by L. P. Lovell
"Water please." The glass dining table is set for four people, with a beautiful arrangement of flowers in the middle.
"Lilly, would you like wine?" Cat pokes her head around the door.
"Yes please, white would be great."
She comes out of the kitchen and hands us both a glass. "So where is he?" I sigh, resigned.
"Oh don't be like that. He'll be here soon. Please be nice Theo." She pouts and looks all sulky.
"I'm always nice." She frowns and cocks her head to the side. "The last one didn't count. He was an arse."
"No, you just thought he was. You think every man I have any interest in is an arse!" She says in an angry huff. Lilly laughs.
I shrug. "I won't deny it."
"Ugh. You have to like someone at some point surely."
"Only if he doesn't believe in sex before marriage." I smirk at her and she laughs a girlish giggle.
"Lilly, please tell him he's ridiculous!" She whines.
"My brother's the same with me. I get it." She shrugs.
The buzzer sounds for the flat and Cat skips to the wall and presses the door release. She suddenly looks very anxious. She takes a deep breath and turns to me.
"Please be nice." She's so whiney. I roll my eyes and shrug out of my suit jacket. I toss it on the back of the sofa and take off my tie, undoing the first two buttons of my shirt.
I hear Cat open the door and a man's voice. I turn toward the door and she leads in a fairly average looking man, he's about 5'10", medium build, mousey brown hair and brown eyes. He's wearing black jeans and a white shirt. Both he and Cat look edgy and nervous, Jesus, anyone would think I was a right twat.
"Theodore Ellis. You must be Brad." I got the lowdown from Cat last night so I already know his name, what he does etc.
"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Ellis." He holds out his hand to me and I shake it.
"Please, call me Theo." I catch Cat's eye over his shoulder and smile at her. See, I can be nice. Sometimes.
"This is my girlfriend Lilly." He shakes her hand, looking quite flustered, not that I blame him.
Cat serves dinner and it smells delicious. Lamb shanks with asparagus and dauphinoise potatoes.
We sit and eat, it tastes as good as it looks.
"So Brad, what do you do for a living?" I ask to make polite conversation.
"I'm an investment broker, stocks, shares and bonds mostly." I nod.
"Interesting job, playing with other people’s money." I ponder.
"Yes, but also risking other people’s money, it's hideously stressful sometimes."
"Yes, I can imagine it is." I smile politely. "So Cat, how is the show coming along?" I ask changing the subject. I conclude that he's a little dull and Cat could definitely do better, but often the high flyers are the ones that would screw her over. I suddenly realise that I am what one might call a high flyer, and that this is probably most people’s opinion of me. Ironic.
"Good, I’ve designed the line, got a venue for it and a date. What I could really do with is some publicity and some influential people to be there." She eyes me meaningfully. Cat has been planning a big show to launch fashion line.
"Well I don't have much reach within the industry, but I’ll see what I can do." She grins, clearly delighted. I could meet with some editors, invest in their publications in exchange for some exposure. I would do anything for my little sister, I’ve seen her work and she really is talented. There is no limit to what I would pay for her to be happy and successful. Plus, it's all investment.
"Whenever Theo gets involved with anything it's pretty much always an overnight success. People just can't resist him, they practically throw business and money at him." She talks to Brad and Lilly, but smiles indulgently at me.
"Not quite." I frown at her.
"Well that's quite a talent to have." Brad raises an eyebrow.
Cat scoffs. "Plus fashion editors are usually female." She grins.
"Putty." I laugh. Mimicking the action with my hand.
“Oh god, don’t encourage him.” Lilly scolds.
Cat rolls her eyes but laughs with me. "That face best not let me down." She tries to look serious, pointing a finger at me but then giggles. “Sorry Lilly, us budding art types have to use everything at our disposal.”
"It’s fine, he is pretty aren’t you princess.” She squeezes my cheek as she laughs, much to Cats delight. “My house mate is actually an intern for Catwalk. I could try and get her to put in a good word." Lilly offers.
