Loving the Enemy (Seven Forbidden Arts Book 0)

by Charmaine Pauls

  “I’m not asking for your permission. I’m going downstairs to ask for disinfectant. They must have some kind of first aid kit. And then I’m getting shoes and make-up. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  Chapter Thirteen

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  No matter how much Lily objected, Jacob refused to stay in the room. He wasn’t letting her go to the bar on her own. Now, he wasn’t so sure witnessing what she had in mind was good for his mental wellbeing.

  While he sat down at a corner table in the casino club, Lily made her way to the bar. Her barely covered ass swayed on her high heels, turning heads as she went. His chest pulled tight. The little black number left her back bare. She had taken up her hair in messy curls. The soft curves of her breasts were just visible from the sides where the fabric draped. He knew what the men thought who fixed their eyes on her cleavage, because he thought it too.

  She didn’t look like a naïve girl. She looked like a woman–a very desirable one. She headed straight for a seat next to an attractive man with graying hair. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit, the expensive type. The minute she sat down, the man’s attention turned to her. He said something to which she smiled. Next thing, the guy’s fucking hand is on Lily’s back. Her naked back. He diverted his attention only long enough to say something to the barman before his eyes were back on Lily, or mostly on her breasts.

  Jacob clenched his teeth. He cracked his knuckles as he watched the asshole’s thumb brush down her spine, all the way to the dimples above her ass. The prick leaned into her and wiped a curl that had come loose from Lily’s shoulder. He pressed his lips against her ear and whispered something. Even from the distance Jacob could see the shiver that ran over Lily’s body. She turned her head toward the man and rested her chin on her shoulder. Wrong move. She was giving him access to her mouth, a non-verbal invitation that a smooth fucker like him wasn’t going to ignore.

  The man planted a kiss on her shoulder, and then went for the kill. Lily’s hunter took her face between his hands and kissed her soft but deep. Jacob balled his hand into a fist and felt the strain of it in his wound. A few seconds later they were still kissing, Lily’s hands clasped around the guy’s neck. The waiter arrived with their drinks, placing it on the counter, but neither Lily nor her conquest seemed to notice. A dark, cold feeling snaked through his insides. It took every inch of self-control not to get up and knock the dickhead to the ground. It was Lily who finally pulled away, her lips swollen and her cheeks red. The shmuck seemed pleased as he traced her bottom lip with a finger. He handed her a cocktail while he threw back a shooter.

  The man got to his feet, pulling Lily with him. They made their way to the dance floor. A bitter taste rose in Jacob’s throat as he watched his rival press Lily to his chest, into his crotch, his big hands on her ass cheeks. They swayed to the music and Jacob imagined the guy going hard as Lily’s thighs brushed over his dick.

  A waitress walked up to take his order and Jacob did something he never did. He ordered a double Scotch. He was going to need it if he was to get through the night. Lily reached up, locked her hands behind the man’s neck and pulled him down to her. He turned his ear. She said something to which he smiled. He let go of her to take off his jacket and hold it open. Lily stepped into it, pushing her arms into the sleeves. It was as much as Jacob could take. Seeing her in another man’s clothes… The jacket came all the way to her knees. The approval on the guy’s face was clear. He looked at Lily in a way a man did when he was staking a claim.

  The kissing … the jacket … it was crossing a line.

  The waitress returned with his drink and the bill.

  Jacob downed it in one go and pointed at Lily and her date. “Put it on their tab.”

  With that, he got up and left. It was either that, or ripping out the man’s throat. He went back to their room, had a shower and went to sit outside on the balcony, staring out into the night.

  An hour went by. Two. He was as nervous and restless as hell. He shouldn’t have left her alone. He should’ve stayed. What if the guy had dragged her to his room and was fucking her, right now? What if Lily liked him so much she didn’t want to leave? Endless scenarios played off in his mind, the one worse than the other. Just when he couldn’t take it any longer, jumping to his feet to go look for Lily, the door opened.

