by S. E. Rose
He collapses on me and we lie like that for a while. Eventually, he props himself on his elbows and looks down into my eyes. I gaze back up at him. We stay like this for a few moments, just staring at each other as our breathing slows. So many emotions float through my mind. I can feel my eyes glaze over from the enormity of the feelings I have for this man.
“I love you, Lily Stevenson,” he says, breaking the silence and stunning me. “I’ve loved you since I first met you. I don’t want to live another day without you.”
“I don’t want to live without you either, Lance,” I say to him out loud as it dawns on me for the first time. “I can’t live without you. I need you.”
“Come live with me. When we get back, just come live with me in New York,” he pleads as he looks intently into my eyes.
“But, my job…I’m supposed to start in September. Or at least I was.” I frown. “How can I just drop everything?”
He puts his forehead against mine. “Easy. You drop everything and move in with me. We can figure out the rest later.”
I laugh. “Oh, OK. It’s that easy is it?” I roll my eyes.
“Yes, it’s that easy,” he winks at me and kisses my lips.
“I want to,” I whisper against his lips.
“Then just do it,” he says. “I have plenty of money, Lily. I can take care of us, while you figure it all out. And then I can go anywhere. I can literally work from anywhere.”
“Anywhere, huh?” I smile against his lips.
“Yes, anywhere.” He smiles back.
“OK,” I say slowly as I do my best to not think with my head, but instead my heart.
His head pops back and he looks at me, his eyes wide. “OK, OK?”
“Yes, I’ll move in with you,” I giggle and throw my arms over my face. “I can’t believe I just agreed to this.”
He pulls my hands away from my face. He looks serious all of a sudden. “Are you sure? You don’t have to, you know?”
“I know.” I smile at him. “I want to. Really, this is what I want.”
We lie there for a while in silence. Lance finally rolls off me and pulls me against his side. We’re silent for a moment and I can feel him tense a bit.
“Lily, do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
I sigh. “There’s nothing to say. My father is…a terrible man.” I pause and take that in for a moment. I let out a breath. “But…my mother was a good person. I just hope I’m more like her.”
Lance places his hand under my chin and pushes it up so that I’m forced to look into his eyes. “You are. The best person. I know,” he says, emphasizing each statement. “You are nothing, nothing like him, Lily. Don’t ever think that, not for one millisecond. OK?”
I nod. “I think he would have raped me,” I whisper and shiver at the same time, recollecting what he had said to me.
“I was never going to let that happen, gorgeous,” Lance coos into my ear.
“Thank you for saving my life,” I murmur, my eyes getting heavy.
“Thanks for helping me to start living mine,” I hear him whisper as I drift off to sleep.
Chapter 27
Lily’s Playlist: “If I Lose Myself” by OneRepublic
After making love again the next morning, we decide to go to a restaurant at the mall next to our hotel. Jack sends a text that they will be there by noon and that we fly back to the States tomorrow morning.
“They are bringing all our stuff,” I say to Lance as I read the texts. “Thank God we had pretty much packed everything before the shit hit the fan.”
“Well, at some point Cody will need to come back to the house and wrap up his business and bring his stuff home, too,” Lance says as he takes another bite of his savory crepe. The day before, Cody had called to say Aunt Kristen, Rob, Zoe, and he were heading back to the States since the doctors deemed Zoe able to fly.
“I know,” I mutter. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Will it be safe for Cody to come back here? Would Zoe go with him? When will I come back to visit my grandparents or my uncle? A million questions start running through my head.
“What’s going through that gorgeous head of yours?” Lance asks, staring at me intently.
“Too many things, I’m afraid,” I answer honestly.
“Such as…”
“Such as…when will I see my grandparents again or my uncle?”
He nods and takes my hand in his. “You’ll see them again. I promise you will.”
I fight back tears as I nod and look away.
After breakfast, we walk over to an old market area and peruse the shops and then head back to the hotel to wait for my family. They arrive as scheduled at 12:30. We go to lunch at the restaurant in the hotel and then Jack asks to speak with Lance and me.
We follow him outside into a small park and sit on a bench on the far side from a playground and opposite the mall entrance.
“We have intel that Mohammed is back in Dubai,” he says softly. “Interpol is tracking his movements now. We should have more information before we leave tomorrow, but I wanted you both to know that you will be updated of his movements if he so much as looks at tickets to the U.S.” I absorb this information and I pause, wanting to ask a question, but afraid of what the answer will be. Jack gives me a look.
“What?” Jack asks.
“My father?” I ask.
“He was taken to the hospital. I’m told he died upon arrival,” Jack says.
I feel like a million pounds have been lifted off my chest. “I see,” I manage.
“Thanks, Jack,” I say and hug him.
“You’re welcome, love. I promised you once I’d take care of you and I always will,” he whispers into my ear before kissing the top of my head. After releasing me, he shakes Lance’s hand and then we head back inside.
That evening we enjoy dinner at the hotel restaurant again. Jack seems nervous and anxious. We make it through the evening and after dinner Lance and I spend some time going through our bags and repacking items.
