by Sophia Bond
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he said in her ear. “But before we do this you have to understand something about me.”
“What?” Lily asked, a little apprehensively.
Jamie met her gaze and opened his mouth to continue, but the honk of a horn from outside interrupted him.
“Fuck,” he muttered, and quickly bent to pick up Lily’s shirt. He handed it to her and jogged toward the door to stop whoever had just pulled in from entering the gym before Lily could dress. She followed him, frustrated and disappointed.
At the door Lily saw Jamie with two of his friends standing near a car. Lily stepped out of the building and into the sunlight just as Jamie's friends were sliding back into the car. He tapped the hood as they pulled away to say goodbye, and then jogged over to her. He slipped his hands onto her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
"We're going to have to reschedule this lesson," he said with a wink as he reluctantly pulled away.
"Okay," Lily said, disappointed. She chewed her bottom lip and could still taste his mouth on her. She wanted to grab him and push him against the wall right now, like he did to her just a few minutes prior.
"But I want to take you out to dinner tonight," he said, letting his hands fall from her hips to clasp her hands.
His touch was warm, and his thumb trailed over her knuckles lightly. The touch sent a shiver through her whole body and deep into her stomach.
She knew she shouldn’t, everything that had been taught to her about professionalism and ethics came flooding back to her. She could lose her job. She would lose her job if anyone found out. Even if Jamie never came back for counselling.
“Jamie…” she began, but before she could finish he pressed his thumb against her lip, cupping her chin with his fingers.
“Just dinner. I wont even touch you,” he said, stepping back and raising his hands. His grin was mischievous, and Lily couldn’t help but smile. “Unless you want me to, of course,” he followed with a wink.
“Dinner,” she said after a moment, against her better judgement. “But…” she continued sternly, “if anyone asks we’re discussing your case in a neutral environment,” she said, a little teasingly.
Jamie smiled at her. “You’re naughty,” he said with a laugh. Lily shook her head, as much at her own idiocy as his teasing.
“You want a lift home?” he asked.
“No,” Lily shook her head. “I want to explore a little,” she held up her daily pass for the Metro.
Jamie furrowed his brow. “Be careful, yeah?” he said. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Okay,” she turned and walked away, back where she had come from, and turned once to see he was standing in the car park, watching her go.
Chapter Five
That evening Lily riffled through her suitcase, desperate to find something to wear on her date. She stood in the middle of her room, clothes strewn around her, and let out an exasperated sigh.
“You okay?” Victoria was standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” Lily said. She sat down on the edge of the bed, lifting a pair of fur lined gloves and tossing them on the floor.
“I packed for a snow storm in the rainiest country on earth, but didn’t pack anything for a date.”
Victoria laughed. “It isn’t the rainiest country on earth. It’s actually a place in India that…”
Lily shot her sister a look that said if she didn’t shut up she was going to get slapped.
“Okay,” Victoria said with a laugh and turned from the doorway. She came back several minutes later with a black tight fitting dress and a worn leather jacket in one hand with knee high black leather boots in the other.
“I’ve never worn anything like that in my life,” Lily said.
“Now’s a time to start, try it on.”
Vic was right, the dress fit perfectly, snug and quite a bit shorter than anything she had ever worn, it hugged her curves in just the right way. The jacket was broken in and looked vintage.
“You look good,” Vic said, studying Lily’s reflection in the mirror. The bandage from her arm was laying on the bed. The cut was mostly healed now, but a big pink scar cut across her skin.
“Thanks,” she said.
Lily’s phone vibrated on the bed with a text from Jame that simply said “here.”
“I gotta go, thanks for the dress sis,” Lily pecked her sister on the cheek and skipped down the stairs. She was almost shivering with excitement and anticipation.
Jamie was waiting for her in front of the building on his bike. He was leaning against it casually, holding a spare helmet in his hands. The other rested on his seat. He looked up and smiled broadly when she stepped out.
“You look fucking amazing,” he said, walking up to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“I thought you said no touching?” she asked with a grin.
“I lied,” he replied with a wink. “You ready?” he asked, holding the helmet out to her. Lily had never been on a motorcycle before, and she looked at it hesitantly.
“I think so,” she said.
“Just hold on to me tight, and keep your feet on these rests,” he said, pointing to a second pair of footrests high on the bike. She swung her leg around the bike with his help, and scooted closer to him when he got on in front. Her arms wrapped around the front of him as the bike started with a roar.
“Hang on,” he said and pulled the bike into traffic. He was slow at first, and then as Lily began to relax and laugh he sped up, weaving in and out of traffic with the same casual confidence he walked in. It was already dark and the city was a blur of red tail lights and brightly lit bars and restaurants. The streets were filled with groups of people laughing and dressed for a night out. Even the rain had held off, in the distant sky the last of the sun illuminated a wisp of clouds in a blaze of pink.
