didn’t even cover how Valto felt in this moment. He had been so close to losing this lovely creature in his arms to Eilidh’s jealousy and sense of entitlement and he felt a need to reconnect with Cat that ran so deep it felt like it was carving him in two. She was kissing him back with the same eagerness that he felt, sucking on his lower lips whilst her fingers clawed at his shirt. Valto had started feeling like he wanted complete control over Cat here, to hold her down and force her pleasure from her in the kind of way that he saw on porn. He should have known better than that though, as he once again felt himself falling apart beneath her touch once again.

  “God Cat you’re amazing.” He knew that he must look like an idiot, pants down around his knees and erection pushing up the hem of his button up shirt. Not that Cat seemed to care about his sudden humiliation as her hands left his shoulders to grip his bare hips and pull him towards her. “Slow down.”

  She shook her head so quickly that her hair fell over her face, and he gently pushed it out of her eyes and then brushed his lips over the bridge of her nose. It was interesting how quickly their roles had changed in this, he had gone from all but ripping her clothes off to trying to calm her own lust so that he could take his time with her. “No.” Her fingers curled into the hair at the back of his head and she dragged him into a kiss with such violence that their teeth clacked together almost painfully. “Don’t stop now.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” He said the words against her lips, and her hands moved back to his hips and tightened to such a degree that her nails broke the skin.

  “Hurt me.” She bit at his neck with sharp teeth and he groaned at the feeling. “Please.”

  “Are you ready?” He couldn’t keep the waver out of his voice.

  “More than.”

  Valto let his hand drift down to between her thighs, sliding along the soft folds of her sex before delving between them to find her hot and soaking wet. With a loud moan Cat’s head fell back and he let his fingers dance lightly over the hard nub of her clit, feeling her legs tremble on either side of him as she arched her back to push her hips up against him. “Yeah you’re ready.” He didn’t even bother to say another word, instead he allowed himself to be pulled forwards by her grasping hands. Taking handfuls of her slim thighs he used them as leverage as he thrust forward with such force that her eyes widened and a grunt escaped her mouth. “You want it?” He whispered the words against her temple. “Do you want to feel it tomorrow?”

  Cat nodded her head urgently before letting herself flop backwards onto the desk, letting go of his hips so that she could take hold of the edges of the desk. Her back was ached, breasts pushed high, and her legs tense in his hands as though she was holding herself back from grabbing at him again. “Valto.” Her knees bent and the muscles deep inside her clenched in a way that made him grip her hips and lift her so that their bodies were perfectly aligned.

  Once there he slowly pulled back so that his cock dragged along her internal walls, making them both cry out and Cat lean back on her elbows so that her head could fall back exposing the long line of her throat. She truly was beautiful even like this, without all her fine clothes and jewellery and with only a little bit of make up on. This was the woman that he was going to marry, the woman that he loved more than anything on this planet and that he had been willing to throw everything away for. Bending over he kissed her lips gently even as his hips were starting to move instinctively, his back twinged but he found he couldn’t stand up straight as Cat fisted a hand at the back of his head and held him in place.

  They kept kissing forcefully as Cat’s surprisingly strong legs wrapped around his back, and she dug her heels into the small of his back to try and make him move faster. Valto pulled away to draw in a deep breath, letting his lips slide along her cheek as he did so. “Cat please, I can’t love you in this position let me stand up.” With a soft mewl she let go of him immediately and Valto was able to stand up straight, take a proper hold of her hips and start thrusting in earnest. There was the sound of their skin slapping, and Valto knew that he must be making the fragile skin of Cat’s inner thighs bruise with the way that he was gripping them.

  Sweat was starting to break out over his skin, causing his silk shirt to stick between his shoulder blades and he had to blink the sweat out of his eyes. Beneath his palms her skin was starting to heat up and her cries were filling the room and he knew that the people in the rooms on either side of his must be listening in to them, possibly everyone on this floor. For a moment he let the idea of Teuvo kicking down the door to tell them to be quiet amuse him, before continuing to fuck Cat with everything he had. It didn’t ta
ke long for the familiar electric sensation to begin climbing up his spine, and he felt a flash of guilt that he was still relatively inexperienced and didn’t have much in the way of stamina.

  “Cat.” He let his eyes close, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer if he looked at her. “I’m sorry …”

  Her legs tightened around him even more at those words, and he felt her clenching around him rhythmically, though it wasn’t until her voice broke on a scream that he realised that she had come. That was it for him, pulling her against him as his hips completely lost their rhythm and he lost control of his senses yelling his way through his own climax.

  He came too, finding himself draped over Cat on the desk whilst she idly ran her fingers through his hair and made soft noises. The air was thick with the smell of sex and his own musk, with just a trace of Cat’s expensive perfume beneath it. If anyone were to walk in right now it would be obvious what had occurred in this room tonight, and part of Valto wished somebody would so that he could show off his prize.

  “Valto.” Cat’s voice was hoarse from her yelling, and the sound of it gave him a thrill. “This is really uncomfortable.”

  He didn’t even bother to answer her and instead levered himself off of her, feeling his softening dick pulling out of her wetly. His legs were shaking slightly, but that didn’t stop him from drawing Cat into his arms and lifting her from the desk. With a gentle hum she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face into his shoulders as he felt her entire body go lax in his embrace, and within three long strides he had deposited her on the bed.