  Lily stood in the frame, her hair tousled and her skin flushed. A big grin broke out on her face. She kicked the door shut, dipped her hand up her dress into her panties and pulled out a stack of bills.

  “Look what I’ve got.” She waved the money at Jacob and left it on the writing desk. “It’s more than two thousand Euros. We have to go.”

  She tried to walk past him but Jacob caught her wrist. “What did you have to do for that money, Lily?”

  Her eyes filled with surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “Did you sleep with him?” It hurt even asking the question.

  “Of course not.”

  “He just gave it to you?”

  “I stole it.”

  His eyes narrowed. “How?”

  “I told him I was cold, so he gave me his jacket. His wallet was in his pocket. It wasn’t difficult to get his cash card. It just took me a while to get a glance at his pin. Four drinks, in fact. Then I could pretend to go to the bathroom while I ran to the cash machine and withdrew the money. I put the card back in his wallet. It’ll take him a while to figure out the money’s missing from his account. I reckon we have until tomorrow.” She jerked to free her arm but he held tight. “I did what you taught me to do, Jacob. Nothing more. Now, let go. I drank copious amounts of liquid and I need the bathroom.”

  “Bad move. If you’re intoxicated, you make yourself an easy target, easy to take advantage of.”

  “Do I seem intoxicated?”

  He frowned. “What did you drink?”

  “One cocktail and three orange juices. Happy?”

  He considered that for a while. “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Enjoyed what?”

  “Kissing him. Letting him touch you.”

  “Jacob, what’s wrong with you?”

  “Answer the question, Lily.”

  She sighed. “No. I didn’t like it.

  “But he was good?”

  “Jacob…”

  “Answer me.”

  “Yes, Jacob, he was a good kisser.”

  He wanted the truth and he felt worse for it. What did he expect? That guy was a practiced playboy. Still, he’d rather the shmuck was a bad kisser.

  “I did what I had to do to survive,” she said, “to get us out of here. And I’m not going to analyze it. You taught me that, too.”

  This time he didn’t stop her when she pulled herself free and marched to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She was right. He was her teacher. He had even given her a full-blown demonstration. The toilet flushed and the faucet turned on.

  A few minutes later Lily exited. She threw a cocky hip in his direction. “Are you ready? I prefer going sooner than later.”

  Jacob felt like a time bomb ticking. He couldn’t push the images of Lily with that man from his mind. The intensity with which it affected him surprised him. These feelings were the strongest he’d ever had for a woman.

  Lily started throwing toiletries into her bag. “Did you hear me? I said, let’s go.”

  “In a minute,” he said, walking slowly to where she stood in front of the bed.

  She turned with a scowl, no doubt some sassy remark on the tip of her tongue, but Jacob didn’t give her a chance to utter it. His mouth was on hers before she could take another breath, his lips claiming hers. His. His woman. Her breath tasted like mint toothpaste. Good. He was glad she had brushed her teeth after kissing another man. His hands went behind her, pulling her so tight against him her back arched. Lily tensed, but after a moment her body relaxed in his arms and molded to his touch.

  His senses were flooded with her. She tasted like candy apple and smelled like jasmine. The hard
little disks of the sequins on her dress cut into his palms as he spread his fingers over her ass and lifted her onto his dick. She opened her legs to grip him around the waist and gasped as he tilted his hips forward to rub over her clit. She locked her ankles behind his back as he plundered her mouth, wiping away the touch of the man who had had his tongue down his Lily’s throat. There was only one way to expel the demon thoughts taunting him. He had to claim back every inch of her body with his touch.

  Without breaking the kiss, he lowered her onto the bed. One hand pushed the straps of her dress from her shoulders, revealing her perfect breasts, while the other pushed the fabric up over her hips.

  Lily turned her head to the side, escaping his lips. Her breath was chasing. “Jacob, your shoulder.”

