“Now, poppet. I want you to slide two fingers into that warm little cunt for me.”
Lily did as Tony instructed and relished the feeling of the slickness inside her own body. Quickly, her bud peeked out from its hood, screaming to be touched. “Tony, I haven’t come since you touched me.”
“Good. You’ll come hard for me. Is your clit aching?”
“Y-yes.”
“Take your finger and massage it. Think of your new guest’s cock stroking it, leaving precum all over your pussy.”
Lily did as she was instructed, knowing it wasn’t so much the act of pleasing herself that was getting her hot but the sound of Tony’s voice commanding her to do it.
ADAM PARKED LILY’S car in the circular gravel drive in front of the main house. He thought he’d carry a few groceries through the back lawn and ask Lily if she’d like to join him for dinner. Just because she was Nick’s friend didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy a meal together. Besides, his stomach hurt every time he started filling another empty box with Nick’s things. He needed a break.
He rounded the side of the enormous house to head for the back porch. The yard was empty. After checking the perimeter near the flower beds, he walked onto the back porch and knocked on the metal edge of the sliding screen door. No answer. He looked at the potted plant sitting on a little table next to the door. Pretty roses and no pretty gardener in sight.
He decided to take the bags to the stable house and come back to get the rest of the groceries. As he approached the tree line, he heard a woman’s voice. Adam set the bags down on the grass and walked to the other path leading toward the back garden.
The melodic sound echoed through the trees again. Was it a voice? Someone laughing? No…it was a female moaning. The sweet sound wrapped around his dick and gave a hard tug. Fuck, the sound was mesmerizing. There was only one woman he knew could be hanging out down in the garden. He paused to listen. That was Lily moaning. His cock thickened. He tugged on the zipper of his jeans, trying to move his dick to the side.
He should head back to the house, but his feet wouldn’t carry him anywhere but forward. He stopped again when he heard her say someone’s name. “Tony.” Was this creepy? Was it a total invasion of her privacy? Hell yes, but he wasn’t about to back out now. What if this Tony guy saw him? Lily would surely send him packing, and that was the last thing he wanted. Maybe I should turn around.
His dick made the decision for him, and he moved a little closer. Adam prowled the path until he came upon the source of his torment. He hid behind one of the nearby oaks. Peering from behind his hiding place, he found Lily lounging in a claw-foot tub—no Tony in sight.
What in the hell is she doing outside in an antique bathtub? His straining cock twitched when he realized what she was doing in the old tub. She had a cell phone cradled against her ear and was, in fact, moaning into it.
Again, she said the name Tony. One of her hands was busy holding the phone. He couldn’t see her other hand, but knew where it was being utilized. He held his breath when she tipped back her slender neck, and that once sweet voice, now guttural, let out a growl. God, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He leaned forward as she lifted her leg over the edge of the tub. It felt so dirty to be spying on her. Like somehow he was back in his father’s garage when he and Nick had found the box of their dad’s nudie magazines. He’d been stone hard back then, when he was sixteen, and he was even harder now.
Damn. The woman was like a nymph out in the woods, waiting for a man to come along and pleasure her. He pressed the front of his shorts against the tree. The pressure felt good enough that he did it again.
“I-I have to, T-Tony.” Her husky breathing synched with Adam’s thrusts against the tree. She raised her other leg and propped her foot on the lip of the tub, tilting her hips out of the water.
Adam slapped his palm over his mouth to keep from calling to her. Her arm moved in a sensual rhythmic motion. Adam imagined the way her slender fingers were massaging the wet center of her pussy. His breath hitched as his brain pleaded for some kind of fucking relief. Before he could look away, he came in several sharp spasms. He dug his fingertips into the tree’s bark and bit down on the inside of his hand as his cock jerked and leaked against his underwear.
He watched her soft body seize and writhe as she played her fingers, finding the relief her body obviously craved was the most erotic sight he’d ever seen. The soft mewls drifting from her throat made him want to come again. But damn, he was going to have to get out of sight, and fast, before she slipped out of her postorgasmic euphoria and looked over to find a stalker ogling her private escapade.
