Back to You, page 25
She was quiet for a few heartbeats. “How did that happen, by the way?” She peered up at him, eyes filled with an emotion he didn’t understand. “Meet Hiram?”
Sighing, Thomas explained the day he found Mikey and the Callahan twins surrounding Hiram down by the docks all those years ago. The look on Hiram’s face. How they bullied him. Hit him. The despicable things they said.
“Hiram’s ma fled to the north when she found out she was with child,” he explained. Emilia’s eyes widened. He nodded when she asked who the father was. “His father owned his mother. Because of her sacrifices and determination, Hiram could live freely in the north. It’s a miracle he never found them. So many others don’t make it.” Thomas’s thoughts returned to Miss Abel, and his stomach turned at their failure. “I’m sure ye can imagine the remarks they were throwin’ around about his ma.” Thomas cleared his throat and shrugged. “I intervened. It was Hiram and me against them, and it’s been that way ever since.”
“Is Mikey bitter about that?”
“He sees it as me choosing Hiram over him, aye.” Thomas walked, quietly thinking of his brother and wishing they could have had the relationship they had in Ireland. “But I couldn’t let him do it. And I don’t regret me choice. I just hope he regrets his.”
“Has Hiram always been so…” Her words trailed off as she thought, her head tilting back and forth. “Broody?”
Thomas let out a deep laugh, startling Emilia into looking up at him. She rewarded him with a small smile of her own. “Aye, gypsy. The man takes life too seriously. But can ye blame him after what he’s been through?”
“No. But Isaac seems so happy…”
“Isaac’s different. His da didn’t rape his ma or own her.”
Emilia’s face paled considerably. “This world is so fucked up.”
Thomas nodded. There were no words for how true that statement was.
They spent the next few minutes lost in their own troubled thoughts.
Her muscles visibly tensed when Emilia saw the street where they were headed. “Where are we going?”
“Mikey needs us at Nora’s. Ye don’t have to go in. I can drop it off quick.” Thomas patted his pocket.
Thomas tried not to worry about what her silence meant the rest of the way.
I shifted on my feet outside Nora’s, willing Thomas to hurry his ass up so we could go home.
Home.
My throat constricted at the thought. It wasn’t my home. I needed to remember that.
I’d spent the last few weeks searching for any news about my family to no avail. Each day chiseled away more of my resolve and left me despondent. I needed to get Shay out of the nineteenth century, but I couldn’t do that if I didn’t have the powder. If I didn’t find them soon, it was looking like I would have to go south. And just the thought of that was daunting.
Not to mention the war we were currently going through.
I wrung my hands and tried to divert my thoughts. Only they went to Thomas and how Nessa was probably all over him. My fists clenched, and my entire body ignited with jealousy. Thomas hadn’t come out and said that Nessa was the one he’d been with, and yet it was clear the day that I saw them together. Nessa may have had many clients, but Thomas was obviously her favorite. If I had to guess, I would even say she had some feelings for him.
I scoffed as I looked at the street around me and felt a pang of nostalgia. I didn’t sing here for long, but the impulse to do so now overwhelmed me. I was in the middle of watching the people go by, admiring the women’s big dresses and checking out the men’s fashion. Seriously, this time was far classier than ours. Even though we were in the poorer part of the city, I felt myself favoring their style. A part of me wondered if it was just a style choice or if it had to do with me being from this time as a child.
My thoughts were wondering, thankfully from the man inside the whorehouse, when my gaze fell on a familiar face. I squinted, hoping my eyes were deceiving me. Was that one of Billy Mead’s men?
He was heading this way, and I couldn’t deny his unmistakable broad face any longer. Frank Acker’s ruddy brown hair and dull eyes may have made him easy to forget, but the man was built like a bull, with Hulk-like arms that could crush a man. If I hadn’t stood by him during one of my nights singing at the saloon, I would never have noticed that he was short. The thick layers of muscle covering the man were distraction enough for any bystander.
