Lily's Mirage (Hell Yeah! )

by Sable Hunter

  “I don’t have anyone, really.”

  His admission did something to Lily. She knew what it felt like to be surrounded by people, yet feel all alone. “You, Mr. Sexy Man, can have anyone you want.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she set the table with colorful pottery. “How’s your arm? Do you need a pain pill?”

  “Another kiss?” he suggested with a smile.

  “All right. I have some to spare.”

  From that moment on, their evening took on a different feel. The kiss she gave him before dinner led into the kiss she gave him after dinner. Once the dishes were done and the painting was put somewhere safe, Lily changed the dressing on Blade’s arm. “There. I found some Tylenol 3 in the medicine cabinet. Do you want one for the pain?”

  “Maybe later.” He drew her close. “I have another ache that’s demanding attention at the moment.”

  “Do you want to play doctor?” Lily went on tiptoe to kiss his chin.

  Between the odd events of the day and his mounting attraction for this woman, Blade was so primed, he was shaking. She clasped her hands behind his head and urged him down until she could reach his mouth.

  “I want to play house. With you,” he whispered. Lifting his hand to cup her face, he gently brushed his thumb along her cheek. When he touched his lips to hers, the air lit up between them.

  Holy fucking hell.

  Fireworks. Rockets. Missiles.

  Blade was instantly on fire.

  He slid his fingers into her hair as she slipped her hand up under his shirt, caressing the bare skin of his chest. Just that one simple touch and he lost it, kissing her with no holds barred. No regrets and no reservations.

  “Take me to bed, cowboy.” Lily took him by the hand, weaving her fingers with his and they raced down the hall, landing on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, when she accidentally landed on his hurt spot.

  “Don’t be, I’m not. I just want you naked.” With feverish movements and excited laughter, they undressed one another.

  When they lay facing, skin to skin, Lily couldn’t help but stare at his handsome face. “You’ve got such lush lashes,” she murmured, kissing his blue eyes closed. They were sinfully long and as golden as his hair.

  “Hush, I’m manly.” He captured her mouth once more.

  Lily giggled. “Oh, I didn’t say they were wasted. They just fit the rest of your Greek god body.”

  “Flattery will earn you great rewards.” Blade captured her mouth once more, his tongue sweeping across hers. She twined her arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss, seeking more. He gladly gave her what she sought, loving that she seemed so hungry for him. The give and take between them was erotic as hell. Rolling to his back, he pulled her on top of him, straddling him so they were groin to groin. “Now, I want a reward, give me those nipples.”

  He was about to pull her down so he could reach her breasts when she stopped him. “Wait a second.” She rubbed her palms across his chest. “I don’t want you going back in the water. I don’t think we should hang-glide over the ocean tomorrow.”

  “No problem, I was uneasy about you getting off the ground after your dizzy spell anyway.” He was having a hard time thinking as she traced his happy trail all the way to the erection growing hard beneath her sweet center. “Have you felt okay since then?”

  “I’m feeling good now.” She didn’t want to think about her condition, much less talk about it.

  “These are the sweetest tits.” He filled his palms with her breasts.

  Lily braced her hands on either side of his head as he urged her forward, taking a nipple into his hungry mouth. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip as he licked, sucked, and laved. Frissons broke out all over her body as his scruff rasped against her skin. Unable to sit still, Lily rocked back and forth, grinding her pussy over his cock.

  Blade groaned as she moved, thrusting her hips forward, then sliding backward, undulating from side to side. “You’re slaying me, kitten.” The more she played with his cock, the harder he became.

  “Don’t you dare die on me, I’m not through with you yet.” Lily blazed a trail of kisses from his forehead, between his eyes, down his nose, to his chin, and down to the hollow of his throat.

  Blade played with her hair while she nuzzled his chest. He wrapped the long strands around his fist, his heart racing. There was no way she could miss the staccato beat as she tongued his right nipple. He closed his eyes, enjoying her kissing on his neck and stroking his chest. “I don’t want you to get tired of me.” Ever. “Lift up. Are you wet?”

