Lily's List (17 page)

Curiosity aroused, she sat up. Her heart was
pounding hard and the butterflies had returned to her tummy.

He took her left hand in his and brought it
to his lips. He kissed each knuckle, allowing his tongue to slide
between her fingers. She made a low sound of desire in her throat.
Carson’s blue eyes sparkled as he looked at her. The devil knew he
was arousing her again.

Holding up his other hand, he slowly opened
it. Sitting in the center of his palm was an amazing diamond
solitaire. Her gaze flew back to his face. All signs of laughter
were gone. His jaw was set, his lips in a firm line, his eyes
serious. “Lily, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She stared at Carson. How quickly he’d gone
from acquaintance and friend to lover and beloved. Some people
might think she was crazy for loving a man so much younger than
herself. This whole thing had happened so fast, it was dizzying.
But when it was right, it was right, and Lily trusted herself. More
than that, she trusted Carson’s feelings for her.

Reaching out, she cupped his jaw, feeling the
prickle of five o’clock shadow against her palm. “You’ve fulfilled
your promise. The research is done and all the items have been
ticked off the list.”

His eyes narrowed. “Damn the list. I want
more.”

“Me too,” she whispered, leaning forward to
press a kiss to his lips. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” Happiness
blossomed to life within her.

Carson’s fingers tightened around hers. His
eyes never left hers as he slid the ring on her finger and raised
her hand to his mouth. “Mine,” he uttered as he kissed her knuckle
just above the ring.

“And you’re mine.” Lily nuzzled her nose
against his.

He pounced suddenly, rolling her beneath him.
Once again, she could feel the heavy press of his erection against
her belly. She parted her legs to accommodate him.

He propped himself up on his forearms and
kissed the tip of her nose. “Did I mention that I read two of your
books?”

Lily froze beneath him. “You have?” No one
that she knew had ever read any of her work and she found herself
curiously nervous.

“I certainly have.” He nuzzled the side of
her neck, working his way to the curve of her ear. “You are one
talented lady.”

Pleasure filled her. “You think so?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nipped at her lobe, tugging on
the small gold hoop she had hooked there. “You gave me all kinds of
ideas.”

When she laughed, he growled and nibbled on
her neck again. “Then maybe you won’t mind helping me with
research,” she teased. “We could make a new list.”

Carson raised his head, his face relaxed, his
eyes twinkling. “Did I mention that I’m very good with
research?”

She tugged his head closer, her lips skimming
his. “I believe I knew that.” Then he was kissing her and
everything else was forgotten.

• • •

After making love again, they showered and
Lily pulled on Carson’s T-shirt, loving the fact that it smelled so
much like him. The light brown shirt covered her to mid-thigh, much
like her own nightshirts did, but she felt sexy wearing it because
it was his. He pulled on his jeans and they both padded downstairs
to forage for food. Neither of them had eaten well today and they
were both famished.

Lily made a quick stop at her downstairs
office on their way to the kitchen, feeling incredibly nervous as
she handed Carson a copy of her latest book,
Hidden Desires
. She was still incredibly touched that
he’d bought and read the first two. He’d teased her as they’d
showered that he wanted to read her newest one as well. After all,
as he’d pointed out, how could he know what areas needed research
if he hadn’t already read them?

He sat at the kitchen table, his large hands
handling the book with care as he traced his finger over the
writing on the cover. A shiver ran down her spine, almost as if he
were touching her instead of an inanimate object.

“Thank you.” His voice was husky, filled with
emotion. “It means a lot that you’re willing to share your work
with me.”

“You’re welcome.” She planted a kiss on his
very kissable lips. He took the opportunity to slip his hand
beneath the T-shirt she was wearing and fondle her butt. She was
wearing underwear, but he pushed his hand beneath it, caressing her
bare skin.

She sucked in a breath and stepped away.
“None of that or we’ll both starve.”

Carson withdrew his hand slowly, dragging his
finger along her butt crease. She gave a shriek and danced out of
his reach, shaking her finger at him. “Food first.”

