Untaming Lily Wilde

by Olivia Fox

  “Don’t be so proud. He’s your lover and he can afford it,” Ana said. To her this was clearly a no-brainer.

  “It’s not the point,” Lily said. “I asked him not to.”

  Ana laughed. “I had no idea you could be stubborn like this. So, you asked him not to and he did it anyway - for Christ’s sake, who cares. It’s just a damn phone. He misses you.” She held Lily’s face in her hands. “Don’t be a baby.”

  "I need to get back to work," Lily said, zipping up the canvas bag and pulling it over her shoulder.

  Ana seemed to consider pressing the point, then pursed her lips and thought better of it. She pulled a hair tie from her wrist and slung her hair into a tussled ponytail."Yes. Work. I'll get dressed," she sighed.

  "I didn't mean - "

  Ana softened. "No, no, the lady of this house isn't too good to get her hands dirty," she said, “And anyway, I want to get my hands on those costumes as soon as they arrive."

  "Want to bag the best one?"

  "Naturally!" Ana said, beaming. Then her smile dropped a little, as if it had just dawned on her that Lily too would be needing a costume for the ball. "I'll let you have second choice though," she offered.

  "Thanks," Lily replied, though she couldn't have cared less whether she got second choice or sixty-second. "I'll let you know when they get here,” she promised, already half way out of the room, heading back down the corridor to finish sorting those damned feathers.

  As the hours ticked by, Cayley’s skeleton crew of diligent worker ants retrieved numerous deliveries. The feathered wall-hangings were joined by ornate drapes, all of which went up in good time. The Venetian Bar turned up around mid day, though had to be stored in the entrance hall until the chequered flooring had been delivered. The thrones arrived, followed by the gondola, followed by the first costume delivery, followed by God knows how many potted ferns and cascading flower arrangements. By lunch, Lily felt like she’d ran a half-marathon, just ferrying deliveries to and fro. Mr Lines brought the crew some refreshments from the kitchen, just as Lily and Cayley were finishing hanging the last candelabra, by which point Lily was so hungry she could have kissed him.

  She’d had a swig of lemon-water and half a cheese sandwich before Cayley got a call from the second costume hire firm. Cursing, Cayley and Lily joined the boys, hauling in the rest of the outfits. Ana however, hands on hips and pouting, managed to intercept Lily on her way out.

  “You said you’d tell me when the dresses arrived!” Ana said, pretending (at least, Lily hoped she was pretending) to be put out. “But I’ve just seen them. Did you forget me? Have they been in the drawing room for hours?”

  “That’s just half of them - I figured you’d want to see the whole wardrobe,” Lily offered in her defense. “Look, the other half’s here.”

  And, as if to demonstrate, Cayley yelled sergeant-major-style across the lawn. “Lily! Get to it! The boys need help. There’s a lot.” Ana looked positively gleeful.

  “I’ll be back,” sighed Lily, beginning her billionth sprint of the day. As it happens, this ‘half’ was considerably bigger than the first ‘half’, and it was a good twenty minutes before Cayley and co finally hung the last outfit in the drawing room, leaving Ana to the task of choosing her perfect gown.

  Shortly after, Ana joined Lily and Cayley in the huge dining hall. “Can you spare Lily for half an hour? I need a wardrobe assistant,” she said, barely looking at Cayley for a response as she looped her arm in Lily’s and spun her in the direction of the doorway.

  Cayley, not seeming overly impressed at loosing her assistant, yet clearly not wanting to refuse a client, agreed - with a stipulation. “Sure. Lily, be back here at 2.15. We’ve gotta start shifting furniture around for the dance-floor. All hands on deck. OK?” She said, largely to Ana and Lily’s backs. To be fair, Lily at least attempted to turn back as Cayley spoke; not the easiest thing to do whilst being escorted out at speed.

  “Si el capitán!” Ana called as they walked.

  Lily looked back over her shoulder and flashed a confused grimace at Cayley, who looked uncharacteristically downtrodden. It was impossible not to feel sorry for Cayley; these Hatherly events really were her baby, and she’d be the one getting the flack if any of the prep was below par. Lily resolved to cut her some slack for occasionally overdoing the whip-cracking. She wouldn’t want to trade places.

