Enlighten (Thornhill Trilogy Book 2)

by J. J. Sorel

  I went to the balcony. As always, I sought strength from nature. The trees in silhouette swayed. As a frightened child, I had thought trees at night were ghosts. But as a grown-up, their sculptural elegance inspired me.

  My focus lifted above to the sea that had merged with the heavens. An evening star sparkling in the fading blue offered nothing but hope.

  Clarissa stretched her graceful frame on my new chaise lounge, upholstered in antique-pink, embossed silk. I had just purchased it at Sotheby’s with Clarissa in mind. At the time, I envisaged her all languid and warm, stretched out like a sated pussy. Just as she was that moment.

  My greedy eyes filled with Clarissa’s elegant form.

  Her little dress had unconsciously ridden up her legs as she molded into the equally curvaceous sofa. My dreaded, fucked-up past evaporated as I drank in her beauty.

  “You haven’t answered my question, Aidan.”

  I combed back my hair with my hands while Clarissa watched me with those expectant big eyes.

  “John Howard was Jacqui’s husband.”

  “Jacqui was the school-teacher you had an affair with?”

  I nodded. Although dry, her tone was nonjudgmental. Good.

  “He murdered her after my mother told him about Jacqui and me. I warned my mother. But she still went ahead. He was a drunken brute. She often arrived at school with black eyes, bruises on her body. When it got really bad, she didn’t turn up at all. That’s when…”

  “When?” She shook her head. “Aidan, I can see this is difficult. I just need to know. You promised me that there would be no more secrets between us.”

  I exhaled. “Anyway, that’s when I went to find her one day after school. I was worried about her. She was a great teacher. Sure, she wore low-cut blouses and flirted with me, but she was a really good, caring teacher to everyone.” I stopped for a sip of liquor. “I arrived at her home. She was alone. She’d been drinking. She was seriously bruised. I wanted to call the cops. But she stopped me, begging me not to get involved. Her eyes were swollen from tears. I couldn’t understand why she stayed with him.”

  “Why did she?”

  “She feared for her life. He’d threatened to kill her if she left. She made me a drink. One thing led to another, and that was the beginning.”

  “How long were you together?”

  “Six months.”

  “When did your mother find out?”

  “Towards the end. Jacqui’s nosy neighbor ran into my mother and blurted it out. Then Patti confronted me at Greta’s.”

  “You were living with Greta?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. That’s where I wanted to be. But Patti would always drag me back so she could get the parental allowance. Not because she wanted me. It was always all about her.” My voice rang with resentment.

  “I’ve picked that up,” said Clarissa.

  I sniffed. “Not hard to. She’s not exactly subtle. Anyway, she told Jacqui’s husband. He was convicted for Jacqui’s murder. He’s now a free man. And… apparently out for revenge.”

  “Oh, Aidan, I’m really frightened.” She fell into my arms.

  That was all I needed. Clarissa. I continued to hold her, and as I peered down into her beautiful, searching eyes, I said, “Clarissa, I have a wall of security. I can look after myself, you know?” I pulled my head back and gave her a reassuring nod. “We were trained to be tough, alert, and strong. You have to have faith in me, my darling. What matters more than anything is that you forgive me.”

  “Forgive you? But you haven’t done anything wrong, Aidan.”

  “You’re a darling girl.” I kissed her soft lips.

  She pushed out of my arms. “Why does your mother dislike Greta so much?”

  “Because I’d adopted Greta as my mother. Patti hated her involvement. They’re complete opposites. As, no doubt, you can see.”

  Clarissa nodded thoughtfully.

  “Greta brought me the stability I needed. But then Patti would stumble in and drag me back.”

  “Why did you go with her?”

  “To save Greta from my mother’s drunken tirades. She’d yell in the street or in the front garden for everyone to see and hear. My mother is a force of nature. She’s one of those people that scratch and scrape until they get their way.”

  Clarissa grimaced. “God, Aidan. I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey. Look at me now. I’ve found you. I would go through all of that over and over again, only to have you here with me forever, my beautiful girl.” I took her into my arms.