"That would be amazing. Thank you." Cat grins.
When we're done Cat jumps up to clear the table announcing that there's pudding. She disappears into the kitchen.
I turn to Brad. "Now Brad, I just need to make you aware that if you touch my sister I’m going to break your legs." I stare him down.
"But..." He splutters. "I..."
"Theo!" Lilly scolds beside me. I place a hand on her thigh and squeeze.
I point at him. "No. Don't even think about it...You'll have to marry her first." I stare him straight in the eye and he squirms under my gaze.
"Um...ok." He stares down at his hands. I pause for a moment.
I slap him on the back. "I'm only winding you up." I chuckle. The kid looks scared shitless.
"Oh, thank god." He's visibly relieved. "That would have been awkward."
"In all seriousness though, if you hurt her I will hunt you down and I will ruin your life." He turns white.
"I'm glad we got that cleared up." I smile at him broadly just as Cat walks back in the room.
Lilly is shaking her head at me, with what looks like disapproval written all over her features.
Cat eyes me. "How are you all getting on?" Her eyes flick suspiciously between the three of us.
"Good." I smile at Brad who meekly returns it.
The crème brulee that Cat made is so good, it melts on my tongue.
After dinner I help her wash up. Brad offers, but Cat sends him to 'relax and watch TV', which I thought unlikely seeing as how he probably knows we're discussing him. Lilly tries to help, but eventually gives up and decides to go and take care of some emails.
"What do you think?" Cat prompts as soon as we're alone.
"He seems nice enough."
"I can sense a but..." She fixes me with her bright blue eyes, probing me for information.
"Well, if I’m honest he's just a bit dull and a bit average." I look up expecting her to be stroppy, but instead she smiles.
"He's being quiet because he's terrified of you. He knows we're not close with our parents and that your opinion is the only one that matters to me. That's a lot of pressure on him. Plus, you're not exactly the kind of person who puts people at ease. Especially if they don't know you, I guess you're kind of intimidating." She giggles.
"And why is that funny?"
"Because it's you, I’d never see you that way. You're soft as shit really." She wraps her arms around my waist and squeezes me in a hug. I muss her hair.
"Thanks." I laugh. "Don't tell anyone though, I've got a reputation to uphold you know."
Chapter 20 – Lilly
Theo and I leave Cat's house fairly late. I thought both her and Brad were really lovely, despite Theo's best interest to make the poor guy uncomfortable.
"You know, you could have been nicer to him." I say once we're in the car.
He flashes me an innocent smile that doesn't wash in the slightest. "I have to make sure he's good enough for my baby sister." He shrugs.
"I'm pretty sure you're sister's old enough to work that out for herself." I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, but men are arseholes and Cat's young and naive. I don't want to see her fucked over." He says sincerely.
I stare at him in the darkness of the car. "You two seem really close." I whisper.
"We are. Like I said, our mother was never around much. We only had each other. William and I were always competitive, so we weren't that close, but Cat's always been everything to me." The tendern
ess in his voice makes my chest squeeze. He sounds so much like Harry.
"Me and my brother are exactly the same." I say. "He pretty much raised me."
"You don’t talk about your family much." He says softly. Oh shit.
"I told you, my dad died in a car accident and my Mother's, well I wish she was dead, put it that way." I try to keep my tone short, unopen to questioning. “Harry’s my best friend, my brother…my saviour.” I whisper.
"So you don’t see your mother or talk to her?"
"No. I hate her." I'm curt, but I don't want to talk about that woman.
“Lilly…” He rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t want to pry, but something’s been bugging me for a while.” Oh god, where is this going? “Do you remember that night at Allure when I pulled you into that alley and you had a panic attack?”
I don’t answer him, only nod. “And then again after the Rosemary Trust function, and then that nightmare.” I sigh. Yep, this is not going to go well.
He turns away from me and looks straight out the windscreen. “What happened to you?” He whispers.