“I spoke with Jack and your mom after dinner,” Lance says as I sit on the bed sorting things in my carry-on bag. I freeze and look up at him.
“Oh?” I ask, trying my hardest to sound nonchalant.
“I told them that you’ll be coming home with me tomorrow.”
My eyes widen since I’m a bit stunned by this announcement.
He looks at me and I see a flash of hurt in his eyes. “That is if you still want to come home with me.”
I smile at him. “Of course, I do, silly. I just…well, I’ll need to pack my things up and ship them to New York. I have stuff stored back at my mom’s house mostly.”
“We’ll sort it all out,” he says. “I promise. But for now, I’d feel better if you were with me.”
He pulls me into his lap and I wrap my arms around his neck, leaning my head against his chest. “I’d feel better too,” I whisper. He wraps his big arms around me and I suddenly feel like a small child being held by their parent. I giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asks with a half grin.
“Nothing.”
“Lily?”
I giggle again, suddenly feeling a bit shy. “I just like the way you hold me,” I say, trying to avoid saying my thought out loud.
“And that’s funny?”
“Well, it’s just…you’re so much bigger than I am,” I look up at him grinning and he grins back at me.
“Isn’t it a saying in your family that good things come in small packages?”
“True,” I admit.
“Well, I have to agree, and I wouldn’t have you any other way, gorgeous,” he says with a kiss on my forehead. He rises, carrying me in his arms and takes me to the bathroom.
“We should shower,” he declares as he sets me down. “Early day tomorrow.”
We remove our clothes and walk into a rather large shower/bathtub combo. Lance washes my hair and my body, and I retur
n the favor. Our bodies are still bruised and battered from the recent events, but they are healing. We are gentle with one another as we move over stitches and bruises.
Eventually, we get lost in touching and feeling one another. The desire to pleasure him takes me over and I look down between us. His head follows my gaze and he gives me a curious look. I smirk, and I lower myself to my knees and take him in my mouth. I can tell he wants to say something, but instead, his fingers grip my head. He moans as I take him deeper and lick up his length. His taste and smell invade my senses. I feel powerful as I hear small sounds escape him. His pleasure coaxes me to continue. I use my hands to grip his length that won’t fit in my mouth, while my other hand caresses his balls. He moans my name.
I’m so lost in the moment that I give a squeal of surprise when he pulls me to my feet.
“Enough,” he says gruffly as he lifts me up his body. His strong arms are under my legs and I wrap them around his waist. Feeling his erection against me, I slowly lower myself onto him. We both breathe out heavily once he’s fully inside me. Our foreheads resting against the other’s. He lets me move up and down on him while he stands under the hot water. It isn’t long before we are both crying out in pleasure. I place my head on his shoulder and he holds me under the water as I slowly come back down. Afterward, we dry off and head to bed.
It’s as we are just about to turn out the light that my cell phone rings. I glance at the caller ID and flinch.
“Jack?” I answer.
“Lily, I’m coming over for a moment, OK?”
“Sure, everything alright?”
“Yes, just an interesting development.”
He hangs up and is knocking at our door after a few moments. I open it and he steps inside and literally sweeps our room for bugs. I put my hands on my hips and roll my eyes.
“What? You can never be too careful, Lil,” he explains.
“Oh, Jack, seriously? You can really be mental sometimes,” I say to him.
He gives me a half smile and we all sit down.
“I just got a message. A plane carrying Mohammed from Dubai to Somalia went down over water this evening.”
I gasp and clutch Lance’s hand. “What?”
“We won’t know any more till likely after we get home tomorrow, but I wanted you two to be the first to hear.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “How long does it typically take to identify bodies in a plane crash?”
“Hard to say,” Jack says. “Really depends, but like I said earlier, when I know, you’ll know.”
He rises and starts toward the door. I race to him and he opens his arms, letting me jump up and into his embrace. He holds me like a father would hold his daughter and I feel a small piece of my shattered heart lock back into place.
“Thank you for telling me in person,” I whisper in his ear.
“You’re welcome, Lilypond,” he whispers back and kisses my cheek. He sets me back down and we look at each other for a long moment, unspoken words passing between us.
“See you tomorrow. Goodnight,” he says as he closes the door behind him.
It takes a moment to realize that I’m trembling. It isn’t until I feel Lance wrap his arms around me that I become cognizant of my body’s reaction to the news.
Lance nuzzles my neck. “It’s going to be OK, Lily,” he says into my hair.
“I know,” I say back, half-believing it for the first time in many weeks.
Chapter 28
Lily’s Playlist: “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas
The flight home is very uneventful. Our plane lands at Dulles and my uncle Jesse heads off in one direction, while Mom, Nick, and Jack head off in another direction. Lance takes my hand and leads me through the domestic departures terminal for our flight to New York.
“Nervous?” he asks as we take our seats on the final leg of our journey.
“Nope,” I answer. “Just a bit anxious to get more news about the plane crash.”
“Jack thought he’d hear more by tonight.”
“I know,” I sigh as I lean my head against Lance’s shoulder.
I’m about to turn off my phone when it buzzes with a text from Zoe.