  Her body trembled. I felt her sobs resonate against my ribcage. “Don’t cry, darling.”

  She shook her head. Her lips curled into a sweet smile, her face stained with tears. “Aidan, I’m not upset. I’m just moved.”

  I sat on the chaise lounge and patted it. “Come here, Princess.”

  She sat down close. My hands travelled up her warm, soft thigh. “Clarissa?”

  “Yes.”

  Her breathy voice made my cock thicken. “You’re not wearing panties.”

  Her giggle instantly helped me forget the gloomy reality of my formative years. It was that moment that mattered. Not crazed mothers or wild flights of sexual fancies driven by raging teenage hormones.

  I laid her across the chaise lounge and got on my knees. “Mm… I need some creamy, yummy Clarissa.”

  As my tongue slid up her thigh, Clarissa opened herself up beautifully for me. I sighed, and in I went, my hands on her firm peachy ass as I ravaged her. My tongue flickered and teased her pulsating little bud. Clarissa moaned sweetly. Her back arched as she pushed her pussy up to my hungry mouth.

  My fingers drenched as I visited her deeply. My cock pushed up hard against my jeans. Letting out a sweet, stretched sigh, Clarissa drowned my mouth with cum. I’d never experienced anyone with this much to give.

  I lifted her off the sofa and carried her to the bed. I stripped out of my jeans, lowered my boxers, and shrugged out of my T-shirt.

  Clarissa lounged back, watching me. Her face had that needy expression. Her full lips, luscious, glistening with moisture, were equally as needy.

  She reached out for my cock, which filled her little hand. And, licking her lips, she took me into her mouth. Mm… that was sensational. Her little tongue tickled my sticky head, before taking me in deeply, almost swallowing me whole.

  I was so aroused and in need to explode that I knew I wouldn’t last. I tried to pull away, but she was determined to keep going. I closed my eyes and groaned. “Clarissa, I’m going to blow if you keep going.”

  She continued anyway, and her wet, soft sucking sent a rush of blood to my groin. My mind was in a haze. The swelling torment of an orgasm brewed.

  “Clarissa…. I’m going to…” A purging, hot torrent erupted into her mouth. She swallowed everything I had.

  I pulled out and fell onto the bed holding her. Our mouths crushed one another, tasting the remnants of our fevered emissions.

  I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CLARISSA

  “What do you think?” Aidan showed me the architectural drawings of a renovation he’d planned for Greta and my father’s new home.

  “I love it. I can see that you’ve stuck to the original shape of the building by not modernizing it.”

  Aidan nodded. “That was after a bit of a tussle with the architect, so to speak.” He chuckled. “He wanted to go all Frank Lloyd Wright and contemporary. But I had it firmly in mind that the second floor should emulate the estate.”

  I nodded. “More organic that way. I love the porticoed balcony. Are you going to have a classical mosaic on it? As in the main house.”

  “If I can find the craftsman. I imagine it’s a dying artform.”

  I thought of my father and how thrilled he was going to be living in such splendor.

  “This is a tremendous wedding gift, Aidan.”

  “It’s the least I can do.” He put the drawing away in his backpack. “Co
me on, let’s go for a little walk.”

  It was one of those spectacular warm days. We were at the beach, throwing the ball in the water for Rocket to swim to.

  I was so happy. Life didn’t get better than this.

  “Do you mind Greta and your father living with us on the same estate?” Aidan stopped walking. He was bare chested. The light dusting of hair on his muscle-bound chest had gone golden in the sun.

  My eyes crept up to his broad shoulders and muscular arms to his golden-brown hair, wet and pushed back away from his handsome face, the full, sculptured lips that I couldn’t stop kissing, the cleft chin, and the chiseled, masculine jaw. Aidan never looked bad.

  “I think it’s wonderful. Very European. It has the feel of a family estate.”

  He nodded. “Good, Princess. I like it that way, myself. Greta’s the world to me. And I’m very fond of Julian. I always leave a little smarter after a conversation with him.” He chuckled.

  I held him tight. “Dad’s fond of you too, Aidan. And not just because of your generosity. He thinks you’ve got a sharp, quick, and an open mind.”