Adam spun on his heel and jogged up the path to the back lawn. A wicked smile tilted his lips as he reached down to snag the bags of groceries he’d left behind. He remembered being seventeen and making out with Jenny Landers in the back of his dad’s Buick. Yeah, he’d filled his underwear then too.
* * * *
Adam stood outside the sliding screen door for what felt like hours, trying to gain the courage to knock. The smell of warm cherries and sugar wafted on the breeze. God, the scent was heavenly. This woman could cook, write books, keep up a huge house, and look fucking sexy as hell the whole time. She was the ultimate package wrapped up in a soft, pink bow. His mind melted with the thought of her naked curves draped with a wide bow. Fuck, he was hard.
“Crap! Just crap!” He heard a frustrated voice from inside the kitchen, then the soft bang of the oven door.
He rapped his knuckle on the frame of the screen door. “Need some help in there?”
“Huh? Oh, Adam. You scared me. Come in.”
Adam slid the door open and walked into the colorful kitchen to find his daydream—wet dream—leaning over the counter, staring at a rectangular glass dish. Red goo bubbled over the edges. Ah…the warm cherry smell. He smiled. The apron hugging Lily’s waist accentuated the very feminine slope of her hips. If he could slip behind her and dig his fingers into the soft flesh, he could fuck her so well. Shit. Down boy.
“I’m taking this mess out of the oven,” she said. “They never turn out as good as the picture.” Her gaze lifted toward him. “Cat got your tongue? What are you standing all the way over there for? Come and look at this.” She waved the brightly colored oven mitt.
His body told him to move while his mind hesitated. He stood close enough so he could smell the fresh scent of flowers on her skin. He inched closer. The thin chemise did little to hide the lush fullness of her breasts. They were big, more than a handful. Breasts amazed him. All breasts really, but especially ones shaped like hers. His heart wanted him to rest his cheek between them, but his dick had other ideas. Like wanting to rut the fuck out of them.
“Well, what do you think?” she asked.
He avoided looking at her directly, fearing she’d know his secret. The erotic vision of her legs sprawled out over the edge of the tub flashed in his mind. This afternoon he’d watched this wonderful creature pleasure herself in that crazy bathtub in her garden. He looked at her hands. Those were the same hands that had brought her a powerful orgasm. His cock twitched, pleading to get closer to her.
He coughed, trying to divert her gaze. “It looks fine to me.”
“You haven’t seen many cobblers, have you?”
Her sarcasm made him laugh. “No, I guess I haven’t.” He kept his waist against the counter in an attempt to hide the stiff rod in his shorts. “Lily, I was wondering if you’d want to have dinner with me tonight.”
“Me?” She picked at the golden crust on the cobbler.
“Yes, you. I’m not a bad cook. I went to the grocery and got a few things. I’d like to have you over and show you some of the projects Nick had been working on.”
“Well, I…I don’t think that would do any harm. I guess I could come.” She slid her hands behind her back. “Can I bring this?” She gave the steaming dish a weary nod.
He eyed the oozing dessert. “That would be great.”
&n
bsp; * * * *
Adam hadn’t lied to Lily. He could cook and did on occasion when he was home, which wasn’t often these days. The demand for his photos was off the charts. The money was good—he stretched his fingers, letting the tension in the scars release—but the price had been high.
Adam grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the cap. After taking a drink, he sat the bottle on the counter and picked up the knife to slice through a cucumber. He tossed the pieces into the salad. It was no wonder Nick had hired a manager for his gallery in New York. Adam knew if he’d met someone as special as Lily, he’d have left everything behind too. He couldn’t believe Nick hadn’t had sex with her. He’d written it over and over again in his letters, but Adam couldn’t believe it. Especially not after meeting her. Nick had sworn they were just friends, but the look on their faces said the caring went beyond friendship. They knew each other in a way people in love know their partners.
