She jerked her head back up, defying me with her eyes. “Why?”
I sighed, not wanting to get into this issue, but knowing I needed to if she was ever going to understand. “I suppose it helps me feel more in control, knowing I know everything.”
“But why? Why do you need to be in control? Why do you need to know everything?”
I was silent for a moment. “Jenna cheated on me, Lily,” I finally admitted. “Back at the very beginning of our relationship. She got drunk and met a man at a bar….one thing led to another. I broke it off when I found out. But she chased me, begged for another chance, and I eventually forgave her. I figured it was just one slipup. I thought we could get past it, and we did. We were together for years, as you know. Until she…well, you know what. I think a part of me never really got past the cheating, though, even though she swore up and down it was the biggest mistake she ever made and would never do it again. So I need to know things, Lily. I can’t be with someone who hides things from me, no matter what they are. No matter how bad they are. It’s my most serious rule—never keep anything from me, and never lie.”
“I see,” she said softly. “I get it. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Just tell me what you’re keeping from me. I can help, Lily. I’ve told you a hundred times. I’m here for you, and I can make things happen. You know I can.”
It was her turn to be silent. She chewed her lip nervously, and finally she began to speak, stammering out her words. “I’ve been thinking sometimes that I….I think maybe I hurt her. Jenna, I mean. I think I was there. So maybe Mom was just covering for me, and that’s why her letter makes no sense as to why she did it, because she didn’t really kill her—I did. She just doesn’t want me to know, because she knows I blocked it all out somehow. She’s just continuing to cover for me. So the letter could be another way of doing that; of making herself look guilty, when maybe I’m the guilty one.”
My eyebrows shot up. “What? Why on earth would you think that?”
Lily haltingly outlined some nightmares she’d been having recently, and went over what she thought it all meant. What her therapist thought it might mean. I listened intently, and my heart broke as I saw the look in her eyes. She’d been holding on to this pain for weeks, holding on to this ridiculous notion that she had anything to do with Jenna’s death.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you, not with all this going on. I don’t remember, but if I really did it….”
Her sentence trailed off.
“Baby girl,” I said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it hard. “You didn’t do anything. I think your therapist’s original thoughts on the matter were correct. It’s just bad dreams conjured up in your mind because of all your unresolved issues. Your mother, you feeling guilty, and so on. That’s it.”
I looked into her eyes again, looked at that shade of hazel-brown that had entranced me so much the first time I laid eyes on her as a young woman. I was amazed that someone could be so beautiful even when their face was puffy and tearstained.
Lily stared back at me, eyebrows furrowed. “No, Jackson. I honestly think I had something to do with Jenna’s death. I really do. I was there. I know it. It’s so clear in my dreams. I was in the house. This house. I saw the blood…saw her body. I had the gun in my hands...”
I knew it wasn’t possible, but Lily was clearly very upset by what she thought she knew.
“Lily—” I began, but she put her palm up.
Usually I wouldn’t allow someone to shush me. Usually I’d want to give a girl like Lily a good hard spanking for trying to defy me in even the smallest way. But I knew how important this was to her; how much she needed my support in this moment.
“No, you have to believe me,” she said, her voice shaky and soft. “Please, Jackson. I was here that day.”
“Okay. I believe you,” I said taking her hand in mine. “I believe you were here that day. But I also believe that you had nothing to do with Jenna’s murder. You were simply here for some other reason, and you saw what went on. Then you must’ve blocked it out. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I promise you, we’re going to get to the bottom of this. We’re going to figure out exactly what happened.”
“Thank you.” She nodded, and I wiped the stray tear from her eyes. “Can I use your bathroom, please?”
“Of course. You remember where it is?”
“Yes.”
She stood up, and I watched her leave the kitchen, my mind racing as I went over everything that’d just happened. If I’d only known what Lily was bottling up, I could’ve helped her sooner. Could’ve helped her more.