What did he want? Surely, he was going to pass Nora’s.
I fidgeted on my feet, praying that he wouldn’t turn my way or look too closely at me. Otherwise, he’d see through my disguise. When he crossed to my side of the street, I couldn’t take it any longer.
I slipped through the door to Nora’s establishment.
The place hadn’t changed since the last time I’d been there. It was a full night, with the ladies flirting their way through the men until one of them took them upstairs. The alcohol was flowing, and raucous laughter boomed throughout the room.
I made my way to the back corner, and my eyes were immediately drawn to a particularly tall man, as they always were.
Thank God Nessa was nowhere in sight.
I pushed my way through, keeping my head down so no one would spot me.
“Thomas,” I said sharply, pulling on his sleeve. I ignored the way his eyes widened at my arrival.
“I was about to come out—”
“I think Frank Acker is about to come in here. What do ye think he wants?”
“Eamonn!” a familiar voice drawled a little too loudly. “It’s about time I found ye in here.”
I ignored Michael, who was blazingly drunk and kept my eyes on Thomas. His eyebrows creased as he looked over my head. They sharpened when the door opened, and my breath stalled in my chest. My fear had manifested.
“Eamonn, ye fancy a lass?” Michael laughed with his boys, though he was the only one in on his joke. “I’m sure a little relief would remove the stick from up your arse.”
“Shut up,” I growled, cutting my eyes toward him. He must have seen something in my face because he seemed to sober up a bit.
In the next second, Thomas whipped me around and shoved me up the stairs before I could even blink.
“What are ye doing?” I snapped, stumbling across one of the steps.
“Saving your arse. Whatever it is, Frank wants, Mikey can handle it.”
“He’s drunk.” I scoffed. “Are ye sure he can?”
Amusement filled his green eyes, causing a flutter to break out in my belly.
“Ye under-estimate me, dear deartháir. He’ll be fine.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, reaching the top of the stairs just as two women exited one of the rooms.
I choked on my spit when I recognized Biddy and threw myself behind Thomas.
“Tommy!” her sweet voice sang. “What are ye doin’ up here? Ye lookin’ for Nessa?”
My hackles rose, and my lip curled, ready to snap. As if sensing my anger, Thomas’s shoulders stiffened.
“How much for a room?” he asked her.
“Oh!” She sounded surprised. “The usual—”
“Nay,” he said sharply, causing me to pull back and look at the back of his head as if I could read what was going on in there. “A room for me and me friend. No women. We have business that can’t be overheard.” Thomas pulled the cash we earned today out of his pocket and started counting the bills. “Will this cover it?”
I peeked around his arm and saw her blonde curls bob up and down. “That is grand, Tommy. Ye can have me room.”
Thomas pulled out a few more bills. “And for your silence?”
She nodded, sliding the extra money between her small breasts. Her eyes flicked towards me and widened a fraction.
“C’mon, Cori,” she said, her gaze still on me. “Let’s head out back. It looks like we have a spare hour.”
“Make it several,” Thomas said, handing her extra cash.
“Are ye crazy?” I hissed with enough vehemence to scare small children.
Thomas ignored me as Biddy’s, and Cori’s big eyes bounced between us.
“This shall do,” Biddy smiled and steered the other girl away.
I took off to her room. “Ye think it’s going to take Michael several hours to get Frank out of here?”
“Ye never know,” he said as we closed the door to the room.
“Never know?!” I yelled. I placed my hands on my hips and let my head fall back, hoping I would calm down. I dropped the accent now that we were in the room. “What are we going to do for hours?”
“I’m sure we can think of something.” A tone I had never heard before had my head snapping in his direction. Was Thomas teasing me?
Oh. I shifted on my feet, suddenly nervous. Did he turn that smirk onto all the women? Because, if so, I saw why they all seemed to fall at his feet. I swallowed, shifting my eyes away from Thomas’s heated ones.