  Rubbing her nose to his, Lily teased. “Touch me and see.”

  “Damn, you’re sweet.” Slipping a hand between them, he teased her closely trimmed mound, delving his fingers into the soft, pink place to find her soaked and ready for him. “This is where I want to be.” Blade pushed two fingers inside her tight pussy, swallowing her whimper in a kiss. “Fuck, baby. You’re more than ready. I love this pretty daydream between your thighs.” Working his fingers in and out of her, he took the time to tease her, finding that one little spot that caused her to gasp.

  “And very, very willing.” Taking his shaft in her hand, Lily canted her hips and impaled herself. With a hissing breath, she worked to take him in. Lily moaned as she felt herself stretch to accommodate him. He brought his hand up to touch her mouth and she licked her essence from his fingertips. Her breath caught, her pulse tripping as she watched his face contort in pleasure.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” he confessed as she began to move on him, slowly at first, but her speed picked up as her excitement level rose.

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” Lily took his hand and placed in on her hip. “Help me move, show me what you like.”

  Blade was having a hard time talking. “I love…everything.” Cupping her ass, he lifted her, then showed her how to ease back and forth. “Now, grind down.” When she did, he almost lost his mind. Lily was so perfectly tight, so hot and wet. “This is too good.”

  “Just right,” she moaned as she rode him, her hands massaging his pecs with every rise and fall.

  “God, you’re pretty.” Blade fought to hold out just a little longer, keeping the rhythm, almost losing it when she threw her head back and rocked her hips forward. He palmed her breasts, milking the nipples.

  “Please, Blade, please…”

  “Need something, kitten?” Even as he asked, he gave her what she craved. Easing his hand between her legs, he rubbed her clit, then stared in amazement as she came. Lily called his name, her pussy clenching around his shaft, milking his cock with every pulse. He held off long enough to enjoy the hell out of the beautiful sight. When she leaned forward to kiss him, he surged up inside of her. “Don’t stop now. Ride me to heaven and back.”

  She bent over to crash her mouth to his, her body giving him just what he needed. Grinding. Scrubbing against him. His cock felt like it was being massaged in hot whipped cream. This time it was him throwing his head back, his back bowing, his balls pulling tight. With a loud bellow, he exploded, his cock jerking hard as he shot his cum deep within her. “Lily, my Lily,” he groaned, as he continued to throb, a wave of tingling ecstasy flowing from his center to every part of his body. “Come on baby, I’m still hard enough, take your pleasure. Come for me again.” He bucked up, over and over, until she flew apart, shattering in his arms. As she quaked and shivered, Blade held her tight, stroking her back.

  “God, you’re good,” she whispered in his ear as she collapsed against him.

  “Damn, straight. I’m a keeper.” He squeezed her tightly. “And don’t you forget it.”

  Sometime during the night, the storm blew in with a vengeance. Blade lay on his side, spooning Lily, staring over her shoulder out toward the ocean. All around them, the storm raged, whipping up the wind and churning the ocean into gigantic waves. Every so often, the obsidian sky was rent with a jagged bolt of lightning, the air crisp and crackling with electric
energy. Thunder rolled and rumbled almost continually, rattling the shutters and vibrating the windows, he couldn’t believe she was sleeping through the tempest. The light show outside wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t sleep; his arm was hurting. Easing away from Lily, he went downstairs to find those pills she’d offered him.

  When he came to the kitchen, he flipped on the light. Nothing. Damn, the electricity was out. Easing forward, he tried to feel along the counter, trying to locate the bottle in the dark. He’d just found them when another lightning bolt lit up the whole room and he was surprised to see Lily standing in front of him.

  “Lily?”

  She didn’t answer him.

  He reached for her, but his hand came up empty.

  “Lily, what…?”

  The next flash of lightning illuminated the room. He saw a woman’s figure in front of him and in the next second she vanished.

