“Oh Brian, he’s in the bedroom getting undressed.” She responded with a taunting calmness. She barely finished the statement when Jared pushed her aside and was making his way down the short hallway.
“Jared no, I was only kidding. Brian dropped me off at the door and left, he didn’t even come in for a drink.” She trailed behind him hurriedly and bumped into his back as he came to an abrupt stop in the doorway of her bedroom. His eyes scanned the contents of the room and he seemed satisfied that no one could be hiding in the shadows. He turned and backed her up against the wall on the inside of her bedroom, spreading his long legs so that he was closer to her height and looked her in the eye with the dangerous glitter of his own.
“This thing between us is nothing to play with Lily; I would have really tried to hurt that man if he was here tonight. I know things are strange between us right now but it will work out, it has too. I want you too much to let you go and you can stop any idea you have about moving to Dallas or to Brian or anywhere else.” He bent his head even further to lay his lips along the soft spot under her jaw. He inhaled deeply and muttered something about beans.
“Jared, what are you talking about?” How could he be talking about food when she could barely remember to breathe properly? Like every other time he touched her, she went from normal to totally turned on instantly.
“What kind of perfume do you wear?” his hands continued to travel, with his lips caressing her hairline finally stopping as he buried his face in her hair and sniffed again.
“I don’t have on any perfume, why?”
“Then what in the hell are you wearing that smells so damn good, maybe if you stop wearing it we can slow down this insanity. I think I’m addicted to it.” By now her arms were around his neck and she stood on tiptoes to get closer to him, he solved that problem by plastering her body against his and lifted her easily off her feet. Lily wasn’t aware of being moved, only when her back touched the coolness of the bed sheet did she come back to awareness and answered his question.
“I don’t use anything, that’s just the way I smell and I don’t think I can change that.”
“Then we’re screwed because it makes me loose my mind.” He fused his mouth to hers as his right hand slid up the length of her thigh and under her dress and paused as he caressed unexpected bare flesh. He stopped to look at her in surprise.
“A garter belt Lily, I might not have made it through dinner if I knew this is what you had on under this damn dress.” He muttered huskily.
“I thought you hated the dress, you didn’t say anything about it all night.” Her disappointment was reflected in her eyes and voice. He scoffed at her words.
“Hate it; the damn thing has been driving me out of my mind with jealousy all night. Red looks fantastic on you and your breasts have been on display to everyone. I wanted to cover you up with the table cloth and now all I want to do is tear it off of you and throw it on the floor.” His hands had never stopped moving and the dress was unzipped and being eased down her body. She shifted her hips to help in the removal of the offending garment and felt herself catch fire anew at his in-drawn breath.
Jared felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Lily in her lingerie, not in a million years would he have thought she would be wearing this delicate piece of witchery. He had never before given any thought as to what she wore under her clothes but he may never watch her walk across the floor again without fantasizing about what she wore underneath. He slid his index finger between the elastic of one belt strap and her thigh and stroked upward from mid-thigh to the edge of her lacy panties and back down to the delicate hook holding the pieces together.
He disassembled the front clasp and then the within seconds had the back half undone. He spent several long minutes playing homage to every inch of exposed skin from high inner thigh to her instep as he eased the sheer silk stocking down her left leg. Both of them were breathing raggedly as he came back up to start on the right leg. Every muscle in Jared’s body twitched with a fever that soared higher than any level he had ever reached before and he had serious doubts that he would be able to continue for even five more minutes before he started ripping at clothes in an attempt to plunge into her.
Lily felt no fear or concern, only heat and heard nothing but her own moans that sounded like it came from some far off place to echo in her ears. Her lower body throbbed and rolled with an instinctive rhythm that Jared recognized and responded to instantly. He withdrew abruptly and stood at the side of the bed to remove his shirt, his eyes never leaving her flushed body. His hands froze at his belt as he heard the intrusive knock at Lily’s front door. Lily sat up as he stilled and heard the knock as it came the second time.
“Damn it not now. “ He looked at Lily and seriously contemplated continuing and to hell with the unwanted visitor.
“Hello Lily, is anyone home? It’s Brian” He identified through the door. Lily saw the fury color Jared’s cheekbone and made a hasty attempt to intercept him. She cut him off as she reached the door to the bedroom by grabbing on to his shirtsleeves and digging in her heels.
“Jared please, Do not embarrass me by bowing up like a pissed off tiger, Brian doesn’t even know that he has interrupted anything. I’ll talk to him for a minute and it will be fine. Please.” She implored again.
“Five minutes” he conceded bluntly. “And Lily, don’t let him touch you, I’ll be listening.”
She nodded as she made her way to the front door, wrapping herself in a floor length terry robe that was a gift from the spa that she and Ava attended. She opened the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her and gaining a small amount of privacy; if Brian found the move odd he didn’t question it.
“Brian, what are you doing back here, did you forget something? She was polite but extended no obvious invitation.
