“Push back for me and breathe,” he commanded, his voice rough.
I took in a deep breath and did as he said, stretching the tight ring and whimpering as my muscles clenched. He pumped slowly until he slid deep inside my buttocks. “Yes. Lily. All of you. Mine.”
I reached back and touched his thigh. “Wait,” I muttered.
He slid his fingers around my clit and I jolted as pleasure again mixed with the pain, then he started to rock his hips. Jonas grunted as he thrust in and out. Pleasure arose and I push back and moaned. He took my hips and pressed his head against my back as he came. His thick fingers pumped inside me as his thumb teased my clit.
“Give it to me,” he gritted, and that made me come apart for him. I quivered and he held me to him. He removed his cock and turned me around and hugged me. “I love you. Thank you for trusting me.” I closed my eyes and tightened my arms around him. I wasn’t ready for him to let me go after he had touched and marked every part of my body.
“Love you,” I said back to him. He lifted me and carried me to a bathroom, where he placed me in the shower and turned it on. The shock of the cold spray woke me some and I balanced back on my feet as the scent of vanilla filled the small space and his hands moved over to wash me.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked as he washed over my buttocks.
“I feel tender,” I muttered. When we finished our shower, he took me out and stood me before the sink.
“Bend over,” he instructed.
I complied and for the first time, I didn’t blush as he bent down and examined me. It was as if I believed he had a right to do so.
“I’ve got cream that should make you feel better.” He went into a bag on the sink and pulled out a tube and rubbed it against the sore, sensitive rim at my back entrance, then kissed both cheeks. We both washed our faces and brushed our teeth, even then pausing to touch each other.
When we were done, he guided us back to the bedroom, where we worked to fix the sheets before settling back down in them. Jonas pulled me in his arms and I wrapped every part of my body I could around his. There were no boundaries remaining between us. I belonged to him. After a while, Jonas woke me. “We’re back in New York. We need to get ready for landing soon.” He was already dressed in a shirt and slacks and was trying to work my dress over my hips, which I took over.
He kissed my naked shoulder, then took back over zipping me up. I stood and picked up my shoes and handbag that had made it back there. Pulling out my phone, I made my way over to the bouquets.
“What are you doing?” Jonas asked.
I smiled. “Memories.” I took a photo.
He took out his own phone and snapped one of me.
“Mr. Crane?” The flight attendant knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he said and chuckled as I rushed over to the bed and tried to straighten the sheets. He pulled my waist and that spark that we shared flared from his touch.
“We’re preparing to land,” she said.
“Would you mind taking a photo of us?” he said to her as she walked further into the room. She smiled and took his phone and poised it up to take a picture. “Ready?”
Jonas placed his hands low on my stomach and she snapped the photo. I couldn’t imagine my expression, but when I looked up at Jonas I noticed he had that faraway expression I’d seen on his face earlier. “Jonas?” I asked. He came back from wherever he was and gave me a wink.
“Would you please take one more? I wasn’t ready for that one,” I pleaded.
Moving Jonas’s hands up to right under my breasts, I covered my hands with his and she took another photo. I turned to face him and wrap my arms around him, and she took another two. “I want a copy of that one,” I said as she returned Jonas’s phone and we walked out of the room to our seats.
“Yes,” I said as I stared down at the photos of us both together, letting my heart fill with the image of the love and care I felt being in his arms. He took my hand and the plane started its descent into New York City.
THE RAIN HITTING the surface of the cabin sounded like thousands of spikes hitting a metal plate as the plane dropped, shook, and jittered in what was turning out to be an infinite journey to landing. This time, no amount of kisses from Jonas could ease my grip on the arms of my seat. The pilot continued to loop over the area, causing the queasiness in my stomach to return. I took deep breaths and a sip from the bottle of water Jonas handed me.
Once we leveled, Jonas opened the shutter on the window and pointed at the lights and buildings coming into view, soothing my fear. We flew closer to the ground, until the wheels hit the tarmac and his lips brushed against mine again. His attentiveness and care truly had my heart.
“I love you,” I said.
“I know,” he replied and held my hand as we taxied to the designated arrival area. We had made it, together.
Once we came to a stop and the emergency lights went off, Jonas pulled out his phone and turned it on, immediately greeting us both with millions of beeps as all his incoming messages poured through. This brought a curse to his lips and a sigh to mine.
David rose the minute the flight attendant opened and secured the cabin doors, taking Jonas’s briefcase along with him as he went to get the car. Before I put on my jacket, he was back, making me think I had lost time. Or that something was wrong.
Based on his expression and the hurried manner in which he approached Jonas, my gut told me the latter was true.
“We have press,” David announced.
I lifted my brows and moved to peer out the window, but Jonas blocked me and closed the shutter. “Lily, I need you to leave with the flight attendant now,” he said and frowned as he quickly put on his suit jacket.
“The uniform, please.” He motioned to our flight attendant, who went to the front of the cabin and opened her trolley, retrieving a flight uniform shirt and skirt, which she then handed to me.
I turned to Jonas. Was this necessary?
“Put the uniform on as quickly as possible,” he ordered.
