GONE - Part Three (The GONE Series Book 3) (7 page)

"Your balls are twice the size of Lance's balls."

It's a compliment. I know it doesn't exactly come across that way but it's Alec Hughes and it's the way he doles out praise. "Thanks, Alec."

"You kicked Allison's skinny ass." He nods towards my computer. "The shopping app is doing great. You've had a pretty good week considering."

I smile at the veiled reference to what happened almost a week ago now. I've been back at work for a few days, and focused on developing yet another new app for the company. This one is centered on pet care and with all the advantages it has over what's already on the market, I know it's going to be a huge hit for Hughes.

"I'm sorry I haven't been in the office the last few days." He inches closer to my desk. "I took a few Libby days."

"Libby days?" I grin broadly.

"I can't get enough of that woman." He rolls his eyes. "I could sit and watch her eat toast and it would be the most interesting part of my day."

That's another pure Alec comment. "Libby is really lucky."

"She knows it." He cocks a brow. "I'd say Clive is lucky too but the guy doesn't deserve you."

The wide grin on his face is all I need to see to know that he's teasing me. He called Clive last night when I was at his condo having dinner with him. The two had bantered back and forth about an upcoming conference in San Francisco that they're both attending. I'd sat back and listened, lifted by the smile on Clive's face as he called Alec an asshole.

"You and Clive are okay now?"

"We're getting there," I say truthfully. I've worked late most of this week to keep my mind in a positive place. Although I came back to a few jeers and stares from some of my male co-workers, over all everyone has been supportive and kind. "I'm meeting him for lunch today."

His head darts past me to where a small clock hangs on the wall. It's a remnant left from the last person who had this office, and likely the person before that, but I think it's charming, even though the white plastic that surrounds the face has turned a weathered yellow. "It's almost one. What time is this lunch date?"

"Why?" I volley back. "Are you going to tag along?"

"I will if it's at Axel. They just put some new sandwiches on their menu."

Three's a crowd but seeing as how Alec has been so supportive to me, I do the cordial thing. "It's at Axel. You can come with us if you want."

He scratches his head through the thick black, messy hair. "I better not. The owner is my best friend. I think he's in town. I owe him a beer and once I sit down with the guy we never stop talking."

"Your best friend is Hunter Reynolds?" I should actually sound more surprised than I do. I'm beginning to understand that New York is actually smaller than I thought. Everyone knows Hunter Reynolds.

"You've met him?"

"Briefly," I mutter. "I just saw him once when I was there with some friends."

"Have you met his wife?"

"Sadie? I haven't." I glance at my computer screen. "I guess I should go if I'm going to meet Clive on time."

"You'd like Sadie." He turns to walk out of my office. "I think you'd be really good friends."

***

"Clive told me about you, Lilly." She lets go of my hand. "I'm really impressed with the work you've been doing."

I look at Clive's smiling face before I glide my eyes back to Sadie. She's lovely. She's a little bit older than I am and the top of the scar on her chest is visible over the neckline of her sweater. She's radiant. "Clive has told me about you too. He says you're studying to be a doctor."

"I'm trying," she pauses. "I just had a baby so I'm trying to juggle a lot."

I know it can't be easy for Clive to see the woman who has his sister's heart within her body, living a very full and happy life. I drop my hand to his on his lap and squeeze it tightly.

"Did you have a boy or a girl?" I ask, not just because it's expected but also because I'm interested.

"A daughter." Her face brightens even more. "Her name is Olivia. She's so beautiful."

"It's such a pretty name."

"Cory picked it out." She smiles at Clive. "He's a great big brother."

"He's the best," he chimes in. "I have some books I meant to bring with me for Cory but I'll be in Boston next weekend and I can drop them off then."

Her face twists into a mix of panic and excitement. "Hunter and I wanted to talk to you about that."

I feel Clive's hand tense in mine. He's had to endure a lot to be able to maintain a relationship with his biological nephew. He adores the boy and judging by Sadie's foreboding words, there may be trouble brewing. "What's going on, Sadie?"

She rubs the growing perspiration from her forehead. "Hunter is in a meeting. I'd rather wait for him before we discuss this."

"If it's about Cory, I want to know now." He's working hard to quiet the anxiety in his tone. "Please, Sadie. Just tell me."