Jamie pulled up in front of a building in the north of the city, it was one of the tallest on the skyline, a shard of glass sticking up higher than everything around it. But it was empty, dark, and still gated off like a construction site. A single van idled behind the gates, which were propped slightly open, its headlights off.
“What’s this?”
Jamie clipped the helmets to his bike and led Lily toward the building.
“It’s a surprise,” he said mischievously.
“We’re not breaking into this place, are we?”
Jamie laughed. “Would you like it if we did?”
Lily didn’t answer, because she knew how wrong it was that the answer was yes. She loved the thrill Jamie gave her, his indifference to authority. The complete opposite of everything she had grown up being.
Jamie pulled out his phone and dialled a number.
“Hi mate, we’re here,” he said. And after a short pause he said “Alright,” and hung up.
“This way, madam,” he said, his hand resting on the small of her back. Lily laughed.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To this very top of this building. My best mate works in the kitchen of a brand new restaurant on the top floor. Its supposed to be the best food and the best view in the city when it opens.”
“We get a sneak peek?” she asked.
“We do indeed,” he said, pushing a set of glass doors open. The building was finished, but it was in the middle of being fitted out inside. Boxes of office furniture and half potted plants were dotted along the floor. A bank of elevators glowed in the dim light. The doors opened as soon as Jamie hit the button and they stepped inside.
They faced the doors and Jamie’s hand fell and he enclosed his fingers around hers. His thumb drew circles in the palm of her hand and she shivered, savouring the sensation.
The doors opened at the top to reveal a modern restaurant, fully furnished with tables and chairs. Floor to ceiling windows revealed the city stretching out in the distance. An open plan kitchen was bustling with staff but the mood seemed jovial, they had music on and were laug
hing and joking.
“Jamie!” one of them called from the kitchen, and Jamie stepped forward and clapped hands with him.
“Take any seat you want mate, the house is yours,” he said, gesturing to the tables. Jamie led Lily to a corner table, secluded and far away from the kitchen.
“This place is gorgeous,” Lily said as Jamie pushed her chair in.
“Yeah it’s mint,” Jamie said with a grin and sat down in front of her. He peered through the window at the illuminated city below.
“It looks so much bigger from up here,” she said, following his eyes.
“Do you see that tram?” he said, pointing to a tram passing nearby below them. “Follow the tracks around and you’ll find my place,” he pointed and Lily found the line of the tracks which snaked outside of the city.
“Do you see that church? I’m just a few streets from there.”
“That’s where the gym is,” Lily said.
Jamie nodded. “I live there. It’s all I have,” he said the second part a bit quietly.
“That, and my little girl,” he said.
“You have a daughter?” Lily asked. She felt a pain of jealously, not for the little girl but for the woman who was clearly in Jamie’s life.
“Emma. She’s six,” he said, he pulled his phone from his pocket and showed Lily a picture of the two of them on the screen. She was a sweet little girl, curly blonde hair and her dad’s bright blue eyes.
“I’m not with her mum anymore,” he said.
“What happened?”
Jamie shrugged. “Life. We were together for a while, but it was always rocky.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily said.
“Don’t be, it’s in the past. I adore Emma and see her every weekend.”
"She's the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Is she the reason you stayed off the radar for a few years?" Lily asked. Jamie laughed.
"You've been looking at my file," he said.
Lily smiled wryly at him. "That's my job."
He was quiet for a second and then nodded. "Yeah, I tried to clean up and to make it work. Emma's mum threatened to keep me away from her so I tried. I still try."
Lily nodded. She had seen so many stories like Jamie’s in the past. Parents torn away from children because of hard circumstances and bad decisions. Her heart ached for him. Lily passed a hand over the flat of her stomach. The mention of children always reminded her of the three miscarriages she had before she had decided to stop trying. They were too painful, physically and emotionally, to continue trying.
A waiter brought a plate of food over and disrupted her thoughts.
“This looks incredible!” she said over the spread of tapas and nibbles that had just been placed on the table.
“Dig in,” Jamie said, reaching for a king prawn in a spicy sauce.
Chapter Six
After dinner Jamie led Lily back down to his waiting motorcycle parked in the empty parking lot. The ride back was cold, and she pushed her body closer to his as they drove through the darkening city.
Jamie stopped at an intersection, traffic was quiet and Jamie paused even though the lights were green. In one direction was the road back into the city and toward her sister’s flat. In the opposite direction was a darker more run down street lined with low brick buildings. Tram lines snaked their way through the street and Lily recognised the long line of brick railroad arches. Somewhere down that street was Jamie’s gym. His home. His bed.
He turned his head slightly, unable to speak the question over the rumble of the bike. Before she could change her mind Lily tugged gently on his shirt in the direction of his place.
“I want to go back to your apartment,” she said in his ear, hoping it was loud enough to hear.
Jamie roared the bike back to life and lifted his feet in one motion, leaning them to the left and down the darkened street toward his place.