  A tight smile claimed his lips. Aidan was humble, almost to a fault. But I loved that about him. Although comfortable in his skin, he did not brag.

  Aidan grabbed a strand of my hair and twirled it around his finger. I swallowed. How could one ever tire of this? I’d only just had three orgasms before arriving on the beach. I was in a constant fever of arousal around Aidan.

  “And what about you, baby? What do you like about me?”

  I twisted my lips. “Mm… let’s see.” My hands fluttered over his well-developed pectorals, round and hard, before sliding to his bulging, veiny biceps. “Your dreamy body.”

  His brow creased. “Is that all? What happens when all this disappears, as it will one day?”

  “My favorite feature will never change. Even with age.”

  “And what may that be?” He shot me a playful off-center grin.

  I removed his shades. Emulating the color of the sea and sky, his eyes twinkled with a smile.

  “And that’s all?”

  I shook my head. My hand ran down his stomach along the sexy little trail of hair that led to that, gulp, delicious manhood, which seemed permanently ready to pounce.

  His swimming shorts were still wet from our swim. I stopped short of reaching in and touching it. His brow moved. “You can keep going, Clarissa. This is our little beach.”

  I did just that. He was cold from being damp, but it soon stretched my hand, swelling divinely.

  “Aidan.”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  “Are you always this sexual? I mean, we’ve already made love twice today.”

  He laughed. “Clarissa, with that tiny little bikini, those mouth-watering nipples poking through provoking me, and your divine tits that drive me to a state of constant distraction”—he fondled me—“I’m permanently aroused. I can’t get enough of you.”

  He slapped my bottom, and his hand lingered. His fingers crept under the bottom of my bikini and travelled to my sweet spot.

  I looked about me. It was still an open beach. Anybody could arrive at any moment. Nevertheless, I continued to indulge in Aidan’s velvety-smooth hardness, while his fluttering finger made my legs go to jelly.

  He gazed into my eyes, which were watery with lust. As his finger entered me, he groaned. “Mm… you are just as hungry.”

  “We can’t here, Aidan.”

  He held me tight. I released his cock, albeit reluctantly. Aidan was right, I’d grown just as insatiable as him. He was off the following day for the week. And this was our last day together.

  We’d been inseparable all week. I’d lost count of how often we’d made love.

  Aidan directed me back to our towels. I sat down, and he turned me on my side and pushed his hard cock against my butt.

  I sighed. What was a girl to do? With a big throbbing hard cock hitting against me impatiently, along with my own equally pulsating need, I gyrated against his hardness.

  “Hm… yeah, just like that. Nice chubby little ass,” he said.

  “Chubby?”

  He laughed. “Gloriously so.”

  I pushed it teasingly against his throbbing erection.

  He wrapped his strong arms around me and kept rubbing against me. Then Rocket turned up and shook his dampened fur all over us.

  We both yelled, “Rocket!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  With only one week before the wedding, I found myself buried in detail. At least the entertainment had been set. It was only natural that Grant, being Greta’s twin, performed with his band. I hadn’t seen Aidan’s father since our visit to the Red House a couple of months back, which seemed more like a year ago.

  So much had happened. It felt as if I’d known Aidan for a lifetime. I couldn’t believe we had got together only three months ago on his yacht.

  That first kiss would remain etched in my soul forever. As would the moment his naked masculinity unleashed a fury of tingling desire through my inexperienced body.

  The heat had not abated. If anything, there was an inferno raging inside of me. Such was my appetite for Aidan.

  Nobody knew of our decision to marry as yet. Not even my father. The plan was to announce it at their wedding. That suited me. Everyone that mattered would be there in the same spot, with plenty of champagne to celebrate.

  The thought of it caused palpitations nevertheless. My heart seemed to be permanently hanging in my mouth.

  There was not the slightest doubt in my mind that Aidan was the man I wanted to spend my entire life with. Apart from being breath hitchingly hot, it was Aidan’s respect for me and the way he made me his equal. Without that, I could never marry.