  Ana led Lily out into the entrance hall, towards the drawing room. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes, which didn’t go unnoticed by Lily.

  “You’re up to something,” Lily told her.

  Ana feigned surprise. “Me? Why would you say this?” she said, smiling all the while.

  “I have no idea. What with you looking so innocent n’all.” She slipped her arm from Ana’s as they reached the drawing room, then followed her in. The room, which earlier had been all couches, cushions, comfort and luxury, now reminded Lily of footage she’d seen of the BBC wardrobe department. She’d thought so before, unloading the dresses, but now, since Ana had wheeled in two full length mirrors and a screen (yes - privacy - really!) so it would also work as a dressing room.

  “I’ve picked out a couple of outfits that would look just amazing on you. See,” she said, gesturing toward two gowns, draped over the screen, each a different shade of green. “You’ve got such beautiful red tones in your hair - the green will set it off perfectly. But have a look at the rest and see if there’s anything else you want to try. Some have matching masks, some you have to match up yourself. And this one -” she said, holding up a short black lacy number with flamboyant lace and feather mask, “is mine. Like it?” She held the dress against her and twirled around, before stopping to admire her refection.

  “Perfect,” said Lily, and it was. Perfect for Ana anyway. Lily, on the other hand, was looking to avoid anything quite so attention grabbing. She rifled through the racks and, after a few minutes, selected a third gown; an elegantly cut, silver satin dress with a lace over-skirt and matching mask.

  Ana nodded approvingly. “Understated, but I like it,” she said. “And by the way, you’ve got an audience?”

  “You’re staying?” Lily had assumed she would, so why the need to mention it?

  Ana waved the question away. “Not me. Your boyfriend. Oh, and you can tell him you don’t want his present.”

  “I don’t underst -” Lily began, but then she saw the camera; attached half way up the wall, directly behind a PC. “He’s watching?”

  Ana rolled her eyes. “Not yet - this isn’t 1984 - we don’t survey your every move. We just use this room for a bit of Internet exhibitionism sometimes; especially during masquerades, as they have that anonymity factor. But yes - he will be watching.” She pushed one of the clothing racks back a little, then crossed the room to the PC and began fiddling. When Skype appeared on the screen, Ana stood back, satisfied. “I’ll leave you to it. Make sure you answer when he calls,” she said, then threw her outfit over her shoulder and sauntered out, pulling the door closed behind her.

  And Lily had thought Seb was high-handed. He and Ana had a lot in common.

  After a few minutes of standing around, waiting for the PC to do something, Lily decided to go ahead and try on one of the dresses. She whipped off her trousers and sweater and slid on the first of the green gowns; short at front, with a long train at the back, and struggled unsuccessfully with the zip. She needed an extra pair of hands. With the zip done up half-way she unsheathed the matching green/gold feathered mask from it’s protective wrapping, and turned to see herself in the mirror. OK, so yeah - the colour worked well on her, as she’d known it would - but she wasn’t sure about the mini-skirt front; how easy would it be for creepy guests to paw at her?! And - OK - the guests she’d met so far hadn’t been all that creepy, but she didn’t want to take her chances. As she reached round to unzip herself, a Skype call rang out from the PC monitor, and the words ‘Maria is calling - video chat?’ flashed up on-screen.

  Maria? No thanks, she th
ought, and almost went so far as to reject the call, before it occurred to her that Seb might be using Maria’s computer. She pressed accept and hoped to God she was right. She was. The moment Seb flickered into view, the sharp sting of jealousy she’d felt at seeing his photos, twinged like a paper cut. She had to remind herself; he was here calling her, buying irritating gifts for her, not for some random client, and not for the lovely cock-sucking Maria.

  “You took your time,” he said, then without any ‘hi, how’s it going?’ or ‘nice dress’ he plunged straight into the dastardly iphone topic. “So, Ana tells me you’re being stubborn - apparently you won’t accept my gift.”

  “You’ve spoken to her?” Of course he had. It was a stupid thing to ask - they’d set up this call after all.

  “Yes, some of us have phones that actually work,” he said. “And don’t start with the whole ‘my laptop’s fine’ thing.”

  Lily exhaled slowly, determined to stay calm and get her point across. “I wasn’t going to say that. I really appreciate the thought and everything -”

  “But you’re too proud to accept a gift from your boyfriend.”

