by Kailin Gow
Arriving at the large double doors, I rang the bell and before it could end its chime, Rial opened the door.
“Twenty minutes precise.”
I was stunned by the sight of him. His hair, still sexy and wild, was tamed back a little more than when we’d first met. The dark suit he wore fit him perfectly, but more astonishing was how expensive it looked, almost like something Errol would wear.
“Please,” he said. “Come in.”
As I walked past him the scent of his cologne tickled my nostrils and awakened a whole new batch of senses. The wild and wanton woman who’d taken part in every dream took over and I wanted to tear my clothes off and bare myself to him. “Had I not planned to meet you, I might not have recognized you.” For all the heat that emanated from my body, I sounded surprisingly cool and in charge.
He chuckled and reached out for my hand. “I clean up pretty good, don’t I?”
His touch was instantly electric and I knew there was no point trying to pretend I didn’t want it. When he pulled me to him, I didn’t fight him.
“These past weeks have been torture,” he whispered. “That kiss; that one perfect kiss. Have you thought about it?”
Closing my eyes, I nodded.
“Have you hungered for it?”
My lips parted.
“Yes, you have, haven’t you? Just as much as I have.” Deliberately torturing me, he ran his fingers through my hair instead of burying my lips beneath his. “I’ve missed you terribly; more than I would have thought. After all these years, I finally find you, touch you and realize just how much I want you and, poof, you're gone again. And to think that you’ve been snatched up by my sister-in-law’s little brother.” He frowned and his eyes hardened as he looked away. “I can forgive your transgression given that you were young when you were promised to me and you’d forgotten, but now that you know, now that you’ve been made aware of the situation, you must correct your mistake. You're mine, Lilly. You were only six when you were promised to me, but you are still mine. You must put an end to your relationship with that young boy.”
I didn’t like his tone and stiffened. “How do I know you're telling the truth?”
“Why did you come here, Lilly,” he said with a knowing grin.
“To get answers.”
He shook his head. “No. You came here because you already know I’m telling the truth. You remember, don’t you?”
I shook my head then nodded. “I’m not sure. It’s vague and…”
He pulled me into his arms. “Vague or not, it hardly matters now. The fact remains, you're mine. Our futures are bound together, as our parents wished it to be.”
“But, Rial, little girls dream of marrying their prince, their world revolves around that magical day. How could I not remember that I was meant to marry you? It doesn’t make sense.”
Grinning, he looked down at me. “So I’m your prince, huh?”
“You know what I mean.” I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip and kept me close to him.
“Life isn’t always easy, Lilly,” he said, his tone no longer playful. “You’ve had your share of traumatic experiences in your life, just as I have. Trauma can have a strange effect on your memory; either block it out, or bring it to the forefront, never to be forgotten. But listen to me, and listen to me well. You will be my wife. There is no escaping it.”
“But, I can’t just…”
My words were caught with his mouth as he not only silenced me, but wiped my mind clear of any question or statement I might have wanted to make. All that mattered was his mouth, his lips, his tongue… oh, his tongue. Where did he learn to do that with his tongue?
He pinned me to the wall, and suddenly the dreams I’d had became a reality, and the sensations were so much more intense than any dream could have ever been. His hand crept up under my top and found a nipple through the thin gauzy fabric of my bra.
“You're so ripe, Lilly, so ready. I can just feel it, how perfect we are together.” He breathed in the scent of my skin. “This was meant to happen.” He tugged my shirt off and took a glance at the front clasp of my bra. Licking his lips, he took a careful look at my partially exposed breasts. “Yes,” he growled. “So ripe. So ready.”
He pulled the clasp apart and peeled back the fragile cups that contained my breasts. Like a man dying of thirst, he thrust his face between them, kissing one then the other while his fingers groped and squeezed. He latched onto a nipple for an exquisite moment before bringing the same sweet attention to the other.
“You're pure honey, my sweet Lilly.” He pressed his hard shaft against me as he reached under my skirt to cup my buttocks and pull me to him. “Pure honey.”
His fingers delved further until they were tucked under me and flirting with my clitoris. It was excruciating all while being the most delightful feeling.
Taking a deep breath, he backed away and looked at me with a curious snarl on his lips. As his snarl turned into a hungry grin, he grabbed my hand, tucked his shoulder into my belly and pulled me up.
“What are you doing?” I cried as I dangled down his back. “Rial. Rial, wait. Where are you going?”
He headed for the grand staircase that led to the second floor.
“Rial, what if someone sees us?” I was acutely aware of the fact that my butt was completely exposed, that fact made even more evident as he playfully patted my bottom.
“There’s no one here to see us. We’ve got the entire place to ourselves.”
He stopped at an open door and set me down on the floor.
“What do you mean? Where is everyone?”
“I sent them away for the day.”
“What do you mean, you sent them away? Is this…? Is this your place? This chateau?”
His smile, exposing perfectly white teeth, was proud, almost cocky. “Yes. Surprised?”
“Yes, I am surprised. You showed up at the warehouse looking little better than a bum, and you acted like a low life bandit, a seasoned criminal.”