Adam questioned whether it was a good idea to get involved with the woman his brother may have been dating. Then a flash of Lily’s smile when she’d picked him up at the airport filtered through his mind. He did say they were just friends.
The salad was almost done when he started cutting the loaf of fresh bread. The hearty aroma made his stomach growl. Ellen had always done the cooking when they were together. She said he undercooked the pasta and put too many tomatoes in the marinara. Adam finally gave up and tasted the bland cuisine his fiancée insisted they eat. Choices were limited back then. The choice to get on the plane for Bosnia—that was a duty, Adam thought. The choice to expose the war in real time—that was a duty to the soldiers. The choice to marry Ellen—that was a godforsaken duty to his father. And the choice to walk away from the Catholic-wedding plans—well, that was his choice for a life without judgment.
Adam forced the image of Ellen out of his mind and replaced it with the picture of Lily sitting on the porch swing, mug of coffee resting in her hand, and him walking up to give her a good-morning kiss. Now that was a choice he’d savor every time.
LILY CARRIED HER grandmother’s heavy glass dish toward the stable house. The quick, stolen moments she was taking to gather her nerves weren’t working. The sunset cast a thousand shadows through the trees as she walked down the path, absorbing the coolness of the cobblestones through the bottoms of her bare feet.
“Let the sensation calm you,” she continued to repeat. She’d draped a thin sweater over her forearm before leaving the house. The spring nights seemed to cool as fast as the afternoons heated up, and she didn’t know how late he’d want her to stay.
As she approached the path leading to the pond, she looked over, remembering how the night air would creep in from the water, creating a comfortable breeze, sometimes chilly but pleasant all the same. Nicholas would sit on the porch for hours, playing cards with her, trying to help her fall asleep. Two friends sharing stories and tears. God, she missed him.
Lily sighed with the thought of her restless nights. They started once Keith decided she needed to leave. The thought of being alone the rest of her life, of never being good enough for anyone because of her depraved sexual needs, brought terrible nightmares. Tony had to come more often to help her get to sleep. He’d taken on more than he’d bargained for. Surely, he’d grown tired of her. A pang of sadness crept into her belly. Not now. Don’t cry now!
When she reached the stable house, Adam was sitting in the green Adirondack chair on the porch. His smile greeted her before his voice had the chance. “You came,” he said as he stood to take the heavy dish from her arms.
“Yes.” She scrunched her brow. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“You sounded unsure earlier.” He opened the screen door for her to step through. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Lily heard him gasp when she passed by. Quickly, she turned to face him. His green eyes were wide with surprise. Lily had forgotten about the pale pink welts still lacing her back and shoulder. Her pale yellow chemise only covered half of her upper back. Lily hastily donned her sweater and raised her chin. She could tell he wasn’t sure whether to speak or keep the hell quiet. Think, Lily, think!
“Something smells wonderful.” She swallowed through the dryness in her throat. “Is there anything I can help with?”
Adam snapped his mouth shut and maneuvered around her to get to the kitchen. “Um, no,” he said as he kept his back to her and set the dish on the counter. “Would you like some wine?”
“That’d be lovely.” She walked around the room, studying the piles Adam had organized. She clutched the edges of her sweater in an attempt to stop trembling.
Nicholas’s clothes had always seemed to find a place on the back of chairs, on the floor, beside the couch. Needless to say, she’d trip over the shoes by the door and toss the old pizza boxes in the trash in order to have a place to sit down.
Now the room was spotless. Neat stacks of art magazines were sitting on the coffee table, and crates of Nicholas’s record collection were sitting against the wall.
Lily startled when she turned to find Adam standing behind her. He looked rugged, masculine in a snug dark blue T-shirt that stretched across the vast planes of his broad chest. Nicholas hadn’t been near Adam’s size, but he’d carried a familiar shape like his big brother—muscular arms, tight waist, long legs. Lily blushed. Would his cock be as thick as Nicholas’s? She took the glass from his hand, taking a sizable drink of the sweet red liquid.
