He opens the top of the box. My breath is taken away by the most beautiful engagement ring I have ever seen. It’s a large emerald cut diamond set in a thin, platinum band. Simple. Elegant.
“But,” he winks, snaps the box shut, and suddenly rises and turns away. “Now is probably the wrong time for it all. Isn’t it? You need a proper refractory period to consider committing. I’ve sprung this upon you much too soon.”
“Jeremy, wait!” I exclaim, grabbing his hand and tugging him back. “You’re actually proposing? To me? Right now?”
He smiles coyly. “It’s not the spectacle you deserve, or the one I had planned,” he tells me. “But,” he smiles again, a beautiful smile full of warmth and love, “I could not wait. You pressed my hand.”
“Then yes!” I exclaim, breathless and still in disbelief. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Jeremy! Yes, I’ll be your wife.”
“You know,” he smiles. “I was hoping you’d say something like that.”
Then he takes the ring out, slides it on my finger, and kisses me long and hard.
Chapter Thirty-One
LILLY
I spend the rest of the day giddy as a teenager consumed by her first crush.
Dr. Telfair takes me away from Jeremy and runs his diagnostic tests. They pass in a blur. All I can think of is that I’m going to be Mrs. Stonehart. Me! Jeremy’s wife!
The absolute ludicrousness of the situation has not yet sunk in. Just a week ago I was certain I would never emerge from Hugh’s and Esteban’s grip alive. And now I’m here, in this beautiful estate, surrounded by acres of grapevines, about to become Mrs. Lilly Stonehart? It’s unbelievable.
In the evening, Jeremy and I dine alone.
“My brother said you need to walk to get your strength up,” he tells me. “I know a peaceful moonlit path we can take tonight, if you feel you’re ready?”
I set my fork down and think. I am already starting to feel somewhat run down. But I can’t deny myself the pleasure of spending more time in Jeremy’s—in my future husband’s—company.
“I would love that,” I tell him.
--
We finish eating and head out. Jeremy holds my hand as he leads me away from the estate. The night is warm and wonderful. It seems like the perfect time for new beginnings.
Once we’re out of range of the house’s many lights, I stop and turn him toward me. “Jeremy,” I say. “Let’s make love.”
A fire flashes in his eyes. It makes my heart positively dance with excitement.
But then it passes. He looks at me in earnest, all playfulness gone, completely serious now. “My brother told us we have to wait at least…”
“Fuck waiting!” I break in. “When have you ever waited before, Jeremy? Make love to me. I want you to! I want to feel you deep inside of me. Make love to me under the stars, in the full beauty of the night, so we can christen the day I said ‘yes’!”
Jeremy smiles fondly. He steps into me. Already, I feel him getting hard. “Well,” he growls, “when you put it that way…”
I’m swept off my feet as his mouth crashes into mine. He consumes me with a heated, passionate kiss. My hands run over his shoulders, his arms, and his back. I dig my nails in through his shirt. It makes him groan and step into me. His erection presses against my midriff. I want him inside me. Passion is burning hot in my body.
Suddenly, without warning, he breaks away. He looks down at me and cups my face. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I got carried away. You—you do that to me.” He chuckles, and runs a hand through his hair. “Shit, Lilly! I know you need me to be gentle. But if we start, I’m not sure I can hold back.” His voice becomes raspy. Raw. Strained and full of need. “We’ve…been apart…” He suppresses a deep growl in his throat. “…for so very long.”
“Don’t be gentle,” I tell him. I grab his hands. “I want you, Jeremy. I need you. I’m starved for you. I want all of you, unrestricted, full of passion. It’s all I’ve ever known you to be. And it’s…” I look at him through love-struck eyes. “…it’s what I crave, to wipe away all that I’ve endured.”
Then his mouth seals mine again. The next thing I know, we’re on the ground. I tug at his shirt, my hands fumbling to get it off. He rises up and helps me. His body looks glorious in the moonlight. My greedy hands rush to his belt. I unbuckle him and pull his pants down. There is his erection, full and hard and prominent. Everything I’ve ever known it to be.