  “Fuck my shoulder.” He looked down to the black thong that covered nothing but a small triangle over her pussy. It was as sexy as hell, but it was going to have to go. He ripped it from her body and threw it aside. His attention went back to her breasts. He placed his hand over one, soft curve. “Did he touch you here?” He prayed she’d say no, even if he knew the answer.

  She stared at him with big eyes. “Don’t do this, Jacob.”

  She didn’t understand. He had to do this. “Did he put his hand down your dress?”

  “No. He tried to, but I didn’t let him.”

  He cupped her sex. “How about up your dress? Did you put his hand up here?”

  “No.”

  He traced a finger over her pussy. She was wet and warm, coated with sweet honey. “Did he make you wet? Was this for him?”

  She gave a little exasperated sigh. “Not even a bit. You did this to me, Jacob.”

  A weight lifted off his chest but still it wasn’t enough. He slipped a finger inside her tight channel. Her muscles contracted around him. He curled up the digit and stroked a spot that made her catch her breath. Her pussy turned even wetter around his finger. His thumb had access to her clit. He pressed down, drawing slow circles. It only took a minute for her to reach her climax. She came around his hand, the soft vice of her inner muscles fluttering as her legs quivered and she moaned. She was goddamn beautiful when she came, with her eyes flooded with passion, the blue darker and slightly out of focus, her head thrown back and her lips parted.

  He pulled his hand away and unfastened his jeans with a feverish haste. He didn’t bother even pushing it over his hips. All he took was the second he needed to free his cock. Lily lay under him, still riding the aftershocks of her orgasm. Her skin was white against the black of the dress scrunched up around her waist. The pink tips of her milky breasts were contracted into hard pebbles and her pussy glistened with her moisture.

  He locked the fingers of one hand around her neck, feeling the jugular vein pumping under his palm. With one thrust he buried himself to the hilt inside of her. Lily cried out. Her upper body arched up. Her eyes turned wide. He pulled out and pushed back in. This time her lips parted with a moan. Jacob moved hard and fast, reclaiming what was his.

  “Your body’s mine,” he said through gritted teeth, already feeling his balls contracting. He held back as if his life depended on it. “Say it.”

  “Yours,” she said, her voice a cracked whisper.

  “Nobody but me fucks this pussy.”

  The base of his spine tingled with pins and needles. He was close. Jacob pulled out of her. A strange feeling of disappointment at not being able to shoot his seed into her body came over him. Coming up on his knees over Lily, he stroked himself. He gave in to the powerful surge that shot up his spine. He let go. The explosion ripped his balls up into his groin and blew his mind. He came hard over Lily’s beautiful breasts. There was a perverse kind of satisfaction in the act, a sense of relief as he visually witnessed marking her body, even as he couldn’t do it by coming inside her.

  He collapsed on top of her, breathing hard. It took a few moments to gather himself enough to push away. She hadn’t come again, but that wasn’t the intention.

  He looked down at her. With her dress hitched up like that and his cum all over her breasts, trickling down her sides, she looked vulnerable. She was a stunning mess. He reveled in the fact that he had made that mess. Him, and no other man.

  He scrambled to his feet and picked her up in his arms.

  She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re having a shower.” He kissed the top of her head.

  This was his mess to clean up. He wished the other mess they were in could be wiped away as easily as taking a shower.

  Chapter Fourteen

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  The train station in Versailles was quiet. That worried Lily. It was easier to be spotted. But Jacob’s injury concerned her more. The quicker she got him to her dad’s doctor, the better. They had abandoned the stolen Audi at the casino and had taken a Honda that Jacob had hot-wired, which they had left in the parking.

  She watched Jacob closely. Perspiration glistened on his forehead. He had a fever. The infection was getting worse.

  She bought a bottle of water at a vendor and helped him take a sip. “Almost there.” She hooked her arm through his and walked him to the ticket counter, watching from the corner of her eye as they moved along.

  “Bad idea. They’ll be watching the stations,” Jacob said, but he seemed physically too weak to resist.

  “Hang in there, Jacob. We’re thirty minutes away from help.”

  “I’m fine.” He wiped the sweat from his brow.