“I…” What can I tell him? Shit think Lilly, think. “I told you before, I have a bad past.”
He focuses on me again. “You never tell me anything about you.” He’s trying to be careful but I can sense his under lying frustration.
“I’ve told you everything about me. I just haven’t told you about my past, because that’s exactly what it is, the past. It doesn’t define me.” I don’t want him to feel hurt by this, but my sordid past is not something that I want to taint my present and my future. I take his hand. “Just trust me when I say you’re better off not knowing. Please?”
He studies me for a long time. His fingers brush my cheek and I can just make out his pained expression. I turn and kiss his palm. “Okay.” He whispers.
"Thank you." I whisper. He nods, but says nothing.
We go back to Theo's house. As soon as we get in I decide to take a shower.
Theo unzips my dress and places a soft kiss between my shoulder blades. "I just need to send an email. I'll be back in a minute."
"Okay" I respond as I step out of my dress.
The water in the shower is scalding hot, just how I like it. It burns my skin pleasantly, bringing it almost to the point of pain, but not quite. I wash my hair with Theo's shampoo, the distinctive citrus scent always reminds me of him. My eyes are closed, rinsing the shampoo away when his warm body slides up against mine.
He brushes his fingers across my cheek before kissing me softly, almost delicately. His touch is soft and careful. I grip the back of his neck and press my lips to his hard, his response is not the usual fire I’m used to.
I sigh. “Theo, don’t treat me like I’m breakable.” I growl. I kiss him again, running my tongue across his lip. His hands wind into my hair as he kisses me back fiercely. He releases my lips and takes one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking hard. I moan at the sensation.
The look on his face is lust and burning desire, but also adoration. My hands explore the deeply etched lines of his torso. I run my hands down his sides until they reach the cut guidelines and trace them down until I reach his erection.
I grasp him in my hand and he moans against my lips. The water runs down my body, peaking off of my nipples and splashing down his stomach. He moans as I kiss him and slip my tongue inside his mouth. I Kiss my way down his chest and down over his stomach until I'm knelt in front of him. I take his hard cock in my mouth, flicking my tongue over the end. I suck and lick him, devouring him. He braces himself against the wall and groans. I take him as deep as I can, until I almost gag. He sucks in a sharp intake of breath. "Fuck." He growls before grasping the tops of my arms and pulling me to my feet.
He spins me and pushes me roughly up against the wall. My chest presses against the cool tiles making me gasp as my nipples stiffen. The contrast of the cold wall and the hot water heightens my senses. He presses his chest up against my back, wrapping his arms around me tightly. One hand trails down the front of my stomach. He rubs my clit, making me moan and I throw my head back against his shoulder.
"I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk tomorrow." He growls in my ear. Oh god, I love it when he's rough like this. I love that I can drive him to this. He places a thigh between my legs and pushes my legs apart. The pressure on my clit increases, making me clench deliciously. My whole body shudders as I cry out. He slams into me just as my orgasm rips through me and holy shit.
"Ah, fuck." He groans as my body clenches around him, pulling him deeper.
He grabs my hips and slams into me. My palms are pressed against the wall, braced against the onslaught.
He pulls me back a step away from the wall before pushing my back down so I'm bent over in front of him. The water cascades over my back. He pumps into me, growling in his frenzy. He grabs my hair, wrapping it around his hand and pulling my head back. My back bows and he slips even deeper inside me.
I cry out as I start to tremble. "Not yet sugar." He says.
He folds his body over mine and kisses my back. He grabs both of my shoulders, pulling me back against him.
"Oh god, I'm going to come." I moan. He picks up his pace and I explode around him. My insides tremble and shudder. I cry out as he growls and then stiffens behind me.
He pulls me up and leans back against the wall, holding me against him. We're both breathing heavily.
"Wow." That's all I manage to say. He laughs before pressing a kiss into the side of my neck.
