by Various
Moments later they were on their way. They walked to the car double-time.
Seth didn’t say a word. He kept one hand under her elbow all times.
“I’m sorry about the credit card business,” she said, as they reached the car and they were out of earshot of anyone else around. “I should have been more…cautious. I feel clueless.”
“You are clueless, but that’s no bad thing. I’d hate to be shagging a woman who knew about this sort of stuff, that wouldn’t bode well.” He was joking, trying to put her at her ease, but he also turned her to face him, and this time it didn’t skip her attention that he was shielding her body as they stood outside the car.
Looking deep into her eyes, he studied her. “This is a difficult situation. It’s unfortunate you had to be dragged into it, but my duty is to protect.” His hand cupped her jaw, and she turned and kissed his palm. “I’ve been doing this job a long time, maybe too long. It’s lonely work. You’re good to be around, Lily, you’re a breath of fresh air. You’ve made this…easier on me.” After a long moment, during which she could scarcely breathe because of the way he looked at her, he sighed and his glance flickered away. “But I can’t ever totally forget why we’re here.”
She found it strangely hard to speak, but she wanted to. Difficult as this was, she wanted it, because she felt more connected to him than she had at any point in their time together, and she didn’t want the moment to escape. She rested her hand against his chest. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t more aware of that. I should have known. I’m having fun with you and Adrian, I can’t deny that, but deep down I’m worried about the stuff I had to leave behind. I should have been more aware of what you and Adrian are dealing with too.”
His gaze locked back on hers. “You couldn’t possibly know how all this works, how it affects someone like Adrian, or me.” He stroked her hair. “I don’t expect you to know, but sometimes I can’t be exactly how I want to be, with you.” Again he paused. It was as if he wanted to say more, but couldn’t decide how much or what to say.
Lily knew better than to push him. He’d said enough. He’d revealed more about himself inside that one minute than he had in three days. She stared up at his handsome face, her emotions tangling. “I’m sorry about the lingerie.”
“I’m not.” Smiling sardonically, as if brooding on some inner thoughts, he shook his head, and nodded his head at the passenger door.
She turned to the vehicle and her hand went to the door handle automatically, but he closed his over it, making her pause. “In this job,” he continued, standing close at her back as she waited for him to open the door for her. “I signed up for it all, to protect or die. When we are outside the safe house I can’t afford to be distracted. Duty has to come first when you’re protecting witnesses, and that means both of you.”
Every part of her back was protected by his body, just as he had in London outside Adrian’s office, and it was so subtle but so obvious that she had to bite her lip to stop herself from responding.
The car door clicked open. She lifted the handle and then glanced over her shoulder at him. “Thank you.”
“I did wonder there for a while, but you’re worth the trouble, every ounce of it.” The teasing expression was returning to his face, and the set of his mouth indicated he was accepting the way she was, that he might even enjoy being kept on his toes. With the lightest of strokes he touched her face.
It was so brief it made her yearn for more, but she didn’t hassle him. Instead she got into the car quietly, clutching her lingerie bag to her chest as she settled into the seat.
The thunk of his door shutting locked them together in the intimate space, and yet the journey back to the house was silent. The landscape along the meandering road that had fascinated her on their outward journey seemed almost therapeutic this time around. Why, because she needed the space? Glancing over at him, she realized this had knocked her back a peg. She’d been gung-ho on the danger, the sexy set-up, and the fire between the three of them. When had she got to be so bound up in herself and her needs? Back in her days of not being able to do her duty as a nurse, it was always because she thought she was fighting for the good cause, and for the rights of the patient. Then again, she’d never been involved in anything like this before, and yet it had been so obvious and she kicked herself for not being more aware, for not making it easier for him. She’d got carried away on the dynamic and forgotten the reason why they were all stuck out there together. Seth had to be stressed out of his eyeballs, and she was busy having fun.