She returned five minutes later, face still wet, but this time from water. She’d obviously splashed herself to freshen up after all the crying. “Sorry I took so long,” she said. “I remembered the house wrong. I thought the bathroom was upstairs and down the hall on the left, but the door was locked. I forgot it was on the right instead, but I found it eventually.”
“No problem.”
She gave me a curious glance. “What’s in the locked room?”
So my little girl was a curious kitten. How dearly I wanted to tell her. Show her. But now was not the time to be taking trips to my toy room.
“That’s just my home office,” I said smoothly. “I keep it locked because there’s important documents in the filing cabinets.”
Seemingly satisfied with that explanation, Lily gave me a watery smile and sat down again. “I’m sorry for coming over here and unloading on you like this,” she said. “You must think I’m nuts.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you came. I’m glad you trust me enough to let me be here for you. You aren’t nuts at all. You’re just a girl who’s gone through a lot. A girl who deserves some TLC. I know…” I cleared my throat and went on. “I know your dad isn’t around as much as he could be.”
I knew this from things she’d said in the past, and also just from simple observation. Craig’s car was rarely in the drive when I drove past the Rubio house, and my hours were wild. Sometimes I’d leave at five in the morning and his car wouldn’t be there, or I’d come home at ten P.M. and he wouldn’t be there. I knew he was working damn hard to keep his business afloat, and that wasn’t his fault, but I also knew how much it could affect Lily. She needed a strong male presence in her life to guide her and help her through her issues, and she wasn’t getting that at home.
Lily nodded. Then she yawned and put a hand up to stifle it, and I gave her a gentle smile. “You must be exhausted after letting all that out. Why don’t you go lie down on the couch while I make us some dinner? I have Netflix on the TV so you can relax and watch a movie.”
Lily nodded gratefully. “That’d be great. But you don’t need to make me dinner.”
“Nonsense. It’s the least I can do. And I told you, I want to take care of you.”
“Thank you,” she said softly before padding over to the couch. My house was open-plan downstairs, so even though it was big, the main lounge room was visible from where I was in the kitchen. I watched her get onto the sofa and lie down, and I smiled to myself as I busied myself preparing dinner. This was exactly how I wanted life to be—a gorgeous girl in my house, letting me take care of her.
Once dinner was prepared, I took a plate over into the lounge. “Here, Lily. Chicken piccata,” I said proudly. She didn’t respond, and I peered closer before grinning. She was completely zonked out on the sofa. I bet she hadn’t even lasted five minutes of the Netflix movie before falling asleep. She’d had a very rough day, after all.
I wrapped the plate in cling wrap and stuck it in the fridge in case she got hungry later, and then I went back over to Lily and leaned down, gently picking her up. She moaned but barely stirred otherwise, and with her in my arms, I took her upstairs and into one of the spare bedrooms. Once in there, I lay her down on the sheets and pulled the duvet over her. She’d been so light to carr
y, barely weighed more than a feather. I was tempted to lean down and kiss her goodnight as she snored gently under the blanket, and I was even more tempted to run my hands over the smooth contours of her body. But not now. Not while she was asleep and unable to say no. I wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Night, baby girl,” I murmured before turning around to switch off the light.
“Jackson?” I turned back around to see Lily’s eyes fluttering open. She stuck an arm out of the sheets slightly, beckoning to me. “Could you…could you text my dad from my phone? Tell him I worked late and am staying at a friend’s house closer to the city. My cell is downstairs in my purse.”
I hesitated. I’d very nearly forgotten how we were supposed to be hiding everything from everyone, especially Craig. “Sure thing.”
She immediately fell back asleep, and I went and did as she asked. Rummaging through her purse, I found her phone and texted Craig pretending to be her, and when I put the phone back, I made another discovery. A little pink bag. Grinning to myself, I pulled it out. This was the reason I thought she’d come over today, before I realized all the other shit was going on. Lily must’ve stashed the toy in here before she discovered that letter her Mom wrote.