The next morning I'm woken up by my phone ringing. I check the clock as I reach for it. Who the hell is calling at nine on a Sunday? I quickly answer it as a creep out of the room and into the hallway. Theo stirs but doesn't wake up.
"Hello?" I rasp in a sleepy voice.
"Miss Parker?" A very formal female voice asks.
"Speaking."
"Miss Parker it's Detective Harwood here." My stomach bottoms out.
"Oh, hi."
"Sorry to call on a Sunday but I thought you should know immediately...We've had a DNA match for your attacker. He was arrested after another attack last night."
"Um...Okay." I whisper.
"Are you okay?" She sounds concerned.
"I'm fine. That's good news." I rasp.
"It is. I'll keep you posted on court dates. The case should be pretty water tight, but if you have legal representation then do tell them. They can contact us if they wish to obtain evidence."
"Um, yeah, sure. Thanks for letting me know." I whisper.
"Of course. I'll be in touch." Then she hangs up. My knees buckle and I slide down the wall. The cold of the wooden floor bites into my bare thighs as I fall in a heap. I bring my knees to my chest and pull Theo's oversized T-shirt over them. I wrap my arms around my shins and rest my chin on my knees holding myself together. I feel numb. This should be a good thing, but right now it's just a shock. I've pushed it so far from my mind for so long. Tried to pretend it didn't happen, along with all the other shit in my life and now it's right there, staring me in the face. I fix my stare on a painting hanging on the wall opposite. It's a scene of a lake with a small rowing boat drifting across it. Everything about it seems so serene. I try and absorb it's serenity and calm my panicked state.
The door clicks open beside me, but I don't turn to look at him.
"Lilly?" He crouches down beside me and strokes my hair softly. "What's wrong?" I swallow hard. I open my mouth to respond but no words will come out. "Lilly you're scaring me. You're as white as a sheet." He holds my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyebrows pinch together, his beautiful deep blue eyes etched with concern.
"I'm fine." I manage to whisper. He searches my face. I won't lie to him, but I'm not ready to tell him this. I need a few days to get my head around it. It feels like I’m keeping so much from him, but its better this way.
Without a word he hooks his arms underneath me and picks me up off the floor. I sink into his chest, taking comfort in
his warmth.
He puts me back in the bed and crawls behind me, pulling me back against him. He strokes my hair over and over, soothing me.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it." He whispers. He wouldn't be able to guess in a million years what the problem is. He's probably panicking thinking I'm pregnant or something. This is so much worse. I've seen the way people react when I've told them my story before, even trained professionals. Their reaction is pity, they see me as a victim. It makes me sick to my stomach. The one person I couldn't bear to have look at me like that is Theo.
Theo wakes me up later in the morning. He sits on the edge of the bed wearing a T-shirt and sweats, holding a cup of coffee. His hair is messy and catches the light streaming through the window. I smile at his ridiculous beauty. His lips pull into a heart stopping smile, making my heart flutter. I grab the front of his shirt and pull him down to me. He kisses me softly. I run my nails over the back of his neck, inhaling his fresh citrus scent.
"Hmm, I think I'll keep you. You're a very nice alarm clock." He smiles against my lips, before dipping his head and kissing down my neck.
"I would happily wake up next to you every morning." His tongue traces a line to the edge of my jaw. I small moan escapes me as I wrap my arms around him, pinning him to me.
His hands run up over my thighs. "Very happily." He chuckles before pulling back away from me.
"Where do you think you're going?" I whine.
He laughs. "Well we are eager this morning." He smiles that perfect, dripping in sex smile.
I raise an eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that unless you’re prepared to do something about it." I grumble.
"I will most definitely do something about it, but first I have a surprise for you. Get dressed." He kisses my forehead before standing.
"This had better be really bloody good." I grumble.
"Oh it is."
"Better than you naked and on top of me on a Sunday morning?" I raise an eyebrow. He just laughs before leaving the room.
Theo is waiting for me in the hallway when I open the bedroom door. He hands me something. I open my hand and plastic fob.