He winced. “I can see where I may have looked like a bum and I can accept you taking me for a bandit, but a seasoned criminal? Now you’re pushing it too far.” He gave me a firm shove back toward the bed. As I stumbled back, he pushed me again, a little harder. “I need to put you in your place, my little fiancé. You need to show a little more respect for your man.”
I swallowed the lump of fear that quickly rose to my throat only to realize it wasn’t fear at all, but arousal. Through his trousers I could see the huge bulge that awaited me and was thrilled to see he was just as aroused. Looking at him, all I could think to say was ‘fuck me’.
“Are you afraid of me, Lilly?” he cooed.
In that moment, I saw it in his eyes; the desire to scare me, the need to have me beg him for mercy. I could have stood up to him, let him know I wasn’t the least bit afraid, but I cowered instead and gave into his game.
“We knew each other as children,” he said taking another step to me. “There’s no need to fear me.” He reached out to finger a lock of my hair, but his eyes remained hard as lust took over him. Releasing the lock, he pushed me back onto the bed with such fury, an instant of true fear seized me.
But when he dropped his pants to the floor and pulled his shirt off, there was no room for fear.
“Tell me how you like to be fucked, Lilly.”
Speechless, I just stared at him. I’d never been confronted with such a question.
“From the back, on all fours? From the front with your legs wrapped around my neck? Tied and bound?”
“I…”
“If you're not sure, how about we try this.” He leaned over me, pushed my skirt up to my waist and brought his mouth over me to suck hard on my clitoris.
I gripped the bedcover as his tongue worked its magic.
“You bring out the beast in me,” he growled. Setting the tip of his tongue over my clit, he looked up at me with eyes as ferocious as a cougar’s.
As I gasped with delight at
his every move, he sat up and straddled me, his hard cock set against the moisture that awaited him. With a languid finger, he traced a line around one breast then the other. “Imagine, you, a nun. What a terrible waste that would have been. To have this body covered up forever and ever.” He grinned. “The thought actually turns me on. Maybe someday you can put on the veil and I’ll find a way to get under your robe.”
I was shocked, but tickled by the thought, and when he ran his cock up and down against my hot and wet lips, I was tickled even more. “Rial,” I groaned, suddenly too aroused to think straight.
“Yes. Say it again. I love the way you purr my name.”
“Rial.”
“Tell me you want it, Lilly. Tell me you want my cock. You want it to fill you, don’t you?”
I groaned and tried to get a grasp on the reason I was really there. I’d come for answers. I’d come to find the truth.
Was this the truth? Being with him? Like this?
“Look at how wet you are; like a real naughty girl.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, yes you are. A hot, sexy naughty girl who wants to have her brains fucked out, despite her uptight, religious upbringing.” He pulled up and held his cock aloft, just inches away from the molten heat that would consume me if he didn’t do something. “Say it. Say you want me.” He tapped my clit with the tip of his cock.
I remained silent, trying desperately to hold onto any semblance of sanity.
“Say it, Lilly,” he coaxed.
“Rial.”
“Say it.”
“Rial!”
“Tell me what you want.” He pressed the tip of his cock against the opening that was all too ready for him, but he refused to go any further. “Tell me.”
The sweet pain of it all, so excruciating, was too much to bear.
“It’s killing you, isn’t it? If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were a virgin, hungry for her first fuck.” He looked at me funny. “But you’ve been with that boy, Bobby, a while now, haven’t you? Haven’t you?”
The mention of Bobby’s name was enough to slap the arousal out of me. Though my body still ached for him, my mind came to the forefront to take charge of the situation. “My relationship with Bobby is none of your business.” I slapped him off me. “I didn’t come here for this. I came here to get answers.”
With his hands around my waist, he pulled me back to the bed. “Babe. Lilly, sorry. I was out of line. Don’t ruin this magic moment over that.”
“You were way out of line.”
“Sometime the bad boy in me takes up too much space, but if you give me another chance, I’ll make love to you like you’ve never known. It’s all I’ve thought of since finding you again.” He sat me down beside him and plunged two fingers deep inside me, touching a part of me that was electric and exciting.
I wanted to melt into him, to succumb and give in, but, despite the desire that quickly built up, I looked straight at him. “Why did you accuse my father of killing yours?”
His fingers stopped moving and he quickly pulled them out. “Damn,” he muttered. Without saying more and without looking back, he got up and left the room that quickly turned cold.
Had I gone too far?
Chapter 7
When Rial returned, he wore a dark green silk robe and tossed another one to me. “Cover yourself.”
His words and anger made me feel dirty and cheap, and I wanted to jump off the bed and rush out, but I also want to stay to find out what was really going on. He must have known that I’d come to meet him to ask questions, that I needed answers.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I finally said.
“I’ll get over it. I’ve been dreaming of fucking you since the day I found you. This will only make the final reward all the much sweeter.” He glared at me. “Unless you plan on always breaking the mood in that fashion.”
“Once I have the answers I need…”
He grinned and reached for my wrist. “I know you want answers, but before I go into a long and exhaustive story of our past, let’s eat. All of this titillating and cock teasing has left me famished.”