“It’s hot in here,” I blurted, beginning to pace. “Isn’t it?” I fanned my face with my hand. “Yeah, it’s hot.”
“Ye stated that, gypsy.”
I let my hand fall so he could adequately see my glower.
He just smiled and started unbuttoning the top of his shirt.
“What are you doing?” I snapped.
One brow rose. “It’s hot.” He shrugged. “And ye didn’t seem to mind the last time…”
I rolled my eyes and stared at the low, burning fire.
“Settle down, lass. I didn’t bring ye in here to have me way with ye.” He sat in the same chair he had occupied all those months ago. “We can just talk.”
My nose scrunched up. Why did that leave me feeling disappointed?
I sat down on the bed with a huff. A quick glance revealed Thomas’s shirt, only partially unbuttoned as he relaxed. My eyes flicked back to the fire before he could catch me staring at his chest.
“Tell me some more about your time,” Thomas said.
“What do you want to know?”
Thomas shrugged. “Tell me your favorite thing about it.”
“Air conditioning,” I said without having to think about it.
He repeated the words slowly, making me laugh. I explained what it was, and his eyebrows almost shot through the roof.
“When did ye sell your soul for such sorcery?”
That comment had me doubling over. Then, we fell into an easy conversation, from my favorite foods to the adventures I’d been on. At some point during the conversation, I’d removed my shoes and propped myself on the bed.
“Where did you get that?” I asked, eyeing the bottle of whiskey Thomas had lifted to his lips. I hadn’t seen him grab it.
“It was in the corner.” One dark brow rose. “Want some?”
I reached my hand out to take it, but Thomas had stood, making my neck crane back as he walked over to me.
“Maybe just a taste,” he said, pressing it to my lips. Our eyes locked as he tilted it up slowly, letting the liquid settle on my tongue as it burned down my throat. His eyes darkened as he tracked my neck with each swallow. I pulled the bottle out of his hands so I wouldn’t choke beneath his stare.
“I think you’ve had enough.” I smiled and took another swig.
His green gaze leisurely, painstakingly, trailed up my neck and across my lips until finally reaching my eyes again. A small gasp parted my lips as he rolled his bottom one into his mouth.
“All yours, gypsy.”
We stared at each other until my blood heated, a thrill shooting through my limbs as the tension between us intensified.
“I should check on Mikey,” he said, snapping our connection.
My eyes fell to the bottle, and I nodded, afraid to speak lest he heard the desire in my voice. I took another drink as the click of the door told me he’d left.
Sighing, I flopped back on the bed, cursing myself for thinking he might kiss me. It’d been ages since we’d kissed last, and Thomas hadn’t made a move since.
Chapter twenty-seven
Emilia & Thomas
It’d been several minutes since Thomas had left when a door closed in the next room, and a giggle carried its way over to me. With one glance at the door, I stood and made my way over to the wall, intrigued.
I placed my ear to the wall and heard a grunt and a curse. The woman moaned. “Yes, baby.”
“Daddy,” a deep voice growled. A slap had the woman gasping while loud thumps began to beat the wall next to my ear.
“Aw, daddy. Just like that. Ye always do so good.”
Apparently, not much had changed over the centuries. I never understood the whole ‘daddy’ thing, though. It kind of weirded me out.
The man growled, and the tempo increased so loudly that I sprang back, irrationally thinking they’d catch me listening. He must have had her against the wall I was pressed up against.
My hand squeezed the bottle, captivated by what was happening. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine the way he fucked her. The desire. How she would know all the ways to make him beg.
My hand trailed down my body and across my breasts until I reached my pants. Suddenly, the vest was too much.
Another swig, and I had the vest off. One more drink and I unbuttoned my pants before I could question what I was doing. I put the bottle down. I had enough and wanted to be fully aware of Thomas’s reaction when he came back into the room.
I shed my boots and most of my clothes. The only thing on my body was the shirt, unbuttoned down to my breasts and only reaching my thighs. I looked down, my tan legs were scandalously displayed in this era, and with a brief feel behind me, I knew the bottom of my ass was teasing its way out.
