by Juliet Woods
Damn. She must have had a run-in with Lily.
I charge into the women’s restroom, calling for Lily – it’s empty. I see a side exit at the end of the hallway, and cover the distance in wide, furious steps, throwing open the door.
There’s Lily, leaning against the side of the building, her eyes closed and her forehead crinkled in an expression of worry.
I rush to stand beside her, pulling her against my chest.
“Lily, are you all right? Did Vivian say something to you?”
She opens her eyes, which are watery and red. Looking up at me, she appears so innocent and pure, almost angelic. She bites her lip, weighing what to tell me.
“It’s OK, I know she cornered you,” I assure her.
She nods, looking down. She takes a deep breath and begins, her voice quivering.
“She said that I didn’t belong here, and the judge would see through it all, and you’d lose Masie.”
Fuck Vivian is the only coherent thought that comes to my mind. She’s going down.
I look down at Lily and I feel her pain. Vivian’s words really shook her up. She’s so sweet to worry about me and my daughter.
“Shit, Lily, I’m sorry that happened. I should have been there with you – I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”
She sniffs, and I brush away a tear from her cheek. “But what if she’s right? What if the judge can see through this marriage, and you lose your daughter?”
I pull her into me again. “Shhh, don’t say that. I’m not going to lose Masie. Harry’s a great lawyer, and I know he’s going to pull it off.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“Vivian’s right about one thing,” I say.
Lily pulls away and looks at me with hurt in her eyes.
“You’re not one of these people. You’re better than they are, and that’s why I like you.”
She gives me a wan smile.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say.
She nods, wiping her cheeks again and taking a deep breath.
“I almost got through the night without a panic attack,” she says. “But not quite. Vivian set me off.”
“Vivian could give a Zen monk a panic attack,” I joke. “She has a very abrasive effect on people. It’s not just you.”
Her hands go to her hair, smoothing it back into place, straightening her dress out.
“Hey,” I say. “Thanks for doing this. For coming here. For everything.”
She smiles at me, nodding. “You’re welcome.”
We return arm in arm to the banquet hall. I notice that Vivian is nowhere in sight – no doubt she ran like a coward before I could catch up to her.
We take our leave of our dinner companions and exit through the main doors, walking back out into the night air. I’m probably just as relieved to escape the whole affair as Lily.
I try not to show it to Lily, but my stomach is a tense knot after hearing what Vivian told her. Worry and fear about the custody case, anger that Vivian would stoop so low as to try to steal my daughter away from me, and white fury that she confronted my wife – it all stews inside me.
Lily is quiet on the ride home. I wonder if Vivian said something more to her that upset her. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she had.
I sigh, thinking of how thoroughly Vivian fucked up the evening. I silently vow to make everything better. I’m just not sure how yet.
Chapter 20
Lily
Vivian’s words hang over me like a dark storm cloud. “He’ll drop you so fast your head will spin.”
I look up at him as he hold the door to his penthouse open. He doesn’t seem like the type to just use me and spit me out. But what do I know about men? I’ve heard so many times of girls I know being mistreated by men, being used by them and then left to blow in the wind when the guy gets what he wants. Usually sex, but I suppose a marriage by convenience would fit into that category as well.
I decide I need to keep my emotions separate. This is just a business arrangement, and I can’t get all lovesick over Ethan when I don’t know how long our relationship will even last.
I tell him goodnight, keeping my distance, and retreat to my bedroom as Ethan pays the nanny and lets her out.
Masie’s already in bed, fast asleep at this late hour. We’ve been careful the past week to maintain the appearance of us sharing a bedroom – it hasn’t been hard since she goes to bed before either of us, and she doesn’t tend to go into Ethan’s bedroom when she wakes up. I cringe, remembering my initial hope that we would share a bedroom. That’s obviously not going to happen since Ethan apparently is not interested in me.
I pace back and forth across the Oriental rug in my bedroom, still wearing my formal dress, but now barefoot, relieved to kick off my heels.
But he must be interested in me! What about the kiss the other day, and the kiss tonight? And his protectiveness when he found me after Vivian cornered me? He must have some kind of feelings for me.
What does he see me as? A girl he’s married to save his daughter? Does he intend to divorce me as soon as this is all over? Or does he want more?
I decide I can’t wait much longer – I have to talk to him about this. Now. Tell him my concerns. He said I could always talk to him, after all.
I hear him moving around his bedroom next door. My heart pounding, my stomach tense with nervousness, I summon my courage and leave my room.
As soon as I’ve quietly knocked on his door, I regret it. The fear bubbles up in my throat – what will I say to him? What if he laughs at me for thinking that we could be anything more than married for convenience? What if he scoffs at my childish fantasy?
I turn to leave, hoping that he hasn’t heard me. But just at that moment, his door opens.
He’s standing there with his dress shirt unbuttoned, hanging loosely around his torso. I try to summon all my willpower to keep my eyes focused on his face, but it’s futile – I can’t help it when they flit down to his chiseled, muscular chest and defined abs, his smooth, lean stomach above the waistband of his pants. I feel butterflies in my stomach, and this time it’s not from my usual anxiety. It’s because he’s so much hotter underneath his shirt than I ever even imagined.