“Nick said you liked sangria.” His grin was wicked. “I can see he wasn’t kidding.”
“Um, yes.” Did he have to stand so close? One sniff of his woodsy cologne made her pussy contract. Underneath the spicy aroma she could smell the crisp scent of soap. She took a step back. “I like the sweet taste more than a wine.”
“I hope you’re hungry.”
Lily pulled at the edges of her sweater. “I am. It smells so good.”
He pressed his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “I told you I could cook.”
“Well,” she said as she walked by the counter to snoop at what he’d made, “I’m impressed.”
They sat down at the table. Hiding a smile, Lily tipped the glass to her lips. He’d picked a bundle of wildflowers she recognized from near the pond. The pretty blues and yellows were a stark contrast in the white vase sitting in the center of the small, round table.
God, she hoped Tony would like him. As nervous as Adam made her, the intriguing mystery of the man made her want to know more, and she was going to need Tony’s support to make that happen.
Then she remembered the sound of his gasp when he’d seen her welts. Adam could never be interested in a woman like her. You’re crazy, she remembered Keith saying after she told him about the belts she kept hidden on her side of the closet. What kind of man would play this game of yours? A sick, sadistic son of a bitch. He’d often reminded her that no man would want her once he found out how depraved she was.
She took a sip of wine, trying to squelch the nauseated sensation. No, Adam wasn’t a sick, sadistic son of a bitch. He had kind eyes and a beautifully scarred hand that held a story of his tormented past. No, he wouldn’t be the kind of man who would play her game.
The meal was perfect. Adam was right. He was a great cook. He was even kind enough to eat a slice of the cherry cobbler she’d brought and comment how great it tasted. Lily sat up a bit straighter. She loved to cook for someone, but somehow the compliment coming from him felt like a warm hug to her heart. They shared stories about Nicholas. She told Adam about the time they went skinny-dipping in the pond and the two students she’d hired to take care of the lawn had found them. Adam shared the experience of when he taught Nicholas how to drive a manual shift. Their laughter carried throughout the stable house.
She looked around the room. Nicholas was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He should’ve been lounging on the worn couch, feet propped up on the arm, with a cigarette dangling from his lips. But he wasn’t there. He was buried in a huge cemetery in
New York City. The booming sound of his laughter had faded with the beautiful presence that once lived in this very room.
“So, do you want to see the paintings Nick was working on?” Adam’s voice brought Lily’s thoughts out of their dark haze.
Lily dabbed at her mouth with the napkin. “I’d love to see them.” The thought of seeing Nicholas’s artwork brought a glow to her heart. She missed her friend and ached to be near him again. In some way maybe this could bring her closer to him.
“Come on.” Adam stood up and reached out his hand.
She stared at it. The pale white scars were such a contrast to the tanned skin around them. Scars like my welts.
“Um, sorry,” he said and took back his hand to hold out his other one.
Lily examined it. No pale streaks of tortured flesh. She stood. The curious look he gave her made her legs tremble.
“Come on,” he said. “I won’t bite.”
Lily shrugged off his smooth hand. She liked the other one much better. Reaching out, she slipped her palm against the rough skin. The feel of his fingers entwined with hers made her feel safe. Cherished and delicate. When she looked up, Adam was staring down at her. No, he was staring at their hands.
“People don’t usually like to touch my hand.”
“I do,” she said and gave him a gentle squeeze. He was willing to touch her after seeing her marks. She was more than willing to touch him after seeing his.
Nicholas and Tony were the only two men who had ever seen the full extent of her marks. Tony relished them while Nicholas had tolerated them.
Lily followed Adam hand in hand up the stairs to the loft. The movement of his tight backside beneath the faded jeans threw a ball of cotton into her throat, instantly making her drool. The stealth of his movements was like a slinky cat. Albeit a very tall and muscular slinky cat.
Shaking her head, she recalled the last time she’d been up in the loft. Nicholas had invited a friend from New York to stay for a couple of days. David had been a business associate of Nicholas’s who came down once a month.
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