  Aidan, in many ways, was very New Age. I loved that he didn’t have a bigoted bone in his body. Everyone was an equal in his eyes.

  I thought about Tabitha, who, I expected any moment. How could I keep my news from her? If I waited until my father’s ceremony to tell her, she would be deeply hurt. And in many ways, I was dying to tell her. After all, she was the one who had advised me, cajoled me, and gave me the confidence to accept Aidan’s advances.

  If she hadn’t been there with that expert, albeit crude advice, the shy, retiring me might have prevailed, and I’d still be that girl struggling to pay rent.

  I wrapped a silk scarf around the red marks on my neck. Such had been Aidan’s need the previous night that soon as he burst through the door after being away all week, he ripped my clothes off, and we got all gymnastic with each other. Feeding on my neck, he’d filled me with a week’s worth of desire.

  Aidan had arranged for a band practice on the estate in preparation for their gig at the wedding. After much encouragement from me, Aidan agreed to play a set. I knew that Greta would be thrilled, as would my father, who, apart from hearing Aidan rip into his electric guitar solos upstairs, had never heard him play in a band.

  When Aidan arranged for Evan, and James, my driver, to come over for practice, I made sure Tabitha came along as well.

  I sat there with a brush as I tried to unknot my mane. I felt tired. We’d spent the whole night holding each other, watching classic comedies, giggling, making love, eating, and making love again.

  I hadn’t slept much after being woken early by Rocket, who needed to be let out. Aidan picked up the phone, mumbled something and opened the door for the obedient animal.

  One night when Rocket trundled in with Aidan after one of their walks, Aidan asked me if he could stay.

  I shrugged. “Of course, I don’t mind. We lived with our dog Huxley, when I was a child in a tight little apartment, which was smaller than this space of yours.”

  “This space of ours, you mean, sweetheart,” said Aidan, hugging me tightly. “That makes me so happy to know. I didn’t know how you’d feel about having a dog inside while you slept.”

  “I love Rocket,” I said, rubbing the good-looking dog’s white chest. His large brown eye
s smiled up at me, and he left a big slurp of affection on my hand to show his gratitude.

  I stopped brushing my hair and looked around me, as I’d done countless times since moving in. Now that I’d moved in properly, Aidan insisted that I decorate our space anyway I desired. I could repaint the walls. Or even paint a mural. That suggestion made me giggle.

  It was perfect, I explained to Aidan. The man had taste, and he loved me telling him so.

  I still couldn’t believe this was my new home. The large room, which was as large as any open-plan penthouse, had a living area decked out with velvet sofas and club chairs covered in exquisite florals and silks. In the corner sat Aidan’s pride and joy—a German 1970’s turn-table, surrounded by a massive collection of vinyl records that reached the ceiling in dark-wooded shelves.

  There was a television, as thin as wall-paper and sporting the largest screen I’d ever encountered, hanging on the wall. The bar in the corner resembled an intimate little hangout in New York. And then there was my favorite part, his sumptuous bedroom. The pale teal walls were covered in artwork I never tired of staring at.

  A compulsive collector, Aidan admitted he needed more art. That was to be my next project, visiting auction houses and late estates. For a girl who had a major in art history, my tummy somersaulted with delight at that prospect.

  Just as Aidan entered, the phone buzzed. It was Linus informing us that Evan and Tabitha had arrived. I was so excited to finally have Tabitha at the estate that I ran down to meet them. Aidan followed along with Rocket at his heels.

  Looking gorgeous as always, Tabitha wore her tight, low-slung, red jeans and a white silk shirt. I noticed that her blonde hair had grown to the middle of her back.

  We hugged, and she greeted Aidan with a big smile, while I greeted Evan, who held onto Tabitha’s hand.

  All in all, I’m sure we made four very content beings.

  Even Rocket got a fanfare welcome, particularly from Tabitha, who as a young girl had been just as close to my dog.

  “Oh, my God, he’s just like Huxley,” she screamed. Evan had a big smile. I could see he absolutely worshipped Tabitha. As he should, I thought.

  As we moved along the path, Tabitha’s mouth remained open, oohing and aahing at everything.