The Apartment (An Apartment Novel Book 1)

by Amanda Black

  It’s just sex, Lily! Get over it. Just enjoy it while it lasts, have a good cry when it’s over, and go back to your real life. Scott will still be here, and you can learn to make it work.

  That was her practical side speaking up. Every day it worked its hardest to trample her emotional side into the dirt. Although she knew it was right, she couldn’t help but be shocked at how cool and calculating she was being toward Scott. Yes, she would hate to stir things up for nothing, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that stringing him along was wrong.

  “Yoo-hoo, Lily?” She blinked a few times and realized that Scott was waving his hand in front of her face. “Where were you just now?”

  “She was doing that earlier,” George explained as she tried to hide her blush. “I told her that I could practically hear the wedding bells chiming in her brain.”

  “Oh really?” Scott smiled.

  “Yep, I caught her right there daydreaming in front of the stove. Say, when are you two kids gonna finally set a date?” George was on his second helping of casserole; the salad was still sitting on his plate untouched.

  “Well, it’s a funny thing you should mention that,” he returned with a big smile. Reaching into his pocket, he turned to face Lily. “Okay, I told you months ago that I was going to do this. I bet you thought I forgot, but I’ve just been trying to save up some money.” He held out his hand to her, and inside it was a small maroon box.

  She stared at it for a moment, not quite sure what was happening.

  “Go ahead, silly. Open it up.” He held it closer to her, an expectant look on his face.

  Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Lily took the small box between her fingers, trying to ignore the sinking feeling of dread as she opened the lid. Inside the satin lining sat a small, delicate diamond ring. It certainly wasn’t the biggest diamond she’d ever seen, but she had never cared about that before, and that wasn’t why she was unhappy about it.

  “Scott… this is too much. You didn’t have to do this.”

  “Oh, hush up,” he scolded, grabbing the box around her fingers and taking out the ring. “I told you that one day I would put a diamond on this finger,” he said, sliding it into place on her ring finger. “There, that looks much better.” He smiled up at her. “Now everyone can see that you’re my girl.”

  “Well it’s about damn time, kid,” George said, clapping him on the back. Lily was still staring at her hand, dumbfounded, as if she were waiting for the ring to start screaming at her, telling her she was a filthy liar.

  “Don’t you like it?” Scott’s voice was tinged with worry. He had finally bothered to pay attention to the look on her face.

  “Of course I do,” she said automatically, unable to ignore the driving need to keep everyone happy. “I, uh, just wish you hadn’t blown all your money on me.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he dismissed her, pulling her hand close and leaning down to kiss it quickly. “I should have had it when I first asked you. And now that it finally looks official, I feel so much better about setting a date. What do you think of October? Maybe the twentieth?”

  “Um…” She looked back and forth from George to Scott at matching looks of anticipation on their faces. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Hot damn, it’s a date!” Scott jumped up and pulled her to her feet, hugging her tightly. Her father watched them with a smile, his eyes suspiciously wet.

  Lily couldn’t wait for the night to be over.

  Chapter 12

  “Tell me about the first time you ever had sex.” Her voice was a quiet whisper in the bedroom, but it was enough to drag him back from the brink of his light slumber.

  “Mmm… what?” Ethan had just begun to dream about luscious pink lips and silky brown locks, but the soft voice beside him was much more enticing.

  “You heard me,” Lily blushed. “Tell me about the first time you ever had sex.” She was determined to get him to open up this time and had spent the entire night and all day at work thinking of different things to ask him.

  What she hadn’t counted on was the dark look that crossed over his features.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Please?” She couldn’t keep the pout from her lips as she rolled over and propped herself up on his chest.

  He took a deep breath and sighed loudly, looking into the eyes that had filled his every waking thought lately. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Well… because. You keep asking me new questions every day. It’s getting a little one-sided.”

  He ran his hand through his hair in frustration before resting it on her bare back, slowly stroking a circular pattern between her shoulder blades. “It’s just that it isn’t really a fond memory for me.”

  “Come on,” Lily coaxed. “You keep saying that we can tell each other anything here. Don’t pussy out on the first thing I ask you.”

  “You’re a sassy little bitch when you want to be, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she smiled. “Now spill it. Were you young and impressionable? Was it an older woman who was eager to teach you? I’m dying to know.”

  Ethan was quiet for so long that Lily thought he wasn’t going to reply. She laid her head down on his chest and huffed, only to be surprised by his velvety voice near her ear.

  “It was my—” The word “manager” stuck in his throat. She didn’t deserve that title any more. “College sweetheart, for lack of a better term. At least, I was still in college.”

  Lily flipped back over and faced him again. “Not until college? You?”

  “Yeah, almost the end of school, actually. What can I say, I was a late bloomer.” His smile was wickedly sexy, but she refused to let him distract her.

  “What made you wait so long?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that I was waiting. I was always interested, but I was ungodly shy. I covered up my insecurities by becoming a pretentious snob, and I let people think that nobody was good enough for me.”

  “Hmm,” Lily mused. “I probably would have just assumed you were gay.”