“Actually, I forgot two things. The first thing I forgot was to ask you out again, I had a great time with you tonight and was wondering if you were interested in doing it again, but this time alone, without the bruiser bodyguard.” Lily cringed inwardly, knowing that same bruiser was listening to every word. All three people waited for her answer and Lily didn’t know what to do. There was no obvious reason not to accept the invitation, she did have fun with Brian and had a chance at a real relationship as opposed to this craziness that she and Jared had fallen into. On the other hand the primitive, possessive side of Jared had reared its head and showed no sign of abating and Brian didn’t deserve to get hurt. If she were honest with herself she would also admit that she was reluctant to give up the addictive pleasure that Jared doled out.
“That sounds fine, I would love to.” She took the plunge and committed to another date.
“And the other thing you forgot?” Brian grinned, oblivious to the danger that stood close by. Brian took a single long step forward and tipping her chin upward with a forefinger, kissed her goodnight. His lips were warn and firm, with sure movements that at any other time for most women would have been pleasurable and the beginning to something further but Lily couldn’t spent any time exploring any feeling that might have come from it. Her only thought was that five minutes must surly be up and Jared always kept his word. She broke off the kiss and put a hand to his chest, stopping any further contact.
“Call me tomorrow and with the details OK, it’s been a long night and I have to go in.” She pecked him on the cheek one last time and reentered the house.
Jared was leaned up against the back of the sofa with his arms folded over his massive chest and his jaw tightly clenched. He was fully dressed again and wordlessly left the house. Lily knew better than to stop him, the vein that throbbed in his forehead stood out prominently.
Jared got in his car and took off down the dirt driveway with tires squealing and grave flying several feet behind him. The only thing that had kept him from going out there and throwing Brian down the damn stairs was that he had given Lily his word that he would let her handle the situation but he had heard Bri
an extend the invitation and Lily accept it and almost growled out loud and the following seconds of silence was a test of his self control His hands clenched until his knuckles turned white and a strange red haze swam in front of his eyes, made even stranger by the blood rushing through his ears in a deafening roar.
He left the house afraid of what he might do and it scared him a little to know that someone else, even Lily, had that kind of power over him. It also scared him that he could be driven to that level of violence. He would see her tomorrow when the anger fully subsided. Even now his foot lifted of the accelerator and his hand reached for his cell phone and hit the speed dial button that would connect him to Lily.
“Hello?”
“It’s me.”
“I’m glad you called” she said softly. “I don’t like it when you’re mad at me Jared or when we fight. I wish you would have stayed and talked about it with me.
“I needed a few minutes to cool down; if I had stayed it might have gotten ugly. Are you really going out with that yahoo?” He was annoyed all over again at the thought.
“Yes, I owe it to myself and to Brian but I promise that nothing will happen.”
“I know that.” He sounded strong and sure about his prediction.
“You may be out with Brian but the second that he tries to kiss you all you’ll be able to think about is me and how it is between us. Chemistry like ours only happen with one person in a lifetime, if you’re lucky and once you’ve experienced it there’s no going back. I know there won’t be for me. “She was quiet on her end of the phone, knowing that he was right and hating him for it, he was spoiling her for any other man and it wasn’t fair.
“And know what else Lily, you may not have realized it but you’re in love with me. Once you’ve admitted it to yourself, our relationship will continue the way it should be.” He chuckled at her loud gasp of outrage.
“And Lily the next time we start making love, nothing is going to stop me. I don’t care who comes knocking.”
He disconnected the phone and drove home the rest of the way singing with the radio and whole heartedly agreed with the lyrics that he did have that “Loving Feeling”.
Chapter 16
“Bella, have you seen Lily recently?”
“Yes, she left here about fifteen minutes ago to go walking. You know how she is?” The cook/housekeeper picked up the tray of empty champagne glasses and made her way to the kitchen. Yes, he did know how Lily was. There was rarely a rainy summer day that Lily didn’t go walking. She seemed to crave getting soaked through to the skin. He had followed her a couple of times when they were younger without her being aware of it and watched her raise her face to the steady stream of rain. She had frolicked and ran and danced in circles like some pagan goddess and had finally ended up under a big elm on top of a hill in the grazing field. He should have realized then just how sensual her nature really was.
The second time he had followed her, she had on a thin T-shirt that had become transparent in the deluge and he had stood transfixed at her budding breasts, the tiny nipples stiff and pointed against the chill. He had never told anyone but it was the first time he had seen real breasts and had reacted to it like a man. He had run to the barn and slept the night with feelings of guilt and shame and lust and it had taken up until he had been with his first woman to put it out of his mind. He walked out of the house and headed in the direction he knew that she took. He was no longer a boy but a man and he was going after both a memory and the woman he wanted.
Lily saw Jared climb the low hill and realized that she had expected him perhaps was even waiting for him to come. He knelt next to her and wordlessly shifted her so that she was lying in the softened dirt and soaked grass; he let her absorb his greater weight as he settled between her thighs. He took her mouth without asking, a hot open-mouth kiss that seared the raindrops that were on her lips and sent up a wisp of steam. She whimpered with the swift, painful need that welled up from her womanly core. Her hips rolled and pressed into his as she gripped and twisted handfuls of his shirt.