He came to his feet, every move deliberate.
She recognized the gleam in his eye. “I’m hungry,” he told her. Her
gaze went to the front of his jeans. Yup, he was aroused again.
Lily was secretly thrilled by how much he wanted her. “For you,” he
added in his low, sexy voice that made her cream her panties. He
stalked toward her, all sleek and powerful and male.

She backed away but came up solid against the
refrigerator. He placed his two hands on the refrigerator door,
effectively boxing her in. Not that she’d tried very hard to elude
him.

He lowered his head and captured her lips.
She clutched at his shoulders and lost herself in his kiss. When he
broke away, she was breathless. He rested his forehead against
hers. “We could always eat . . . later.” Before his lips
could touch hers again, they both heard the sound of a key turning
in a lock.

“What the hell?” Carson turned his head
toward the door, which opened as if in slow motion.

Lily froze as Ethan strode into the room. Her
son stopped dead in his tracks and his duffle bag hit the floor
with a thud. Carson stiffened and she knew he was wondering how she
was going to handle this.

She was wondering the same thing. She had no
idea how her son would react to finding her with a man. And not
just any man, but his former boss.

As suddenly as her fears and reservations
arose, they evaporated and everything inside her settled. Lily
patted Carson on the chest and then stepped away. She opened her
arms as she strode toward her son. “Ethan, what are you doing here?
It’s so good to see you.”

Her son reached down to hug her, but his eyes
never left Carson. “Friday’s classes were cancelled and you haven’t
sounded like yourself when we’ve talked the past few times. I
thought I should come home and check up on you.”

Lily squeezed him tight before releasing him.
“That’s so sweet of you, but everything is fine, honey.”

“Is it?”

She stared at him, not surprised by the
disbelief in his voice. He’d never seen a half-naked man in her
kitchen before. Before she could begin to reassure him, Carson
stepped forward and held out his hand. “Good to see you,
Ethan.”

Lily knew that it was good manners more than
anything else that made Ethan take Carson’s hand. She could easily
sense her son’s confusion. “Why don’t we all sit down? I was just
about to make something to eat. Are you hungry?” She resisted the
urge to tug at the hem of the T-shirt.

Ethan shook his head and stuffed his hands in
the back pockets of his jeans. “What’s going on, Mom?” He rocked
back on his heels, waiting for a reply.

She looked at the man before her, because
that’s what he was. She tilted her head to one side, really looking
at him. Her little boy was all grown up. At six-foot-one, he was
tall but still lanky, but she knew he’d fill out as he got older.
He got his height and build from his father, but his eyes he’d
gotten from her. She could see the concern in them now and marveled
at what a wonderful son she’d been blessed with.

Carson stirred beside her, but she put her
hand on his arm, restraining him. Ethan noted the move and did a
double take when he saw the ring on her finger. Lily held her left
hand up. “Carson asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

Ethan’s gaze went from her to Carson and back
to her again. She held her breath, not quite sure how he was going
to react. On the one hand, he was a mature man with a life of his
own now. On the other, she was his mother and he’d never seen her
with a man before. “Really?”

“Really.” She glanced up at Carson and smiled
as he slipped his arm around her shoulders for support. “We started
seeing one another and . . .” She shrugged.

“That’s awful fast.” This was directed at
Carson.

Carson nodded. “For your mother maybe, but
not for me. I’ve known what I’ve wanted for the past several years
now.”

Ethan shook his head. “So it wasn’t all in my
mind.”

“Excuse me?” What was Ethan talking about?
She searched her son’s face for answers.

He reached out and took her hand, bringing it
closer so he could examine the ring. “I thought that Carson had the
hots for you, but he never asked you out or anything, so I figured
I must be imagining it.”

“I was biding my time,” Carson drawled.

Lily didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her
own son had seen what she hadn’t. “Well, I may be slow on the
uptake, but I certainly know now.” She could feel the heat on her
cheeks as both men stared at her.