As I reached for my handbag, Jonas passed it to David, who exchanged it for his briefcase.
“I’ll return your bag soon,” David assured as he placed it in a paper bag that the flight attendant was now holding open in front of him. He then rushed with the bag up the aisle and out the exit.
Jonas was back on the phone and motioning me off to change again. So I headed back to the suite and quickly removed my dress and suit jacket, awkwardly putting on the uniform, which was snug on me. I then took my clothing and made my way back up to them.
The flight attendant handed me a flight bag to put my clothes in, then beckoned me to follow her.
I turned to Jonas. “What about you? And why are they here?”
Jonas paused mid-conversation. “I need you safe. Go with her. She will get you to David. I’ll explain later.” He called out to the flight attendant, who was now at the cabin door, “Thank you.”
My pulse raced as I hurried up the aisle after her, down the steps and onto the tarmac. She met me there with a small umbrella and we huddled under it together in a dash toward the small terminal building. On our approach, I could see a row of glass windows where a few passengers milled around in arrivals. I spotted one man with a camera. This had me thinking Jonas and David were being overzealous in their security measures. Did he really need all of this? Still, I followed the hurried pace of the flight attendant as she moved with purpose across the square room toward the main exit.
It was there that I finally noticed the press, swarming with cameras around a couple of uniformed airport security guards. This wasn’t just one man. It was a mob. And we were heading right toward them.
The flight attendant motioned for me to keep up, but the second we breached the door that was to be our exit, flashes of lights blanked my vision. I felt a hand grab onto mine, pulling me forward, but I stumbled. Once I recovered, I blinked rapidly and swiped the rainwater from my face before walking forward. The cacophony of voice
s speaking all at once made it hard to understand what the throng of press may have even been saying. All I could manage was to stare down at my feet as I rushed along, with airport security moving in to unblock the jammed path that only the flight attendant knew would lead to David and the car. My chin was skimmed as microphones were pushed into my face.
“Flight attendants. How long was the flight from Miami?”
I would have rolled my eyes at the question, but my head was still down, looking for places to step as the crowd surrounded us.
“Will Jonas Crane be coming out to give us a statement?”
“Will there be a joint statement tonight?”
The questions were flying faster than I could keep up. A statement about what?
“Move back,” a security guard hissed, stepping in front of me and blocking the arms stretched out in front of us as we took more steps forward.
The voices of the press started to blend even further together.
“…coming here?”
“Combined fortune estimated…”
What are they talking about?
The security guard became even more determined to clear a path. “Stop taking pictures. You are going against our safety policy. Police are on their way,” he yelled out repeatedly as we inched further along.
“I’ll sue!” I heard someone call out as a new security guard joined us, moving with a bit more aggression. I was now hustled forward as the crowd was being forced to conform to their restrictions. I panted and glanced around the massive bicep of the security guard directly in front of me, with a blessing on my lips for the beefy warrior, as we continued down the pedestrian area.
“Jonas Crane!”
A surge in the opposite direction left enough of a gap for us to manage a quick retreat. Is Jonas behind us? My heart ached, thinking he might be left alone to face the crowd.
“Lily,” I heard David call out, not realizing he was close enough to touch my arm. David took my hand and we ran to the car. I could now see the parking building ahead. Our flight attendant ran off to short-term parking. I didn’t even get a chance to thank her.
“Get in, please,” David said as the door opened.
Without a pause, I climbed inside the driver’s door and crawled over to the passenger side as David scrambled into the driver’s seat. He slammed the door to more flashes of cameras, quickly driving off and aggressively maneuvering the car away from the parking area.
“Why didn’t anyone warn us?” David grumbled.
“Will Jonas be okay?” I asked.
“Mr. Crane will be fine,” David answered with a curve of his lips.
I wiped the condensation off the window and noticed we had joined other cars on the road leading out of the airport. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“I didn’t get a full briefing,” David said cryptically.
“Please, David. Tell me what happened,” I tried again, but to no avail. David was now focusing hard on the road or hard on avoiding me. Just when I was about to give up, he gave me a half-answer. “Mr. Crane said he would prefer to discuss it with you later. I’m sorry.”
I nodded. I liked David, and I knew he was only following orders. But he left me with the even more futile task of calling Jonas, which I ultimately decided against, only because I didn’t wish to distract him from getting away from the airport.
Once belted in, I pulled the shopping bag with my handbag in it from underneath me, reaching inside to retrieve my possessions that had scattered along the bottom. David pressed the horn, increasing his speed to get us the rest of the way out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, using the sound of the windshield wipers flicking across the glass to settle my nerves. We were in the clear and off to Tribeca.
My shoulders relaxed into the leather seats as we crossed the RFK Bridge over to FDR Drive down to Tribeca, my mind moving just as fast imagining all kinds of scenarios to account for the scene we had landed in. Jonas was well known, but not enough for the frenzy we had encountered at the airport. New York City had plenty of celebrities walking around, and in the years I had been here, I had never seen such a display unless something big and newsworthy had happened.
Was the closing of KeanexTech big news? I doubted it, for Jonas would have planned for that. Something else must have happened. And what did they mean about joint statements? I glanced back over at the tight-lipped David and folded my arms, sulking all the way back to Tribeca and dashing inside once he stopped in front of the building.