As they closed on the valley where the hotel was located, he changed down the gears and then he moved his hand to her thigh, squeezing her. It was reassuring. She was relieved to see the Hafod Y Coed sign, and silently read the words with even more interest now that she knew it was his childhood home.
“Does it all look okay?” she asked as they pulled up at the back of the building, and her stomach was knotted.
“Looks good so far.” He smiled her way. He didn’t say more than that, but she felt as if they had met each other half way in understanding.
When they walked into the hallway, she had the overwhelming urge to shout out to Adrian, to be sure, but Seth beat her to it.
“We’re back.”
“I’ll put the kettle on.” Adrian’s voice reached them from the kitchen area.
“He’s fine.”
Thank god. The sense of relief she felt made her light-headed, the knot in her stomach unraveling. If anything had happened to Adrian while they had been gone she’d never have been able to forgive herself. She dumped the lingerie bag on the hall stand, resenting it all of a sudden. Luxury items they were, in more ways than one. It was a luxury she truly could have done without. She could have made do.
Seth’s hand on her shoulder drew her back. He was right there, his reassuring presence close against her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pick up the bag. He held it out to her. “Take it. I want you to wear it, all of it, tonight.”
Lily stared down at the bag he held against her, unable to move.
“It’s okay, take it, please.”
Her hand closed over his on the handle of the bag.
His head lowered alongside hers. Mouth against her ear, he nipped hear ear lobe between his teeth. Deliciously painful, yet poignant and arousing, it was a connection she couldn’t deny. Breath sucked into her lungs, her chest expanding.
“Lily, you’ll look so bloody good. I didn’t mean to be a tyrant, I’m sorry. I want to see you wearing it, all of it.” His mouth rested against her cheek, soft as a sigh.
Lily savored it, her whole body attuned to his. Aching for him deeply, she blinked back the emotion before she turned her face to his, looking up at him.
His expression was still overcast and yet he looked at her as if he wanted her to understand, as if he was requesting it, earnestly, and it was the first-time she had ever seen him looking at either her or Adrian that way. It was like he was letting her in. Her heart knotted in her chest. In the beginning she had thought him cold, brutal, and demanding, but it was simply because he had to be that way.
She went to speak, and then the sound of the kettle whistling madly reached them. She pulled a froth of lace out of the bag, and held it to her chest. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
Oh, how her heart ached. She felt as if she was asking permission, asking for him to let Adrian be involved. And yet…neither had said anything about how things stood between them, or about Adrian and his role in bringing the three of them together. Seth had grown more intimate with her over the past day or so, but what did that really mean? Her emotions were intricately bound up with both men now. Seth’s guiding hand was crucial, and she wanted Seth’s approval of the way things were panning out.
But Seth just smiled, long slow. “I know he will. He’ll love it. We both will.”
For Lily, that comment meant the whole world. She reached up, kissed him on the mouth and nodded. “Let’s make it an evening t
o remember.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lily took a sip of her wine, and put the glass down. She’d thought she would need it, but she didn’t. She was already on a natural high and she really wanted to do this. It had been a fantasy for so long, to have a man who she wanted – and who wanted her –watching as she stripped and danced, just for him. Andrea had teased her about it and then bought her a stripping technique DVD for Christmas. They’d watched it for a laugh, but Lily had played it on her own, too, while she ran her hands over her body and flicked her hips from side to side, imagining her dream man sitting in front of her, hard and ready while she strutted her stuff like a professional exotic dancer.
Now she had two dream men to dance for, and they both were dream men, in different ways. She smiled to herself as she thought that. Yes, in different ways. Seth was so full on, so black and white in his opinions, and yet so mysterious at the same time. She craved his dangerous edge, his sureness about going after what he wanted. Adrian was the more subtle seducer, the everyday guy who could reveal his blatantly deviant sexuality as and when it pleased him. He was the one who pushed her buttons at the crucial moment, the one who made her confident enough to take them both on. The fact that they both wanted her was such a turn on. She could see it in their eyes, feel it in their touches.