  “I don’t want you spending that kind of money on me,” she said.

  Seb folded his arms. “Because?”

  “It’s too much.” She’d told him this before he bought it; so why was she being cast as the stubborn one here? Then it hit her - the key to winning this argument - she’d use his own words against him. “You said it yourself - if I accept, I’ll feel like I owe you something.”

  Seb’s look of disappointment tugged at her heart. “I wasn’t talking about us when I said that,” he said. “I would hope you’d trust me enough to know it’s just a gift. You don’t owe me anything.”

  Oh bollocks. Lily’s guilt was going to get the better of her again. She sighed, knowing the end result of this conversation was now inevitable. “I trust you,” she said, though the flutter in her chest as she spoke the words out loud made her question, for a moment, if she was being entirely honest.

  “Good,” said Seb. “Case closed then. You can keep it.”

  “It’s still too much,” Lily muttered, unsure if the PC microphone would even be able to hear her.

  “For Christ’s sake, Lily!”

  She looked up at the ceiling, exasperated. “Fine - I’ll keep it. Thank you,” she said, telling herself she’d be giving it straight back to him on his return. No need to mention that now.

  “Make sure you switch it on then. I’ve been trying to ring you.”

  OK buddy, don’t push your luck. “I’ll switch it on,” she said, just about managing to avoid gritting her teeth, then grappling for a change of subject. “So how’d you like my outfit?” She pulled the mask to her face and fluttered her eyelashes.

  Seb gave a noncommittal appraisal. “Very… green. Move back so I can see the rest?”

  She did as asked, stepping back then lifting one knee and pointing her toes in a mock-sexy pose.

  “Great legs. I think you should try a different dress though,” he said. “You know - keep your options open etc.”

  “You just want to watch me take my clothes off.”

  Seb laughed. “And?”

  Lily smiled as she shook her head. “And nothing. If you want to watch me trying to squish out of this thing, you go right ahead.” She proceeded to unzip the dress and managed - somehow - to slip it off with reasonable grace. Turning eventually, dressed in just her bra and knickers, to face cyber-Seb.

  “Getting better. Now take off the rest. No one else will be wearing underwear, I promise you.”

  Lily’s eyes shot automatically towards the door. Being caught in your undies was one thing - butt naked was quite another.

  “Latch the Yale if you want privacy,” Seb told her.

  Not having realised this was an option, Lily crossed the room, promptly latched the Yale lock - who has a Yale on an internal door? - and returned to her position. She then, somewhat shyly, slipped off her blue satin bra and knickers. “Better?”

  “Much. Now, what are the other choices?”

  This took her by surprise. Oh, she thought, so we really are going to choose me an outfit. Oddly deflated, she held the other two dresses up as best she could, one in each hand.

  Seb cocked an eyebrow. “So, Ana chose both the green ones, huh? I like the other best.”

  Jesus - did he really know Ana that well? She wondered. She lay down the second green dress and looked at it. She’d not noticed before, but the neckline seemed almost infinite; stopping somewhere just above the naval. Fair enough - this was much more Ana than Lily.

  “Silver it is then,” she agreed. She took her time, loosening the satin ribbon criss-crossing up the bodice, then sliding on the gown and adjusting the bodice to hold her just so. She checked herself in the mirror, then looked to Seb for some kind of response. Nothing.

  “No good?”

  Seb sighed. “Definitely good. Maybe too good. Whoever gets the pleasure of untying you is a lucky man. Or woman,” he added. “Ana tells me you were very - accommodating - the other evening.”

  “Jealous?” Lily teased, pulling the mask to her eyes. Did I really just say that?

  “Of course,” he smiled, “Now, lie on the floor and lift your skirt.”

  Lily pulled the mask to one side. “Seb Harper, I’m shocked,” she laughed. She lay down, though kept herself propped upright on her elbows, knees up, one leg thrown over the other.

  “Either you lift that skirt or I’ll ring Ana and have her do it,” Seb threatened.

  “I locked the door, remember?”

  Seb dug out his phone and began fingering the screen. “Oh, I’m certain she’ll have her key handy.”