I bite my lip.
Jeremy positions himself between my legs. “I’m going to be gentle at first,” he tells me. He leans down and kisses my jaw, then my forehead. “I’ll let you be in control. You tell me how fast I can go. It’s you, Lilly, you and your word. You and your comfort are most important to me right now. If you tell me to stop, I will. If you tell me you’re not ready…”
“Jeremy.” I cut him off mercilessly, just like he’s done so many times to me. “Shut up and fuck me.”
That innocent little phrase lights the fire in Jeremy’s eyes anew. “I warned you,” he growls. Then he pulls my panties aside and pushes into me.
I gasp in the sudden rush of pleasure. My back arches. I moan. Jeremy’s arms are supporting him on either side of my head. He presses into me, in full, in deeply, all the way my body will let him. He searches my face for my reaction. “Still good?” he whispers.
I nearly gnaw a hole in my lip. I screw my eyes shut, nod my head vigorously, and moan.
He seals his mouth over mine. His lips form the perfect mold. He holds himself like that, deep inside me, for a long, precious moment. I can feel his body starting to quiver with passion, all the lust that he’s fighting to keep in check.
I want him to let go. I need him to let go. But he was right: My body is not yet strong enough to handle him.
But fuck it. I’ve been starved for him for so long that I need him to make me his. I ache for the feeling of his hot cum all over my skin. I yearn to hear his primal grunts and roars as he loses himself in me completely.
“Jeremy,” I beg. “Just go. Please. Fuck me. Please. Don’t hold anything back.”
He rises up and touches my cheek with his finger. “Slowly, at first,” he promises, and then he pulls back.
He enters me again, so perfect, so caring. I gasp with each welcome intrusion. My hands grab his hips. I squeeze the hard muscles of his ass so tightly. I let him set the pace, and it feels wonderful.
Despite all our time apart, he still knows my body. He knows when I’m holding back. He knows the difference between that and when I commit myself to him fully.
The ebb has to be slow. Every time Jeremy pushes into me, I savor our connection. He builds into a steady rhythm that makes me moan against him. Rhythmic. Flowing. Gentle and compassionate.
I still need him to lose control. Even if I’m not physically ready for it, mentally, I need the assurance that I still mean to him as much as I did before. I need it so I can stop feeling broken. I need it so I know I am his.
The only way to do it? To give in completely.
So my moans become gasps, becomes cries. I urge him on without a single word, letting the natural sounds rise from me unabashed. The little cries. The pleasure-filled moans. All of them, only for him.
And in a single, glorious moment, I feel all my defenses strip away. My body opens itself for him.
Jeremy senses it. He growls and picks up the intensity. Now his hands are tightening on my skin, his hips pulling in and out of me at breakneck speed. Now his grunts fill my ears, those amazing erotic, guttural noises.
I cry out into the night. He pounds into me. Ecstasy consumes every fiber of my being. It’s laced with pain. But that pain is so minor, so utterly irrelevant compared to the heights Jeremy is spurring me toward. I pay it no mind.
He drops his head and feasts on my breasts. I tangle my hands in his hair and pull him close. He redoubles his efforts, pounding into me with even greater urgency. I feel the climax coming. My legs start to shake, my body almost writhes as it builds
from the distance and rushes toward me like a relentless landslide.
And then it crashes into me. I scream. I scream out into Jeremy’s body. I scream because I’m his. I scream because the pleasure is mixed with pain. I scream because I’m free. My body is free. My mind is free. I am giving myself in full—completely—to Jeremy Stonehart.
He roars and bursts into me. Hot, searing cum fills my insides. My body goes limp. I’m exhausted, but oh so satiated, and oh so very happy.
Jeremy collapses on top of me. We both come down from our high. Our breathing slows, and he whispers in my ear:
“I love you, Mrs. Stonehart.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
LILLY
The next day, I wake up feeling groggy and weak. I am paying the price for giving in last night. My reward for succumbing to the desire that Jeremy Stonehart evoked in me? Frailty. Thinness.