Her eyes drift over my face. "You know Dr. Foster, don't you, Lilly?"

"Dr. Foster? Is Cory sick?" Clive's hand drops mine. "Sadie, he's sick again, isn't he?"

Her hand leaps to her chest. "No. I'm sorry. No, he's perfect. He's great."

"Dr. Foster is my friend," I offer. "How do you know that?"

"I met Ben yesterday. We were talking about organ donation and he mentioned his friend, Lilly."

It's misplaced and intimate. I had no idea that Ben spoke about me to anyone. "I met Ben in a grief support group a long time ago."

"He told me that." She reaches over the table to touch my hand. "When he said your name was Lilly, I told him my friend, Clive, was dating a Lilly and we put it together and here you are now."

The circle of my life keeps getting bigger and bigger. I had no friends beyond my roommate and the manager of the bistro back in Boston. Now fate is gifting me with so many new faces, all of them connected in some way. "I can't believe you met Ben."

"Clive." She turns her attention towards him even though she doesn't let go of my hand. "Cory misses you so much."

"I miss him a lot too," he says in a hushed tone.

"Hunter has to come here so often." She shakes her head with a smile. "He's in New York more than Boston at this point."

Clive chuckles. "I was going to suggest you just move here."

She pulls in a breath. It's not helping to ward off the tears that are filling her brown eyes. "That's the thing. We are. We're moving to New York."

Clive is on his feet and without missing a beat, he pulls Sadie up and into his arms. "You're bringing Cory here? He's going to be here?"

"He's coming, Olivia too and the dog." She laughs as she leans into his chest.

"That's amazing. It's so fucking amazing." He kisses the top of her head. "Thank you, Sadie. Thank you."

"You need to thank Lilly's friend, Ben." She nods towards me, her arms still wrapped tightly around Clive. "He's the one who gave me a job working at the hospital."

"Your app has been downloaded more than two thousand times." He hands me a bottle of water as I sit in one of the chairs in his living room. It's Saturday afternoon and we're both stealing the day away from work.

"The shopping app?"

"Your app." His lips brush softly over mine. "The organ donation app."

"What?" I reach for his cheek to stop him from pulling away. "What do you mean? How is that possible?"

"Alec and I decided to launch the app the day you were going to introduce it at the media event." He pulls my hand to his mouth. "We uploaded it to a few different platforms and it's gone viral."

"My app?" I feel the need to clarify the point again. "You're shitting me."

A brilliant smile pulls at the corners of his lips. "I'm not shitting you."

"It wasn't ready for market yet."  I look into his face. "I hadn't finished with the testing, and I didn't choose a name, and…"

"I looked it over for you." He squeezes my hand. "I know it wasn't my place, but I wanted something good to come out of the media event and that app is brilliant, Lilly. I put it up to test it to see if it had any viability or needed improvement."

"I want to see." I motion towards my smartphone on the coffee table. "Can I see?"

He hands me his phone. "Check on mine. I created an account for you. You can change the log-in details to what you want, but it's open and there for you to look right now. I was going to wait to surprise you when we got to five thousand downloads, but I have no patience."

I scroll my finger across the screen and open the browser. I stare at the numbers. "Clive, it's close to three thousand units."

"You're on fire. It was two thousand last night." He dips his head down to look at the screen. "You're going to change so many lives."

"It says the app is called…" The emotion that hits me feels like a tidal wave. I push my shoulders forward trying to curb the rush of tears. "Perla. You named it Perla."

"Yes. I named it after the most beautiful woman in the world." He's in front of me now, his hands holding tightly to my legs. "I named the app after you."

My hand leaps to my neck, in search of the beautiful necklace my mother had given me. The name Perla crafted from silver had hung on a delicate chain.

"No one knows that my name is Perla," I whisper the words into his cheek. "No one but my mother called me that."

"It's such a beautiful name." He reaches to take his phone from my hand. "I realized it was your birth name when I read about the shooting. I've never heard it before."

"She chose all of our names.  My sister was named Briella. My brothers were named River and Reave."

"They're all so unique and special." He rests his forehead against mine. "Did you change your name to Lilly after the shooting?"

