Tiger Lily: Part Three

by Duncan, Amélie S.

  Paul laughed, then said, “How about you, Lily? For a minute act like Dad’s not here. Did you have a plan to lose your virginity before it happened?”

  “That’s enough, Paul,” Jonas interrupted, but I answered truthfully anyway.

  “My plan was to wait until I was married. I got engaged in college and convinced myself that was enough. We were together for three years before it was called off. So my plan didn’t exactly work out. But, yeah…that was the original goal,” I said and drank more of my champagne.

  “You’re serious,” Paul said, looking at me as if I was an oddity from another planet and time.

  Jonas winked at me and mused as he watched Paul quiet for the first time since he sat down. Then he looked to Paul and said, “I didn’t have a plan. I had an opportunity and should have waited. I want better than that for you.”

  Paul let out what sounded like a groan and sigh. “No freaking way I’m waiting for marriage. Sorry, Lily. I’d be old and grey by then. I’m taking the first opportunity that comes my way. And it’s coming soon.”

  My head felt light as I grinned between the two of them. Jonas looked at me inquisitively.

  “What’s your rush?” I said, a little too loudly, giggling as the words came out.

  “No more champagne for you,” Jonas said and moved my glass out of reach. We all laughed.

  Jonas met my eyes and we gazed at each other for a few moments before he kissed me. He leaned over my ear. “I can’t resist your happiness, even if it’s enhanced by champagne.” I kissed him.

  “Influential child here you’re trying to talk out of having a good time,” Paul bemused with a wave of his fork. He stared at Jonas.

  Jonas sighed. “I see you’re determined to do this. I’d like to discuss this alone with you later tonight. Can you wait as long as that?” he asked and smirked.

  A pleased grin spread across Paul’s face. “I can do that.”

  We ate duck foie gras and lamb, both with a beautiful presentation that matched the taste. Then we spent the remainder of dinner singing praises to every living thing that went into the divine meal. When the tray of assorted desserts came, I held up my napkin as a white flag. “I can’t eat anymore.”

  “Just one bite of the…” Jonas and Paul said together and stopped.

  I laughed and ate two bites of the chocolate torte and crème brûlée as I admired both of them. Once we were done, Jonas settled the bill and we rose and left the restaurant.

  The Dakota apartments, where Paul lived with Dani and Alan, weren’t too far from the restaurant, but I still fell asleep with my head on Jonas’s lap on the ride back to Tribeca. The rain continued to pour down and Jonas swooped me up in his arms to run to the elevator and up to the apartment. “Bed,” he commanded. “You need your sleep before our early flight tomorrow.”

  I slipped off my shoes and headed up to the bedroom, where Jonas took the time to unzip and remove my dress.

  I took a deep breath. “I enjoyed dinner with Paul tonight.”

  His face fell. “With all my work and travel, trying to give Paul a different life, he’s turning out just like me,” he said in a disgusted tone.

  I furrowed my brow as I undid his shirt. “I happen to love you, Jonas. So I do hope he turns out just like you.”

  “You love what you know about me,” he said wryly, taking the shirt from my hands and pulling it off, then walking into the bath.

  I took my clothes off and found my robe, then joined him in cleaning up for bed. “I’d love to know more about you, if you’d give me the chance.”

  He turned his head, his gaze as soft as a caress. “You’ll know enough living with me to learn my faults instead of having me point them out,” he said, looking around for his phone and returning with it in his hand.

  “Is work okay? Have you been missing too much because of me? Melissa said…” I covered my mouth.

  He sighed. “David told me about your run-in with her at Barney’s. She’s avoiding me.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. I didn’t want to bring it up, or to waste time on her tonight. I’m trying to trust you to deal with this, when the time is right.”

  Jonas paused and touched my chin. His eyes brimmed with tenderness and passion as they searched mine, “If only you knew how much you have me. You’d never worry about anyone else.”

  “You have me too, Jonas. I’m yours.” I leaned forward and he crushed his lips to mine, almost hurting me in his possession. Then he let out a sigh of relief.