Finally, I’m able to force my gaze to meet his own. He’s got an amused look on his face. Shit, he caught me checking him out. Not that he could have exactly missed my eyes examining every inch of his exposed flesh.
“I – I, uh...” I stammer. God, of course I would be tongue-tied right now.
“You wanted something?” he asks, still smiling.
“I’m sorry – you’re busy. It can wait until morning,” I say, turning to retreat in shame to my bedroom.
But he grabs my arm. “It seems like it couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t you want to come in and tell me about it?”
He releases my arm and opens his door wider, gesturing for me to enter.
I gulp as I enter his bedroom. His lair. It’s so masculine and imposing, just as I’d imagined it would be.
“What’s going on, Lily?” He pulls his tie off and disappears in the closet for a moment, apparently to put his shoes and tie away. He leaves his shirt as it is.
“Well, it – it was something Vivian said tonight. I guess I didn’t tell you everything she said.”
I look down at my hands.
“I kind of had that feeling,” he says in an understanding tone of voice. “You know you can tell me everything.”
I nod. “She said that after this is all over, you’d leave me.”
I suddenly feel so embarrassed. That was the agreement, after all, right? This is not a real marriage made out of love and commitment.
Ethan stares at me, silent. Please say something, I think.
“God, I feel so stupid. Of course that was the plan all along,” I say. “We got married for your daughter, so why should I expect… anything more...” my voice trails off.
I stand to leave, feeling as low as I possibly could. I�
��ve worked myself all up, building this whole thing up into something it’s not.
He grabs my arm again. “Stop. Don’t go.” He holds both my arms, making me look at him straight on.
“Lily, I don’t know what will happen, to be honest. I do know that I care for you very much.”
I look into his eyes, searching for something. I don’t even know what I’m looking for.
“I can’t make any predictions about the future. We only just met a couple of weeks ago, remember? But I can tell you that my feelings for you are growing by the day. I don’t know where this is going to lead. But I can promise you that I won’t just leave you hanging. I’m not just using you. I care for you deeply. Do you understand?”
I nod, although I’m not sure I do understand. Not totally. But then again, I don’t really even understand my own feelings, so how can I expect to understand his?
And then, I find whatever it is I’m looking for in his eyes. My heart recognizes it, though my brain can’t make sense of it. But some part of me sees something familiar in him – some kind of warmth.
He releases my shoulders, moving his arms to surround me and pull me against his hot body. He moves his hand to my cheek, stroking my jaw with his thumb. I hold my breath, waiting, watching him, and listening to the air flow out of his open mouth.
Suddenly his lips brush up against mine, and my lips part, letting him in. My arms circle his head and shoulders, pulling him closer into me. His hands trail down my back, stopping at my hips, his fingers pulling me against him. Slowly, he reaches over my shoulders and pull my arms back down to my sides.
He pulls away from me, panting. “I want to see you.”
He looks me over, then turns me gently around, kissing the back of my neck and shoulders. His breath is hot, and the stubble on his jaw prickles my bare skin. I gasp, silently pleading for more. I need it. I need him.
He unzips my dress, then slides it off my shoulder and bust, pulling it all the way down over my hips. It falls to the floor. He steps up against my backside and thrusts his hips against my ass.
He’s erect – and enormous.
The length of his cock sliding against my ass cheeks sends a chill down my spine. Is this really going to happen? Is he going to put that inside me? And will it even fit?
Ethan wraps his arms around my body, moving his palms over my belly and up to cradle my breasts, still covered in my strapless bra. I feel his tongue glide over my shoulders, licking and biting me.
He moves his hands back to unhook my bra, letting it fall to the floor as well. The cool air makes my nipples even harder than they already were, and they point upward.
“Turn around,” he commands in a deep voice.
I feel shy turning around and standing before him with only my panties on, and I look at the floor. But he lifts my chin up with his hand, making me look him in the eye, and takes a step back. Looks at me from head to toe.
It’s a little scary, but unbelievably sexy. I feel a warm flood of wetness trickle onto my panties.
“You’re stunning, Lily.”
He smiles, watching me blush.
He takes his shirt off, revealing his smooth, perfect body. I want to run my hands all over his tight, rippling muscles. I want to taste his skin, to feel it next to my own.
All of a sudden I’m in his arms. He picks me up, holding me up by my hips, and I wrap my legs around his tight, smooth torso. A rush of adrenaline surges through my veins. He kisses me again as I press my hands against his shoulders. I love being held by him. I love how he has control over my body like this.
He carries me over to his bed where he lays me down gently and kisses me once more. I gasp for air. I have to tell him now, though part of me fears it will turn him off, and I definitely don’t want this to end.
“Ethan – I’m a virgin.”
A devilish grin spreads over his face.
“I know.”
“But how did you --”
His mouth covers mine before I can finish the question, then moves down over my neck and chest. I moan, feeling so turned on right now.
“It’s a sixth sense,” he smiles as he flicks his tongue over my hard nipple, tracing the other one with his finger. He cups my breasts and jiggles them a little.