I feel grainy, like I got too little sleep.
I look at the clock on the wall of the bedroom. It shows 2:00 p. m.
I do a double take. 2:00 p.m.? That means I’ve been out cold for almost fourteen hours! And still I feel so tired.
I throw a pillow over my eyes. For a while, I consider going back to sleep. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t hurt. Maybe I should have heeded to Dr. Telfair’s advice.
I catch myself thinking those thoughts, and a sneaky smile fills my lips. It was worth it, I decide, because it was with Jeremy.
Not wanting to spend another minute alone, unwilling to lose any amount of time being around the wonderful man, I gather my strength, get out of bed, and rise to find him.
The first person I see in the hall is not Jeremy but his brother.
A scowl, familiar to me from the time I knew Jeremy as Stonehart marks his face.
“You did not heed my instructions,” he tells me.
I bristle. “Excuse me?”
“Last night. I know what you and Jeremy did.”
I nearly gape at him. “Do you, now? And so what?”
“I warned you against physical intimacy so soon,” he tells me. “Things like that can trigger a relapse.”
“What?”
“A relapse, Lilly. That is the crux of everything I am trying to prevent with you. To keep you safe, mentally…” He stresses the word. “…is my utmost concern. If you cannot or are unwilling to follow my instructions, if I do not have your trust, then this endeavor is an exercise in futility. I cannot help you recover if you do not listen to me.”
Anger starts to build within me. Who is this man to speak to me like this?
I open my mouth to say exactly that…and suddenly feel faint.
Without warning, my knees give out.
Dr. Telfair moves fast to catch me.
I cling to him, blinking a few times to get to get through the unsteadiness. Then I try to push myself off.
He does not let me.
“I’m fine,” I mutter. “Let me go.”
“You’re not fine, Lilly,” he stresses. “You’re weakened. Your body is not ready to handle more stress.” He starts walking me down the hall, back to my room.
“You condition,” he says, after depositing me in bed, “is very fragile. You have to understand that. I have to know that—no matter how strong you feel, no matter how you think you are—you will not push past the pace I am setting. I can see things objectively, Lilly. I see that you love my brother. I see that he would do anything for you.
“But,” he stresses, “I am the one you have to rely on, not my brother. I know what is happening to you. I can judge your recovery dispassionately. I truly believe that I can help you heal.”
His eyes hone in on me in a way eerily similar to Jeremy’s gaze. “For that to happen, I need your absolute trust. And it’s not a one-way street, Lilly. I have to know that you trust me. That you believe in the regimen I’ve set up for you. That you do not deviate from what we agreed upon…”
He trails off and rubs his eyes. “Lilly. It’s imperative that you listen to me. Absolutely imperative. If you do not…” He shakes his head. “…Then, I cannot help you.”
“If you’re trying to guilt me into it, you’ve done a mighty fine job,” I mumble. “Fine, Dr. Telfair. I accept your conditions. And I apologize for giving you reason to doubt me. It won’t…” I sigh. “…it won’t happen again. Not ever.”
“Good,” he says. He starts to rise. “I’m glad we got that settled.”
“Wait,” I say, before he can leave. “Where’s Jeremy? Where did he go?”
“Jeremy left to grant me the space I needed to speak with you,” the doctor says. “I spoke to him, as well. He agreed to the conditions that I laid out.”
“What conditions?” I ask.
“No sex. No physical intimacy for at least another week,” he says calmly. “Your body needs rest, Lilly. You cannot give it that if he keeps you up all night.”
My cheeks flush red. “You heard?” I ask abashed.
He gives a small smile. “Just be glad I’m the only one on the property,” he answers with a wink.
“Wait,” I say. “Dr. Telfair you said, ‘relapse’. What did you mean?”