  “Work is fine. It’s just me using time I haven’t used and actually leaving things to those I hired, like I should do tomorrow. But I think we both need to go to this one.” He pulled me up against his side and walked us back to the new bed.

  I climbed inside and rolled over as the mattress formed to my body. “Mmm…a mattress from the Gods. You may never get me out of it.”

  He laughed and tugged me back to his side. “I’d keep you right here next to me.”

  I snuggled back. “I’d love that.”

  He kissed my neck. “You ready to read?” he said softly.

  I shook my head, unable to speak. He reached over and pulled the book out and I crawled into my space, resting my head on his chest with my arm around his waist. I listened as he read from Peter Pan until I got lost in the perfect world between awake and dreams.

  THE RAIN HADN’T LET up overnight or when we arrived at the airport at six in the morning the next day.

  Six!

  “You can sleep on the flight,” Jonas said, with a small tap on my backside as he urged me to climb up the short flight of stairs and into the cabin of his private plane.

  The plane itself took me back a bit. While I knew Jonas was wealthy, he usually kept his shows of wealth subtle enough that I, for the most part, felt comfortable. His plane was another story though. It was a level of luxury that surpassed anything else I had been exposed to in his life.

  The interior reminded me of images I’d seen of the President relaxing on Air Force One. Plush grey leather seats with built-in desks. A television already playing stock and news updates. A few modern colorful accents here and there to brighten up the space.

  I headed toward the back before Jonas took my elbow and steered me to take an aisle seat. Placing down his briefcase, he removed his iPad, phone, and a stack of papers, then handed the rest to the flight attendant.

  His mouth twitched. “Take a seat, Lily,” he said, motioning again to the aisle seat next to him.

  I dutifully sat down in a couch-like leather seat with a recliner that I immediately tested, though I noticed David was settled into the one behind us. I worried for a minute that I might be encroaching upon his space, but then looked around and noticed that even fully reclined, I was nowhere near him. There was plenty of room.

  “Comfy?” Jonas asked. “You can do that after you eat.”

  I rolled my eyes, but smiled at him. “You’re always in command, Mr. Crane.”

  “That you can be sure of, Ms. Salomé,” he responded.

  The pilot walked out of the cockpit and began speaking. “We need to stay ahead of the weather and will be taking off shortly,” he announced.

  As I glanced over at Jonas nervously, he took my hand and gave it a squeeze.

  This wasn’t my first flight. I had flown to see my father perform in other countries and had vacationed abroad. But as I listened to the lashes of rain beating against the plane, accompanied by a flash of lightening, I shivered.

  Even the flight attendant seemed anxious. She played the safety video and quickly secured herself in a seat. The crack of thunder had my pulse sprinting.

  Jonas pressed something that made the shutter close over the window. “Relax. We’ll be fine,” he assured. He was completely Zen.

  Before I could respond, the plane lurched forward as we taxied down the runway and wobbled in the air. I had a white-knuckle grip on the seat rest and poor Jonas’s hand. He leaned over and stroked my face and kissed my lips, distracting m
e as the plane hit every air pocket in the sky as we flew.

  My shoulders lowered once I saw the sun coming through the windows. After a few more minutes, the emergency lights turned off. I released my grip and leaned over close to Jonas’s ear and said, “I love you so much.” He gazed at me longingly, then kissed my lips.

  The flight attendant came back with coffee and orange juice. She then brought us an assortment of cream muffins and slices of fruit, granola, and yogurt. I mixed up a small bowl and watched as Jonas put on his glasses and multitasked through his papers, electronics, and eating.

  Between spoonfuls of granola and plain yogurt I asked, “Is this for today? If you need help, let me know.”

  He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “No. Today has been set. I’m working on something that will be presented in a couple of weeks.”

  I lifted my brows at him as he continued to move around his work. “Have you always worked so far ahead?”

  “Yes. Well, it’s the way my father worked, so it became the way I work. He used to say ‘only losers wait for others to define the path for them. Cranes set the path and standard.’ I check and set,” he said.