He suddenly pushed up onto his knees and violently tore the shirt of his back; a few seconds later he yanked her into a sitting position and tugged the top of her dress down to her waist. He latched onto the nipple of her left breast and sucked in the tender tip and some of the creamy flesh into his mouth. His hands had reached up under her skirt and tore the lace of the delicate panties making it a useless barrier, the skirt of the dress bunched up around her waist where the top had fallen prey. She pulled at his hair painfully until he lifted his head to stare at her for a feverish second before coming back to eat at her mouth. Their tongues licked at each other, biting and sucking like they were to die of thirst if they did not drink of each other. He shoved his pants around his thighs and settled between her thighs one more time. Her hips lurched up to ground at the hardness she felt there, wanting an end to the painful fever. His hands tangled firmly in her wet hair and he used his strength to keep her firmly controlled as he invaded her moist body.
He tried to go slowly, God knows he did, knew that his invasion would hurt her untried body but lost any coherent thought as the tip of him felt the hot entrance of her body. He held her still as he pushed his way into the tightest, hottest glove he had ever slipped into and stopped as he reached the barrier of her virginity, their eyes locked together as they became a part of each other. She used the heals of her feet to lurch upwards the last few inches, piercing the thin tissue and impaled herself on his shaft until the silky hair at their groins mingled. No one had spoken and the only sound that was made was the groans and gasps that could not be mistaken for anything other than what it was. He released her hair and ran his hands gently and repeatedly over her breasts and belly and thighs. His eyes closed and he started moving in her body, taking them higher and higher with every stroke. In, out, in, out, the hardness of his pubic bone caressing the sensitive nub at the top of her womanhood.
She suddenly started bucking; making a long keening sound as her release came upon her, his mouth took hers again and absorbed the sound as her climax triggered his own. The pleasure lasted for long minutes, each of them reluctant for it to end; he was still encased in her body relishing the feel of her twitching interior muscles as they struggled to calm to normal. He placed gentle kisses along her jaw and hairline at the same time sheltering her face from the never-ending rain.
Chapter 17
Jared woke abruptly to something hard poking him in the shoulder. His first instinct was to make sure that the small figure in the bed next to him was fully covered, a sound of satisfied contentment gurgled past her lips as he tucked the comforter more securely around her shoulders. He then stared up into the astonished and angry face of his mother.
“Good Morning mom” he said behind a jaw-popping yawn.
“Don’t you Good Morning Mom me, you rake. Please tell me than my eyes are being affected by age and that’s not Lily in your bed” her voice was a vicious whisper.
“How could you do this Jared? She’s not one of your love em’ and leave em’ women. She of all people should have been safe from this sort of thing.” She had poked him several more time with the hairbrush she had picked up, punctuating each sentence.
“I thought you would be happy about this mom, I thought that you loved Lily and that you wanted grandchildren?” he watched the magic words change her features.
“Grandchildren? Are you telling me that Lily’s pregnant?” She looked both outraged and excited.
“If she’s not yet, I’m going to do my best to try to get her that way.” He made the statement sound like a promise.
“Do you love her son?”
“More than my own life, but I haven’t been able to convince her of that yet. Until I can get her tied to me with a wedding ring, I’m going to keep her tie her to me with a child.”
Jared saw nothing wrong with his way of thinking. Was he trying to trap her with a baby? Yes, if that’s what it took to keep her with him. Nothing
was fair in love and war after all and Jared suddenly felt like he was fighting for his life. He couldn’t imagine his life without her and the thought of her growing round with his child made his chest swell until he thought he might choke. It amazed him that as smart as she was that she never questioned the lack of birth control between them, that right now his child could be growing beneath her heart.
“Did you want something mom or were you trying to catch me with a girl in my room?” He lowered his voice as Lily began to stir.
“Actually, I came to say that I went looking for Lily and couldn’t find her anywhere and was worried that something might have happened to her, but I guess I can stop worrying about her whereabouts. You’ve got that or should I say her pretty much covered.” The anger had faded from her eyes and all that was left was hope.
Suddenly Lily bolted awake as she realized that the sun had risen and she was still in bed with Jared, the whole household would be awake by now and it would be difficult to explain why she was still here in yesterday’s clothes. Color invaded her face, a deep red blush colored her high cheekbones and her eyes met Ava smiling face.
“Ava, ah ah “She stuttered. “This is not what it looks like; I mean it is but ..” She trailed off and looked at Jared for some help.
“I think I’m going downstairs to fix some breakfast for my son and my future daughter-in-law.” She started humming as she left the room.
“Oh my God, I don’t think I can look her in the face again, what must she think of me.” She became panicked and tried to leave the bed. Jared simply looped an arm around her waist and dragged her across the space between them to a space directly underneath him. He stared to nuzzle her neck and spent just a moment enjoying being able to wake up next to her.
She wiggled wildly
“Jared, what are you doing? I’ve got to get dressed and go home. Then I’ve got to talk to your mom and clear the air, I think she’s got the wrong impression about what is happening here.” Jared tightened his hold on her and ceased her useless struggles.
Rules about Lily Page 5