“Has anyone ever touched you here before?”
I shake my head no, looking down to see him nuzzling his face in the flesh of my breasts.
“It feels good,” I say.
“I love that I’m the first one to touch your hot little body.”
His kisses move down, down over my stomach, and he stops at my panties and looks up at me questioningly.
I nod my head. I’ll beg if he wants – I just don’t want him to stop.
He strokes me between my legs over my panties, then begins to pull them down over my hips and off completely.
“Has anyone touched you here?” He smiles, playing now.
I shake my head no again, feeling shy and keeping my legs closed.
He kisses me all over my legs and hips, his hands moving hungrily over my body. I arch my back and moan.
Then he parts my legs, opening them wide. I feel so exposed, but at the same time proud of my body and thrilled that he seems to be enjoying it so much.
He kisses and caresses my inner thighs, then he lightly begins to open up my folds, getting his fingers wet and slippery.
“I love how wet you are for me, Lily,” he groans. “I want to taste you.”
He moves his head between my legs, and I feel his tongue lick my soft, delicate folds – softly at first, then more forcefully.
I suck in air through my teeth and look down at him. It feels more amazing than I ever expected.
He moves up to lick my clit, kissing and flicking his tongue over it. I grab his hair, holding him tight against me, grinding into him even. Then he moves his mouth back down to my opening while rubbing my throbbing little bud, and it sends me over the edge. All the pressure building up starts to explode. My legs lock up, my muscles contract, and tremors pulsate through my body. I moan and whimper as the sensation rocks through my body like waves hitting the beach… wave after wave.
When the waves finally stop, I open my eyes to see Ethan looking down at me, a smile on his face.
“That was so fucking hot,” he says.
I smile sheepishly. I’ve had orgasms on my own before, but nothing like this.
I want more.
Ethan unbuckles his belt and removes his pants. My eyes go wide as I see his cock spring out of his boxers and all my suspicions were correct – it’s enormous.
“Can I touch it?” I ask.
He nods.
I touch it with one finger, then hold it in my palm. It’s warm, heavy, and rock-hard. And long: very long.
“Will it – will it fit?” I ask quietly.
He grins, kneeling on the bed beside me. “It’ll fit. I promise I won’t hurt you, Lily.” He kisses me slowly, erotically.
“First I need to stretch you out a little with my finger, OK?”
I nod, biting my lip.
He moves his finger down to my swollen pussy, still wet and quivering from the oral sex. He wiggles it at my entrance, slowly pushing it in, then thrusting gently in and out. I grip his shoulders, arching my back and feeling another orgasm starting to build up. He stops before I can climax, though, and I moan in frustration.
“Are you ready for me?”
“Yes,” I say. “Just go slow.”
He grabs a condom from the bedside table drawer and rolls it down his bulging length. Positioning himself over me, he lines the head of his cock against me. Lowering his chest to graze my nipples, he pushes the very tip of the head against my inner folds. Tightness and burning take over the landscape of my mind, and I close my eyes and dig my fingers into his shoulders, whimpering.
“Are you OK?”
I nod. “I’m ready.”
I take a deep breath as he pushes a bit more inside. There’s a sharp pin prick of pain and bur
ning as he does this, then a wet sensation. I realize it’s my hymen breaking.
“Is – is it OK?” I ask.
Ethan nods. “More than OK. Your little pussy is perfect for my cock. You’re so fucking hot and tight. I’ll go slow, OK, baby?”
I nod, happy that he likes the way I feel. I’m perfect for his cock. The thought sends a thrill of excitement coursing through my body. I want to be perfect for him. I want to please him.
He takes my upper lip into his mouth, then kisses me slowly. The pain subsides, and he works his enormous length inside me, bit by bit.
I moan to feel his length throbbing inside me. It’s so much, so overpowering.
He pauses and kisses me, his breath heavy as he pulls his face back a bit to look in my eyes.
“I’m all the way inside you now, baby. Do you like it?”
“Mmm - hmm,” is all I can manage. I feel dizzy from the sheer pleasure of being filled up by him.
He moves in and out of me slowly as his chest presses against my breasts. The sensation of his bare skin against mine makes me almost delirious with pleasure.
“Fuck, Lily, you’re so incredibly tight.”
His cock hits up against a spot deep inside me that makes my eyes cross. I feel the pressure building up and up, the intensity climbing, and I hear myself moaning and whimpering. I need to feel the release again.
“Make me come again, please,” I beg, whispering in his ear. “I need it.”
He reaches down and starts to rub my clit, making me gasp and grind against him. My eyes squeeze shut as my pussy clenches around his big cock, my fingernails digging into his skin. I cry out in pleasure, writhing my head from side to side.
“That’s a good girl, come for me now,” he growls in his deep voice.
I’m right on the edge of the cliff when his words send me over. The sensation explodes deep inside my core, lighting me up from within. Every inch of my body is alive and on fire.
He starts to thrust into me faster as I surrender into my orgasm. Grabbing my shoulders to push himself all the way inside me, he closes his eyes and groans, his cock throbbing and pulsating inside my body.