Biting my lip, I undid another button on the shirt so that it reached my stomach. I’d taken the wrap that bound my breasts and hid it under the pile of my clothes.
The pounding picked up unbearably. The grunts and moans made me press my thighs together for relief. Unable to take it anymore, I put my hand between them, finding my center wet. I plunged them in and moaned with the couple. Increasing my pace as if I was in there with them.
My hand shot to the wall, supporting me while my eyes closed and moved like I was participating in their activities. My breathing accelerated, heat flushing my skin as our pace threatened to push us over our climax.
The door creaked open, and I twirled around. Thomas’s eyes blazed down my body, searing every inch of my exposed skin.
I tried to control my breathing, but there wasn’t anything I could do about my flushed face. And having him see me like this sent another intense wave of heat through me, setting my body on fire. There was no denying what I had been doing.
His boot slammed the door shut behind him.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” he said, gesturing for me to continue.
My heart beat against my ribcage, threatening to break out as Thomas sat down in the chair and watched me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice came out breathier than I intended. I bit my lip when the prostitute started yelling repeatedly.
Thomas’s darkening gaze turned absolutely feral as he leaned forward. “Ye very well know what I meant. Don’t play daft now, gypsy. Put your pretty little fingers back where ye had them and finish what ye started. It would be rude of me to not let a woman finish.”
On a shaky breath, I let my hand skim down my body.
“On the bed,” he growled, stopping my pursuit.
Without breaking eye contact, I crawled onto the bed and lay down. My back arched as I cupped my breasts and slowly trailed them down my body before pushing them inside me. I moaned, never so turned on before.
I never did anything like it before.
“Faster,” he rasped. His whole body tensed as if he was going to pounce. The thought invigorated me, and I moaned so loudly that I had to bite my lip to stop myself from calling out to him. “Don’t stop, gypsy. It sounds like they’re almost done. Wouldn’t want them to finish without ye.”
I circled my clit, the tension building so strongly inside me that my legs began to move, trying to find leverage to stop this maddening torture.
Thomas stood, and I froze, entirely at his mercy. And yet, I didn’t have an ounce of fear in me, knowing full well that he would never hurt me. Thomas would never treat me the way those men had. No, this invigorated me and lit my body up as a heady nervousness thrummed in my veins.
“I said don’t stop,” he snapped, almost angrily.
I picked up the pace as he knelt by me, my breath catching as his large hand reached out and began to undo the rest of the buttons. Each skim of his fingers on my bare flesh sent a shot of electricity through me. My head flew back as I moaned, eyes screwed shut at all the sensations coursing through me.
“Yes, daddy! Yes!” her groan had me almost coming so fast that I had to stop. The slap of their bodies made me want to grab Thomas and make him show me what he could do.
My shirt fell back, exposing every inch of me except for my arms. My breathing hitched before picking up as if I had run a marathon. I opened my eyes and found Thomas’s gaze trailing down my neck to pause at my breasts. All the oxygen left my body as the green of his irises disappeared.
I guess he liked what he saw, but insecurities with such undevoted attention on me sent my nerves straight through the roof.
“Breath, Emilia,” he demanded, and I obeyed.
When his eyes roamed down my stomach, I moved to cover it. His hand shot out and pinned my arm to the bed.
“Don’t ye dare,” he growled. I wasn’t usually worried about it, but the women were so skinny in this era that I felt significantly larger than them. “Ye’re perfect.” His other hand skimmed my thigh and over my hip until it gripped my mid-section. Could he feel that I was shaking?
His grip tightened, and I gasped as his fingers stroked my soft flesh. Both of his hands let go of me quickly as if he wouldn’t be able to control himself a moment longer.
“I said, ‘keep touchin’ yourself,’” he rasped.
My hand found its way back, circling as he watched. I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry under his heated gaze.