Walking in, the faint smell of patchouli oil crossed my senses and I remembered Mary was here, but had maybe just left. I turned on the lights and then took off my shoes and headed up the stairs to the master bedroom. Pausing for a look in the spare room, I spied Mary’s fabric trolley next to the closet. Why didn’t she call? I wondered.
I remembered then that I had turned my phone off for the flight. Turning it on, I watched it flash to life and looked at the time: 8:49. Placing the phone on the bed, I padded over to the walk-in closet and changed into a pair of jeans and a v-neck t-shirt, opting for a more presentable look rather than my usual choice of a tank top and sweatpants.
I cleaned up in the bathroom then returned to the bed and collected my beeping phone to retrieve my messages. There were three in total, from Mary, Dani and Gregor.
I sighed. Still nothing from Jonas. I decided to send him a text.
Are you okay? What’s going on? Please tell me so I won’t worry.
I immediately received his reply.
I’ll be home to explain everything soon. Please trust me. I love you.
I exhaled and smiled as I went on to listen to the rest of my messages. The first was from Mary.
“I’m here! Ian picked me up, thanks. He’s now taking me to Mars. See you both later.”
Saucer Burger. I smiled and played the next message from Dani.
“Lily. I’m sorry about what happened. But I know Jonas is doing his best to make sure the damages are minimal. He loves you. We all do.”
Damages? The ease I had experienced from Jonas and Mary’s texts quickly evaporated. My stomach sunk. But I pressed on to listen to Gregor’s message.
“Hi, I have some news. And, well, the damage is minimal compared to what else is going on. If you want to talk about it, or want me to pick you up, give me a call.”
My pulse increased as my fingers swiftly navigated to Gregor’s name and pressed connect. I knew Gregor would be more forthcoming with answers. He answered on the first ring.
“What happened?” I blurted out.
“I spoke to Jonas and he said he wanted to tell you,” he said apprehensively.
My heartbeat picked up. “Tell me what?”
“You can call me after, no matter what time, and we can talk about it then,” he responded.
“You’re my friend and I’m really worried now. I have no idea what’s going on, and Jonas isn’t saying anything. Please just tell me. I’ll think the worst if you don’t,” I pleaded.
He was quiet for a few seconds, but then said, “Okay, but keep in mind that it’s been handled. A…photo was sent as a group message to everyone at work from your work satellite email address. But since we have a flag on adult material, it was blocked by our firewalls, quarantined, and flagged by IT pending review. The manager contacted me and, well, I contacted Jonas and the list of contacts he gave me. I also reported the breach to the police. I just wanted you to know that I took care of it and stopped it from spreading. So you have nothing to worry about.”
My mind raced as I tried to understand what Gregor was telling me. “Wait. What do you mean?” Then awareness washed over me. “You saw me? My body? Declan sent photos.”
“One photo,” he muttered, and we both went quiet.
My pressure rose as my pulse leapt into my throat. Was it the same one Declan had sent me? Gregor would tell me the truth. “Are you sure it was me? My hands in my hair twisted up…”
“Yes,” he finally responded in a hushed tone. “B
ut it didn’t go any further. I’m sure Jonas’s team is working to seal it. It was in the shower, that’s all I know. I barely saw it. The second it came it was flagged, quarantined. It wasn’t copied and the entire IT team knows that sharing it will result in a loss of their jobs. Not to mention prosecution. Nothing will come from Arch. I will never mention it again. I promise.” He jabbered on, but I had tuned out as the implications of what he was saying heightened my nerves and scorched my skin.
“You, and people at work, and a legal team, and the police…have all seen the photo?” My voice was thick.
“Yes. I don’t know. Not many. It wasn’t widespread. We took steps to make sure it didn’t go any further.” He sighed, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m not saying this right,” he replied and cursed.
All those people saw me? The phone slipped out of my fingers and onto the floor. My stomach muscles cramped and I ran to the bathroom, where I dropped to my knees before the toilet and vomited.
It didn’t matter. His words had confirmed my fear. Sure, I knew he was trying to ease my worries, but the thought of that photo etched into his memory or the memories of all those who had seen it caused just the opposite. How can I ever look at Gregor again? Or anyone else at Arch?
Walking out of the bathroom, I dropped to the carpeted floor in the bedroom and started doing crunches and running in place as thoughts swarmed my head and tears blocked my vision. I felt like I needed to move, if only to clear my head.
The damage had been done. There was no going back. I stopped and wiped my now damp brow, yelling out a curse.
How could this have happened?
I sought to catch my breath as the adrenaline rushed through me. Picking up my phone once again, I paced as I called my old phone to check my voicemails remotely by password, only to find it had been changed. Jonas changed it.
He was determined to shut me out. But being in the dark didn’t protect me, and now I needed to find another way to fix this. I was too far gone to sit down and idly wait or to listen patiently while my life went to hell.
I dumped the phone on the bed.
Knowing Declan, he would have called and warned of his plan. My mind crowed. If only I had kept my phone and dealt with this myself. I would have been okay.
Tiger Lily: Part Three Page 14