  “Excuse me?” The instant arch in his eyebrow made her giggle loudly.

  “Well, come on, look at you! Any time someone that gorgeous doesn’t date in school, it usually means they are hiding a secret longing for other pretty boys.”

  “And you’re an expert on the homosexual community, are you?”

  “No, not at all, but it seemed that most of the attractive guys who didn’t date at my high school were living loud and proud by the time I ran into them again a few years down the road.”

  He thought for a moment before chuckling. “Maybe that would explain why so many guys used to wink at me when nobody was looking.”

  “Can’t say I blame them. I bet you were delicious even then.” She leaned down and kissed his chest, flicking her tongue over one of his flat, dusky nipples, causing it to pebble up.

  “So, some woman finally got her hooks in you?” she prodded.

  Ethan sighed again, stroking her back more firmly. “If you only knew how appropriate that statement really was.”

  “Bad relationship?”

  “To put it mildly,” he whispered. His thoughts went back to the first time he had ever seen Rachel, working at Sullivan Galleries for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She had been the one to help him organize his first college exhibition. “She was so striking, so glamorous. She was older than me and way more experienced. She intimidated the shit out of me, so of course I went out of my way to avoid her. Well, she must have seen me as a challenge or something, because she hunted me down like prey.”

  Lily suddenly didn’t want to hear any more—not about this particular woman, at least. The thought of anyone else having their way with him was disturbing enough, invoking a jealousy that surprised her, but she could tell that something really bad had occurred in his past. It made her want to hunt down the skank who was responsible and rip her arms off before beating her with them.

  “Okay, different q
uestion,” she smiled, leaning over to kiss his other nipple. “What’s your favorite position?”

  Happy to be changing topics, Ethan’s mood lightened immediately. His smile nearly blinded her with its brightness. “Do I really have to pick just one?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that depends,” he pondered.

  “On what?”

  “On what your goals are,” he explained. “Are we talking about favorite position for oral, or for actual sex? And there are different favorites for different reasons. One position might be my favorite for how intimate it is, while another one is my favorite for deeper penetration. There are lots of things to consider before making a statement about favorites.”

  “Oh… my.” Lily’s eyes were nearly crossing from the instant rush of heat between her legs. “I guess I never really thought about it like that.”

  “Would you care for a demonstration?” he asked.

  “Oh, I think that’s a definite yes.” She could barely keep the drool off her chin.

  “Alright, then, get up on your knees for me.” Lily complied quickly, looking down at him with a question in her eye. “Now, turn around and face my feet.” When she did so, she was happy to notice that he was fully aroused again. “Good girl. Now scoot over here and straddle me, right over my face.”

  “Really?” she whispered, lifting her leg over him until it was settled on the other side of his head. “Are you sure about this?” She had always wanted to try this position but had been too embarrassed to ask for it in the past.

  “Fuck yes,” he groaned deeply.

  She felt his hands come up to grab her hips and pull her down, lining her up closer to his mouth. She waited for him to either say something or do something, but he lay very still for almost an entire minute. The only sound that could be heard in the room was his heavy breathing that was beginning to sound like panting. She could even feel his warm breath landing on her sensitive skin.

  “Is… is there something wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Lily called back behind her.

  “No,” he said quietly, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Matter of fact, I don’t think this could be more perfect. You have the most beautiful, delicious pussy.”

  “Oh.” She blushed, thrilling at his praise.

  “Now let me show you my favorite position for oral,” he growled deeply before digging his fingertips into the flesh of her hips and pulling her down roughly against his mouth. The first warm, wet sweep of his tongue along her slick skin made her buck in surprise, but he held her there firmly with his hands, refusing to let her squirm away from him.

  “Holy shit!” she screamed, not fully prepared for his onslaught.

  At the first taste of her honey on his tongue he snarled so loudly that it echoed off the walls. He began lapping at her dripping center, losing himself in the act of devouring her. When he felt her juices run down his chin he wanted to cry out in satisfaction.

  When Lily was able to gather her wits enough to focus on the task at hand, she reached forward and wrapped her fingers around the thick base of his shaft, amazed at how firm such soft skin could feel. He moaned beneath her at the contact, and the vibrations from his mouth did unspeakable things to her body.

  She leaned over and brought his erection closer to her, rubbing the tip of it over her lips back and forth a few times before flicking at it with her tongue. He thrust his hips up in response, seeking out the warm depths of her talented mouth. When she finally parted her lips and sucked him inside, they both moaned at the sensation, which sent even more vibrations coursing through each of them.

  The next few minutes were full of noises that wouldn’t sound very appealing anywhere outside of the bedroom: slurping, grunting, panting, and moaning. Lily squirmed against him as her release washed over her in waves, the throaty groan that she let loose wrapping itself around his erection and making him see stars.

  “Scoot forward,” Ethan commanded, smacking her lightly on the ass to get her moving. She reluctantly released him from her mouth and slid farther down his body. As soon as she had cleared his shoulders he put his hands around her waist and lifted her up, setting her down on his lap. Her wet folds were right above him then, sliding along the underside of his cock, which was trapped between their two bodies. “Oh God,” he groaned. “You’re so fucking wet.”