"Legally, yes. I was trying to escape what happened and it seemed like the best way at the time." I nod slowly. "When I was young. I don't remember when but maybe when I was seven or eight, the kids at school would tease me about my name."

"Kids can be cruel." He kisses the tip of my nose. "Imagine being a boy named Clive."

I pull my hand up to my mouth to stifle a laugh. "I came home from school one day and told my mother that I hated my name."

It's a memory that I still struggle with. The pain of disappointment had been clear within her eyes. She'd held back tears.

"What did she say?" he asks softly.

"She said that she could pick a new name for me if I wanted," I say, sniffling. "I told her that's exactly what I wanted."

"She chose Lilly." His brows rise. "It's equally as beautiful as Perla."
              "She loved the flower so much." I touch my chest. "She'd get tears in her eyes when we'd bring her a bouquet on her birthday."

"She sounds like she was an amazing woman, Lilly." His voice cracks. "I'm sorry I never got to meet her."

"I am too." I don't try to stop the tears. "I am too."

"That was the longest weekend of my entire life." Clive motions for the driver to stop. "Remind me never to go to a conference with Alec again."

I nod, knowing that they have plans to have a beer at the end of the week. Lance told me that he saw it on Alec's calendar. "Why didn't we go back to your place?"

"You can't wait to crawl all over me, can you?" He licks his lips. "We need to make this one stop and then we'll go."

I gaze out the window. The driver has pulled up next to the curb on a street I've never been on. "Is this a business thing? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"It's a Lilly thing and it can't wait." He motions for me to exit the car once the driver opens the door.

"A Lilly thing?"

"We'll be a few minutes." Clive looks at the driver. "Wait here."

"Are we going shopping?" I stomp my heeled foot against the sidewalk. It's near eight now and I have an early morning conference call with Alec and a team of developers in Italy. I've worked hard on preparing my presentation and a good night's sleep is an absolute must. I know I'm not likely to get that once Clive gets me into his bed, but after we make love, I have to try and rest for at least a few hours.

"We're picking something up." He motions towards the glass doors of a small shop. "It's this way."

I follow his lead as he holds the door open for me. I walk into a beautiful, bright space. My eyes soak in the rows of jewelry display cases and the vibrant watercolor paintings that decorate the space. It's elegant and understated.

"Clive." A petite blonde woman rushes over. "You're finally here."

"Ivy." He embraces her quickly. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She rests her hands on his cheeks. "I like the beard. You look great."

"Hands off my cousin, Ivy." A tall man, carrying a small boy walks into my line of sight. "Hey, Clive."

"Jax." He extends his hand with a nod of his head. "How's Jackson?"

"Busy," Ivy interjects. "He keeps us so busy."

Clive nods as he reaches for my hand. "This is my Lilly."

"Lilly," Ivy embraces me fully, pulling my body into hers. "I'm so glad to meet you. When Clive told me about you, I knew you'd be beautiful."

"I'm sorry," Clive's voice is low. "This is my cousin Jax and his wife Ivy. That's Jackson, right there."

I pull back from the embrace to smile at them all. "I'm really happy to meet you."

"Can I give it to her now?" Ivy taps Clive on his chest. "I'm going to explode if I can't give it to her now."

"Go get it." He clasps her hands in his. "Now is perfect."

She scurries away in her heels, the rhythmic clicking of them on the floor the only sound in the quiet space.

"Ivy designs jewelry," Jax offers. "This is her shop and studio."

"She's Ivy Marlow, isn't she?" My eyes dart up to Clive's face. "I've seen her pieces in magazines."

"Ivy Marlow- Walker," Jax corrects me. "Ivy forgets the Walker part but I remind her."

"Clive wanted me to make this for you, Lilly." Ivy is back with a long, rectangular box in her hand. "I was honored that he asked me to do it."

I'm going to cry. I'm going to open the box and whatever is in there is going to push me off the edge of this emotional cliff I'm standing on. I've just met more of Clive's family and they've opened their arms to me. Now, I have to open a box that will hold something beautiful made by the hands of someone he cares about.

"Are you okay, Lilly?" Clive's arm is around my shoulder. "I wanted to get you something special."

"It's not my birthday," I say to spare me another moment to catch my breath. "It's not."