Ethan chuckled as he tugged her into his arms
for a hug. “Does he make you happy?” he whispered in her ear.

“Very,” she replied.

He gave her an extra squeeze. “As long as he
keeps on doing that, I’m okay with your relationship. If he ever
makes you unhappy, you tell me and I’ll kick his butt.”

Lily felt as if her heart would explode with
love for her son. “I promise.”

As soon as they separated, he offered his
hand to Carson, who took it and then pulled Ethan toward him. The
two of them hugged, pounding each other on the back in the way men
do. “I love your mother and I promise to take good care of
her.”

Lily swiped at her damp eyes and sniffed.

“No crying.” Carson released Ethan and
reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Okay,” she agreed as another tear slid down
her cheek.

Ethan was no longer paying her any mind—his
attention was riveted on the kitchen table. Uh-oh, she’d forgotten
all about her book. Wiping away the last of her tears, she went to
her son’s side. “There’s something else you need to know.”

“That you’re Ms. Lillian?”

Lily felt her jaw drop. “You knew,” she
sputtered when she managed to get her mouth working. Her son
obviously knew a heck of a lot more than she’d ever given him
credit for.

Ethan gave her a look that was way too adult
for her peace of mind. “I’ve known since the beginning.” He
shrugged, totally unrepentant. “You left the laptop on one night
when you went to bed, so I figured I’d just shut it down for you.”
He grinned. “Boy, did I get an education that night.”

Lily felt her face burning. “Oh, my God.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He paused and picked up the
book. “It was really good, even if it wasn’t finished at the
time.”

Lily plucked the book from his hands and set
it back on the table. “I’m really glad that you like it, but I
don’t want to even think about you reading it.” Really, it was too
much to envision her son, whom she’d bathed and changed, reading
her erotic romance. A woman had to draw a line somewhere. It didn’t
matter that Ethan was an adult. He’d always be her little boy.

Carson laughed and wrapped his arms around
her waist, hugging her tight. “I told you Ethan was man enough to
understand.”

“Enough.” Lily scrubbed her hands over her
face.

Her son grinned at her. “Don’t worry, Mom. It
didn’t warp me. At least not too much,” he teased.

Lily moaned and then groaned when her stomach
growled. “I’m hungry.”

Ethan laughed at her obvious ploy to change
the subject. He grabbed his duffle bag and headed for the stairs.
“I could eat. How about some eggs and bacon?” he called over his
shoulder as he took the stairs two at a time.

“I can’t believe he took everything so
well.”

“I can.” Carson rubbed his chin on the top of
her head as she leaned into him. “He’s a good boy, a man really,
and he was raised by one hell of a woman.”

Lily felt pure happiness blossoming within
her.

“I’m just happy that you’re finally mine.”
His voice was rough with emotion.

Lifting her hand, she caressed his cheek. He
turned his face into her palm and kissed it. He’d stormed into her
life and changed it so much in the past few weeks, enriching it in
so many ways. “Me too.”

The sound of footsteps pounding on the stairs
galvanized her into action. She gave Carson a quick kiss and headed
for the refrigerator. Opening the door, she smiled when she saw the
can of whipped cream on the first shelf. There wasn’t much left,
but she had plans for it later.

Calmly, she pushed it aside and reached for
the eggs and bacon. Life was good.

Books by N. J. Walters

The Summersville Secrets Series

Uncovering
Annabelle

Enticing
Emma

Lily’s List

The Salvation Pack Series

Wolf at the Door

Wolf in her Bed

Wolf on the Run

Wolf from the Past

Wolf on the Hunt

The Hades’ Carnival Series

Night of the Tiger

Mark of the Bear

Pride of the Lion

Howl of the Wolf

Heart of the Serpent

Flame of the Phoenix

Lure of the Jaguar

The Legacy Series

Alexandra’s Legacy

Isaiah’s Haven

Legacy Found

Quinn’s Quest

Finding Chrissten

Damek’s Redemption

Craig’s Heat-Legacy

The Spells, Secrets & Seductions
Series