  Right in front of his eyes.

  Lily luxuriated in exquisite warmth. Gentle kisses tempting her awake.

  “Morning, treasure.”

  “I could get used to this.” She stretched languidly and opened her eyes. When she did, Lily was taken aback by the expression on Blade’s face.

  Adoration.

  “Good. You should be awakened with kisses every day.”

  Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.

  Sitting up, she eased away from him and out of the bed. “You should have called me earlier. We’re still going into town, aren’t we? We need to get your arm examined.”

  Blade didn’t rise from the bed, but he followed her with his eyes. “You make me happy, just looking at you, Lily Bastien.” She was intensely female, all soft and warm like a ray of sunshine and he wanted her more than anything. Blade hadn’t known he was starving until he saw everything he was hungry for in Lily.

  She scrambled for a robe and blushed, more than aware of the handsome man’s scrutiny.

  “Don’t cover yourself up on my account, I was quite enjoying the view.” He chuckled when she blushed red. “As intimate as we’ve been, I’m surprised you’re not more comfortable with my admiration.”

  She wanted his attention, more than he could know, but she was very afraid they’d entered untenable territory. “I just don’t want to be late at the dock to catch the boat. Even if we’re not going hang-gliding, we can sightsee…after you see the doctor. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t require stitches and a tetanus shot.”

  Blade threw back the covers unveiling his big, hard body. Lily whirled around, the sight of him almost more than she could bear. What had happened? Suddenly, everything was new and different. What had seemed casual and fun before, now seemed momentous and serious.

  “Actually, I’m much better this morning. I think we can pass on the doctor, I even changed the dressing earlier.” He held out his arm so she could see. As she examined him, he kissed the top of her head and continued speaking, “last night, during the storm, I couldn’t sleep. I went to the kitchen to get those pills you showed me…and I saw something.”

  The change in Blade’s tone made Lily’s head jerk up. “What did you see?” she asked with curiosity.

  Blade, unabashedly heedless of his glorious nudity, moved to the window, one brawny arm propped on the window sill, the profile of his sculpted body a stimulant to her already runaway heart.

  He looked over his shoulder toward Lily, admiring how her dark hair shone against the magical cotton robe she wore, replete with eyelet lace and a thousand tiny pleats. She was a heady combination of innocence and seduction. The miraculous thing he’d witnessed last night, seemed no less mysterious than the woman before him, a woman who’d come into his life as unexpectedly as a warm day in the dead of winter.

  “I guess you’d call her a ghost. At first, I thought she was you. Now, I realize she looked more like the woman in the painting. She was just standing in the kitchen during the middle of the storm.” He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on, sans underwear. “Do you think I’m going crazy?”

  Lily grabbed one of the four posters of the bed to stabilize herself. Off-balance from shock, she stared at him. “You saw her? You saw Lili?”

  Blade chuckled, heading toward the shower. “Lili? Yea, I guess so. I’ve never been a big believer in the supernatural, but I know what I saw. She seemed to look right at me, then – poof! – she vanished right in front of my eyes.”

  Feeling weak, Lily sank to the edge of the bed. “I didn’t imagine her. I wasn’t…hallucinating.”

  “You saw her too?” Blade stopped at the bathroom door. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  She sighed, then ran her palms down to her knees, then back up. “I’ve seen things before, in my house and gallery on Royal. My sister was adamant that I was…imagining things.”

  When his lips parted, she could see his tongue push into his cheek, then he grinned as he came to her. Bending over, Blade kissed her, thoroughly. “Nope, not your imagination. Unless, your hallucinations are catching.”

  …They didn’t miss the boat, but it was close. Once Seba docked on Saint Helena, Blade pulled his hat down low over his eyes and left her at a small café while he went to retrieve the rental car. While he was gone, Lily ordered them two coffees to go. She laughed to herself, wondering if he thought the cowboy headgear and sunglasses disguised his identity. As she watched him saunter across the street, several women watched him closely and Lily knew they were just like her, it mattered not one whit to them if he was a celebrity or not. He was a desirable man, regardless of his fame.

