She hadn’t realised that she’d taken the full twenty spanks, when she found herself being soothed by Tom as, having returned the hairbrush back to the table, he kneaded her shoulders in a slow, firm massage, drawing long sumptuous circles over her muscles and between her shoulder blades that she found were aching, partly from the position she was in and partly from the emotional stress of the day.
Slowly, even her quiet sobs waned, but she didn’t struggle to get up, remembering yesterday how Tom had been insistent that she remain in place until he moved her, and was content to stay put and let him tend to her.
After long minutes had passed, he moved his arms round her and helped her up, supporting her back as he did so to ensure she didn’t hurt herself, and brought her round to lay in his lap in the chair, taking care to protect her bottom.
Immediately, she hid herself in his broad, strong chest, embarrassed by all that had happened, and conscious that her panties, discarded through her struggles, were now laying on the floor near the chair.
Tom let her snuggle into him for a while and continued to stroke her shoulders and neck as he felt her relax deeper into the massage. Then, he carefully tilted her head up to meet his gaze.
“Okay?” he asked tenderly.
Lily flushed and tried to hide her head back down in chest.
“Hey?” he queried softly, concerned about her reaction, “Talk to me?”
“I... I’m okay...” Lily faltered, “It’s just, I’ve never... that is, I guess I don’t know what I to say now.”
Tom chuckled lightly, knowing there was a shade of embarrassment hidden in her reaction, but also understanding that this was new to her and the spanking had broken down her natural defences and barriers. He’d observed closely how, towards the end, she had stopped her protests and relaxed into it, her body and mind both accepting what was happening. Although he couldn’t be sure, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a part of Lily that knew she had needed the spanking in order to truly forgive herself for what she had done. Over the last few months that he had gotten to know her, he knew that deceit wasn’t in her nature, and that she would take any failure on her own part to be anything other than scrupulously honest very hard.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just stay like this for a while.”
Content, Lily nodded and rested her head against him, but didn’t try to hide herself from him anymore, accepting that the time for that had long gone.
“Tom?” Lily said quietly after a while.
“Hm?” he replied, still drawing lazy circles over her shoulders.
“I... I just wanted to say... I am truly sorry, for not telling you the truth last night. Please believe me....”
Tom scooped her up closer to him. “I know, little one, I know you are sorry, and it’s forgiven now. You made a mistake, and you’ve paid the price. We’ll say no more of it, except to know that from now on, it’s nothing but the truth and honesty all the way, okay?”
Lily nodded furiously. Tom chuckled, teasing the strands of hair that had caught round her face back behind her ears.
“So,” he said, “what are you going to do for the rest of the day? It’s only one-thirty, so you’ve time before your next class, but we’d have to get you cleaned up soon. Although,” he added, “you’ve had a tough lesson, so if you’d rather stay here this afternoon, I can let Sam know you’ve come home. I doubt he’ll ask many questions given yesterday’s events.”
Lily squirmed visibly. “I don’t think I can sit down!” she confided.
“I should think not!” Tom declared, mockingly. “If you could sit down, I wouldn’t have carried out my role properly!”
Pretending to be annoyed, Lily took a playful swipe at his shoulder and he caught her hand mid-air and used it to draw her in to him for a long, deep kiss that was anything but playful.
As his mouth launched its sensual assault on hers, and his tongue darted in to tangle with hers skilfully, Lily felt her nipples tighten as they rubbed against his shirt and an ache spread through her lower body.
When at last he broke the kiss, Lily was breathless as he looked down at her with a possessive glow in his eyes. “So, Miss Bentley, what’s it to be? School or home?”
Pulling a face at him, she said grudgingly, “I’d like to stay at home and have a long bath to soak my sore bottom, but it would be wrong of me to skip school because of something that was of my own making. So I’ll go to school, if you don’t mind driving me there, and I’ll just have to stand up all afternoon!”
“That’s my girl! Now then, let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll drive you back in time for your class!”