After he parked the bike, his hand brushed her back as they walked, and she found herself moving closer to him. She loved the way his body felt against hers, tall, firm, powerful. It made her feel safe. When she moved closer, it was as if she had given him unspoken permission to touch her, and he stopped and pulled her close.
“Tonight has been great,” he said, his voice was low and husky. He had stepped in, closing the distance between them. The gym was dark behind them, and Lily resisted the urge to step back. For the first time it occurred to her that she should probably be a little frightened. She was alone, in the dark, with a man who had a criminal past. A violent past.
“I had fun as well,” she said, looking up at him. His hood was up, and in the dark she could only just make out the shine of his eyes. His hands came up to rest on her hips and he lowered his face to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers lightly at first, and then with more urgency. The hair on his face was rough, like he hadn’t shaved that day, and he tasted a little bit like smoke and the beer he had with dinner. Lily circled her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He brought his hands up her body, caressing every curve as they slid against the fabric of her dress. When she bit his bottom lip playfully he growled softly and swung Lily around so her back was against the rough brick wall of the building. She gasped as he pushed her against it, hard. Hard enough that she thought there might be a bruise on her shoulder blades the next day. Little did she know that would be the least of the bruises she’d have, and that every single one would give her a thrill.
Jamie pressed his body against hers and kissed her harder, more roughly and urgently. She gasped in pleasure, and for breath, as his hands found their way under her dress. He had pushed it up her hips and his thumbs grazed her nipples through the sheer fabric of her bra. She moaned and arched her back, the sensation of his fingers on her nipples sending electric waves through her body. She could feel he was hard through his jeans, pressing his hips hard against her as they kissed. She wanted to pull his clothes off right here, outside the darkened gym, next to the street where anyone driving past could see them. She didn’t care. She wasn’t normally like this, not normally this risky. But being with him like this, the passion and urgency with which he was kissing her, thrilled her beyond belief.
He pulled back slightly, his lips falling to her ear.
“Let’s go inside,” he said, his accent thicker and throaty. Even the sound of his voice sent shivers through her. He stepped back and unlocked the door, grasping her hand and pulling her inside. Jamie flicked on a light switch and a bank of lights in the back of the building cast a low light.
“I have to tell you something,” he said after a moment. He turned around and backed Lily against the door.
“What?” she whispered.
“I understand if you want to leave after I tell you this,” he said. Thoughts raced through Lily’s head. She wasn’t sure he could say anything that would make her want to leave.
Jamie circled his hands around her wrists, bringing them together and pulling her forward. He found the zipper on the back of her dress and slid it down as he spoke.
“I like my sex a little bit… rough,” he said after a moment. The words sent a thrill through Lily and she could feel that familiar gentle turning low in her stomach and a pulsing warmth between her thighs. She had always had, what she considered, somewhat conventional sex. She wasn’t sheltered, or prudish. But the men she had dated had never seemed that adventurous in bed. Even her ex husband stopped licking her pussy only months after they got married. It had never been something she wanted to discuss with them, always afraid the unadventurous sex was a symptom of something wrong with the relationship. In hindsight, with all that had happened, she supposed it was. And then there was the unspoken implication that there was something wrong with her. She shook the thoughts from her head.
“Good,” she said, it came out more confident and convincing than she had expected, but the answer seemed to thrill Jamie. He pulled her wrists above her head and brought his face to hers for a rough kiss. Then, before she even kne
w what was happened, he circled her wrists with a strap meant to hang heavy bags from the ceiling. She gasped as he pulled the knot tight, trapping her wrists above her head, her feet barely touching the ground.
“All you have to say is stop, and I will,” he said.
Lily bit her bottom lip and nodded. A coil of anticipation and fear wound its way through her stomach, but it dissolved when Jamie kissed her again. She was strapped up in only a bra and panties with black tights. They were held up with suspenders attached to her thong, and it was sexiest set of lingerie she owned.
Jamie’s hand pushed between her thighs and brushed against the smooth silky fabric. Lily moaned involuntarily as he brushed his thumb against her clit, softly once, and then much harder. He pushed the fabric to the side revealing a small triangular patch of hair but otherwise smooth, a perfect Brazilian wax that Lily was grateful she had just had done.
Jamie pulled back and watched Lily’s face as he pushed his fingers inside her. She tried to arch against him, but the straps on her wrists prevented her from moving, she was teetering on high heels, almost unable to move at all.
“Does that feel good?” Jamie asked, his voice was coy and unbelievably sexy. He knew it did, but he wanted her to say it.
“Fuck, yes,” Lily gasped. She was looking him in the eye as he fingered her slowly, every thrust of his fingers getting her wetter and wetter.
He rubbed his thumb against her clit again, this time harder, pushing the soft folds of skin away and rubbing against the swollen bundle of nerves. Lily moaned louder, gasping, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back. It was almost unbearable pleasure.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” Jamie said. She could see the desire in his eyes, she could tell how bad he wanted her, and she could see the bulge of his cock pushing against his jeans.