"I don't need an excuse to give you things." His lips brush over my forehead. "You deserve beautiful things every day."

My hands are shaking as I pull open the lid of the box. I close my eyes, wanting to curb the rush of emotions that will overwhelm me if I see what I'm expecting within the beautiful white box.

"Clive told us about your family." Ivy's voice breaks through the silence. "We talked about what we could make that would honor them."

I open my eyes. There's a thin silver chain that runs the length of the box. At the end is a pendant. It's edges are round, the surface a brushed silver. The engraved letters are simple and elegant each woven seamlessly into the next. From an uneducated eye it would appear to be a beautiful sweep of curves but to me its meaning is deeper and more thoughtful.

"Each letter is for a member of your family. You can see one R there, and another there," she begins before she points her nail at the sweep of engraving. "I put a B there for your sister and that's the P for you. Your mom was your mom, so I put an M for her."

I nod through my tears. "It's so beautiful. I've never seen anything this beautiful before."

"Thank you for asking me to do this for you." Ivy reaches onto her tiptoes to kiss Clive's cheek. "I'll never forget being a part of something so special."

***

"Mr. Parker, please." I pull against the silk ties that Clive slipped over my wrists when we first got into bed. We'd kissed in the car all the way back from the jewelry store. I was overcome with emotion and now I'm overcome with desire.

"I told you I was going to do this, Lilly." He's hovering over me, his hands pressing into the mattress on either side of my head. "Is this your first time?"

I look up to where he's secured the ties to the headboard. "No, I was tied up by…"

He kisses me deeply to silence the words. "Don't tell me about him," he growls into my mouth.

"You asked," I counter as I bite his bottom lip. "I'm the one who first suggested this at the bistro."

"My cock was rock hard that night." He drags his tongue over my lips. "When you said you liked to be tied up, I almost threw you over my shoulder and took you home with me."

"You should have," I whisper against his mouth. "We wouldn't have wasted so much time."

He moans loudly as I adjust my body beneath him. "You're so fucking wet."

"You do that to me." I pull on my hands again. "You make me feel things I haven't felt before."

He leans back to stroke his cock. "Tell me what I make you feel."

I look down and catch a glimpse of his large hand, dragging over the length of the thick root. "I want to suck it."

"You're so greedy, Lilly." He leans back even more to give me a better view. "You love sucking it, don't you?"

"I want to taste you."

"Tell me what I make you feel." He's stroking faster now.

"Please don't come like that. I want you to come on my face."

"Christ." He slows the pace slightly. "If you talk like that I'm going to shoot my load all over your breasts."

My legs twitch beneath him. "I want to come too."

"You will." He shifts his entire body until he's next to me.

"Can I taste it now?"

"Do you want me, Lilly?" His voice is soft and warm now.

I look directly at his face. "What?"

"Do you want me?" he repeats, louder this time.

I don't know how to answer that other than with the absolute truth. "I want you so much."

He moves closer, the lush tip of his cock trails over my lips. "Open your mouth."

I lick my lips before I part them. I can't control the loud moan as he slides the tip of his cock into my mouth. I push my cheek into the soft sheet, wanting to take as much of him into me as I possibly can.

"It's so good." He cradles the back of my head. "You suck it so good."

I take the encouragement and offer even more. I bob my head slowly, taking in more with each movement. I groan when I feel him swell under my tongue.

"I love this. I fucking love how good you make me feel."

I suck loudly, the sounds of my mouth sliding over his cock filling the empty space of the room. I don’t care about anything but his pleasure. I want him to give it to me. I want to taste every last drop of it.

"I'm so close." He growls into the air. "I can't stand how good it is."

I pull on the bindings, wishing I could free my hand to cup his heavy balls. I moan loudly in a combination of frustration and pure need.

He moves faster and harder, fucking my mouth with quick and easy strokes.

I feel his cock swell and his body tense. It's close. He's going to come. I let out a low hum that I know will add to the sensation.

He pulls back, his hands lost in my hair as he levels the tip of his cock at my lips. "I'm coming. Fuck, it's there."

I feel the first spurt as it hits my cheek. I adjust my head even though the bite of pleasure that comes from his hands in my hair is intense. I pull him into my mouth and take in everything he offers me.