I carefully fished the toy out of the bag, and I was rock hard at the thought of her using it. I knew she did; I could smell her on it. I groaned and slid the toy back in the bag, desperate to relieve the growing tension. She was such a good little girl, always following my orders. Always doing what she was told.
I put the toy away, ate some dinner, then went and jumped in the shower upstairs, across from the spare room Lily was in. I didn’t bother closing the door—I was used to living alone and not needing to, and besides, she’d been fast asleep for half an hour now. Picturing her writhing on the bed as she experimented with the pink toy, I closed my eyes and wrapped my fist around my cock, stroking furiously. I imagined myself between those lithe legs of hers, slamming hard inside her tight little pussy, coming deep inside her.
I tipped my head upwards and groaned, hot water spilling over my face, and I jerked my head back down a second later, certain I’d heard a noise. Something coming from the bathroom doorway. Water was in my eyes, making it hard to see, but I was sure I caught a glimpse of dark curly hair whipping over a shoulder. I rubbed my eyes and called out.
“Lily? Was that you?”
She returned to the bathroom and shyly peeked inside, carefully averting her eyes from my nakedness. “Sorry. I woke up and I wasn’t tired anymore. I was just….just looking for you. That’s all. I didn’t mean to—”
“Didn’t mean to spy?” I said, lips quirking into a small smile.
Her cheeks turned pink. “I wasn’t spying.”
“Why were you looking for me, Lily?” I asked, an edge to my voice. I was so horny I thought I might explode right now, just from looking at her sweet little face.
“I wanted to find you,” she said hesitantly. “To ask you to make everything better. To make me feel better…daddy.”
We stood staring at each other for what felt like hours, even though it was mere seconds. I was all too aware that I was still stark naked under the running water, and the blush on Lily’s cheeks was driving me wild. I knew she’d seen what I was doing before she came in. I knew she could still see how hard my cock was, even though she was pretending not to look.
And now she’d said the magic word again.
“Baby girl,” I finally said, my voice hard and commanding. “You worked hard today. Probably got yourself quite dirty. Get in.”
I gestured to the shower. Lily stepped closer and stared up at me through her eyelashes. Then she smiled and spoke up, ever-so-softly. “It’s about time, daddy...”
Chapter Fifteen
Lily
Jackson’s eyes darkened as he watched me standing on the bathmat, oh-so-close to the shower.
“Strip,” he commanded.
I did as he said, slipping out of my clothes. No one had ever seen me naked before, let alone a man as sexy and mature as Jackson, but it didn’t feel bad or wrong. It felt natural, even though I was so nervous. I knew he’d strip me of all my worries, take away all the pain of the day. That’s what he was there for, to take care of me and make me feel better. That’s what he told me.
“Get in,” he said, standing aside in his expansive shower to make way for my entrance. “Christ, you’ve got a beautiful body. Don’t cover yourself up. Never hide what you have, Lily.”
I hadn’t even realized I was doing it, but my arms were crossed over my chest, covering my bare breasts. As the hot water began to rain down on me, I slowly moved my arms away, standing before Jackson in all my naked glory. I felt so small next to him, so vulnerable.
He leaned down and wrapped his arms around me, and fireworks immediately exploded in my body as he pressed his lips to mine. He did it softly at first, tentatively, teasing me and waiting for me to moan my approval. I did just that, begging him to kiss me harder, and he did exactly what I wanted, taking my mouth with his lips, tongue and even his teeth when he softly nipped at my lower lip mid-kiss. I wanted him so bad. Wanted him to teach me everything he knew; show me how to get the most out of our time together.
I knew that time was limited, and it probably couldn’t last between us—people would begin to suspect something eventually, and an upcoming state senator couldn’t be seen with a teenage girlfriend. Then there was also the matter of my father and our shared history. We both knew it was wrong….but god, it felt so right in this moment.
Jackson pulled away and sank to his knees before me, inhaling my mound as his face settled between my legs. “Fuck, baby girl, you make me so hard.”