Zoe: You bitches back yet?
I laugh out loud and turn the screen, so Lance can read it. He laughs too.
“Sounds like she’s feeling better,” Lance says smiling.
“Yes, indeed,” I agree as I text her back and shut off my phone.
I quickly fall asleep against Lance and wake up an hour later as we are landing at JFK. We scoot through baggage and Lance grabs an Uber. I watch the city go past us as the car makes its way through the streets of Manhattan.
“Excited?” Lance asks as he watches me stare at the skyscrapers.
“I haven’t been up here in a while,” I explain.
He nods, and I can feel him watching me as I continue to gaze out the window. It takes us about forty-five minutes to get to his apartment in Soho. It’s in a redone building that resembles an old office building of sorts. It’s about fifteen floors tall. There’s a guard at the front desk who greets him warmly and then Lance puts a key in the elevator and presses “P.”
“The penthouse, huh?”
“Only the best for my gorgeous girl,” he says as he wraps one arm around me. I find myself feeling suddenly like a princess in a fairy tale. I look at him in awe and wonder. However did I get so lucky as to find him?
The elevator doors open, and we are in a plain entryway. Lance unlocks a set of double doors and pushes them open, and as he fiddles with an alarm, I walk into his apartment.
It is breathtaking. There are decent views of the city. The ceilings are high, making it seem even larger. The main living space is open concept with a kitchen to one side, a dining area in the middle and living space on the far side. The colors are neutral, but beautiful pieces of art and photography hang on the walls. The furniture is warm and inviting. The space is one of those mixes of contemporary with old elements of reclaimed wood floors and old-world-style kitchen cupboards. Windows flank the walls and let in an enormous amount of light and I can’t help but wonder what it looks like at night. I can see stairs going up to a loft area and then doors to the right off the living space. Then, I hear the meowing. A beautiful and frankly enormous multi-colored cat comes bounding down the steps. He nearly leaps into Lance’s arms.
“Well, I missed you too, Brooklyn,” Lance says as he nuzzles Brooklyn’s head. I can hear the cat’s motor going from across the room.
“Well, that puts Hagrid to shame,” I say. Lance gives me a questioning look. “My mom’s cat is a giant black cat, but I’m pretty sure Brooklyn there could take him out without any effort.” Lance chuckles and introduces me to his extremely sweet and large cat.
“He’s a Bengal cat and a total sweetie,” he says as he kisses Brooklyn’s head and lets him down. Brooklyn, being a cat, gives us the tail and walks back upstairs. I laugh and turn to Lance.
“Would you like the five-cent tour?” Lance asks. I nod as he takes me by the arm and guides me into the living space.
“Sure,” I say smiling.
He proceeds to show me a guest wing essentially off the living space. Two bedrooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom and a small office alcove are located down a hallway. Another door leads to a small half bath and laundry room. Upstairs is a big master suite with a bedroom, a giant bathroom, and a sitting area that Lance currently has set up as a gym. There’s also a rooftop deck that can be accessed from the hallway or the master suite. I step out and see even better views. The deck has plenty of greenery and comfy seating and even a grill area.
“This is amazing, Lance!” I say as I take a seat on one of the plush outdoor chaises.
“Well, it was the one indulgence I allowed myself after my company became successful. I really wanted something that would feel like home. The two floors, the outdoor space, it makes me feel like I’m back in a neighborhood. Plus, I really do love the building. It’s a
great location, good security. We even have two parking spots underground.”
“Wow!” I say, meaning it. “Beats my crappy, college-dorm-style apartment.”
“Well, you just graduated, Lily. I lived in an apartment like that too when I was just out of school,” he says, smiling at me.
“Of course, you did, old man,” I say, smirking at him. “Back in what, prehistoric times?”
He launches himself at me and tickles me while I scream with laughter. Eventually, the tickling takes on a different mood and it isn’t long before Lance is pulling me into his bedroom and onto his giant California king. It’s a four-poster made of amazingly beautiful carved wood.
I stop for a moment and touch the carvings.
“I found this in Bali and had it shipped over,” he says as he watches me examine the bed. “An artist did these carvings.”
“It’s beautiful, really beautiful,” I say momentarily mesmerized by it.
“Not as beautiful as what is in it at this moment,” he says as he pushes me back down and brings his lips to mine. I sigh in contentment. My mind stills, and I finally feel at home.
Epilogue
Lily’s Playlist: “Good Life” by OneRepublic
Three months later…
I can’t believe I’ve been here for three months!” I exclaim as Lance hands me a glass of wine while I lie sprawled out on one of the rooftop deck’s lounge chairs.
“I know,” he says as he leans down and kisses my forehead.
My phone buzzes and I pick it up and smile.
“What?” he asks as he takes a seat next to me.
“It’s the publisher of that nature magazine. They’re using my photos for that article I was telling you about last week.”
“Congrats, gorgeous!” he says as we clink glasses. “I knew you’d found your calling when we went through all of those photos you took in the Galapagos.”
“I still feel bad about not taking that nursery position, but it wasn’t right for me.”
“And it wasn’t near me,” he says with a laugh.