CHAPTER FOUR
Friday at last! Relieved, Lily trawled through her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear. She’d made it out of school right on time that afternoon and had come straight home to freshen up and get ready for her dinner date with Tom.
The last couple of days had gone by mostly in a haze. As well as teaching her normal classes, she’d had to cover for another teacher who had been away with a nasty dose of flu and also spend time talking to a number of Tom’s colleagues about the incident on the school grounds. Tom had been there with her throughout those “talks” but she’d been nervous nonetheless, and she knew that he understood she felt torn between her obligation to tell the police everything she had seen and heard in those brief few minutes that evening, and her sense of loyalty to her students. Tom’s presence had been more of a comfort to her than she had ever imagined as he’d introduced her to his colleagues and made sure she was comfortable with them before they questioned her.
She’d told them everything she could think of, which wasn’t that much, as it had all happened so quickly. Tom had reassured her that she’d done just fine.
Other than during school hours at Clayston, Lily hadn’t seen Tom since he had brought her home from school that fateful day, but they’d spoken on the phone each evening and he’d asked if he could take her out for dinner on Friday evening, once they’d both finished work after a long week.
Lily frowned as she waded through the contents of her wardrobe, thinking that she really needed some new dresses and wondering absently whether one of her sisters would be interested in a girly shopping trip.
After discarding more than one perfectly viable option, Lily picked out a black silk dress that she’d bought months ago but hadn’t had the opportunity to wear. It was deceptive in its simplicity – a tight bodice with a flared skirt. It was beautifully cut and made the most of her curves. Teamed with elegant silver hoop earrings and some silver bangles, Lily figured she was going to do everything she could make sure that Tom Sinclair was the one lost for words this time!
Lily was just slipping on her strappy high heels when she heard the door bell ring and she opened the door with a smile on her face to greet Tom, who stood there in a dark suit and white shirt holding a bouquet of multi-coloured tulips in one hand.
“Oh!” Lily exclaimed as he offered her the flowers. They were beautiful in their simplicity, a stunning array of color.
Tom grinned. “It's a bit cliché for me to turn up with flowers, but I saw these and figured that after the week you’ve had, these might put a smile on your face.”
Impulsively, Lily reached out and hugged him, and with his free hand he pulled her close, lifting her up off her feet, even in her high heels, as he did.
Pulling back only ever so slightly, Lily lifted her face up to his. “Thank you,” she said, “they’re really beautiful. No one’s ever bought me flowers before!”
“You’re kidding?” Tom asked, a look of surprise on his face. “I’d have thought you would have been on the receiving end of dozens of bouquets of flowers from adoring boyfriends!”
With a slight flush staining her cheeks, Lily stepped back to let him into her apartment. “Well, I think my sister Elise once sent me flowers for my birthday. She’s usually abroad, in the middle of a jungle or something on an assignment to take photos for yet another magazine or p
aper, and so relies on having presents delivered in her absence!”
“Hm...” Tom responded, “then I’m glad I'm not so cliché after all!”
Laughing, Lily moved towards the kitchen to find a vase. She put the tulips in water then set them on the windowsill in the living room.
“Would you like a drink before we go out?” she asked, turning back to Tom who had sat on the sofa. “I have wine or beer.... not so much by way of spirits, I’m afraid though.”
“Wine sounds great,” Tom replied. “I’ve booked a table at an Italian place on Williams Street, not far from here, but the table isn’t for another hour. I thought that you might prefer to stay near home, as it's pretty cold out.”
Coming back into the living room with the wine, Lily laughed. “That sounds great! Close by is always good, and it means I can get rid of these shoes for another hour at least!” She kicked her high heels into the corner of the room and sat down next to him, curling up into his side with her glass of wine.
“So, tell me about your sister Elise,” Tom asked, as he drew her closer still to him on the sofa and felt her relax into his. “You said she’s a wildlife photographer?”