  His screen went blank as he sipped his coffee. A picture appeared. It was a charcoal sketch of a woman’s back and the curve of her hips.

  I felt a flash of jealousy, until I realized the sketch was one he had done of me during our first week together at the hotel in New York City. My hand shook as I delicately touched the screen.

  “You never forgot about me,” I said in a hushed tone.

  “No. I carried you with me,” he responded just as quietly. I leaned over and kissed his neck. “You were always with me too, though mostly in my dreams.”

  A crease appeared on his cheek. “Oh, I enjoyed the dream I got to wake you up from at the hotel.”

  I covered my face. “That was embarrassing.”

  “You got past your embarrassment pretty quickly, as I recall. One of my favorite Lily traits.” He reached down and adjusted the front of his pants. “You’ll be on your knees sucking my cock if we don’t change topics.”

  I looked around to see if David had heard, but was relieved he had on earphones. I next located the flight attendant, who was busying herself in front. “With everyone around?”

  He chuckled. “David listens to folk music on plane rides, so don’t worry. There’s a bedroom in back. But before your eyes get smoky and you lick those sexy lips of yours, I’m not fucking you right now.”

  My jaw unhinged. “What? I didn’t…you turning down sex.” I made it a statement, but truly, Jonas seemed to always be in the mood.

  “Because you, my beautiful Tiger Lily, don’t have a poker face. And I don’t want my friend, or anyone in the office, to know what’s going on between us,” he said candidly.

  My face fell and I stared dully at the food on my tray, stirring the yogurt and granola as the pain of his words ripped through my chest.

  Jonas cursed. “That came out harsh, and nothing at all like I meant,” he said, picking up on my shift in mood. “It has nothing to do with how I feel about you. More about what this day will bring. I need to keep this meeting professional, no matter what Phil Keane tries to do today.”

  I looked at my hands. “Okay.”

  He studied me for a moment, then pushed his work away and tugged on my hand. “Come here.”

  I didn’t budge. “I’m not to be played with when it’s convenient, or brushed under a rug when you don’t want others to know. If I’m really yours, as you claim, I’m yours all the time,” I said nasally.

  “You are mine all the time. Fine. I’ll take you back there and fuck that into the torturous landmine that is your mind. I’ll introduce you as my ‘girlfriend,’ if that will please you. But that doesn’t even touch the depth of what I feel for you, Lily,” he said.

  My chin trembled and I took his hand.

  “I’ll tell Phil I’ll use his assistant, and you can spend the day at a spa or something in Miami. But you can’t be with me there. My feelings for you make it too hard for me to be professional when you are around, and the way you look at me after we make love would make it impossible.” He was formulating a plan before me, and at the same time slaying the demons in my mind and soothing the pain in my heart.

  I blinked back the tears that were standing in my eyes as my heart tumbled over. “I love you so much Jonas.”

  “Come here,” he commanded, making room in his lap.

  “But your suit,” I protested.

  He smiled at me. “I’ve got another. I don’t have another you.”

  I moved everything out of the way to climb in his lap and inhaled his incredible scent, pressing my lips to his neck. “I want to go with you. I’ll go along with your plan.”

  He kissed my cheek. “Alright. Pay attention. Here is a briefing and schedule of today’s presentations at KeanexTech. It’s Phil Keane’s company. Phil and I…have known each other a long time.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, we should conclude close to 2:00 p.m. You will sit in on everything but the partners’ meeting at the beginning. I don’t want to involve you in the ins and outs of that, since you’ll have to spend time with staff. I’ll see that Phil gives me an office you can use before the presentations. You understand?”

  I smiled. “Yes, Mr. Crane.”

  “Good, Ms. Salomé. Now kiss me and eat the rest of your breakfast, then get the rest of your sleep.”

  I leaned up and kissed him.

  He looked a little sad, and I rubbed his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  “I wish I could keep you this innocent and protected, but I can’t. This is part of my life too, and…” he said, his voice hoarse.