It might be just this place and the set up, she reminded herself, but whatever it was she wanted every moment of it.
When she’d gone to get ready they had both whispered encouragement. Adrian gave her a long glance that positively smoldered, while Seth looked as if he was about to strip her right there and then, not waiting for the show.
The sound of rock music reached her across the hall when she opened her door, and she smiled. Taking a deep breath, she checked her outfit one last time. She’d chosen to wear the lacey one-piece with the open crotch that she’d teased Seth with in the shop. The matching stockings the assistant had suggested really set it off. The teddy was covered over by her thigh-length coat for now—for the slow reveal. Everything was in place, and she strode across the hall and stepped through the door in to the lounge. Their conversation ceased as she entered the room, and both men turned and stared at her.
“Here she is,” Adrian said. They’d been waiting.
Seth lounged back in his chair expectantly. “You are one lucky man,” he said to Adrian, nodding her way.
Adrian grinned, not taking his eyes off her. “I am, but then so are you.”
Seth lifted one shoulder in a kind of shrug. He still didn’t think she wanted him as much as she wanted Adrian. Lily chuckled, and when she heard the throaty sensuality in her own laughter the heat inside her multiplied.
Adrian was still grinning, but he was also shaking his head as he took in her ensemble. It was the same coat and high heels that she had worn to his office that first night. She didn’t have a lot of choice on that score. The difference was that the thigh-length trench coat was belted, making it ride up, and the tops of her stockings were showing. She’d borrowed a black trilby that she’d found on the hall coat stand, to complete her look.
The door clicked shut behind her. She took that as her cue. “You like?”
“Oh yes.” Adrian’s eyes glittered, and they exchanged a glance of raw passion.
Moving her hips to the music, she stepped across the room, toying with the belt on the coat, turning this way and that to give them a good look at the stockings.
“I want to see what you’ve got under the coat,” Seth commented.
“All in good time,” she responded over her shoulder, and then stalked over to a nearby chair and dragged it behind her as she walked back to them. She planted one heel on the chair; hips still moving to the sound of the rock music, and smoothed her stockings up the length of her legs. The way Adrian’s eyes widened indicated he was getting an eyeful of the open crotch. He groaned. She changed feet, smoothing the other stocking.
“Take pity on me, “Adrian begged, hands out in her direction. “I’m a condemned man, please come closer.”
“You’re not the condemned man, and don’t you forget it,” she responded. Eyeballing him expectantly, she faced him and undid the belt, letting the coat almost fall open. “Promise?”
“Okay, I promise.”
She dropped the coat the floor. A moment later she leaned over him, putting her hands on his shoulders and kissing him, just to be sure that he was paying attention.
He held his hands up as she straightened, his gaze covering her from top to bottom, taking in the sheer black lace bodysuit, stockings and heels. She could already see that he was hard inside his jeans. Swaying from side to side she carefully kept her thighs together, keeping the secret of the open crotch a while longer. When she glanced Seth’s way, she knew he hadn’t forgotten. He was practically drooling.
Happier than she’d ever been, she let the music invade her senses—let it lead her hips and arms. Secure in the knowledge that both of them cared for her in different ways, she was in a safe environment to really unleash her secret fantasy. She felt powerfully female, rich to overflowing with it. Dancing until her skin was slick and pumping and grinding was what her body craved next. She straddled the chair she’d set out in between them, and folded her arms across the back support.
Both men reacted. Seth leaned forward, eyes blazing at her. Adrian exhaled, loudly, staring pointedly between her thighs. “When you went out for underwear, I didn’t picture this.”
“Lingerie,” Seth explained. “That’s what it’s called.”
Decadent and empowered, Lily blew them both a kiss. Cool air tickled her bare pussy lips, and she rocked her hips back and forth, her body eager for contact and a different kind of dance. Her pussy was slick with need, her body anticipating the hot action that would follow. When she stood up, Seth followed and stepped behind her.