“That’s right,” Lily said, pride running through her voice. “Technically, she’s a freelancer so she can pick and choose the jobs she takes. We were all a bit worried at first when she decided to go down that route, rather than take a full time job with just one paper, but it’s worked out for her really well. She’s constantly in demand and most of the time she’s the one turning down work.” Lily named a few of the magazines and papers that Elise regularly worked for and Tom’s eyebrows rose at the high-profile names.
“That’s pretty impressive,” he said. “So I guess she travels a lot?”
“Probably too much.” Lily sighed, resting her head against him. “She’s somewhere in Africa at the moment. Kenya, I think. She’s been going back and forth from there for months now. She’s commissioned to do a series for a photo-journal on the Masai Mara, but it involves going back there at different times of the year to photograph the changes. She should be back in a few weeks though, taking what she calls a ‘breather’ from work.”
“Sounds like she needs it.”
“Probably. We keep trying to persuade her to slow down a bit, but she refuses to listen, so we just try to make the most of her when she’s around! Although,” she added, “Luke keeps giving her lectures on safety. I think he just doesn’t like the idea of her roaming around the world on her own.”
“She does this on her own?” Tom asked, clearly taken aback as he’d assumed she went out with a team of people.
“Of course!” Lily laughed. “It’s not like it’s a film set, with a million and one people on tour. Her photography’s based on her getting close to animals in their natural habitats, so a whole load of people would just scare away the animals. Even I know that!”
“Hm,” Tom responded, “I think Luke has the right idea, if you ask me. It’s great that she’s doing what she loves, but wandering round the world on your own, literally in a wilderness, isn’t safe for anyone!”
Amused, Lily said, “Well, in that case, I’ll let you tell her that!”
“So I take it I’m going to get to meet Elise and... the last sister, Isabelle?”
“Maybe... if you’re nice!” Lily teased, amazed to find how natural it felt to joke with Tom, and tease him, after such a short amount of time.
Twisting her round, Tom took Lily’s wine glass to place it on the table. He tilted her head and slowly kissed her, taking time to explore her lips and softly nibble at her bottom lip. With a moan, Lily pressed herself closer to him. He edged backwards so she was angled over his body, reclining on the deep sofa. Nervously at first, Lily ran her hands over his broad shoulders, exploring the muscles underneath his cotton shirt. Then, gaining confidence, she trailed her fingertips around to his back, tracing the muscles where they ran below his shoulder blades.
With a groan, Tom deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth and running one hand to the small of her back, his fingers moving the length of her spine.
Lily’s legs fell on either side of one of Tom’s broad thighs and, although he was concentrating on her mouth, she could feel the tightening muscles of his thigh gather against where she was most sensitive.
As his fingers played their dance along her spine, and his mouth and tongue continued their assault on her senses, she felt her body tighten and knew that a telltale moisture was gathering between her legs.
Embarrassed, Lily pulled slightly away, her cheeks flaming at her obvious reaction to him.
“Hey,” Tom said softly, as he sat up on the sofa, his hair ruffled from her ministrations and his eyes slightly darker than usual, but otherwise still looking absolutely in control and clearly concerned about her. “Are you okay, Lily? Did I go too fast? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Her eyes widening, Lily protested at once. “You didn’t scare me, really you didn’t!”
“Then I moved too fast?”
“No!” again Lily protested. “You didn’t. Well, I know it was just a few kisses, it’s just that, well, I guess I don’t have as much experience as some of the women you’re probably used to...”
“Oh, Lily!” he said, and held out his arms to her and she instinctively scurried back into them. “If that was ‘just a few kisses,’ you could have fooled me. In that case, I probably won’t live through anything else you can dish out.”
Reaching out, he took her hand and held it up against his chest so she could hear the thud of his hand, definitely beating much quicker than what she guessed was normal.
“Hear that?” he asked.
Lily nodded, still looking deep into his eyes.