  “Hey, beautiful. Are you ready to go?”

  “Absolutely.” She ran to join him in the red Jeep, accepting the helping hand he offered as she climbed aboard. “What shall we do first? Are you sure about skipping the doctor visit?”

  “Yea, I’m sure, it was really no more than a deep scratch.” He handed her a couple of pamphlets. “Let’s do it all, just tell me which way to go.”

  During the next few hours, Lily and Blade had a blast. They drove around the island, taking in the sights, doing everything from kayaking to horseback riding on the beach. After a picnic in a picturesque cove, they stopped at the beautiful old ruin of a church. “Come on, let’s walk around.” Blade took her hand and they strolled through a grove of trees. “Tell me about this place, why do they call it a chapel of ease?”

  Lily held onto his uninjured arm. “I did a little research before I came and Bliss told me some things. From what I can remember, a chapel of ease was built by plantation owners who lived too far from a regular church for their people to attend. This one has an odd history. When the Union took control of these barrier islands early in the Civil War, plantation owners abandoned their land, leaving their slaves behind. These slaves found themselves in the strange position of no longer being enslaved, but not officially free.” She stopped talking and cleared her throat. For some odd reason, that thought made her feel odd. Lily felt a connection – she was going through the motions of normalcy, seeing an amazing man, having what felt like a relationship, yet knowing in her heart it could go absolutely nowhere. She would never be free from the fate that kept her enslaved.

  “Those slaves stayed on the island and Saint Helena became one of the last vestiges of the Gullah culture, a mixture of African and Creole. They worshiped here at the Chapel of Ease until it burned down during a forest fire. All that remains now are these bone white walls and arches. Look at them, can you tell what the building material is?”

  He’d been listening carefully, more entranced by the woman herself than the information she was relaying. Walking up to one of the skeletal walls of the ruin, he ran a hand over the stone-like composite. “I don’t know, it almost looks like a honeycomb. What is it?”

  “This is tabby, a type of concrete made with oyster shells and sand, two things found in abundance on the islands. This is a good example of appreciating what you have, instead of trying to search for something better.”

  “Sometimes there’s nothing be
tter than what you already have.” He gave her a meaningful wink, then a dazzling smile, which made Lily’s breath hitch in her throat.

  From that moment on, the texture of their day changed. They returned to town and visited several art galleries. Blade became even more attentive and protective. He couldn’t stop touching Lily. She found herself trembling, faced with the possibility that everything she’d ever wanted was just within her grasp, yet knowing she could never accept it.

  “See anything you can’t live without?” she asked him as they left one place that carried mostly primitive works.

  “Yea, I think I have spotted something I can’t see myself living without.”

  “What?”

  “You.” He kissed her on her cheek. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized that he was drawn to everything about Lily. Her brain. Her heart. Her smile. Not to mention how it felt to love on her. Yea, he had it pretty bad. Blade felt like a young buck again, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He was fast becoming addicted to her, and not just the orgasms. Although he loved the rapturous luxury of having a woman he desired in his bed every night and the sleepy-morning sex was even better. No, he had a thing for her, a big thing for the complete package that was Lily Bastien. “Are you ready to find a restaurant and eat? Maybe some Gullah food?”

  Lily was shaking from his casual announcement. On top of her nerves, she felt a little nauseous and a headache was looming. She didn’t really feel like eating. “This has been wonderful.” And it had. They’d spent the day exploring, seeing things they’d never seen before. People had left Blade alone, for the most part. Several had recognized him, but there wasn’t the rabid frenzy they’d feared. “I enjoyed myself very much. But if it’s okay with you, I think I’d rather go back to St. Phillips. I’m a little tired.”

  “Of course.” Instantly, Blade became even more watchful and solicitous. “You should have said something, kitten.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and all but supported her as she walked. “Are you feeling ill? Do you think you should see a doctor?”