Gilded Lily (7 page)

Lily recalled not wanting to have her picture taken. After Nicholas spent twenty minutes pouting, she’d finally given in and let him take a picture of her sitting on the porch. After which she promptly stripped out of the sundress and sat on the edge of the pond with her feet dangling in the lukewarm water. She recalled smiling and telling him to eventually stop snapping pictures.

There was only one other time she’d been brave enough to have her naked body photographed.

Keith had thought it would be fun to share sexy pictures. When Lily finally got up enough courage to take her picture, Keith’s only comment was how
nice
she looked. The conversation ended at that, and no more photos were shared.

After that, days were filled with writing and teaching. Nights were filled with lonely showers and getting to bed, with Keith either falling asleep on the couch or coming to bed after she’d already fallen asleep.

Couple’s counseling didn’t even work. Once a week they ended up in a beige office with beige carpeting. Lily felt engulfed out by the lack of color, like drowning in the ocean with only blue above and blue below. One year of bliss followed by one year of tepid romance. Six months of talking it out with Dr. Rogers. Three days to pack her belongings and sign the papers for her new one-bedroom apartment. When Keith had told her it was time for him to move on, she agreed.

The prospect of being alone hadn’t been so enticing, but the thought of spending the rest of her life living a lie hadn’t been so great either. After Keith asked her to move out, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Lily’s curiosity led her to order books upon books. The spark ignited, she dove deeper into study. Was it her depravity or just plain lust guiding her fantasy? The question lingered with every page she read.

Lily turned to admire the row of ferns hanging along the porch. This was her place. No cramped apartment. No man telling her she was sick and depraved. Tony was her saving grace, and she knew in her heart that she would have to let him go. But when? How would she know that precise moment when all the world seemed right and she could let him walk out the door for the last time?

The day she met Tony had solidified the truth she’d kept hidden in a shroud of loneliness and fear. She wanted companionship, to be loved and accepted. She didn’t know it at the time, but an encounter with a dark stranger at one lecture was going to change how much she valued herself. The way he watched her move across the stage made her uneasy. His piercing gaze caressed her waist, hovered over her breasts. She felt wanted, wrapped in something safe—something forbidden yet strangely desirable. After he’d come to the house, she knew there was no going back to the life she’d settled into. Finally someone was a part of her life, who understood her needs and accepted her for the woman she was. Finally, someone cared about her—the true
her
. Now the reality of her independence seemed to be erasing the security she’d grown to rely on.

Chapter Four

Adam borrowed Lily’s car the next morning. She scribbled a quick map on a piece of lavender-scented paper and sent him on his way. She’d been dying to get into the outdoor bathtub, and this was going to be her opportunity.

Nicholas was the one who bought her the bathtub. Lily had mentioned how much she would adore a claw-foot tub for her garden so she could take a bath outside. The following weekend Nicholas had it shipped to the plantation from somewhere on the coast. He’d put a huge red ribbon on it and had it filled with pink rose petals. Lily sighed as she remembered the delighted look on his face was when she took her clothes off and jumped in. They’d spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and drinking champagne.

After running the bath from the spigot, she went to the flower beds by the front veranda and started to pull weeds. Before she knew it, lunchtime had rolled around.

As she took another bite from a juicy peach, she made her way back down to the tub. Trying to brush the clumps of dirt from between her toes was a task in and of itself. She tossed her chemise onto the wicker chair next to the tub. The long skirt she had been wearing quickly followed.

The water was refreshing as her body sank under the shimmering surface. The blistering sun had warmed the frigid water, making the soak much more tolerable. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she really was until the moment she lolled her head back against the cool lip of the tub. The shelter from the nearby willow gave enough shade to enjoy the sun without burning in its relentless heat.

The phone rang. Lily leaned over the edge to fish the cell phone from under the pile of clothes in the chair. She watched the numbers scroll across the little screen. The easy cadence of her heartbeat raced as she watched the familiar number flash. She pressed the Talk button. “You called.”

“Hey, poppet, what are you doing?” Tony’s husky voice reached through the phone and grabbed Lily’s thudding heart.

“I’m in the outside bathtub.”

“Do you miss me?”

She sank back into the cool water. “Yes. Where are you? I thought you were going to have a long day today.”

“The books are full,” he said. “I was thinking about you and wanted to hear your voice. Renee said you were a very good girl the other day. She also said you made her come too quickly, but not to punish you for it. She’s too lenient with you.” He paused. “You do know that, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. But she tasted so good, and her skin…oh Tony, she smelled so good.” Lily shifted in the tub. The little bud nestled in her folds began to throb.

“Renee told me Nicholas’s brother was coming. Did he make it?”

“Yes, he’s here. He asked if he could stay for the summer.” Lily waited for Tony’s response. Would he be mad? Think her crazy and irresponsible for letting a total stranger stay on her estate? The silence lingered until the painful thudding in her chest calmed to a dull ache. “Tony?”

“And what did you tell him?” He paused, and she could hear the shuffling of papers. “Do you want him to stay?”

Once again he had to multitask his office and her. “I told him he could.” She couldn’t blame him. He was busy, and she took a great deal of his time keeping up with her punishments and rewards. The once-a-week visits had turned into two, maybe three, depending on how she was feeling. Many of those days bled into the night, with him sleeping on the window bench so she could have a restful night’s sleep without the haunting dreams of Keith and being left alone.

“I want to meet him. Do you feel safe with him there?”

“Yes, he’s very nice and even…” She swallowed. “He’s, well…he’s…very—”

“Poppet, just say it.”

“He’s very handsome.”

Tony laughed. “Ah, I see. He’s handsome? Handsome enough for you to suck his cock for me?”

“Yes.” Lily felt the throb again and the embarrassment from answering so quickly.

“Then let’s play a game. I want you to spread your pussy for me.”

“Here? Now?”

“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.