“That doesn’t happen with ‘just a few kisses.' That just happens with you, so don’t dismiss it, hm?” Lightly, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“And as for the experience,” he added sternly, “I’m a bit older than you and I can’t deny that there have been women in my past, but there hasn’t been anyone since I first set eyes on you six months ago. It’s you I’m interested in and I don’t want you making comparisons you know nothing about.”
Nervously, Lily chewed on her lower lip, wondering how much she should tell Tom about exactly how little experience she in fact had. It wasn’t that she was completely devoid of any knowledge, but the couple of boyfriends she had had just hadn’t been that serious and so she hadn’t wanted to take that final leap into the bedroom when she wasn’t sure the relationship had any potential. Blushing at the thought, she realised that the majority of her experience had come courtesy of her own hands and a couple of little toys she’d worked up the courage to buy online.
“Lily?” Tom tilted her head to meet his gaze once again, concern evident in his eyes.
Gulping, Lily figured she didn’t have much to lose. Her heart was, she knew, already with this man, and her body certainly ached for him. She’d have to tell him sooner or later anyway.
“Lily?” he asked again. “Answer me, what’s the matter?”
Hesitantly, she met his gaze. “I... well... I should probably tell you that I’ve never, well, that is, I haven’t...” Lily’s voiced trailed off, as she found herself unwilling to say the actual words.
Clearly confused, Tom gathered her closed to him.
“You’ve never what, Lily? You need to tell me what’s bothering you. Whatever it is, we can work it out, I promise you.” Tom’s voice and gaze sought to reassure her, as his hands rubbed her shoulders.
Drawing in a deep breath again, Lily said, “I’ve never... with a man... you know.”
The confusion that had been apparent in his eyes cleared and realisation hit.
“You mean you’re a virgin?”
Wincing at the word, Lily pulled a face and, not wanting him to think she was completely devoid of experience, stumbled without thinking, “Well... maybe... or not quite... that is, not with a man," and immediately felt her cheeks turn a
flaming red at her admittance.
“With a woman?” he asked, clearly surprised but not seeming particularly concerned.
“No!” Lily cried out, amazed that he would think that, but quite impressed that he seemed so relaxed at the idea.
“What? Well you said not with a man, so I figured maybe you’d experimented.”
“I meant with myself!” and pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks in mortification at the turn the conversation had taken.
“Oh!” Tom said, and a grin appeared on his face. “Well, we can definitely work with that, in that case.”
“You don’t mind?” Lily asked nervously, and immediately his grin softened and he gazed down at her.
“Oh Lily, how could you think I would mind? You silly thing,” he added, kissing her forehead. “I hadn’t expected that you would be a virgin. I’d imagined that there would have been some boyfriends in the past, but I don’t see why you would think I would be upset. Really?”
Relieved at his reaction, Lily felt herself relax. “Well, there were a few boyfriends but they were at university and then teacher training college, and I never thought they would last beyond that, so there was a part of me that didn’t want to commit myself in that way if I didn’t believe in the relationship. Then, later... well, I guess it’s harder to meet people when you’ve started work. I thought you might be upset that I didn’t have lots of experience in that way.”
Cuddling her to him, he kissed her lightly and stroked her hip through the black silk dress. “Not at all, little one. Never be worried about that. I’m just glad you told me. The last thing I’d want to do is move too quickly and scare you...”
“I told you! You didn’t scare me! I was just a bit nervous at how I was reacting, that was all...”
“Hm....” he said, “Okay, but you have to tell me if I move too fast or do anything you don’t like. Deal?”
“Deal,” she agreed, her heart swelling at the obvious tenderness in Tom’s gaze.
“But now, young lady…” Tom rose to his feet, picking her up with him and standing her up next to him. “We need to make a move out of here if we’re going to get to the restaurant in time. If you want, we can explore more of how you react to me later!”
Lily's Story, A Bentley Sisters Novel Page 6