“I do?” I murmured in response.
“You know you do,” he growled. He looked up at me from where he knelt before me, and our eyes met. In that moment, I felt something tug inside me. This wasn’t just a fling with an expiry date to me, at least not emotionally. I wanted us to last, wanted us to really be something.
Jackson ran a hand up my body, sliding it along my stomach, reaching a palm up to my breasts. At the same time, he pressed his mouth against my slit, and his tongue weaved its way between my folds.
“Oh…” I moaned, immediately filled with warm sensation at the mere flick of his tongue on my clit.
He licked me up and down, snaking an arm around me to keep me steady on the slippery tiles. I parted my legs as far as I could in this standing position, desperate for more, desperate for him to suck my clit until I came.
His tongue was magic; it belonged right here, deep in my folds. It flicked hard and fast, twirling around and around, gaining speed as my legs began to tremble.
“Jackson. I think…it’s too much. I’m going to….”
He pulled away for just a few seconds. “I want you to come, baby girl. Come on my face.”
Then he blew hot air on me, making me squirm before returning his lips to my pussy. I was desperate for him to slide his fingers inside me as he worked his mouth between my legs, but I knew he wouldn’t. I knew he wanted his cock to be the first thing to ever go inside me.
He kept licking and sucking until I began to come completely undone. My body tensed up, and I gripped his shoulders for support. Jackson didn’t stop; he kept right on licking up and down and around my folds. I didn’t ever want to forget this. Didn’t want to forget the first time a man made me come. Didn’t want to forget how freaking amazing it felt.
“Oh, god,” I cried, almost buckling against him. “Yes…yes…”
As I caught my breath, Jackson ran his tongue up my stomach and over my breasts until he was at his full height again, towering above me.
“Tell me what that was like, baby girl,” he commanded.
“It was amazing,” I said, legs still trembling. “I thought….thought I was floating. Right off a cliff. But in a good way.”
He smiled. “There’s more where that came from.”
“Do you want me to get out now? So we can…” I stop
ped mid-sentence, and I knew he caught my drift.
“No. We’ll stay,” he said. “Things can sometimes get a bit messy the first time. The hot water will help.”
Then he kissed me again, and I tasted the sweet tang of my own body on his lips. The kiss wasn’t so hard this time. It was warm and gentle. Jackson’s cock was another story, though. It was nestled right between us, and it was as hard as a rock.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked, lips teasing the shell of my ear now.
I nodded. “I’ve never been more ready. Show me, daddy,” I whispered. “Teach me what it’s like.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I let out a squeal as he picked me up in his big strong arms like I weighed nothing at all. My back was pressed up against the cold tiles of the shower wall now, but I barely registered the cool sensation on my skin. I felt the head of Jackson’s cock pressing against my entrance as my legs wrapped around him, and I stared into his eyes, barely able to breathe from the anticipation.
And then he was in me, sliding ever-so-slowly into my pussy. I knew I was wet from when he made me come with his mouth, but I could still feel how tight and narrow I was. My eyes squeezed shut as he slowly pushed in, and his eyes darkened with concern. “Are you okay, baby girl? Does it hurt?”
“Just…just a bit,” I replied in a strained voice. “But now it’s almost gone….oh! Are all men this big?”
“Only me,” he said with a grin. “Only your daddy.”
He pressed in further, and I groaned as the small stinging pain subsided. “Ohh…it feels better when you’re all the way inside.”
“Baby girl, I’m not even all the way in,” Jackson replied. He rocked his hips against me, careful to keep me supported on the tiles, and I closed my eyes and moaned as he went deeper still.
His groin bumped up against me with each movement as he began to thrust in and out, and it rubbed up on my clit in a way that made me want to cry out already. I relished the sensation of being so utterly filled up while having my clit stimulated, knowing that there could never be anything better than this.
Daddy's Fake Bride (A Fake Marriage Romance) Page 32