Food had been the last thing on my mind, but as he led me to the expansive and elaborately furnished formal dining room, my appetite grew. The long polished oak table was lined on either side with a dozen high backed chairs cushioned with black damask was as inviting as it was imposing. Three tall silver candelabras, their candles ablaze, added warmth to the large, formal room.
At the far end of the long table, platters of oysters, crab legs and other fare steamed with appetizing aromas.
“I didn’t think I’d be coming to a catered affair.”
He scoffed at the notion. “Cater? You underestimate me, my dear Lilly. I may not have been born with the natural culinary skills Errol was blessed with, but I can make something pretty elaborate and tasty when I set my mind to it.
Reaching the end of the table, I took a closer look at the platters. “If it all tastes as delicious as it looks and smells, I’d say you could give Errol a run for his money.”
He seemed pleased by the compliment and almost embarrassed by it.
We sat down, and the very first bite I took confirmed what I suspected. “I’d say that the art of preparing fine food runs in the family, Rial. This is superb. The oysters are perfect, the seasoning of the rice is heavenly and…” I took another bite of the fresh green salad. “I don’t know what you put in here, but it’s magnificent.”
Eating, Rial listened to my critique of his food with an air that bordered on melancholy.
“It’s a compliment, Rial. Why the long face?”
“Missed opportunities, I guess.” He poked his fork around, but seemed to have lost his appetite.
“You have to taste these glazed carrots, Rial.” I picked one up from my plate and brought it to his lips.
Like a pouting little boy, he looked at me, but kept his lips sealed. His eyes were drowning in sorrow and my heart ached for him.
He finally took the small carrot. “If life hadn’t thrown me a curve ball, I’d probably be a world famous chef, too.”
“Is that what you would have wanted?”
He looked at me funny, considered my question for a moment then pressed a tight smile. “Perhaps not, but it would have been far easier than to have been burdened with the family curse.”
“Curse?” Baffled by the use of such a harsh word, I was more curious than ever to find out what had happened to our families.
He gestured toward the platters of food. “Don’t worry, Lilly. I plan on being a true gentleman, and that includes giving you the answers you came here for, even if they are answers you might not want to hear. Eat, then we’ll discuss our ugly past.”
After a crème brulé that I devoured despite my waning appetite, he led me to the large family library. Discreetly lit with hidden lights under each book shelf and several antique lamps set about the room, the library invited guests to peruse the shelves, pick out a classic and sit back to read in the comfort of the cushioned chairs, or even the recamier that was set by the large window overlooking the duck pond.
A flash of memory struck me; reading Alice in Wonderland in my pink party dress and a glass of lemonade. But I shook my head. It couldn’t be.
“Sit down. I have something to show you.”
I gravitated to the recamier, enveloped with an odd sense of warmth and well-being. Rial sat beside me, and set a large photo album on his lap.
“That’s this house,” I said, pointing to the photo. “It’s this chateau.”
“Exactly.”
“But the trees along this side are so small.”
“That’s because this photo was taken a long time ago.” He turned the page and I gasped.
“That’s me.” I looked at the handsome boy beside the little girl. “And that’s you.” Stunned, I stared at the photo. “Just like in my dream,” I muttered.
“Here we are in front of the chateau,” he said.
“And here we are running through the maze.”
“Oh, and that’s you hiding in the flower garden.” I giggled as the vivid memory came to me. “So my dream… no wonder it felt so real. No wonder there were so many little details. It was all true.”
“What was this dream?”
“We were running through the maze. You were teasing me. You were almost nasty to me.”
“You were fun to tease, but I never meant to be nasty. It was all in fun.”
“But, how, Rial. When?”
“What do you remember of this chateau?”
“This chateau?”
“Don’t you remember living in it?”
I stood and looked out the window. Beyond the duck pond I could see the flower garden and to the left I glimpsed a portion of what had once been the giant maze.
“When I walked in here…”
“It felt familiar?”
I nodded. “I loved coming to this room.”
“And reading Alice in Wonderland.”
I turned to him. “How d’you know?”
“You always had your nose in that book. I even took to calling you Alice for a while.”
I laughed, remembering my childhood dream of finding my own rabbit’s hole.
“Why do I have so many of memories of this place? The maze… the garden… even this library. Did we spend a lot of time here?”
“Yes. You lived here, Lilly. You lived here with your father.”
“And why are you a part of so many of my memories here?”
“Because, for a time, I lived here with you.”
“This was my home?” I murmured. “And you lived here, too?” All my memories, so far, had led me to believe the chateau was a grand and wondrous place I’d visited, not my home. “If this was my home and yours, why didn’t we continue to live here?”
“Because, years ago, our parents ceased to be friends and became bitter enemies.”
“Why?” I felt a strange sense of loss knowing that our families could have had such a falling out.
Rial closed the photo album and leaned back. “Before I tell you, I will go back to the first tragedy that befell my family, that broke my family apart. In 2001 my family were all supposed to go on a trip to New York. My father had some business to take care of and he’d decided to turn it into a family vacation. However, the business meeting was pushed back and for some reason, I couldn’t go, since I was too young. Errol, however, was a little older, so they didn’t fuss.”