“The drugs…” he says heavily, “…that were administered to you in captivity were very, very powerful. The injection serum I developed wards off the worst, so long as it remains in your system. But it is not complete. It is not guaranteed; nor is it bulletproof. It relies on your power of mind, your strength of will, to exert its full effects. You, in fact, play the largest role in fending off the illusions. You’ll always have to fight them. As a result?” He frowns. “A relapse is a distinct possibility—especially right now, in the immediate aftermath. It is not the time to test your limits. We need to establish a baseline, Lilly. A baseline for your health. Once we have that, I can grant you more leeway in your allowed activities. But before?” He shakes his head. “I have to monitor you closely. Do you understand why? You’re not home free yet, Lilly. We have a long and potentially arduous journey ahead of us. The only thing I can promise—and on this, you have my word—is that I will do everything in my power to see you safely to the other side. For that to happen, I must—absolutely must—have your unwavering trust.”
It’s freaky just how much, in moments of intensity like this, Dr. Telfair reminds me of his brother.
“I understand,” I say softly. I hang my head. “And I appreciate what you are doing. How much you’ve given up to work with me.” I feel my resolve building once more. I look up, meet his eyes, and adopt the tone I used to use when addressing Stonehart. “I will not disappoint you again. Last night was a lapse. A poor judgment call. If you need my trust, you have it. I will do a better job of showing it to you in the future.”
“Good,” he says. His face softens, and he smiles. “But don’t beat yourself up over it, kid. Yesterday was a momentous occasion. I understand congratulations are in order, Mrs. Stonehart?”
With that, he nods, and leaves me alone.
--
Jeremy comes up a few minutes later carrying a tray of food.
“How did it go?” he asks me solemnly.
I frown at him. “How did what go?”
“The talk, with my brother?” Jeremy asks. “He was not happy with me when he found me this morning.”
“We sorted it out,” I say, a little smugly.
“Did he yell at you?” Jeremy asks. His jaw tightens. “You know what my attitude is toward men who raise their voices—especially around women.”
“No.” I say. “He was very cordial.”
Jeremy exhales a deep breath. “Thank God,” he tells me. “I had no way of predicting what he might do. We grew up in different homes. He does not share the same distastes as I.” Then Jeremy confesses, almost the way a schoolboy would admit to wrongdoing before the principal. “He yelled at me.”
I burst out laughing.
“Hey!” Jeremy protests, all mock indignation now. “The only person I fear more than you is my brother.”
“You f
ear me?” I scooch forward, eager now. “Oh! This I have to hear.”
“Of course I fear you,” Jeremy says, sitting on the bed and feeding me peeled grapes. “I fear what you think of me. I fear that I do not deserve your love, having failed you so absolutely. I fear doing something inadvertently, unintentionally, and spooking you away. I fear the return of the monster in your eyes.”
“Jeremy! Stop!” I tell him firmly. I press my lips tight against the grape he tries to feed me. “You can never revert to that. I love you completely. You’ve consumed me fully. There is no one else who is or ever will be the equal to you.” I flash my engagement ring. “And I’ve already committed to you. Or have you forgotten.”
“Never.” Jeremy says. He moves in to kiss me with such passion in his eyes…
But then he stops. He pulls back, just millimeters from my face. He closes his eyes, sighs, and leans his forehead against mine. “Right,” he breathes, then briefly touches my lips with his, and pulls away.
I am struck by such monstrous yearning for him that I do not know what to do with myself.
Jeremy stands up, feeding me my meal forgotten. His hands tighten into fists. “I’m sorry, Lilly,” he says. “I know I’m testing you. But I cannot resist. I’ll exert better self-control from now on. I swear.”
I don’t want you to, I want to say. Instead, I bite my lip and nod my head.
“But I can’t stay,” Jeremy tells me. “I need some time alone. To train, maybe. Work out. Clear my mind.” He smiles at me. “You rest. I’ll be back soon.”
With that, he leaves me alone.
--
I spend the rest of the day drifting in and out of sleep.
Dr. Telfair visits me before Jeremy returns. He brings a heavy laptop with him. He attaches a set of electrode tabs to my forehead, plugs the other end into his computer, and tells me to relax as he studies my brainwaves.
Uncovering You: The Complete Series (Mega Box Set) Page 109