  Lily was pretty sure he was bluffing, but she wasn’t about to take her chances, “I think I can manage alone, thanks,” she assured him. “Like this?”

  “A little higher I think.”

  “Better?”

  Seb lent back as he spoke, his deep velvet voice sending a rush of heat straight to Lily’s sex. “Lily Wilde, did anyone ever tell you you’re a tease?”

  “Never,” she said. In truth, no one had or would ever have called her that outside of this situation. The idea! But having her sexy-control-freak-of-a-boyfriend totally unable to touch her gave Lily an undeniable sense of power.

  “So it’s just me you like to wind up,” he said. “That’s a relief, I guess. Spread your legs.”

  Does this guy never ask nicely? “Say please,” she admonished.

  Lily was aware of herself, and somehow surprised by her own behaviour at the same time. Where had this coquettish temptress come from? Her usual shy-girl self had been replaced by some kind of vixen. But, as Seb had been the one to unleash this new Lily, he’d just have to deal with her. Lily was having too much fun to put Miss Vixen back in her box. Two could play at his little power game.

  Or so she thought. Amused, Seb watched her silently for a few seconds then, with total self-composure, he picked up his phone and started dialing.

  “What are you doing?” Lily gasped.

  “Calling Ana. Now, are you going to behave or do we need some assistance?”

  High-handed son-of-a-gun. She hitched her skirt up to her belly and spread her legs apart. The soft wool of the carpet, brushing her buttocks as she bared herself to him. “How’s that?” She asked, still propped up on her elbows.

  “Beautiful,” he said, his steady-as-a-clock voice not missing a beat. “Now make yourself come.”

  Lily paused, buying herself a few useless seconds of thinking time as he put down his phone. But what was the point in trying to think around this mind-scrambler of a man?! Screw it, he only had to say the word ‘come’ and suddenly all her nerve endings were spiking; there was no way vixen-Lily was winning this battle.

  She lay back onto the carpet. Though now unable to see Seb, her hands were free to explore the sensuous satin of her dress, to caress her tingling thighs, to stroke her soft belly. Her lower abdomen t
winged, aching to feel his beautiful cock pushing up inside her, as her fingers slid into place between her legs.

  Her own touch seemed less familiar in this strange location, under Seb’s scrutiny. She was just as in tune with her body as ever, knowing just when, where, how fast, how hard to touch; yet the candidness of the act brought new heat to an already-sparking fire. Her pulse quickened, her breath came in fast, jagged gasps, as her fingers found her sweet spot, teasing her clit in light circles, building the pressure, then curving inside her, finding their rhythm… just as the outside world offered up its own counter rhythm. Heels on floorboards. Footsteps. Nearing the door.

  Lily sat up, breathless, the hot flush of sex painted across her cheeks.

  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK… “Lily, you in there?”

  It was Cayley. Aw crap. Lily knelt up and looked frantically to Seb who, calm as a Summer’s night, simply lifted a finger to his lips.

  "Lily?" Cayley tried a second time. Then her heels clip-clopped away, echoing down the hall even louder on exit than they had on arrival. Lily waited a few seconds just to be sure, then nodded to Seb, signaling Cayley's departure.

  "Stay kneeling like that. Keep going, gorgeous. I want to watch you lose control," he said, and again his words seemed, themselves, to cause Lily’s body to respond obligingly. Her skin craved his skin as her fingers, again, slipped inside her, this time mimicking his touch, rougher, more insistent. Her palm brushed her clitoris lightly as her fingers pushed in hard and fast. Her panting was now audible, even to Seb, who’s own lips parted in response, unable to mask his arousal as he watched her, his eyes smoldering with raw lust. “Christ,” he groaned, “I must be crazy. Six months, then you’re mine.”

  She felt the focus slip from her eyes. Her thighs tightened around her hand.

  “Look at me,” he said, lighting the fuse to her climax.

  She gazed, half at him, half through him, as her breathing lurched wildly out of control. “Oh…” she uttered, “Oh God…” as her clit danced, jerked, throbbed, stronger, faster. And then her eyes closed, her head rolled back, her breasts pushed upwards, as her fingers filled her one last time, and her clit tensed again and again, a quick succession of rockets, bursting BANG BANG BANG with near unbearable intensity. And just at that moment, a key turned in the lock.