  Even if he tried to sound bright, he couldn’t hide the pain in his voice. That zoo stunt had been an unintelligent move. If Jacob didn’t recover from this injury, she’d never forgive herself.

  At the reservations desk, Lily bought two tickets to Paris. She shifted the weight of their travel bags on her shoulder. Instead of waiting on the platform, Lily took Jacob to the coffee shop and took a table at the back from where they could watch the passengers. Not noticing anyone that raised her suspicions, Lily gave Jacob a ticket five minutes before their train was due.

  “I’ll go first,” she said. “Wait a couple of minutes and if anything happens, you make a run for it, do you hear me?”

  He sat up straight, his eyes widening in alarm. “No fucking way. I’d–”

  “Jacob.” She laid her hand on his. “This is the only way.” She kissed him softly, picked up their bags and walked away, not giving him a chance to protest further.

  Lily’s heart beat wildly as she made her way across the platform. She scanned the line of waiting passengers. There was an elderly couple, a family with small children and a group of backpackers. Her eyes settled on a businessman with a suit and briefcase. She walked past him slowly, but he didn’t raise his eyes.

  By the time the train pulled into the station, Lily’s nerves were shot. She got on and found her seat, keeping alert. She waited impatiently until she saw Jacobs’s face appear in the door. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and then watched his progress until he sat down next to her.

  “Thank God,” she said softly.

  He kissed her cheek and took her hand before laying his head back and closing his eyes.

  “Everything is going to be fine now, Jacob.”

  He didn’t answer.

  During the short journey he was quiet. She got painkillers in the dining wagon and gave him two, but he remained pale and withdrawn. As they pulled into Paris, Lily gave in to her fear that they would be spotted and caught. Her whole body trembled, but she didn’t show her turmoil. It was important to stay calm for Jacob’s sake. After getting off the train, they made their way to the taxi reservation desk and asked for a cab.

  “Whereto, ma’am?” the man behind the counter said.

  “The city. We want a hotel near the Eiffel Tower.”

  “Just a moment, please.” He lifted a receiver and spoke in French. A few seconds later, the man indicated an exit. “Taxi number five. That way.”

  “Thank you.” Lily took Jacob’s hand and led
him to the door. His palm was clammy. He was sweating profusely. As they stood on the pavement, waiting, Lily pulled him into a hug. “It’s almost over.”

  Still, he said nothing.

  She went on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Please, Jacob,” she whispered in his ear. “Just a bit longer. Hold on for me.”

  The truth was, she had no idea how to locate her father or how long it was going to take. There was no plan. All she could do, was try and find out from whom one would buy the Eiffel Tower. The French government? The municipality?

  Jacob pulled away from her and took a step back. “Lily, I…”

  At that minute the taxi pulled up and the driver stepped out. Lily regarded Jacob, waiting for him to finish what he saying. His gaze flickered to the driver and back to her.

  The driver had opened the backdoor and looked pointedly at Jacob when he didn’t move. “Is there a problem, sir?” he said in English.

  Jacob shook his head. “No. There’s no problem.”

  Lily checked up and down the street before getting into the back, Jacob following on her heel. When the driver took the wheel, she said, “We need a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, nothing too expensive.”

  The driver stared back at her in the rearview mirror. “I know just the place, madame.”

  “Wonderful. Thank you.”

  Jacob’s mouth was pulled into a hard line. She wanted to ask him if he was all right, but, remembering his lesson not to speak in front of the taxi drivers, she kept quiet and stared from the window at the landscape. She felt nothing but anxiety as the miles passed.

  After a forty-minute drive in peak traffic, they stopped in front of a high, narrow building with shuttered windows. There was no sign.

  “This is it?” Lily glanced at Jacob to measure his reaction.

  The driver didn’t answer. He was already out of the car, opening her door. He leaned in to take her hand, but Jacob’s icy voice stopped him.

  “I’ve got it.”

  The driver backed up and shrugged, a cold smile on his face. “As you wish.”