  “That’s entirely your fault.” She would have laughed at how easy he was to tease if she wasn’t so busy sliding herself against the length of him, driving them both crazy. He maneuvered his hand between them and positioned himself at her dripping entrance.

  “Now… sit down on me. I need to be inside you right now.”

  Lily flexed her hips and sat up, sinking down on him in one thrust. She arched her back and cried out, amazed by how full she felt.

  “This,” he panted, “This is one of my favorite positions for deeper penetration. Do you feel the difference?” He thrust up into her more forcefully, loving the way her hungry body pulled and gripped him from the inside.

  “Yes!” she gasped, unsure of how long she would be able to keep her sanity. He held onto her hips tightly, pulling her down on him as he pushed up. After a few more thrusts Lily fell forward, bracing herself by her hands on the mattress between his legs.

  “Don’t tell me you’re done already,” he growled behind her, his thrusts never stopping. “I need to feel you come on me again, as many times as you can before I can’t hold it back anymore.” She moaned and started pushing back into him harder. “Yes! You feel so fucking good!”

  Lily felt her beautiful stranger’s hand sliding back away from her hip, toward where they were connected. She could feel his fingers slipping around between them, rubbing her clit a few times and pulling back again. She wasn’t quite sure what he was doing until she felt his wet fingertips circling around her rear entrance.

  “Has anyone ever been inside here before?” he asked her, his own moans betraying how excited he was.

  “No,” she panted, the word barely audible.

  “Never? Be honest.”

  “No, never!”

  She felt his fingers applying more pressure as they circled the delicate opening, coaxing it gently until she felt one single fingertip slip inside the tiniest bit.

  “Well we will have to fix that one day. I’m going to claim every single part of you, do you understand?”

  “Yes!” she cried out, feeling his finger slide the rest of the way in. He was unbelievably gentle given their awkward positioning and the fact that he was on the brink of his own volcanic orgasm, and the most amazing feeling of dual stimulation sent Lily over the edge. Her entire body clamped down on him, gripping him so tightly he had to bite back a scream.

  When her shaking finally stopped he pushed her forward a bit until he could pull out, grabbing her quickly and pulling her down to the mattress. “Lie back… fuck, I’m so close… I need to see you when I come.”

  He flipped over and crawled on top of her, grabbing her legs and wrapping them high around his waist. He quickly guided himself back to her entrance, sinking back inside her slowly. Her body was so tired, but she welcomed him eagerly, feeling like he belonged deep inside her.

  Ethan got up on his knees, arching over her body to kiss her panting mouth. When he pulled away he whispered against her lips. “This is my favorite position for intimacy.” He kissed her again. “I want you to keep your eyes open. Look at me, baby.”

  He slid his hands down her arms and grabbed her by the wrists, bringing them up and pinning them to the mattress beside her head. She opened her hands in invitation, and Ethan wrapped his fingers around hers, holding her hands tightly while he continued to thrust.

  She watched him closely, his beautiful face so full of need that she felt choked up with emotion. Suddenly his focus shifted, and she felt his fingers grip her left hand tighter.

  “What the fuck is this?” he panted, stopping his movements and turning her hand over to examine it. When Lily realized what he was talking about he
r eyes went wide and followed his gaze.

  The ring. She had totally forgotten that it was still on her hand.

  She looked back at him and was startled to find that anger had replaced his look of bliss. “I asked you a question,” he said coldly.

  “It’s just a stupid ring,” she whispered, her voice faltering. “It doesn’t mean anything to me when we’re here.”

  “Take it off. Right now.” He released her hands long enough to let her pull the offending object off and toss it on the floor. “Now look at me.” He grabbed her hands again, lacing his fingers between hers once more. “You will never wear that fucking thing in here again, do you understand me?”

  “I’m sorry… you said you didn’t care,” she tried to explain, not understanding why he was reacting so harshly.

  “No, I said I didn’t want to know. I don’t give a shit what goes on outside this room, but I don’t want to know about it! Do you see the difference?”

  She didn’t, really, but if he was okay with pretending the outside world didn’t exist, then that was just fine with her. Her happiest moments had been in this room, away from her boring life.

  “Answer me!”

  Lily closed her eyes and nodded, and he began to move inside her again, this time much more roughly. She wanted to cry at her stupidity, ruining such a beautiful moment by being so forgetful. She was shocked to feel his lips on hers again, kissing her frantically, his hands gripping her fingers even tighter.

  “Don’t cry,” he gasped against her mouth between his kisses. “Please don’t cry…” She began kissing him back and he moaned, his hands shaking in hers. “Open your eyes… please… I need to see you.”

  As soon as their eyes met he started thrusting harder, kissing her again and again.

  “I need you to understand,” he panted. “When we are here… you are mine. Mine!”

  Lily started moving faster with him, meeting him thrust for thrust, scared by how turned on his words were making her. Their eyes remained locked on each other, the only interruptions his possessive kisses that she eagerly returned.