  “And nothing. I love you, nothing will take that away.” I kissed him. He didn’t respond, but slowly released me to return to my seat, where I ate the rest of my breakfast and he went back to multitasking for the remainder of our flight to Miami.

  Jonas lifted the window and let the sunshine pour in as we landed. Once we exited, David split off to collect the car and we walked through the breezeway of the arrivals terminal to get out of what quickly became more heat than my dark crepe navy dress and blazer could handle. I cursed the nylons, though even I had to say the designer ensemble, along with the chignon hairstyle, looked great.

  And then there was Jonas, wearing a dark designer suit of a similar shade and a crisp white dress shirt open at the collar. He didn’t appear affected at all by the heat. With a pair of sunglasses pushed up in his hair, he looked more like a movie star. With the lingering and questioning glances that were coming from the people around us, I had no doubt there were those wondering if he was.

  “Jonas Mathias Crane.” A voice somewhere in the crowd said.

  I stifled the giggle that rose in my throat as Jonas stiffened next to me. The sound of his full, given name being broadcasted across the terminal set him on edge.

  The man attached to the pleasant, booming voice finally came into view, and quite the view he was. The phrase ‘beach babe’ came to mind. A handsome man, I guessed similar in age to Jonas, with a thick head of light brown hair and ice blue eyes that stood out against his copper-tone skin. He was dressed similar to Jonas, though his suit was light grey. His hand extended on approach, “You stubborn old bastard. I offered for you to stay over at my place, but you chose to fly in the middle of the night?”

  Jonas gave the man a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Phil. You didn’t tell me you were moonlighting as a chauffeur? It wasn’t necessary, since I’m flying back to New York after the meeting.”

  “You still could have taken me up on my offer to stay last night at the house. Dottie and I would have loved to catch up with you. I don’t think we’ve had a full day together since back when you and Dani would escape to my parent’s beach house every summer in college.”

  “You know there were other times,” Jonas said, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat. He exhaled and motioned for me to step forward, “
This is Lily Salomé, my assistant.” Phil’s eyes glimmered as they slowly roved over me.

  I glanced at Jonas. Poker face. I knitted my brow and pressed my lips together. “Hello, Mr. Keane. Nice to meet you,” I said politely, offering my hand to shake.

  Jonas hid a laugh with a cough. Did I blow it?

  Phil gave me a wide smile and closed both of his hands over mine, letting me know I must have done okay. “The pleasure is all mine. I’m here to convince your boss to stay for dinner. You are welcome to join him.”

  Jonas blanked his face. “We won’t have time, and we should all head over to KeanexTech now.”

  “Not so fast, Jonas.” A beautiful brunette in bohemian wear approached, holding the hand of a pretty toddler with blonde curls and ice blue eyes. “You must say hello to Holly.”

  Jonas smirked. “Dottie, please tell me Phil didn’t drag you to the airport with Holly.” She walked up and planted a kiss on Jonas’s lips. “How could we miss out on the celebrity business mogul dropping in on us mere mortals,” she said, and they laughed.

  Jonas turned to me with glances between Dottie, Phil, and Holly. “We all went to boarding school and college together. They were New Yorkers for a long time, until they decided to give it up for Miami. And don’t let Phil fool you, he’s successful and has numerous businesses.”

  “Yes. But KeanexTech is my primary business,” Phil said and stared at Jonas.

  I nodded. “Nice to meet you.” Dottie shook my hand, though her focus was on Jonas. I leaned down to Holly and said, “Hello.”

  She gave me a smile that showed off the cutest dimples I’d ever seen, then clutched the leg of her mother.

  “She’s shy. You like kids, Lily?” Dottie grinned as Holly took steps toward me and took my hand.

  “I love them,” I blurted. I could feel Jonas’s gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on Holly, who was now getting me to help her twirl in a circle.

  “You’ll get dizzy, Princess,” Dottie laughed and picked her up. “Your boss here was quite the reluctant dad, to put it mildly.”

  “She is lovely, but we must go,” Jonas leaned down and kissed Holly’s cheek.