He ran his hands down her front, teasing her breasts through the thin lacy covering. Then he pulled her into his arms, giving her an idea how hard he was. His cock was upright between her buttocks. “We want you. You’re driving us crazy.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Depends how far you push it. I’ve got a stonking erection and I’d put money on the fact Adrian has as well.”
Breathless, and dizzy with arousal, she tipped her head back, resting back in his embrace. “That’s music to my ears, because I’m all fired up.”
She pulled free, and stepped over to Adrian. Tossing her hair, she turned her back and swung her hips from side to side over his lap. He kept his hands on the arms of the chair for maybe twenty seconds, and then they were on her instead, one on her hip, the other reaching into the open crotch of her outfit to touch her damp slit.
When she looked his way, Seth shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling a handful of condoms and offering them to her. She snatched one from his hand and opened it, turning to face Adrian. She bent and undid his fly, purring her approval when his cock poked out of his jeans, long and hard and ready to be ridden. She was bent over at the waist, and behind her Seth groaned heavily. He had his fingers in the open crotch, roving up and down over her slick folds and the swollen nub of her clit.
She had to bite her lip, and grasp the arms of Adrian’s chair for a moment, steadying herself. Her heels didn’t feel strong enough to support her wobbly legs any more, but she willed herself to carry on, tearing the condom packet open, even while Seth moved one finger inside her. She was so wet that the movement of his finger made a sound. Seth muttered something incoherent and pushed another finger inside, nudging against the tender, sensitive place on the front wall of her sex.
Adrian’s cock jerked against his belly, and his hands moved on her lace-covered breasts. Sensation swamped her. She clamped on Seth’s fingers, and resisted the urge to ride them. “Let me get this bloody condom on, Seth.”
“Yes, let her get the bloody condom on,” Adrian said.
The humor of the moment forced her to breathe, breaking the tension.
“Sorry guy
s. It was just so tempting.” He removed his fingers, mercifully, a moment later, and she found her hips steadied by his strong hands.
“That’s good.” She got the condom into position on the head of Adrian’s cock, and slowly rolled it on, marveling at how hard he was. Her sex ached to be filled with him.
Standing straight she turned to Seth, grabbed him with her hands around his head and kissed him passionately. Then she eased backwards and sat on to Adrian’s lap, her hand guiding his erection inside her aching sex.
The head of his cock buoyed up against her cervix and she rocked her hips, her spine straightening, her mouth open in a rush of pleasure, a loud moan escaping her. Adrian spread his legs wide, giving her space to stand between his knees, and she lifted up and down, smiling up at Seth as she did so.
“Let me see what you’ve got,” she teased, and nodded at his zipper, where the fabric was tight and bulging under the strain of his erection.
He didn’t need any more encouragement, his hands undoing his belt in a flash, his cock pushing between the buttons on his jeans. He rode it with one hand while he watched her rising and falling on Adrian’s lap. “You are so hot. I could come just watching you right now.”
The surge of female power that swept up through her when he said that made her stronger. “That’s not good enough.” She flashed her eyes at him. “I want your cock as well.”
He swallowed, visibly. His hand was still riding his shaft but he moved it slower, as if he was drawing out the pleasure and forcing himself to take his time. “How are you going to manage that then?”
His eyebrows were lifting, one corner of his mouth, too.
“Oh, I’ve had lots of ideas, believe me.” She winked as she bore down onto Adrian.
He cursed.
He was wedged deep and she rocked her hips so that he rubbed in all the right places.
His fingers ran down her back, and she knew he was wired to let loose, but it was not going to happen yet, she wanted more. Then his hands ran down her spine, lower, to where the back of her open crotch began, and he followed the crease between her buttocks. When his fingers stroked the tight button of her anus, she moaned longingly and nodded her head.
